Parents beamed, spouses glowed, and sons and daughters at times looked overwhelmed as awards were announced during the National Salute to Black Achievers in Industry, an event at which blacks from all over the country celebrated their advancement in Corporate America.

True to the spirit of the Harlem YMCA, what could be a clubby affair was a community-wide occasion. The event on Thursday at the Sheraton New York brought together more than 100 of this year’s Harlem YMCA Black Achievers in Industry, as well as more than 1,000 others, including coworkers, relatives, and the children and teenagers who participate in Harlem YMCA programs.

“I’ve been here a number of years, and it’s just as exciting each year,” a former Black Achiever, Juliet Gilliam, said. The Black Achievers program, in its 35th year, has more than 4,000 alumni.

Family members were happy to have the chance to boast. “He was a leader growing up, the best kind. One of those good bullies,” Vivian Norwood said of her son, Anthony Norwood, who works at Merck.

“He taught me perseverance,” Jamal Cromity, a Web developer, said of his father, Steve Cromity, a 2005 Black Achiever.

As the cocktail hour ended, the 2005 Black Achievers left their families and assembled for a formal procession into the ballroom. The borough president of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, stopped by to remind them that the number of blacks in Brooklyn was second only to Cook County, which includes Chicago. Then Mr. Markowitz was driven away in an SUV sporting the license plate “BP of Brooklyn.”

After the dramatic march into the ballroom, where the Black Achievers sat on a dais facing guests, the program included songs, poems, speeches, videos, and, of course, applause.

The vice president of global public policy at Time Warner, Gerri Warren-Merrick, received the Dr. Leo B. Marsh Award, named after the financial consultant to the Harlem YMCA of Greater New York.

Isaiah Walker, 18, a senior at Thurgood Marshall Academy, received the Carrie Terrell Youth Achiever of the Year Award, named after the first woman to serve on the Harlem YMCA board of managers. Mr. Walker, the captain of the varsity basketball and track teams, started attending Harlem YMCA programs when he was in fourth grade. “It’s made a major impact on my life,” Mr. Walker said. He has been admitted to Fiske University and plans to study law.

Carrie Terrell’s grandson, Fred Terrell, said he was proud to represent his grandmother’s family at the event. “My grandmother started Black Achievers 30 years ago, and one of the awards is named after her, so of course I’m here,” Mr. Terrell said. He is a marketing student at Borough of Manhattan Community College.

“This event is a tremendous acknowledgment of the effort and spirit of the Harlem YMCA,” a Harlem YMCA board member, Preston King, said.