‘I Second That Emotion’: UNCF Wins Second Image Award for Its Tribute to Smokey Robinson

FAIRFAX, Va., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Tonight in Los Angeles at the Shrine Theatre and Auditorium, UNCF – the United Negro College Fund – won its second NAACP Image Award for An Evening of Stars(R) (AEOS), its annual televised celebration of education and excellence. The AEOS production won in the category of Outstanding Variety or Series Special for A Tribute to Smokey Robinson, which aired in early 2008.

AEOS 2008 honored Robinson with an all-star tribute
for his support of UNCF and minority education, his contributions to
the music industry and his role as a global humanitarian and
philanthropist.

On hand to receive the award for UNCF were President and CEO Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., and executive producer and director of the show, six-time Emmy Award(R) winner Louis J. Horvitz.

“This award is a tribute to so many people,” said Lomax. “Our honoree, Smokey Robinson, a true American treasure; Executive Producer and Director Louis J. Horvitz;
our sponsors; Target, Toyota, McDonalds, AT&T, American Airlines,
Wachovia, and Prudential; and my UNCF colleagues for whom AEOS
is a year-round labor of love,” he continued. “But most of all it’s a
tribute to the 39 historically black colleges that belong to UNCF and
the 60,000 students who attend UNCF member schools and receive UNCF
scholarships, whose work reminds us every day how true it is that ‘A
mind is a terrible thing to waste.(R)'”

AEOS 2008 featured performances by singers Yolanda Adams, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder and many more. Special guest presenters included Tichina Arnold and Tyler James Williams from Everybody Hates Chris; former Saturday Night Live actor-comedian Jimmy Fallon; Hill Harper from CSI-NY; Shemar Moore from Criminal Minds and more.

“It is a privilege to produce UNCF’s television special each year,” said Horvitz, now in his thirteenth year with AEOS.
“And to be recognized again this year by the NAACP is the ultimate
validation of the important work being done by UNCF each and every
day.” Horvitz directed UNCF’s Lou Rawls Parade of Stars(R) for twelve years. His other credits include The Academy Awards The Prime Time Emmy Awards and The Kennedy Center Honors.

AEOS helps bring awareness to UNCF’s mission of
providing assistance to its 39 member colleges and universities and
minority education. This second Image Award is a significant
recognition for the 65-year-old organization and is a salute to the
outstanding work of UNCF donors and partners.

About An Evening of Stars(R)

An Evening of Stars(R) (AEOS), originally known as The Lou Rawls Parade of Stars(R),
first aired in 1979 and, since that time, has become one of the
longest-running and most successful televised events in U.S. history. Lou Rawls, a spokesperson for UNCF and champion for AEOS for more than 25 years, is credited with helping raise more than $200 million
to help UNCF scholarship recipients, member institutions and their
students pay the cost of higher education. In recent years, AEOS has featured a Who’s Who of recognizable talent, including Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Chaka Khan, Ne-Yo, Nancy Wilson, Beyonce, Anita Baker, Jill Scott, Whoopi Goldberg, Fantasia, Joss Stone, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Bolton, Natalie Cole, Herbie Hancock, Al Jarreau, Hall and Oates, Ziggy Marley, Maroon 5, and scores of others. An Evening of Stars(R) received an NAACP Image Award for its 2006 tribute to Stevie Wonder.

About UNCF

UNCF–the United Negro College Fund–is the nation’s largest and
most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the
community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and
development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 39
private member colleges and universities, and advocates for the
importance of minority education. UNCF institutions and other
historically black colleges and universities are highly effective,
awarding 18 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF
administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship
and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and
faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000
students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. Its
logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely
recognized motto, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”(R) Learn more
at www.UNCF.org.