Kevin Finn Archives - Page 3 of 4

Meeting Pros: Sean O’Keefe with Sean O’Keefe Events, Larry Greene with Greene Worldwide Transportation/GaMPI, Jasmine Burke with Atlanta TV Festival

April 21, 2013 by angishields

Meeting Pros Radio

Meeting Pros: Sean O'Keefe with Sean O'Keefe Events, Larry Greene with Greene Worldwide Transportation/GaMPI, Jasmine Burke with Atlanta TV Festival

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On this Episode of Meeting Pros:

Sean O’Keefe with Sean O’Keefe Events

Sean O’Keefe Events is an Atlanta based full service event planning and design business with a focus on creating and building nonprofit signature charity events. These signature events, created to increase a non-profit’s profile and expand their donor base within our community, have included: The Child Development Association’s Down Home Derby; Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance’s Shaken, Not Stirred Gala; Equestrian Aid Foundation’s Tetrathlon and Who Reins Supreme?; YES!Atlanta’s Night of Lights; Fall Fiesta Atlanta in support of Cooperative for Education; The Great Grilled Cheese Challenge; Atlanta Steeplechase Chairman’s Tent; and Polo in the Pines to benefit MD Anderson. Since the inception of Sean O’Keefe Events in May 2010, we have helped raise more than $2,000,000 for our charity partners.

Larry Greene with Greene Worldwide Transportation/GaMPI

Greene Worldwide Transportation has been in business for 25 years. We are a 24/7 transportation company with someone in our office 24 hours a day to help you with your every need. Whether you need leisure, corporate or group transportation, we have a large, late model fleet of sedans,5 passenger suvs, vans, 6,10,14 passenger stretch limousines, 31 passenger minibuses and 56 passenger motor coaches to fit all of your needs.

Jasmine Burke with Atlanta TV Festival

Jasmine Burke is a Producer and Actress who studied Business and Theatre at

Kennesaw State University. After writing spec scripts and developing ideas for other production companies, Jasmine created her own production company with a mission to produce positive &realistic reflections of Urban Youth & Adults in main stream media.

In 2009 she wrote, executive produced and directed her first film “Lucky Lotto” which won recognition at the 2010 Women In Film and Television International Short Film Showcase. As Jasmine creates, she juggles a thriving acting career where she is known for her roles in films like “The Secret Life of Bee’s”, “Big Momma’s House: Like Father, Like Son” and the indie hit “Mississippi Damned”. Jasmine is also no stranger to the small screen having snagged recurring roles on some of TV’s hottest shows such as The CW hit, “Vampire Diaries” and Lifetime’s “Army Wives” as well as made for TV movies like “Disney’s: Let it Shine” and Lifetime’s “Acceptance”. Jasmine is proud to be Co-Founder of the “Atlanta TV Festival” which will give the opportunity to bridge the gap between the content creators and content distributors.

Twitter @thejasmineburke / @ATLTVFestivalFacebook @actressjasmineburke / @atlantatvfestival

Meeting Pros: Alan W. Urech with 200 Peachtree / 200 Office, Jimmy Economos with EEP Events, Ellie Westman Chin with Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

April 11, 2013 by angishields

Meeting Pros Radio

Meeting Pros: Alan W. Urech with 200 Peachtree / 200 Office, Jimmy Economos with EEP Events, Ellie Westman Chin with Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

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On this Episode of Meeting Pros:

Alan W. Urech with 200 Peachtree / 200 Office

Mr. Alan W. Urech is a Sr. Vice President at 200 Peachtree, 200,000 sq foot special events, conference center and co-working space located at 200 Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, GA. He leads the expansion of 200 Office collaborative workspace (www.200-Office.com) by implementing dynamic programs to help small growth businesses expand into significantly larger organizations.

His background includes HBO & Company where he was part of a team that expanded the organization from an initial start-up with under $3 million dollars in revenues to over $180 million dollars in revenue within a 12 years period. During this period, Mr. Urech was instrumental in developing and implementing very successful healthcare product lines which significantly expanded the Company’s overall growth and profit margins. HBOC was sold in 1998 for US $13.8 Billion to McKesson Corporation, beginning their current information technology division. His background also includes expanding a Roman Catholic lay ministry, the St. Vincent de Paul Society. As a volunteer president, he lead a team which expanded this organization from a small staff of three people in an 1,800 square feet facility with 1 program to a staff of 24 people in a 20,000square foot facility with over 8 programs. The organization provides an audited 92% of revenues received back into direct aid to its clients. He also worked at the Vatican on Internet initiatives from 1999 – 2004.

Mr. Urech is an Instructor in Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. He instructs multiple Graduate and Undergraduate level programs in entrepreneurship and family business at the Herman J. Russell, Sr. International Center for Entrepreneurship. He is on numerous corporate and non-profit Boards including TAG Health, Georgia State University Health Advisory Board, Digitainment Georgia and theStage2 Business Accelerator.

Jimmy Economos with EEP Events

Jimmy Economos, an Atlanta native and recipient of a 2011 Allie Award for the production of his own wedding, began his career at 16 working as an Entertainer and Emcee.

In 1996, Jimmy was chosen to perform in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games which propelled his event career.

Establishing himself nationally as an entertainer in high demand, Jimmy created EEP after mentoring for several years under two prominent Entertainment and Audio Visual Production companies in Atlanta, gaining valuable experience and national production exposure.

Jimmy has had the privilege to work with many of the world’s top talent such as Russell Simmons, Elton John and John Paul DeJoria (CEO/Founder Paul Mitchell) while servicing some of Atlanta’s local celebrities including Kevin Rathbun, Pano Karatassos and Tony Conway.

Jimmy has held a “chair” seat on numerous event committees including the National Association of Catering Executives and The International Special Events Society, working on the Allie Award Steering committee as Production Chair, Entertainment Chair and Co-Chair of the 2012 Allie Awards.

Jimmy’s fields of expertise are in Audio Visual Production, Lighting Design, Entertainment Management and Event Logistics.

Ellie Westman Chin with Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

Ellie Westman Chin is vice president, business development and corporate events for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB.) She has been with ACVB since 2006.

Westman Chin is responsible for corporate development, producing ACVB’s Annual Meeting and the Atlanta Hospitality Hall of Fame and overseeing the membership staff including sales, service and member events. In addition, she supervises ACVB’s three visitor centers located at Underground Atlanta, the Georgia World Congress Center and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Westman Chin has enjoyed a 15 year career in marketing and event management. Prior to joining ACVB, she worked for Empire Force Events in New York City as an account director. In this role, she managed event programs and served as day-to-day contact for corporate clients including NYC2012, Johnson & Johnson, Sony Electronics and Volkswagen.

In 1993 Westman Chin moved to Nashville, Tennessee to assist in creating the Nashville Sports Council for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau (NCVB). As associate executive director of the Council she helped secure both the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) and the NHL franchise Nashville Predators. Additionally, Westman Chin was director of operations for the 1997 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and produced the first annual Music City Bowl. She also served the NCVB as director of convention services

Westman Chin serves on the the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee for Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), on the Local Organizing Committee for the 2013 NCAA Final Four and on the advisory board for the Atlanta Foodservice Expo. In 2009 and 2011 she was named ACVB Leader of the Year. In 2012, Westman Chin was awarded the Community Citizenship Award by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Georgia Chapter.

Meeting Pros: Helen Taffet with Sensational Baskets, Inc., Eric Wolff with TEP Catering

April 10, 2013 by angishields

Meeting Pros Radio

Meeting Pros: Helen Taffet with Sensational Baskets, Inc., Eric Wolff with TEP Catering

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On this Episode of Meeting Pros:

Helen Taffet with Sensational Baskets, Inc.

Since 1988, Helen Taffet has served as owner of Sensational Baskets, one of the largest gift basket companies in Georgia. Prior to starting her own company, Helen served as Director of Public Relations and held other marketing positions at Peachtree Software, a leading supplier of business accounting software. With a focus on service,creativity and the corporate and hospitality markets, she started Sensational Baskets in the basement of her home. In an effort to grow her business, last year Helen bought Dolce, Inc. another gourmet gift basket company headquartered in Dunwoody, Georgia.

Eric Wolff with TEP Catering

Eric was born and raised in Franklin, LA. Franklin is a small town in South Louisiana about 30 minutes north of the Gulf of Mexico/Louisiana coastline and nestled between Lafayette and Morgan City. Being raised by the people of south Louisiana instilled a core understanding of what it means to live life to its fullest. He developed a great appreciation for family, fine food sand hospitality.

Eric contributes his love for entertaining to the “Laissez Les Bon Temp Rouler” mentality of South Louisiana. Eric says “these folks will form a second line parade to celebrate the life of a loved one or host a festival for a catfish”. My maw maw Susie was a school cafeteria cook in a very rural area of Louisiana, so I credit her for being a bit of my inspiration to cook for a living. Her yeast rolls and monkey bread were to die for.

Eric tried the four year traditional college and never found that fulfillment that he was looking for. Early one morning he sat straight up in his bed and he had his answer, he would go to culinary school and become classically trained in the culinary arts. At that time, Atlanta was in the running, but still too far away from his home town, so he decided to attend The Arts Institute of Houston.

Upon graduating from culinary school, Eric began working with EatZi’s Market & Bakery. This would be how he ended up in the great city of Atlanta, where he was a member of the opening team that opened EatZi’s in Buckhead.

After opening several store for EatZi’s, Eric began looking to experience more in his culinary journey. This is when he would be introduced to the off-premise catering industry. And as anyone in this industry knows, you either fall in love with it or you don’t. Well we all know how this story goes, Eric found his labor of love. He began his catering career with Bold American Catering, then on to A Legendary Event and finally on to Dennis Dean Catering. While working with these caterers, Eric would learn what it means to create high quality food, operate efficiently and maintain attention to detail in a catering environment.

In 2004, Eric began putting all of that acquired knowledge in place as the conception of TEP Catering would begin. Eric has built TEP Catering on a couple simple concepts, prepare his food from scratch, flawless execution, always listen to the client’s needs and anticipate the details that they did not think of. Eric is proud to say that they are going into their ninth year and experiencing great growth.

Meeting Pros: Omer Dar with SocialBox, Tim Lundy CSEP with Distinctive Design Events

April 3, 2013 by angishields

Meeting Pros Radio

Meeting Pros: Omer Dar with SocialBox, Tim Lundy CSEP with Distinctive Design Events

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On this Episode of Meeting Pros:

Omer Dar with SocialBox

Omer Dar was born in Jerusalem, Israel. Surrounded by an entrepreneurial atmosphere (after all it is a “Startup Nation”), he started doing small businesses since he was 12.

During his time in the army he commanded an infantry unit and learned the value of leading as opposed to commanding. After his release, he went for a long backpacking trip the world over and visited over 10 countries in 2 years. He learned new cultures and the differences in the ways those cultures interact with each other.

It was only natural for him to decide to study for his bachelor’s degree while in Europe. While studying he worked for a multinational pharmaceutical company but after 2 years, deciding he wanted to do it his own way, and established his first company, a bio-tech company. In the same year he also established a restaurant that later became a small chain.

Excelling in his MBA studies, he received a scholarship to study at Goizueta Business School (Emory). Not wasting any time, he created a wide network within the school and outside of it to prepare for the next big thing.

After establishing SocialBox with his two partners: Itai Peer and Avner Moratt, he quickly pushed forward to bring SocialBox to the attention of the big corporations. Currently working with companies such as Sun Trust, Kinder Care and Philips Arena.

Tim Lundy CSEP with Distinctive Design Events

TIM LUNDY CSEP, brings to the event table 34 years of combined training and experience for culinary planning and event design. Classically trained chef from New York and award winning event designer, from personal wedding flowers to high-impact environmental designs, making each wedding event specialized. Tim is a wealth of knowledge for the contemporary Bride & Groom, on menu design, event décor and wedding planning.

From coordinating the initial graphics piece to designing your wedding look and creating the balanced menu design complete with transportation, entertainment and custom event rentals; Tim’s event expertise will be you’re biggest advantage.

Mr. Lundy is an international professional speaker on the subjects of Culinary Design, Event & Wedding Planning, and Event Design & Décor for the Association of Bridal Consultants, The Special Event, American Rental Association, International Caterers Association, Event Solutions Expo and International Special Events Society. Tim has produced his first published book called, “Inside the Recipe Box of the Catering Chef”, which was launched February 2009 in Las Vegas at the Catersource Conference.

Allie Awards

In 1988, when Tim Lundy, CSEP, first envisioned the Allie Awards, those were the guiding principles he had in mind. He knew the city of Atlanta was fast becoming one of the stars of the event industry and wanted to create a platform for the local event industry to not only showcase their talents, but also drive them to produce events that could compete on national and even global levels.

Meeting Pros: Sparrow Marcioni with BlueShift Wireless and Linux Labs, Sammy Blue with Georgia Legacy Foundation Inc.

March 27, 2013 by angishields

Meeting Pros Radio

Meeting Pros: Sparrow Marcioni with BlueShift Wireless and Linux Labs, Sammy Blue with Georgia Legacy Foundation Inc.

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On this Episode of Meeting Pros:

Sparrow Marcioni with BlueShift Wireless and Linux Labs

Founder and CEO of Internet Passport, Inc an Atlanta based Internet technology company that developed solutions for satellite Internet access and security. Internet Passport was successfully sold to Franklin Telecom.

Ms. Marcioni then founded Netsentinel Inc and developed one of the first successful solutions for online managed security. She later became CEO of CET Networks, a high speed network services provider.

She now holds the position of CEO of Linux Labs International who’s high performance super computers are used for many of the Universities and Government entities throughout the U.S.

She also holds the position of CEO of BlueShift Wireless a software development company that is responsible for developing community enabling WiFi devices ,tablets and other wireless devices.

Sparrow also founded The Center for Higher Knowledge, a non-profit organization that provides physical shelter for animalkind and educational assistance to humankind. (www.centerforhigherknowledge.com) Most recently I launched a new Internet broadcasting company called NetMix Broadcasting which owns NetMix.fm.

Specialties: Custom design of high performance computing clusters and high speed network services. Management of highly diverse software developers and architects who create things no one has ever heard of…yet.

Sammy Blue with Georgia Legacy Foundation Inc.

The Georgia Legacy Foundations mission is to recognize, protect, preserve, and promote Georgia’s Roots music artists and to do so with a historical, ethnic and regional perspective.

Our vision is to create an environment of greater appreciation for and acknowledgement of quality artists who continue to create exceptional music of historical content, yet have not achieved commercial success, industry acceptance, or adequate public exposure.

Some of the ways that the Georgia Legacy Foundation is helping these deserving Georgia musicians include:

The Players Care Program, which provides medical referrals and help with medical expenses.

The Legacy Concert Series and Workshops, which will include fundraisers as well as showcases for the artists.

The Legacy Loves Kids Program, which provides assistance to musicians’ families and also works to use music to help children with special needs. The program also works with schools to develop music and art programs,

The Legacy Instrument & Equipment Program, which provides instruments and equipment to musicians in need, low-income children, schools and institutions.

Meeting Pros: Yvonne Druyeh Dodd with Evi D. Consulting, Michael Walsh with Amp’d Atlanta

March 18, 2013 by angishields

Meeting Pros Radio

Meeting Pros: Yvonne Druyeh Dodd with Evi D. Consulting, Michael Walsh with Amp’d Atlanta

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On this Episode of Meeting Pros:

Yvonne Druyeh Dodd with Evi D. Consulting

Yvonne helps motivated individuals, entrepreneurs and nonprofits who struggle with wanting to take things to the next level and don’t have the time, resources or know-how to get there. They want a clear strategy to achieve goals, tools to manage the day-to-day, and a professional image/brand.

Having over 10 years of experience in various settings, knowing exactly what her clients are going through. With her background, she brings empathy and passion to her practice that helps in reading between the lines and hone in onthe root cause of the issues holding her clients back from reaching their true potential.

Because of this, her client’s receive proven, mission-aligned strategies to gain confidence, clarity and focus to achieve their goals and increase brand recognition.

As a result they save time, money and energy in their quest to be seen & heard and create lives and businesses they love.

Michael Walsh with Amp’d Atlanta

Born and raised in Atlanta, Mike started his music journey in the 7th grade when he picked up the bass guitar. Fast forward to 2004, Mike began his DJ career. At first it was the occasional party, entertaining groups and then it was the clubs.

After moving to Florida, in 2005, Mike started working at some of the top nightclubs including Shephard’s Beach Resort. Another famous spot was Excalibur in downtown Chicago!

Since moving back to Atlanta, Mike started Amp’d with a vision to offer outstanding service to any client planning and expecting nothing less than a spectacular event.

In his off-time, Mike enjoys training in jiu-jitsu and muay thai as well as staying in shape. An occasional night out, although not common in our industry, is always on the list.

Audio Dust Jacket Volume 10

March 9, 2013 by angishields

BRX National

Audio Dust Jacket Volume 10

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Anna Stevens / Turn Your Dreams and Wants into Achievable SMART Goals!

Anna Stevens is known as the Emotional Intelligence Maven. She helps people understand how emotions affect their behaviors, actions and relationships, and how one can take control over own emotions rather than let emotions be in control. Anna has been featured on multiple radio-shows and on TV, and she presented for many organizations, including SHRM Atlanta, Metro Atlanta Chamber, British-American Business Group and the like. Her signature service includes consulting on How to Build an EmotionallyIntelligent Brand, in which she works with a client, step-by-step aligning its corporate strategy to digital strategies, including human-centered assignment framing, research of the competition and refinement of business, PR, media, SOCIAL MEDIA and marketing strategies.

“In my book Turn Your Dreams and Wants into Achievable SMART Goals! I share with you a clear, simple and complete step-by-step system that will help you set and achieve significant and meaningful goals. The book is full of practical and motivational content and includes both theory and examples of relevant experience. This book is a comprehensive manual, a detailed guide to effective goal-setting for entrepreneurs, managers and parents. The book offers practical strategies to identify the goals that are meaningful and matter most to you. It teaches you to objectively evaluate your goals and eliminate the ones that are not realistic. It provides solutions for overcoming challenges that arise as you’re moving along the way to your success. It coaches you how to face fears rather than to avoid them. It arms you with useful tools and know-hows to empower you to take actions that will ensure results you desire. Finally, this book supplies you with questions that are meaningful and significant and are aimed to help you through your self-discovery process.”

Paul Spiegelman / Smile Guide: Employee Perspectives on Culture, Loyalty, and Profit

Paul Spiegelman is the founder and chief executive officer of The Beryl Companies, which includes: Beryl, a technologyfocused patient-experience company dedicated to improving relationships between healthcare providers and consumers; The Beryl Institute, a research and educational entity that publishes information about improving the patient experience and how that activity links to better financial outcomes for healthcare providers; The Circle, a training company that helps businesses enhance employee engagement and develop more positive workplace cultures; and the Small Giants Community, a global organization that brings together leaders who are focused on values-based business principles.

Paul leads a unique, people-centric culture that has remarkably high employee and customer retention rates. Beryl has won nine “best place to work” awards, including being voted the No. 2 Best Medium-Sized Company to Work for in America. Paul was named regional Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 by Ernst & Young.

Paul is a sought-after speaker and author on executive leadership, entrepreneurship, corporate culture, customer relationships, and employee engagement. His views have been published in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, the Dallas Morning News, Inc. Magazine, Healthcare Financial Management, Leadership Excellence, and many other noteworthy publications, as well as in his first internationally published book, Why is Everyone Smiling? The Secret Behind Passion, Productivity, and Profit.

Paul practiced law for two years prior to starting Beryl. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California Los Angeles and a law degree from Southwestern University in Los Angeles. He mentors MBA students at Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University, as well as nurse executives in the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and on the board of the nonprofit Entrepreneurs for North Texas.

Smile Guide: Employee Perspectives on Culture, Loyalty, and Profit

Employee loyalty drives customer satisfaction, which in turn drives profit: this is the key to success for Spiegelman. Put simply, what he calls this Circle of Growth™ philosophy states that if you focus first and foremost on your employees, you will gain their loyalty. Employee loyalty leads to customer loyalty. Loyal customers drive profit into your business. Then you take that profit, give your employees better tools and resources to do their jobs, and the cycle continues.

Dianne Durkin / Magnetic Leadership

Dianne Durkin is the president and founder of Loyalty Factor, a consulting and training company that enhances employee, customer and brand loyalty for some of the nation’s most prominent corporations and smaller businesses. She has a very unique background including finance, direct sales, international marketing and training and development.

Widely recognized as a visionary thinker who has a rare combination of creativity and a strong business sense, Dianne has been interviewed as a Loyalty Expert by ABC News. She has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, USA Today, Investor’s Business Daily and the Boston Globe, among numerous other publications. Dianne was the subject of two cover stories in Learning and Training magazine and Sales & Service Excellence.

Dianne is the author of two books: The Loyalty Factor: Building Employee, Customer and Brand Loyalty and The Power of Magnetic Leadership: It’s Time to get R.E.A.L. which recently received Clarion Review’s Five Star Rating. Others have stated The Power of Magnetic Leadership is the only leadership reference guide any manager needs.

If you need someone to quickly assess the core issues within your company and outline their impact on the organization, profits, productivity and people, Dianne is your person. She is continually sought after to lead companies into new markets, handle organizational restructures and set up programs to build lasting commitments with employees and customers.

Magnetic Leadership

Dianne Durkin’s new book defines this irresistible force of superior leadership and offers readers insight about what makes The Power of Magnetic Leadership: It’s Time to Get R. E. A. L. – how its magnetism results in increased productivity and corporate profitability.

Norman Bodek / The Harada Method

Norman has been a frequent keynote speaker at major conferences and teaches companies on employee empowerment, Lean/Toyota Production System, customer service, productivity, lean accounting, quick kaizen, and process improvement. Norman also teaches business management students “Japanese Management Principles” at Portland State University.

Mr. Bodek attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from New York University. He also attended New York University Graduate School of Business and New York University College of Education.

The Harada Method is a sport’s analogy: people love sports – how to make winners at work? Harada Method in Japan is recognized as the world’s best process on day-to-day management to develop people to their fullest capability .

Meeting Pros: Elizabeth Hogan with Juice Studios

March 6, 2013 by angishields

Meeting Pros Radio

Meeting Pros: Elizabeth Hogan with Juice Studios

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On this episode of Meeting Pros:

Elizabeth Hogan with Juice Studios

Elizabeth is a forth generation Atlantan with a passion for her city and special events. That coupled with over nine years of extensive experience in the hospitality industry. More specifically in destination management. Elizabeth is an expert in both sales management and event logistics. Elizabeth is one of our destination management gurus and specializes in on-site and off-site events,dine-a-rounds, VIP tours and VIP transportation services. She has worked with hundreds of Fortune500 companies with groups ranging in size from 10 to over 4,000 attendees.

Audio Dust Jacket Volume 9

March 2, 2013 by angishields

BRX National

Audio Dust Jacket Volume 9

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Joseph Callaway / Clients First: The Two Word Miracle

How honesty, competency, and caring will make you rich

Throw out the sales manual. Get off the motivation elevator. Clients First is a two word miracle that can change your life. This book outlines a powerful path to riches that authors Joseph and JoAnn Callaway used to sell a billion dollars in real estate in just ten years—a feat never before achieved. Here, they explain the three keys to putting your clients first that helped them create one of the most successful realty firms in the U.S.

Each of the three keys is important and can stand on its own. However, the success you can achieve when following the Clients First program can only be reached when all three keys are used in coordination.

Alex Greenwood / Kickstarter Success Secrets

J. Alexander Greenwood is the author of Kickstarter Success Secrets, a top-selling ebook on how to succeed in the world of crowdfunding. Kickstarter Success Secrets gives tips, do’s and don’t’s that are easily digestible and ready to be put to use on your Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign. Greenwood knows what he’s talking about: he raised 106% of his funding goal on his first Kickstarter project.

Greenwood owns and operates AlexanderG Public Relations and Caroline Street Press, an independent publishing imprint in Kansas City, Missouri. He previously worked as a newspaper editor, college instructor, radio talk show host and vice president of Kansas City Public Television.

A fan of suspense, thrillers, mystery and horror, he wrote three novels in the award nominated John Pilate Mystery Series: Pilate’s Cross, Pilate’s Key and Pilate’s Ghost. His short story, Obsidian, won the Shelf Unbound Magazine/Wattpad Short Fiction Award in 2011 and the WritingRoom.com short story award in April 2010.

Elaine Bossiks / The Last Victim

Elaine Bossik had three careers: as magazine editor, medical writer and teacher in the New York City school system. She is now a staff columnist for Scriptologist.com, an online screenwriting magazine, writing how-to articles for aspiring writers under the name of Elaine Radford. She writes articles related to her novel on her website/blog, www.elainebossik.com

While Elaine’s professional career helped shape her writing, her fascination with people is the inspiration for her fiction. She believes that great stories begin and end with provocative characters.

Her debut novel was reviewed by The Midwest Book Review in April 2012. Here’s what they said: “The Last Victim” is a choice read… very much recommended.”

The Last Victim is a riveting saga about the consequences of obsession, lies and deception.

From the first moment Sophie Rothman lies to her husband about the child she is carrying, the lives of everyone in her family are changed forever.

Driven by a twisted obsession to accumulate money for its own sake, Sophie forces her family to live beneath their means and drives her husband, Harry, away. During his absence, Sophie’s loneliness leads her into an illicit affair and an unwanted pregnancy. When her lover leaves, Sophie begs Harry to return and then deceives him into believing the child she’s carrying is his. If Sophie keeps her secret, no one will be hurt. Or will they? It’s a question Sophie will have to answer one day.

Jeanie, the product of Sophie’s affair, grows into a beautiful, strong-willed woman who defies her mother at every turn and becomes an archaeologist. Destiny takes Jeanie to Masada—one of the greatest archaeological digs of all time—where she falls in love with David. When Jeanie announces her plans to marry, Sophie is forced to reveal her longguarded secret and forbid the marriage.

The events set in motion by Sophie’s revelation catapult Jeanie to a near breakdown and tear the Rothman family apart. On Jeanie’s final journey, she draws on all her courage to confront her mother and break the bonds that bind.

The Last Victim is a story spanning three decades—from the streets of Brooklyn, New York in the 1940s to the streets of Jerusalem and the harsh desert sands of Masada in the 1960s. Here is a multi-layered portrait of Jewish-American life during a turbulent time in America, and the deep connection to Israel’s fight to survive in the Middle East.

Jan Carpman/ Directional Sense: How to Find Your Way Around

Jan Carpman is a wayfinding expert with 30+ years’experience on hundreds of projects in large, complex,public facilities. Believing that designed environmentsand their wayfinding systems should respond to theneeds of the people who use them, she is proud to haveinvolved thousands of users in her work. A skilledspeaker, writer, and coach, Jan is the author (with MyronGrant) of Directional Sense: How to Find Your Way Aroundand Design that Cares: Planning Health Facilities forPatients and Visitors. She is a Partner in Carpman GrantAssociates, Wayfinding Consultants, Ann Arbor, MI andholds a PhD in Architecture and Sociology (University ofMichigan), a Master of City Planning (HarvardUniversity), and a BA in Sociology (University ofRochester).