The 10th District Women’s Steering Committee (WSC) honored four community leaders during their 41st annual Installation Luncheon on January 24.
More than 300 people celebrated the contributions of Pamela A. Bakewell, Karla Gordy Bristol, Theresa Price and Nolan Rollins, to the greater Los Angeles area. According to WSC members, the honorees’ accomplishments reflected the organization’s theme, “Inspiring a Vision for Change.”
Bakewell received the WSC’s Pioneer Woman Community Service Award. She serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Bakewell Company, a commercial real estate developer, and Bakewell Media, owner of the L.A. Sentinel, L.A. Watts Times and WBOK radio in New Orleans, Louisiana.
A member of the L.A. Commission on the Status of Women, Bakewell is also president of the Sabriya’s Castle of Fun Foundation, which helps hospitalized children affected by leukemia, sickle cell and blood disorder diseases.
Bristol accepted the Business Entrepreneur Community Service Award. The owner of Gordy Bristol Entertainment, she is a music producer, talent coordinator, actress and real estate agent. In addition to donating her talents to several Beverly Hills’ nonprofit groups, she is co-founder of the Friends of Fuller B. Gordy Strikefest, a charitable organization that assists young people and the disadvantaged.
Price, recipient of the Education Community Service Award, is the founder and executive director of Jabez 3 Enterprises, a full-service marketing firm, and the nonprofit National College Resources Foundation (NCRF). Through NCRF, she produces the Black College Expo that has secured more than $70 million in scholarships for 400,000 plus students.
Rollins was recognized with the Urban Area Community Service Award. He is the president and chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Urban League (LAUL) and a member of the L.A. Board of Airport Commission. Under his leadership, LAUL presents youth and adult programs in various areas including workforce development, early childhood education and social justice.
Several other community leaders participated in the luncheon. Deborah Flint, chief executive officer of Los Angeles World Airports, delivered the keynote message that focused on the agency’s efforts to increase its community outreach and involvement, and the $8.5 billion capital improvement program underway at Los Angeles International Airport.
Also, the Rev. Dr. Cecil “Chip” Murray, senior fellow at USC’s Tansey Chair in Christian Ethics and former pastor of First A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles, offered the invocation; Faith I. Mitchell, administrative law judge for the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, installed the WSC 2016 officers; and Cora Jackson-Fossett, L.A. Sentinel Religion Editor and staff writer, served as emcee. Elaine Gibbs and NuSoul Band provided the entertainment.
