Posted on

I’m the Guest Editor for ‘Atlanta’ magazine’s 2023 issue of ‘Atlanta 500’!!! On Newsstands NOW!!!

Hello World,

Remember when I told y’all that I had been working on “a ginormous freelance project that took all of my extra attention outside of my job, family life, and other regular responsibilities”?

I’m now ready to reveal more…Drumroll please…I am the 2023 guest editor of Atlanta magazine’s Atlanta 500!!!

What is the Atlanta 500 you ask?

“The Atlanta 500 recognizes the 500 most influential business and civic leaders in Atlanta. The list also includes dozens of leaders whom the magazine has deemed as ‘Legends.’ The Atlanta 500 recognizes the most influential Atlantans—including not only corporate CEOs, but also leading entrepreneurs, educators, researchers, artists, and those leading nonprofits and shaping public policy.”

I was proud and excited to take on this ginormous freelance project for a few reasons:

  1. Atlanta magazine is the premier magazine of my city. As a magazine journalism bachelor’s degree recipient from the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication of the University of Georgia, it is a no brainer. (Check my Grady College mug in one of the pics 🙂 !)
  2. As the A is my hometown, it was a privilege to edit a book comprised of the best and brightest of the A for 2023! (And if you aspire to be a leader here, I think you should definitely get a copy!)
  3. While I love being a new mother, it is also important for me to continue nourishing and flourishing in my communications career so it was a test of whether I would be able to balance all of my responsibilities as they are now. If I didn’t know before, I truly know now that prayer works! And my village (those who help me and my handsome hubby take care of our twins) is a Godsend…Chile…I already knew that working mothers are akin to superheroes and now I’m finding out why…

So if you are in Atlanta, please get your own copy of Atlanta 500 wherever you would normally buy your copies of Atlanta magazine. I got my copy from the newsstand at Sprouts grocery store. The link for the 2023 issue of the Atlanta 500 will be live in the near future, but in the meantime, please check out Atlanta magazine and previous issues of Atlanta 500 HERE.

So with that, I say, “Peace Up! A-Town Down Shawty.”

Any thoughts?

Posted on

‘Just Mercy’ Author & Attorney Bryan Stevenson To Deliver the Keynote Address at the 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Beloved Community Commemorative Service Tomorrow, Jan. 16…

President Biden Delivered Sunday Sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church TODAY!

Hello World,

The King Center will host the 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Beloved Community Commemorative Service tomorrow, Jan. 16, on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, at 10 a.m., at Ebenezer’s Horizon Sanctuary, 101 Auburn Ave., Atlanta. The service will broadcast live on FOX 5 Atlanta and livestream on Facebook, YouTube, fox4atlanta.com, and thekingcenter.org.

The 54th Annual Commemorative Service is the hallmark of the King Holiday Observance.  The Rev. Natosha Reid Rice and Pastor Sam Collier will preside over the event. The King Center CEO, the Rev. Bernice A. King, will give the Call to Commemoration. This year’s keynote speaker is Bryan Stevenson, lawyer, social justice activist, law professor at New York University School of Law,  founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (which was made into a movie starring Michael B. Jordan) U.S. Senator and Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, will give pastoral and city greetings, respectively. Several special guests will give tributes to Dr. King including:

  • Leo Smith, CEO, Engaged Futures Group, LLC
  • Rick West, founding director and director emeritus, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution
  • Renee Montgomery, co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream
  • Pastor Dennis Rouse, author and founding pastor of Victory Church
  • Veronica Maldonado-Torres, president and CEO of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Somalia Gilliard, a senior and Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy, will give a special tribute to Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

The commemorative service will feature performances by musical guests: Yolanda Adams, Kierra Sheard, Justin Schultz, Morton, Minister Angella Christie, Ashling Cole, Uzee Brown, and Bishop William Murphy. The Commemorative Service Choir will perform, accompanied by The Covington Regional Ballet. There will be an international musical performance by the Far East Broadcasting Company Korea Children’s Choir.

Additionally, President Biden delivered the Sunday sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Dr. King,  TODAY! Read more about what he said HERE.

I’m forever grateful for the sacrifices of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his family. God has truly used them in a mighty way…

Any thoughts?

Posted on

‘Sherri,’ Sherri Shepherd’s New Talk Show, Has Been Renewed for TWO More Seasons!

Hello World,

My favorite Christian celebrity, Sherri Shepherd, who graciously allowed me to interview her for my first book, has a reason to celebrate in the new year! Her eponymous talk show “Sherri” has been renewed for TWO more seasons! In her excitement, Sherri told her audience members, “…Jawn [the show’s executive producer], we’ve been through a lot in this journey, in what we wanted to do and accomplish. And the fact that it is happening and the fact that, I just have to say, for those of you, I get emotional, for those of you who feel like nobody is seeing me, nobody is hearing me, but I have so much to give and you feel like it may be too late because you have so much to give, God has not forgotten you. He has not forgotten about you.”

I receive that inspirational message Sherri!

Additionally, Sherri detailed what Oprah said to her when she called to congratulate her! See for yourself below!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sherri (@sherrishowtv)

And here is an excerpt for PEOPLE magazine’s story about the show renewal…

Shepherd added, “I am so appreciative that Fox and Debmar-Mercury have partnered with me to continue bringing more laughter, joy and inspiration to my audience.”

“We initially sold Sherri for one year based on our strong belief that this extraordinarily talented host would be successful and her show would become a long-term talk franchise,” Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus said. “Our thanks go to our good friends and longtime partners at FOX, who shared in our enthusiasm and have renewed their faith in Sherri with this long-term commitment.”

Read the rest HERE. 

Congratulations to Sherri!!! I believe this is Sherri’s season to reap what she has sown. Legendary journalist Barbara Walters (RIP) truly laid the foundation for Sherri and for others to shine…

Any thoughts?