The Society of Singers Honors Local Resident Gladys Knight, and Adds Las Vegas Board Member Lisa Tenner

The Society of Singers Honors Local Resident Gladys Knight, and Adds Las Vegas Board Member Lisa Tenner

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Singers (SOS) has added the longtime Las Vegas branding and marketing maven Lisa Tenner to its board of directors, a move that comes just before the organization honors the Vegas-based soul, pop, gospel and R&B singer Gladys Knight with its 16th ELLA Award on September 10. Tenner, a three-decade veteran of the entertainment industry, becomes one of the few Nevada-based board members for SOS, a non-profit organization that offers comprehensive services to meet the emergency financial needs of professional singers worldwide.

"The Society of Singers is in the business of helping singers all around the world, and Lisa gives us a strong presence in a city that has always been a haven for singers and entertainers," says Jerry F. Sharell, the president and chief executive officer of SOS. "We are delighted to add her to the board, and delighted that she's joining us in time to honor Gladys Knight, a singer who herself has strong ties to Las Vegas."

A ballet dancer as a child, Lisa Tenner went on to work as a securities trader, a radio executive, and a business manager to many of the top acts in the entertainment industry. Moving to Las Vegas in the 1990s, she founded Emerging Artists & Technology in Music, was honored with the Nevada Governor's award for Tourism, and went on to consult for a broad range of clients, including VH1, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Harrahs, The World Series of Poker and many others. Her company, Tenner & Associates, specializes in branding and marketing, with services that include business management, event production and promotion both live performance for television and film. She is noted for creating signature events. "Gladys Knight is the first person our music conference honored in 1998 and her encouragement of singers is what makes her so extraordinary in our field and a loved entertainer not only in Las Vegas but globally," says Tenner.

Named after its first recipient, Ella Fitzgerald, the ELLA Award is given to singers whose significant musical accomplishments are equaled by their dedication to charitable and humanitarian causes both local and international. Previous recipients of the award, besides Ms. Fitzgerald herself, include Frank Sinatra, Tony Martin, Peggy Lee, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Lena Horne, Rosemary Clooney, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, Dame Julie Andrews, Placido Domingo, Barry Manilow, Celine Dion, Elton John and Johnny Mathis.

Comedian, actor and singer Wayne Brady will host the ELLA Award presentation and also sing a song. The evening's performers will include Melissa Etheridge, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Mathis and Kimberly Locke. Knight herself will also perform, as will surprise guests.

A seven-time Grammy Award winner with Number One hits in the pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary formats, Gladys Knight has been honored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and many others. The Georgia-born singer won the grand prize on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour before she was ten, and made her first album with Gladys Knight and the Pips when she was sixteen. She has released close to 40 albums over the years, and had Top 10 hits in the '60s ("Every Beat of My Heart," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"), '70s ("Midnight Train to Georgia," "I've Got to Use My Imagination," "On and On") and '80s ("That's What Friends Are For"). Her recent albums include the inspirational Many Different Roads, the Grammy-winning At Last and her most recent release, Before Me, a tribute to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne. Before Me is part of a charity initiative launched by Knight in collaboration with Ashley Stewart Stores; she is also active in the American Diabetes Association, the American Cancer Society, the Minority AIDS Project and amFAR, among others.

Knight lives in Las Vegas, which is also the headquarters for her personal entertainment corporation, Shakeji, Inc. Knight recently completed a four-year run at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino.

The Society of Singers was founded in 1984 by Chairman Emeritus Ginny (Mrs. Henry) Mancini and Gilda Maiken Anderson when the two friends, both of them former professional singers, realized that many of their friends and colleagues were without pensions, unions, medical insurance or places to turn for financial help during tough times. With the help of donations from private and corporate sponsors, SOS offers comprehensive services to meet the emergency financial needs of applicants who have earned their primary living as singers for five years or more. SOS benefits the health and welfare of professional singers worldwide and also awards scholarships to students pursuing their education in the vocal arts.

The ELLA Award will be presented at the Beverly Hilton on the evening of September 10, 2007. Cocktails and a silent auction begin at 6:00 p.m., with live auction and dinner at 7:30 p.m., and the show and awards presentation to follow. Tickets are priced at $600, $900, $1,250 and $2,500, with all proceeds to benefit the non-profit Society of Singers Emergency Relief Fund and the Scholarship Fund.

For more information about the Society of Singers, please consult http://www.singers.org/ or call (818) 995-7100.

   Contact:   Jane Ayer Public Relations   310-581-1330 ext. 101   jane@janeayerpr.com  

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Source: The Society of Singers

CONTACT: The Society of Singers, +1-818-995-7100; or Jane Ayer Public
Relations, +1-310-581-1330, ext. 101, jane@janeayerpr.com, for The Society of
Singers

Web site: http://www.singers.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment