FAIRFAX, Va., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tonight in Los Angeles at the Shrine Theatre and Auditorium, UNCF - the United Negro College Fund - won its second NAACP Image Award for An Evening of Stars(R) (AEOS), its annual televised celebration of education and excellence. The AEOS production won in the category of Outstanding Variety or Series Special for A Tribute to Smokey Robinson, which aired in early 2008.
AEOS 2008 honored Robinson with an all-star tribute for his support of UNCF and minority education, his contributions to the music industry and his role as a global humanitarian and philanthropist.
On hand to receive the award for UNCF were President and CEO Michael L. Lomax, Ph.D., and executive producer and director of the show, six-time Emmy Award(R) winner Louis J. Horvitz.
"This award is a tribute to so many people," said Lomax. "Our honoree, Smokey Robinson, a true American treasure; Executive Producer and Director Louis J. Horvitz; our sponsors; Target, Toyota, McDonalds, AT&T, American Airlines, Wachovia, and Prudential; and my UNCF colleagues for whom AEOS is a year-round labor of love," he continued. "But most of all it's a tribute to the 39 historically black colleges that belong to UNCF and the 60,000 students who attend UNCF member schools and receive UNCF scholarships, whose work reminds us every day how true it is that 'A mind is a terrible thing to waste.(R)'"
AEOS 2008 featured performances by singers Yolanda Adams, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Joss Stone, Stevie Wonder and many more. Special guest presenters included Tichina Arnold and Tyler James Williams from Everybody Hates Chris; former Saturday Night Live actor-comedian Jimmy Fallon; Hill Harper from CSI-NY; Shemar Moore from Criminal Minds and more.
"It is a privilege to produce UNCF's television special each year," said Horvitz, now in his thirteenth year with AEOS. "And to be recognized again this year by the NAACP is the ultimate validation of the important work being done by UNCF each and every day." Horvitz directed UNCF's Lou Rawls Parade of Stars(R) for twelve years. His other credits include The Academy Awards The Prime Time Emmy Awards and The Kennedy Center Honors.
AEOS helps bring awareness to UNCF's mission of providing assistance to its 39 member colleges and universities and minority education. This second Image Award is a significant recognition for the 65-year-old organization and is a salute to the outstanding work of UNCF donors and partners.
About An Evening of Stars(R)
An Evening of Stars(R) (AEOS), originally known as The Lou Rawls Parade of Stars(R), first aired in 1979 and, since that time, has become one of the longest-running and most successful televised events in U.S. history. Lou Rawls, a spokesperson for UNCF and champion for AEOS for more than 25 years, is credited with helping raise more than $200 million to help UNCF scholarship recipients, member institutions and their students pay the cost of higher education. In recent years, AEOS has featured a Who's Who of recognizable talent, including Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Chaka Khan, Ne-Yo, Nancy Wilson, Beyonce, Anita Baker, Jill Scott, Whoopi Goldberg, Fantasia, Joss Stone, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Bolton, Natalie Cole, Herbie Hancock, Al Jarreau, Hall and Oates, Ziggy Marley, Maroon 5, and scores of others. An Evening of Stars(R) received an NAACP Image Award for its 2006 tribute to Stevie Wonder.
About UNCF
UNCF--the United Negro College Fund--is the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students' education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 39 private member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 18 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."(R) Learn more at www.UNCF.org.
