United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Names American Airlines Corporation of the Year for 2019
The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) announced American Airlines as the 2019 Corporation of the Year. American received this award at the 40th Annual National Convention Oct. 1 held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Each year, the USHCC presents the award to an organization that has championed Hispanic enterprise, demonstrating that inclusion and diversity initiatives are both principled and profitable.
American’s commitment to the Hispanic community and culture goes far beyond being the premier carrier to Latin America, offering more flights to more destinations than any other airline from the United States. The company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives help foster Hispanic economic development through community partnerships and business practices.
“We stand behind the organization’s mission to help foster Hispanic economic development and are proud of our 15-year partnership,” said Juan Carlos Liscano, Vice President of Miami Hub Operations and USHCC Board Member. “Our business is about taking people on their life’s journey, taking people to places they've never been and introducing them to new cultures and new ways of thinking.”
For more than a decade, American has partnered with the USHCC. Since 2009, company leaders have served on the board, championing supplier diversity and corporate leadership. The relationship with the chamber and the nation’s Hispanic community is about more than simply the volume of customers traveling or working with the U.S. Latino community.
Working with, knowing and supporting the Hispanic community is also good for business. We build relationships with small, minority, women, disability, veteran, service disabled veteran and LGBTQ vendors which make up the fabric of our country. The U.S. Hispanic market’s buying power makes it one of the top 20 economies in the world.
“Supplier diversity is an opportunity for us to engage in diversity initiatives” said Liz Wallis, Manager of Supplier Diversity at American. “Having diversity in the supply chain allows us to be more agile, leverage ingenuity and capitalize on different perspectives. We are proud of our suppliers, who work to support and help us grow our business.”
USHCC also recognized Dean Baldwin Painting with the Hispanic Business Enterprise (HBE) Elite Awards. American nominated the company after doing business together for 18 years. This award recognizes and celebrates business owners who represent the best of the Hispanic business community and are trailblazers in their respective industries. Company leaders and team members from American’s Latin Diversity Network Employee Business Resource Group were present to recognize Dean Baldwin Painting during USHCC’s Supplier Diversity Luncheon during the organization’s convention.
Dean Baldwin Painting began a small aircraft parts painting business in the early ’70s while working at Eastern Airlines. After Dean retired, current CEO Barbara Baldwin-McNulty and her husband took over the small company with six employees working on projects at Miami International Airport (MIA). While working as in-house paint vendors at MIA, they expanded from painting small aircraft to larger aircraft as the years progressed.
America West was Dean Baldwin Painting’s first major airline customer at their Roswell, New Mexico, facility in 2001 as well as the first customer at their Peru, Indiana, facility. The company continued doing business with US Airways and then American.
“Both of these events were extremely important to the success of our company,” said Baldwin-McNulty. “It’s not often that a major airline brings their aircraft to a new facility, but American had the confidence and trust in us to do so in our Indiana facility. Our long-term relationship with American has helped our company grow and prosper.”
Barbara believes her heritage has been a driving force behind the company’s success. She recognizes that in business it is essential to utilize ideas of people from different backgrounds, so employees can prosper.
“Since arriving in the U.S. from Cuba as a child my experiences in adjusting to a new culture have shaped who I am today,” she said. “It’s incredible for me think that I, a Hispanic woman, who came from Cuba at an early age, with no financial means to even consider going to college, am now the owner multi-million dollar company employing 350 people. It’s beyond words.”
Recently, American partnered with Dean Baldwin Painting on our official Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) fundraising campaign held in July. Dean Baldwin Painting painted the SU2C design on the plane. American team members at the Base Maintenance facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, then overlaid a wrap featuring 22,000 honorees names on the Airbus A321. Customers and team members who donated to the campaign were able to add names of loved ones to the wrap that was applied to aircraft #894.
Dean Baldwin Painting was selected due to their outstanding customer service, commitment to excellence and collaborative approach as well as for their technical abilities and use of the most up-to-date equipment.
In 2018, American was recognized as a member of USHCC’s The Million-Dollar, which honours companies that have demonstrated a commitment to supplier diversity by contracting with Hispanic-owned businesses.
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