Nearly four decades ago, two companies were founded in the same building. The companies’ front doors were side by side in a two-story building on Beltline Boulevard. This newspaper was located on the top floor. DESA Inc., founded by Diane E. Sumpter, was located on the bottom floor. Sumpter launched the company to provide business consulting services to small business owners.
As it is for most startups, the founders of both companies worked long hours. The lights stayed on in both offices late into the night as the companies struggled to get off the ground.
All that hard work paid off. Last Friday, Diane Sumpter’s company celebrated its 39th anniversary at the company’s headquarters on Percival Road.
Dozens of people attended the celebration, including numerous clients that Sumpter has helped or consulted over the years.
Sumpter has been long dedicated to the development and success of minority-owned businesses. One of her first opportunities to assist businesses was as a subcontractor for South Carolina Department of Transportation. When the general contractor lost the contract, Sumpter subsequently bid and won it for her newly formed firm, D.E. Sumpter and Associates, later called DESA.
DESA provides consulting services for many successful entrepreneurs. The company has operated the South Carolina Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) center for over 30 years. It has been one of the longest-operating centers in the MBDA network.
“My passion for minority-owned businesses has always been there, but MBDA gave me a platform and the support that fueled my efforts. I am grateful for the collaboration because we share the same goal,” Sumpter said.
Sumpter has been so successful as an advocate for minority businesses that in 2020 she was awarded the Abe Venable Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement by the US Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). She has advised everyone from small business owners to U.S. presidents.
Many of the business owners and civic leaders came out to pay homage to Sumpter and DESA Inc. City and county officials, including current and former city and county council members, state government officials, government agency leaders and business and banking leaders were in attendance.
Sumpter used the occasion to thank her clients and many of the people who helped her over the years. One of her very first clients, Dr. Louis Lynn of ENVIRO AgScience Inc., was praised by Sumpter. He thanked Sumpter and presented guests with copies of his new book, My Life My Leaders My Lord: The Wisdom of a Country Boy.
Sumpter presented an award to former Columbia City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem E.W. Cromartie. She also presented awards to former Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, former Councilman Luther J. Battiste, Construction Dynamics CEO Nathaniel Spells, local bankers and South Carolina Civil Rights Museum Founder and CEO Cecil J. Williams.
“I’ve always been passionate about serving the underserved. For 39 years, we have guided many small and minority business owners to be informed, to stay the course, and to be prepared for whatever’s next. It takes all of those things and more to be successful, and DESA’s proudly had a hand in that for many businesses throughout the State of South Carolina and nationwide,” Sumpter said.
About DESA
Since 1986, Diane Sumpter has strategically grown DESA from a small local enterprise into a successful and diverse corporate entity comprised. The company’s four business lines include Professional/Administrative Management, Construction Services, Facilities Support and Business Services. The company also provides engineering services.
DESA provides information and services from project conception to completion. Examples of DESA’s services are conference and events management, construction project management, facilities support and maintenance and administrative support to federal, state, municipal and private entities.
For more information, contact www.desainc.com or call (803) 743-1124.
DESA Inc. founder Diane E. Sumpter presents a plaque to E.W. Cromartie and his wife Raynette Cromartie.
