2022 Reflections of Excellence

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE

Reflections of Excellence

Saturday, February 19, 2022 Ray Charles Performing Arts Center Morehouse College 830 Westview Drive, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30314

Order of Program Introduction of Morehouse College President

Cedric Mobley (VOICE OF GOD)

Interim Vice President Strategic Marketing Communications and Admissions

Greetings

David A. Thomas Ph.D. 12th President, Morehouse College

Opening Remarks

Darryl Forges

National Correspondent CNN Newsource

Bennie Award Honorees

Paul “PJ” Morton ’03 Bennie Achievement

Dr. John K. Haynes ’64 Bennie Trailblazer

Bakari Sellers, Esq. ’05

Bennie Leadership and Service

Candle Award Honorees

Charles Phillips

Judson Pickard

Candle in Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy

Candle in Technology and Innovation

Dr. William “Bill” F. Pickard

Candle in Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy

Marc H. Morial

Candle in Leadership and Civic Engagement

Q & A Session Closing Remarks

Darryl Forges

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2022 reflections of excellence moderator

Order of Progra

Darryl Forges National Correspondent CNN Newsource

Darryl Forges is a National Correspondent for CNN Newsource, CNN's network of more than 1,000 affiliates. He is based at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. While at CNN Darryl has traveled across the country, covering numerous stories including The White House for both the Biden and Trump Administration, the 2020 Election, California Wildfires, the tragic death of Kobe Bryant, George Floyd Protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Ahmaud Arbery Case, The Annual New Years Eve Ball Drop in New York, and other major national stories.

Before joining CNN, Forges was a reporter for NBC 6 WTVJ in Miami, Florida. While there, he covered the 2016 election campaigns, several hurricanes and breaking news stories, including the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting tragedy and the Florida International University bridge collapse. He also co-founded, produced and hosted a weekly segment called 'The NBC 6 Breakdown,' which focused on topics affecting millennials.

Prior to NBC 6, Forges was a reporter for WAKA/WNCF in Montgomery, Alabama, where he won several awards for his reporting from the Associated Press and the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

Overall Darryl has obtained several awards including, The University of West Georgia's Thriving Under 30, South Florida's 30 Under 30 Future Black Leaders of Tomorrow, and an EMMY Nomination.

Darryl is a proud graduate of the University of West Georgia, and takes pride in mentoring future journalists, giving back to the community.

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2022 bennie award honorees

Paul “PJ” Morton ’03 is perhaps

best known as a keyboardist for the pop band Maroon 5, but he’s much more than a musician. The Morehouse College graduate has been making his mark as a versatile producer, arranger, singer, songwriter, and multiple Grammy Award-winner, known for his own albums, as well as studio work for other performers. He released the album “New Orleans” in 2013. The album’s lead single, “Only One,” featuring Stevie Wonder, earned Morton a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song in 2014. In 2017, he founded the Morton Records label. The next year, he released his album “Gumbo,” which included Morton’s Grammy Award-winning cover of the Bee Gees’ “How Deep is Your Love.” In recent years, Morton has released several albums: “Christmas with PJ Morton,” “Paul,” “Gospel According to PJ,” and “The Piano Album.” He also accepted an artist-in-residence position at Dillard University in New Orleans for 2021-2022, teaching classes in songwriting, music publishing, studio production, and talent management.

John "J.K." Haynes ’64 is an educator, academic administrator, former Morehouse dean, and renowned biologist and researcher —well-known for discovering methods for the detection and treatment of sickle cell anemia. He entered Morehouse College at 17 and received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the College in 1964. Following his years at Morehouse, Haynes went on to earn a doctorate of biology from Brown University in 1970. He also completed postdoctoral research at Brown, focusing on restriction enzymes and sickle cell anemia. His interest in sickle cell anemia led to a second postdoctoral appointment in biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Haynes has been on the faculty at Meharry Medical School and Morehouse College, where he served as dean of science and mathematics and created a program for high school students interested in medical school.

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Bakari Sellers ’05 is a lawyer,

author, statesman, political commentator, and CNN contributor. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana studies in 2005 from Morehouse College, where he served as student body president.

Sellers represented South Carolina’s 90th district in the state House of Representatives from 2006–2014, and in 2014 he was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of South Carolina. He was named to Time Magazine’s top “40 Under 40” list in 2010 and 2014, as well as “The Root 100 List” in 2015. Sellers has served as a featured speaker at events for the National Education Association, College Democrats of America National Convention, and the 2008 Democratic National Convention. And in 2007, he delivered the opening keynote address to the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. He is also the author of The New York Times best-selling book “My Vanishing Country: A Memoir,” which illuminates the lives of America’s forgotten, Black, working-class men and women.

2022 Candle Award Honorees

Charles E. Phillips Jr. is a managing partner and co-founder of Recognize, a technology growth equity firm “committed to creating the next generation of technology leaders and making meaningful change in the communities in which it operates.” Recognize builds technology companies by partnering with talented management teams and providing industry insight, operational expertise, and strategic capital to spur innovation. Phillips is the former CEO and chairman of the board of directors for Infor, one of the world’s largest providers of enterprise software applications. In addition, he is the former president and member of the board of directors of Oracle Corp., as well as managing director at Morgan Stanley, where he also served on the board and was an Institutional Investor All Star.

William F. Pickard, Ph.D., is the chairman of Global Automotive Alliance (GAA), a co-

managing partner of MGM Grand Detroit Casino, the CEO of Bearwood Management Co., and co-owner of five Black-owned newspapers. Pickard’s 45-year, entrepreneurial career began with his work as a McDonald’s franchisee in Detroit, Michigan. In 1989, he founded the Automotive Manufacturing Co. and it grew it into GAA, which services many corporations, such as Boeing, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, General Motors, Johnson Controls, Starbucks, and Home Depot.

Pickard is also credited with helping to create a new generation of entrepreneurs with his book “Millionaire Moves: Seven Essential Principles of Entrepreneurship.” In 2001, Pickard was named Michiganian of the Year for his business success, civic leadership, and philanthropy.

Judson Pickard has over a career of more than 40 years, Jas the owned and operating multiple

McDonald’s franchises through Pickard Enterprises, with his wife, Donna, and three sons. He is a member of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association, which strives to ensure parity and give guidance to others. He has also been a member of groups such as the board of directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Urban League, the Cincinnati NAACP Youth Group, and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. In 1986, Pickard received the Ray Kroc Award, presented to only a small percentage of McDonald’s operators worldwide, and the 1987 Ronald McDonald Award for his work in Cincinnati. He is a 2021 Jenny E. Lane Legacy Society inductee at Lane College, a Hall of Fame inductee in the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, as well as a 2020 inductee in the Cincinnati Black Business Hall of Fame.

Marc H. Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization. He has worked since 2003 to reenergize the League’s diverse constituencies, build on the strength of its nearly 100-year-old legacy, and to increase its profile, both locally and nationally. From 1994 to 2002, Morial served as the mayor of New Orleans. During his two mayoral terms, he led a New Orleans renaissance that included crime reduction, police reform, and the passing of a significant bond issue. And in Morial’s last two years in office, he also served as president of the United States Conference of Mayors, the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. He was named in 2021 to The NonProfit Times Power & Influence Top 50, and has been recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Blacks in America by Ebony magazine.

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