On Sunday, March 27, I headed over to the lovely home of radio personality Frank Ski and his wife, Tanya Rodriguez, for their annual Local Legends Scholarship Luncheon. Ski and Rodriguez spearhead a non-profit organization called Frank Ski Kids that teaches young adults important life skills by taking them on trips and community service projects. At this year’s luncheon, seven young ladies, who are high school seniors with grade point averages of 3.0 grade or higher, were acknowledged for all their hard work and community service. Tanya usually selects six young ladies, but, this year, she chose seven because it was very hard for her to choose.
This year’s scholarship winners were Shuntell Hall, Jeyana Scott, Khandis Plunkett, Morgan Stephens, Dana Johnson, Raven Osborne and Lorraine Kadima.
The young ladies, who participate in various organizations, volunteer and play sports all while maintaining exceptional grades, arrived in style in a chauffeured stretch limousine.
Rodriguez said she got the idea to do the luncheon after watching Oprah host a luncheon for three generations of women. That really inspired her to do the same for deserving students. In addition, she also had the idea of recognizing local legends in Atlanta who are phenomenal.
Kandi Burruss, Tanya Rodriguez and Charmaine Ward with their Local Legends awards
This year’s Local Legends are singer-songwriter-reality star Kandi Burruss, who discussed the entertainment industry, and director of community affairs at Georgia Pacific, Charmaine Ward, who spoke on the topics of proper work attire and interviewing techniques. Rodriguez discussed the pros and cons of social media, including Facebook, Twitter and texting. She also talked about etiquette and how to return emails and phone calls and write thank-you notes.
Following the informative discussions, the honorees were served an extravagant lunch prepared by Chef Kenneth Bills of Fleming’s. They enjoyed a house salad, filet mignon, Fleming’s potatoes and sauteed green beans with porcini dust, topped off with New York cheesecake with blueberry sauce and whipped cream. During lunch, the ladies were able to ask more in-depth questions of the speakers. Burruss further elaborated on how she went to a performing arts high school and got a record deal while there.
After lunch, Ski and Rodriguez presented Burruss and Ward the Local Legends awards and gave the seven scholarship recipients pretty swag bags. Among other items inside their bags, there were certificates of merit and for all-expense-paid photo shoots with Cliff Robinson Photography that can be used for their senior pictures. The ladies were very excited about the gifts and scholarship money.
It was a Pinktastic afternoon, and I would like to thank Frank Ski and his lovely wife, Tanya, for inviting me to this incredible event. It was a great day to witness young ladies going out into the world on the right path!
For more information on this organization and event, visit www.frankskikids.org.
