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DEDICATEDTO UPLIFTING OUR COMMUNITY XERNONA CLAYTON News, TNT, Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks) and civic groups in Atlanta and across the country. As a corporate executive, Clayton was one of the highest-ranking female employees in Turner Broadcasting System. Clayton moved to Atlanta in Xernona Clayton is the founder, President and CEO of the Trumpet Awards Foundation, Inc. and cre- ator and executive producer of the Foundation's Trumpet Awards. The Trumpet Awards is a presti- gious event highlighting African- American accomplishments and contributions. Initiated in 1993 by Turner Broadcasting, the Trumpet Awards has been televised annually and distributed internationally to over 185 countries around the world. Clayton began her television career in 1967 and became the south's first Black person to have her own television show. The Xernona Clayton show was a regu- lar feature on WAGA-TV, CBS affiliate in Atlanta. Xernona Clayton was employed at Turner Broadcasting for nearly 30 years where she served as a cor- porate executive. In 1988,Xernona Clayton was appointed corporate VP for Urban Affairs with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. In this capacity, she directed internal and external projects for the Corporation, and served as liaison between Turner Broadcasting (TBS SuperStation, CNN, Headline 1965 where she accepted a position with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked closely with the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She also traveled extensively with Mrs. Coretta Scott King on her nationwide concert tours. Dedicated to promoting racial understanding, Xernona Clayton has been a leader in civic projects and civil rights activities for sever- al years. In 1966, she coordinated the activities of Atlanta's Black doctors in a project called Doctors' Committee for Implementation, which resulted in the desegrega- tion of all hospital facilities in Atlanta. This project served as a model and a pilot for other states throughout the country and received national honor from the National Medical Association for its impact. Her persistent fight against the dragons of prejudice and bigotry was never more apparent than in 1968, when the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan denounced the Klan and credited Clayton's influ- ence with his change. Clayton's dedication to the com- munity is reflected in the many hours she spends promoting human relations through bi-racial groups devoted to improving racial under- standing. A recipient of numerous media awards, Clayton has been widely honored for her contributions to humanity. She is included in vari- ous editions of some very impres- sive biographical publications. "The Peaceful Warrior" a biog- raphy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. authored by her late husband Ed Clayton and co-authored by Xernona Clayton in the revised editions, has been published in several languages. Clayton's auto- biography, "I've Been Marching All the Time", was published in 1991. In private life, she is married to Judge Paul L. Brady. She is a mem- ber of Ebenezer Baptist Church, for- merly co-pastored by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. In recognition of Clayton's con- tribution to broadcasting, her com- munity and the nation, the American Intercultural Student Exchange (AISE) has created a scholarship in her honor. Each year, since 1987, Clayton chooses an out- standing minority high school stu- dent to spend a year living abroad with a European family, all expens- es paid. The Xernona Clayton Scholarship is dedicated to increas- ing open relationships, internation- ally, through a global high school student exchange program. Add- itionally, the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists named its scholar- ship in her honor and annually pres- ents the Xernona Clayton Scholar- ship to a student pursuing a career in communications. NAMIC (the National Associat- ion of Minorities in Cable) present- ed to Clayton, its highest award, the Mickey Leland Award, which hon- ors the late United States Congress- man. Clayton, along with former Congressman Kweisi Mfume and the late Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown, was awarded the 1996 Distinguished Leadership Award by NAFEO (The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education) at impressive ceremonies in Washington, D.C. She also received NAFEO's 2003 Corporate Award. She received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters Degree from Clark Atlanta University and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Tennessee State University. A school was recently named in her honor in Ghana, West Africa. She was additionally honored in 2004 with two very impressive awards. Spelman College presented Clayton the first Local Community Service Award, for her continued dedication to leadership in the com- munity. The State of Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity presented her with the Leadership and Dedication in Civil Rights Award. Along with her other honors, she has received the first Coretta Scott King Award from the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) the Madam C. J. Walker Award from EBONY'S Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications, the Out- standing Corporate Professional Award from the PowerNetworking Family and in 2006 an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from Tennessee State University. Upon the announcement of Clayton's appointment as the first Black female corporate executive, Ted Turner said, "Xernona has an impressive record of accomplish- ments and we are proud to recog- nize her commitment to bettering human relations with this promo- tion." For further information please contact: Trumpet Awards Foundat- ion, Inc. Centennial Tower 101 Marietta Street, Suite 1010 Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Phone: (404) 878-6738 Fax: (404) 586-8193 Black Meetings & Tourism January/February 2012: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 19