The National Gospel Announcers Guild

The National Gospel Announcers Guild

Legendary Gospel artist, the late Rev. James Cleveland, started the National Gospel Announcers Guild in 1968. According to the Guild’s website (http://www.nationalgag.org), the organization’s reason for existence is explained as follows:

The Gospel Announcers Guild is a voluntary association of Religious Announcers who have come together to address their common needs as professional broadcasters. This organization was born out of the lack of emphasis and concern placed on religious broadcasting, as well as religious broadcasters, by the nation's major broadcast and record industry conventions and associations.

The NGAG is an auxiliary of a larger entity known as the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA). Through GMWA, the Guild is able to provide workshops, seminars and gospel performance-based marketing events for recording artists, managers and label executives.

The national group has affiliates in many regions of the United States, including one that covers Central to South Florida. This branch is called the Florida Gospel Announcers Guild (FGAG), and is led by Mr. Peppi Hendrix. Like the national Guild, The FGAG hosts gospel events throughout the state in an attempt to stimulate the gospel recording industry in Florida. Recent seminars have been held in Jacksonville, Tampa, Gainesville and West Palm Beach.

Peppi Hendrix has taken the mission of the NGAG and created an amazing platform for gospel artists in the Florida region. The South Florida Gospel Music Awards (SFGMA) was started in 2004, and Hendrix has not looked back since. According to the organizations website, (http://www.sfgma.com/), the SFGMA has held two awards events in the West Palm Beach, FL area. Because of Hendrix’s leadership, the group has seen significant growth in the state of Florida, The Bahamas, and internationally. The awards show has been a success, with several groups from the South Florida area receiving awards for the following categories: Best Gospel Male; Best Gospel Female; Best New Group; Best Gospel Hip Hop Artist; Best Praise and Worship; Minister of Music of the Year; Best Contemporary Gospel Artist, and more. 

An Inspirational Story

There comes a time in life where one stops to think about what has transpired in life up to that point. Some find that they have lived life exactly the way they had scripted it. Some find that expectations they’ve had of life have not been met, therefore considering themselves failures. Then there are those that stand in the middle of the previous two. Those that, in reflecting, find that life’s road has unexpected detours. Yet, instead of giving up on the journey, they find a way to re-write the map. This is the group that I consider myself a part of. I see myself as a person whose path has seen many potholes and detours in the road of life.

Though I wanted to give in to my many failures in life, something within me desired to keep traveling, and to be optimistic about the smooth pavement that may lie ahead. This is why I was astounded to find out that one of the world’s most revered business minds, Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs, had encountered similar detours in his life’s travels.

Steve Jobs is widely known as the man that started Apple Computers and Pixar Films, the most successful animated film company in the world. But as I watched and listened to him address a recent Stanford University graduation class (video on TED.com), I realized that it’s hard to be successful in life without having previous failures. In watching the video, I learned the following about Jobs: He was adopted; He dropped out of college; He was fired from the company that he helped start (Apple); He was diagnosed with, and has recovered from, Pancreatic Cancer.

I was amazed at how this man used his personal experiences to give guidelines of living life. And even though his words were directed at the new grads of Stanford University, I found inspiration in the wisdom he imparted. I thought back to my decision to get my Master’s Degree in Entertainment Business when he stated, “Have courage to follow your heart and intuition, everything else is secondary”. Many family members and friends had scoffed at the idea of me choosing Full Sail University and not going to a traditional MBA program. Changing my career from Hospitality Management to Christian Entertainment business ventures was also looked down upon. However, my gut feeling said that Full Sail was the right place for me to bring my vision, drive and talent. 

I’m thankful that an assignment in my Business Storytelling and Brand Development class required that I watch videos on the ted.com website. Without that assignment, I may never have known that Steve Jobs and I shared common adversities. And like Mr. Jobs, I hope to succeed in life by using those adversities to fuel my dreams.