MLK Banquet speaker prays and pivots

By Floyd Miller

The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Banquet was a sold-out event. The Abilene Black Chamber of Commerce hosted the wonderful evening filled with food, fellowship, entertainment and inspiration.

After the entertainment, the speaker was introduced by her mother, Teresa Bledsoe. Ms. Bledsoe in her introduction mentioned that her daughter, Kendra Bracken-Ferguson, went to Abilene Day Nursery, Taylor Elementary and spent some time at Madison Middle School before the family moved from Abilene to Round Rock.

The speaker, a successful entrepreneur and CEO, shared her journey from Abilene to becoming a leader in the media and business sectors. She highlighted her education at Purdue University and her early career aspirations, including working at Fleishman-Hillard and Ralph Lauren.

She discussed founding Digital Brand Architects, raising $2 million, and later creating Brain Trust, which raised $15 million for black-owned beauty and wellness companies. She emphasized the importance of pivoting, integrity, and faith.

Bracken-Ferguson also reflected on the impact of the Los Angeles fires, the significance of love and light, and the need for hope and resilience in challenging times.

In her speech, Bracken-Ferguson shared how her career journey started with a pivotal moment when she was inspired by seeing the press secretary hand the president a piece of paper. She asked her mother who was the person that handed the President a piece of paper. Her mother told her that it was his press secretary. That sparked her desire to control the narrative and be of service through storytelling. She studied public relations at Purdue, aiming to build a strong resume and gain the best job opportunities. After planning to intern at top PR agencies in New York, she and her best friend, Branson, made the trip, staying in a cheap hostel in Times Square. Her hard work paid off when she landed an internship at a top agency, setting her on a path to success.

Later, after graduation, she pursued a master’s degree in sports administration but received an unexpected job offer in New York. With her mother’s support, Bracken-Ferguson left her scholarship behind, moved to New York, and began her professional career.

That marked the beginning of her understanding the importance of pivots in life and career. As she worked her way up in the corporate world, her passion for climbing the ladder and achieving more grew. Throughout this journey, Bracken-Ferguson also reflected on how the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” influenced her, especially the quote by George Bailey about wanting to leave a small town behind and see the world, which resonates with her ambitions.

Bracken-Ferguson, who currently serves as the CEO of Carmell Corporation, told her story of founding Digital Brand Architects, raising $2 million, and later creating Brain Trust, which raised $15 million for black-owned beauty and wellness companies.

She also discussed working for Ralph Lauren.

“So, we’re in this conference room, and in comes Ralph Lauren and his entire wealth management team,” Bracken-Ferguson said. “And they’re all sitting around this table, and Ralph is talking about his vision and buying his licenses back, and all of this money is being thrown out. And in that moment, I said, ‘I want to have a wealth management team. I want to be sitting around the table talking about how I’m going to grow something that’s my vision.’”

And, that’s what she did. “Literally, within a matter of months, I met my first business partner,” Bracken-Ferguson said. “I marched into David Lauren’s office, Ralph’s son, who was running our marketing, my boss, and I said, ‘I’m going to leave. I’m going to manage bloggers.’ And he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, but as long as they’re wearing Ralph Lauren, OK.’”

Bracken-Ferguson mentioned many pivots in her career and she said they were all preceded by prayer. As I listened to Bracken-Ferguson tell her story, I could not help but think of Kenny Rogers’ song “The Gambler” with the lyrics, “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away and know when to run.”

However, in Bracken-Ferguson’s case, her decisions appeared to have been made by what’s in her heart versus what’s in her hands.

After her speech, she was presented with a pen set by ABCC President Anthony Williams.

Also, several members of the community received awards from the Abilene Black Chamber of Commerce:
• Ambassador of the Year: Aida Pantoja
• Community Service of the Year: Rev. Andrew Penns
• Billy King Small Business of the Year: Robin Calloway-Walls
• Board Member of the Year: Paul Falade

And honored posthumously was James Francis for his work concerning the history of Juneteenth and being the first trail boss of the Prairie View Trail Riders who integrated the trail ride to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.