BESLA WRAPS 2014 CONFERENCE
IN MEXICO
Heads to Jamaica in 2015
The 2014 BESLA Board of Directors sits proudly at the Gala Dinner & Awards at the Royal Playa del Carmen
(NEW YORK) - November 4, 2014 - On October 22-26, the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) hosted their 34th Annual Conference at the Royal Playa del Carmen in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Hundreds of influencers in entertainment and sports convened at the luxury resort to network and share knowledge on this year's conference theme: "Embracing Transformation: Mastering the Evolving Landscape of the Entertainment & Sports Industries." The conference kicked off Wednesday evening with a Welcome Reception hosted by Wells Fargo Advisors with remarks by conference co-chairs Elke Suber (Microsoft), Bernie Lawrence-Watkins (B. Lawrence-Watkins & Associates) and BESLA Chairman Matt Middleton (Sweeney, Johnson & Scates LLP). The festive affair included a mariachi band, a lavish buffet of Mexican cuisine and BESLA-branded giveaways. The twelve conference panels began Thursday and continued through Saturday with topics such as "Minorities and Sports Franchises," "The Future of TV and Film," "Follow the Money," and "Marketing, Branding & Social Media: Recent Trends in Sports Marketing." To ensure a pipeline for the future, BESLA invited law students from Howard University, John Marshall School of Law, Florida State University, University of Miami, University of Richmond, North Carolina Central University and Charlotte School of Law to join the conference committee. These students served as conference ambassadors providing assistance to attendees, while having an opportunity to attend the conference panels and events, and to build mentoring relationships.
On Friday evening, the annual Gala Dinner & Awards honored several outstanding individuals in entertainment and sports including:
- DeMaurice Smith (Executive Director, National Football League Players Association) - BESLA Lifetime Achievement Award
- Herby 'Luv Bug' Azor (Music Producer/Founder, TRiPP tv) - BESLA Lifetime Achievement Award
- Denise Brown Henderson (Attorney at Law) - BESLA Hall of Fame
- Ricky Anderson (Managing Partner, Anderson & Smith P.C.) - BESLA Hall of Fame
- Viacom Inc. and BET Networks - Corporate Diversity Award
- Joseph K. West (President & CEO, Minority Corporate Counsel Association) - BESLA Beacon of Diversity Award
- Louise Cummings - BESLA Achiever Award
At the Gala, BESLA also awarded scholarships to deserving law students: T.P. Carter (Southern University) and Helen Ashegbeyeri (Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University) won scholarships for their essay submissions. Scholarships were also awarded for outstanding scholarship and leadership to Alysha Poles (North Carolina Central University), Orlando Sheppard (Florida A&M State), Cassondra Gilyard (Southern University), Helen Ashegbeyeri (Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University), Kristen Johnson (Howard University) and Nicolas Matthews (Howard University).
During the Gala awards banquet, which was sponsored by Morgan Stanley's Global Entertainment & Sports Group, a live auction - featuring coveted items such as a General Manager's Suite experience at Yankee Stadium, tickets to the 2015 BET Awards and an autographed Clayton Kershaw baseball - raised money to support the organization's programming for 2015. The gala concluded with an after-party DJ'd by BET senior director of music programming Kelly G.
Throughout the week, attendees enjoyed night outings to attractions like Coco Bongo Cancun and Kartabar, courtesy of REVOLT TV & ASCAP. The conference concluded with an outdoor reception hosted by Chairman Matt Middleton and President Elke Suber, who thanked the guests for participating in the conference and invited them to join BESLA for their 2015 conference in Jamaica!
Special thanks to our BESLA 2014 panelists:
Max Siegel (USA Track & Field); Stephen Hill (BET); Charles King (William Morris Endeavor); Bill Strickland (Stealth SME); DeMaurice Smith (National Football League Players Association); Derek Jackson (Miami Marlins); Elke Suber (Microsoft); Inga Dyer (REVOLT TV); Octavius "Ted" Reid (Morgan Stanley); Delroy Lindo (actor); Tony Brackett (Disney-ABC Networks); Deborah Robinson (Viacom); Endi Piper (TV One); Navine Karim (Red Bull); Shante Bacon (135th Street Agency); Danny Andrews (Image Nation); Jakgeem Mays (NBCUniversal); Yakub Hazzard (NBCUniversal); Adrienne Williams (Microsoft); James Leach (SESAC); James Harris (UPS); Khadijah Sharif Drinkard (BET); Adrienne Byrd (Sprout/NBC); Bernie Lawrence-Watkins (B. Lawrence-Watkins & Associates); Leron E. Rogers (Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP); Bryan Calhoun (Blueprint Group/Freeform Development); David Walker (Law Office of David M. Walker); Bob Celestin (Law Office of Robert A. Celestin); Jelani Lawson (Fox Group Legal); Joseph E. Porter III (Law Offices of Joseph E. Porter III); Tamela Cash-Curry (L.A. County Public Defenders Office); Samantha Grant (Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP); C. Anthony Mulrain (Gordon & Reese, LLP); Chiquita Woolfolk-Banks (Bennett Thrasher); Chris Benner (Bennett Thrasher); Shannon Nash (Nash Management Group); Walter Richardson (Wells Fargo Advisors); Rashida Winfrey (Mosaic Advisors, LLC); Lisa Bonner (Bonner Law, PC); Lawrence Hinkle (Fox Rothschild, LLP); Jonathon Goines (Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP); Igbodike Obioha (Obioha & Associates); C. Lamont Smith (All Pro Sports & Entertainment, Inc); Jared Bartie (Arent Fox, LLP) and Riche McKnight (Winston & Strawn, LLP). Special thanks to our BESLA 2014 sponsors:
*PLATINUM - Wells Fargo Advisors, Morgan Stanley
*SILVER - Microsoft, Viacom
*BRONZE - BET, Fox Audience Strategy, REVOLT TV, Perkins Coie LLP
*PANEL & CONFERENCE EVENT SPONSORS - ASCAP, Winston & Strawn LLP, Fox Rothschild, LLP Mitchell Silberburg & Knupp, LLP; Garvey Schubert Barer, LLP
*FRIENDS OF BESLA - Alston & Bird LLP, Bennett Thrasher, City National Bank, The Cochran Firm, Discovery Communications, Turner, UPS
#BESLA2014, @beslainc (IG), @besla_org (TW)
Photos: Oswaldo Villanueva (Funever Photos)
THE OPENING WELCOME RECEPTION
Bienvenidos BESLA!
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Guests were greeted with warm colors, staff and food
Board member Tamela Cash-Curry gets a friendly hello (left); Law students and young lawyers connect with Board member Tony Brackett (right)
BESLA's own Vanya Allen with Conference Co-Chairs Bernie Lawrence-Watkins & Elke Suber  BESLA 2015 co-chairs, Emily Dickens and Lawrence Hinkle (left); Michelle Sherod, Elke Suber (Microsoft), & Ronald Sherod (Wells Fargo Advisors) (right)  �Tienes hambre? (izquierda); �Si! (derecha)
Authentic Mexican flavors (left); A sweet serenade for Elke (right)  BESLA Board Members Derek Jackson & Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard make a few announcements (left); Chairman Matt Middleton makes a few humorous welcome remarks (right)
The opening ceremony was quite festive, indeed! THE GALA  The much anticipated gala is finally here!
 The 2014 Honorees: Herby "Luv Bug" Azor, Ricky Anderson, Christa D'Alimonte, Louise Cummings, Denise Brown-Henderson, Joseph K. West and DeMaurice Smith
Board member Emily Dickens with original BESLA founders Kendall Minter, Joseph E. Porter III and Michael Ashburne with Board member Lawrence Hinkle  Matt Middleton, Drew Hawkins (Morgan Stanley), Honoree DeMaurice Smith, Leron Rogers (left); The BESLA Scholarship Committee: Adrienne Williams, Emily Dickens, Darrick Hooker, Vanya Allen (right)
Darrick Hooker and Samantha Grant (right) President Elke Suber with Wells Fargo Advisors team members Walter Richardson and Syretta Peatross; BESLA board member Emily Dickens; Wells Fargo Advisors' Phylicia Bolton and Ron Sherod with Chairman Matt Middleton  Tamela Cash-Curry, Matt Middleton, Inga Dyer (left); the Microsoft Team: Elke Suber, Sonya Johnston, Bruce Jackson, Adrienne Williams Ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha connect at the Gala! John Bernard, Delroy Lindo, Chairman Matt Middleton (left);The ASCAP Urban Team: Mir Harris, Nicole George-Middleton, Jennifer Goicoechea, Moya Nkruma and Jonathan "JJ" Jones (right) Corporate Diversity Honorees Viacom and BET: Brian Broughton, Lasharelle Morgan, Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard, Jasmin McMullen, BET General Counsel Darrell Walker, Viacom Deputy General Counsel Christa D'Alimonte, Deborah Robinson,Stephen Hill & Kelly G. The ABS Collective Team: Ashley Wood, Angelia Bibbs-Sanders, Johanna Legarda and Sheina Waddell
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The gentlemen of Kappa Alpha Psi having fun!
Ladies love Matt Middleton!
BESLA Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree DeMaurice Smith prepares to come to the stage  DeMaurice Smith and Derek Jackson (left); Denise Brown-Henderson and Kendall Minter (right)
 Christa D'Alimonte and Elke Suber (left); Herby 'Luv Bug' Azor and Bernie Lawrence-Watkins (right)
BET Networks' Darrell Walker accepts the Corporate Diversity Award
Joseph K. West gives an emotional keynote speech
Let the live auction begin!  Matt puts his bid in (left); Some cool prizes were at stake (right)
The auction winners are proud of their gains.
DJ Kelly G provided the turn up.
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The "How to Break in and Succeed in the Entertainment & Sports Industry" panel consisted of, Adrienne Williams (Microsoft), Jelani Lawson (Fox Group Legal), Jakgeem Mays (NBCUniversal), Ted Reid (Morgan Stanley), & Bernie Lawrence-Watkins (B.Lawrence Watkins & Associates)   Left: "Current Sports Labor Issues" panelists Derek Jackson (Miami Marlins), DeMaurice Smith (NFL Players Association), C. Lamont Smith (All Pro Sports & Entertainment) and Bill Strickland (Stealth SME); Right: "The Interrupters" panelists Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard (BET), Tony Brackett (Disney), Adrienne Byrd (NBCUniversal) and Elke Suber (Microsoft)  Bill Strickland (Stealth SME), Jared Bartie (Arent Fox LLP), Riche McKnight (Winston & Strawn), Max Siegel (USA Track & Field), Derek Jackson (Miami Marlins) lead another panel (left); Law student Miracle Pierre asks a question (right)  Drew Hawkins of Morgan Stanley takes notes (left); James Leach (SESAC) listens intently (right)  There were funny anecdotes ...and insightful info Shante Bacon (135th Street Agency) and Max Siegel (USA Track & Field) smile moments after their "Marketing, Branding & Social Media" panel The "What's Hot in Litigation" panelists Lawrence Hinkle (Fox Rothschild), Jonathon Goins (Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith), Deborah Robinson (Viacom), Igbodike Obioha (Obioha & Assoc) and Yakub Hazzard (NBCUniversal)  Great talk, everyone!
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