JACKSON, Tenn. — (NEWS RELEASE) Presented by the Jackson Madison County African American Chamber of Commerce, the 16th Annual JEWEL Awards Banquet on last Friday, February 24th at Oman Arena took the annual Black History Month Celebration to new heights, with more than 400 VIP and general admission ticketholders and a smoke-and-fire live concert by The Bar-Kays.
Honorees for the night included seven Historical Pioneers in Sports including the late Walter Bond represented by his nephew Bishop Nathaniel Bond, honoree Tony Champion, Manley Fuller represented by nephew Keith Spann, Sylvester Hicks represented by Kevin Hicks, Ed “Too Tall” Jones represented by Mal Matthews, honoree Dorrington “Junior” Reid, and Kacy Rodgers represented by Jimi Hess.
Business Awards winners were Dr. April Smith and Tia Jones of Loving Arms LLC, Ruby Award; Robert Murphy of Futurlistic Barber & Beauty Salon, Diamond Award; Garey and Lisa Jenkins of Sears Hometown Store in Milan, Emerald Award; and top award winner John Albert Forrest of F & B Auto Sales, Jewel Award for 20+ year old businesses. Runners-up for the top award were C. King and Sons Construction and Michelle’s Magical Treasures Day Care. Presenters for the evening were Sandra K. Walls of AIL Logistics Solutions, Ray L. Dunn of Northwestern Mutual, Darlette Samuels of Lane College and Andre Gist of MIG Steel Fabrications along with State Rep. Jimmy Eldridge and State Rep. Johnny Shaw who made the Historical Pioneer presentations.
Event sponsors were Toyota Bodine Aluminum, the City of Jackson, MIG Steel Fabrication, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA), West Tennessee Healthcare, and Lane College along with 96KIX, Jammin’ Jackson 97.7, The Jackson Sun, Lamar Advertising, WOJG-FM, and the West Tennessee Examiner.
Next year’s event, the 17th Annual JEWEL Awards will be held on Friday, February 23, 2018.
Founded in 1999 as the African American Business Coalition, the Jackson Madison County African American Chamber (JMCAACC) is located at 351-C North Royal St., Jackson, TN 38301 – 731-424-2030. The organization can be found online at www.jmcaacc.org as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
