Rhode Island Black Enterprise Affiliation Proudly Declares Extremely-Anticipated Annual Awards Gala and Honorees: Celebrating “Thriving Futures: The Collective Energy of Now”
Windfall, Rhode Island, August 24, 2023 – The Rhode Island Black Enterprise Affiliation (RIBBA) is delighted to announce its Annual Awards Gala scheduled for Friday, October 27, 2023! This spectacular celebration will happen on the Crowne Plaza Lodge, 801 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, Rhode Island. Our Annual Awards Gala is RIBBA’s largest fundraising occasion, attracting over 500 attendees statewide, together with enterprise homeowners, company leaders, professionals, and state and elected representatives. The theme for this yr’s Gala is “Thriving Futures: The Collective Energy of Now”, this yr’s gala symbolizes progress, neighborhood empowerment, unity, and charting a brighter path for the long run.
The festivities start with a 6 PM cocktail reception, the place attendees will benefit from the alternative to community and luxuriate in our 360-photo sales space and pre-program leisure! Cocktail hour shall be adopted by a tasty sit-down dinner, keynote deal with, awards ceremony, and vivacious leisure from 7 PM to 11 PM. Our Mistress of Ceremonies is again by widespread demand! This yr we shall be reintroducing the dynamic five-time Emmy-nominated Barbara Morse, anchor for NBC Information at Midday and Well being Examine reporter, to guide our occasion festivities!
The recipients of RIBBA’s (Rhode Island Black Enterprise Affiliation) 2023 Awards Program are being honored for his or her achievements in exhibiting distinctive management, resiliency, and affect of their subject, and their relentless service to our neighborhood. Every recipient has made immense contributions to economic-community growth and demonstrates an amazing ardour for range and inclusion within the State of Rhode Island. Their monumental management and repair in our nice state have cultivated immense progress and inspiration for Rhode Island people of coloration. “I congratulate this yr’s award recipients, we obtained dozens of nominations this yr,” says President and CEO Lisa Ranglin, “this yr’s recipients are greater than worthy of this recognition, we thought-about them one of the best of their league!” Lisa and her crew are thrilled to hitch the neighborhood in publicly honoring these deserving leaders for the work they’ve achieved that so precisely aligns with our 7 pillars.
The 2023 Award Recipients are:
- George T. Downing Enterprise Management Award
Lanre Ajakaiye
Chief Improvement Officer, United Manner of Rhode Island - Excellent Achievement in Management Award
Frank Caprio
Chief Decide, Windfall Municipal Courtroom - Christiana Bannister Civic Management Award
Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies
Government Director, Financial Progress Institute - Rising Chief Award
Mamadou Ba
Director, HOBO Product Administration - Isaac Rice Entrepreneurship Award
Edmund Addai
CEO, The Stack Home - Variety, Fairness & Inclusion Champion Award
Kim Barker Lee
Government Vice President, Bally’s Company - Change Agent Award
Marcy Reyes
Founder & CEO, FLYInitiative - Partnership Award
John Tarantino
Senior Counsel, Adler Pollock & Sheehan - Member of the Yr Award
Vennicia Kingston
CEO, Eagle Eye Building
A silent public sale will happen all through the night, with all proceeds benefiting RIBBA’s Scholarship Fund, which performs a pivotal position in realizing the upper schooling aspirations of deserving Rhode Island college students. The Annual Awards Gala holds the important thing to fueling RIBBA’s transformative work. Donations assist neighborhood/small enterprise growth, job creation, monetary literacy, {and professional} development packages. By means of your beneficiant sponsorships, ticket purchases, ads, and VIP desk reservations, you play an important position in advancing our mission to champion enterprise growth, wealth creation, range, fairness, and inclusion.
Final yr, our beneficiant supporters helped RIBBA to fundraise $150,000 to assist our 7 pillars of programming: Advocacy, Entry to Capital, Contracting, Monetary Literacy, Entrepreneur and Management, Mentorship, and Pay IT Ahead. RIBBA intends to knock that purpose out of the park this yr by fundraising $200,000 to assist our group in adapting to our group’s general progress, and the elevated demand for the companies we offer. This thrilling progress has fostered the motion into our brand-new Headquarters at 220 Smith Avenue, Windfall RI. The assist from our unimaginable neighborhood will assist us in finishing the buildout for this thrilling new area that may function an fairness enterprise hub. The headquarters’ revolutionary construction will embrace coworking areas, and content material creation areas accessible to budding entrepreneurs within the metropolis that want to scale their companies.
Based in 2011, RIBBA has grow to be a longtime presence and drive within the Rhode Island neighborhood. RIBBA has been a agency and constant voice advocating for fairness, range, and inclusion for all of us. Our programmatic focus has been on the event and progress of minority companies. RIBBA has advanced, and our work continues to have an actual influence. Your participation on this occasion will bolster much-needed assets to proceed to lift consciousness, elevate conversations, and enhance the lives of all Rhode Islanders.
Gala tickets at the moment are accessible! RIBBA warmly welcomes sponsors for the occasion as nicely. To safe your Gala tickets or discover sponsorship alternatives, kindly go to the 2023 Annual Awards Gala Occasions Web page. For additional inquiries about sponsorship, please contact Lisa Ranglin, RIBBA Founder, President & CEO, at lisa@ribba.org or name 401.465.3669.
