Ronald R. Davenport will receive the Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award at MED Week 2010

WASHINGTON – Today the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) announced that Ronald R. Davenport, chairman of Sheridan Communications Corporation and co-chair of the American Urban Radio Networks, has been selected as the winner of the 2010 Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award. The award will be presented at an awards gala on Friday, August 27, at 7:00 pm at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. during the annual Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Conference. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dennis Hightower and MBDA National Director David A. Hinson will participate in the awards presentation.

The Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award recognizes individuals who are willing to take risks and innovate to achieve change and have demonstrated exceptional leadership by significantly enhancing the development of diversity in the domestic and global economies. The award is named in honor of Ronald H. Brown, the first African American Secretary of Commerce.

“Ronald Davenport has spent a lifetime enacting change and encouraging innovation in our communities and has paved the way for many of us to reach success,” Hinson said.

“We are proud to recognize him for his business acumen that has given voice to so many and for exemplifying some of the most notable traits of former Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown.”

Davenport grew up in Philadelphia and attended Penn State University where he earned a B.S. in economics. From there he attended Temple and Yale Law schools and began his career as a law professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. In 1970, Davenport was the first African American man to become dean of the predominantly white law school. Davenport continues to be an active leader in the Pittsburgh community.

Over his lifetime, Davenport has given his time to a wide variety of organizations including serving on the board of Colgate University. He is chairman of the Visiting Committee of African American Studies at Harvard and is on the board of ARAMARK. He is also the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, having been awarded Man of the Year by the Masons and honored at the “Celebration of Giants” by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation in New York City.

WHO: Dennis Hightower, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce

David A. Hinson, National Director, MBDA

Litefoot, Native American entertainer, role model and entrepreneur

WHAT: Gala to honor National Minority Business Award winners

WHERE: Omni Shoreham Hotel. 2500 Calvert Street Northwest Washington, D.C. 20008 (202) 234-0700

WHEN: Friday, August 27, 2010 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

MEDIA COVERAGE: MED Week and this awards gala are open to the press. Interviews with award winners can be scheduled by contacting Lahne Mattas-Curry at 202.482.4690 or lmattascurry@mbda.gov.

About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

MBDA (mbda.gov), U.S. Department of Commerce, serves minority entrepreneurs across America who are building and growing enterprises. MBDA helps minority-owned firms become better equipped to create jobs, impact local economies and compete successfully in domestic and global marketplaces. With a nationwide network of more than 40 business centers and strategic partners, MBDA assists minority entrepreneurs and business owners with consulting services, contract and financing opportunities, bonding and certification services, building business-to-business alliances and executive training.