Charlesetta Woodard-ThompsonElected and business leaders met just after daybreak to attend the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga’s annual Equal Opportunity Day breakfast Tuesday.
“You are here at 7:30 in the morning,” said Gale King. “What that tells me is that this is important to you, that the work of the Urban League is important to you and that diversity is important to you.”
King, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Nationwide Insurance, was the speaker for the Urban League’s biggest fundraiser of the year. An estimated 500 people attended. Individual tickets for the breakfast, a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and potatoes, sold for $100 per person.
Sponsors didn’t just purchase breakfast, Urban League officials said. They invested in a vision of having a city that intentionally includes everybody regardless of race, gender, age or economic background.
The dream is that each individual feels vested, accepted and empowered regardless of their background, said Charlesetta Woodard-Thompson, Urban League board chair.