FORD MOTOR MINORITY DEALERS ASSOCIATION LUNCHEON
ESSENCE honored Jan Richardson, President of Spokane Motor Cars Inc., as the "Female Entrepreneur of the Year" during the Ford Motor Minority Dealers Association (FMMDA) Publishers’ Luncheon and annual conference held in Orlando, Florida. The award was presented by Joelle Shandler, Detroit Sales Manager, ESSENCE.

L to R: Allen (Mickey) Bowers, Crest Ford, Chambersburg, PA; Joelle Shandler, Detroit Sales Manager, ESSENCE; Jan Richardson, Spokane Motor Cars, Inc. Spokane, WA; Dr. A.V. Fleming, Executive Director & CEO, Ford Motor Minority Dealers Association.


MY NAPPY ROOTS
Mikki Taylor, ESSENCE Beauty Director and Cover Editor; Michelle Ebanks, President, ESSENCE; actress Vivica A. Fox and Candace Matthews, President, Soft-Sheen Carson, glam it up after the standing-room-only premiere and panel discussion of My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage, directed by Regina Kimbell, that took place in New York City at the Director's Guild.

Photographer: Regina Fleming


5TH ANNUAL NBA WIVES LUNCHEON
ESSENCE, in partnership with Westin Rinehart, a public affairs firm, hosted the 5th Annual NBA Wives Luncheon during the 2006 All-Star weekend in Houston, Texas, to celebrate the 2006 Women of Influence. The annual event, which is the official post event for Behind the Bench—the charitable arm of the NBA Wives Association—is an opportunity to celebrate the positive influence they and other women have on their communities.
L to R: Michelle Ebanks, ESSENCE President; Jaci Reid, Westin Rinehart; Pamela Baxter, President & CEO, LVMH Perfumes & Cosmetics for North America; Anglela Burt-Murray, ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief.

Photographer: Jack Dempsey


STATE FARM "WORK & WEALTH": PROSPEROUS RESOULTIONS SEMINAR
ESSENCE and State Farm sponsored a "Work & Wealth" money management seminar at the Oakland Museum in Oakland, California. Guests received tips and strategies on how to become fiscally fit in 2006. The featured panelists included: Kimberly Allers, ESSENCE Careers and Personal Finance Editor; Dirk Jackson, State Farm; Sharon Epperson, CNBC Personal Finance Correspondent; and financial expert Marjorie Grace.

Photographer: Gene Hazzard


ROYAL CARIBBEAN: A PASSPORT TO LIVING WELL
An ESSENCE reader shares her excitement with Dianne Williams, Royal Caribbean Manager, Multicultural Marketing (left), and ESSENCE Senior Editor Lynya Floyd as she receives the grand prize—a Royal Caribbean cruise—during “A Passport to Living Well” onboard event in Long Beach, California.