Master of Ceremonies
“I want to congratulate all the honorees. I’ve had a personal relationship with all four of them and I will tell you, being Black in America is an uphill battle. And getting more people to support you while you’re trying to advocate on behalf of equity and equality on behalf of the African-American community is more than a notion,” Bush said.
Moore, a producer and host at WQED Pittsburgh, was honored for his civic leadership. He has been a part of the WQED since 1980 and is best known for his work with the television shows “Black Horizons” and “4802;” several documentaries such as “Wylie Avenue Days,” “Torchbearers” and “Jim Crow Pennsylvania;” various military related programs including “Fly Boys: Western Pennsylvania’s Tuskegee Airmen;” and for creating and hosting “Black Talk” on WCXJ. He has also served for 30 years as the founder and co-director of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation’s Frank Bolden Urban Journalism Workshop.
“I’m honored that the Urban League thought of me as a leader.” Moore said of his honor. “I’ve never thought of myself as a leader, but (more) as someone who shines the light on others who are leaders.”
For the first time, the Urban League honored two individuals for their community leadership, and they just happen to be husband and wife. Jerlean Daniel is the recently retired executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), along with a former chair of the Psychology in Education department and assistant professor in both, the School of Education and the School of Social Work, at the University of Pittsburgh. She has also served on several advisory committees and authored a series of articles.
When asked how she felt about the honor, she said, “I am honored and humbled to be a recipient of the Ronald H. Brown Award. He was a remarkable and accomplished man. I consider this award to be an affirmation of a journey I have been on in full collaboration with so many others in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and beyond to make the world what it ought to be.” She continued to say, “The journey will continue until we get it right.”
Invocation
Her husband, Jack Daniel, is a professor of Communications at the University of Pittsburgh. He is known as a pioneer in communication research and for his role in bringing the Black Studies Department to Pitt. He founded the National Communication Association’s Black Caucus and has chaired and served on several steering committees. Jack Daniel has also co-authored the book “We Fish: The Journey to Fatherhood,” which he did so with his son. In his acceptance speech, Jack Daniel credited his upbringing for his knowledge of and dedication to service.
“There are some things that happened at the University of Pittsburgh that Jack is responsible for and that you will never know. I will tell you, he helped Black the University of Pittsburgh,” Bush said of him during his speech.
Nettles, the general manager of Enterprise Holdings, received the corporate leadership honor on behalf of his company, which operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car brands. The global network operates in more than 8,100 airports and neighborhood locations, with approximately 75 of them located here in the Greater Pittsburgh area. In both 2012 and 2013, the three brands took the top three J.D. Power and Associates spots for car rental satisfaction.
Nettles, a member of the Urban League board, said the Urban League and Enterprise have had a longstanding partnership that has lasted for more than a decade. Along with Enterprise Holdings, its Enterprise Holdings Foundation has made several contributions to both the national and local Urban League to assist in carrying out its objectives of job training, emergency assistance and social advocacy.
In his remarks Nettles thanked his employees and he said, “I am humbled that Enterprise was selected as this year’s Corporate Leadership Award recipient, and I am honored to accept this award on behalf of Enterprise Holdings. I know there are many companies in attendance tonight and throughout our region that are deserving of this recognition.” He added, that the Urban League, its board of directors, Bush and its employees, “have had a positive impact on my life and many of our employees’ lives. I hope we can continue these relationships and support the Urban League in the future.
With leadership being the theme for the evening, it was only fitting that there were several remarks of homage made about two heroes who had recently passed; each embodied the qualities of a true leader-national leader former South Africa President and activist Nelson Mandela and local leader Rex Crawley, PhD, assistant dean and professor at Robert Morris University’s School of Communications and Information Systems and the co-director of the Black Male Leadership Development Institute, which is co-sponsored by the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh.
Along with the award presentations, the evening included music by the Afro-American Music Institute an. a special presentation to the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School Students. Channel 4 Action News Anchor and Reporter Andrew Stockey served as the master of ceremonies, and Evan Frazier and Alan Trivilino were the event’s co-chairs. Sponsors for the gala include First Niagara, Giant Eagle, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Howard Hanna, Panera Bread, PNC Bank, UPMC and patron BNY Mellon.
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