The Ford-employees African Ancestry Network (FAAN) hosted its 35th Annual Black History Month Celebration on Friday, Feb. 26 at the Henry Autograph Collection Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan. Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis served as the keynote speaker to a sold-out crowd of close to 1K guests.
The theme for this year’s event was sports related and FAAN honored some of Detroit’s greatest sports legends with Heritage Awards, which recognize individuals or groups who have used their lives to create meaning for their community and have been heralded within the community as game changing to the community, as a whole. This year’s Heritage Award honorees included former mayor and NBA legend Dave Bing, Detroit Tigers baseball great Willie Horton, Detroit Lions football star Lem Barney and the late renowned boxing and training phenom Emanuel Steward, who trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his career, most notably Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, Thomas Hearns, and Tony Tucker, through the famous Kronk Gym. All of the honorees were onsite to accept their awards, with the exception of Lem Barney and the late Emanuel Steward, whose sister Diane Steward-Jones was able to accept on her brother’s behalf.
FAAN also honored a handful of community service honorees as well who have volunteered offered their time and talent to improve their communities. These honorees included Joique Bell, Randy Henry, Calvin Johnson, Selina Johnson, Greg Kelser, Jalen Rose and Stephen Tulloch. A new award, Supplier of the Year, was given to former NBA great Vinnie “the microwave” Johnson of Piston Automotive.
The event was well attended by the city’s most notable dignitaries, politicians, automotive executives and other public figures including Deputy Mayor Ike McKinnon, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones and several current athletes from the Detroit Lions organization. The event was emceed by Detroit’s own John Mason, of Mason & Coco in the Morning radio show.
Jerome Bettis gave a profound keynote address as he reflected on what made him great, starting with his influential years in Detroit and those who helped him reach the peak of his sport.
“I stand before you a product of my environment,” said Bettis before the attentive sold-out audience. “When I say environment, a lot of people think ‘OK, he grew up in Detroit and it’s rough and it’s difficult.’ Yes, it was difficult. But the environment that I speak of was the environment of love and caring and wanting to do for others.”
The former Pittsburgh Steelers is now a studio analyst for ESPN, and he gave a lot of respect and regard to Reggie McKenzie and his popular youth football clinic for helping him become serious about being an athlete during high school.
“I always took that camp with me,” Bettis said, “because that was the moment that I saw the possibility — the hope.”
The event ended with a strolling buffet, music from the band Notorious and dancing all night long. Take a look at some of the guests who attended the event in the picture gallery below. Let us know what you think about the event.
Photo Gallery Credit: Hobson Media Group
