A trio of television and radio talent will help St. Louis celebrate the St. Louis American Foundation’s 18th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Banquet.
KSDK NewsChannel 5 Sports Director Rene Knott and education reporter Sharon Stevens will team up with Carol Daniel of KMOX to emcee this year’s special banquet, Friday, September 9 at America’s Center.
Sharon Stevens has been a member of the KSDK NewsChannel 5 team since 1993 and has the distinction of being the only St. Louis broadcaster to receive a journalism fellowship for education reporters at the University of Washington/Seattle.
She has earned awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, Associated Press, Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists and Missouri Teachers Association, and is a veteran emcee of the Salute to Excellence annual program.
Knott, who joined with Daniel as emcees of the 2005 Salute to Excellence in Health Care Luncheon, joined KSDK NewsChannel 5 as sports director and host of Sports Plus, the number one rated sports show in St. Louis. Knott was tapped to host NewsChannel 5’s live coverage of the 2004 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials and also provided reports on the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Before joining KSDK NewsChannel 5, Knott worked for 13 years in broadcasting in Washington, D.C.
Carol Daniel is an award-winning veteran of the media industry and has worked as an anchor, reporter and talk show host on air, while contributing as a regular columnist for the American. Her column, Carol’s Journal, received a first place award from the National Newspaper Association last year. Daniel can be heard weekday afternoons on KMOX 1120AM.
An evening of entertainment
From start to finish, the more than 1,500 Salute-goers will be entertained. As banquet attendees reach America’s Center they will be greeted by the YMCA Boys Choir in the main lobby.
After that, several local acts will perform throughout the evening.
Throughout the banquet, The Jazz Edge Band featuring Anita Jackson will once again perform this year.
Previous attendees have overwhelmingly requested that once again, there be two post-banquet entertainment venues: a jazz cabaret, and the Budweiser Old School Dance Party. St. Louis chanteuse Denise Thimes will provide sweet sounds of jazz at the jazz cabaret setting. Thimes is a multi-faceted artist, singer, director and actress. She is the daughter of local jazz musician Lou “Fatha” Thimes and has received Woody Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Outstanding Musical Performance.
For others, get ready to get your funk on as FOXY 95.5’s Garth Adams will be on the 1s and 2s as the DJ for the Budweiser Old School Dance Party. Adams was appointed program director of the new FOXY 95.5 in January when the station switched formats to R&B. An Indianapolis native, Adams can be heard from 2-7 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays.
The St. Louis American Foundation’s 18th Annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Banquet begins at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9 at America’s Center with a reception. The dinner and program will begin promptly at 7 p.m., and the post-banquet entertainment venues kick off at 9:30 p.m.
Net proceeds from this 501c3 charity event are used to fund scholarships for local students.
VIP/Corporate tables of 10 are $1,250 or $125 per ticket.
General seating tables of 10 are $750 or $75 per ticket.
For additional information, call (314) 533-8000, extension 305.
While tickets remain, the event is nearly sold out.