Leadership SPOTLIGHT

By Diane Sears

Affinity Inc. magazine turns 13 this year, and like any teenager, it is going through some significant changes. Don McKneely, Affinity Inc.’s founder and longtime owner and chairman of TexCorp Communications Inc., recently announced he is turning over the reins of the magazine to Brian Auden. An award-winning entrepreneur, service-disabled veteran and business leader, Auden is the founder and CEO of Valor Force Solutions and has created a company called Affinity Media. To mark the transition, Diane Sears, Affinity Inc.’s editor, sat down with McKneely to explore the magazine’s history, mission and future.

Q: Don, can you tell us about the first issue of Affinity Inc.? You were already operating a successful magazine company with your other titles: MBN USA and MBN Texas, which focused on the diversity market, and WE USA and WE Texas, which focused on women in business. What made you add a magazine that highlights the LGBTQ+ community?
A: I was at a diversity conference in upstate New York, and that’s where I first met Justin Nelson, one of the founders of the NGLCC, who’s now the organization’s president. I was there as a working journalist for the magazines. As Justin and I were talking, I had already been thinking about the LGBTQ+ community. Since we covered the diversity space with minority and women’s publications, what was missing? An LGBTQ+ publication. We were also starting to focus on veterans as part of the diverse business community.
So, when I left that meeting, I began to do some research on the real opportunity in terms of supporting the LGBTQ+ community and getting it more involved in the overall supplier diversity space, because that’s what that conference was about. I knew there was already support for the LGBTQ+ community, because many Fortune 100 companies had made statements about inclusion and were starting to focus on finding LGBTQ+ suppliers. After further research and receiving feedback, I decided to launch Affinity Inc. I had spoken with two corporations that said, “If you introduce and launch that publication, then we’ll support it.” They became my first advertisers. From that point on, we were off and rolling.

Q: Can you tell us about that first edition?
A: When we introduced the first publication, it was vibrant and informative. The cover was a photo of Justin Nelson and his NGLCC co-founder, Chance Mitchell, who serves as the organization’s CEO today. It had what was going on in the LGBTQ+ community, who the leaders were — the movers and shakers. The magazine’s mission has always been to be a bridge in terms of relationships between LGBTQ+ businesses and corporate America. That’s how it developed — and, of course, it was always with a focus on quality and equality. We wanted to make sure we had high-quality content that was relevant and timely. And that’s what we still do today.

Q: Can you tell us how Affinity Inc. has been important to the LGBTQ+ community and what role it’s played.
A: No. 1, I think it’s been important from the standpoint of promoting the value of LGBTQ+ businesses in the supply chain and highlighting their contributions. It’s also been important in promoting the community’s efforts in the broader market and the NGLCC and its programs, along with other groups that represent the LGBTQ+ community. We became members of the Human Rights Campaign and promoted its work because it aligned closely with our own efforts.

Q: What have you heard from the corporations about their experience with Affinity Inc. over the years and how they’ve contributed?
A: Most large corporations have inclusive programs, and over the 13 years Affinity Inc. has been in the market, corporate America has seen significant growth in terms of diversity and inclusion programs. They just generally see it as good business. We’ve always tried to advocate the value proposition for LGBTQ+ inclusion. We looked at how to make this a win-win for all entities, everyone involved. How can we make it where everybody wins at the end of the day, everybody’s smiling and happy?
Many of the companies supported Affinity Inc. with print ads and promotional pieces to focus specifically on their supplier diversity initiatives, and those ads began to show individuals from each of these diverse communities that we talk about. You’re going to see Black faces, Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian, LGBTQ+, everyone. They’re multicultural and inclusive. It’s a beautiful rainbow.

Q: Can you talk about how Affinity Inc. has fit into your company’s overall portfolio and the significance of the whole collection? How do they interact, and why was it important for you to add an LGBTQ+ magazine?
A: When you look at our publications, you’re going to see people from different communities, including the veteran and the disability communities, all moving forward, working together. The market has recognized us with more than 100 awards for that mission. We always like to say that we help take the focus on diversity and inclusion to the next level. There have been other publications that focus on one segment of the diversity market, but our goal was to bring them all into the mix.

Q: Why did you decide to turn the magazine over to Brian Auden?
A: I’ve always felt that Affinity Inc. really needed to be owned by an LGBTQ+ entity because, although I’m an ally, I’m not a member of the community. I didn’t really pursue that early on in a big way, but that’s been one of the things we’ve kept our eyes open for. When I met Brian and he showed an interest in the magazine, I felt he could be a good fit.
Brian and I have several mutual relationships and customers, and Brian is such a dynamic individual. I believe he has the passion for where I’d like to see Affinity Inc. go. He’s a smart guy, and that helps as well, but the thing is, he’s a very likable person. Brian wants to do some great things, and he’s a builder, much like I’ve always been, bringing together people and communities.

Q: Don, let’s talk about you. Tell us about your journey from being a working journalist to a serial entrepreneur in the magazine sector.
A: My story is the classic story. I started with newspaper routes in the neighborhood when I was 12. I remember getting up at 5 a.m. to deliver those newspapers, and journalism just got ingrained. Over the years, I continued working in newspapers and taking on various jobs. But my first love was radio. I was an on-air disc jockey. I loved playing music. I was one of the early pioneers of disc jockeys for what we called back in those days soul music. As a result, I always wanted to own a radio station, but that was a little pricey for me.
So, I started working for a community newspaper in Dallas and did that for many years. Eventually, my thinking was, “If I’m going to stay in this business, I’m going to have to do something different.” In 1988, I launched Minority Business News, which today is called Multicultural Business News. It was the first publication of its kind in Dallas. Across the country, most of the minority publications were targeting one specific market or category, such as Hispanic or Black. They weren’t all-inclusive. When I introduced Minority Business News, it took off and grew significantly.
That gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of people, from Texas to Minnesota, from New York to Los Angeles, and everybody in between.
I love this industry because it’s so fresh. It’s new every day. Even if I have a tough day, I get up the next morning and read about six newspapers, and I think: “I love this business! I love, love, love what I do.” You get a chance to do so much good work with the stroke of a pen. I like the freshness, the vibrancy, of being a part of what’s going on. It’s very exciting!

Q: With your experience and wisdom, what advice would you give Brian in taking over Affinity Inc. and following in your footsteps, especially with his background being so different from yours, coming from the military and business arenas instead of journalism?
A: I will show Brian exactly what I do and how I do it. It’s a business where you certainly have to deliver and you have to focus on innovation and execution. As I look at passing the baton, my goal is to walk lockstep with Brian. He is a quick study. I’ll share with Brian, “OK, this is the way I would recommend we do it and I’ll tell you why,” and then he can choose to go that route or take another route. He is starting with a winning formula. He can take what we’ve established over 13 years and just build on it and refresh.
I would encourage Brian to get involved with different community organizations. That will serve him well. Brian has the same approach I do in the way he does things because he’s a business leader, he’s a community organizer, he’s a community leader, and he’s all about doing great things.
I know Brian is going to do very, very well with the magazine. He’ll enjoy having the opportunity to do so many things for the LGBTQ+ community and the corporate partners. That’s what I love about the media businesses. It’s not just about publishing words.

To learn more about Affinity Inc Magazine, visit affinityincmagazine.com.

Don McKneely, chairman, TexCorp Communications Inc.