Several
lucky folk will go home with a coveted raffle prize from Saturday’s “Evening of
Elegance,” the 12th annual Barristers’ & Scholarship Ball hosted by the Cook County Bar
Association, the nation’s oldest African American bar association, at the South
Shore Cultural Center. Among the prizes: a Bulls basketball, a
player-autographed White Sox baseball and White Sox box seat tickets.
The
“black tie” gala is headed by Attys. Lesley Gool, chair; Natalie Howse, co-chair; and committee members,
Attys. Marc Augustave, Natalie Stegall and
Nyshana Sumner; and Gwen
Rowan. Atty. Jacqueline Walker is scholarship
chair. The Ball, a great opportunity to wine, dine, meet and mingle with top
legal professionals, begins with a 6 p.m. reception and includes dinner and
program, dancing, entertainment by Chicago Catz Band and open bar. Proceeds
will provide law school grants. For $125 tickets, call (312) 630-1157, ext. 4
or email growan@thecookcountybar.org.
Congrats
– to JoElle (Lyons), medical aesthetician, skin specialist and First Esthetician to First Lady Michelle Obama,
just last week introduced her new
skin care line for women and men, JoElle SkinCare Beyond Compare. (Visit
www.joelleskincare.com.) The former Chicagoan who now lives in Chevy Chase, Md.
and has been widely referred to as “The Skin Clarifying Queen” by Essence magazine, has dedicated her life “to the pursuit
of balanced natural beauty.” She’s
combined her methods and expertise into a skin care regimen of premium products
and unparallel services. JoElle
is on Facebook most Fridays, sharing a wide range of free skincare tips and advice.
JoElle graduated from Dudley Beauty College-Chicago and
trained under Elton X. Tinsley, M.D., a nationally recognized plastic surgeon who specializes in Black skin
care, especially the removal of face and neck moles. She later was skincare
director at Dr. Elton X. Tinsley
& Associates. I met JoElle
when she delivered Dudley’s 2010 commencement speech at Harold Washington
Cultural Center, after which she received an Honorary Dean of Aesthetics
Certification from Betty R. Clawson,
DBC-C director; Dr. Eunice M. Dudley, executive director, Dudley Beauty School System; and Ursula
Dudley Oglesby, president, Dudley
Beauty Corp. LLC. (“Teesee” and several others received Ambassador Awards.)
Leading Ladies – Diann Burns,
host of Chicago Urban League’s nextTV on Ch. 26, emcees Monday’s 10th annual Chicago Celebrates
International Women’s Day at a Union League Club luncheon. Some 300
international women leaders will attend the noon event preceded by a 10:30 a.m.
fair that will feature 40 local and international organizations that help
empower women to improve their lives and communities. Keynoter: Deb
DeHass, vice chair and Midwest regional
managing partner for Deloitte LLP.
Newsy Names – Amy Hilliard,
founder and CEO of The ComfortCake Co., makers of “poundcake so good it feels
like a hug!,” wants us all to know that Friday (March 4) is National Pound Cake
Day. She’s got a Luscious Lemon Slice sale going on: 14 slices for $17.99, a 20
percent savings. Visit www.comfortcake.com or call (866) 264-cake. Yummy, yummy to the
tummy! ... Dave Rozell receives the distinguished “Rat Pack of the Year Award” on
Wednesday at their weekly Networking & Business Corner at Marmon Grand. Dave is RP’s vice president ... Happy b’day to Marc
Brooks, Karen S. Williams, Ralph Hughes, Sandra Neilson Givens, Avis LaVelle,
Tammy McCann-Simpkins, Jimmie Wright, Tiffany Walker, Suzanne Stantley, Jan
Branion Wethers, Pamela Thomas-Hall, Michelle Brown, Steven Jones and Orbert Davis ... Patrick Woodtar, African Festival of the Arts founder, will be honored by
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority at “Gallery D’Estee: Beyond the Art,” on Friday, 7 p.m.-9
p.m., and Saturday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m., at the Parkway Ballroom. The weekend of
artistic expression and exposure features Chicago’s most illustrious artists
with their pastels, oils, sculptures and photography. The two-days will also
highlight sculptor Marva Jolly’s
art pieces.
Whazup! Whazup! – Violinist Robin Aikens will show just how versatile she is by playing with R&B
artist K-Jon on Thursday, 5:30
p.m.-11:30 p.m., at Ken Bedford's
Afterwork Networking & Stepper's Affair at Alhambra Palace. Robin’s won 15 first place awards for solo and group performances
at Indiana State School Music Ass’n and has performed with rap star-actor Common.
A K-Jon song, This Time, begins with a violin solo which will give Robin a chance to shine. She’s played in the Emerson Symphony
Orchestra and began performing professionally in the Gary Civic Symphony before graduating from high school; at 19 she performed with four
symphony orchestras and toured with Shadow Vignettes, an internationally
acclaimed jazz band.
Soul,
smooth jazz, old-school and funky tunes devotees take over Blue Note Jazz Club,
1715 W. Roosevelt, in suburban Broadview, on Thursday with Chicago Soulcentric
(Michael Avery on
vocals, Phil Seed, guitar; Lamar
Jones, bass; Khari Parker, drums; and John Blasucci, keyboard). Doors open at 6 p.m.; showtime, 8 p.m., cover,
$7. Promised: $5 martinis and ample free parking on Roosevelt, 17th St., and in the lot behind the
club; at 18th & Roosevelt, there’s a parking lot. Just don’t park on 18th St., says Trudy Murrell, host.
Toure Muhammad, of Bean Soup Times fame, celebrates “10 years of informing, inspiring and
entertaining” on March 26 at The Connection, an event rental facility in the
heart of Bronzeville, 4321 S. Cottage Grove. Doors open at 8 p.m.; food served,
8:30 p.m.; program, 9 p.m. Entertainment: music, poetry, comedy, etc. Call
(773) 340-9008 to RSVP!
Business Boost – At a recent Business Spotlight Network (held each Tuesday)
at Red Kiva, Barbara Bates
and Mikal Clay, a duo of
successful entrepreneurs, were interviewed by award-winning TV host Garrard
McClendon. Bates, a fashion designer, discussed her storied history in the
fashion industry and how she became an icon in Chicago and the Midwest. She
also talked about Kristopher’s Cause, which is working in partnership with
Families Against Mandatory Minimums, to stop youth from being sentenced with
mandated guidelines instead of being sentenced based on the actual
circumstances of the case. Clay
told how he built and maintained his own line of hair care products and how he
got them on Walgreens’ shelves. The weekly network, 6 p.m.-9 p.m., is the
brainchild of Dwayne Hirsch, business developer director. Never a cover
charge!
On Air – Emilie (McKendall) & Friends talk Power, Media & Influence
with Tom Burrell, advertising pioneer and author of Brainwashed, on
March 19, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., on WVON from Jokes & Notes. Stop in at 4 p.m.
for a “Meet & Greet.” Terisa Griffin will sing.
Copyright
2011 Chicago Defender
