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Breakthrough Magazine presents
The Phenomenal Woman Awards BAM: Tell me, what is Breakthrough Magazine?
BthruMag: Breakthrough Magazine is an inspirational and trade publication. We debuted in October 2005. We are dedicated to spotlighting those who are exemplary in all that they do. We support communities, organizations, businesses and individuals that would otherwise go unnoticed in mainstream media or on a grand scale. Our concept is bringing the unseen to the mainstream.
BAM: Wonderful, wonderful. I love the title. Tell me a little about the Phenomenal Woman Awards.
BthruMag: The Phenomenal Woman Awards is there to acknowledge extraordinary women or ladies impacting our communities. Not just our cities, but across the state, women who are tirelessly giving of themselves to serve. We notice a lot of people that do give their time in various capacities and they go unnoticed. We wanted to spotlight those individuals.
BAM: Well, kudos to you. I think the Phenomenal Woman Awards is awesome. Tell us about the different categories you have. You have the Lifetime Achievement Awards…
BthruMag: Yes. Pastor Deborah Butler of International Christian Center is the recipient for the Lifetime Achievement Awards. This pretty much is an award about leadership and inspiration, and Pastor Deborah exudes all that. And this year is the first year. The Life Time Award women are examples of women who have a lifetime of learning and achievement and pretty much live their lives by examples for others to follow in. That reminds me of the scripture Hebrews 6:12: “Imitate those through faith and patience…and inherit the promise.” She’s definitely a model of that scripture for all of us. So, that’s how they came to the determination to nominate her for the award.
BAM: Great! And you also have the Phenomenal Woman Award?
BthruMag: Yes. Now the Phenomenal Woman Award: one who is remarkable and leads with passion, purpose and power, one who takes a stance and impacts their communities within their career as well. And we had a couple of people up for the award and it was a tie breaker they were telling me! I think its going to be great when the actual winner is announced.
BAM: Wonderful! Now, tell us who the nominees are.
BthruMag: We have three nominees for this category. We have Kimberley Brooks who is an author. Annette Huffs Jackson is from Daytona Beach, FL. And Dr. Mary Hauthiam is in the industry. She currently works for the State of Michigan, and she is involved in numerous community service activities, helping people in various diversities.
BAM: And you have the Prestigious Woman Awards.
BthruMag: Yes the Prestigious Woman Awards are our awards for the women who are vivacious and on the move to destiny. These women are esteemed, confident and motivated. They are focused and driven in pursuing their purpose and they don’t take no as a defeat. We’re excited about the people we have in that category because they definitely represent it.
BAM: Tell us who the nominees are for the Prestigious Woman Award?
BthruMag: Yes, we have Dr. Tye Evans who is an Evangelist, author, and playwright; she is out of Detroit Michigan. We have Christina Marie Strong who is very vivacious. She’s only 18, and I’m just in awe of all the things that she is doing.
BAM: WOW!
BthruMag: All the things she’s involved in her community. In Detroit, she is motivating the youth. She has four different programs that she has currently worked on and gotten grants for. She holds youth forums, too, in the effort to help the youth in the Detroit area.
BAM: WOW! That is wonderful and you also have the Distinguished Woman awards?
BthruMag: Yes, the Distinguished Woman awards are for women who are different but we wanted to single them out so we take special notice of their achievement, lifestyles and recognize them in leadership and their accomplishments. Having said that,we have two nominees for that category: one of them is Tonya Davis. She is a retired hairstylist out of Detroit Michigan. She recently did her stage play called “Drama in the Shop.” She was the executive producer of that play and that was her first one that she did last year. So, she’s just now getting into the entertainment industry. She also helps those that are less fortunate. Her organization, called Harvest Equity LLC, helps first-time home buyers buy homes. She is a recovered drug addict as well.
BAM: Wow! And the second person?
BthruMag: The second person’s name is Olivia Stith. She’s out of Chesapeake, Virginia. She’s also an author, a speaker, and a mentor. She has two books. One is called “If God is My Lover Why is My Bed So Cold?” and her second book is going to be released this June called “Is Boaz Lost or am I in the Wrong Field?” Did I say she was from Chesapeake, Virginia?
BAM: You did!
BthruMag: So, we are excited – a diversity of women from all over.
BAM: Absolutely! Oh, and I think you picked the right title. I think it basically sums up all of these women.
BthruMag: Yes, yes.
BAM: And you also have a category for teenagers, is that correct?
BthruMag: Yes, we do. That one is called Novice Extraordinaire and these are youth in the community who are pretty much on the move to excellence. They have the schedule of a corporate career woman and they’re entrepreneurs. They’re academic scholars. One has held a 4.0 their entire scholastic career and the other one is has a 3.8 GPA as well. Ricarah Riddle has received a Girl Scout award -- which is the highest award for Girl Scouts. She received that in March. She’s going to be going to Spellman, which is a historically black college. Since last year she has been writing her own business plan so when she goes to Atlanta she is going to be opening her own custom realtor shop as well as modeling worldwide. We thought that was just absolutely phenomenal.
BAM: WOW! They are doing big things... and the second nominee? Well, no that’s not a nominee; they are actually receiving the awards?
BthruMag: Yes. They are going to be getting recognized and receiving an award. The second one is Ariana Pierce. She is a phenomenal woman as well. So is her mother, Dr. Stacia Pierce. Having said that, that’s pretty much all you can say about Ariana. She’s definitely an imitation of her mom, who herself is an entrepreneur. She started a club. She is also an author and co-hosted a teen success conference with her mother during May with the Woman Success Conference. There are over 600 teens every year that attend her conference.
BAM: That is amazing, absolutely amazing. Well, wow! Now the Distinguished Woman Award, tell us exactly when will it take place?
BthruMag: Well the awards are going to be Thursday, May 8, here in Lancing at the Hill Auditorium at 7 p.m. We have two presenters for the awards, Antwaun Stanley who’s our presenter, as well as publicity mogul, and marketing coach, Pam Perry. As well as Erin Rue, who’s an actress and model. She’s also the niece of J-Moss. She’s such a delight; she’s my little sunshine.
BAM: Tell me about the pink carpet. When I first found out about the Phenomenal Woman Awards, I saw that it was going to be a pink carpet as opposed to a red carpet. Tell us what exactly is a pink carpet?
BthruMag: It’s pretty much the same thing as the red carpet but it’s just a different twist. It’s an upscale awards ceremony and we wanted to distinguish from the typical red carpet. We figured since it’s a women’s event, let’s try the pink carpet and see how that goes.
BAM: Wow. That’s wonderful!
BthruMag: Most people think a pink carpet is different.
BAM: Wow. That is very different. Kudos to you and your entire team for putting this on. Tell our listeners exactly how they can get in touch with you. What’s your website address?
BthruMag: Our website is breakthroughonlinemag.com. You can also find us on myspace/breakthroughmagazine.com.
BAM: Wonderful. Breakthrough Magazine. You guys heard it. Go on to the web and click on their icon. We’re going to have it posted on our website as well so you can click right through and find out more information about Breakthrough Magazine. I think Breakthrough, the title, is so neat because we all need to break through something.
BthruMag: Exactly. Our logo is actually, “Every struggle endures a breakthrough and every breakthrough endures a struggle.” I think that pretty much says it. Anything you go through in life, you have to go through a struggle in order to get a breakthrough. The same thing with a break through, you can’t have a break through without going through a struggle.
BAM: That is so true. Well, thank you so much for joining us and much success and many prayers to the Phenomenal Woman Awards as well as to Breakthrough Magazine. Thank you so much for joining us!
BthruMag: Thank you.
