The 26th annual African American Catholic Leadership Awards Banquet will be held beginning at 6 p.m. March 2 at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel in downtown Louisville.
The event, which is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office of Multicultural Ministry, recognizes African American Catholic leaders within the archdiocese. Proceeds from the event, which includes a silent auction that will start at 5 p.m., will go towards a scholarship fund to assist African American Catholic youth with secondary and post-secondary education costs.
Nine scholarships will be awarded to young men and women who, according to a news release from OMM, have “demonstrated leadership in their church and school communities.
Ten adults will be recognized for their leadership as well.
Sacred Heart Bishop John H. Ricard, president of the National Black Catholic Congress and rector for the St. Joseph Society of the Sacred Heart, and Greg Tichenor of the Church of the Epiphany, will receive the Acacia Award for their years of service to the community at large.
Stella Porter of St. Augustine Church in Lebanon, Ky., will receive the Genevieve Boone Award, given annually to “those who have been trailblazers in the areas of cultural enrichment, education and formation from an Africentric perspective.”
Those adults receiving the African American Catholic Leadership Award this year are Marion Smith and James Mason of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church; Dr. Daryl Williams of St. Augustine Church in Louisville; Ellen Lydian and Carolyn Payne of St. Monica Church in Bardstown, Ky.; Charlotte Alexander of Christ the King Church; Jim Scott of St. Ignatius Church; Adriene Taylor-Mitchell and Shan Hermitt of St. Martin de Porres Church; and Mary Shoulders of St. Bartholomew Church.
Young people receiving Rodriq McCravy Awards this year are Sydney Williams and Tori Burrus of St. Augustine Church in Louisville; Deion Ali Montgomery of Christ the King Church; Stephanie Henry of St. Martin de Porres Church; Taylor Theodore of St. Pius X Church; Morgan D. Talley and Sharriff T. O. Moore of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church; Marie-Ange Mbumba of St. Bernadette Church; and Timothy Alexander Marshall of Holy Rosary Church in Springfield, Ky.
*Corrects the number of years the event has been held and provides more information about Bishop Ricard.