But the spotlight belonged to the awardees. They come from various industries but all share traits that make them powerful assets to their organizations. In summary they were an NFL superstar/CEO, former NBA star turned technology entrepreneur, one of the leading fundraisers for historically black colleges and universities, a multimillion-dollar corporate salesman, an attorney to the stars, an urban fashion legend, a teen market expert, a Washington D.C. powerbroker and lastly CEO of a financial services firm that manages over a billion dollars in assets.

Two of this year’s honorees included sports icons, Ryan McNeil, former cornerback for the NFL’s San Diego Chargers, current Denver Bronco and president/CEO of Professional Business and Finance Network, an organization designed to provide professional athletes with financial literacy. McNeil was awarded the Sports Award. Charles Smith a former member of the NBA’s N.Y. Knicks and current chairman and founder of New Media Technology, a database management firm, received the Technology Award. Yet awardees ranged far outside of the sports arena. Honorees also included, Oscar Joyner, president and COO of Reach Media, Inc. (Civic/Community) and proud son of community-minded, radio personality Tom Joyner; Anré Williams, president and general manager of corporate services at American Express (Corporate); L. Londell McMillan, entertainment attorney and CEO of L. Londell McMillan PC (Entertainment); Karl Kani, founder and president of Karl Kani Clothing (Fashion); Tina Wells, CEO of Buzz Marketing Group (Women In Business); Morris Reid, principle partner of Westin Rinehart Group (Entrepreneurship) and Shawn Baldwin, CEO of Capital Management Group (Vision).

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