Over 1,100, including 400 youth participate in 3 day national Empowerment Network conference in Omaha, Nebraska.

By Willie Barney

It’s hard to believe it has already been a week.  Thank you, Omaha and national friends.  The Empowerment Network team and our partners went all in for the 16th Annual Rebuilding the Village Conference.  Omaha responded. 23 cities from across the country responded.

When I was in prayer after last year’s event, the words “Run It Back” came into my spirit!   Bring Magic back and build on the experience.

GOD has blessed in amazing ways.  We stepped out in faith and followed what we believed He was telling us to do.

Some wondered.  Would people come back?  Would the community support it?  Could it be bigger and better?

Over 1,100 participated, including 400+ youth and the experience was even more magical!

Magic took things even higher than last year providing even more wisdom, full ride scholarships, internships in Los Angeles and business opportunities with his companies.  Plus, he unexpectedly raised $90,000 to support the Network!

The six national keynote speakers were phenomenal, and the sessions were well attended.  Made for a difficult decision about which breakout to attend.  The feedback has been off the charts.

Representatives from over 20 cities attended including partners from Kansas City, Tulsa, New Orleans, Columbus GA, Denver, Little Rock, Atlanta, Chicago, Davenport/QC, Sacramento, Washington DC and other communities.

20 major sponsors invested.  Dozens of volunteers supported it.

50+ local and national speakers shared their wisdom and insights to help build safe and thriving communities.

We had over 400 youth engaged in the event.  They joined us for panels, main stage sessions and the Step-Up Omaha Interns and Youth 360 also had their own summit within the conference in partnership with J Shannon, David and Next.

The federal government including USDA, Dept of Justice and Health and Human Services all had key leaders in attendance.

The 4 tours (Black owned trolley and bus companies), three covering North Omaha and one citywide were well received.

30+ Black businesses benefitted directly.  We supported Black restaurants and organizations.

The Village at 24th and Lake reception was well attended and featured music, food, shopping and visits to the museums and new businesses.

Businesses throughout the whole city experienced economic benefit including hotels, airlines, transportation, shopping, food, and entertainment.

We cannot thank you all enough.

Thank you, Magic.  Thank you to the Empowerment Network team.

Thank you to the board.

Thank you, speakers, panelists, sponsors, and volunteers.

Thank you to our national guests.  Thank you, Omaha, for being amazing hosts.

Thank you to my wife, son and daughter who helped in so many ways and have sacrificed greatly over the years.  Love you and appreciate you!

Let’s Win Together Omaha!   Let’s win together national partners.  Let’s build safe and thriving communities in every zip code.

Paul Bryant will be one of the national keynote presenters during the Empowerment Network’s 16th Annual Rebuilding the Village Conference in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, June 9th.  The conference features Earvin Magic Johnson as the luncheon keynote, six national speakers including Bryant and representatives from 20+ regional and national cities.

Bryant is the Vice President of External Affairs for the H.J. Russell & Company, the largest African American owned business in the state of Georgia and the 14^th largest Black business in America. He plays a significant, public-facing role extending the Russell brand into communities they work, build, and invest.

Bryant will return to Omaha to share national best practices in a keynote entitled:  The Herman J. Russell Story…Building Community through the Intersection of Public Policy, Partnership and Scaling of Black Businesses in Atlanta.  He will then lead a breakout session to walk through the key principles required to scale Black businesses in today’s environment.

Paul Bryant is an Omaha native.  He is a recognized innovator and leader who has invested greatly in creating the next generation of talented young men and women.  In Omaha, he held key leadership positions in both the corporate sector and non-profit arena.

In the corporate sector, Bryant launched major initiatives in the banking and research industries.  He encouraged Gallup to field important polls regarding Black and urban communities.

He started the groundbreaking Wesley House Leadership Academy where he focused his attention on the development of young Black men well before other national programs started to launch their efforts. Bryant was also one of the founders of the Striving for Succes:  Black Male Summit in partnership with the Empowerment Network, Urban League and 100 Black Men of Omaha.

Bryant has lectured at Morehouse College, Creighton University, and the University of Nebraska-Omaha.  He is a Pulitzer Prize nominated author of 3 books and his leadership influence extends to more than ½ million students through an international network of over 1,500 schools.  He relocated to Atlanta, Georgia where he and his wife have both excelled in new positions.

No stranger to leadership, Paul previously served as the CEO of three nonprofit agencies:  The United Minority Contractors Association; Urban League of Nebraska; and, United Methodist Community Centers, Inc.

His corporate career also includes a Senior Vice President post with The Gallup Organization; and Officer Positions with Wells Fargo and the First National Bank of Omaha.

Paul earned two master’s degrees from the University of Nebraska and attended Creighton University school of law.

Paul is the recipient of numerous awards:

• The 2017 Mentor of the Year – 100 Black Men of Atlanta
• The City of Omaha’s Martin Luther King “Living the Dream” award.
• The University of Nebraska’s Alumnus Achievement award.
• The Teacher of the year for the Creighton University “Upward Bound program”
• Named “Facilitator of the Year” by INROADS Inc.
• Named “Achiever to watch in the Millennium Success Guide”
• Named a Black Achiever by the YMCA
• One of the Ten “Outstanding Young Omahans by the Junior Chamber of Commerce

Paul is also a member of the prestigious Benson High School Hall of Fame, along with another noted Omahan, investor Warren Buffet.

Paul and wife Robin have been married for over 30 years and have 3 children.  He is an unapologetic believer in God and says his most cherished accomplishment was having his family recognized as the Community Service Family of the year, by the Heartland Family Service.

Hundreds of local and national leaders are set to gather in Omaha for the Empowerment Network’s 16th Annual Rebuilding the Village Conference.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, five-time NBA champion and one of the world’s leading business executives, entrepreneurs and philanthropists is returning to Omaha as the luncheon keynote for the conference.

Conference and luncheon tickets are available at www.rtvomaha.com

The luncheon and conference promise to be even bigger and better.  In addition to Magic Johnson, the Network will feature six national keynote speakers including Veta Jeffery and 50+ local leaders, experts and panelists.

Representatives from 20 regional and national cities will be in attendance to learn more about the Empowerment Network and Omaha 360 Collaborative approach. rtvomaha.com  

Veta T. Jeffery will be featured as one of the national keynote speakers at the Rebuilding the Village Conference in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday, June 9th.  Jeffery will present from the mainstage and share her experiences in helping to lead efforts to rebuild Ferguson, Missouri after the tragic police killing of Michael Brown, demonstrations, protests and national outcry.  She will then conduct a breakout session focused on the successes and lessons learned from the economic development of the Ferguson community.

Later in the day, Jeffery will present and facilitate a separate session focused on pathways, networks and ecosystems for Black businesses and urban entrepreneurs.

Ms. Jeffery is an accomplished national speaker, representing the interests of corporations, organizations and communities utilizing her ability to bridge diversity gaps and inspiring others to do the same.  She is passionate about growing businesses of all sizes, strengthening and building economically strong communities through work force development and helping families to build generational legacies.

Jeffery has spent her life advocating for the rights of others.  She began her professional career advocating for the rights of Differently Abled individuals where her conflict resolution education and training allowed her to serve others by helping them to successfully navigate through education, employment, building and housing issues.

She went on to spend over 20 years working in the financial services and banking industry as a licensed professional and a member of Senior Management in both sectors.  In financial services she ran agencies gaining national recognition for production and recruitment and retention numbers. In banking, as a Senior Vice President, her efforts helped to create new policies and new products creating a space for banking to be equitable for all.

Jeffery expanded her banking service to the development of small businesses which also included Mom and Pop shops, sole proprietors and M/WBE businesses by helping to develop programming which helped them build capacity.  She developed programs that improved the technical aspects of managing their business and helping them to have control of their back-office challenges and creating paths for them to become bankable thus creating paths for them to have more access to capital.  Her efforts drew businesses to change their banking relationships.

Jeffery accepted a Special Assignment following Ferguson under Governor Nixon serving as Manager of Community Development in the Office of Community Engagement and Department of Community and Economic Development.  In this role she served on many significant projects again bridging gaps in difficult situations.  The creation of the Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce was one of several successful programs that came from her service to the State of Missouri and is still in place today.

Jeffery was asked to join the executive team for the County Executive to serve St. Louis County as the Chief Diversity Officer where she had policy oversight for the MWBE Program and headed planning for St. Louis County ARPA Funding.  She resigned that position to head the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Jeffery left behind a number of board and taskforce positions.  One notable board on which she served is the US Black Chamber of Commerce where they serve over 146 Chambers Nationwide representing over 175,000 members.

Jeffery is married to Pastor Tony Jeffery, Associate Pastor at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church and they are the proud parents of two beautiful girls, Ishmaiah age 22 and Toni age 13.