I arrived in Hollywood, Florida this week for reasons familiar and comforting to me — a dear and trusted friend asked me to. In this case, it was none other than successful business man and community builder Tommy Dortch, Jr., whose also Chairman of and for 100 Black Men of America. He didn’t tell me much about what and why he wanted me to come, he just asked me to make it happen. And like a couple thousand of his ‘other friends’ with similar ‘instructions’ (smile), I showed up.
I showed up out of respect and friendship, but after I arrived — it was all admiration and awe. The 100 are really about the ‘work’ in our underserved communities.
Flipping through their conference program book was exhausting (smile again), as they had a substantive track for Adults, Women, Young Adults, Collegiate, etc – and all running in parallel, and all jam packed with substance. I know how difficult this is to pull off. It means they are very serious about their work, and they have excellent leadership also. That points to my friends Thomas Dortch Jr and Al Dotson, Jr. And then came the Black Tie Awards Gala I was asked to attend on Friday evening. And it all just went up another level. And that has nothing to do with me receiving an award.
Also met a new friend ‘in the work’ of financial literacy and our silver rights movement, none other than the 100 Man of the Year Awardee , D-Nice, whose real name is Derrick Jones. A real class act. Everything you heard about his heart is true.
Friend Charmaine Ward and John Hope Bryant