The 46th Annual MLK Tribute Dinner “Equity, Justice and Voting Rights”

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

(FLINT, Mich, Dec. 5, 2024) — The 46th Annual Citywide Tribute Dinner honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., will be Thursday, Jan. 16, at the Genesys Banquet Center in Grand Blanc. Centered on the theme “Equity, Justice and Voting Rights.” This year’s keynote address will be given by Clarence Nixon, Jr., Ph.D., founder and CEO of t.Lab, a high-performance learning laboratory for families and students from pre-K through college.

The Tribute Dinner is presented by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee, co-sponsored by Mott Community College, The University of Michigan-Flint, Kettering University, the Flint Jewish Federation, Hamilton Community Health Network and the Flint & Genesee Group. For more information call 810-762-0425.

The dinner celebration, scheduled to start at 6 p.m., is open to the public. Tickets are available by visiting www.mcceventsonline.com or by calling The Foundation for Mott Community College at 810-762-0425. To order tickets via mail, please make checks payable to the MLK Tribute Dinner and mail to: The Foundation for Mott Community College, 1401 E. Court St., Flint, MI 48503.

About the Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Nixon is the founder and CEO of t.Lab, a high-performance learning laboratory for families and students from pre-kindergarten through college. t.Lab was established to increase the competitiveness of US based students while leveraging a global leadership model. t.Lab has served more than 3,800 parents and students since its inception in 2007 and has students from the U.S., Kenya, Nigeria, Hungary, Lebanon and the Philippines. Dr. Nixon and t.Lab were honored with ITSMF’s (Information Technology Senior Management Forum) Ivory Dome Award for Technology in Education in 2012; McDonald’s Corporation Community Leadership Award in 2019; Best of Garden City Award (Educational Institution) in 2019; USMCA (US Minority Contractors Association) Hon. Thurgood Marshall Pioneer Legacy Award in 2019; and Crain’s Detroit Notable Nonprofit Board Member in 2021.

Dr. Nixon is also the Managing Partner of CNC Group, LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in “business transformation” or turnaround management, and is Co-Chairman of Acquire One, LLC. Acquire One, is a Michigan-based private equity firm, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Real Times, Inc, one of the largest African American Newspaper chains within the U.S.

Dr. Nixon has also served as the Chief Information Officer and Process Improvement Executive for Ball Park Brands (a division of Sara Lee); Chief Information Officer for the Worldwide Automotive Division of ALCOA; and the Director of Strategic Leadership at American Cyanamid Company. Prior to American Cyanamid, Dr. Nixon spent 19 years in the automotive industry including Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Corporation.

He holds a Ph.D. in Management from Wayne State University, an M.S.A. in Management from Central Michigan University and a B.S. in Business Administration from Upper Iowa University.

Additionally, he is actively involved on several Advisory Boards and Boards of Directors, including Advocate Aurora Health, Advocate Health Care, George Washington University, DigiGrated, Ryan Banks Academy, Edsoma, Ponce Bank, and GyftHint. Dr. Nixon is the former Chairperson for Middle Tennessee State University’s Scholars Academy, advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank (Chicago), and lifelong member of the NAACP.

Dr. Nixon is an associate professor at Colorado Technical University, and author of three books including: “The Leadership of Hope”, “From CIO to CEO”, and “The Crisis of Competence” as well as one of the co-authors of “W.O.W. Factor.”