HatsOff

Join us for the 13th Annual Hats Off event on May 19, 2012.
Cahaba Grand Conference Center, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
with CBS-42 News Anchor Sherri Jackson as the emcee, nationally acclaimed actress and author Victoria Rowell as our featured speaker, and a live performance by Birmingham-native recording artist Jillian Everett

Voted “Best News Anchor” in Alabama by the Alabama Broadcasters Association Sherri Jackson continues to excel as a journalist. Sherri is the weekday Anchor for CBS 42 News at 5, 6 & 10 o'clock. The award winning journalist has received recognition for her work covering AIDS in the city of Birmingham. Her piece “AIDS from Alabama to Africa” received a national award from the National Association of Black Journalists. As a reporter she is dedicated to telling the stories that touch people’s lives in a series of special reports called “Faith In Action". A series launched after Sherri took a mission trip to Arusha, Tanzania and split from her mission team to cover the story of a missionary doctor in Bomet, Kenya who says she was miraculously healed after testing positive for HIV. The story of what happened at Tenwek Hospital became Sherri's first Faith in Action story in 2007. Since then, CBS 42 has broadcast many stories of people taking events in their lives that allowed them to put their Faith In Action to help other people.

Born in Portland, Maine, Victoria Rowell was raised in foster care for her entire childhood. Under the auspices of the Ford Foundation, she received a full scholarship to the Cambridge School of Ballet in Massachusetts at the age of eight. As a young dancer, she flourished there and became a member of the American Ballet Theater family. In addition, she participated in an exchange program with the Julliard School of Music and Dance program. Over the years Rowell has amassed an impressive list of credits. Her feature films include Eve’s Bayou with Samuel L. Jackson; Distinguished Gentleman with Eddie Murphy; Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey; Motives with Vivica A. Fox; and One Red Rose with Hill Harper. In her feature film, Home of the Brave, Rowell portrays Samuel L. Jackson’s wife in a story about three soldiers trying to readjust to life at home after serving a lengthy tour at war in Iraq. 50 Cent portrays one of the soldiers.

In addition, Rowell has written an award-winning book and developed a documentary dedicated to the role models in her life. Both her book, The Women Who Raised Me, and her documentary, The Mentor, talk about the important people in her life who have helped her achieve her successes. In 1990, she founded The Rowell Foster Children's Positive Education Plan (RFCPP).The mission of the organization is to give direct services in the areas of: fine arts, higher education, healthcare, financial literacy, reunification programs, cultural enrichment, and resources family support.

Jillian Everett knew from a young age that music would be her life. She began singing and performing at the age of two, started writing music at the age of five, and began leading worship when she was twelve. Jillian was born at 29 weeks during the massive 1993 snow storm in Birmingham, Alabama. No bigger than a man's hand, she was born a fighter and truly cherishes every moment. Jillian's motto is "Choose Life." She lives out loud, with a definite passion for life.