Veterans Connect Radio

A spotlight episode of Atlanta Business Radio and powered by Business RadioX. Co-Hosted by Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson and Brandon Skolnick with Gathering Of Angels. Featuring veteran entrepreneurs, support organizations, outreach groups and more in the Atlanta area continuing to serve our families, our communities and our country. 

#VetsConnect
@VetConnectRadio

Veterans Rally in the Woods
Dec. 09-11 2016

Matthew A. Grob / United States Department of Labor
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service Office of Strategic Outreach
Atlanta, Georgia / Veterans.Gov

VETLANTA / Director of Stategic Planning

Matthew Grob entered on duty as the Atlanta Regional Veterans’ Employment Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) on June 29th, 2015.  As the Regional Veterans’ Employment Coordinator Matthew provides employment resources and expertise, through outreach to businesses, employer groups, Veterans’ organizations, state workforce partners and government agencies to promote Veterans’ employment opportunities and coordinate veterans employment initiatives with the DOL VETS and state workforce agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Matthew enlisted in the US Army in 1989 and served as an Intelligence Specialist in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and tours in Germany and Italy from 1990 through 1996.  He then separated from active duty and enrolled in the Simultaneous Membership Program in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the Army ROTC program.  He was a Distinguished Military Graduate and commissioned a Second Lieutenant in July, 1999.  Matthew’s recent assignments include directing a Human Resources department of a transportation agency and commanding a regional Human Resources unit in Germany and Kuwait.  He culminated his military career managing Army-wide transformation programs over a 6-year period as the Senior Program Manager and Force Development Officer for Headquarters, US Army Europe. 

Upon retirement, Matthew and his family relocated from Heidelberg, Germany to the Atlanta, Georgia area and found most meaning and purpose in serving his fellow Veterans, their families and the military community.  He is a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a member of the Atlanta Chapter of Team Red, White and Blue, and is actively involved in numerous local veterans’ organizations.  In September 2015, Matthew was elected to the position of Executive Secretary and Executive Committee Member of VETLANTA, and in August 2016 he assumed the new role of Director of Strategy.  He most recently served as a Veteran Transition Specialist with Hire Heroes USA, a nationwide non-profit organization providing personalized transition and career coaching to US military Veterans, service members and their spouses. 

Matthew is currently in the Executive MBA Program at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.  He has a background in Program and Project Management with Lean Six Sigma training and experience.  His career is supported by a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management & Communication from Concordia University – Wisconsin, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from Webster University. 

Clayton Still / Power Home Remodeling
Marekting Mentor

Clayton Still, I am currently a Marketing Mentor for Power Home Remodeling Group. I was born and raised in Snellville, Georgia where I attended South Gwinnett High School. After graduating with a 3.8 GPA from South Gwinnett High School I attended Middle Georgia College in Cochran GA on a full academic scholarship. I received an associates degree from Middle Georgia College in 2008 and I transferred to Georgia State University. Upon transferring I enlisted into the Georgia Army National Guard where I served 6 years as a 31B or Military Police. I graduated from Basic and AIT from Fort Leonardwood Missouri. After graduating basic I served in the 178th MP Co, 190th MP Co, 179th MP Co. In 2011-2012 I deployed to Bagram Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I also deployed in 2013-2014 with the 179th MP Co to Kabul Afghanistan doing Security Escorts and Quick Reaction Forces also in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I was honorably discharged from the  Georgia Army National Guard in 2015 as a SGT. I am currently a Marketing Mentor in the Atlanta office for Power Home Remodeling Group. I have been with Power Home Remodeling for two years and I’m excited to not only continue to grow as a professional but also to be able to help veterans find a place where they can truly accomplish their american dream utilizing Power’s Veteran Initiative.

Clint Brewer / U.S. Commercial Service
U.S. Commercial Officer

Bettina Gardner / City Of Atlanta
Deputy Director Of International Affairs

A native of Stone Mountain, GA, Ms. Bettina Gardner is a proud alumna of Florida State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Multinational Business and Spanish. Shortly after undergrad, Ms. Gardner completed her MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.

Ms. Gardner has taught English abroad in both Spain and Chile, as well as worked at the US Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal. She spent 6 months in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil studying Portuguese as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.

Ms. Gardner has worked at the Georgia Department of Agriculture in the International Trade office,  managing inbound buyer delegations and planning trade missions for Georgia and southeastern agricultural companies. Her role included assisting Georgia food businesses in their exporting endeavors.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Gardner worked as a Global Business Meeting Consultant for the largest educational travel company in the US, WorldStrides Capstone. There she organized high level business meetings across the globe for top MBA programs and universities, serving as the liason to C-suite executives at companies such as Maersk, Coca-Cola, Port of Valparaiso, Gulfstream Aerospace, Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange, the Intercontinetal Exchange and many more.

As Deputy Director of International Affairs for Mayor Kasim Reed, Ms. Gardner organizes meetings with inbound/outbound delegations, coordinates overseas trips and interacts with the City of Atlanta’s global community, including the over 70 Consular offices located in the metro area. A few of the  key programs she has organized include: the  2014 Inaugural Americas Competitiveness Exchange, Mayor Reed’s trade mission to Brazil, FinTech Trade Mission to London, Mayor Reed’s Mission to the Inauguration of President Varela of Panama, Young African Leaders Initiative in Atlanta, and the annual export seminar. Ms. Gardner holds an MS in International Affairs from Georgia Tech. She has over ten years of experience in government, educational and corporate foreign exchange programs, speaks Spanish and Portuguese and has lived in both Europe and Latin America. She currently serves as Interim Director of International Affairs.

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Angelica Figueiredo White / ZIPPYAR LLC
Founder and CEO

“Angelica White is the founder and chief executive officer of ZIPPYAR, which enables products to directly stream unique video messages to consumers. We also allow consumers to respond in a crowdsourcing like platform using mobile devices. We believe customers are one of a kind and so is the message we empower brands to deliver. ZIPPYAR patent pending technology is at the intersection of Near Field Communication, QRCode, CLOUD, Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) augmenting the relationship of brands and consumers.

Angelica likes to identify herself as an inventor, entrepreneur, business consultant and mother.  She holds a bachelor of science in Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Executive MBA from Goizueta Business School. She is the 2010 class Entrepreneurship Award recipient and LaunchPad2X 2015 program graduate. Angelica has extensive experience delivering innovative solutions to companies such as Titleist, PepsiCo Brazil and Fidelity Investments. She is visionary, strategist, personable and determined.  Angelica relocated from Brazil to the US to immerse herself in an English program with final objective of attaining an MBA to starting her own business. She was awarded her first patent acting as her own patent lawyer, and is passionate about delivering social good while developing profitable businesses.

In September of this year,  ZIPPYAR was accepted into the Amazon AWS Activate Portfolio Program joining notable startups, including Airbnb, Lyft and Spotify, to name a few. Participation in this program will allow ZIPPYAR to accelerate its product development, and provide the infrastructure to quickly scale.”

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Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks and Ted Jenkin.

Richie Knight / HW Creative Marketing 
Founder

Richie Knight is a driven entrepreneur who has spent years honing the art of marketing and management. His affinity for people helps him turn professional thinkers into spirited experts. Years of experience working with people, learning their businesses and celebrating their obsessions have turned a young ideator into a marketing guru.
In 2010, Richie co-founded HW Creative Marketing, a fully integrated inbound marketing agency with a concentrated passion for people and the dedication that drives their business. At the helm of the HW team, Richie brings years of marketing experience to businesses dedicated to sharing their carefully-crafted products and services with devoted customers. Each Spring, Richie coordinates the Success Summit in the heart of Downtown Athens, Georgia, an all-day event giving creative thinkers the opportunity to learn, connect and be inspired.

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Andy Darnell / Howard Brothers Hardware
Director of Marketing and Communications

I am the Director of Marketing for Howard Brothers, a locally owned and independently run True Value Hardware store and Outdoor Power Equipment company with several locations in the Atlanta area. I’ve also had the opportunity to help develop and implement web content strategy with some of the largest hospitals and healthcare systems in the country.

On a personal level, I help small businesses develop and implement best practice web presence strategy. This involves architecture, design, content creation, web development, SEO, SEM, social media integration… Basically tell the story of who they are and why they are passionate about their business.

I live in Peachtree Corners, Georgia with my incredible wife and two amazing daughters.

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Spencer Pumpelly / SpencerPumpelly.com

Spencer Pumpelly was introduced to racing at a young age while watching his father contest the IMSA GTP Championship in a Ford Prototype during the late 1980’s. In 1995 he enrolled in the Skip Barber Racing School and has since raced in many classes of cars successfully. Spencer’s completed his eighteenth season of professional racing in 2015 driving for Park Place Racing in the Tudor United Sportscar Championship and Rennsport One in the Continental Tire ST class. When not racing, Spencer enjoys spending time with his wife Lindsay, son Ryder, daughter Parker, running, ice hockey, Jiu Jitsu, and flying helicopters.

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Eric Burch / P1 Groupe, Inc.

Eric Burch has been catering to clients within the motor sports industry since 1998. In 2006 Mr. Burch formed P1 Groupe to put a more dedicated focus on marketing, media and branding within the industry; which has since branched out to include a number of other industries aside from just motor sports. To date, P1 Groupe has placed literally hundreds of professional drivers with race teams, and generated millions of dollars of revenue back into the sport. As well, P1 Groupe has been successful working with it’s corporate clients to generate millions of dollars back in traced return on investment of various marketing initiatives.

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Thomas Harpointner (Co Host) / AIS Media

Thomas Harpointner is founder & CEO of AIS Media, Inc., an Atlanta-based, award-winning digital marketing firm. Thomas is a recognized subject matter expert on digital marketing strategy development and execution.

Thomas has served as a keynote speaker at trade organizations, conferences, and corporate events. He has appeared on Fox Business, Bloomberg Television, CNN Radio, CNBC, The Advertising Show, The Today Show and many other TV and radio programs. He’s been featured in publications such as Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, CFO, AJC, Fortune, and Wired.

At AIS Media, Thomas consults executives at leading companies on digital strategy. He’s led hundreds of digital marketing initiatives for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations such as AT&T, Synovus Financial, Emory Healthcare, Wake Forest Innovations, Pfizer, and Maui Jim Sunglasses. Under his leadership, AIS Media has been recognized with dozens of prestigious industry awards.

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