This weekend Atlanta helped celebrate the second annual Ford Neighborhood Awards. The World Congress Center was jammed backed with visitors from all over the world for Steve Harvey’s annual festivities. The event previous to the past two years has taken place in Las Vegas but now calls Hotlanta its home for the amazing festivities. The Neighborhood Awards formally known as the “Hoodie Awards” has become a traditional event that recognizes the everyday entrepreneur. You may remember that on last year I had the honor to cover my first blue carpet which I also believe was my first carpet coverage. Read about my 2014 Ford Neighborhood Blue Carpet experience.
This year I was asked by Ford to come down and cover the festivities and the experience was nothing short of amazing. This year the blue carpet was inside of Phillips instead of outside like last year which I’m not sure if it provided more space but it did provide a cooler environment. The aisle of the blue carpet was jammed packed, in fact it appeared to be twice as many media as it was on last year. I refused to fight with elbows and arms like so many did on last year so I found a comfortable space on the back end of the raised portion and settled on capturing the shots that I could along with a few sneak peek ones as the celebrities walked in the door to walk the blue carpet. Take a look at a few that walked the Ford Blue Carpet.
The blue carpet rapidly came to an end and it was show time. I was invited to join Ford in their VIP Lounge to watch the show. This was my first year seeing the show so I was indeed in for a treat. I headed upstairs, grabbed some delicious bites and an cocktail and headed to my sit for the opening act.
I’m so glad that I had a bite to eat because when Babyface hit the stage the crowd including myself went crazy. I can’t recall the last time that I saw Babyface perform his classics live. The audience was in for a treat because not only did he sing his classics but he also did some of Bobby Brown’s and L.A. Reid even made an appearance. I was able to record some footage of him performing that can be seen below but perhaps the highlight of the show was when Babyface took off his jacket, opened his shirt and ran through the crowd. In my opinion hands down he was the best performance of the night.
The show was amazing and it was an honor to see a prestigious brand like Ford as the title sponsor for a community awards event. If you have never attended the Neighborhood Awards formally known as the “Hoodie Awards” then you may not know that its more than just an event for celebrities to gather but a fun, community-oriented atmosphere where families and friends come from all over the world to celebrate the community nominated nominees. The Ford Neighborhood Awards is an opportunity for nominees to have the chance to walk the blue carpet in recognition of entrepreneurship and be recognized by Ford, McDonalds, StateFarm amongst other amazing sponsors.
Steve Harvey and Ford did an amazing job of creating an awards show that has over the years set itself apart from the ones that are shown on mainstream media. Although mainstream media seems to be slow with picking up the Ford Neighborhood Awards Show I can easily see this show becoming a nationally syndicated annual show that highlights the hard work and dedication that these entrepreneurs are putting into their lives and the jobs that they are making in the community. It was truly an honor to be afforded this experience. It’s important that we continue to dream and work towards fulfilling our destiny.
~Naturalbabydol