The Tennessee Tribune

A6
Thursday, July 2 - 8, 2020 • www.TnTribune.com
Speak Your Excellence
Let’s Talk
All things
business, speech
& motivation
by Ms. June
There’s nothing worse
than feeling as if one has
a need to obtain confirmation
from others. Whether
it pertains to standards of
beauty, weight, business
aspirations, matters of the
heart, motivation and general
advice, you can harness
your own excellence
through speaking.
The dictionary says
excellence is being outstanding
or extraordinarily
good, but we have the
power to make, define and
speak our own excellence
regardless of our current
circumstances.
New opportunities and
new levels of elevation are
close to our finger tips but
we have to understand that
we can cause our own demise
or we can cause our
own excellence simply
through our spoken words.
What you have through
your spoken words can be
NASHVILLE, TN —
Nashville Capitol City
Chapter of Top Ladies
of Distinction and Top
Teens of America hosted
a Parade and Send Off
for the Chapter’s fourteen
graduating seniors
on June 20, 2020, 4:00
p.m. on the grounds of
the Shrader Lane Church,
1234 Schrader Lane. The
participating seniors received
gifts and accolades
from the Top Ladies and
Top Teens.
Top Ladies of Distinction,
Inc. was chartered
mightier than a dollar, can
have more power than a
locomotive and will move
your mountains.
This is not about faith
because that is a given
that should already be
deeply rooted. Speaking
your excellence starts with
self-confidence, discipline,
goals, personal desire,
honesty and the ability to
keep your seeds in good
soil. Other people’s doubt,
everyday life, media and
negativity can affect your
business and your personal
space. You have the ability
to speak out loud and proclaim
that you’re special,
accomplished in your own
right, your ventures will
be successful, your family
is balanced and you’re on
a mission with a destiny to
fulfill.
Others are not able to
see what you see in yourself
or see the big things
you envision. Therefore,
you have to make your
own arrangements to get
what you need to be successful
while speaking
your excellence into existence.
The universe should
be viewed as a big menu
of life. The same way
orders are placed at a fast
restaurant is the same process
in which you can use
your tongue to orchestrate
your life. Of course, there
is great responsibility attached
to the all mighty
tongue because you have
to be careful what you say
Top Ladies and Top Teens
of America Present a
Senior Send Off for the
Graduating Seniors of 2020
because things of a good
or bad nature can be willed
into existence.
This process of speaking
your excellence places
a mental bookmark in
your mind and will spur
you to action which leads
to progress. This is not
magic or supernatural but
a technique to focus your
attention which leads to
manifestation.
The key is to speak
with optimism, integrity,
passion, encouragement
and positivity. Reaching
the fullness of anything
also requires speaking
with praise and gratitude
instead of with a spirit of
complaining. One must
also exercise caution when
speaking and avoid the
proud realists that have
the potential to be dream
killers. Speaking your excellence
around the right
people allows others to
hear your proclamations
and they may be willing to
offer help.
Your words have power
and you have to be intentional
when speaking.
Speaking excellence is to
build yourself and others
instead of tearing down
and being critical. In conclusion,
if you want that
good, happy, pleasant existence,
all you have to do is
speak what you seek, until
you see what you said.
Contact Ms. June by email
at justjune615@gmail.com
in the state of Texas on
September 8, 1964 as a
non-profit organization.
The local chapter, Nashville
Capitol City, was
chartered in 1998 and Top
Teens of America, the organization’s
youth leadership
program, was adopted
by TLOD, Inc. in 1969.
Its primary objective is
to transform teen’s lives
and to empower them to
become productive members
of society. Top Teens
participate in community
service, hands-on mentoring,
leadership development,
educational and social
opportunities, as well
as the experience to travel
via annual conferences
that are planned for their
cultural, scholastic, and
social development. Over
the years, thousands of
youth have come through
Top Teens of America
The local president
is Dr. Julie Hopkins. For
further information on
Top Ladies of Distinction,
Inc. and Top Teens of
America please visit the
national website at https://
www.tlodinc.org
Teen Kaiya Porter, left, and Lady Julie Hopkins, Chapter President.
Women
Concord Music Publishing
Announces Partnership with
Award-Winning Songwriter
Hillary Lindsey
McNeal First Black Woman to Serve
on AMEX Executive Committee
Glenda McNeal
On June 20th, American
Express made history
by appointing Glenda
McNeal, the company’s
President of Strategic
Partnerships, to their Executive
Committee. With
this appointment, McNeal
became the first black
woman to serve on the
American Express executive
committee.
McNeal spent over 30
years climbing through
the ranks at American
Express working in the
fields of sales and client
management, business development,
marketing, and
strategy. Over the years
McNeal has held various
leadership roles at American
Express including
but not limited to: Assistant
Manager to Vice
President, Vice President,
General Manager of New
Industry Development,
Senior Vice President of
Global Partnerships, and
General Manager of Retail
& Emerging Industries.
In her current role
within Strategic Partnerships,
she oversees the
growth of the companies
most critical partnerships
which include: Amazon,
Delta, Hilton, Marriott,
and Paypal. McNeal also
spearheaded ‘Stand for
Small’, the American Express
sponsored initiative
that combined the efforts
of approximately 70 companies
to help small businesses
repair and prepare
for the lasting effects of
COVID-19.
McNeal will join Andrés
Espinosa, Executive
Vice President of Enterprise
Credit and Fraud
Risk Management and
Chief Credit Officer for
American Express, and
Pierric Beckert, President
of Global Network Services,
as new members in
the Executive Committee.
Outside of her work at
American Express, Mc-
Neal is a member of the
B.E. Registry of Corporate
Directors. She also serves
on the board of Nordstrom
Inc., RLJ Lodging
Trust, the World Travel
and Tourism Council, and
the United Negro College
Hillary Lindsey
Photo by Emma Mcintyre/ACMA2018/
Getty Images for ACM
NASHVILLE, TN — Nashville-based
Concord Music Publishing has entered
into an exclusive, worldwide co-publishing
agreement with multi-GRAMMY
award-winning, CMA Award-winning
and Academy Award and Golden Globenominated
songwriter Hillary Lindsey.
Additionally, Concord has acquired an
interest in Lindsey’s entire back catalog,
aligning her life works with the company
that predicts many more hits in her future.
Lindsey’s catalog includes 11 No.1’s with
Carrie Underwood alone, as well as country
chart toppers for superstars like Kelsea
Ballerini, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia
Line, Lady A (fka Lady Antebellum), Tim
McGraw, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and
many more.
Lindsey has co-written more than 20
No.1 country music hits including Carrie
Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel”
and Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush,” and
Keith Urban’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color.”
All three of these songs were recognized
as NSAI’s coveted Songs I Wish I’d Written,
a feat matched only by the legendary
Kris Kristofferson. Lindsey is also a
nominee for Songwriter of the Year at the
upcoming 55th ACM Awards rescheduled
for September 2020.
Lindsey has enjoyed success outside
the country music genre including songs
on Lady Gaga’s critically acclaimed album,
Joanne, including the single, “Million
Reasons.” She also co-wrote songs
on the soundtrack from A Star Is Born,
including the film’s epic finale track
“I’ll Never Love Again,” which won the
GRAMMY for Best Song Written for Visual
Media.
Concord and Lindsey have also established
an exclusive creative venture to
jointly sign and develop a new generation
of songwriting talent. The venture benefits
from Lindsey’s superstar songwriter
talent and collaborative relationships
matched with Concord’s broad resources,
creative services and first-class administration.
“I am SO excited to be partnering with
Concord and am SO grateful for the opportunity
to become a part of the family!”
says Hillary Lindsey. “I know how
important it is to surround yourself with
great collaborators and I have found that
with the team at Concord. I’m looking
forward to the next chapter in this musical
journey.”
“Hillary is a trailblazer for songwriters
in country music,” says Jake Wisely,
Chief Publishing Executive at Concord.
“Her added success in pop, rock, film, TV
and business is an inspiration to songwriters
everywhere. Concord is proud to be
Hillary’s creative and business partner.”
Lindsey was introduced to Concord
by Brad Kennard, SVP of A&R, who will
oversee day to day creative with his Nashville-based
team, as well as colleagues in
Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London
and Berlin.
“Hillary is a world-class talent who
sets the bar for songwriters everywhere,”
says Kennard. “She is universally respected
and admired…quite simply one of the
best anywhere. To top it off, she is also
one of the best humans on the planet. We
are beyond thrilled to welcome her to the
Concord family!”
The trifecta of agreements was negotiated
on behalf of Concord by EVP of
Legal and Business Affairs, Duff Berschback,
who recently joined Concord from
Sony/ATV Nashville. Lindsey was represented
by Derek Crownover at Loeb &
Loeb in Nashville.
INDEX Classifieds...B9 | Education...A8| Entertainment...B2 | Health & Wellness...B6 | Op-Ed...A4 | Religion/Faith...B7 | Sports...B4
Fund. She is a graduate of
Dillard University where
she received her bachelor’s
in Accounting. She
later received her M.B.A.
from the Wharton School
at the University of Pennsylvania,
she is also a
member of the Executive
Leadership Council.
“Having Glenda’s expertise
and experience on
the Executive Committee
will be a huge asset
for us,” said Stephen J.
Squeri, American Express
Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer.
McNeal’s appointment
to the executive committee
is an important step
in diversifying markets,
especially in our current
times where workforce
inequalities are being
exposed. Currently, it is
estimated that 41% of
Black-owned businesses
are permanently shutting
down due to COVID-19
because of a lack of access
to loans. McNeal’s
new role at American Express
is a huge step in the
right direction of increasing
minority visibility in
leadership. Hopefully, other
corporations will take
note and be inspired to
make changes within their
own organizations.