South Florida Black Professionals Shine At Celebrity-Studded 3rd Annual Miami-Dade Chamber Of Commerce Holiday Gala
MIAMI – With the holidays fast approaching and the end of 2008 just around the corner, the best of South Florida’s corporate and black businesses came out for a night of reflection and celebration.
Corporate leaders and well-wishers joined the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce in celebrating another year of astonishing achievement in the Black business community at its 3rd Annual Holiday Gala.
The gala, which honors the accomplishments of professionals, businesses, and philanthropic leaders in the South Florida community, recognized this year’s top honorees: civil rights attorney H.T Smith, the first African-American assistant public defender and the first African-American assistant county attorney in Miami received the first H.T. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award; Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, president of Miami-Dade College, the largest institution of higher education in the United States was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award; and the Citizen of the Year Award went to Tracy Wilson-Mourning, founder of the Honey Shine Mentoring Foundation – a program committed to the development and nurturing of at-risk young women.
The crowd of over 500, which included national celebrities, corporate supporters of the chamber, and elected officials, attended the swanky, “oceanic” themed affair hosted at the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Miami. Miami Heat center, Alonzo Mourning, the “Queen of Comedy,” Sommore, nationally syndicated radio talk show host, Michael Baisden of The Michael Baisden Show, Donna Richardson-Joyner, nationally acclaimed fitness guru and wife of Tom Joyner, Opa-Locka City Commissioner Rose Tydus, State Representative Oscar Braynon II, Miami-Dade County School Board member and former State Representative, Wilbert “Tee” Holloway, Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser and former Florida Senator, Gwen Margolis and Huggy Lowdown of HOT 105 and the Tom Joyner Morning Show were all present.
Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce Board Members and Board of Directors with Special Guests at the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce 3rd Annual Holiday Gala.
(L-R) Farrell Foster, Macy’s Florida; Aletha Player, Florida Power and Light; Bill Diggs, Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce; Michael Baisden, The Michael Baisden Show; Tracy Wilson-Mourning, Citizen of the Year Award recipient; Gordon Eric Knowles, Dolphin Stadium; Dianne Williams, Royal Caribbean; Sommore, comedienne; Alvin West, Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau; H. Leigh Toney, Miami-Dade College Carrie P. Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center; Dexter Bridgeman, Success South Florida and MIA Magazine; Jean St. Lot-Gervais, Le Falambeau Foundation, Inc.; and Marc Henderson, Miami-Dade Aviation Department.
The Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce Holiday Gala has earned a well deserved reputation as one of the most anticipated corporate and social events of the holiday season, featuring stellar entertainment, fine food and a diverse mix of South Florida’s corporate leaders.
This year’s top corporate sponsors included the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming, Carnival Cruise Lines, Dolphin Stadium, American Airlines, Citibank, Florida Power & Light, Macy’s Florida, PSAV and HOT 105.
