IT’S 1124 AS WE CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH. FOR THE PAST WEEK AND A HALF, WE’VE BEEN INTRODUCING YOU TO THE HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS SELECTED AS WINNERS OF THIS YEAR’S LOUVENIA JOHNSON SCHOLARSHIP. IT ALL CULMINATES TONIGHT WITH THE BLACK EXCELLENCE AWARDS. AND JOINING ME IN STUDIO IS SCOTT FORD, THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR TONIGHT’S 39TH ANNUAL BLACK EXCELLENCE AWARDS. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, GERRON. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. HAPPY TO BE HERE. YEAH. OF COURSE. SO THE THE BIG CELEBRATION IS TONIGHT CELEBRATING BLACK EXCELLENCE HERE IN MILWAUKEE. UH, HOW HOW HONORED ARE YOU TO BE HERE TO TO BE THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER FOR THIS? I AM INCREDIBLY HONORED. YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY REACHED OUT, I THINK IT WAS IN OCTOBER OR SO AND GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO OFFERED ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND PARTICIPATE. I WAS ABSOLUTELY ECSTATIC. I’M VERY PROUD TO BE HERE. YOU KNOW, WE’VE GOT A SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN. WE HAVE ABOUT 650,000 CUSTOMERS HERE, 50,000 BUSINESS CUSTOMERS HERE. YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY GOOD FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, NINA JOHNSON, IS ONE OF THE HONOREES TONIGHT. SO I’M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE. YEAH, FASCINATING. I BURIED THE LEAD. YOU’RE WITH US BANK. YOU REPRESENT US BANK, AND YOU’RE HERE. WHAT IS YOUR BIG MESSAGE TO EVERYONE WHO COMES OUT TONIGHT TO THE BLACK EXCELLENCE AWARDS? WELL, A BIG TOPIC OF CONVERSATION, ESPECIALLY WITHIN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, RIGHT. AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BLACK EXCELLENCE IS OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A WEALTH FOR OURSELVES. AND FOR OUR COMMUNITY. SO WHAT I HOPE TO SHARE ARE JUST SOME TIPS. THINGS I’VE LEARNED OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER WORKING WITHIN THIS INDUSTRY, OF HOW PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY BUILD AND MANAGE WEALTH AND THEN PASS WEALTH ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION. YEAH, JUST DID A STORY A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, ACTUALLY, ON COLUMBIA SAVINGS AND LOAN, WHICH IS A BLACK OWNED BANK CELEBRATING 100 YEARS IN MILWAUKEE. THIS YEAR, ONE OF LESS THAN 50 BLACK OWNED BANKS IN THE COUNTRY. RIGHT. TALK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY, REALLY FOR EVERYONE, BUT BUT REALLY FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY AS WELL. WELL, FINANCIAL LITERACY IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. IT IMPACTS ALL OF OUR LIVES. YOU KNOW, THERE’S A SAYING MONEY IS THE ONLY THING THAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT DOES NOT COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS. AND SO A LOT OF TIMES IN WHAT I’LL TALK ABOUT THIS EVENING IS A LOT OF TIMES WE DON’T GROW UP IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY TALKING ABOUT INVESTMENTS AND MONEY AND FINANCES OVER THE DINNER TABLE, THE WAY SOME OTHER CULTURES DO. BUT WE HAVE TO GET A LOT BETTER AT THIS BECAUSE IT HAS IMPLICATIONS IN TERMS OF HELPING US CLOSE THAT RACIAL WEALTH GAP THAT WE ALL TALK ABOUT SO MUCH. YEAH, IT’S SO IMPORTANT IF PEOPLE ARE WATCHING THIS RIGHT NOW, WHAT’S THE FIRST STEP THAT THEY COULD TAKE IN ACHIEVING THAT? WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU IS THE FIRST THING I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY SAVINGS. YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED SOMETHING LIKE 63% OF ALL AMERICANS COULD NOT COME UP WITH $500 IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY, IF YOUR CAR BREAKS DOWN, YOU NEED TO REPLACE YOUR HOT WATER HEATER, SO YOU END UP PUTTING THAT STUFF ON HIGH INTEREST RATE CREDIT CARDS, AND IT BECOMES A VICIOUS CYCLE THAT IT’S HARD TO GET OUT OF. SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE START SIMPLY START SMALL, BUILD A SAVINGS EMERGENCY SAVINGS ACCOUNT SO THAT YOU HAVE THAT IN THE EVENT SOMETHING HAPPENS. YEAH. AND IT SOUNDS IT SOUNDS SMALL, BUT A PENNY A DAY CAN GO A LONG WAY IF THAT’S WHERE YOU START. SCOTT FORD, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU TONIGHT. WISN 12 IS A PROUD PARTNER OF THE BLACK EXCELLENCE AWARDS, THE 39TH ANNUAL EVENT IS HAPPENING TONIGHT AT THE ITALIAN COMMUNITY CENTER AND BY THE WAY, COMING UP WEDNESDAY NIGHT, DON’T MISS OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECIAL. JOIN KRISTIN PIERCE, DERRICK ROSE A