NAMIC Announces Sunny Anderson, Host of Food Network's 'Cooking for Real' as Featured Guest for the 2009 L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon

NAMIC Announces Sunny Anderson, Host of Food Network's 'Cooking for Real' as Featured Guest for the 2009 L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon

Additional Speakers Announced for the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference

NEW YORK, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association for Multi-ethnicity In Communications (NAMIC) today announced that celebrity chef, Sunny Anderson will be the featured guest at the 2009 L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon. Sunny is the host of "Cooking for Real" a Food Network original series. The 2009 L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon is held annually in conjunction with the Annual NAMIC Conference. Scheduled for October 26-28, 2009, the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference will take place at the Grand Hyatt in Denver, Colorado as part of Cable Connection-Fall, a week of events uniting major industry associations, conferences and meetings in a single location. This year's L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27 at 12:45 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Denver's Imperial Ballroom.

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Sunny's series "Cooking for Real" is one of the newest additions to Food Network's popular "In the Kitchen" weekend block. Combining her approach to classic comfort foods along with her passion for unique flavors inspired by her many travels, Sunny offers real food for real life. Sunny debuted on the Food Network back in 2005 as a special guest on "Emeril Live," cooking alongside Chef Emeril Lagasse. It was an appearance Sunny deemed as her "greatest foodie moment ever." Sunny also hosts the primetime series, "How'd That Get On My Plate?" which follows the fascinating journey of a single ingredient (such as eggs, garlic, honey or apples) as it moves from its raw state into finished, iconic products. From the farm, through the factory, to the market, viewers watch Sunny as she travels the country showcasing the technology and innovation it takes to get our favorite foods to our plates. In 2007, Sunny co-hosted Food Network's series of specials, "Gotta Get It," uncovering the latest and greatest food gadgets and gizmos on the market.

Sunny's passion for food paved the way for a passion with music. While growing up traveling the world as an "Army brat," her parents always encouraged her to indulge in the local cuisine. When Sunny joined the Air Force, she continued her trek through the world for culinary finds and soon discovered she had a desire to explore music. Soon enough, she became an award-winning military radio host and news reporter.

Upon finishing her tour of duty with the Air Force, Sunny kept on her broadcast career playing radio host at stations in New Orleans, Montgomery, Detroit, and finally, in New York at hip hop radio powerhouse, HOT 97. Within a year, Vibe Magazine rated her show as one of the top 9 to listen to nationwide and crowned her, "Ruler of the Airwaves." Her radio success landed her guest hosting duties on MTV2, and voice over gigs on television and radio ads for Destiny's Child, LL Cool J, and John Legend. Sunny also served as Food & Lifestyle editor at Hip Hop Weekly Magazine where she interviewed hip hop stars about food, cooking and the restaurants they love in her column, "Belly of the Beats."

Sunny's appearance at the luncheon is courtesy of Food Network. To conclude the luncheon, Sunny will wrap up the NAMIC/Food Network Deliciously Diverse Recipes cookbook promotion, providing NAMIC members with custom cookbooks featuring their recipes alongside those of Food Network stars.

Established in 1993, the mentoring program was renamed in 1997 in honor of the late L. Patrick Mellon, a founding member of NAMIC. Mellon was an ESPN executive and one of the cable industry's most respected mentors. The goal of the L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program is to facilitate diversity in the communications industry by making mentors available to NAMIC members to assist them with their career advancement strategies. Committed high-ranking business leaders are recruited to act as mentors to NAMIC members for a nine-month period, providing support, guidance and career advice throughout the program term.

The speaker line-up for the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference continues to expand. Business leaders recently confirmed to share their perspectives on multi-ethnic diversity in this dynamic forum include: Vicky Free, VP, 360 Consumer Marketing, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim; Derrick Frost, Founder & CEO, Invision.TV; Mark Garner, SVP, Distribution, Marketing & Business Development, A&E Television Networks; William Georgio, SVP, Affiliate Sales, Starz; Jeff Hamstad, VP, Human Resources, Comcast Spotlight; Darrel Hegar, Regional VP, Operations, Carolina Region, Time Warner Cable; Lisa Hsia, SVP, New Media and Digital Strategy, Bravo; Sam Howe, Chief Marketing Officer, Time Warner Cable; Rich Jennings, Regional VP of Fulfillment/Operations, Comcast; Yvette Kanouff, Chief Strategy Officer, SeaChange International, Inc.; Katie Lacey, SVP, Marketing, ESPN; Lucinda Martinez-Desir, VP, Acquisition and Multicultural Marketing, HBO; Ariela Nerubay, VP, Sales & Marketing, TuTV; Michael Parker, Regional VP, Operations, Comcast; Philip Polk, Director, Segmentation Marketing, Cox Communications; Thomas F. Reed, Director, Office of Business Opportunities, Federal Communications Commission; Kelly Regal, EVP, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.; Brian Santo, Editor, CED Magazine; Michael Smith, SVP, Marketing, Creative and Brand Strategy, Food Network; Lisa Stockmon, VP, Corporate Marketing, Time Warner Cable; Ron Taylor, VP, Diversity Development, Fox Broadcasting Company; Indira Venkat, SVP, Audiences and Research, Travel Channel; and Phillip Williams, Executive Producer, One Economy Corporation.

The Walter Kaitz Foundation is the sponsor of the 2009 L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon. Additional sponsors of the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference include, Scripps Networks, ESPN Deportes, Starz Entertainment, WE tv, A&E Television Networks, BET Networks, Carlsen Resources, Inc., Rainbow Media LLC, TuTV, Univision, Comcast Networks, TV One, Motorola, Comcast Spotlight, Cox Communications, Food Network, NAMIC-Denver, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, CNN, NAMIC ELDP Class IV, Suddenlink Communications, QVC, CoLours TV, Retirement Living TV and Wow! Media Partners include Black Enterprise, The Bridge Media Group, Broadcasting & Cable, CableFAX Daily, Denver Urban Spectrum, DiversityInc, Hispanic MPR, LatinVision Media, Portada, Multichannel News and Television Week.

For more information or to purchase tickets for the L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program Luncheon or to register for the 23rd Annual NAMIC Conference, visit www.namic.com or contact the NAMIC national office, at 212-594-5985.

About NAMIC

NAMIC (National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications) is the premier organization focusing on multi-ethnic diversity in the communications industry. Founded in 1980 as a non-profit trade association, today NAMIC comprises 2,000 professionals belonging to a network of 18 chapters nationwide. Through initiatives that focus on education, advocacy and empowerment, NAMIC champions equity and inclusion in the workforce, with special attention given to ensuring that the leadership cadres of our nation's communications industry giants reflect the multi-ethnic richness of the populations they serve. For more information, please visit www.namic.com.

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Source: NAMIC

CONTACT: Daphne Leroy, Vice President, Marketing & Communications,
NAMIC, +1-212-594-5985 (office), daphne.leroy@namic.com; or Charmaine Chapman,
BTB Communications, +1-310-882-5498 (office), char@btbcommunications.com

Web Site: http://www.namic.com/

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