Special to the Herald
The Emerald Awards, A Salute to Black Excellence in Seminole County, presented by Breaking Bread Beyond, Inc. and Radiantly Black Lifestyle Magazine is proud to announce the Award winners. Held on Saturday, October 26, in the Performing Arts Center at Lake Brantley High School, the event was a grand affair, filled with all of the pomp and circumstance you would expect of the Academy Awards. This past summer, a Call for Nominations was issued to the public, inviting nominations for inspiring and high achieving African Americans who live or work in Seminole County. Sixty nominations were received in twelve categories. Winners in each category were announced at the Awards Ceremony.
“We could never have imagined the extent to which Black excellence abounds in Seminole County. Reading the bios of our nominees was awe inspiring.” notes James Benjamin, Founder and Board President, Breaking Bread Beyond, Inc. “We are extremely grateful to our honorary chairs who saw the vision and chose to support the Emerald Awards: Seminole County Commissioner Amy Lockhart; Dr. Michael L. Howell, MD, MBA, FACP, Regional Medical Executive Southeast Region, Cigna Healthcare; Dr. Ethan Johnson, Administrator & Health Officer, Florida Department of Health in Seminole County; and Mark McEwen, National TV & Radio Host. All are to be applauded for their commitment to our community.”
Award recipients by category:
Banking & Finance: Tara Richardson, Branch Manager, Wells Fargo Bank
Community Advocacy: Turner Clayton, Chair, Board of Council, Goldsboro Front Porch, and former President of the Sanford Branch of the NAACP
Corporate Achievement: Dr. Celeste Clark, Former Senior Executive, Kellogg Company
Education: Dr. Marian Cummings, Assistant Superintendent, Seminole County Public Schools
Entrepreneurship: Jaison Radcliff, Senior Program Director, Form2Fashion, Inc.
Government: Norton Bonaparte, Jr., City Manager, City of Sanford, Government Administrator; Kerry Wiggins, Sr., Commissioner District 2, City of Sanford, Government Elected Official
Healthcare: Janelle Dunn, CEO True Health
Insurance: Michael Lane, President, Lane Insurance Group
Law: Judge Carsandra Buie, Judge Criminal Division, Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Courts, and Attorney Natalie Jackson, Co-Director of Litigation, Ben Crump Law, PLLC
Public Safety: Cecil Smith, Chief of Police, City of Sanford
Religion: Rev. Dr. Helen Johnson-Ford, Pastor, New Bethel AME Church, Altamonte Springs
Technology & Engineering: Dr. Gena Henderson, Strategic Manager in Exploration Systems & Operations Division, NASA
Dr. Loretta Ovueraye, Vice President, Academic Affairs & Chief Academic Officer for Seminole State College was named the 2024 Emerald Awards Person of the Year. And as a surprise to Commissioner Lockhart, in honor of her commitment to helping achieve success for the Emerald Awards, this award will henceforth be named the Commissioner Amy Lockhart Emerald Awards Person of the Year.
“While we are congratulating our winners, let us not forget that the Emerald Awards could not have been possible without the financial support received from Cigna Healthcare, the Seminole County Government, the Jacobs Company, Seminole State College, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma, Central Florida Public Media, Recovery Connections of Central Florida and Waste Management of Florida. We can only hope that we made them proud; so proud that they will return as sponsors for next year.” adds J. Lajuana Miller, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Radiantly Black Lifestyle Magazine, and Executive Producer of the Emerald Awards.
Everyone is invited to watch the Emerald Awards Program on WRDQ TV Channel 27 on Sunday, December 8, 2024, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Subsequently, the program will be aired several times on Seminole County Government TV (SGTV). Visit www.radiantlyblack.com/emerald for event photos and additional TV airing dates.
Breaking Bread Beyond (BBB) was established in 2017, as a 501C3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing hope to the hopeless and support for unsheltered individuals, economically disadvantaged families, students, and the elderly in Seminole and Orange Counties. BBB serves four hundred home-cooked meals per week to unsheltered and under-sheltered families and individuals primarily in Seminole County.
Questions concerning the Emerald Awards may be sent to Ms. Miller at 407-840-6813 or [email protected]
