The Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its founding and present the first Rainbow Chamber Business Leader of the Year Award on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the Radisson Hotel Sacramento. The award will be presented to an individual who has shown outstanding leadership both in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and in the greater Sacramento business community. Also honored at the event will be six 2011 Rainbow Chamber Foundation scholarship recipients. Assemblymember Roger Dickinson will swear in the Chamber’s newly elected board of directors. Serving as Masters of Ceremony will be radio and television personalities Don Geronimo and Roy Gilmore.

The evening’s festivities will begin at 5 p.m. with a bubbly wine reception and silent auction, followed at 6:15 by dinner and program featuring a live auction by David Sobon Auctions.

The live auction will feature a variety of packages ranging from a weeklong stay in an Hawaiian condo to a custom-tailored suit to an VIP season subscription to the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra to a UC Davis Extension business management certification program valued at more than $1,900. Auction proceeds will benefit the Rainbow Chamber Foundation, which since 2008 has contributed more than $30,000 for scholarships and youth programs.

Dickinson will administer the oath of office to nine Chamber board members, including two of the youngest members ever elected to the Chamber’s board: 23-year-old Joey O’Shea, event planner and executive assistant for David Sobon Auctions; and Felicia Johnson, 24, cheesemonger at Taylor’s Market. Both were elected to their first terms on the RCC board. Board members are elected by vote of the Chamber membership.

“My experience with the Rainbow Chamber has taught me more about the professional world than any other organization I am a part of,” O’Shea said.

Also elected were incumbent board members Bonnie Osborn, founder and owner of Sacramento public relations firm WriteAway Communications Services; Megan Lawrence, broker with Premier Benefit Solutions; Dr. Darrick Lawson, owner of Lawson Chiropractic Corp./Healing Touch Chiropractic; Stefan Murphy, project manager, Claims Eval, Inc., and owner of SM Training & Consulting; Ben Phillips-Leseñana, director of Community Outreach and Member Services for the California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce; Michael Sestak, owner/designer of Sestak Lighting Design; and Cecilia Tsang, Esq., co-founder and partner, Family Wealth Law Group. The newly elected board will appoint officers prior to Sept. 20.

“The 2011-2012 RCC board offers an ideal mix of seasoned board experience and fresh, new ideas,” said Osborn, who was elected Chamber president in 2010. “Attracting and retaining young business professionals is essential to the growth and prosperity of any Chamber of Commerce.”

The Chamber, which represents more than 150 area businesses and nearly 400 individuals, recently established a governmental affairs committee that has been active in local and regional policy and legislative discussions. The Chamber also is in process of forming a Political Action Committee chaired by Dr. Darrick Lawson. The non-partisan PAC will be active in endorsement of both ballot initiatives and candidates in the 2012 election cycle.

“We’re so proud of the progress our chamber has made in the past decade,” Osborn continued. “We’ve grown from a small grassroots networking group of gay business owners meeting in the backroom of a restaurant to a mature business organization fully involved in the life of our community. We fill a unique role because we bring together people who support a business-positive environment and people who are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive business community. Our members, who are both, serve as a bridge between individuals who likely start from very different philosophical and policy viewpoints.”

Tickets to the 10th Anniversary Gala are $110 each with discounted rates for couples, half-tables of four and full tables of eight. Tickets may be purchased online at http://rainbowchamber.com/events.html or call the Chamber at 916-266-9630.

Sponsors of the Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce 10th Anniversary Gala include Wells Fargo, SMUD, UC Davis Extension, Outword Magazine, Rainbow Pages, Western Health Advantage, Sacramento Business Journal, Pepsico, ezeeye Branding & Design, David Sobon Auctions, Rominger Winery West, Barefoot Wines & Bubbly, Joan Dunn Real Estate, State Farm Stephanie Slagel, Flower Fiesta, and Earth Guard Pest Services.

The purpose of Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce is to promote networking among gay and lesbian business owners and professionals, their supporters and allies; to advocate for policies and legislation that are beneficial to small business and economic development and to a diverse, inclusive business environment; to enhance awareness of political and social causes; and to encourage involvement in charitable causes. The Chamber and its non-profit affiliate, the Rainbow Chamber Foundation (http://www.rcfdn.org/), have contributed more than $30,000 to charitable causes, including youth scholarships, programs for at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, and the services of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center. For more information, visit www.rainbowchamber.com.