Mike Sammond Archives - Page 11 of 25

Lucas Acosta, Founder & CEO of Foojee

August 2, 2018 by Mike

Beyond The Cupola

Lucas Acosta, Founder & CEO of Foojee

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

Lucas Acosta/Foojee

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

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

Tom Wilson/Oconee State Bank

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

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

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

Larry Campbell & Caleb Stevens with Corners Outreach

July 26, 2018 by Mike

Beyond The Cupola

Larry Campbell & Caleb Stevens with Corners Outreach

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Larry Campbell & Caleb Stevens/Corners Outreach

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

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

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

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

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

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

July 26, 2018 by Mike

Gwinnett Business Radio

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

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

Karlos Walkes/Team XiQ

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

Sanjay Parekh/Prototype Prime

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

Gabrielle Jewell/Sourced

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

Dr. Mike Majmundar with Northside Plastic Surgery and Alex Van Winkle with Van Winkle & Associates

June 19, 2018 by Mike

North Fulton Business Radio

Dr. Mike Majmundar with Northside Plastic Surgery and Alex Van Winkle with Van Winkle & Associates

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John Ray, Dr. Mike Majmundar, Alex Van Winkle

Dr. Mike Majmundar/Northside Plastic Surgery

Dr. Mike Majmundar of Northside Plastic Surgery is a double board certified and fellowship trained facial plastic surgeon. He has made Alpharetta and Atlanta become destinations for excellence in plastic surgery with his signature Natural procedures. Physicians come from all over the country to learn about his nonsurgical injectable techniques and his trademarked MM Lift. Patients come from all over the world for his signature Natural Facelift and Natural Mini-Facelift, which is a product of years of experience and advanced surgical approach. Dr. Majmundar has been named a Top Doctor for 8 years in a row by Atlanta Magazine and Castle Connolly Medical; a National Top Doctor by U.S. News & World Report; Best Plastic Surgeon for Face by Best Self Atlanta; Best Botox and Filler Injector; and a top beauty expert.

Alex Van Winkle/Van Winkle & Associates

Van Winkle & Associates is Atlanta’s oldest independent advertising and marketing firm. Founded in 1984, VWA established itself as the agency that could provide senior level talent to solve complex marketing issues at a more reasonable cost than the network agencies. The agency has built a reputation of bringing value to a client’s marketing spend by providing thoughtful strategic direction and execution all the way through the sales funnel. With a track record of building brands from the ground up, such as Texas Pete Hot Sauce and Hennessy Lexus, VWA has been able to leverage past success with regional clients into relationships with national brands such as Homewood Suites by Hilton and Ancestry.com. Today, VWA continues to lead the rapidly evolving marketing landscape through innovative strategy that connects the digital-first consumer with brand strategy focused on results.

Damien Godfrey with Lydia’s Place

June 7, 2018 by Mike

Beyond The Cupola

Damien Godfrey with Lydia's Place

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

Damien Godfrey/Lydia’s Place

Lydia’s Place serves young adults from ages 14 to 26 who have experienced foster care or homelessness. Built on Christian principles, they seek to demonstrate God’s love by providing basic needs during the transition to independent living.

Lydia’s Place is currently working to fund an on-campus apartment at the University of Georgia to be used for emergency housing. Students in need of housing will be given a place to stay for up to two weeks while a more permanent housing plan is being established.

Their next step is to build or renovate a larger facility in order to provide housing to needful students from UGA as well as surrounding schools such as Athens Technical College, Piedmont College and University of North Georgia.

Delena Brockmann with Piedmont Athens Regional and Cristi Donahue with Oconee State Bank

May 31, 2018 by Mike

Beyond The Cupola

Delena Brockmann with Piedmont Athens Regional and Cristi Donahue with Oconee State Bank

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Delena Brockmann/Piedmont Athens Regional

Piedmont Healthcare delivers healthcare marked by compassion and sustainable excellence in a progressive environment, guided by physicians, delivered by exceptional professionals and inspired by the communities they serve. Piedmont is a not-for-profit, community health system comprised of 11 hospitals, 3,000 physicians and nearly 22,000 employees.

Since the beginning, Piedmont has been a pioneer in patient care, fulfilling the health care needs of Atlanta residents and the surrounding communities. Today – more than 110 years since it was founded – Piedmont is known as a leading hospital system in cancer care, treatment of heart disease and organ transplantation. For more information, visit piedmont.org.

The new Oconee Health Campus of Piedmont Athens Regional is a state-of-the-art, one-stop health shop designed with your convenience in mind, and is located at 1305 Jennings Mill Road in Watkinsville, GA.

The Oconee Health Campus offers the following services:

Well and Sick Visits
Annual Exams, Sports Physicals, Vaccinations and Immunizations
Urgent Care
Lab Services
Imaging Services
Retail Pharmacy

Cristi Donahue/Oconee State Bank

Shantell Wilson with the Gwinnett County Office of Economic Development and Danielle Cheung with Bank of America Merrill Lynch

May 31, 2018 by Mike

Gwinnett Business Radio

Shantell Wilson with the Gwinnett County Office of Economic Development and Danielle Cheung with Bank of America Merrill Lynch

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Danielle Cheung, Steven Julian, Shantell Wilson

Shantell Wilson/Gwinnett County Office of Economic Development

The Gwinnett County Office of Economic Development is rolling out its new business outreach initiative titled Coffee and Conversation with your County Government. The program was established to strengthen the relationships between county officials and the many businesses that help to drive the local economy. This business outreach initiative provides business owners and start-ups and entrepreneurs with an avenue to have meaningful conversations with county officials regarding business advancement and how their county government can play a proactive role. It is their goal to better understand the short and long term needs and goals of Gwinnett businesses so they can continue to provide the quality of customer service that creates and fosters a thriving business environment.

Danielle Cheung/Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 46 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 4,600 retail financial centers, 15,900 ATMs, and award-winning online banking with approximately 34 million active accounts and nearly 22 million mobile active users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking, and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Jim Zavorski with Alpharetta Sign Company and Phil Wahl with Kale Me Crazy

May 29, 2018 by Mike

North Fulton Business Radio

Jim Zavorski with Alpharetta Sign Company and Phil Wahl with Kale Me Crazy

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Jim Zavorski/Alpharetta Sign Company

Alpharetta Sign Company is a local sign company that offers high-quality, custom business signs, banners, and vehicle wraps for clients in and around Alpharetta, GA. They offer a specialized service to local clients that is backed by a nationwide network of independent sign companies. This allows them to provide a wide range of product to customers, while responding to their client’s needs in a timely and economical manner.

Phil Wahl/Kale Me Crazy

Kale me Crazy is a new, fast growing artisan health food restaurant. They’re all about promoting healthy living through fresh organic and natural foods. They provide a fast and convenient alternative to traditional fast food restaurants. They are serving wraps, salads, acai bowls, cold pressed juices, delicious smoothies, energy shots and iced coffee and tea, Poke Bowls and Avocado Toast, all made from scratch, all made from fresh fruits and vegetables delivered daily. Kale Me Crazy even makes their own almond milk! They feature cleansing packages that are the perfect support system to your healthy lifestyle. Visit their restaurant and catch the healthy vibe. They also offer catering for your next meeting, special event or sports outing. Download the app for pick up, or have it delivered through Door Dash or Foodsby. Their motto says it all: “Healthy habits start here.” Look for their newest location in Alpharetta.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Daniel Tindol from Suwanee Towne Florist

May 25, 2018 by Mike

Gwinnett Studio

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Daniel Tindol from Suwanee Towne Florist

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Daniel Tindol/Suwanee Towne Florist

Suwanee Towne Florist is a full-service flower boutique that serves all of Gwinnett County. In addition to everyday gifts, they specialize in corporate gifting to help companies strengthen sales relationships and enhance employee culture with flowers and plants. Daniel and his team work with organizations to create branded arrangements, a unique touch when you are trying to make a person feel special. They also own Floristique Weddings and Events, a special event floral design company that works with both brides and corporations on their big events.