Atlanta’s most prestigious fundraising black-tie event, the UNCF’s Masked Ball 2023, was hosted by Mayor Andre Dickens; Ambassador Andrew Young; Maurice E. Jenkins, executive VP, UNCF; Therese Badon, senior VP, UNCF; and Justine Boyd, assistant VP, UNCF.
This year marked the 40th anniversary of the grand gala being held in Atlanta. The event was first held in 1983 by Andrew Young and Billye Aaron. It is an event dedicated to raising awareness about the significance of higher education and showing support for the remarkable students served by the UNCF.
There are currently 18 other cities that host similar ceremonies. This beautiful gala also pays tribute to the private Historically Black colleges and universities that have been making groundbreaking achievements since 1944.
Upon arrival, guests were invited to attend the VIP reception taking place on the lower level of the Atrium at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Sponsors were invited into a private room for photo opportunities with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Michael Lomax, president of the UNCF.
Title sponsor UPS, and Nike, UPS, Google, Coca-Cola, Georgia Power, Delta Air Lines and Edward Jones, and a host of others were announced as they entered the beautifully decorated ballroom. The emcee of the evening was WSB-TV news anchor Karyn Greer, who greeted everyone and welcomed Mayor Dickens to the stage to kick off the magical evening. Dickens greeted the crowd and quickly acknowledged the president of UNCF, Dr. Michael Lomax; and Ambassador Andrew Young.
A video recording was shown to the audience of Billye Aaron apologizing for not being able to make it due to being in Las Vegas accepting an award on behalf of her late husband, the iconic Hank Aaron. Although being grateful for the millions of dollars raised throughout the years, Aaron said her greatest wish is that one year they will raise 5 million dollars.
“I believe we have raised over 2.3 million dollars for the evening. The largest amount in the history of the United Negro College Fund,” Dickens said.
The total amount of funds raised exceeded 3 million dollars, which included the 1 million dollars donated by UPS at the end of the evening. What an amazing night that ended with a live musical performance by the delightful Stephanie Mills. The crowd took a trip down memory lane as she performed “Home,” “A Rush on Me” and “Never Knew Love Like This.”
