The 2004 GMA Week business began yesterday with the annual Monday Morning Live GMA Special Awards and Membership Meeting, hosted by comedian Chonda Pierce.

Pierce had the audience rolling when she mentioned that Mel Gibson recently had made her job of evangelizing much easier since the release of his film The Passion of The Christ. "Oh, the movie was nice and all, but all I have to do now is ask the ladies if they'd like to spend eternity with Mel Gibson, then sing 'Just As I Am,' " Pierce said.

On the serious side, this year's meeting was the first since GMA reorganized, creating the GMA trade organization and the GMA Foundation, the association's nonprofit arm.

GMA President John Styll announced more changes this year, including a renaming of the Dove Awards to the Gospel Music Awards. Styll also emphasized the live premier of the awards show at approximately 50 Regal Cinema locations throughout the nation this Wednesday. GMA members viewed a 30-second ad for the Gospel Music Awards that is currently running before every movie shown in the participating theaters and will have 12-15 million impressions, Styll said. The taped show will air on UPN on May 28.

During the business meeting, GMA members elected board members Troy Collins, vice president and general manager of BHT Entertainment; Don Donahue, president of Rocketown Records; Terry Hemmings, president and CEO of Provident Music Group; Ed Leonard, president of Daywind Music Group and vice president of New Day Christian Distributors; Stacy Merida, general manager of CeCe Winans' Wellspring Gospel label; Jeff Moseley, founder and president of M2.0 and INO; and Valerie Sumers, vice president of the William Morris Agency. Steve Gilreath, producer and director, was elected Associate.

Also during the meeting, Chaplain of the American Armed Forces Network Mark Johnston presented GMA with a special plaque commemorating the organization's efforts to spearhead an initiative with the major music companies to send free CDs to American soldiers serving in Iraq.

"We have received e-mails from Baghdad, Takrit and places I have never even heard of, where folks were hearing about Jesus Christ through music," Johnston said. I have even heard reports of Islamic people hearing about Jesus for the first time through this."

• Prev
• Next