College Sports Information Directors of America

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• 2019 Special Awards Annoucements and Features
• #CoSIDA19 Convention Home
• Past Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award Recipients

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Kenisha Rhone – Belmont University, Director of Digital Media & Social Strategy
2019 CoSIDA Bob Kenworthy Communication Service Award recipient

by Jessica Poole, Florida Atlantic University Senior Associate AD for External Relations

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
 
 
Words from "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou. Phenomenal woman are also the exact words that come to mind when I think of Kenisha Rhone, the CoSIDA 2019 Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award honoree.
 
Kenisha lives a life of service and has a special place in her heart for the next generation.
 
I can’t really tell you the first time I met Kenisha, but I can tell you what we were doing. We were volunteering at a CoSIDA community service event during a June convention. And if you know Kenisha when she’s not working at Belmont University (located in Nashville, Tennessee), she’s volunteering.
 
There are numerous young women spanning the globe who count Kenisha as a big sister. She’s passionate about making sure that young people are loved, protected and heard. I can’t think of a bigger display of this than during the tragic Waffle House shooting in Nashville last April.
 
This tragedy hit home in several ways, as one of Kenisha’s undergraduate members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., lost her life that night. Rhone, who serves as an advisor to the Belmont chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, had a special connection with DeEbony Groves. Yet despite her own emotions, Rhone thought of DeEbony’s sorority sisters and family and rallied them together to think of ways to honor DeEbony. This is just one example of who Kenisha Rhone is. She’s the person people look to in hard times because she puts other people first.
 
 
A sports buff and digital geek combined into one, Rhone’s passion for both is on display through her work in the Belmont athletic department and the Nashville community. Rhone’s official title is Director of Digital Media and Social Strategy at Belmont, but she’s more than that. She’s mom, big sister and mentor to many throughout the greater Nashville community and beyond.
 
Although Rhone is a St. Louis, Missouri, native, the Belmont and Nashville community is where she has called home for close to 20 years. She’s ingrained herself into her Belmont community by serving on numerous committees. She has been on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee, the Staff Affairs Council and also completed two years as one of the university's Title IX Investigators. The last two years, Rhone has served on a campus-wide standing committee focused on Student Centeredness as part of Belmont University's Vision 2020 Plan. Most recently, she serves as a workshop facilitator for faculty and staff in Diversity and Inclusion as part of the university's commitment to the campus-wide initiative Be yoU U. Rhone has also served as on-campus advisor for the Black Student Association, and undergraduate chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Tau Nu Chapter) and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (Gamma Alpha Eta Chapter).
 
Her work in the greater Nashville community at large is equally as impressive. She has immersed herself by serving her sorority (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.,); she serves on the race committee for the Greater Nashville Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure; volunteers frequently to speak to various youth groups — including the Girls Scouts of Greater Nashville and at local high schools; and serves as a mentor to young people through a variety of agencies. Additionally, Rhone is a member of the Young Leaders Council, Class 68. 
 
In November, Rhone was named the 2018 Play Like a Girl National Volunteer of the Year. Which comes as no surprise to those who know her. Rhone is passionate about what sports can teach young women in life and equally passionate about providing opportunity for women in competitive male-dominated careers, which is the national mission of Play Like A Girl. Rhone volunteers tirelessly to provide opportunities for young girls to fall in love with sports and to learn valuable life lessons that will carry them through life.
 
It’s obvious that Rhone’s life’s work is to serve.
 
She also is a movie buff and has turned her love of film into another volunteer opportunity. She’s a regular volunteer for the Nashville International Black Film Fest and also volunteers at the internationally renowned Sundance Film Fest. Rhone’s also a regular volunteer at the National Museum of African-American Music.
 
Rhone takes her passions and turns them into opportunities to serve her community. She serves her student-athletes and coaches, she serves her friends, she serves her community and she serves CoSIDA.
 
Rhone is a longtime member of CoSIDA’s Convention Programming Committee and the group Women Sports Information Director of America (WoSIDA) and is current chair of the Black College Sports Information Directors of America (BC-SIDA). She’s also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and NABJ – Nashville where she serves as vice president.
 
I’ve known Rhone for so many years that I’ve lost count. We’ve laughed together, cried together and prayed together, but the one thing that will always stick out to me about Kenisha is her passion for service. She gives so much of herself to others and for others. I don’t often get to tell her this but she’s my inspiration. She’s a true example of what a servant leader is and I’m proud to call her my sister.
 
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman.
 
That’s Kenisha Rhone.