Blaire Hiler’s Purchasing Power SETS the Bar High!

Blair Hiler is the Director of Volleyball & Beach Volleyball Operations

LSU Athletics has been pushing to increase its diverse spending across all sports and departments. The needle has been moving and now at a faster pace than ever. The systems are being analyzed and refined to help LSU Athletics help the community as a whole. The results are happening, however, there is no one group or person to point to; this is a TEAM effort. This feature will shine a spotlight on Blaire Hiler, Director of Operations for Indoor and Beach Volleyball. She and her team's efforts have been a force in pushing the way for more diverse spending. 

It Just Means More For All

Healthy Tiger: What does diversity and inclusion mean to you and for you?

BH: “Diversity and inclusion to me is seeing and loving everyone, respecting our differences, gaining understanding and celebrating all people. Diversity and inclusion creates a community that makes everyone, regardless of their walk of life, feel seen and supported…equally.”

DIGGING to Move the Needle

Healthy Tiger: How have you been able to adjust your spending to try to move the needle?

BH: “The way that I have been able to move the needle the most is through the team meals that I provide for the team. I know that meals is something that I would be providing on a weekly basis so my plan was to purchase from minority businesses at least once during every home match weekend through the whole season. I also look for businesses on the road that are minority owned to order meals through as well. I also liked to challenge myself the last two years during preseason to use minority vendors half of the days we used for practice, so if we practiced say 20 days, I tried to use a minority owned business 10 of those days if possible.”

DOUBLE the Sport; Double the Diverse Spend

Healthy Tiger: Why is it important for you to meet the diverse spend goals?

BH: “It’s important that both of my programs (indoor & beach) meet the diverse spend goal because it shows that we are committed to providing support to minority businesses locally and when we are on the road. I also really enjoy forming relationships with the vendors especially if it’s someone I’ve never worked with before. The businesses I use are always so excited to be working with LSU athletics.”

A PLATFORM For Everyone

Healthy Tiger: What does more diversity look like to you?

BH: “Giving voices to every person – gender, race, ethnicity, ability etc…Every voice helps us grow as we celebrate our differences. In a business sense: Bringing in all different type of minority vendors (not just food & beverage related) and having a day where we can connect and form relationships with companies to use for future purchases.” 

BALL For All

Healthy Tiger: What does diversity in volleyball look like to you?

BH: “Diversity in volleyball to me is allowing my athletes to know that they are valued, seen and heard. To know that they have a safe space with myself and our coaching staff to have any hard or difficult conversations and to know that they are supported and truly cared for. It also means that we are giving everyone a voice, we recognize our differences and celebrate each other. I’ve never been around a team that is as close as ours; we are all so unique and have very different backgrounds and I think it’s what makes us so special!”

PASSING it Forward

Healthy Tiger: General advice towards others in your position?

BH: “I think just making a conscious decision when we’re making purchases to put in the extra time looking for minority businesses to support in Baton Rouge and when we’re on the road. It’s been so worth it to me meeting new vendors and developing relationships with them. My favorite responses that I got from a few vendors on the road was asking how I found out about them and how excited they were to work with a collegiate team.”

SETTING Up a More Diverse Future

Healthy Tiger: Any other thoughts or ideas about advancing the system?

BH: “I think it would be great if we could have a day where all different local minority vendors come to campus so that we can meet them and get to know about their business. Creating meaningful relationships is important to me and if there are chances where I can meet minority businesses it will help me keep them in mind for future purchases. I have pushed the needle most through “food & beverage” but would really like to use other businesses in a different spend category to add to my diverse spend goal for each of my programs.”

For more information on LSU Athletics’ Supplier Diversity Initiative, please reach out to Matt LaBorde in the LSU Athletics Business Office.