Garrett Ervin, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

LEADER DIALOGUE: Verge Health, Safety First

August 7, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Gwinnett Studio

LEADER DIALOGUE: Verge Health, Safety First

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Verge Health CEO Dr. Mark Crockett discusses the criticality of prioritizing patient safety in today’s healthcare market, and how the age of consumerism forces comine to benefit patients, by aligning incentives of provider and insurers to do what is best for the consumer (fee for value). Dr. Crockett and Lisa Counsell, Verge Health’s VP, share their insights and successes having worked with leading healthcare organizations across the country.

Listen in to learn…

How accountability and incentives are aligning within the Age of Consumerism to drive efficient and safe healthcare practices
What it takes for health systems to win, and what can be learned from other complex and highly regulated industries
The impact of effective leadership and persistent curiosity on operational performance
The art of the possible; learning to innovate by asking the question “under what circumstances could we” make that happen?

About SOAR Vision Group

The SOAR Vision Group mission is to: Align People with Purpose to Achieve Exceptional Results. SOAR provides best practice strategy execution, business process optimization services, and a structured organizational development approach for organizations to effectively implement the Baldrige Performance Excellence framework. For more information, contact SOAR Vision Group at (888) 294-3303 or visit soarvisiongroup.com.

About the Baldrige Foundation

The mission of the Baldrige Foundation is to ensure the long-term financial growth and viability of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, and to support organizational performance excellence in the United States and throughout the world. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is presented annually by the United States President to organizations that demonstrate quality and performance excellence. For more information, contact the Baldrige Foundation at (202) 559-9195 or visit baldrigefoundation.org.

Stephen Burge with Johnny’s Pizza – Lawrenceville

August 3, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Gwinnett Studio

Stephen Burge with Johnny's Pizza - Lawrenceville

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Stephen Burge/Johnny’s Pizza – Lawrenceville

At 16 years old, Bruce Jackson was flipping pizza at the original Johnny’s Pizza in Manlius, NY. He loved the business of serving piping hot pizza always made with fresh, authentic ingredients to happy customers, sitting down with the locals on a Friday night for a slice, or feeding the high school football team after a win. He saw an opportunity and he wanted to build his own. Most of Johnny’s franchise operators are familiar with the feeling.

In three short years, Bruce opened a Johnny’s Pizza just off the Syracuse University campus with Johnny’s younger brother Rosario. After six years of success, Bruce and a new business partner, Scott Allen, were ready for a move to warmer weather and Atlanta, GA is where they landed. In 1977, Bruce and Scott wrote “Now Open” on a pizza box, stuck it in the front window of their storefront in Atlanta, and started selling pizza. One year later, they opened a second store. As entrepreneurs, they saw bigger potential in the brand and the business model they so carefully fine-tuned. In 1994, they officially began to franchise.

In 2003, Johnny’s needed a unique name to operate on a national level, so they gave Johnny a last name and Johnny Brusco’s Pizza was born. Now a new generation of leadership is guiding Johnny’s Pizza into the future. Bruce’s son, Luke, is expanding the business across the country and focusing on growth in both dine-in and delivery segments. They’re also focusing on ways to increase individual store volume growth, including new seasonal menu offerings, and an expanded craft beer selection.

Johnny’s Pizza – Lawrenceville

Lucas Acosta, Founder & CEO of Foojee

August 2, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Beyond The Cupola

Lucas Acosta, Founder & CEO of Foojee

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“Beyond the Cupola” allows invited customers, community, and team members of Oconee State Bank to have an opportunity to share their stories of success and inspiration, and/or how the Remarkable culture of Oconee State Bank has inspired them to mark lives in their own right.

Lucas Acosta/Foojee

Foojee prides themselves on building rock-solid solutions created to serve by helping you achieve your goals through your Apple technology. Here are five things you should know about Foojee:

Foojee was born out of a calling to serve. They combined that calling with their enthusiasm of Apple products and created a company.
They’re in it to win it. Foojee doesn’t outsource their talent. All of their team members are W-2 employees with benefits, and each one adds their own spice to the Foojee brand.
Why the name Foojee? Well, the Fuji apple is their founder’s favorite type of apple. Simple as that.
Since Foojee opened shop, they’ve grown on referrals alone.
Foojee creates monthly Apple-centric videos filled with tips, news, advice, and the occasional joke. It’s how they like to keep in touch with their clients.

Tom Wilson/Oconee State Bank

In the early 1900s, there were banks in all the small towns of Oconee County… Bishop, Bogart, Eastville, Farmington and Watkinsville. When the Depression came along in 1929, all the banks went broke and Oconee County was without a bank for the next 30 years. Farmers and small merchants had to travel to Athens for their banking needs.

In 1958, a group of community leaders recognized the need for a bank in Oconee County and started a process of getting the necessary approval for a state chartered community bank. In 1959, the FDIC approved a community bank and Oconee State Bank opened its doors for business on February 1, 1960 with 3 employees and a small corner office on Main Street in downtown Watkinsville.

Today, Oconee State Bank has 3 full-service financial centers located in Oconee County, GA as well as a website which serves as an “Internet Branch.” The vision of the founders continues today. Oconee State Bank is proud to provide an unparalleled commitment to personalized service, value-added products, and a deep sense of responsibility to the communities they serve.

Brett DeLoach with Sonesta Gwinnett Place Atlanta

August 1, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Case In Point

Brett DeLoach with Sonesta Gwinnett Place Atlanta

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Brett DeLoach/Sonesta Gwinnett Place Atlanta

Sonesta Hotels is excited to announce its first dual-branded property, bolstering the brand’s position within the Atlanta market as well as the industry as it continues to adapt to meet the needs of today’s diverse traveler. The existing Sonesta Gwinnett Place Atlanta has been dramatically enhanced with the addition of a new Sonesta ES Suites, the company’s signature extended stay hotel brand. The two properties will operate harmoniously under one roof, while delivering two distinctive Sonesta experiences that can accommodate visitors regardless of their length of stay and purpose of visit.

LEADER DIALOGUE: The Baldrige Journey vs. The Destination – Deep Dive

August 1, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Gwinnett Studio

LEADER DIALOGUE: The Baldrige Journey vs. The Destination - Deep Dive

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On this follow-up deep dive episode of “Leader Dialogue“, Core Values Partners President Paul Grizzell again joins Ben, Jennifer and Duffie to expound upon his experiences and tips for organizations launching or continuing their journey toward the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The hosts discuss how the transformation journey is like developing a health fruit-bearing tree.

Listen in to learn…

The characteristics of a healthy organizational “tree”
What leaders need to know and do to help grow a healthy organizational “tree”
How this cross-maps to the Baldrige Performance Excellence Framework
What a Baldrige Consultant can do to nurture the organizational tree, and also the difference between a Baldrige Consultant and a Baldrige Examiner
How Lean Six Sigma can either assist or harm organizational tree development, if it is disconnected from the organizational strategy
The essence of effective leadership

About SOAR Vision Group

About the Baldrige Foundation

Tom Briggette with Pioneer Capital Group and Kyli Owen with 27th and Leo

July 31, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

North Fulton Business Radio

Tom Briggette with Pioneer Capital Group and Kyli Owen with 27th and Leo

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Tom Briggette/Pioneer Capital Group

Pioneer Capital Group provides alternative financing to small business owners. Through their relationships with numerous lending groups, Pioneer Capital Group is able to assist existing business owners and provide them with short term, uncollateralized, and non-equity financing. The most common use of funds for businesses is to help them expand, hire, bid jobs or fill orders. Traditional bank financing for small business owners is difficult, and the upsurge in merchant cash advance providers has filled a finance gap that has provided over 10 Billion dollars to almost 180,000 small business owners from 2015 to 2017.

Kyli Owen/27^th and Leo

27th and Leo is a retail consulting firm that guides brands and consumer product companies into building long-lasting relationships with their customers through optimal product planning and marketing strategies. The firm takes a holistic approach with each of their clients to understand consumer behaviors and how to make the biggest impact in today’s dynamic retail environments. 27th and Leo steers brands through specific crossroads that are reached through overwhelming growth or a slow down in growth. No matter the path, 27th and Leo develops strategic road-maps to navigate clients through these critical crossroads, and offers brands fully integrated services including consumer trends and analytics, product merchandising and development, and business strategies.

Larry Campbell & Caleb Stevens with Corners Outreach

July 26, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Beyond The Cupola

Larry Campbell & Caleb Stevens with Corners Outreach

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Larry Campbell & Caleb Stevens/Corners Outreach

Corners Outreach is a 501c3 that strives to increase high school graduation rates and improve career opportunities for families.

A study from Northeastern University found that high school dropouts cost taxpayers $292,000 over the course of their lives. In the communities where Corners Outreach focuses, the Board of Education in DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties states that High School graduation rates are 70% Caucasians, 64% African American, 55% Hispanics, and 35% ESOL.

A recent study shows that students who do not read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma than proficient readers. Corners Outreach can be most effective in decreasing the dropout rate by tutoring elementary age students and showing parents the value of education.

In 2012, Corners Outreach partnered with Berkeley Lake Elementary to begin an education focused program, Corners Academy, which provides after school tutoring as well as a summer camp in Norcross, GA. Soon after they partnered with two other elementary schools, Hightower Elementary and Beaver Ridge Elementary. In 2017 Corners added Norcross Elementary and Kingsley Elementary.

While building relationships with the parents of their students, they found that many had more than two jobs. In 2017, they started Corners Industries, a career initiative which exists to break cycles of poverty.

Karlos Walkes with Team XiQ, Sanjay Parekh with Prototype Prime and Gabrielle Jewell with Sourced.

July 26, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Gwinnett Business Radio

Karlos Walkes with Team XiQ, Sanjay Parekh with Prototype Prime and Gabrielle Jewell with Sourced.

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Sanjay Parekh, Steven Julian, Gabrielle Jewell, Duffie Dixon, Karlos Walkes

Karlos Walkes/Team XiQ

XiQ is a tech startup that has created the Stinger. It’s a smart device that replaces the conventional ignition on most non-automotive vehicles and machines. The Stinger works with a mobile app to introduce a new level of keyless vehicle security, activation and engagement.

Sanjay Parekh/Prototype Prime

Prototype Prime is an incubator that focuses on early stage software and hardware technology startups. Their 12,500-square-feet offers open, collaborative workspaces, a podcast room, event space, and design & development lab. Funded by the City of Peachtree Corners and in partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology’s ATDC, Prototype Prime’s mission is to provide teams with the support they need to launch and scale.

Gabrielle Jewell/Sourced

Sourced. began with a very clear vision: Be the reason their clients have more time. Time for your kids. Time to perfect your big presentation. Time to kick up your feet and watch a movie. Time to think. You have a lot to do, and it’s hard to find the time to do it all. This is why they exist. Sourced. is here to make it easier for you to achieve your individual goals and spend time how you want to, all while taking the pressure off. Take your life back, focus on the important things, and delegate the rest to Sourced.

Major Chris Smith with the Gwinnett County Police Department

July 25, 2018 by Garrett Ervin

Case In Point

Major Chris Smith with the Gwinnett County Police Department

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Major Chris Smith/Gwinnett County Police Department

The Gwinnett County Police Department is a nationally accredited and rapidly growing police agency located in the Northeastern quadrant of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Department currently has an authorized strength of 813 sworn officers supported by 280 civilian employees with the responsibility of providing law enforcement services to over 800,000 residents within an area of 436 square miles. There are five separate police districts (West, South, North, East and Central Precincts), each led by a major. The district/precinct commanders are responsible for the delivery of police services within their district. Construction of the sixth police precinct, to be located at Bay Creek Park near Grayson, is expected to begin within the next few months.