2015 African Torchlight Awards Nominee’s Announced – See Who Made The Cut

America’s  African owned,  dynamic,  and  diverse  organization,  the  TorchLight Foundation  has  today  announced  this  year’s  nomination  for  the  TorchLight  Awards.

The  TorchLight  Awards  Celebrates  African  excellence  in  the  diaspora  in  the  fields  of:  philanthropy,  education,  entertainment,  fashion,  and  culture.

This  year’s  nominations  were  restricted  to  the  State  of  Minnesota  due  to  ineligibility  of  submissions  from  other  states.

“Most  submissions  from  out  of  state  did  not  meet  our  criteria  for  eligibility. We  could  not  verify  the  legitimacy  of  many  and  due  to  the  standards  of  our  award  show;  we  simply  could  not  consider  these  submissions.  The  TorchLight  award  is  only  for  the  best  and  the  best  only.  Some  categories  will  not  be  awarded  this  year  for  the  same  reason”.  Says  Stephen  Ngang,  the  executive  director  of  the  TorchLight  Foundation.

The  2nd  TorchLight  Award  will  be  simulcast  live  on  NTV  on  Saturday  July  11,2015  at  8  p.m.  (ET)/5  p.m.  (PT)  from  the  Passion Event  Center  in  Fridley, Minnesota.  The official red carpet correspondent of the Torchlight Awards is Raro Lae of RLTV and Rarolae.com.The  full  performance  will  later  be  available  on  the  TorchLight  Awards  website.

Of  all  African  awards  in  the  diaspora,  only  the  TorchLight  Awards  is composed  of  composed  of  members  and  participants  from  all  corners  of Africa.  The  program  lays  emphasis  on  empowering  Africans  and fostering  their  Culture  in  the  diaspora.  A  voting  board  consisting  of  industry  professionals,  community  leaders,  teachers  and  scholars  as  well  as  entertainment  personalities  chose  this  year’s  nominees.  Balloting  was  conducted  from  June  1st  2015  and  ended  at  3pm  on  June  10th  2015.

A  wide  array  of  programs  and  individuals  compete  in  each  category  for  the coveted  TorchLight  Trophy.  Final  Voting  will  commence  on  June  27th  2015.  The  voting  process  is computed  by  a  ratio  of  1:1:3  amongst  the  public,  the  nominees,  and  the  voting  board.  To  keep  up  with  the  TorchLight  Awards  commitment  to  sustainable  practices,  all  votes  must  be  completed  by  noon  on  July  7th,  2015.  Results  will  be  tallied  and  sealed  until presented  at  the  2nd  TorchLight  Awards  Ceremony  on  July  11,  2015.

The  TorchLight  Foundation  has  also  announced  it  will  give  honorary  awards to  3  individuals  excelling  in  their  respective  fields.  Munira  Khalif  and  Harold  Ekeh  will  receive  a  TorchLight  award  for  Educational  Excellence  will  be  receiving  an  honorary  award  in  recognition  of  outstanding  academic  excellence. They  were  both  Accepted  into  all  8  Ivy  League  schools  in  the nation.  Kadra  Mohamed  will  be  receiving  an  honorary  award  for a  groundbreaking achievement;  she  is  the  first  Somali American  woman  to  join  the  St.  Paul  Police  Department.