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Black Excellence Reunion reunites 100 professional black men and women and the community
- Details
- Tuesday, 16 July 2024
- Written by Amber Little
Local community organizer Tiffany Campbell is back at it again with the Black Excellence Reunion. After two highly successful photoshoots, 100 Professional Black Women in Black and 100 Professional Black Men in Black, Campbell is bringing the participants and the community together for a “family reunion” style event celebrating the “culture and unity” and providing a networking opportunity.
Festivities start at 4 p.m. on July 20 at Festival Park and is free to the public. There will be bounce houses for the kids, entertainment provided by DJ Yoda, vendors of all kinds and plenty of food.
Cora’s Community Foundation will be there hosting their annual Remembering Vicks Drive-In, bringing all the old favorites, along with Elite Steps, who will be serving up the reunion plate. The afternoon will be packed with fun of all kinds.
The reunion will kick off with a “friendly” game of kickball between local dominators and undefeated champions Ja’leel Stephens Heals and R.O.O.T.S Mentoring. Kids are more than welcome to join the game and afterwards, attendees are encouraged to keep the game going. Local cheer group, The Dynamic Jewelz, will be taking center stage at 6 p.m. to give a performance. Festivities end at 7 p.m.
Festival Park rules will be in place: no coolers, no glass containers, no tents.
Campbell is excited about the reunion and everything they have in store for attendees and the future.
“I thought it would be great to bring everyone together. Not separate the men and women. Although we do need our separate things it’s also good to have us come together. And because I still wanted to make a family atmosphere, because kids need to see this too. We need them to see us being professional. We need to create that dynamic… There will be kids helping out with vendor booths, but there will also be a bouncy house section and a kickball game going on at 4:30 p.m. It will be the Ja’Leel Stephens Heals Program and the R.O.O.T.S Mentoring Program. Ja’Leel Stephens Heals is an actual kickball team, that's what they do. The R.O.O.T.S agreed to play against them so the kids could play.
"I feel like that's going to bring more youth out there,” Campbell said. “Of course after that we’ll have people playing games. We are going to have some line dancing. We got DJ Yoda with the vibe, playing family-friendly music, old school vibes, new school vibes, things that all the generations can dance to.
“I want to have these events every year. We are going to have photoshoots again. We’re going to do a shoot for the men and the women. We are going to continue to do the sneaker ball for the kids. And I want this to be something that's annual because it brings everybody together. And I feel like even though it’s that old school family reunion vibe, we are all professionals and I feel like if we come together we’ll all be responsible and less things will happen, because everybody is taking ownership for something we are doing.
"It’s safe, like back in the day when we had old school people who were like, nope we’re not doing that here. They made sure the vibe was cool. I feel like if we keep having these events. And I feel it’s important too. We can change the perception that some have. We’ve had three successful events this year.”
Campbell plans to stay active and keep the events rolling through her organization Elite Steps and the newly founded 100 Professional Black Women Facebook group, which provides a safe space for black professional women and offers a directory of black-owned, women-owned businesses.
Sponsors of the Inaugural Black Excellence Reunion
Cora’s Community Foundation
The Group Theory, Inc
Tamu Brown,
Mike Hill (Never Too Late)
Jermaine Fleet
Dr. Toni Stewart
Hazel Eyes Media
Tiara Feyjoo
Tish Newman
