National Action Network Honors Tina Thompson with Triumph Award

PHOTO GALLERY OF THE 2011 NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK TRIUMPH AWARDS

Los Angeles Sparks forward and WNBA legend Tina Thompson was honored by Reverend Al Sharpton�s National Action Network during the organization�s second-annual Triumph Awards on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.

The Triumph Awards recognize those who have made a positive impact beyond their performance on stage, in the arts, in sports and in the community.

�I am extremely proud, grateful and honored by this recognition,� Thompson said. �Being that this is the second-annual Triumph Awards, I am humbly honored even more so. There are so many people deserving of this award, and I was chosen? Wow!�

Thompson recently completed her third season with the Sparks, and is the only player to compete in all 15 WNBA seasons dating back to the league�s inception in 1997. She is the WNBA�s all-time leading scorer with 6,751 career points, and helped lead the Houston Comets to four consecutive league championships from 1997 to 2000. An eight-time WNBA All-Star, Thompson also won gold medals while representing the United States at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. In July, she was named one of the Top-15 Players in WNBA history.

Off-the-court, Thompson has been actively involved with WNBA Cares community relations initiatives throughout her 15-year career, such as serving as an original member of the Jr. NBA/WNBA Advisory Council and conducting numerous �Basketball and Books� clinics. Most recently the Los Angeles native participated in the WNBA Cares Day of Service during the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend in February, and joined Sparks teammates for a Heal the Bay beach clean-up event in Santa Monica in August. Thompson is also the co-owner and creativity director of Blueprint Collective, LLC, a marketing and branding agency that hosts philanthropic events throughout Southern California.

Joining Thompson as this year�s Triumph Award honorees were Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry Studios, who is receiving the Chairman�s Award for Historic and Transformative Service and Chris & Malaak Rock, The Angel Rock Project, who are being honored with the President�s Award for Service and Humanitarian Efforts. Additional honorees include: Marva Smalls, Viacom/Nickelodeon, Jimmie Lee Solomon, Major League Baseball, Maurice Cox, PepsiCo, Attorney General Kamala Harris, State of California and the Honorable Judge Greg Mathis.

The evening also featured a performance by the cast of Layon Gray's award-winning play Black Angels Over Tuskegee starring Lamman Rucker as well as a special musical performance by multi-platinum recording artist Joe. The event was hosted by NBC News correspondent Mara Schiavocampo.

The National Action Network Triumph Awards co-chairs are author and producer Tonya Lee and Paula Madison, CEO of Madison Media Management who also serves as Chairperson of the Los Angeles Sparks� ownership group. Madison presented Thompson with her Triumph Award, along with MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall.

For more information, visit http://nationalactionnetwork.net/triumph.