And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. (Joel 2:25 KJV)
Just before midday EST on Thursday, Alandria Lloyd paused momentarily to assess the overall landscape of her life, particularly within the past year or so.
THING OF BEAUTY — A native Natalbany, Louisiana, Alandria Lloyd, 33, was named Making Headline News’ International Women’s Day Woman of the Year for 2018, edging out 10 other women across the country who were considered for this honor by the publication’s editorial staff.
As usual, she found herself guilty of praising her way through.
“In the past year, I’ve experienced a lot of losses in the area of relationships and finances,” Lloyd explained. “Some things that I thought to be the right thing, turned out to be all wrong.”
But God…
“Through the losses, I’ve learned to lean on God all the more,” said Lloyd, sounding as if she had become engaged in a testimony service, of sorts. “Even in the midst of losing things God has restored me with better than I had before.”
Fortunately for Lloyd, an Atlanta-area businesswoman and devout woman of faith, it is due in large to her bend-but-don’t-break-faith, coupled with her valiant contributions to her community, that have given way to what ultimately had turned out to be her grandest surprise in some time.
A native of Natalbany, Louisiana, Lloyd, 33, was named Making Headline News International Women’s Day Woman of the Year for 2018, edging out 10 other women across the country who were considered for this honor by the publication’s editorial staff.
CAUGHT OFF THE GUARD — The third year for an honor that was spearheaded by Making Headline News Founder and Publisher Andre Johnson, Lloyd on Thursday morning was surprised after news spread of her being named this year’s recipient, saying “I need some good news today!”
“I was overjoyed and in total shock,” Lloyd said of being dubbed International Women’s Day Woman of the Year. “I’m blessed to be considered for such a great title.”
Originally called the International Working Women’s Day, this day is celebrated annually on March 8 and customarily commemorates the movement for women’s rights.
According to www.internationalwomensday.com, organizations and individuals around the world have collectively become committed to helping women and girls achieve their ambitions, challenge conscious and unconscious bias, as well as call for gender-balanced leadership and value women and men’s contributions equally.
Also, this day was designed in part to create inclusive flexible cultures. From awareness-raising to concrete action, organizations rallied their people to pledge support to help forge gender parity on International Women’s Day and beyond, according to a spokesperson for IWD.
The third year for an honor that was spearheaded by Making Headline News Founder and Publisher Andre Johnson, Lloyd on Thursday morning was surprised after news spread of her being named this year’s recipient, saying, “I need some good news today!”
Having authored “Fasting For Change” Prayer Journal, Lloyd is also the proud founder of Change Agent Outreach Ministries, LLC, a relatively newly ministry she established in November 2017.
Given the notable strides she’s made within the past year, many who know Lloyd agreed that this honor was well deserved for an empowering, beloved woman who has gone to great lengths to give back mightily to her community.
Lloyd is the proud founder of Change Agent Outreach Ministries, LLC, a relatively new ministry she established in November 2017.
An organization that is powered by her A’Maya’s Army nonprofit organization, Change Agent Outreach Ministries’ primary focus is centered on serving single mothers, particularly those who have suffered the lost a child (or of children).
“My ministry is encouraging and mentoring mothers who have experienced a similar loss,” Lloyd said in a January interview with Making Headline News.
In the coming months, Lloyd will be afforded the golden opportunity to further promote her organization.
From June 22-24, Lloyd will host A’Maya’s Army Mothers Retreat, a three-day event designed to encourage and inspire mothers who have experienced the loss of a child.
Accompanied by the theme, “Mask Off,” the weekend retreat will take place at the Evergreen Marriott Resort in nearby Stone Mountain, Georgia, during which attendees will have an opportunity to take off the mask and openly express how they feel without the fear of judgment.
“I chose that theme, because after a woman loses a child, she learns how to wear a mask,” Lloyd said. “The mask is used to make others comfortable around her while she’s in mourning. The mask is pretending like all is well, even though she’s breaking down inside. My mission is to motivate mothers to keep pursuing purpose and to know that there is life after loss.”
YOU GO GIRL — Given the notable strides she’s made within the past year, many who know Lloyd agreed that this honor was well deserved for a businesswoman who has gone to great lengths to give back mightily to her community.
All things considered, if anyone can greatly attest to being left to press and navigate their way through arguably the toughest of losses, surely, Lloyd can — especially after having to make sense of having suffered the losses of premature babies at the ages of 15 and 16.
“After losing two children so close together, I was on the verge of losing my mind,” Lloyd said during an interview with MHL in January.
Nearly two decades removed from having witnessed undoubtedly the darkest chapters of her young life, Lloyd on Thursday was blindsided by a rather unlikely honor.
Talk about fielding some much-needed good news on an otherwise challenging and gloomy morning.
“I intend on hosting and being a part of more empowerment seminars for women,” Lloyd said in the wake of her latest notable honor. “I’m in the process of developing tools to share with women to empower themselves by living their dreams and embracing the purpose God has given unto them.”
EDITOR’S NOTE:If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to andre@makingheadlinenews.com or to memphisgraduate@yahoo.com. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
ABOUT ANDRE: Andre Johnson is a longtime sports journalist and a 2000 graduate of the University of the Memphis with Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. A native of Memphis, Johnson is a former sport reporter Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper and Memphis Sport Magazine. He worked as full-time staffer for The Commercial Appeal from 2000-2002, in which he was the beat reporter for the Memphis Houn’dawgs of now-defunct American Basketball Assocation and the Memphis Xplorers of the arenafootball2 league. He has interviewed numerous sports personalities, most notably Archie Manning, LeBron James, George “Iceman” Gervin, Issac Bruce, Laila Ali, Vince Carter, Paul Westphal, Phil Jackson, Ken Hamlin, Cortez Kennedy, Michael Oher, Kobe Bryant, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Marc Gasol, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Patrick Willis, Stanley Morgan, Dirk Nowitzki, Rick Carlisle, Mark Cuban, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, John Force, Lamar Odom, Alexandra Stevenson, Derek Fisher, Penny Hardaway, Phillip Rivers, Colin Kaepernick, Jim Harbaugh, Tyreke Evans, Kirk Ferentz, and O. J. Mayo, among others. To reach Johnson, send email to: memphisgraduate@yahoo.com. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
Andre Johnson 
Fortunately for Lloyd, an Atlanta-area businesswoman and devout woman of faith, it is due in large to her bend-but-don’t-break-faith, coupled with her valiant contributions to her community, that have given way to what ultimately had turned out to be her grandest surprise in some time.
According to www.internationalwomensday.com, organizations and individuals around the world have collectively become committed to helping women and girls achieve their ambitions, challenge conscious and unconscious bias, as well as call for gender-balanced leadership and value women and men’s contributions equally.
In the coming months, Lloyd will be afforded the golden opportunity to further promote her organization.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
