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The Executive Leadership Council and Foundation Honor Ten Students
In National Essay Competition
Winners Participated in 2009 Recognition Dinner with Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr.,
General Colin L. Powell and Johnson & Johnson Corporation

WASHINGTON, DC – October 23, 2009 – The Executive Leadership Council & The Executive Leadership Foundation are pleased to announce the winners of the “2009 Award for Excellence in Business Commentary National Essay Competition” who were presented at a recognition dinner on Oct. 8th. African-American undergraduate students from across the nation competed for the scholarship awards that included a total of $30,000 in cash, an internship at a Fortune 500 corporation, and participation in an all expense-paid, week-long Honors Symposium held in New York City and Washington, DC.

“We are so proud of these young people who represent a new generation of leadership and are poised to take their rightful place in corporate America,” said Carl Brooks, president & CEO of The Executive Leadership Council. “Our dinner theme was ‘A New Era, A New Vision: Empowering the Next Generation’ and these students clearly represent our future.”

The 2009 Essay Competition theme was “Diverse Leadership: The Wealth of Our Nation.” The students were asked to consider the treacherous economic times in which businesses operate and the possibility diversity initiatives may take a back seat to a corporation’s day-to-day survival and viability. The students were asked to examine this argument and provide their assessment of why diversity cannot be set aside during times of economic uncertainty.

The 10 student winners of the 2009 National Essay Competition were:

1st Place $7,000 Savannah Greene, Stanford University
2nd Place $6,000 LaTasha Allen, Michigan State University
3rd Place $5,000 James Max Hawes IV, Stanford University
4th Place $4,000 Evan Huggins, American University
5th Place $3,000 Erica Holmes, Howard University
6th Place $1,000 each

The essay contest, now in its 15th year, was generously supported and underwritten by The Coca-Cola Foundation. Ingrid Saunders Jones, president of The Coca-Cola Foundation and Senior Vice President Global Community Connections, presented the awards.

CNN’s Roland Martin and Shon Gables of the Black Enterprise Business Report emceed the recognition dinner. As in years past, the dinner was preceded by a daylong summit of members of The Executive Leadership Council and their Fortune 500 CEOs. The following day, young African-American executives and managers participated in the Mid-Level Managers Symposium where they developed professional, personal and intellectual skills with the help of experienced executives and facilitators.

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About The Executive Leadership Council
The Executive Leadership Council is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(6) corporation founded in 1986, providing African-American executives of major U.S. companies with a professional network and forum to offer perspective and direction on national and international business and public policy issues. Our programs develop future business leaders, filling the pipeline from the classroom to the boardroom. It is the preeminent organization that recognizes the strengths, success, contributions, and impact of African-American corporate business leaders. Council members – nearly 500 executives, one-third of them women – represent more than 380 Fortune 500 corporations. For more information, please visit www.elcinfo.com.