NEW ORLEANS- On Friday evening, The Spears Group, in partnership with GNO, Inc., announced 21 winners during the 7th annual Millennial Awards ceremony. The honorees were recognized for the positive impacts they’ve made on both the local community, and their career fields.
The event, which took place at the Ace Hotel in New Orleans, kicked off at 6 p.m. with the “Best Millennial Restaurant Competition,” where guests sampled and voted for their favorite dishes, from local finalists We Dat’s Chicken & Shrimp, Nonna Mia Cafe & Pizzeria, Mambo’s, and Josephine Estelle.
After the restaurant competition, the youngest representatives of the Spears Group, Brittany Doucette and Mathew Pashby, launched the awards program with opening remarks, before handing things off to this year’s emcees: Emmy-nominated journalist and WWLTV anchor, Charisse Gibson, and previous Changemaker category award winner and River Parishes Tourist Commission executive director, Buddy Boe.
The 2019 Millennial Award recipients per category are as follows:
- Digital Media presented by WWLTV– L. Kasimu Harris
- Business – Devin Espadron & Danion Green
- Culinary Arts – Kelly Fields
- Healthcare – *TIE* Erica Rogers & Ayame Dinkler
- Economic Development – Ashleigh Gardere
- Journalism – Lamar White Jr.
- Financial Services – Marina Manzanares
- Film – Phillip Youmans
- Hospitality & Tourism – Megan Colyer
- Education – Libby Fischer
- Music presented by iHeart Radio– *TIE* Tarriona “Tank” Ball & Amanda Shaw
- Law – Kathlyn Perez Bethuna
- Real Estate – Ryan Pearce
- Service Person -Mark Raymond Jr.
- Social Entrepreneur – Christian Davenport
- Changemaker – Kimberly Novod
- Female Entrepreneur presented by Northwestern Mutual– Sevetri Wilson
- Best Millennial Restaurant presented by Yelp– Josephine Estelle
The Millennial Awards show, conceived and produced by the Spears Group since 2013, showcases the achievements of inspirational young professionals throughout the region. This year, nearly 60 finalists who hail from an assortment of professional backgrounds, such as real estate, law, journalism, and healthcare, were among 250 nominations, selected by a panel of business professionals and past Millennial Award recipients.
“These individuals have not only attained remarkable success in their respective fields or careers, but have proven their steadfast commitment to the betterment of our city through their many civic contributions,” said Cleveland Spears, III, the president and CEO of the Spears Group, earlier this month.
“The 2019 class of Millennial Award finalists is perhaps one of our most impressive in terms of their cumulative impact on the cultural and economic development of our city,” he added. “We’re incredibly proud to have created this unique platform to provide these people with the recognition they deserve.”
For more information on the Emerge Summit + Millennial Awards, visit millennialawards.com.
