African American Women in Cinema is pleased to host the 4th Edition of the AAWIC Special film screening program during the Sundance Film Festival taking place January 25, 2020 in Utah.
This historical event will feature the popular short film, "The Promise" by Senegal Africa, Director Fatou Tore' Ndiaye as part of the Senegal Africa Film Community partnership. In addition, the program will also include the Highly anticipated documentary of the Iconic Fashion Designer entitled, "What's In a Name: The Alfredo Versace Story." Produced by two women of color and Directed by award winner, Terence Gordon. A TnG Films and Black Ink Pictures Production.
"They could take away his name, but they could not take away his creative genius," said filmmaker Terence Gordon.
"What's in a Name: The Alfredo Versace Story" shows how Alfredo was raised from humble beginnings, built a fortune while helping to globalize the Versace brand only to be stripped of his name and have it all taken away. It will also depict how after Gianni Versace was murdered in Miami, Gianni's sister Donatella Versace took over the company and won a lawsuit against Alfredo barring him from using his last name commercially.
"I am super enthused to be a part of this powerful story as one of the film's producers and to have it screened on one of AAWIC Signature events is monumental, said Terra Renee, President of African American Women In Cinema. The African American Women In Cinema (AAWIC) organization has served as a continuous support for the vibrant work of women filmmakers for the past twenty two years. AAWIC has provided a platform to showcase aligning experienced and novice filmmakers, directors, producers, screenwriters and/or actors.
Our mission is to expand, explore and create business opportunities for minority women filmmakers throughout the entertainment industry. It is the goal of AAWIC to give artistic women a path to fulfilling their dreams through showcasing their talents, exposure to peers’ interaction, and mentoring by established professionals. "The Promise" is about a young woman (Sophie) who married and converted into a devoted housewife. Sophie created a beautiful home and atmosphere. One day she receives the shock of her life from her husband.
Black Ink Pictures LLC and TnG Films LLC production companies have been producing films, music videos, digital cinema series, documentaries and commercials for several years. TnG Films was started back in 2001 with Director Terence Gordon at the helm. Black Ink Pictures is the Holding company for the Youthful Ambition YA Digital Brand and Series that was created by Terence Gordon in 2014.
Love Boat 78 will be brought to the attention of the film community at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah where author Tom Madden will sign copies of his book at the screening of a documentary "What's in a Name: The Alfredo Versace Story" directed by Terence Gordon about Madden's friend Alfredo Versace. The event is sponsored by African American Women In Cinema. The book highlights how then 78-year-old Madden dove headfirst back into the dating pool, except this time, it wasn't just a pool—it was a raging dating ocean called the Internet. From whirlwind romances to digital breakups, Madden experienced everything Internet dating has to offer.
Love Boat 78, published by Mascot Books, explores how Madden's huge heart, racing libido and irreverent humor helped him cope with loss and ultimately sail into the sunset once again in love after meeting his Brazilian wife, not on the Internet, but in a sports bar called Duffy's. Tom Madden is an author and owner of Transmedia Group, one of the country’s leading, multi-lingual public relations firms. From the TransMedia Building in downtown Boca Raton, the award-winning firm serves clients worldwide, from Israel to New York, Norway to South Africa, Miami to Mexico. The event is supported/sponsored by TransMedia. Other books by Madden include his autobiography "SPIN MAN," satiric novel "King of the Condo," and "Is There Enough Brady in Trump to Win the inSUPERable Bowl?
For tickets go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aawic-special-film-screening-program-tickets-90325834001?fbclid=IwAR3g8kt1wDlN720ZNkb6RNJOKC_JHMrUNX3CXHB9hW4hgmFRniuuccBShdc
For more information on tickets, sponsorship opportunities and Press and Media Inquiries contact: Adrienne Mazzone at 561-750-9800 x2270 or email, amazzone@transmediagroup.com.
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Join Mark Bertin, M.D., for a webinar tomorrow at 1pm ET to learn how ADHD / autism impact social emotional development, & how kids can develop skills
Webinar tomorrow, 1/22: Social Skills for ADHD / Autism
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Don't miss tomorrow's live ADHD expert webinar
Wednesday, January 22, 2020 @ 1pm Eastern Time - Register to attend live or get the replay link!
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As long as you register now, we'll email you the replay link.
A Parent's Guide to Social Skills Strategies for Children with ADHD or Autism (or Both)
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Time: 1pm-2pm Eastern Time
(12pm-1pm Central; 11am-12pm Mountain; 10am-11am Pacific)
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Expert: Mark Bertin, M.D.
Strong friendships are a vital support for a child’s overall happiness and resilience. Both ADHD and autism affect peer relationships – and many children have symptoms of both. How can parents best support social skills growth and success? In this webinar, learn how ADHD and autism impact social emotional development, and clinical and at-home strategies to support social emotional abilities.
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Dear Dave,
I’m trying very hard to get out of debt. I have my beginner emergency fund in place, and I’m living on a monthly budget. Is it okay to include a little wallet cash in my budget at this point, just in case?
Andrew
Dear Andrew,
It’s probably not going to throw you off too much in terms of getting out of debt if you budget $20 or so, just to have some cash in your wallet. I wouldn’t recommend much more than that, though. The idea of having $50, $100, or $200 in walking around money is pretty self-defeating when you’re supposedly saving, budgeting, and working hard to get out of debt.
What really matters is the amount of pocket money you allow yourself to have.
Think of it as a safety valve. Sometimes things come up in the course of day-to-day life that are just necessary, unexpected expenses—but not emergencies. Just designate a small amount of cash for it as part of your regular, monthly budget, and stick to that amount!
—Dave
(Emergency fund first, then investing)
Word count: 271
Dear Dave,
Do you think I should stop making contributions to my 401(k) for a year, so I can save up an emergency fund? I’m 28, and debt-free, but I don’t have anything saved for emergencies.
Bryan
Dear Bryan,
If you’re debt-free and making decent money at your job, it shouldn’t take a whole year to set aside an emergency fund. Just make it a priority in your monthly budget. And yes, my advice to you is temporarily stop making contributions to your 401(k) until you have a fully-funded emergency fund of three to six months of expenses.
I recommend people stop investing, or wait to start investing, until they are debt-free except for their home and have a fully-funded emergency fund in place. In some cases, depending on how much debt they have, it can take two or three years to do all this. I know that seems like a long time, but in the grand scheme of things it’s really not.
If you don’t have an emergency fund, but you’re contributing to a 401(k), there’s a good chance you’ll end up cashing out your 401(k) if a large, unexpected expense comes along. Then, when you cash out a 401(k) early, you get hit with a penalty plus your tax rate. That’s not a wise plan!
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is CEO of Ramsey Solutions. He has authored seven best-selling books, including The Total Money Makeover. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 16 million listeners each week on 600 radio stations and multiple digital platforms. Follow Dave on the web at daveramsey.com and on Twitter at @DaveRamsey.
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News release copied below, photo attached. Interviews available upon request. Thank you!
Homework help app Brainly appoints new Chief Product Officer
Jan. 21, 2019-- Brainly, the world’s largest online learning community for students, parents, and teachers with 150 million monthly users across 35 countries, recently appointed Rajesh Bysani as its new Chief Product Officer (CPO).
While Brainly has succeeded at establishing itself as one of the United States’ leading digital education resources, last school year the platform achieved a major landmark in its global growth: it now reaches 15 million monthly users in the U.S., which means that 20% or one-fifth of all American students use the popular homework help platform during the calendar school year.
In his role as the Chief Product Officer, Bysani will be responsible for driving the team to build world-class products in line with the company’s vision of becoming a leading global educational platform.
Prior to joining Brainly, Bysani has had a rich professional experience of over 15 years, working with both established and emerging companies across diverse profiles. He was the Mobile Transformation Lead at Google, CPO at Zoomcar, AVP (Product and Growth) at FreeCharge, and a core part of early product teams at redBus and BookMyShow. Throughout his prolific career, he has been tasked with ideating, executing, and growing some of the most innovative and path-breaking products that have simplified and enriched the lives of millions of people.
"As the seasoned product manager who has had first-hand experience in helping develop some of the country’s most innovative tech-based products over the past decade and a half, the guiding principle behind my work has always been the philosophy that technology exists to improve our daily lives and to help solve problems that people regularly encounter,” said Bysani.
Brainly’s ‘community learning’ model combines online education, social media, and machine learning to disrupt the $2.6 billion education market on a global level. With headquarters in Kraków, Poland and New York City, Brainly is driven by the conviction that online learning communities can empower students all over the world with knowledge and information.
Bysani said: “At its core, Brainly exists to improve educational outcomes for students across the world and transfer all the benefits of real-life collaboration into a digital environment. This aligns perfectly with my enduring belief that technology has the power to transform individuals’ lives for the better, and I am beyond thrilled to work with such an innovative company that’s making a tremendous positive impact on global education in the digital age. I look forward to the opportunity to further expand on this vision, help grow and reinvent the next generation of the product, and amplify and build on this vision.”
This appointment comes at a time when Brainly has registered remarkable progress in the United States and on the heels of its 2019 Series C funding round of $30 million led by Naspers, with participation from Runa Capital and Manta Ray. (Combined with Brainly's previous funding rounds, the latest investment brings total funding to date up to $68.5 million.)
Commenting on this appointment, Michał Borkowski, Co-Founder and CEO, Brainly, said: “Our new CPO Rajesh Bysani is the perfect addition to our team and will be an integral part in helping us further strengthen Brainly as the platform that students and parents turn to for help. As we continue to innovate Brainly’s features and product offerings so students can better connect, learn, and explore, a crucial part of achieving that goal is ensuring we have a skilled, passionate leader like Rajesh in place to spearhead the product team. His rich experience and bold vision will help us create a more effective and relevant product for our users, and we look forward to achieving new milestones with him and seeing more and more users from around the world benefit from online learning.”
For more information, please visit www.brainly.com.
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About Brainly
Brainly is the world's largest peer-to-peer learning network. At brainly.com, and its group of websites around the world, high school and middle school-aged students connect to both receive and offer help with homework problems and questions. The unique opportunity for students to freely ask questions and gain the confidence that comes from helping others, inspires students to learn in a collaborative community that receives more than 150 million visitors each month. Based in Krakow, Poland, with its US headquarters in New York City, Brainly is currently available in 35 countries. More information about Brainly is available on www.brainly.com.
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*For a review copy of The WOW Factor Workplace or an interview with Deb Boelkes, please contact Dottie DeHart, DeHart & Company Public Relations, at (828) 325-4966 or simply reply to this email.
LOVE Fuels a WOW Culture: Six Ways to Share the Love
with Employees and Customers (on Valentine's Day and Beyond)
Want your customers to love you? You've got to love them first (right along with your own employees). Just in time for Valentine's Day, Deb Boelkes explains how to create the kind of culture that WOWS employees and shows your customers just how much you care.
Jacksonville, FL (January 2020)—We typically don't think of love and business as existing in the same universe. But with Valentine's Day right around the corner, Deb Boelkes wants to change that mindset. Not only does love belong in the business world, she says, it should fuel everything you do, both internally and in your interactions with customers.
"Your customers are the reason you exist, and your job is to earn their love and loyalty," says Boelkes, author of The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture (Business World Rising, December 2019, ISBN: 978-1-734-07610-3, $19.95). "That means you must first love them. And that, in turn, means you must first love your employees."
None of this will happen if you just go through the motions, she cautions. You can't "fake" love for employees or customers. You must go all in. You must infuse love into all that you do. And that means building it in from the ground up.
To get the love flowing, says Boelkes, commit to becoming a WOW factor workplace. That's a workplace in which heartfelt leaders inspire employees to create extraordinary products and deliver impeccable service at a great value. This creates an unparalleled experience for both employees and customers, and, in turn, makes them both feel special, appreciated, and respected.
A few tips for getting hearted (oops, we mean started):
Don't be afraid to use the "L" word (especially on Valentine's Day). In her book, Boelkes quotes the late Teresa Laraba, former vice president of Southwest Airlines, as saying, "Early on, when we started, one of the taglines was: Somebody up here loves you. We used the word love in a space where it had not been used, especially in the airline industry. Our stock symbol is LUV. We were open about introducing love to corporate America and the airline industry. We were going to have a product which loved you and a company which was going to serve you and appreciate you doing business with us versus the attitude: 'You exist to keep us in business.'"
"Find fun, creative ways to show the customer that you love them on Valentine's Day," suggests Boelkes. "Send them a heart-adorned coupon book with discounted services or offerings. Pen personalized cards listing the reasons you love them. Put together 'We Love Our Customers' gift boxes full of Valentine's Day goodies. Or make a charitable donation to a local soup kitchen or animal shelter in honor of your customer. There are countless ways to show you care."
Recommit to your relationship with employees. Engaged employees are happy employees, and happy employees create happy customers. That's why leaders make it a priority to work on their relationship with employees. And as with any good relationship, it means putting in time and effort. Teresa Laraba said, "We do not subscribe to 'you leave your problems at the door.' You do, in the sense the customer shouldn't have to pay for your employees' problems, but as leaders you ought to know what's going on with them and find out if there's something that's stopping your employees from delivering on their work promise that day.
"If you take the time to get to know your employees as you work with them every day, as you walk by them every day, if you have just two or three one-minute engagements as you walk through your workplace, it builds," added Laraba. "If you don't bother asking employees how they're really doing except for every six months, or if you don't stop to talk to them except once a year when you give them their performance appraisal, it is going to take too much time, because you're trying to build a relationship in a ten-minute conversation when you should have been building a relationship every day."
Think of yourself as a "superior service" role model. When you WOW customers, employees will too. If you commit to giving the best possible service to every customer and making decisions that benefit the customer first (both great ways to show you love them!), your employees will do the same. They are watching and taking cues from your behavior. WOW them with heartfelt leadership and they will WOW the clients every time.
Boelkes says legendary coach John Wooden is a prime example. Wooden said, "I'm convinced that regardless of the task, leaders must be enthusiastic and really enjoy what they are doing if they expect those under their supervision to work near their respective levels of competency. With few exceptions, an unenthusiastic leader will keep those under his or her charge from achieving their collective best."
Look for the Servant's Heart in those you hire (and make sure you have it, too). To win your customers' love, you must truly love the work you do. No one should ever phone it in. Great leaders and employees alike develop what Teresa Laraba called a "Servant's Heart." She said, "We're lucky at Southwest. We first try to hire people who care. Our hiring process is looking for people who genuinely enjoy what they do. We call it the Servant's Heart. People who have a Servant's Heart are people who, especially if you're going to be on the service side of it, enjoy serving. Not somebody who merely pretends they enjoy serving."
Learn to look at your customers through "soft eyes." Don't treat them like transactions. Boelkes quotes Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks Coffee, as saying: "I have this idea. Rather than seeing people as customers or seeing people in their roles as bankers or teachers or authors or whatever, we need to see all people in the context of their humanness, of being a human being. Then, when you're dealing with somebody and whatever the job happens to be, whether you are trying to get a loan for your house or you are a banker trying to make a loan, you look at everybody through human eyes, through soft eyes.
"It doesn't mean you're not going to turn the person down," Behar clarifies. "It does mean you come at it with a caring attitude, with a belief in him or her as a human being and a belief in yourself as a human being. That piece of it only requires practice. We all get caught up in the transaction. We're all in a hurry to get things done. Being in a hurry adds to it. Slow down. Take your time. Think about what you are doing. Don't let yourself go there."
Create service experiences that take the customer's breath away. In her book, Boelkes cites her own experience with dining at Bern's Steak House as one of her favorite examples of delightful customer service. She says the dining rooms were opulent. The menu was extensive and the food sublime. The Harry Waugh Dessert Room (and the lavish "Taste of Bern's"—a sampling of five of their signature desserts) was spectacular. Finally, the wait staff was a testament to their mission of delivering impeccable service.
"We were so impressed with the service from our young waiter," recalls Boelkes. "He never hovered, but magically appeared the instant we wanted him. When I asked how long he had been a waiter there, he answered, 'two weeks.' Given his professionalism, manners, attention to detail, and superior service attitude, this was a surprise! We learned he had worked at Bern's for two years. Everyone there starts out working in the kitchen. If they do well enough, they are promoted to assist in the dining room, and so on. Founder Bern Laxer was a firm believer in hiring for attitude and work ethic, not experience. Clearly, it pays off!"
Allow employees to go above and beyond for customers (in their own unique way). Take a cue from Donald Stamets—general manager for Solage, an Auberge resort in Calistoga, CA—and don't make employees ask permission to go the extra mile to WOW customers. As part of his Expected, Requested, and Delighted philosophy, Stamets encourages them to go above and beyond what the customer expects or requests and try to delight them at every turn. For instance, if a guest is sick, employees can bring them tissues and chicken soup without asking a manager.
"Likewise, tell your employees their goal is to delight customers," says Boelkes. "Let them use their own judgment and tap into their creativity. Being allowed to do it 'their way' will encourage and inspire them to go in whole-heartedly."
Chocolates are enjoyed and then forgotten. Roses eventually wilt. But the loving feeling you create between you and your customers will endure long past Valentine's Day.
"Yes, it's hard work to be a heartfelt organization, but the rewards are so much greater for you, your team, and most of all, your customers," says Boelkes. "Life is just better when you give and receive love every day, in all that you do. There's no reason why this truth can't apply to the workplace."
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About the Author:
Deb Boelkes is not just a role model heartfelt leader; she's the ultimate authority on creating best places to work, with 25+ years in Fortune 150 high-tech firms, leading superstar business development and professional services teams. As an entrepreneur, she has accelerated advancement for women to senior leadership. Deb has delighted and inspired over 1,000 audiences across North America.
About the Book:
The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture (Business World Rising, December 2019, ISBN: 978-1-734-07610-3, $19.95) is available from major online booksellers.
