Featured Local News

Spectacular Magazine 2017 Men Of The Year Awards Presented

admin

Durham, NC – With a mission to enlighten and empower, Spectacular Magazine recognized and honored the achievements and contributions African American men who have made a difference in the African American community with the Spectacular Magazine Man of the Year Award. Awards were presented at the Spectacular Magazine 2017 Man of the Year Awards Gala on April 9th at the Doubletree by Hilton RTP in Durham, NC.

Twenty-eight African American men in seven categories were selected. The Man of the Year Selection Committee (Committee) for the first time, named four men to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominations were accepted in six other categories and narrowed down by the Committee, based on criteria, to three (3) semi-finalists in each category. (Due to an overwhelming number of nominations in the Community Service and Emerging Leader categories, the Committee selected six (6) in each category and two (2) recipients were named in those categories.) Based on the results of an on-line voting process, eight of those remaining twenty-four received the title of Spectacular Magazine 2017 Man of the Year.

The Spectacular Magazine 2017 Men of the Year – Lifetime Achievement are:

  • Chuck Davis – Founder and Artistic Director of African American Dance Ensemble (Durham)
  • Honorable Howard N. Lee – former Mayor of the Town of Chapel Hill and founder of the Howard N. Lee Institute (Chapel Hill)
  • Everett Ward – President of St. Augustine’s University and General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Raleigh)
  • Honorable Harold Webb – former Tuskegee Airmen and retired Wake County Commissioner (Raleigh)
Lifetime Achievement Awardees
Pictured l-r: Honorable Harold Webb, Dr. Chuck Davis, Honorable Howard Lee & Dr. Everett Ward (Photo: Mel Brown)

 

2017 Men of Year
Pictured l-r: Dolores Paylor (accepting for her son, Matthew Paylor), Jerry Mack, Mark Taylor, Austin Dixon, Cornell Wright, Pastor Al Morgan, Dionne Hines (accepting for Wendell Davis); not pictured: Lamont Lilly (Photo: Mel Brown)

The Spectacular Magazine 2017 Men of the Year in the remaining six categories are:

Business & Economic Development:

  • Wendell Davis – Durham County Manager (Durham)

Civil & Human Rights:

  • Lamont Lilly – Activist/Community Organizer, World Workers Party (Durham)

Community Service:

  • Pastor Al Morgan – Founder/CEO, Morgan Marketing; Pastor, Launch Ministries (Carrboro)
  • Mark Taylor – Founder/Executive Director, Suited-N-Success (Durham

Education:

  • Jerry Mack – Head Football Coach, NCCU (Durham)

Emerging Leader (age 35 & under):

  • Austin Dixon – College Advisor, College Advising Corps at UNC-CH (Chapel Hill)
  • Matthew Paylor – Teacher, Durham Public Schools (Durham)

Health:

  • Cornell Wright – Executive Director, NC Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities

The Spectacular Magazine 2017 Man of the Year Awards Gala was sponsored by PNC and Orange County Visitors Bureau.

Twelve area men were presented with the Spectacular Magazine 2017 Man of the Year Award at a Gala April 9, 2017 at the Doubletree by Hilton RTP in Durham, NC. #1(l-r): Honorable Harold Webb, Dr. Chuck Davis, Honorable Howard Lee & Dr. Everett Ward; #2 (l-r): Dolores Paylor (accepting for her son, Matthew Paylor), Jerry Mack, Mark Taylor, Austin Dixon, Cornell Wright, Pastor Al Morgan, Dionne Hines (accepting for Wendell Davis) not pictured: Lamont Lilly (Photo: Mel Brown, Spectacular Magazine)