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MARCH/APRIL 2024
In this issue
8 Love Thyself-Salmeilia Stewart
10 No Distractions! No Limits! No Excuses!-Anika Stewart
12 Rough Week – God Wrote You A Love Letter-KeNosha Whitehead
15 Pastor Jennifer Biard - Story
16 Ameka Coleman - Story
19 Jennifer Riley Collins - Story
20 Dr. Cindy Ayers Elliott - Story
22 Mrs. Lannie Spann McBride - Story
24 2017 Mississippi Legends Ball Honorees
25 2018 Mississippi Legends Ball Honorees
26 2019 Mississippi Legends Ball Honorees
27 2022 Mississippi Legends Ball Honorees
28 2023 Mississippi Legends Ball Honorees
ARTICLES
Joanne's Desk
Rough Week? God Wrote You a Love Letter.
Joanne's Desk
During Women’s History month we choose to honor women who have not only impacted our communities, but women who impact our lives. As women, no matter the race, we endure, we persevere, we do what we have to do to provide for our families and to help others in need.
Love Thyself
Rough Week? God Wrote You a Love Letter.
Joanne's Desk
The month of February is a special time of the year to show appreciation to ones we love and adore. It’s a special time to recognize that special someone who makes the journey of life a bit easier and better.
No Distractions! No Limits! No Excuses!
Rough Week? God Wrote You a Love Letter.
Rough Week? God Wrote You a Love Letter.
By Anika Stewart
What does it take to manage your dream? What does it take to protect your dream? I’ll answer these questions with three simple words, no distractions, limits or excuses.
Rough Week? God Wrote You a Love Letter.
Rough Week? God Wrote You a Love Letter.
Rough Week? God Wrote You a Love Letter.
My Weary Love,
I see you. I truly see you.
And I saw you. All week long, I watched you struggle and strain and strive to do all the things in your own imperfect and insufficient strength.
HONOREES
Jennifer R. Biard
Jennifer R. Biard is the Senior Pastor of Jackson Revival Center Church, a rapidly growing non denominational, ethnically diverse congregation in Jackson, MS. She was ordained as a Minister of the Gospel in 1996, licensed in 1998, and has devoted the majority of her life to providing people with tools and resources that encourage and inspire them towards wholesome, transformational living.
Prior to her role as Senior Pastor, Jennifer served as Assistant Pastor to her father, Raymond O. Biard, the founding pastor of Jackson Revival Center. It was then that she honed her abilities as a manager and administrator, skillfully navigating multiple projects and learning the behind-the-scenes operation of the church. FULL BIO
Ameka Coleman
Ameka Coleman is an inspiring and visionary entrepreneur who founded Strands of Faith, a clean beauty brand focused on nourishing and revitalizing textured hair using cruelty-free and rich ingredients. Her passion for clean beauty and dedication to providing high-performance products for textured hair drove her to establish the company.
Ameka's journey started on Instagram, where she built a vibrant community by showcasing her own kinky hair texture, creating stunning styles and tutorials, and empowering women to embrace their natural beauty. Recognizing the lack of effective hair care options for textured hair, she took matters into her own hands and began formulating and testing products in her kitchen in 2017.
Jennifer Riley Collins
In December 2023, Jennifer Riley Collins was appointed by the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as the Southeast Regional Administrator for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. In this role Jennifer represents a vast and diverse portfolio of programs and services and over 900 employees that serve communities throughout the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, in addition to the U.S. territories in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. She works throughout the Southeast Region with congressional delegations, state and local officials, stakeholders, and HUD employees to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.
Prior to her role as Regional Administrator, Region IV, she has served as Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Advisor to the Federal Co-Chair of Delta Regional Authority (DRA).
Dr. Cindy Ayers Elliot, Phd
Dr. Cindy Ayers Elliott is the CEO of Foot Print Farms, LLC, founded in 2010. The farm spans 68 acres and features fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Foot Print Farms also focuses on agri-tourism for community development across the nation, and especially in the City of Jackson.
Dr. Ayers worked many years in New York as an investment banker. In 2010, Dr. Ayers traded in her high heels for a pair of work boots! Dr. Ayers worked as the CEO for the Delta Foundation for five years, a non-profit that operates in the Mississippi Delta. She participates with the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to ensure her farm is productive and environmentally friendly. While she depends on her farms for sustenance, she also wants to use it as an educational tool to teach people learn about healthy eating and sustainable farming. FULL BIO
Lannie Spann McBride
When Lannie Spann McBride speaks, her voice resonates with tones cultivated by a lifetime of singing the gospel. Her message of faith has touched the hearts of her students, and the hearts of people around the world.
McBride, 63, was born in Brandon and moved to Jackson after her father, Silas Lee Spann, began ministering at several Mississippi churches when she was about 6 years old. When she was 12, her father purchased a piano and told his children they were going to help with the music ministry at St. Mark Baptist Church in Brookhaven, planting the seeds of her musical calling.
McBride, a graduate of Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, is a veteran of music education in Pre-kindergarten to college level instruction. FULL BIO
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