I think you are failing to understand what the State of the Black Union was. In my understanding and what I got from the ones that I watched, was situations like what you mentioned. Your ideas/program was a byproduct of the SOBU. Now I'm not saying that the SOBU gave you your idea, but it was a symposioum of people who talked about the issues facing Black America and offered possible solutions. It was up to us as individuals to take their suggestions, marinate on them, tweak them and to come up with ways to serve and better our individual communites, as you did with your program. That was the true meaning, IMO of the SOBU conference. It is not for the panels of speakers collectively to go out into the cities and do good. So technically, the SOBU could do nothing. The same with the Million Man March, it wasn't Farakhan and his organizers duty to go out to every city and effect change. It was up to the attendees that were there, those watching on TV and others to go back into their homes and communities and to try and make a difference. Some did, some didn't and most we will never see. The Hoodie Awards that you mentioned, are the same deal. Now I don't know head nor tail of what businesses won the awards. Haven't seen any national recognition, (so I disagree with your national exposure theory) but if it inspires my barber shop or my hole in the wall fish stand to be a little cleaner because now they want to compete for the award or if it helps someone to open a shop in a depressed community to help out the community, then it works. And these are things that I may never see or realize as I drive by on my way to the burbs.
So basically what I'm saying is, I get where you are coming from, but honestly my problem is more with Tavis than the SOBU, and we have to realize just exactly what these things are; vehicles/avenues to come together exchange ideas, celebrate others and to leave inspired to do more. They're not the agent of change, we are.