Today’s episode featured some of this year’s winners from the Atlanta’s 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For event.

Andrew Wells and Brent Collins from Daugherty Business Solutions, Tim Gordon with InfoMart, Nathan Feather from PrimeRevenue and Rashid Brown with Kingdom Fortunes Development Group joined in a panel discussion in and around what it takes to be a great place to work.

The group covered everything from resumes and hiring practices to salary negotiation, and retention and the conversation was both frank and forward thinking.  Whether you’re an employee frustrated by your experiences, or an employer who wants to improve your HR practices, this episode is not to be missed!

In the first part of the podcast Host Dana Barrett is joined by Monica Prothro and Anthony Knight from Atlanta’s Cyclorama to talk about the attraction and the upcoming events there.  The group talks candidly about the Civil War and roles that African Americans and others played.  They also talked about the balancing act of presenting history without alienating anyone.  Monica and Anthony also talked about some of the upcoming programming and encouraged Atlantans who hadn’t been in awhile to come back to Cyclorama!

In part 2 of the interview, Dana chats with the Darrell Rodgers, the President of Emerald Data Networks about his companies recent recognition at Atlanta’s 101 Best & Brightest awards, his unique and careful employee selection process and his beliefs about a positive work environment.  They also discuss how Emerald Data Networks helps their customers select and implement the right technologies for their business and Darrell stressed that your technology should meet your needs in both times of growth and in tougher times.

Central Atlanta Membership Manager Dan Williams and The Children’s Museum of Atlanta’s Executive Director Jane Turner join host Dana Barrett to talk about the Atlanta business headlines and the latest and greatest news from the Children’s Museum of Atlanta.

Topics discussed ranged from the firing of 790 The Zone’s Mayhem in the AM show (for their tasteless mocking of Steve Gleason, the former NFL player who is battling ALS) to new jobs being brought to downtown and midtown by AT&T and Coke, to the newest downtown attraction, the ferris wheel, scheduled to open in early July.

The show also features a discussion of the age gap in attendance at arts and cultural events and what we can do about it.

Joe Trovato, The Mortgage Guy, joins host Dana Barrett to chat about the days headlines and dig into Atlanta real estate and the ins and outs of getting a mortgage.  Topics discussed ranged from Chipper Jones bad tweet, to Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson’s butt slap (poor judgement?), to problems plaguing Coke Enterprises to a good jobs outlook for Atlanta and some fun new retail stores planned for Buckhead and then the pair got down to business talking about the current trends and options when looking at a mortgage.

Joe broke down some of the basics, including what it takes to qualify and why you should know your credit score and also shared some new strategies and techniques for finding the best plan for each individual situation.  He also explains the differences a prospective home buyer will experience in dealing with the bank vs. a mortgage broker vs. a mortgage lender.

After the usual rundown of Atlanta headlines, including the “list of the day”, updates on the new ferris wheel, and a discussion of your relationship with your car, guest LaGaylia Appleby, an expert on Atlanta area property taxes joins hosts Dana & Elizabeth to talk about how you can save thousands on your property tax bill.

The newly appointed Executive Director of Callanwolde joins hosts Dana Barrett and Elizabeth Gordon to talk about her background, the arts in Atlanta and her new post at Callanwolde.  She also shares some Atlanta history, some info on the upcoming events at Callanwolde (like the summer jazz series, Jazz on the Lawn) and helps Dana and Elizabeth trek through the latest Atlanta business headlines.  Of course, the usual hilarity ensues!