Excitement is building toward the kickoff event for the 16th Annual Leadership Conference at Troy University this weekend.

Derrick Brewster, conference chair, said the conference will get underway at 6 p.m. Friday with Rickey Smiley, a popular stand-up comedian, television host, actor and radio personality, in concert at Sartain Hall.

The conference will close with a luncheon on Saturday with Bishop James Levert Davis as the keynote speaker.

The Carver High School Choir will perform prior to Smiley’s taking center stage at the opening session.

Brewster said the Carver High School Choir will only perform Friday night and it will be a “not to be missed” opportunity to hear this outstanding student choir.

There will be three general assembly breakout sessions on Saturday starting at 8:15 a.m. at the Trojan Center with student breakout sessions getting underway at 8:30 in Bibb Graves Hall.

“We are honored to have Bishop Davis to close the 16th Annual Leadership Conference at noon on Saturday,” Brewster said.  “Shelia Jackson and friends will provide musical entertainment for the luncheon.”

Brewster said Davis is no stranger to the Troy University campus. He has been involved with the 9th Episcopal District Summer Meetings on campus.

“Bishop Davis is a dynamic speaker and a proven leader. He will have a message that will be of value to all of us and one that will inspire and motivate us to be better and more dedicated leaders in our respective communities,” Brewster said.

Davis is the 123rd elected and consecrated bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He was elected to the office of bishop at the 47th General Conference of the AME Church in 2004. He served as the presiding prelate of the 19th Episcopal district of the church comprising KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Free State in the Republic of South Africa.

At the 48th General Conference of the AME Church in 2008, Davis was appointed the presiding prelate of the 9th Episcopal District, which comprises the State of Alabama. Prior to his election, Davis served for 12 years as the pastor of historic Big Bethel AME Church in Atlanta.

Tickets for the 16th Annual Leadership Conference are $30 and $15 for students. The tickets include the closing luncheon in the Trojan Center Ballroom on campus.

Register for the 2017 Leadership Conference online at troy.edu/leadershipconference.

The Leadership Conference is sponsored by Troy University and the City of Troy.