The Board of Directors of For The Good, Inc. and Phoenix Radio, Inc. are
proud to announce the nomination of their president and CEO, Cassandra
Harris-Lockwood, for the Lifetime Achievement Award of the YGB Awards
program, which stands for Young, Gifted, & Black Entrepreneurial Awards.
Once graduated from Kirkland College in 1974 with a BA in Fine Arts and
Dance, Harris-Lockwood spent 5 years working in NYC. She landed jobs
working on several Broadway hit shows and the creative, performing and
martial arts. A portion of that time in NYC was spent as a starving artist
honing her play writing and healing arts skills. She brought all of that experience back to her hometown of Utica in 1979 when she married Attorney Steve Lockwood.
She worked the not-for profit agency Corn Hill People United until 1998 and
founded For The Good, Inc. in 2002 where she launched the Study Buddy
Club, the Utica Phoenix (Utica’s first Black newspaper), the Community Gardens and Phoenix Radio in 2016. She is a horse farmer, holistic healer, musician and singer songwriter. She briefly worked for the City of Utica under Michael Houseknecht as Lead Organizer and Community Organizing Specialist during the Pawlinga administration.
Harris-Lockwood brought Juneteenth to Utica in1996 and wrote and produced the Wonderful Wizard of Was at the Stanley Theater in 2008.
Over the years Harris-Lockwood has woven her skills as an activist,
scholar, writer, artist, performer and businesswoman throughout the
community. She has always incorporated as many youth and artists as
possible in projects that would otherwise not have included them.
One of the young people she mentored was a young man named Kevin Byrd.
Harris-Lockwood’s guidance and encouragement added to the young
man’s confidence to successfully pursue a career in theater and performing
arts. He also found a way to include activism in his life and is today the
leading international prostate cancer awareness advocate. Kevin travels
worldwide spreading awareness, prevention and encouragement. It was
Kevin who reached back around to nominate his former mentor, advisor.
“Cassandra Harris-Lockwood is a mighty woman of God. I have had the
privilege of knowing Mrs. Lockwood for over 25 plus years, and in this time
she has been compassionate, caring, loving and a phenomenal mentor. I’m
so happy that Cassandra is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement
Award. She’s so deserving of this prestigious honor. May the Lord continue
to smile upon her richly and for the next generations to come,” said Kevin.
Young Gifted and Black, YGB, is a non-profit national organization that
celebrates and honors outstanding individuals of color in various fields like
business, technology, and arts around the world.
Established in 2006, the program recognizes “unsung heroes” and positive
role models to inspire their communities. The organization also runs a
youth and adult empowerment program called T.O.O.L.B.O.X. (Taking
Ownership Of Life By Offering Experience)
More Information Visit http://www.ygbawards.org
