On October 21-25, the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) hosted its 35th Annual Conference at the Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Hundreds of the nation’s top legal minds and executives were in attendance to celebrate BESLA’s milestone anniversary and to reflect on the conference theme: “Exceeding the Vision: Honoring the Past, Treasuring the Present, Shaping Our Future.”
As part of BESLA’s 35th anniversary celebration, the board expanded its philanthropic efforts to include outreach to the local community. Arriving early, the board partnered with the Because of Them We Can Campaign to provide financial and in-kind donations to the Blossom Gardens Child Care Facility, a group home that helps children who are orphaned, neglected and abused. Books and personal care items were also donated courtesy Just Us Books and Mixed Chicks.
The conference officially kicked off Wednesday evening with a festive Welcome Reception hosted by Wells Fargo Advisors. The program included greetings from conference co-chairs Emily M. Dickens and Lawrence Hinkle II (Fox Rothschild, LLP), Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and Entertainment Dr. Kenneth Wykeham McNeill and BESLA Chairman Matt Middleton (Sweeney, Johnson & Sweeney LLP). Guests were treated to a lively steel drum performance and a gourmet buffet of traditional Jamaican dishes. The highlight of the reception was a keynote address from former BESLA chairman Larkin Arnold, who shared his personal story, his work with BESLA, and the importance of BESLA to helping lawyers over the last 35 years and continuing its legacy of protecting the legal interests of black entertainers and athletes.
The conference panels began Thursday and continued through Saturday with topics such as “Understanding Digital Content Distribution in the Age of Hulu, Netflix and Crackle”, “Representing Millennials in the Global Sports Landscape”, “Succeeding as a Woman in Sports,” “Playing in the Big Data Leagues: Mining Consumer Data and the importance of Corporate Data Security,” “Scripted TV Stars, Digital Media Giants, Reality TV Personalities – The Changing Landscape of Representing Talent,” “It takes a Village: Counseling Entertainers and Athletes on Protecting Their Finances,” “Black Lives Matter: Change Agents – Counseling Celebrities to Use Their Influence to Impact Social Change,” and a BESLA 35 Legends panel featuring founding BESLA members and leaders Larkin Arnold, Leroy Bobbitt, Bob Holmes, Joe Porter, Virgil Roberts, Ray Tisdale, and Louise West.
On Friday evening, the annual Gala Dinner & Awards – sponsored by Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment and hosted by actress Vanessa Williams – inducted veteran attorneys Nancy Taylor, Theresa Cropper (Perkins Cole, LLP) and Joi H. Rideout (Telepictures Productions) into the BESLA Hall of Fame, while NBCUniversal received the Corporate Diversity Award (accepted by Tamara Woolfork).
BESLA also awarded over $35,000 in scholarships to several deserving students both at Historically Black College and University Law Schools and through its annual Student Essay contest. This year, several students attended the Gala and were recognized during the program, including: Erin Darden, North Carolina Central University, Makeda Gibson, Florida A&M University, Brittani Halliburton, Texas Southern University, Mia Hill, Southern University, Shaquila Montgomery, Howard University. Ms. Montgomery’s scholarship was granted in partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Essay contest winners, Terrica Carrington, George Mason University (1st place) and Latisha Mais, Tulane
University (2nd place) were also recognized.
A silent and live auction – featuring coveted items such as a General Manager’s Suite experience at Yankee Stadium, tickets to the 2016 BET Awards, and VIP tickets to a taping of “Live with Kelly & Michael” – raised money to support the organization’s programming for 2016. The gala concluded with an after-party hosted by ASCAP Urban featuring DJ B-Hen.
Attendees enjoyed evening entertainment throughout the week, including an offsite “Empire”-themed party hosted by Fox Audience Strategy and featuring a live performance by Grammy Award-winning recording artist and actress Estelle with music by DJ D-Nice; a hilarious karaoke night, and a trip to the famed Margaritaville strip.
The conference concluded with the Chairman and President’s Reception hosted by Chairman Matt Middleton and President Elke Suber. Both thanked the guests for their support and invited them to join BESLA for their 2016 conference in Cabo San Lucas!
Special thanks to our BESLA 2015 panelists:
George Cheeks (NBCUniversal), Teri P. Smith (NFL Players Association), Benjamin Crump (Parks & Crump, LLC), Jared Bartie (Herrick, Feinstein LLP),Riché T. McKnight (WME | IMG), Zola Mashariki) (BET), Darrell D. Miller (Fox Rothschild LLP), Lasherelle Morgan (Viacom), Nicole Middleton (ASCAP), James Leach (SESAC), Judge Greg Mathis (Judge Mathis tv show),Drew Hawkins
(Morgan Stanley GSE), Brieanne Elpert (Soundexchange), Tamara Tunie (actress), Antoine Walker (former NBA player), Jelani Lawson (Fox Entertainment Group), Cassie Sadowitz (Jacksonville Jaguars), Charlie Bingham (Microsoft), Heather Hutchinson (Scripps Network), Janell Coles-English (Discovery Communications), Inga Dyer (REVOLT), Endi Piper (TV One), Ivory Brown (Ivory T. Brown, PC), Tanya Mitchell Graham (Law Office of Tanya Mitchell Graham, PC), Jini Davis Thornton (Envision Business Management Group), Eve Wright (Unscriptd.com), Lita Rosario (WYZ Girl Entertainment), Kendall Minter (Minter & Associates), Ed Woods, Bernie Lawrence-Watkins (B. Lawrence-Watkins & Associates); Leron E. Rogers (Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP); Ken Thompson (Brooklyn District Attorney), Ras Baraka (Mayor of Newark), Eunique Jones (Because of Them We can), Inga Dyer (REVOLT TV); Jakgeem Mays (NBCUniversal); Mason Ashe (Ashe Sports & Entertainment Consulting), Peter Haviland (Ballard Spahr), Derede McAlpin (Association of Corporate Counsel), Jemar Daniel (Viacom), Jana Taylor (Radio One), Staci Riordan (Nixon Peabody), Joseph West (MCCA), Twanda Turner-Hawkins (Allstate), Jessica Lee (Loeb & Loeb) and Adrienne Williams (Microsoft).
Special thanks to our BESLA 2015 sponsors:
*DIAMOND – BMW, Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment
*PLATINUM – Wells Fargo Advisors
*GOLD – Fox Audience Strategy, Microsoft
*SILVER – BET, NBCUniversal, Soundexchange, Viacom, Wonderland Foundation, Inc & Stevie Wonder
*PANEL & CONFERENCE EVENT SPONSORS – ASCAP, Fox Rothschild, LLP, Manatt Phelps & Phillips, Mitchell Silberburg & Knupp, LLP; Perkins Coie, REVOLT, Nixon Peabody
*FRIENDS OF BESLA – Ballard Spahr LLP, Bennett Thrasher, City National Bank, Discovery Communications, Image Nation, Monami Entertainment and TV One
BESLA Scholarship Supporters – Garvey Schubert Barer, Greenberg Traurig, Gordon & Rees LLP, Imani Pearls Community Development Foundation, The Walt Disney Company, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Lebaron & Yvonne M. Taylor Scholarship Fund, Cary B. Hall, and Octavius “Ted” Reid
For more information on BESLA, visit www.BESLA.org.
#BESLA35Mobay, @beslainc (IG/TW)
Photos: Aquasun Images & Video
