2024 USC McMorrow Neighborhood Academic Initiative Annual Gala and Awards Ceremony

Program & Tribute Journal

*Reception Musical Performance by Emmanuel Yoque and David Hernandez

USC McMorrow NAI 2023 Gala & Awards Recap

USC McMorrow NAI Scholar Highlights

NAI Scholar Spotlight Video

2024 Community Impact Award

Sponsorship and Tickets

SPONSORSHIP MENU

$100,000 | PRESENTING SPONSOR

• Twenty-five (25) NAI student scholarships in your name

• Recognition from the podium

• Prominent seating for twenty-seven (27) guests and nine (9) gala seats for scholars and their parents/ family representatives*

• VIP tour of USC McMorrow NAI Saturday Academy and lunch with scholars and staff for eight (8) people

• Presenting full-page color ad in the digital Gala Tribute Journal and event website**

• Recognition on the USC McMorrow NAI webpage for one year

• Recognition on the event website, social media, and event signage

$50,000 | DIAMOND SPONSOR

• Twelve (12) NAI student scholarships in your name

• Recognition from the podium

• Prominent seating for eighteen (18) guests and six (6) gala seats for scholars and their parents/ family representatives*

• Invitation for four (4) people to tour USC McMorrow NAI Saturday Academy and lunch with scholars and staff

• Diamond full-page color ad in the digital Gala Tribute Journal and event website**

• Recognition on the USC McMorrow NAI webpage for one year

• Recognition on the event website and social media

$25,000 | PLATINUM SPONSOR

• Six (6) NAI student scholarships in your name

• Prominent seating for nine (9) guests and three (3) gala seats for a scholar and their parents/ family representatives*

• Invitation for three (3) people to tour USC McMorrow NAI Saturday Academy and lunch with scholars and staff

• Platinum full-page color ad in the digital Gala Tribute Journal and event website**

• Recognition on the event website and social media

$15,000 | GOLD SPONSOR

• Four (4) NAI student scholarships in your name

• Premier seating for seven (7) guests and three (3) gala seats for a scholar and their parents/ family representatives*

• Invitation for two (2) people to tour USC McMorrow NAI Saturday Academy and lunch with scholars and staff

• Gold full-page color ad in the digital Gala Tribute Journal and event website**

• Recognition on the event website and social media

$10,000 | SILVER SPONSOR

• Two (2) NAI student scholarships in your name

• Preferred seating for seven (7) guests and three (3) gala seats for a scholar and their parents/ family representatives*

• Silver full-page color ad in the digital Gala Tribute Journal**

• Recognition on social media

$5,000 | FRIENDS OF NAI

• One (1) NAI book scholarship in your name

• Seating for four (4) guests

• Half-page color ad in the digital Gala Tribute Journal**

INDIVIDUAL TICKETS

• Single Ticket $750

* Table sponsors will host one (1) NAI Scholar and their parents or guardians at their table(s)

** Digital Gala Tribute Journal will be shared during dinner

Dinner contributions are tax-deductible except for $200 per person

DIGITAL GALA TRIBUTE JOURNAL

Full-Page Color $5,000

(w) 1920px x (h) 1080px File type: PDF with embedded fonts, or JPG or TIFF at high-resolution (300dpi @ 100%)

Half-Page Color $2,750

(w) 960px x (h) 1080px File type: PDF with embedded fonts, or JPG or TIFF at high-resolution (300dpi @ 100%)

Tribute Journal ads must be received by May 10, 2024

2024 Mistress of Ceremony

Megan Telles

Megan Telles co-anchors the KTLA 5 Weekend Morning News. She joined the station in September 2018.

She is excited to return home to Southern California and join the KTLA family. Megan comes to KTLA from KXTV in Sacramento, where she anchored “Morning Blend” for two years.

Born in West Covina and raised in Rancho Cucamonga, Megan is a self-described “army brat,” given her father’s 21 years of service in the United States Army. Megan has called Wiesbaden, Germany; Fort Rucker, Alabama; and Savannah, Georgia, “home” and takes pride in being able to still count to 10 in German.

Prior to her time in California’s capital city, she was a national entertainment correspondent for the syndicated “Celebrity Page TV” based in Las Vegas, where she interviewed Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Lionel Richie.

Simultaneous with “Celebrity Page TV,” Megan was a reporter, anchor and daytime talk-show host at KTNV, the ABC affiliate in Las Vegas.

Megan’s deep-rooted passion for breaking news kicked in after enduring many tornado seasons in Alabama. She remembers being glued to the radio “reporting” wind speeds as her family hid for safety in the hallway closet.

The Emmy Award winner is a proud graduate of Los Osos High School and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Megan is married to her high school sweetheart, Cesar, and they have two kids. During fall football season, you can find the family at the L.A. Coliseum rooting on the USC Trojans—fight on!

2024 Community Impact Award Honoree

Hiram Sims

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Hiram Sims is a poet, essayist, and creative writing professor. He received a BA in Creative Writing and an MPW in Poetry from the University of Southern California.

In addition to teaching essay writing, creative writing, and literature, he has published three collections of poetry, including Poems of a Young, Troubled Mind (2007), Write or Die: An Anthology of Poetry from the Urban Poet’s Workshop (2008), and PHOTOETRY: Poetry and Photography from South Central (2013), and his creative writing textbook, These Pages Speak (2015).

He is the founder of the Community Literature Initiative and the Sims Library of Poetry, and the co-founder of World Stage Press.

2024 Champion Award Honoree

Honorable Nicole Avant

Nicole Avant is the best-selling author of “Think You’ll Be Happy- Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace and Gratitude”.

Ms. Avant served as the 13th U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas after being nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, becoming the youngest as well as the first African American woman to hold the position. In addition to her international diplomatic work, Ambassador Avant brings deep commercial insight and knowledge of the media and entertainment industries having worked in the music business for over 25 years and serving as Vice President of Interior Music Publishing, founded by her father, entertainment mogul, Clarence Avant.

Avant currently focuses her efforts in film and television production and has produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning films “The Black Godfather” and “Trees of Peace”

and also serves on the Board of Membership Collective Group, Inc., the holding company of the Soho House social clubs.

Throughout her career, Ambassador Avant has also pursued an array of business and philanthropic ventures. Ambassador Avant graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from California State University, Northridge in 1991.