Aretha Franklin, Usher to headline 2016 Jazz in the Gardens

This is the 11th year of the Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival; how do you keep this event growing, safe and entertaining for attendees?

We just keep entertainment holistic. We want them to come and enjoy the ambiance, each other and the food. So it is not just a concert, Jazz in the Gardens is entertainment. It started out small, but it was us inviting you into our home to have fun and party with us. It has turned in to something that people all over the world can come and party with us. It will be good music, so if you want to dance you can, come with your friends, your boyfriend or by yourself.

What’s new and what can visitors expect this year?

We have the legendary Aretha Franklin, pop icon Usher, Average White Band, Kool and the Gang, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Brian Culbertson, Janelle Monae, Fred Hammond, Najee, Regina Belle, Alex Bugnon, Michael McDonald, a few local artists, and it will be hosted by Rickey Smiley.

What inspires you to show up for work every day?

It’s my hometown. I am not just showing up for me, but for my mom, friends I went to high school with, my church and for the students I visit at the schools. Ultimately, I believe that this is a great place for people and as we work hard to develop a good city and community, we all have to show up.

What affirmations do you repeat to yourself that contribute to your success?

It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, “It’s not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.” What he talked about still exists. Everyone will still be able to criticize but history is made by builders. People who actually built something new and that’s what we did in Miami Gardens 11 years ago with Jazz in the Gardens. That’s what we try to create every day; something that will last for a long time.

Name a book that changed how you saw life that you would recommend to others.

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama