RCA Inspiration VP/GM Phil Thornton Gets Living Legend Award

The Living Legends Foundation, Inc. (LLF) announced its 2019 Annual Awards Dinner and Gala. This year’s event will be held on Friday, October 4, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. at Taglyan Cultural Complex, 1201 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, CA.

The distinguished honorees include Dyana Williams, CEO of Influence Entertainment, who will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award; Frank Ski, Broadcast Personality, V-103 Radio Atlanta, and Steve Hegwood, CEO and President, Core Communications, will both receive the Jerry Boulding Radio Executive Award; Maurice White, Vice President of Promotion, eOne Entertainment Group, will be presented with the Music Label Executive Award; Sheila Coates, founder and creator of BYOB (Be Your Own Brand), will receive the Entrepreneur Award; Dedra N. Tate, President and CEO, Unlimited Contacts, will be the second recipient of the Mike Bernardo Executive Award; Sidney Miller, founder and Publisher, BRE (Black Radio Exclusive), will be presented with the A.D. Washington Chairman’s Award; Hymen Childs, Owner, Service Broadcasting Group (SBG), including K-104 Radio, KRNB Radio, Dallas and the nationally syndicated DeDe In The Morning, will receive the Broadcast Icon Award; Phil Thornton, Senior Vice President/General Manager, RCA Inspiration, will be presented with the Gospel Music Executive Award; and Karen Lee, Senior Vice President, W&W Public Relations, will receive the Media Executive Award.

The Chairpersons of this year’s Awards Dinner and Gala are husband-and-wife team Ray Chew and Vivian Scott Chew, Partners, Chew Entertainment. Award-winning radio personality DeDe McGuire, of the syndicated show DeDe In The Morning, is returning as host.

The LLF continues its mission to honor the best and the brightest in the ever-changing and evolving music and entertainment industries. The foundation’s core mission is to honor pioneers and professionals who have broken new ground in the areas of broadcasting, recorded music, marketing, retail, publicity, publishing, digital, creative, and philanthropy.

“The Living Legends Board of Directors is proud to continue its tradition of recognizing the greatest in the music and record industries,” says David C. Linton, Chairman of the LLF. “We continue to raise the bar and celebrate the unsung heroes of our industry who have helped to lay the foundation for black music, black artists, and black executives of the 20th and 21st century. We remain steadfast in our efforts to raise much-needed funds to assist the less fortunate among us. We look forward to another exceptional event and year.”

In 1991, record industry pioneer Ray Harris had the vision for an organization that would not only salute the achievements of black music executives but would assist them in their time of need. During the same year, Harris worked with record executives Barbara Lewis and C.C. Evans and radio programming legend, the late Jerry Boulding, and founded the Living Legends Foundation.