Year of the Black Entrepreneurs Awards Luncheon

Saturday, April 30, 2022 12 - 2:00 p.m.

Life Enrichment Center (Wake Chapel Campus) 3805 Tarheel Club Rd., Raleigh, NC Hosted by

Lauren Johnson

Anchor | ABC11 | WTVD-TV Welcome & Introduction of Thom Ruhe Ryan Ray, CEO/Founder TEL Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership" Opening Remarks Thom Ruhe, President/CEO NC IDEA Foundation Introduction of Luncheon Emcee Ryan Ray, CEO/Founder TEL Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership The History of YBE Lauren Johnson, Anchor ABC11/WTVD-TV- RDU/Fayetteville Lunch is Served Taste of Soul Catering Beverages provided by OMG Lemonade Introduction of Keynote Speaker

Emcee, Lauren Johnson

Keynote Address

Lenwood V. Long, Sr.

Awards Ceremony Intro Emcee, Lauren Johnson Award Ceremony Ryan Ray and Angela Milton Year of the Black Entrepreneurs Closing Remarks Ryan Ray, CEO/Founder TEL Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership

A message from Ryan Ray

Thank you for joining us as we celebrate and highlight the amazing achievements of our NC Black entrepreneurs and community leaders who have made a significant impact in their community and on Black Entrepreneurship.

Our focus is to educate, empower, and equip entrepreneurs and business owners with the thinking and skill sets necessary for financial, personal, and professional success. Our mission is to create a culture of ‘cooperation’, not competition, and to meet entrepreneurs where they are and help them to discover their purpose.

The Year of the Black Entrepreneurs Awards Luncheon is the culmination of a year of educating, equipping & trying to fulfill that mission and we are honored to recognize a number of our friends for their commitment, courage, and for amplifying Black excellence.

There are so many people to thank for making this event possible, as are there so many entrepreneurs that are deserving of special recognition.

While we can't award each and every one, we celebrate and salute you today as well.

The YBE Awards Luncheon is made possible by generous support from a host of sponsors and partners.

Thank you and enjoy.

Ryan Ray Founder and President Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership & Executive Director of Jobs for Life

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A note from Angela Milton

We have achieved something phenomenal!

When Ryan shared the Year of the Black Entrepreneur (YBE) idea with me in August 2020, I knew that it would be something special. A way to show the state, and ultimately, the world, just how powerful & meaningful Black entrepreneurs are to the economy and society as a whole. In my role as the Implementer, Redefining Black Entrepreneurship became more of a part of my everyday life.

I would like to thank all of our members, sponsors, and supporters for your commitment to this vision. Entrepreneurship takes a village and your commitment to the vision of YBE has truly made a difference in the lives of our members and other entrepreneurs alike; just take a look at all of our nominees. Watching some of you grow from day one has made me feel like a proud mother and I thank you for trusting us with your babies.

Yes, this is the culminating event but it’s only the beginning.

Let’s continue to go & grow. There’s so much more to discover and accomplish. Many have heard me say, as an Entrepreneur for more than 20 years, I didn’t do everything right, but I did a lot of them right and I don’t believe we should die with the recipe. Black Entrepreneurship is taking its place in the role and I am happy to be able to participate. Now, let’s make this day as amazing as we, the supporters of Black Entrepreneurship, are.

Grace & Peace,

Angela Milton Implementer Triangle Entrepreneurial Leadership Ryan Ray Offical

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A special thank you Year of the Black Entrepreneur (YBE) would like to express our special thanks to Thom Ruhe, President & CEO at NC IDEA and the NC Black Entrepreneurship Council (NC BEC) for their support. YBE was one of the inagural recipients of a NC BEC grant.

The North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council (NC BEC) was created to lead NC IDEA in its programmatic and grant making ambitions to address the challenges of Black entrepreneurship in North Carolina.

More growth-oriented Black-owned firms means more innovation, more jobs and significantly more wealth creation for Black people, impacting communities as a whole.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

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Katie Gailes is a proud native North Carolinian who has devoted most of her professional life to helping small business owners and entrepreneurs.

She attended Bennett College for Women in Greensboro and the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

After a long career with IBM, Katie launched a consulting practice, which she ran full-time for six years. She was a counselor in the Growing American Through Entrepreneurship (GATE) program at the NC Rural Economic Development Center where she helped displaced workers in rural North Carolina start businesses.

Through this program and her consulting practice, Katie trained or worked with over 1,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs. She went on the become the first Director of Entrepreneurship Initiatives at Wake Technical Community College where she co-founded the LaunchMyCity community-based economic development model.

In 2020, Katie co-founded OUR STORIES: Brave Conversations on Race to help bridge the racial understanding gap through small-group, facilitated 6

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conversations based on personal stories and experiences. This program has trained over 250 people and now has active chapters in three US locations.

Katie's strength is strategic visioning, messaging, and creative problem solving that makes a measurable difference in the lives of real humans.

Katie currently serves as the Senior Director of Membership & DEI+B for the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE).

Lenwood V. Long, Sr. is the President and CEO of the African American Alliance of CDFI (Community Development Financial Institutions) CEOs, the only organization leveraging the decades of experience, relationships, and intellectual capital held by a group of talented CDFI CEOs operating in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Alliance provides technical support, professional development, grants, and resource sharing for members along with engaging in critical policy advocacy to support Black-led CDFIs, all of which support the ability of members to change the odds and outcomes for African Americans in their underserved communities.

Lenwood has more than 30 years of experience in community economic development, human resource, and business management and is the founder and president of BV&L Associates, Inc., a service-disabled veteran-owned firm providing organizations with consulting and technical assistance in community economic development, project management, human resources, strategic planning, organizational assessment, and business management.

Lenwood is also the former president/CEO of Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF), a CDFI and nonprofit organization.

In 2016, Long was awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine by the Governor of North Carolina. This is among the most prestigious honors awarded to North Carolinians who have made a significant impact through their exemplary service to the state and their communities.

Lenwood is a United States Army Veteran (Vietnam Combat Infantry Paratrooper) and a retired Master Sergeant, North Carolina Army National Guard.

Lenwood is also the Senior Pastor Emeritus of New Bethel Baptist Church in Rolesville, NC, after retiring as Senior Pastor.

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Award Nominees Award Categories include:

• YBE Start-up of the Year • YBE Community Impactor of the Year • YBE Game Changer of the Year • YBE Tech-preneur of the Year • YBE Entrepreneurial Resilience Award • YBE Teen-preneur of the Year • Entrepreneurial Excellence Award • Lifetime Achievement Award Presentations • YBE Black Entrepreneur of the Year

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Award Nominees

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Award Nominees

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Award Nominees

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sub•stan•tial

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Our vision is to build a community of educated, empowered, purpose-driven leaders who collaborate to build profitable, sustainable business models.

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