The Greater Houston Black Chamber (GHBC) held its 27th Annual Pinnacle Awards, Saturday, October 23, 2021, where several of Houston’s best and most promising black-owned businesses received high honors.

The GHBC Pinnacle Award recognizes leading African-American entrepreneurs for their success in business and their positive impact on the communities and industries they serve. This year’s theme was Excellence Has Arrived: Black Businesses Take the Lead. The virtual production opened with a stellar performance by popular Houston-based Se7en the Poet and included well wishes from political leaders including Mayor Sylvester Turner, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Missouri City Mayor Robin Elackatt. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congressman Al Green also made remarks. Songstress Mary Griffin gave a rousing rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady,” and CBS Sports anchor James Brown and Nate Burleson of CBS Mornings both made a cameo appearances during the awards pre-show online.

Each year, five Pinnacle Awards, one Upstart Award and one Rising Star are handed out to some of the most successful small businesses. The 2021 winners are:

Upstart Award: Grand Park Square

Rising Star Award: Coach Cam

Pinnacle Award: Camellia Alise

Pinnacle Award: Carey Business Solutions

Pinnacle Award: Park Street Homes

Pinnacle Award: Fresh Tech Solutionz

Pinnacle Award: Sisters & Moore

In addition to these prestigious honors, the GHBC also honored several other businesses and individuals with community awards including:

Legends Award – Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, President, Prairie View A&M University

Excellence Award – Helen Stagg, President & CEO, Change Happens, Inc.

Larry V. Green Advocate of the Year Award – Jerome Love, President & CEO, Texas Black Expo

Mickey Leland Public Leadership Award – Teneshia Hudspeth, Harris County Clerk

Endurance Award – KTSU-FM

Youth Entrepreneur Award – Lauren Ashley Alexander, 2BooG Beauty

Click here to access photos of all the winners and honorees.

Dale Lockett of KHOU and Jemila Winsey of Re/Max Legacy Living and Re/Max 1st Class served as co-chairs of the event, and Gerald Smith of Smith Graham and the Astros Organization were the honorary co-chairs.

Major sponsors included Microsoft and St. Luke’s Hospital (Gold); Shell, JWTC, BHP and Castlerock Resources LLC (Silver); Port Houston, CenterPoint Energy, BP and The Astros Foundation (Bronze).