Inaugural Jack Daniel’s Black Achievers Awards Brought the City Out to Honor South Florida’s Best and Brightest

More than 300 people gathered at the Historic Hampton House in Miami to celebrate the Black Achievers Awards Honorees. The awards reception is the newest Black History Month event honoring South Florida residents for the hard work they do in the community and their industry. The Black Achievers Awards occurred on Tuesday, February 28th with many professionals from different industries gathered at the historic landmark to network with each other and support the first class of honorees.

Jack Daniel’s placed their might behind the inaugural awards to bring the ceremony to life. The brand is committed to highlighting and celebrating Black professionals and entrepreneurs in the South Florida market and was proud to be the presenting sponsor of the 2023 Black Achievers Awards. The event was headed by LaJuane Mack, Region Multicultural Manager – Central at Brown-Forman.

Mack was impressed with the turnout and how excited the guests were to celebrate the honorees and tour the Hampton House.

“I can’t state how incredible it was. Forming a partnership with women-owned minority businesses to launch this production was a great way to top off Black History Month. I want people to leave tonight knowing companies like Brown Forman and Jack Daniels are here, invested in the community and recognizing people who do wonderful things,” said Mack.

Hy-Lo News Publisher, Janey Tate, partnered with SocialXchange Miami Founder & CEO, Alexis Brown, and Sweet Butter Hospitality Group Founder & CEO, Ernisha Randlph, to plan the event where Black Millennials can be among their peers and acknowledge their labors in Miami Dade and Broward Counties. The three Millennial Black women entrepreneurs joined forces to pull their resources and use their expertise in their industries with the mission to highlight the best and brightest in Black South Florida.

“We are celebrating people who are making Black history now. We want to appreciate people and make the appreciation turn into a push to continue to do the work. The more we achieve, the more we leave behind for the next generation,” said Randolph, who also owns and operates We Shuckin restaurants.

The 2023 honorees of Black Achiever awards are Ishash Thomas, James Mungin II and Danny Agnew of The Roots Collective, Ashley Gant, State Representative of Florida District 109, Stichiz, radio personality of WMIB 103.5 The Beat, Barbara Jacques, CEO of JACQ’s, Dr. Geden Franck, Sports Medicine Physician for Memorial Hospital, Chanel Rowe Esq, Founder, and Managing Partner at Uriel Law, Michaeljohn “MJ” Green, Deputy Director of innovation and Economic Development for Miami Dade County and Whenda “Wanda” Tima founder and CEO of L’union Media Group, LLC.

“To be home and get this award means more than anything I have done so far. This award is from South Floridians during Black History Month, Honoring me for founding a platform that supports a group of people and its culture,” said Tima.

Honoree James “Munch” Mungin, the co-founder of Roots Collective, shared similar views as Tima and expressed the importance of honoring our community.

“It always feels good to be recognized for the work that you do. For me, it feels like that recharge to keep going. To get this award we are super appreciative that people see what we do and what we built it from the ground up,” said Mungin.

2023’s class was selected by Randolph, Brown, and Tate. According to Randolph, the three ladies wanted the first class to be well-rounded. They choose to mix the entrepreneurs with the community leaders. The three collaborators believe that each one of the honorees has exceptional traits worth presenting.

“We wanted to find people with those unique touches. Chantel Rowe is on the board of Trustees for FIU. Most people do not know how big of a deal that is. Not only is she the only Black trustee, but she is also the youngest,” said Randolph.

The Black Achiever Awards was an evening to salute those in South Florida making a difference. What’s next for Brown, Randolph, and Tate is planning for more events of this caliber including the 2nd Annual Black Achievers Awards in 2024. The ladies aim to go bigger and better next year with the support of Jack Daniels.