Here’s a great twist on the grilled cheese sandwich for the kiddies from Roni Noone It’s her delicious grilled chocolate and cherries sandwich recipe from her GreenLiteBites book and blog. Grab some whole grain bread – those sandwich thins work great, some dark chocolate chips some cherries (with the pits taken out – duh) and grill those bad boys up in a pannini press or a pan. What kid will not love to help you make this and eat this wonderful treat.
If you are thinking of expanding outside of the US for your business, South America should be an area you consider and Ecuador must be on your list to explore. The construction business is booming and small to mid-sized businesses flourish. The quality of life is fantastic.
Ana Pierina Arteaga Lomeli is from Chone, Ecuador and moved to the United States on 1997. She is currently working as the Ecuadorian Consulate in Atlanta. She is also engaged in studies at Kennesaw State University for International Affairs. Ana Pierina Arteaga Lomeli’s Segment
Luis Abarca is currently the Vice-President of the Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia and has been part of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) by representing ING as Board Member at Large supporting the Hartford and Atlanta chapters. Luis is originally from Ecuador, South America, and arrived in the US in 1993. Luis graduated in 1999 from Central Connecticut State University with a BS in Management and Organization.
Luis is also the Community Relations Director at the ING Foundation and the Office of Corporate Responsibility and Multicultural Affairs. In this role, he is responsible for promoting the spirit of service by coordinating national volunteer activities, raise employee engagement by leading the Employee Giving Campaign and Sponsorship activation/event management targeting Hispanic/Latino communities. His main responsibilities cover all the ING sites across the United States. Major focal areas are financial literacy, children’s education, diversity and environmental sustainability.
Prior to that role, Luis was a Community Relations Manager for three years, Operations Supervisor in Hartford, CT and the Chair of the ING Latino Resource Group (Hartford Chapter). Luis has been an active member of the Network since 2002 supporting various non-profit activities. Luis Abarca, Jr’s. Segment
Malena Barahona Hankins, president of Aqua-Tots Swim Schools which is a standard setting business in the field and the “Life Lesson” service provided by helping to prevent drownings. Drownings are the second leading cause of death for children under the age of 14. The establishment of World of Swim as a not for profit organization and the types of organizations that can be helped where swimmers give back through this endeavor. Malena recently won the 25k open water national championship for women 35-39 and swam the event through World of Swim with the proceeds going to the March of Dimes. She continues to compete on a National and International level representing the United States.
Malena experienced seveal challenges as an Ecuadorian to establish herself, her family and her business in the United States, but she was successful. As a small business owner it is increasingly important in these economic times that large entities continue to support organizations such as the Ecuadorian Chamber of Commerce and in turn small businesses like Aqua-Tots. As a proud Ecuadorian it gives her a great sense of accomplishment to be able to serve this community and country through her business as well as through her lifelong passion of swimming. Malena Hankins’ Segment
The Ecuadorian-American Chamber is having a business Expo and Fair Saturday July 23 from 10-4 with a Reception from 4-6pm at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest. Please plan to attend. More information can be found at: Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce
Today, Entrepreneur Advisors leader Cliff Oxford speaks with two more of Atlanta’s elite business leaders. Dr. Jarrod Huey, CEO of Concordia Anesthesiology Inc. , touches upon his past as an anesthesiologist and starting his own company. With hospitals in the area looking for change in the field of anesthesiology, Dr. Huey explains his company’s solution. No doubt about it, Concordia is on the rise in this city. Also, Junko Horvath talks about her role in the financial field. After twenty-two years of business in the U.S., Junko has proven herself as a leader in this particular field. She also speaks about the ever changing market and safe bets for where your money should be nowadays. Tune in next week for a new group of Atlanta area business leaders.
Opportunities Through Athletics: Mike Gilliam
For over twenty years, Mike Gilliam has positively impacted the lives of thousands Nationwide. Companies, organizations, schools, teams, and booster clubs have retained Mike for his dynamic message. Mike’s electrifying message comes from first hand experience in what needs to happen to prepare young adults for success in school, career, and life.
Mike is an accomplished former Division I athlete. He was inducted into the Kent State University Hall of Fame with the likes of Lou Holtz, Jack Lambert, Thurman Munson, and Ben Curtis. He was a National Champion, two-time Nationals qualifier, Midwest Regional Champion, five-time conference champion, school record holder, and two-time team captain at Kent State University. He also coached at the Division I level winning a conference championship and performed in five world tours as a professional athlete, entertaining millions with the world renowned Daredevils. He’s been featured on ESPN, CNN, Incredible Sunday, the Tonight Show, and Late Night with David Letterman. Mike recruited some of the finest athletes in the world, professionally and collegiately.
He has helped hundreds of high school student-athletes and their families, worldwide, with the organization he founded in 1998, Opportunities Through Athletics, Inc. also known as Oi. His organization, based in Marietta, GA has helped secure over $50 MILLION in scholarships and financial aid for student-athletes they work with. The Atlanta Falcons have joined forces with Mr. Gilliam and Oi to further assist the youth of Metro-Atlanta. Mr. Gilliam and his organization have been featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Fox 5 High School Sports Show, AM-680 The Fan, AM-790 The Zone to name a few.
He and his family have raised thousands of dollars to assist Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis patients to support cancer and MS research through Team in Training and the MS Bike Tour. He lives in Marietta, GA with his wife and five kids.
Breakthrough Business Solutions: Rick Crain
Rick Crain’s experience and knowledge for building successful businesses and leaders began with a 32 year career with the World’s largest financial services company, ADP. Starting with ADP in St. Louis, MO in 1974, his career included leadership responsibility for the startup operations for regional offices. In 2003, Rick accepted Vice President responsibility for the Southeast operations for ADP Major Accounts division spanning 14 locations in seven states with $290 million in revenue. Throughout his career Rick has developed high performing leaders and teams to replace him before moving on to the next organizational development and personally challenging initiative.
In 2005, Rick left ADP to pursue his career and passion. Rick is a certified and licensed business and executive coach with the World’s #1 business coaching and consulting firm, ActionCOACH Business Coaching. He owns his own company, Breakthrough Business Solutions, and is also an entrepreneurial partner with DrawSuccess, a company with an innovative and fun solution for team transformation.
In 2008, Rick was recognized as a Top 100 Coach in the World by the International Business Coaching Institute, and, Georgia’s Most Inspirational Coach, Rick’s mission is to accelerate the advancement of inspiring leaders and teams above and beyond bottom line results.
Rick Crain received his undergraduate degree in Business Management from Peirce College and Certifications in Project Management and Strategic Organizational Leadership from Villanova University. He is a certified executive coach, with a master’s in Certified Coach Trainer This certification separates Rick into the top 1% coaches in the world.
Rick still loves to play baseball and has a burning desire to participate in a major league baseball fantasy camp. He is the father of two very successful kids and a proud grandfather.
Co-Opportunities Inc.: Ira Blumenthal
Ira Blumenthal is the president of CO-OPPORTUNITIES, Inc., an Atlanta-based consulting company that has counseled world class clients such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Kroger, McDonald’s, Harrah’s, American Airlines, Disney, United Artists, Marriott, Exxon, Wal-Mart and others in areas related to branding, strategic alliances, marketing, change management, re-invention and success.
His successful first book, “Ready, Blame, Fire!” focuses on the “myths and misses in marketing.” He is also the recipient of the coveted “George Washington Honor Medal For Literary Excellence” (Freedoms Foundation). Ira has written and published over 100 magazine articles on business development.
The former host of a popular radio talk show “SuccessTalk”, Ira has interviewed guest “success stories” such as General Colin Powell, Mario Andretti, Tommy Lasorda and other notables.
Delivering over 75 speeches annually, Ira has served as the “opener” for leaders such as President George Bush (Sr.), General Colin Powell, Tommy Lasorda, Bob Dole, Lech Walesa, Henry Kissinger and others
Ira is a committed leader in the fight against hunger, he is also a tireless community activist and youth coach. In his own youth, he was a “World Cup” athlete, as well as a collegiate Football and Lacrosse coach. Originally from New York, Ira resides in Atlanta with his wife Kim. He is the father of two daughters and three sons.
Here are a couple of quick tips to help you get the most out of your workout shoes.
It’s important to choose the right shoe for the right workout. One way to hurt yourself is to use the wrong shoe for the wrong sport. It’s not a good idea to regularly go running in tennis shoes. Tennis shoes are built to support your foot while playing tennis and running shoes are built to help you run.
Another common mistake people make is to wait too long to throw away their shoes. Just because the shoe looks okay from the outside doesn’t mean you should keep using it – when all the foam and cushiony stuff that supports your foot degrades it’s time to toss those shoes. Dr Fitness gets new running shoes each month because he runs everyday.
Moira is the CEO of Modo Modo Agency, a strategic B2B marketing firm and the second fastest growing woman-owned business in Atlanta. Moira is President of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Marketing Association, sits on the board of Entrepreneur Advisors and is past Vice President of strategy for the international board of the Business Marketing Association. Her experience includes client-side positions in technology and healthcare, and nearly every position on an agency org chart. Moira specializes in B2B branding, thought leadership, and sales and marketing effectiveness for complex businesses. She was recently featured on a Fox News segment regarding Hire One Atlanta, entrepreneurship and her commitment to growing regardless of the current economic climate.
She has received awards from The International Association of Business Communicators, the Public Relations Society of America, the Business Marketing Association, the American Marketing Association, the Direct Marketing Association, Graphic Design USA, the WebAwards, the Webbys, Show South and more.
Her 3 tips on being a transformational leader:
You know it is going to be a good day when you are talking to our good friend MizFit aka Carla Birnberg. She took some time out of her busy schedule to share a few workout tips from her new My Trainer Fitness 6 Packs ]featuring quick and easy 
100 calorie workouts. These 6 complete workouts are fast, efficient, calorie-slashing are portable and ready to go when you are.If you can’t afford a personal trainer – no problem – grab one of these workout packs and start exercising. These workouts are made of laminated high quality paper and are fully illustrated with great photos of each part of each exercise. You can feel confident you are doing each exercise with perfect form if you follow MizFit.
Recently MizFit was named the People’s Choice winner in a Fila Real Women (click link for video proof) contest and she got to model for them. We had a few laughs when she told us some behind the scenes stories of what really was going on when the camera’s started clicking.
If you suffer from neck pain here is a quick tip for some quick pain relief. Grab one of your kid’s rubber balls and lie on the floor. Put your head on the ball and do some isometric exercises using the ball as a bit of resistance.
Nutrition and Fitness coach to the stars, JJ Virgin came on to talk about Freaky Eater stories from her TV show on TLC. It’s hard to believe that their are two shows about weird eaters. JJ helps those people who eat things like tartar sauce or corn starch all day long – not sofas or coins? 
She has discovered that people really have to want to change. She can’t want them to change more than they do – it just won’t work for long – the same is true with people trying to lose weight or get in shape.
Her startegy for helping these Freaky Eaters is to…
She is now on the look out for someone addicted to those low cal or 100 calorie snacks – she said that if you want to nominate someone for that for an upcoming show to email Dr Fitness and she will send the info on to JJ.
JJ also wrote the book Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy – she generously shared some her best fitness tips to get those ripped arms. She recommended doing 4-8 minutes of high intensity training several times a week along with strength training several times a week. She also said that you have to move through out the day and not be sedentary. Use a pedometer to get those 10,000 steps.
