NEW YORK
(June
28,
2010)—Entertainment
attorney
and
entrepreneur
L.
Londell
McMillan
was
honored
at a
star-studded
bash for
the
Reginald
F. Lewis
Foundation
at the
Lewis
estate
in
East Hampton on Saturday. Gayle King, Star
Jones,
Ilyasah
Shabazz,
daughter
of
Malcolm
X, and
Cincinnati
Bengals
linebacker
and TV
personality
Dhani
Jones
were
among
the
notables
who came
out to
support
the
Gala
Luncheon.
The
event,
which
featured
a
rousing
performance
by R&B
superstar
Deborah
Cox, was
sponsored
by
American
Express,
Bloomberg,
Black
Entertainment
Television,
Belvedere,
Kate's
Paperie,
The
Camelot
Group
and
GenNx360
Capital
Partners.
McMillan
received
the
Reginald
F. Lewis
Award,
which
honors
African
American
entrepreneurs
who
succeeded
internationally
in
business
before
the age
of 50,
as Lewis
did. The
first
African
American
to build
a
billion-dollar
company,
Lewis
led the
largest
leveraged
buyout
in the
1980s.
He went
on to
shatter
all
expectations
and
inspire
future
generations
of
African
American
entrepreneurs.
“It’s
very
interesting
that the
quiet
giants
are the
ones
that
actually
move our
country
forward.
You
don’t
have to
be the
biggest,
loudest,
most
well-known
person
to
actually
be an
impact
on
society
and it’s
very
clear
that Reg
Lewis
was one
of the
largest
impacts
that we
as
African
Americans
have
ever
had,”
said
Star
Jones.
“He took
business
to
another
level,
and all
of these
wonderful
entrepreneurs
now know
success
because
of Reg
Lewis.”
McMillan
was
personally
inspired
by
Lewis,
having
met him
as a law
student.
The
attorney,
who has
represented
such
luminaries
as the
late
Michael
Jackson,
Prince,
Stevie
Wonder,
Usher,
LL Cool
J,
Roberta
Flack
and
Spike
Lee,
joined
the
likes of
Sean
“Diddy”
Combs
and real
estate
mogul R.
Donahue
Peebles,
past
recipients.
He is
partner
and
co-head
of the
Media
and
Entertainment
Global
Industry
Sector
at the
international
law firm
of Dewey
and
LeBoeuf.
McMillan
is one
of the
co-owners
and
partners
with
real-estate
developer
Bruce
Ratner
and
hip-hop
icon
Jay-Z in
the New
Jersey
Nets and
the
Atlantic
Yards
development
in
Brooklyn,
future
home to
the NBA
team.
Additionally,
he is
Group
Publisher
of The
NorthStar
Group,
which
publishes
Jones
Magazine
and The
Source.
The
event,
which
was
emceed
by WCBS-TV
News
Anchor
Maurice
DuBois,
featured
a
performance
by the
Alvin
Ailey
American
Dance
Theater.
Peter
Offermann,
Phyllis
Schless
and
Robert
C.
Winters,
Jr. were
also
acknowledged
for key
roles
they
played
in the
life and
career
of
Lewis,
with
each
receiving
a
Millennium
Member
award.
Following
the Gala
Luncheon
was
Beach
Glamour,
an ocean
side
benefit
given by
and for
young
professionals
in their
20s and
30s.
Tina
Wells,
the
30-year-old
founder
of Buzz
Marketing
Group, a
$5
million
business
that she
started
at 16,
received
the
group’s
first
RFL
Young
Entrepreneurial
Award.
The
award is
given to
successful entrepreneurs
under 40
who
reflect
the
values,
virtues,
legacy
and
philanthropy
of
Reginald
F.
Lewis. Music
was
provided
by DJ
M.O.S.
and WCBS-TV
News
Reporter
Hazel
Sanchez
served
as
emcee.
Beach
Glamour
was
sponsored
by
Belvedere,
Pedestals
Floral
Decorators
and
Kate’s
Paperie.
“The
Reginald
F. Lewis
Foundation
is
pleased
to
recognize
the hard
work of
Londell
McMillan
and Tina
Wells
and the
wonderful
contributions
of
Peter,
Phyllis
and
Robert
to the
story
and
legacy
of my
husband,”
said
Loida
Lewis,
widow of
the
legendary
mogul
and
foundation
chair.
“Perseverance
and
dedication,
especially
in
entrepreneurship,
normally
pay off
in
individual
success
and
community
development,
and help
society
in
general.
We are
happy
for
their
success
and are
grateful
for
their
help of
the
Foundation.”
Additional
sponsors
of the
Gala
Luncheon
were
J.P.
Morgan,
Ariel
Investments
LLC, The
NorthStar
Group
and
Prudential
Financial.
Proceeds
of both
events
will
benefit
the
Reginald
F. Lewis
Museum
of
African
American
History
and
Culture
in Baltimore, the largest of
its kind
on the
East
Coast.
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