Patti LaBelle to Headline The Executive Leadership Council's 2018 Recognition Gala

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Two-time Grammy^® Award-winner and legendary recording artist Patti LaBelle will serve as the marquee entertainment at The Executive Leadership Council's (ELC) 2018 Recognition Gala, taking place on October 11 at the Marriott Marquis Washington, DC.

The ELC hosts this special event each year to celebrate outstanding business leaders and corporations for their support of diversity, inclusion and achievement in business. More than 2,000 guests, including many of corporate America's leading CEOs and senior executives, thought leaders, and politicos, will be in attendance to pay tribute to this year's honorees.

"This year's theme, Beyond One: We Are Greater Together, highlights our organization's yearlong focus on leveraging our collective power to create opportunities for one another and for future generations," said ELC President & CEO Skip Spriggs. "The ELC is proud to recognize our 2018 honorees at this critical time in our history when black excellence and the importance of creating a legacy for future generations is often overlooked and needs to be celebrated." 

The ELC will present The Hill Family with the 2018 Achievement Award for their significant achievements in business and influence on corporate America. The Hill Family includes Calvin Hill, a former NFL player, Super Bowl Champion, and consultant to the Dallas Cowboys; Janet Hill, a prominent corporate director and successful former business owner and corporate executive; and Grant Hill, a former NBA player, seven-time NBA All-Star and recent Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, television broadcaster, and accomplished business leader. The Hill Family, collectively, demonstrates the strength of the black family as a unit, the importance of fostering generational wealth, and a continued desire to give back to the black community.

JPMorgan Chase will receive The ELC's 2018 Corporate Award. This honor is given to a corporation that has made significant contributions to the advancement of black corporate executives. In 2016, the company introduced Advancing Black Leaders, an expanded diversity strategy focused on increased hiring, retention, and development of talent from within the black community.

In addition to recognizing these noteworthy individuals and company, The ELC will introduce an incredible group of more than 60 ELC scholarship recipients representing the future of global black leadership. The mission of The ELC's scholarship programs is to build a pipeline of black corporate talent by supporting the academic achievement and development of black undergraduate and graduate students. This year, The ELC will recognize the largest group of undergraduate and MBA scholarship recipients at a single time in The ELC's 32-year history.

As one of the most highly coveted invites in Washington, D.C., the Recognition Gala raises funds to support The ELC's scholarships, community investment grants, leadership development programs, and educational initiatives.

Sponsors of The ELC's 2018 Recognition Gala include: Signature Sponsors, Carnival Corporation & plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Post-Gala Networking Reception Sponsor, P&G; Supporting Sponsor, Aramark; Contributing Sponsor, Nationwide; and Gala Gift Bag Sponsor, Prudential.

About The Executive Leadership Council:
The Executive Leadership Council, an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation founded in 1986, is the pre-eminent membership organization committed to increasing the number of global black executives in C-Suites, on corporate boards and in global enterprises. Comprising more than 700 current and former black CEOs, senior executives and board directors at Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies, and entrepreneurs at top-tier firms, its members work to build an inclusive business leadership pipeline that empowers global black leaders to make impactful contributions to the marketplace and the global communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.elcinfo.com.

SOURCE The Executive Leadership Council