Steve Harvey welcomes the crowd at the 9th Annual Hoodie Awards in Las Vegas. (Photo Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Hoodie Awards)

Steve Harvey’s 9th Annual Hoodie Awards took place in Las Vegas earlier this month and I had the honor of attending the weekend long event and hang out with the good folks over at SoftSheen-Carson. The Hoodie Awards celebrate the accomplishments of everyday folks with categories like Best Fried Chicken, Best Nail Salon, Best High School Teacher, etc. The nominees are all non-celebs who are entrepreneurs, community activists or just people who have found a way to make a positive impact where they live. Steve Harvey’s comedian friends and other celebs from the worlds of acting and music all come together too to hand out awards and perform.

I’d certainly heard of the Hoodie Awards before and I’d seen pictures and blog posts from previous years, but I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from the backstage perspective, so I went with an open mind, an armload of maxi dresses and $20 to put into a slot machine.

The verdict? Tons of pleasant surprises! I got to meet the lovely Angela Guy, get awesome hair advice for Madame Noire readers  from Michelle Obama’s stylist and Tisha Campbell-Martin let loose some real jewels about how to keep a marriage strong. She should know. She’s been with Duane for 21 years.

Check out the pics and deets!