Senator Bruce Thompson/Candidate for Georgia Labor Commissioner
Senator Bruce Thompson is chairman of the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee, and a candidate for Georgia Labor Commissioner. A serial entrepreneur, Bruce has started dozens of successful companies, and now seeks to use his business and leadership skills to fix a broken Georgia Department of Labor.
CASE IN POINT is presented by:
Risk-takers. Problem solvers. The dreamers and the doers. Not for the faint of heart, being a small business owner is a bold feat. Now, more than ever, it is critical to celebrate those who are up to the challenge. The Gwinnett Chamber’s Small Business Awards do just that by showcasing those that dare to start, sustain, and succeed, and the community that supports them.
Erica Gwyn/Seven Oaks Academy (Minority-Owned/Woman-Owned Small Business Award)
Seven Oaks Academy is a preschool in Lilburn, GA that offers various platforms for creative learning experiences for all the children in their facility. Aiming for quality child development and favorable outcomes are their primary concerns. They want every child to be well-equipped with the right knowledge and expertise for them to be well-rounded individuals. Apart from having an exciting learning environment, their professionals strive to unleash the potential of every child.
Chelle Hartzer/360 Pest & Food Safety Consulting (Launch Award)
360 Pest & Food Safety Consulting helps companies solve tough pest issues. They help companies trouble-shoot ongoing issues, put preventative plans in place, and improve their pest control services.
Sid Theus/American Painting & Renovations (Founder Award)
For over 30 years, American Painting & Renovations has provided top-rated service within the multifamily, commercial, and residential industries as a contractor. Their goal has been to ensure you receive reliable products and unmatched installations promptly. Their nationwide service, quality workmanship, and competitive pricing have earned them numerous recognitions within these industries, and is confirmed by their growing list of satisfied customers.
Risk-takers. Problem solvers. The dreamers and the doers. Not for the faint of heart, being a small business owner is a bold feat. Now, more than ever, it is critical to celebrate those who are up to the challenge. The Gwinnett Chamber’s Small Business Awards do just that by showcasing those that dare to start, sustain, and succeed, and the community that supports them.
Jonathan Holmes/Mighty 8th Media (Culture Creator Award)
For marketing that makes an impact, look no further than Mighty 8th Media. They are an award-winning Atlanta marketing and design agency. From concept to completion, their crew delivers the ideas and stories that take businesses to higher levels of success. Whether it’s working as an extension of your existing team, or serving as your entire outsourced marketing department, they’re suited up and ready for any mission. Mighty 8th Media has been recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work” by Atlanta Business Chronicle and Georgia Trend Magazine; a 2018 “Small Business of the Year” and Pinnacle Awards winner by the Gwinnett Chamber; and one of Atlanta’s “Top 50 Marketing and Advertising Agencies” for 2017 and 2018. Mighty 8th Media strives to be an ongoing source of pride and economic growth for the Gwinnett community.
Anthony Chen/Lighthouse Financial Network (Emerging Entrepreneur Award)
Lighthouse Financial Network begins with a commitment to you, listening, advising, and building ongoing relationships. They are affiliated with Royal Alliance Associates, member FINRA/SIPC. Their firm is located in Melville, NY and has an additional 6 affiliated offices located within the metropolitan area. They provide financial guidance to clients across the country, each with unique financial needs. They are comprised of a dedicated group of professionals, with high core values and extensive experience in finance, insurance and money management. Many of the advisors have attained advanced degrees and professional designations to enhance their ability to best represent you to make certain that they meet your needs effectively. Their advisors are responsible for understanding your financial picture, applying a comprehensive strategy and providing the appropriate resources to help meet your goals and objectives. Their mission is to provide you with quality financial advice, to build relationships based on trust, and to develop unique solutions to help you reach your financial goals. They embrace a team philosophy and work with your attorneys, accountants, trustees, and other professional advisors to help ensure the most efficient and effective approach is taken when creating your financial solutions. Contact them to begin “lighting your way to a secure financial future”.
Maureen Kornowa/Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter (Community Contributor Award)
Home of Hope at Gwinnett Children’s Shelter is a transitional living facility for homeless children (0-17) with their mothers. They are designed to address the homeless issue in Gwinnett County and the metro Atlanta area. They do this by keeping the family unit together and teaching mom the necessary life skills designed to get her to independence. They provide housing, food, and clothing in a safe and nurturing environment where kids are free to be kids while mom works a customized life plan designed to take her from homeless to hopeful, and ultimately into a home of her own.
Every health system leader has unprecedented executive management challenges facing their organization in the wake of the pandemic. During a recent virtual executive roundtable session hosted by the Healthcare Management Academy (HMA), which included the Baldrige Foundation co-hosts Dr. Roger Spoelman and Dr. Charles Peck as panelists, the discussion clarified the top challenges to overcome for health systems to “future proof” their organizations.
On this episode of “Leader Dialogue Radio“, the panel talks with guest J. Daniel Beckham, founder and president of the Beckham Company, about his most recent monograph, Healthcare on Fire: A COVID Chronicle.
Roger Spoelman, DBA, MBA
Senior Advisor, Strategy, Leadership, and Innovation
Roger is a healthcare executive with more than 38 years of industry experience. He most recently served as interim CEO at Trinity Health Regional Systems in New England, Ohio, and Illinois at Loyola University Health System.
His tenure at Trinity Health included leading several hospital mergers, and later as regional executive for the corporation’s Mercy Health operations. He also is founder and executive sponsor of the Trinity Health Innovation Hub. In 2018, Roger oversaw the merger of International Aid Inc. and CURE International Inc., two organizations where he served on the Board of Directors for over a decade. He recently served as the President and CEO for CURE International Inc., which operates eight charitable hospitals in developing nations, and focuses on faith-based care that restores quality of life to pediatric patients with surgically treatable disabilities. Roger was appointed Chair of the BAMF Health board of directors in 2019. He is working closely with the company to achieve their patent-focused mission of bringing intelligence-based precision medicine to the world.
Roger is a co-host of the Baldrige Foundation Leader Dialogue program, and mentors and coaches’ numerous executives and assists organizations and their boards of directors with succession, strategy, and innovation.
Dr. Darin Vercillo, MD
Darin Vercillo co-founded ABOUT, drawing upon his expertise in developing and implementing medical information systems specifically designed to manage complex patient needs, medical education, and faculty and staff logistics. Darin provides clinical oversite and direction across all facets of ABOUT.
A board-certified hospitalist practicing in the Salt Lake City area, Darin also served as a clinical advisor and technical developer at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. Previously to his work at ABOUT, Darin served as a physician knowledge engineer and interim Chief Medical Officer at TheraDoc.
Ben Sawyer, MBA, PT, OCS, LBB
Ben Sawyer is an ABOUT executive. He has more than 35 years of industry experience, most recently serving as CEO of SOAR Vision Group, and EVP of Care Logistics.
Ben started his healthcare career in 1985 as a Physical Therapist, focusing on sports medicine and orthopedics, and received his specialist certification as an Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) in 1997 from the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.
After securing his MBA, he moved into hospital administration, overseeing rehab, wellness, cardiac therapy, and occupational medicine services, specializing in team development and performance optimization. This expanded into a system leadership role overseeing performance and quality improvement. During that time Ben achieved his Lean Black Belt certification (LBB)
Ben has a gift for recognizing strategic gaps that can be turned into opportunities. For example, during the COVID-19 crisis he initiated national executive roundtables with the Baldrige Foundation via the Leader Dialogue program to help executives turn the pandemic disruption into an opportunity for improved collaboration and performance towards true Community Health beyond the walls of hospitals and to prioritize and coordinate action and resources.
J. Daniel Beckham/The Beckham Company
The Beckham Company provides strategy consulting services to some of America’s most respected hospitals, health systems, and physician groups. It also provides strategic due diligence for mergers and acquisitions of health care organizations.
Randy Brunson/Centurion Advisory Group
Randy Brunson is the founding shareholder of Centurion Advisory Group. Randy has invested most of his forty-year career in financial services. He spent several years on the institutional side and had the opportunity to start a successful financial planning firm in 1991. Centurion Advisory Group serves individual and corporate clients, both in Georgia and throughout the country, offering personal and business financial planning, retirement plan design and management, and investment management services.
Randy studied engineering and marketing at UT Chattanooga. Randy currently holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) and CKA designation and makes it a priority to stay on top of his knowledge in the financial industry through continuing professional educational opportunities and reading. In addition, Randy has completed studies in qualified plan design, estate planning and business transition planning and he enjoys speaking and writing regularly on these topics.
Randy Redner & Britt Ramroop/Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia
At the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, everything they do centers around one purpose – improving our world through the power of philanthropy. On a fundamental level, they do that through managing funds held in trust, donated by individuals, organizations and businesses. Most funds are donor-advised funds, similar to savings accounts. These funds are pooled for investment purposes and their income is used to make grants for a wide variety of charitable purposes. But their goals expand far beyond managing funds. They desire to strengthen the communities they serve in Gwinnett, Northeast Georgia and beyond by providing leadership, addressing community needs and assisting individuals and organizations with their charitable giving.
Stewarding Family Wealth is presented by
Celebrating Powerhouse Women salutes and recognizes women who are making an impact, whether it’s in business, philanthropy, public service, or elsewhere.
Renne Byrd-Lewis/Gwinnett Coalition
Renée Byrd-Lewis serves as the President and CEO of the Gwinnett Coalition, an organization dedicated to leading systems change to address Gwinnett County’s most complex social issues. Her nearly three decades of private and public sector experience fuels a diverse portfolio of capabilities in community development, social responsibility, and communications. Her previous roles include serving as the Vice President of Advancement and Strategic Communications at Georgia Gwinnett College; Director of Community Relations at Cisco Systems and Scientific Atlanta; and senior consultant for nonprofits seeking to increase organizational effectiveness. She is adept at transcending industry and functional boundaries, and leveraging an extensive network to achieve her desired outcomes.
Renee has been a Gwinnett County resident since 1995 and is an engaged leader with deep community knowledge. She currently serves as Board Chair of the Leadership Gwinnett Foundation, and is a Board member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and the Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation. She earned a master’s degree from Georgia State University, with a dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from Emory University, and she resides in Buford with her husband and two sons.
Celebrating Powerhouse Women is presented by
Let Leta take you on a journey of faith, life, travel, and interior design. Leta Brooks is the star of the hit podcast “Status Life With Leta.” Reaching a record number of downloads in a very short amount of time, Leta engages her audience with her honesty, captivating stories, and her talent for teaching. “Status Life With Leta” is a lifestyle podcast and blog which focuses on everything you need to know to enhance your life, your health, and your home.
Leta uses her 20+ years of experience as a practicing interior designer to teach trends, design styles, and tips on how to make a house a home. She also guides her followers to a lifestyle of better mental, physical, and spiritual health. With her “sweetie”, Derek Hays, as her co-host, they entertain listeners with playful banter and real life situations. Her mission is to help each and every listener #designyourlife.
Status Life with Leta is brought to you by Status Home Design, and by the Law Office of Derek M. Hays at 404-777-HURT.
On this episode, Leta and Derek discuss the importance (and the fun!) of making a bucket list.
Leta Brooks/Status Home Design
Status Home Design is a 12.000 sq ft retail store located in the Kohls Plaza of Hamilton Mill at 2240 Hamilton Creek Pkwy, Dacula, Georgia. They have 70 different merchants inside the store selling furniture and home goods of various styles. Their Status Carpenters can rehab, refinish, or repaint almost anything. This fantastic team of carpenters also custom builds tables, bookcases, cabinets, and barn doors. Status Design Studio, Inc., their award winning full-service interior design firm is also located inside the store. Their designers, provide exemplary service for all your home and business needs. Status Home Design’s knowledge of the latest trends and access to an abundance of manufacturers for furniture and all home decor items, sets them apart from the rest. Last, but certainly not least, they have an in-house seamstress and upholstery workshop.
Contact Leta at lbrooks@statushomedesign.com
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Randy Brunson/Centurion Advisory Group
Randy Brunson is the founding shareholder of Centurion Advisory Group. Randy has invested most of his forty-year career in financial services. He spent several years on the institutional side and had the opportunity to start a successful financial planning firm in 1991. Centurion Advisory Group serves individual and corporate clients, both in Georgia and throughout the country, offering personal and business financial planning, retirement plan design and management, and investment management services.
Randy studied engineering and marketing at UT Chattanooga. Randy currently holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) and CKA designation and makes it a priority to stay on top of his knowledge in the financial industry through continuing professional educational opportunities and reading. In addition, Randy has completed studies in qualified plan design, estate planning and business transition planning and he enjoys speaking and writing regularly on these topics.
Randy Redner & Britt Ramroop/Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia
At the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, everything they do centers around one purpose – improving our world through the power of philanthropy. On a fundamental level, they do that through managing funds held in trust, donated by individuals, organizations and businesses. Most funds are donor-advised funds, similar to savings accounts. These funds are pooled for investment purposes and their income is used to make grants for a wide variety of charitable purposes. But their goals expand far beyond managing funds. They desire to strengthen the communities they serve in Gwinnett, Northeast Georgia and beyond by providing leadership, addressing community needs and assisting individuals and organizations with their charitable giving.
Stewarding Family Wealth is presented by
Butch Miller/Butch Miller for Georgia
Butch Miller is a member of the Georgia State Senate from the 49th District, serving since 2010. He is a member of the Republican Party. In May, he announced his candidacy for the 2022 Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election.
Raised in Northeast Georgia, Butch Miller is a proven conservative who is not afraid to stand up for Georgia values. As a Christian, husband, father, and small business owner, Butch knows the importance of economic opportunity and liberty for all. And just as important, Butch knows how to get it done. In the Georgia Senate, Butch has always fought for conservative values. When others shied away from the criticism of commonsense election reform, Butch stepped up and got it done. Butch ushered in the largest tax cut in state history, helped save the HOPE scholarship, protected life at conception, passed one of America’s strongest immigration laws, and stood up for Georgia’s brave law enforcement officers. When the going gets tough, Butch is there to fight. As Georgia’s Lieutenant Governor, he will always do the same.
CASE IN POINT is presented by:
