Search Results for: marketing matters

Georgia Bulldog 100 Winners for 2012

September 24, 2012 by rhondachale

[Chirbit:http://chirb.it/85E3mL]

The Georgia Bulldog 100 is a program that determines and awards the 100 fastest growing businesses that are owned or operated by University of Georgia Alumni each year.

Honorable Steve Jones/UGA Alumni President

On January 5, 2011, Judge Jones was nominated by President Barack Obama to become a United States District Judge. Judge Jones was sworn in as a district judge on March 4, 2011. In this role, Judge Jones presides over cases that involve the United States government, the United States Constitution, federal laws, controversies between citizens of different states, and other matters.

Prior to his nomination to the district court, Judge Jones served as a Superior Court Judge in the Western Judicial Circuit (Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties, Georgia). Judge Jones was appointed to the Superior Court in 1995. In this role, Judge Jones presided over civil and criminal cases. In addition to his regular caseload, Judge Jones also presided over the Western Judicial Circuit Felony Drug Court Program, a program that integrates alcohol and substance abuse treatment with court supervision. Prior to his 1995 Superior Court judicial appointment, Judge Jones served as a Municipal Court Judge (1992-1995), as an Assistant District Attorney (1987-1991), and as the Director of the Child Support Recovery Unit (1978-1985).

Judge Jones is a “Double Dawg” and earned his Bachelors degree in Management in 1978 and his Juris Doctor in 1987.

In addition to all of his accomplishments, Judges Jones Â also serves on the Board of Directors for the UGA Alumni Association as President. Judge Jones is married to Lillian Kincey.

Anthony Moore/jobTopia

Anthony Moore is withÂ jobTopia, a recruiting, executive search and contract staffing firm. Â Anthony graduated from the University of Georgia in 1993 with a degree in Marketing. Â He is an Atlanta native who grew up in Gwinnett County and went to Riverwood High School in Fulton County. Â Anthony is politically active in the GOP.

John Shurley/GH&I

John Shurley is an Audit Partner and leader of the fraud, forensic and litigation support service team with GH&I, Gifford, Hillegass & Ingwersen,LLP. John has conducted numerous fraud and forensic examinations. He provides clients extensive experience in the review and preparation of audited financial statements and the development of accounting systems for various business concerns.

John began his working career with Ernst & Young in Atlanta, where he was a member of the audit department for five years. While at Ernst & Young, he was responsible for audit engagements of nonprofits and public and privately-held companies in the manufacturing, construction, distribution, healthcare, textile and soft drink industries.

John received his B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Georgia. While attending college, he received several honors and held various elected offices in student organizations.

Stacey Anderson/Queen of Hearts Antiques & Interiors

Stacey Anderson is the owner of Queen of Hearts Antiques & Interiors, along with her husband Jim. Â Stacey is a 1980 graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Journalism. Â While a student at UGA, she was a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority, serving as Treasurer & Standards President. Â Stacey and Jim have been married for 26 years and have two grown sons, Tyler and Keaton. Â Stacey was born and raised in Atlanta.

Meredith Carr/UGA Alumni Association

Meredith Carr serves as the Associate Director of Alumni Relations at the University of Georgia.

Delayed Retirement: Fact or Fiction?

September 5, 2012 by nadiahuda

Pat Huddleston is a former Enforcement Branch Chief at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the author of The Vigilant Investor. Pat has served as a court-appointed Receiver in three SEC fraud cases and succeeded in recovering assets that funded substantial distributions to defrauded investors. He has served as a court-appointed Receiver in two nationwide telemarketing cases for the Federal Trade Commission. He has also been appointed Chapter 11 Examiner by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, tasked with investigating self-dealing by officers and directors of a public company. He represents investors and serves as an expert witness in securities litigation and arbitration.

Pat’s desire to protect investors from the scams that crowd the investing landscape led him to found Investor’s Watchdog LLC, (“IW”) in 2006. Investor’s Watchdog hosts a popular blog, investorswatchblog.com, which tracks breaking investment scams and teaches investors and financial advisers effective due diligence tactics. Investor’s Watchdog has conducted investigations for clients all over the world and helped save millions in assets that otherwise would have been lost to cleverly disguised frauds.

In addition to The Vigilant Investor; Pat has written for Risk Management, The Prosecutor, Benefits, Registered Rep, Physician’s Money Digest, Church Executive, Medical Life (Australia), and RIA Biz. He appears frequently as a subject matter expert on television and radio. He has appeared on ABC News, CBS Moneywatch, Fox Business News, Consuelo Mack Wealthtrack, Chicago’s Monsters and Money in the Morning, and local news programs in Seattle, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles. He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Forbes, the Financial Times, Investment News and USA Today, among other publications. The Vigilant Investor has been published in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom, in addition to the United States. In an endorsement on the back cover, Princeton Professor Burton Malkiel (author of the bestselling A Random Walk Down Wall Street), calls Pat “the investors’ perfect teacher.”

Mr. Terry is a member of the Page Perry’s Regulatory Practice Group, advising and representing individuals, broker-dealers, and investment advisors in regulatory and enforcement matters. He also provides advice and representation to clients in connection with other corporate matters.

Mr. Terry has many years of varied experience in securities regulation, compliance and enforcement, as well as other areas of the law. From 1997 until 2001, and again from 2007 until 2011, Mr. Terry served as the Director of the Securities Division of the State of Georgia. He also as Chief Compliance Officer for a major regional broker-dealer, and, In addition to his regulatory service and compliance roles, Mr. Terry has represented firms and individuals in connection with a wide variety of securities and other matters in private law practice.

As Georgia’s Securities Division Director, Mr. Terry oversaw a major legislative revision of the Georgia Securities Act of 1973 and, later, the adoption of the Georgia Uniform Securities Act of 2008. In addition, he and his staff conducted numerous investigations of violations of Georgia’s securities laws, both independently and in cooperation with other states, resulting in the return of millions of dollars to investors as well as the imposition of administrative, civil and criminal sanctions against offenders. Mr. Terry served in many leadership roles within the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), including two terms as a member of the Board of Directors, service on many enforcement task forces and Vice Chair of the CRD Steering Committee. He has received two Outstanding Service Awards from the NASAA membership.

Mr. Terry received his B.S. degree in Economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Mr. Terry is admitted to practice before all courts in the State of Georgia, and also the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Keith Green has worked with thousands of individuals who are preparing for retirement. He responded to critical gaps in the U.S. retirement system by founding the American Retirement Initiative in which he serves as its president. The American Retirement Initiative is a national conversation that facilitates best practice-sharing among trusted advisors. ARI provides thought leadership on employer-sponsored retirement plans and the retirement landscape in general in the US. He brings to this role over 20 years in leadership roles for leading financial services companies offering retirement solutions to individuals and organizations.

In his early career with TIAA-CREF, Keith worked as an Institutional Consultant, collaborating with colleges and universities on their retirement plan designs. Keith then joined Aetna Financial Services as its Regional Manager in its Michigan office and ultimately became vice president for its Southeastern Region.

After ING’s acquisition of Aetna Financial Services in 2000, Keith held progressively responsible roles, including Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Senior Vice President of Domestic Emerging Markets. He was then appointed Senior Vice President and executive-on-loan to Hemisphere, Inc., an organization tasked with bringing the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas to Atlanta. Much of his time during that period was spent in Latin American and the Caribbean capitols promoting trade and working on economic development issues with diplomats and democratically elected leaders.

In January 2006, Mr. Green was appointed Vice President of Government Relations for ING, responsible for ING’s state government relations in twenty US states. He held this role until 20ll when he founded the American Retirement Initiative.

Keith received both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.

"WIT" – Women in Technology

August 21, 2012 by rhondachale

Katie Tucker/Cbeyond

Katie Tucker currently serves as a Senior Program Manager in Technology & Operations for Cbeyond. In this role, Katie is responsible for program management of building acquisition across all markets. Prior to this role, Katie served as a Marketing Program Manager for Cbeyond. Katie has worked in IT for more than a decade gaining a diverse skill set from various roles and organizations.

Katie gives back to the community where she lives and works by giving her time and talent to multiple organizations. She currently serves as Program Director of Signature Events for the WIT Women of the Year Awards. She has also volunteered in the past through Girls Get IT and served as Project Manager for the Women of the Year Awards. Most recently she took on a new role as Project Manager for the Girls Inc of Greater Atlanta “Strong, Smart & Bold Awards Luncheon”. Katie also serves a co-chair of Events for Cbeyond Women’s Network and on the CWN Member Education & Engagement Committee. She is also an active member of the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association and serves at Project Manager for the Membership Committee.

Katie earned her Bachelors of Business degree in marketing and management from Piedmont College and a Masters of Business Administration in Information Technology Management from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Ann Jacobs-Long/SunTrust Banks, Inc.

Ann Jacobs-Long is in her second year as Director of the Girls Get IT Program for the WIT Foundation. Ann joined SunTrust Banks, Inc. in December 2006 and holds the position of Group Vice President as Manager of Governance within the Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO). Ann’s management responsibilities include accountability for enterprise investment governance processes and the associated Program and Project Investment Policy, enterprise portfolio inventory and demand management, performance monitoring and executive reporting. Prior to joining SunTrust, Ann worked several years in the telecommunications industry, and has over fifteen years of experience in the project management field, providing senior leadership as a PMO Manager, Program, Project, and Portfolio Manager. Additionally, she has significant industry experience as an Industrial Engineer. Ann has attained an MBA/E-Business, and holds certifications of PMP (Project Management Professional) from PMI and Project Management Masters Certification from George Washington University.

Christina Critzer/SunTrust Banks, Inc.

Christina Critzer, Group Vice President and Delivery Manager with SunTrust Banks, Inc., brings 15+ years of experience in information technology to her Delivery Manager role in Enterprise Delivery Services. Christina leads and inspires a team in the delivery of technology projects with emphasis on Image & Capture to enable the business to better serve its clients.

Prior to joining SunTrust, Christina worked for The Home Depot (THD) providing innovation and deployment of technology to the stores. While at THD, Christina was a founding member of the I.T. Women’s Leadership Forum. Previously at the entrepreneurial, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Christina was an Information Systems Business Manager, acting as liaison to the business on strategic technology initiatives.

Christina’s experience in the technology industry focuses on relationships, program & project management, operations and process re-engineering. Christina has a B.S. in Management Science from Virginia Tech, an M.B.A. from Regis University, is PMP certified with the Project Management Institute and ITIL Service Manager certified. Christina spends her free time volunteering in the Women in Technology (WIT) program and serves on the board of her homeowner’s association.

Ashby L. Kent/Burr & Forman

Ashby L. Kent has practiced in Burr & Forman’s Litigation section since 2003 where she specializes in general commercial litigation. She has handled a wide variety of business disputes (tort and contract) for both plaintiffs and defendants, and her clients range from individuals and small businesses to large national financial institutions, including banks, lenders, mortgage companies and insurance companies.

Ashby represents her financial services clients in a variety of consumer finance and real estate matters, including actions for wrongful foreclosure, predatory lending, consumer protection law claims and other state and federal lender liability claims. In representing her title insurance clients, Ashby has handled numerous matters which involve evaluating and litigating bad faith claims, boundary line and easement disputes, one-half interest defects, lost or unrecorded security instruments issues, disputes over damages and loss valuations and other issues that frequently arise in the title insurance industry.

Ashby has nearly 10 years of experience litigating in Georgia’s state and federal courts, and has tried cases (bench and jury trials) in both. Additionally, she has successfully, efficiently and cost-effectively resolved numerous disputes through effective settlement negotiation and/or participation in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including mediation and arbitration.

Penny Morriss and Ellen Roberson with Watson Penland, Gary Kneller with CareMinders Home Care, Andy Macke with Comcast Cable Communications, and Bill Jones and Steve Bachman with CollectorDash

August 13, 2012 by carlykoffman

[chirbit:http://chirb.it/m51Aee]

Penny Morriss/Watson Penland

Penny Morriss, Co-Founder of Watson Penland, is the Owner of Concierge Services of Atlanta, a company she founded in 1997 that provides specialized services to Class A office buildings, private clubs, luxury condominiums, and private individuals. Penny began working for Prentiss Properties in 1988 as Atlanta’s first corporate concierge for One Atlantic Center in Midtown. From 1994 to 1997, Morriss worked for the Washington, DC-based Intercontinental Concierge Corporation as the General Manager of their Atlanta office. Penny spearheaded the founding of Watson Penland when she saw the need for an Atlanta company to cater to the city’s thriving cosmopolitan lifestyle and burgeoning film and television industry.

Ellen Roberson/Watson Penland

Ellen Watson Roberson, Â Co-Founder ofÂ Watson Penland, founded Pace Travel of Atlanta in 1985 and over the span of twenty-five years has led a global travel agency catering to both corporate and leisure travelers as well as Atlanta’s entertainment industry including Lionsgate and Tyler Perry Studios. Pace Travel was consistently recognized for over a decade as one of Atlanta’s top twenty travel agencies and top female-owned firms. Ellen is a member of the International Airline Travel Agent Network. Ellen collaborated with Penny Morriss to form Watson Penland in an effort to merge their vast expertise in the travel and service industries. She now divides her time between the Atlanta and Los Angeles Watson Penland offices.

Gary Kneller/CareMinders Home Care

A few years ago Gary, in his mid-50s today, received some shocking news — he had stage three Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.Â The diagnosis initially was overwhelming — he had a hard time handling the uncertainty of cancer.Â But, as Gary has done in his life many, many times personally and professionally, he saw opportunity where many would see doom.Â Gary witnessed firsthand how the level of care in a lot of facilities didn’t meet the needs of patients. It was a motivating factor for him to launch CareMinders Home Care.Â In fact, he designed CareMinders to deliver care at home at a quality level that goes beyond what he ever received at a healthcare facility — by a landslide. He’s actually said that CareMinders honors those like him that have survived the rigors of cancer treatment.

Now Gary is taking his mission beyond the Atlanta market – into all U.S. markets. He’s already led CareMinders into franchising, opening in 15 states.Â Gary’s personal experience has resulted in a home care concept that offers more medical and non-medical services than any other franchise out there — his personal experience is a big reason why.Â A serial entrepreneur in every sense, Gary had previously owned a television station, a financial planning business and has other endeavors under his belt as well. But, the launch of CareMinders just a few years ago served as a practice in patience, persistence and perseverance.Â His successful triumph over cancer has given Gary a new lease on life — personally he’s now getting married and he is pouring all the energy he can into CareMinders.

Andy Macke/Comcast Cable Communications

As Vice President of Government and Community Affairs for Comcastâ€™s Big South Region, Andy Macke develops strategic relationships with government officials and community leaders to support Comcastâ€™s business goals and strengthen the community. He is directly responsible for Comcastâ€™s regulatory compliance, operations support and community investment in the 32 counties around the city of Atlanta. Andy is also responsible for overseeing Comcastâ€™s community investment strategy including Comcast Cares Day and United Way, among others.

Andy currently serves on the executive committee of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce as Immediate Past Chairman. He also serves as a board member of the Cable Television Association of Georgia (CTAG) and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. In the past, Andy has been recognized by the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce with the â€œChet Wells Awardâ€ for his outstanding leadership, and he was honored as the â€œBoard Member of the Yearâ€ by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce for his work with the Education Committee.

Andy began his career in cable with AT&T Broadband and has worked for the Georgia Municipal Association as a Franchise Coordinator advising cities and counties on franchise related matters. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications Policy from Georgia Tech.

Bill Jones/CollectorDash

Bill, Founder and CEO of CollectorDash, has a twenty-plus year track record of value creation. HeÂ has built two businesses from a very early stage through maturity. Bill was most recently President of Air2Web, Inc., a leading mobile marketing software-as-service business. With top enterprise and network operators as customers, Air2Web delivered over a billion text messages to consumers each year.

Prior to Air2Web, Bill was Director of Product Management for all of Nokiaâ€™s enterprise software. Bill was one of the top two executives leading Intellisyncâ€™s sale to Nokia. At Intellisync, he was the VP of Products running a varied portfolio of mobile software products sold to enterprise, carrier and consumer segments.

Prior to Synchrologic/Intellisync/Nokia, Bill ran global product management and user interface design for Lotus/IBMâ€™s suite of desktop applications. He was a pioneer in Windows applications at Samna.

Steve Bachman/CollectorDash

Steve Bachman, Vice President of Strategy at CollectorDash, is a proven executive with more than 30 years of experience building and growing startup and fast growth software and tech companies while creating shareholder value. His experience spans software, cloud based solutions, financial technology, e-commerce, mobile solutions, and information security.

Bachman was Founder & CEO of Automated Design Systems (sold to McAfee), President of Marshal Software Americas (sold to NetIQ), Founder & Director of Glue Communications (sold to Xcelerate), and Advisor & VP of Sales to c360 (sold to CDC Software). Steve is currently a Founder & Director of UK-based Image Analyzer and Director of AuditMyBooks.

Bachman is also the past President and Director of the Southeast Software Association, Founder and past Director of the Technology Association of Georgia, and currently a Founder and Director of both the Wireless Technology Forum and the Executive Sales & Marketing Association.

Your Next Career Destination-“Entrepreneur?” With Guests Vanessa Parker and Katerina Taylor

August 4, 2012 by marilyn

On the July 30, 2012 edition of Career Advancement Radio, our guests were Vanessa Parker and Katerina Taylor Co-founders of EntrepreneuHER an organization focused on empowering women entrepreneurs. The show’s topic was “Career Destination Entrepreneur.” We looked at factors such as decision making, no ideal is too small, the fear factors, and lifestyle. We concluded with many positive aspects of entrepreneurship to include: You determine your career destiny, creativity, originality, innovation, income potential, flexibility and freedom of choices.

Dr. Marilyn Carroll, Katerina Taylor, Vanessa Parker and Dana Barrett, (producer)

Kathrina Taylor is a Kansas native is a Business Strategy Consultant at Taylor Legacy Group. She has 14 successful years of progressive business and people development experience in the financial industry. Katerina is also owner of Smart Kidz Money Matters and has taught her own uniquely designed financial literacy youth curriculum across metro Atlanta. She holds a bachelor’s Degree from Texas Wesleyan University in Marketing, and an MBA from Argosy University in Finance.

Katerina serves as Vice Chair for Young Professional Leaders of United Way and as aboard member for the United Way Strategic Marketing Committee. She serves as an inaugural member of the Georgia Piedmont College Finance & Banking advisory board. Katerina has been featured in the MSN Money article “9 Sneaky Tips for Saving More” and an article for the Examiner.com for “Entrepreneurs Seek to Balance the Balance Sheet”. She was interviewed by the Gaebler an online Entrepreneur publication offering advice to new ntrepreneurs, and she was one of 15 speakers for a three day teleseries on “Raising Cash Savvy Kids” during Financial Literacy month in 2010.

In 2011 Katerina was interviewed by dailymarkets.com to talk about her 2011 financial New Year’s Resolutions. She was also interviewed by author Bill Hettinger for his newly released book Finance Without Fear, and in January 2011 shared her thoughts with American Express Open Forum on how businesses can give back to their communities and the people they

serve. Most recently Katerina was requested to provide feedback on an upcoming book on mentoring slated to be released in late Fall 2012. Katerina contact information is as follows:

Phone: (404)907-0135

Katerina@talyorlegacygroup.com

www.smartkidzmatter.com

Vanessa Parker and Katerina Taylor

Vanessa Parker is a self-proclaimed “serial entrepreneur”, Vanessa balances family and entrepreneurship with flare and a style all her own. Garnering the attention of aspiring female business owners, Parker, created PinkBoss, Inc., a one-stop business boutique for women in need of that extra push of support from branding and marketing to website development. Vanessa Parker’s contact information is as follows:

Phone: (888)326-5550

www.thepinkboss.com

www.Entrepreneuher.com

Clint Crosby: Baker Donelson, Adam Ross: Socialvest, and Maury Margol: Pyramid Consulting, Inc.

July 2, 2012 by carlykoffman

Clint Crosby/Baker Donelson

Clint Crosby is a shareholder in the Atlanta Office of Baker Donelson. Clint focuses his practice on intellectual property and the procurement and protection of intellectual property assets for his clients. Clint also works with entrepreneurs and emerging companies to guide them through business issues including formation, business agreements, employment agreements, joint- development agreements, intellectual property agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and related matters. Clint acts as outside general counsel for many of his clients.

The highlight of Baker Donelson’s platform is their Emerging Companies Institute which provides fixed-cost legal solutions for startup businesses including entity formation, stockholder and business agreements, mentoring on legal issues, access to all Baker Donelson training and education programs and document hosting on the firm’s extranet.

Adam Ross/Socialvest

Adam Ross, believing that people inherently want to do good, has made it his mission to turn the traditional business model into a sustainable social enterprise. Two years ago, Adam started his latest adventure as a social entrepreneur and formedÂ Socialvest, a company that capitalizes on three extraordinarily powerful forces: shopping, consumer consciousness and social media. The model allows consumers to buy the things they want and need, while simultaneously giving them a chance to support their favorite causes and inspiring their friends to join them.

“Everyone has something they care about, and fundamentally wants to give back,” Adam says. “My goal is to make it easy for people to invest in social good by providing tools to empower, support, and mobilize.”

Adamâ€™s light bulb moment to start Socialvest came to him during a brunch with some of the worldâ€™s largest brands. When the conversation steered towards how the companies gave back, Adam recognized a major disparity in how brands were giving back and why consumers were engaging with brands because of their philanthropic efforts.

So Adam set out to revolutionize the way brands and consumers interact by enabling consumers to shop at hundreds of leading retailers, including Target, Macyâ€™s, Home Depot, Best Buy, Nordstrom and iTunes. Registered users on the Socialvest website can earn money for their favorite charities by simply shopping through the Socialvest site or at participating local stores. And to make online shopping even easier, Socialvest offers a browser toolbar to make sure earning happens automatically.

Socialvest users earn between one and 35 percent of their total purchase from the companyâ€™s retail partners. The money earned is automatically deposited into Socialvest usersâ€™ online Giving Accounts. Each time a purchase happens, the event and the retailer who made the contribution â€“ can be broadcast to usersâ€™ friends via Facebook, Twitter and other social channels. Donations made by Socialvest users to their favorite nonprofits can also be publicized via social media, thus raising awareness for important causes and motivating usersâ€™ friends to get involved. Overall, Socialvest gives members the freedom to donate to over 1.5 million nonprofits in the United States.

In addition to running Socialvest, Adam sits on the board forÂ First Step, a non-profit social purpose-staffing agency. Heâ€™s also a loving husband to his beautiful wife, Gwen Ross, and new father to an adorable baby girl, Charlotte.

Maury Margol/Pyramid Consulting, Inc.

Maury Margol is the Co-Founder and past President of the Wireless Technology Forum, an Atlanta Technology Not-for-profit with over 650 members and a mailing list of over more than 7000 technology professionals.

Besides his volunteer work on the Wireless Technology Forum, Margol is the Mobile Practice Director at Pyramid Consulting where he builds channel partner relationships for Mobile Application Development and Mobile Application testing with companies such as Motorola Solutions and HP. Previously, Margol founded Productiv Wireless to leverage his experience launching tier 1 Telco products and services at BellSouth, AT&T Mobility, and Cox Communications and provide clients an efficient and productive business development process.

Margolâ€™s Mobile experience also includes his roles as Sr. Director Client Services, at Nielsen Mobile; Director, Business Development, Macquarium Intelligent Communications where he created a Mobile and Wireless practice; Senior Sales Director, North America Sales, Comverse Americas in charge of managing the Atlanta branch and selling into the AT&T, BellSouth, and Cingular, and Director, Wi-Fi Strategy and Product Marketing for BellSouth.

June 19th – Inspiration from Gardening

June 12, 2012 by drtim

What inspires people to write? Just about anything – really. For Heather Marie Wilson inspiration came from a garden she planted. Heather Marie’s life looked successful on the outside. She attained a great job right out of college, received steady promotions. As a strategy and marketing professional, she devoted more than a decade to studying personal development and to improving the quality of people’s lives. She rose to the level of corporate executive at a Fortune 50 company. Then she planted a garden – literally – and began to see and experience her life and the success spiral differently. She wrote down the thoughts and reflections and “ah ha” moments that came to her. Out of those writings emerged her book: Seeds of Freedom: Cultivating a Life that Matters.

What was it about gardening that touched the life of a corporate executive and spawned a book and a new approach to life and work?

Lyall Sailor, Founder & Pres. of Trident Executive Suites, plus Fraser Hudgins, Hudgins Legal LLC were our guests March 19

March 30, 2012 by buckinghambusinessreview

LYALL SAILOR

Lyall Sailor is the founder and President of Trident Executive Suites, a division of the Trident Companies, which provides innovative officing solutions, full-service executive suites and professional services to both entrepreneurs and Fortune 1000 companies.

Trident Executive Suites first opened in 2010 and was recognized that same year as the first mixed-use business incubator in Georgia by the National Business Incubation Association. In its second year, Sailor grew Trident’s revenue by 189%, posted a profit and brought their offices to 100% physical occupancy.

Sailor’s entrepreneurial spirit dates back to childhood when she started her first business at the age of 11. Since then, Sailor attended Brown University, The Rhode Island School of Design and earned a B.S. in English from The College of Charleston. She has spent most of her professional career in the commercial real estate industry and she gained her management and marketing expertise working for such real estate giants as CBRE and Colliers International. Since 1999, Sailor has owned and operated three real estate companies, she serves as a general partner in two investment partnerships and she regularly consults with early stage entrepreneurs.

Sailor firmly believes in giving back and her passions for charitable service and environmental conservation permeate her businesses. She first introduced recycling and resource conservation to her flagship building located in Suwanee back in 2005. Today, Trident is a sponsor of the EPA’s Waste Wise program, recycling 98% of its waste, supports Recycletronics, an electronics recycling division of the Tommy Nobis Center, and supports Soles4Souls, an International footwear recycling charity. Through Sailor’s conservation efforts, Trident is expected to receive the Energy Star designation this year for the energy efficient operation of its headquarters.

FRASER HUDGINS

Fraser Hudgins is the founder of Hudgins Legal LLC, a law firm devoted to meeting the litigation needs of individuals and businesses in the Atlanta Metro Area and surrounding counties. The firm’s office is located in Suwanee, Georgia. His recent relocation from Virginia to Georgia created the opportunity for the launch of Hudgins Legal in early 2011.

Hudgins has been a litigator since his graduation from George Mason University School of Law in 1987. His litigation experience runs the gamut from family law, commercial/business litigation, federal and state criminal matters, injury litigation, prosecution of civil Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims, appellate advocacy, products liability claims, and real estate litigation including partition suits involving both real estate and mineral rights.

Hudgins has been selected by his peers to be a guest lecturer in continuing legal education courses designed to assist new members of the bar, and he has lectured at and assisted in designing and organizing mandatory course work for court appointed counsel, and other coursework for his local bar. He is often hired by other attorneys to take a lead role in difficult litigation matters.

Hudgins is a member of the Virginia State Bar and Georgia State Bar. Prior to establishing Hudgins Legal, LLC, Hudgins was a partner in the law firm of Lawrence, Smith and Hudgins located in Northern Virginia where he handled litigation matters, supervised staff and associate attorneys, and developed solid marketing and business plans for the firm.

Prior to commencing his legal career, he attended the College of William and Mary where he earned his B.A. in English while competing as a Division I athlete in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. He served as an assistant to the President of the College and was elected president of his graduating class. He has been an active participant in raising money for his alma mater and organizing alumni events. He and his wife, Christie, also a William and Mary Alumnus, share a spirit of giving back to the institutions that have helped shape their lives. Both enjoy being a part of the High Museum’s fundraising efforts. They have four children Alex (16), Emma (13), Riley (13), and Aidan (9).

Michael Smith, Andrew Sullivan And Josh Schlieman: Serving Clients Through Trusted Referral Partners

February 9, 2012 by Stone Payton

Today, Michael Smith with Law Firm Andrew, Merrit, Reilly & Smith, L.L.P. and return guests Andrew Sullivan and Josh Schlieman with Sullivan & Schlieman Wealth Management LLC discussedÂ Serving Clients Through Trusted Referral Partners.

Michael T. Smith is a partner with the law firm of Andrew, Merritt, Reilly & Smith inÂ Lawrenceville. His practice concentrates on two primary areas of law: (1) probate/estateÂ and conservatorship/guardianship work; and (2) business and corporate work.

Smith is serving his 18thÂ year as the county administrator/county conservator forÂ Gwinnett County.Â He recently led the firmâ€™s efforts to launch www.probateGeorgia.com, a comprehensiveÂ website that addresses matters relating to estates, trusts, guardianships andÂ conservatorships, including estate planning, probating and administering wills,Â administrations of estates without wills, will challenges, guardianships of persons,Â conservatorships, fiduciary services and litigation, for individuals and their familyÂ members, as well as business/corporate work.

Sullivan & Schlieman Wealth Management LLC is the No. 1 LPL Financial firm in Georgia and among the top 1Â percent in the nation.*

The firmâ€™s co-founders, Andrew Sullivan and Josh Schlieman, and their team have aÂ combined 50 years of experience in the financial industry. Services include wealth management, estate and taxÂ planning and risk management.

Prior to forming Sullivan & Schlieman Wealth Management, LLC in 2008, Andrew was a financial advisor and seniorÂ vice president at SunTrust Investment Services for nearly 20 years. While at SunTrust, he was consistentlyÂ recognized as a top bank representative in the United States by Bank Investment Marketing Magazine.

He hasÂ been in the financial services industry since 1989.Josh has been involved in financial planning and investment services his entire career. Before forming Sullivan &Â Schlieman, he was assistant vice president at SunTrust Investment Services, where he worked in partnership withÂ Andrew, from 2003-2008.

Both co-founders pride themselves on constructing well-designed and efficient portfolios to address clientsâ€™ needsÂ and reallocating those portfolios, as appropriate, due to significant changes in the market and/or changes to aÂ clientâ€™s personal situation.

* based on year-to-date revenue as of 12/30/11

The opinions voiced in this show are for general information only and areÂ not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. ToÂ determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult with yourÂ attorney, accountant, and financial advisor or tax advisor prior to investing.Â Securities at Sullivan & Schlieman Wealth Management, LLC are offered through LPLÂ Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.