CLC’s 37th Annual
1st Virtual Salute to Gospel Music Program
“Achieving Student Success,
Celebrating Cultural Heritage,
Reaching to a Brighter Future”
Saturday, February 27, 2021
7 p.m.
Sunday, February 28, 2021
3 p.m.
Musical Prelude
“Moving On”
Jonathan McReynolds
Mistresses of Ceremony Opening
Effie Rolfe/J. Cotton Wilson
Call & Response
Jermaine Hilton/Willie Mitchell, Jr.
Negro Nat’l Anthem
Za’Tozia Duffie
Welcome & Special Harambee Presentation
Dr. Lori Suddick
Honoree Patricia Jones
Intro of the Harambee Award Presentation/Presenters
J. Cotton Wilson
Dr. Sonya Williams
Derrick Harden
Honoree Rev. Rick Harris
Intro of Special Guest Artists
Effie Rolfe
MC4 of Moodeasy Music Group
Intro of CLC Experience Speaker
J. Cotton Wilson
Willie Mitchell, Jr.
LSC Programs & Expansion
Jesus Ruiz
LSC Services
Dr. David Weatherspoon
Artist Showcase/Interview/Performance
Effie Rolfe
Featured Guest Artist
Jonathan McReynolds
Why You Should Support?
J. Cotton Wilson
Closing
Sequel
“Moving On”
Jonathan McReynolds
Effie Rolfe, Chicago radio’s “Voice of Inspiration” for more than two decades, has a worldwide pulpit for her message now. Rolfe has been named program director and operations manager of Chicago-based Moody Radio’s Urban Praise, a 24/7 Internet channel of soulful and inspiring music “that exalts Christ and encourages the believer.” In her role, Rolfe oversees music and content for the channel.
Rolfe was a mainstay of urban gospel radio for 21 years at the former Clear Channel Radio (now iHeartMedia), including a long run as host, music director and assistant program director at gospel WGRB AM 1390. She also hosted a top-rated Sunday morning gospel music show on urban adult-contemporary WVAZ FM 102.7. A motivational speaker and the author of two books, The (K)Nots Prayer Journal: Finding Your Passion by Eliminating the Nots in Life and Super Size Your Thinking: Manifest Your Dreams, Rolfe also writes weekly columns for the Chicago Defender, Chicago/Gary Crusader and JetMag.com.
Patricia Jones is distinguished by over thirty years of outstanding public service to the citizens of Lake County. She is an elected official of Waukegan Township where she holds the position of Supervisor and Chief Executive Officer. She was elected in 1997 and prior to that, worked as Waukegan Township Administrator for 8 years. Patricia holds a BA from Western Illinois University and an M. Ed from Northern Illinois University.
Waukegan Township is a multi-million-dollar governmental entity responsible for the care and well-being of township constituents. Under her leadership, the township has grown to be considered one of the premier townships in the State of Illinois. Ms. Jones' vision to bring light to the least of these has played an integral role in the expansion of the Park Place Center, a senior citizen’s facility, with an excess of 40,000 benefitting from the educational, recreational and a variety of other senior activities and services. The Center now provides international trips to create a broader perspective for a world point of view for seniors.
Ms. Jones also created the Eddie Washington Center transitional home for men - where over 3,000 men have been served -- along with the Staben House transitional home for women with children - assisting approximately 350 families and 630 children. She is also the visionary and founder of the Coalition to Reduce Recidivism, in which the mission of the coalition is to reduce recidivism by assisting ex-offenders with tangible skills and employment opportunities, allowing them to become productive members of the community.
In 2013, Supervisor Jones reintroduced the Historically Black Colleges & Universities Tour, which affords high school students from Lake County and beyond the opportunity to visit various colleges and universities across the country to broaden their perspectives and increase their educational options. Since its inception in 2013, Patricia Jones’ vision for the Artis Yancey HBCU Tour has afforded approximately 165 high school students; from various cities throughout Lake and Cook Counties (Illinois) as well as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, a glimpse into what these institutions offer. Many of those students have, while visiting the various campuses, received scholarships, been offered onsite acceptance and are currently matriculating through the institutions that left such a great impression on their lives.
Highly regarded for her relentless pursuit of educational opportunities for the residents of Lake County, Ms. Jones held the position of Trustee, an elected official, to the College of Lake County Board and now holds the distinct honor of Trustee Emeritus of the College of Lake County Board. She also served for 18 years on the board of the University Center of Lake County, a conglomerate of top Illinois colleges and universities. Prior to that, she served on the Advisory Committee for the College of Lake County's Lakeshore Campus. Ms. Jones believes in the academic achievement and personal success of every resident in effort to improve the quality of life in our communities.
Apart from her distinguished career, Ms. Jones credits her family who keeps her life focused and God-centered. Her family, including her late father, Mr. Leroy Jones; her mother, Mrs. Dorothy Armsted – both proud Alcorn State University graduates; her son Marc, daughter in law Jazmin and her 4 beautiful grandchildren, all stand behind her with unconditional love and support and are symbols of her rich and wonderful African-American heritage. Patricia Jones is a faithful member of Shiloh Baptist Church of Waukegan and has served as Chair of both the Personnel and Constitution Committees.
Rick Harris is a seasoned Human Resources Executive specializing in improving individual and organization performance. He has over 32 years of experience in Human Resources and Manufacturing Operations at Fortune 500 companies. In 2008, Rick founded RJ Harris & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in general HR, Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership Development, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Talent Management services.
In his various roles over the years, he has remained consistent in helping organizations become more successful in creating equal opportunities for people of color, women, veterans, and people with disabilities. As a known and respected voice throughout North America, Rick is sought out as a speaker and subject matter expert in Diversity & Inclusion, Talent Management, and Compliance and is also considered an innovative thought leader in the Human Resources field.
From a spiritual perspective, Rick has served as both Pastor and Associate Pastor of the Historic First Baptist Church of North Chicago, IL., which has been his spiritual home for over 30 years.
For his contributions to his community, Rick was named "Most Influential African American" of Lake County, Ill. in 2008, inducted into the Lake County Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2009, and received the Lake County Dreamer’s Award in 2016 and the Profiles In Excellence Award in 2020. Additionally, in 2020, for his professional and community accomplishments, Rick was named “Distinguished Alumni” by his alma mater the University 0f Wisconsin-Parkside where he is a member of the UW-Parkside Beta Gamma Sigma fraternity chapter and served as the College of Business, Economics, and Computing’s Executive in Residence in 2019. Rick is a member of the Vista Health Systems Board of Directors and in 2019, he became a member of the UW-Parkside Foundation Board of Directors.
The evolution of Jonathan McReynolds has taken us from a college dorm in Downtown Chicago, to stages across the world, professing the gospel through song ministry.
Garnering the fellowship and support of various talented musicians and singers such as Lalah Hathaway, Kirk Franklin, Stevie Wonder, H.E.R., Justin Bieber, CeCe Winans, and many more, Jonathan McReynolds is creating a new standard for what it means to be Christ led. A young man of just 30 years old, Jonathan uses his incredible voice and beautifully, brutally candid approach to songwriting to reach the ears and hearts of fans worldwide.
Jonathan’s last full-length album Make Room debuted #1 on Billboard Gospel. It was undeniably regarded as his best work to date, winning eight Stellar Awards and obtaining two Grammy nominations. The title track "Make Room" and hit single "Not Lucky, I'm Loved" gave Jonathan his first two #1 Billboard songs. His second album Life Music: Stage Two features another superstar fan in India.Arie and maintained at #1 on the Billboard Gospel chart for 4 weeks. It then went on to grab a Grammy nomination, multiple Stellar nominations and a Dove Award win. For his EP Sessions, Jonathan teamed up with another beautiful voice, Tweet. This unannounced, surprise release reached the top of the iTunes Christian chart overnight.
This February, Jonathan McReynolds released a transparent, thought-provoking single entitled “People,” from the forthcoming self-titled album. The single has already begun to gain notoriety, being sung, tweeted, and shared all over social media. “People” allows Jonathan to express his feelings about the influence, opinions, and effects of people in his life and throughout his budding career. The album will be released on April 24.
This summer, Jonathan will return as a judge for the second year in a row on BET's hit series Sunday Best which is entering its tenth season.
In May 2015, Jonathan attained his Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Moody Theological Seminary. Jonathan has great desire to have positive impact on society outside of music. With that, he is an adjunct instructor at his alma mater Columbia College, an official contributor to Huffington Post and the founder of Elihu Nation, a nonprofit organization that promotes wisdom and has awarded over $40k in scholarships for youth. Jonathan McReynolds has been honored as a recent member of Mensa, an international high IQ society.
Jonathan continues to break major grounds in gospel. In March 2018, his one-hour TV special aired multiple times on TVOne and Jonathan was the first in his genre to form a major partnership with Tidal Music. His appeal stretches across generational, cultural, and musical lines. It is shown in the buzzworthy performances that have marked the last few years of his career including Black Music Honors (2018), BET Celebration of Gospel (2014, 2016) Essence Fest (2014, 2015), 106 & Park, Stellar Awards (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019), Joyful Noise, Revolt TV Live, and the Dove Awards (twice). In addition to headlining monster shows as far as Oslo, London, and Port-of-Spain, Jonathan headlined two sold out American tours (33 cities) and has toured with India.Arie and Lalah Hathaway. Jonathan McReynolds will be hosting the 2020 Stellar Awards with cohost Koryn Hawthorne.
Charity, Chamaya, Chantal and Carlis III, comprise the soul stirring, rich harmonic, spiritually anointed sounds of MC4. Born to Pastor Carlis Moody Jr., and Lady Paulettea, MC4 have sung together as young siblings until now. At the beginning of the pandemic, they formally began to blend their musicality to create their own unique a cappella, refreshing and balanced sound that has intrigued many musical masterminds.
Having grown up in the church, in a musical family and singing gospel music all of their lives; each singer brings to the group their own special gift of reaching the heart with their personality that leaves the listener with a sense of peace, hope and joy.
MC4 created an Instagram presence singing their own stylized versions of popular Christmas songs. They have auditioned for Wanya Morris, a member of the renowned Boyz II Men and were featured in many virtual Christmas presentations and recordings in 2020. These collegians are overjoyed to sing for the Salute to Gospel at the College of Lake County. Chantal is a 2019 alumna of CLC, and her sister Charity is a current Lancer. Carlis the III is a sophomore at Loyola University and Chamaya graduated from Northwestern in 2018.
Motivated to sing with excellence by the loving memory of their Mother who passed away in 2019, MC4 is the new young sound that pushes the boundaries of familiar tunes in a way that is esthetically pleasing to the ears of their audience. They are currently working on new projects and recordings. Find them at MC4 music on YouTube and Instagram.
