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Craig Smith with Vest Properties, Dan Torbett with Town & Country Insurance, Barbara Courie with Sans Souci and Joe Cheshire with Affordable Handyman

April 10, 2013 by Mike

Craig Smith/Vest Properties

Vest Properties, Inc. is a Georgia state licensed residential contractor, fully insured, and has always specialized in repairs, remodeling, and safety/accessibility modifications. They offer professional service for the small projects as well as the large. Vest Properties is a company dedicated to building relationships with its customers to the point where it is the only call a homeowner needs to make when any work is needed on their home. Whether it is a minor item or major project, Vest Properties offers years of experience in repairs, remodeling, or safety & accessibility modifications.

Craig Smith is a Georgia State Licensed residential contractor with Vest Properties. He has over 35 years experience specializing in repairs, remodeling, insurance repairs, and accessibility modifications. He is a graduate of Southern Technical Institute (now Southern Polytechnic State University) with a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering Technology, and he is CAPS certified (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) offering his experience in adapting homes to seniors’ needs. Craig has spoken at the Georgia Gerontology Society Conference, Athens Community Council on Aging, Barrow Regional Medical Center, churches, businesses, and other community organizations.

Dan Torbett/Town & Country Insurance

Town and Country Insurance is a family-run independent insurance agency that specializes in meeting YOUR specific insurance needs, whether they are business or personal. They have carefully partnered with several of the top insurance carriers in the nation in order to provide you with the peace of mind that you will have the coverage you need, when you need it most.

Dan Torbett grew up in Gwinnett County, graduated from the University of Georgia, and has opened two successful insurance agencies. He is active in several local and national business associations, and is a director of a non-profit organization, RAIN (Real Estate Agents in Need).

Barbara Courie/Sans Souci

Sans Souci Interiors is an interior design firm that has created a reputation for specializing in building client relationships that last from project to project, year to year. Their goal is to capture the client’s vision, make the complicated things simple, while delivering on time and within budget. Whether the client is a residential or commercial client, Sans Souci’s mission is to match fashion and function with the space using years of experience in the art of design. The talented team combines professionally degreed designers, the finest suppliers, skilled artisans, craftsman and various specialists in the industry.

Barbara Courie, principal owner and lead designer, has 33 years of experience in the interior design field. Earning two bachelor degrees, one in Fine Arts from Shorter College and a second in Furnishings and Interiors from the University of Georgia, Barbara began her career in Hilton Head Island, SC. There she designed spaces for vacation homes, offices, hotel lobbies, yacht décor and primary residences with numerous show homes on tours. After relocating to Atlanta and working as a lead designer for a local firm, Barbara purchased the business in July of 2000. Since then her firm continues consulting, designing and staging a variety of spaces for residential, businesses and the multi-family industry.

Barbara Can be reached at sanssouci@bellsouth.net or via telephone at 770-587-9596.

Joe Cheshire/Affordable Handyman

Affordable Handyman specializes in small to medium-sized residential home repair projects. All of their craftsman have been pre-screened and are insured and have a minimum of 15 years of quality experience in residential remodeling.

They guarantee that the customer will be 100% satisfied and they do not accept final payment for their work until the customer is completely satisfied with the quality. One call to Affordable Handyman will get a courteous and highly skilled and pre-screened craftsman to your home or rental property where a written estimate will be prepared for the work desired.

Some of the work they specialize in includes: carpentry, painting (interior/exterior), drywall, flooring (hardwood/pre-finished/ceramic), doors and windows, roofing (new/repairs), decks and framing, light plumbing, electrical, HVAC, demolition, mold remediation and water damage repair, bathroom and kitchen renovation, basements, and general contractor.

From adding detailed trim work to your living room to rebuilding your custom deck, Affordable Handyman is here to help. Give them a call at (404) 531-9292 to schedule your appointment today.

Kate Schermerhorn, Dan Torbett, Barbara Courie, Craig Smith, Joe Cheshire

Katharine Pike with Lighter Body Solution and Orson Hall with Wine Parties by Design

April 9, 2013 by Mike

Katharine Pike/Lighter Body Solution

The Lighter Body Solution helps women, men, and teens easily drop weight and feel great by looking at you as a whole individual with unique features and needs. You get a customized menu plan designed to give your body what it really wants–and more importantly– you get all the tools you need to make it simple, fast, and easy to lose weight permanently.

Weight loss expert and speaker Katharine Pike is almost 43 and not one of those lucky people who was just born thin and effortlessly stays that way. She has gained and lost thousands of pounds in her 22-year journey to find out what really works for real people. She combines the lessons from overcoming her real life weight battles with her formal education at Smith College and the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York to create natural nutrition programs that work for ‘normal’ people. She works with people who struggle with food and diets to create and implement natural strategies to burn more calories and store less of them, without eating like rabbits or living at the gym.

Orson Hall/Wine Parties by Design

Wine Parties by Design provides and caters unique wine parties that clients can customize to fit their requirements. They do not sell wines; however, they help their clients select delicious wines for their event. They also provide wine tours of North Georgia and California. Wine is their passion!

Orson Hall is originally from California and graduated from the University of California at Davis, just 45 minutes from Napa Valley. He has spent most of his career in Information Technology but has always had connections with those in the California wine industry. He started his company, Wine Parties by Design, after friends attended his wine parties and encouraged him to start a business.

Chris Jones and Carly Craine with Eagle Rock Distributing Company, Dr. Lauren Millman with Suwanee Spine and Wellness Center, Jeff Johnson with Jake Johnson’s Garage and Marie Fratoni with Reinvent Yourself Seminars

April 4, 2013 by Mike

Chris Jones & Carly Craine/Eagle Rock Distributing Company

Eagle Rock Distributing Company (ERDC) is a full service beverage distribution company with offices located in Stone Mountain and Dalton, Georgia. The company services licensed retailers in metro Atlanta and North Georgia and the wine and spirits division of ERDC, services retailers statewide. ERDC distributes beer brands from Anheuser-Busch, Yuengling, New Belgium, Krombacher and others. They also have an innovative brands portfolio including Nestle, Sparkling Ice and Taste of Florida.

Dr. Lauren Millman/Suwanee Spine and Wellness Center

Suwanee Spine and Wellness Center specializes in providing a unique and specialized form of chiropractic to help naturally heal those suffering from pain or dysfunction. The unique approach that Dr. Millman utilizes naturally and effectively restores the body back to a balanced position so that the body can in turn heal and live as it was intended. Suwanee Spine and Wellness Center operates on the foundation that unless you correct the underlying problem (spinal imbalance), no pill, potion or lotion can make you better. When you can effectively correct the underlying dysfunction, your body, in turn, can heal. Our spinal care procedure effectively and uniquely evaluates the state of your whole frame, which in turn effects your overall health. Your structure dictates your body’s function, and our practitioners understand how to effectively evaluate structure to optimize your body’s function. Suwanee Spine offers premier chiropractic care as well as Neuromuscular Therapy and Personal Training/Corrective Postural Exercises.

Dr. Lauren Millman is the Chiropractor and Owner of Suwanee Spine and Wellness Center in Suwanee, GA (off Peachtree Industrial Blvd. and Moore Rd.). She practices a unique form of chiropractic known as Upper Cervical Chiropractic, which is only practiced by less than 1% of chiropractors nationwide. Dr. Millman is 1 of 40 upper cervical chiropractors that specializes in the QSM and NUCCA techniques. Dr. Millman opened Suwanee Spine & Wellness Center in Suwanee in 2012 , serving as a health and wellness resource to the community. Dr. Millman is a wellness practitioner and community leader, and she continues to exceed expectations of her patients by the results they receive through exceptional care. Dr. Millman is a writer, speaker and published peer-reviewed researcher.

Jeff Johnson/Jake Johnson’s Garage

Jake Johnson’s Garage offers automotive, truck and marine repair as well as state emissions inspections and repairs/diagnostics.

Jake Johnson’s Garage was started in 1922 by John “Jake” Johnson Jr. in downtown Atlanta on Courtland Street. In 1934, the business was relocated to Piedmont and Monroe Drive and became the first AMOCO station in Atlanta. Jake Johnson’s Garage was one of the first foreign car repair shops in Atlanta. John Johnson III took over in 1951, continuing service in Atlanta at three other locations over the years. Eventually relocating to Buford in 1988, Jeff Johnson took over in 1992 and continues to operate the family business to this day.

Marie Fratoni/Reinvent Yourself Seminars

Reinvent Yourself Seminars is a Coaching and Training Company which supports people in creating happy, fulfilling careers. They provide speaking engagements, skill-building seminars, 1-on-1 Coaching, and vacation-courses in Italy where people develop success skills and business growth strategies to make the leap from “same old, same old” to a thriving and prosperous career or business.

Marie Fratoni, M.Ed. is a talented human potential expert and a top reinvention strategist. She is a dynamic Coach and Speaker, and brings a wealth of talent and experience to her programs, demonstrating a high level of commitment and expertise.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE with John Ernst: Johnny Phelps with Harry Norman Realtors, Leighann Russell with Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners and Wayne Stoneback with Atlantic & Pacific Real Estate

April 4, 2013 by Mike

MAKING A DIFFERENCE is hosted by John Ernst with Ernst & Partners.

Johnny Phelps/Harry Norman Realtors

Johnny Phelps has been a Realtor/Broker with Harry Norman, REALTORS® for nine years after a 30-year career in broadcasting. Johnny works with buyers and sellers, and families who are relocating.

Founded in 1930, Harry Norman, REALTORS® is Atlanta’s oldest and largest residential real estate firm with 11 sales offices, various franchise and satellite offices, and more than 1,000 real estate professionals.

Leighann Russell/Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners

Leighann Russell is a Realtor at Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners. Leighann’s mission is to provide exceptional service to her clients and be the trusting source they can go to as an advocate and knowledgeable advisor.

Wayne Stoneback/Atlantic & Pacific Real Estate

Atlantic and Pacific Real Estate US is one of the 18 members of the Carrington family of companies. Carrington was founded in 2001 by Bruce Rose, a former Wall Street securities broker. The Carrington family of companies is involved in the finance, asset management or sales of residential real estate. Atlantic & Pacific is a leader in the disposition of REO, Short Sale and retail homes. They are also heavily involved with local and national investors as well as several large hedge funds in purchasing properties for differing investment goals. They are a full service company that has the expertise in the current market to assist the individual home buyer in navigating these new and exciting times.

John Ernst/Ernst & Partners

Ernst & Partners is a law firm that handles Personal Injury, Real Estate Closings, Bankruptcy, Criminal and Divorce.

John A. Ernst Jr. is a graduate of Emory University and University of Georgia, School of Law. After graduating from Emory, Mr. Ernst was the assistant to Georgia Governor Roy Barnes, in which capacity he had the opportunity to meet with the leaders of the state and from around the world. Mr. Ernst is also a veteran of many political campaigns around the state. He then continued his education and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia School of Law. During his tenure in law school, Mr. Ernst was a member of the prosecutorial clinic where he served as a prosecutor in the Athens-Clarke County District Attorney’s office and was a summer clerk for the Honorable John J Ellington, Georgia Court of Appeals. After law school, Mr. Ernst served as the Attorney of the Majority Caucus in the Georgia House of Representatives for the 2004 Legislative Session. John opened his own law firm in 2005 where he handles Real Estate Transactions, Bankruptcy cases, and Personal Injury Clients.

Paul Feyereisen with Southern Home Inspections Plus, Lisa Turner with Silverleaf Management Group, Karen Post with Secur-A-Maid and Bill E. Nettles with Professional Multifamily Redevelopment

April 3, 2013 by Mike

Paul Feyereisen/Southern Home Inspections Plus

Southern Home Inspections Plus provides home inspections for home owners and potential home buyers. Our inspections focus on all systems and components found in every home and gives our clients a thorough evaluation of the current condition of the property being inspected. They cover Gwinnett County and 14 other counties in the greater Atlanta area. Their goal is to provide their clients with the information to make an objective decision on whether to buy or sell the property. Southern Home Inspections Plus delivers a computer generated report with pictures by the following day. Paul Feyereisen can be reached via email at sohoinsplus@gmail.com.

Lisa Turner/Silverleaf Management Group

Silverleaf Management Group was created to provide an alternative for community associations looking for association management. Using an innovative approach to community management, Silverleaf combines a high-level of customer service with a reasonable fee structure to provide an appropriate solution for your community, regardless of size. Silverleaf provides a full range of professional, sophisticated community management services with personalized attention.

Lisa Turner, founder and Broker of Silverleaf Management Group, has served in the community management industry for over 10 years. Lisa is a graduate of Berry College in Rome, GA with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. Lisa also holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. Lisa is proud to have achieved CMCA® (Certified Manager of Community Associations) and AMS® (Association Management Specialist) and is one of only 30 managers in the state of Georgia to have achieved the prestigious PCAM® (Professional Community Association Manager) designation from the Community Association Institute (CAI). Lisa is a finalist for National Manager of the Year, 2013. Lisa is a member of the local chapter of the Community Associations Institute, CAI-Georgia, and is proud to serve as the CAI-Georgia Public Relations Committee Co-Chair for 2013. Lisa can be reached via email at lturner@silverleafmanagement.com or via telephone at 770-554-3984 x 101.

Karen Post/Secur-A-Maid

Karen Post, president of Secur-A-Maid, has been involved in the cleaning business for several years and founded Secur-A-Maid along with a security company executive. Karen is a member of ARCSI (the association of residential cleaning services international), an active member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and serves on the board of Friends of Gwinnett County Senior Services. Karen strives to provide consistent quality cleaning services provided by highly screened, honest and trustworthy individuals.

Bill E. Nettles/Professional Multifamily Redevelopment

PMR is a redevelopment management firm created to provide multifamily owners and investors with professional representation for their capital & redevelopment projects. They are your “Construction Department”. Their mission is to provide fast, reliable and cost-saving renovation management services to each community they serve, with minimal disruption to your residents, leasing & maintenance staff’s operations.

Bill E. Nettles is a 27 year multifamily redevelopment veteran & PMR’s principal owner and founder. With the economic overhaul impacting the entire apartment industry in 2008, he saw an opportunity to develop a renovation management resource that can service clients as their own construction department. With a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction from Virginia Tech, and a portfolio of tens of thousands of apartment homes renovated or constructed, he has become an expert in the field of multifamily renovation and repositioning across the United States. At the executive level, Mr. Nettles has supported some of the nation’s leading apartment owners and developers including UDR, AIMCO, Laramar and Brencor. His specialty is major renovation projects on fully occupied communities, where completely redeveloped properties are repositioned from at least one grade level or more. From affordable housing to market rate apartments, no job has been too big of a challenge.

Sam Pullara with SamCour & Associates, Carrie Cunningham with Physiotherapy Associates Lanier and Mark Potter with Conduit Incorporated

March 28, 2013 by Mike

Sam Pullara/SamCour & Associates

Their business is very simple. SamCour & Associates purchases short sale and foreclosed single family residential houses, reconditions them and then rents them. A short sale property is offered for sale by the owner with the permission of the mortgage holder at a price much lower than the pay off balance of the mortgage loan. The Foreclosure properties are owned by the mortgage holder; bank or government.

Their standard house is a three bedroom, two bath ranch with a two car attached garage, in a neighborhood where people take care of their property. They will go two stories, and a one car garage or no garage, but will not go less than three bedrooms and two baths. They provide a stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher for each property, with HVAC.

Their target purchase price is between $28,000 and $32,000 and their target reconditioning cost is between $10,000 and $12,000. Their target rental price is between $800, and $900 a month. Renters pay for all utilities and they pay the cost of taxes and landlord insurance.

Carrie Cunningham/Physiotherapy Associates – Lanier

Physiotherapy Associates – Lanier is an outpatient physical therapy provider where they treat a wide variety of conditions. They treat neck pain, back pain, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, sports injuries, post operative rehabilitation and vestibular (dizziness and balance) training. Carrie is a certified pitching coach with NPA which provides not only pitching mechanics evaluation but all overhead athlete evaluations. Carrie is also a dry needling specialist which offers great relief for all of their pain patients. They see and service all of your worker’s comp needs as well with the ability to perform work conditioning and FCE’s at some of their local locations

Carrie Cunningham, PT, OCS graduated in 1995 from St Louis University in St Louis Missouri. She is a board certified specialist in orthopedics along with being a dry needling specialist. She has been trained in the specialized care of vestibular conditions along with becoming certified by the NPA as a pitching coach. She performs dynamic movement assessments for athletes but also for all her patients as we all have a little athlete inside us. I am a mentor for students progressing in their pre- and post-professional advancement with clinical residencies for several different Universities. She has taken extensive continuing education in manual therapy and sports medicine.

Mark Potter/Conduit Incorporated

Conduit, Inc. is the publisher of CANVAS magazine and a variety of exclusive custom publications. They provide strategic content for marketing oriented companies across the country. Their client list includes companies such as Fuji, Ricoh and CooperVision .

CANVAS magazine is the foundation of Conduit Inc. It serves a community of the most ambitious marketing service professionals in the industry. It’s thought leading content connects with 20,000 readers across the country in a variety of channels. Through highly designed printed editions, dynamic digital content, the only Marketing Service Provider resource guide (MSP), and an engaging website (www.thecanvasmag.com), they have inspired change that will endure.

Their custom publication clients include companies that understand the power of content marketing and the importance of brand. They have helped countless businesses build and enhance their relationships with their respective markets. Design and substance are the keys to building relationships and they do both very well.

As the publisher of CANVAS Magazine, the first and only magazine for print sales and marketing professionals, Mark Potter is responsible for the creation and production of a magazine that is distributed to 20,000 readers across the country. The inaugural issue of CANVAS was distributed in September 2007 and Mark now leads a platform that includes 12 issues of CANVAS, several custom publications, and a new platform for High School booster clubs.

Before chasing his dream of creating a stewardship to the printing industry, Mark was the Vice President of Marketing for Unisource Worldwide, where he was responsible for directing strategic marketing and lead segmentation for the $6 billion company. He also managed product lines generating more than $1.2 billion in revenue and an inventory of more than $100million. Mark has created, sourced and launched multiple brands and effectively established and managed a variety of successful product segments. His innovative thinking and “out-of-the box” approach lead to the development of new programs and prospects, including new business opportunities and pilot programs, as well as the company’s highly-regarded custom publication, The Source, which shared exclusive research and industry intelligence with Unisource customers.

Corbin Cook and David Chamblee with RMT Planning, Kevin Keeney and Scott McMichael with Innovative Architects and Todd Wahl with Unified Systems Management

March 26, 2013 by Mike

Corbin Cook & David Chamblee/RMT Planning

RMT Planning, LLC is a company that specializes in creating customized investment strategies for individuals. Their extensive research on historical cycles and the economic circumstances that investors find themselves in lead them to develop unique investment and planning strategy. Their focus is to partner with their clients to enhance their personal economy through financial planning created for today’s unnatural market conditions.

Kevin Keeney & Scott McMichael/Innovative Architects

“Cloud Computing” is everywhere. But what does that really mean and how can your business use these services in a secure and cost efficient manner? Kevin Keeney of Innovative Architects helps de-mystify this topic and talks about practical cloud applications.

Kevin Keeney is Vice President of Enterprise Applications at Innovative Architects. In this role, Kevin designs and delivers software solutions for business focusing on Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Cloud Migration, and Business Data Services. Prior to coming to IA, Kevin led the data services team at Cox Media Group and co-founded a start-up that delivers web based utility data. Kevin is a graduate of California Polytechnic (BS-Mechanical Engineering) and Purdue University (MS-Mechanical Engineering).

Innovative Architects was founded in 2002 and has over 75 consultants in offices in Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC. As a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner for 10 years running, Innovative Architects focuses on delivering project based technology solutions to clients throughout North America.

Todd Wahl/Unified Systems Management

Technology is everywhere and interwoven into every imaginable business type. Unfortunately, most business owners and operators do not understand IT (technology) therefore they do not leverage IT (technology) to the degree they should. If they do understand IT (technology) some fail to apply the time-tested best practice business methods to get the most efficient and effective results. Getting your technology to work for you rather than you work for IT is an option!

Unified Systems Management is the full-service technology consulting division of Atlanta Technology Force, Inc., catering exclusively to businesses. USM specializes in Business Information Technology Solutions (BITS) such as technology consulting, service, support, maintenance and monitoring. They also provide, at a competitive price, many of the top computers, servers, network devices, VoIP Telephone systems, software and licensing that your business needs. They have expanded their service offering to include cloud computing, hosted services, website design/development, and digital presence management and implementation. In everything they do they always work towards security, stability and reliability of your network technology as well as efficiency and effectiveness of your day to day business operations.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE with John Ernst: Stefan Turkheimer with The Law Offices of Turkheimer & Hadden and Mike Hassinger with Apache Political

March 21, 2013 by Mike

MAKING A DIFFERENCE is hosted by John Ernst with Ernst & Partners.

Stefan Turkheimer/The Law Offices of Turkheimer & Hadden

Stefan Turkheimer is a founding partner of Turkheimer & Hadden, LLC. Prior to the firm’s founding, Stefan was a litigator at one of the preeminent workers compensation insurance defense firms in Georgia. He defended Fortune 500 employers against lawsuits in tort and workers’ compensation. During his legal career Stefan has handled hundreds of workers’ compensation cases. He graduated, with honors, from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2004.

Stefan was a judicial law clerk at the Supreme Court of New York for Justices Karla Moskowitz and Marcy Klein. He also served in the District Attorney’s Office in Athens-Clarke County under District Attorney Ken Mauldin. Stefan was responsible for prosecuting felonies and while there served as prosecutor in over 40 trials.

Following law school, Stefan was Deputy Communications Director for United States Congresswoman Denise Majette before becoming finance director for Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor’s gubernatorial campaign. He also served as a finance consultant for Jim Martin in his bid for higher office.

Mike Hassinger/Apache Political

Mike Hassinger with Apache Political is a political consultant in Atlanta who runs campaigns for public office across Georgia. He started out as a beat reporter covering government and politics, and has worked as a communications director for elected officials, and has done consulting work for Fortune 500 companies. When he’s not working on campaigns, he edits the Peach Pundit Daily, an e-newsletter about state and local politics in Georgia.

John Ernst/Ernst & Partners

Ernst & Partners is a law firm that handles Personal Injury, Real Estate Closings, Bankruptcy, Criminal and Divorce.

Torey Rose with You’re Sew Special, Leighann Russell with Keller Williams Realty, Jimmy Van Buren with Atlanta Junk King and Marie Fratoni with Reinvent Yourself Seminars

March 21, 2013 by Mike

Torey Rose/You’re Sew Special

You’re Sew Special, Inc. emerged from a challenge presented to Torey Rose after years of dealing with athletic uniforms that were late, wrong, or didn’t fit her players. Her school principal challenged her to make her own uniforms. That challenge developed into a specialized company where uniforms are custom-designed and custom-fitted. YSS is starting its 20th year in business with Torey as the President and CEO and has grown from an athletic apparel company to include other types of apparel. The mission at YSS is to take the pain out of their clients’ lives.

Leighann Russell/Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners

Jimmy Van Buren/Atlanta Junk King

Junk King is a family owned and operated green junk removal service based in Cumming, GA.

Jimmy Van Buren was born in southern California and raised in Dahlonega, GA. He graduated from Lumpkin County High School in 2007 and went on to graduate from Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems and a minor in Business in 2012. He started working part-time for Junk King in December of 2011 and came to work full-time as the Business Development Manager in May of 2012.