renasant bank Archives - Page 19 of 33

LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Anita Henderson, Write Your Life

November 14, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Anita Henderson, Write Your Life

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LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Anita Henderson, Write Your Life (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 565)

Anita Henderson, CEO & Founder of Write Your Life & The Write Image Consulting, LLC, joined host John Ray LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit. They chatted about her work at Write Your Life, coaching authors, women writers, the Women in Leadership Summit, and much more.

This show was originally broadcast live from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit held at The Commons at Phase in Alpharetta, Georgia.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Anita Henderson, CEO & Founder, Write Your Life & The Write Image Consulting, LLC

Known by many as The Author’s Midwife, Anita Henderson is the owner of The Write Image Consulting, LLC, and creator of the Write Your Life Author Coaching Program.

Her work with professionals and entrepreneurs has transformed them into proud published authors and has resulted in multiple award-winning and bestselling books, helping her clients grow their media and online visibility, speaker platforms, and industry credibility. She helps authors create compelling prose, weave engaging stories, and explain their processes and insights in a way that serves readers and draws them to want to work more closely with the author.

An eight-time published author, Anita co-founded Write Books That Sell Now, LLC, an online learning platform for aspiring and published authors. She is the creator of the Book Your Success author program, and she speaks at conferences, workshops, and associations about using book publishing as a marketing strategy

Company Website | Facebook | Instagram | Anita’s LinkedIn

GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit, presented by the Women INfluencing Business Committee

The 2022 Women in Leadership Summit, organized by the Women INfluencing Business Committee of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, was held on November 2, 2022, at the Commons at Phase in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Powered by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC), the Women INfluencing Business Committee strives to engage female leaders and enhance the standing of professional women within the community. Its annual awards program recognizes women with exceptional vision who have implemented innovative ideas in both the workplace and community and who inspire others.

Website

Questions and Topics in the Interview

Write Your Life
Coaching Authors
Women Writers
Women in Leadership Summit

North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

Since 2000, Office Angels® has been restoring joy to the life of small business owners, enabling them to focus on what they do best. At the same time, we honor and support at-home experts who wish to continue working on an as-needed basis. Not a temp firm or a placement service, Office Angels matches a business owner’s support needs with Angels who have the talent and experience necessary to handle work that is essential to creating and maintaining a successful small business. Need help with administrative tasks, bookkeeping, marketing, presentations, workshops, speaking engagements, and more? Visit us at https://officeangels.us/.

LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Carley Stephens, Gas South

November 14, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Carley Stephens, Gas South

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LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Carley Stephens, Gas South (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 565)

Carley Stephens with Gas South joined host John Ray LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit. They talked about her role at Gas South, giving back to children in need, telling your own story, Women in Leadership Summit, and much more.

This show was originally broadcast live from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit held at The Commons at Phase in Alpharetta, Georgia.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Carley Stephens, Director of Community Affairs, Gas South

Carley Stephens is the Director of Community Affairs at Gas South. She oversees all of Gas South’s corporate citizenship or philanthropic giving in the communities they serve, and their employee engagement in those communities.

She has helped Gas South give millions back in charitable donations for children in need. She has been with Gas South since 2017.

Gas South

Gas South is the largest retail natural gas provider in the Southeast.

In December 2020, Gas South acquired Infinite Energy and now serves over 425,000 residential, business and governmental customers throughout the Southeast. While growing in size, their purpose remains the same, to “Be A Fuel For Good”. They are dedicated to putting people first in everything we do. That means they offer low rates with no deposit, exceptional customer service and our commitment to give 5% of profits to support children in need.

Gas South is also committed to investing in our employees. By encouraging their associates to grow in their careers, we can make our employees’ lives better—and that makes Gas South better. Since 2016, they’ve been recognized as one of the “Top Workplaces in Atlanta” four times by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. They approach every day knowing we have an opportunity to make a difference, and the difference is good.

Gas South is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cobb EMC, one of the country’s largest electric cooperatives.

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit, presented by the Women INfluencing Business Committee

Website

Questions and Topics in the Interview

Gas South
Giving Back to Children in Need
Telling Your Own Story
Women in Leadership Summit

LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Colette Varco and Alexis Mitchell, Frazier & Deeter

November 11, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Colette Varco and Alexis Mitchell, Frazier & Deeter

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LIVE from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit: Colette Varco and Alexis Mitchell, Frazier & Deeter (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 562)

Colette Varco and Alexis Mitchell with Frazier and Deeter joined host John Ray from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit. They chatted about their roles at Frazier & Deeter, the firm’s reputation as a great workplace for women, sessions and speakers at the Summit, and more.

This show was originally broadcast live from the GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit held at The Commons at Phase in Alpharetta, Georgia.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Colette Varco, CPA, Tax Manager, Frazier & Deeter

Colette Varco is a Manager in Frazier & Deeter’s Tax Practice and has been with the firm for nearly 5 years. Previously, Colette worked in public education and with Alvarez & Marsal Tax and LLC (A&M), where she worked with the Real Estate tax group on multi-tiered flow-through partnerships and with high-net-worth individuals. 

Her range of experience includes federal and state tax compliance and consulting services. While at A&M, Colette was also involved with mentoring new associates and recruiting at local colleges. 

Alexis Mitchell, Tax Supervisor, Frazier & Deeter

Alexis Mitchell is a Tax Supervisor in the Alpharetta office specializing in pass-throughs. She has been with Frazier & Deeter since 2015.

Frazier & Deeter

The Alpharetta office of Frazier & Deeter is home to a thriving CPA tax practice, a growing advisory practice and an Employee Benefit Plan Services group.

CPAs and advisors in the Frazier & Deeter Alpharetta office serve clients across North Georgia and around the country with services such as personal tax planning, estate planning, business tax planning, business tax compliance, state and local tax planning, financial statement reviews, financial statement audits, employee benefit plan audits, internal audit outsourcing, cyber security, data privacy, SOX and other regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions and more.

Alpharetta CPAs serve clients ranging from business owners and executives to large corporations.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

GNFCC 2022 Women in Leadership Summit, presented by the Women INfluencing Business Committee

Website

Questions and Topics in the Interview

Frazier & Deeter
Women INfluencing Business Committee
Women in Leadership Summit

Brian Slack, Vistage International

November 9, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Brian Slack, Vistage International

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Brian Slack, Vistage International (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 561)

On this edition of North Fulton Business Radio, Vistage International Chair Brian Slack joined host John Ray to discuss the CEO mentoring groups he leads. Brian discussed the value CEOs find in surrounding themselves with like-minded peers, his own journey as a CEO, success stories, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Vistage International

Vistage is the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize business leaders. We offer the most effective approach to achieve better results, grow your company faster and maximize your impact as a leader.

For more than 65 years, Vistage has helped CEOs, business owners and key executives reach new levels of success.

Your Vistage group gives you the perspective you need to make better decisions.

A Vistage peer advisory group is made up of 12-16 other CEOs or local business owners. It’s like having a confidential, private advisory board to troubleshoot problems, vet ideas, and identify blind spots.

The local business leaders who make up the peer advisory group are always from non-competing industries and have no agenda but to help each other succeed. Vistage offers different programs for CEOs, small business owners, key executives, and emerging leaders.

When you’re a Vistage member you’re part of a group of other CEOs, business owners or key executives who are committed to helping each other make better decisions, get better results and become better leaders.

After coaching 100,000+ CEOs for over 65 years, Vistage has identified a proven approach for making better decisions and getting better results for your business.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Brian Slack, CEO Peer Advisory Board Chair, Vistage International

Brian Slack is an accomplished business executive with a consistent record of meeting and exceeding goals. Specific areas of focus, general corporate management, Sales and Marketing Management, Sales Development, and National and Key Account Expansion. Strategic and analytical thinker; able to plan and implement complex programs to penetrate new markets and customer types for increased revenues; demonstrated leader of world-class performing teams; results driven for success in highly competitive markets.

He is retired from Pro-Link, a national full-service janitorial supply, marketing, distribution, and buying organization. Pro-Link has more than 100 member companies and over 120 distribution points throughout the United States.

Questions and Topics in the Interview

What is Vistage?
What types of companies and people are involved with Vistage?
What are the goals of Vistage Groups? How do Vistage Groups Work?
Tell us about your qualifications
Why do you believe in the concept the way you do?

Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked-from-scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.

Chris Smith, CB Smith & Associates

November 8, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Chris Smith, CB Smith & Associates

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Chris Smith, CB Smith & Associates (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 560)

Chris Smith made a return visit to the North Fulton Business Radio studio to discuss recent tax law changes business owners should be aware of, including an important change of pass-through entity elections which Georgia-based businesses can make for the 2022 tax year. Chris also chatted with host John Ray on his firm’s growth, the talent acquisition challenge which all accounting firms face today, what clients should look for if they’re thinking about selecting a new CPA, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

CB Smith & Associates

CB Smith & Associates is a Georgia-based business advisory and CPA firm that delivers big-firm expertise and acumen with small-town thoughtfulness and warmth.

They help bring to light the stories that numbers tell — about the health of your business, the soundness of your financial or tax plan, and the options that can lead you to a path of success. They believe that awareness makes opportunity visible.

As trusted advisors, they have a partnership philosophy that is designed to help you better understand your financial outlook. Whether you have a small or midsize business or you need to enhance your personal financial strategy, the team at CB Smith & Associates is committed to providing you with responsive accounting consultation and business guidance that moves you closer to your goals.

Their mission is to be a strategic partner in the preservation and enhancement of your wealth. They listen first, take a personal interest in your goals and aspirations, understand your obstacles and challenges, and present and implement valuable solutions with integrity, quality of service, and professional expertise.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Chris Smith, CPA, CGMA, Founder and Partner, CB Smith & Associates

With 30 years of financial experience, Chris Smith is passionate about his work. Since founding CB Smith & Associates in 2003, he has led the accounting firm’s growth from one to three office locations in Georgia. It now has 21 employees, including a solid team of certified public accountants and other tax professionals.

CB Smith & Associates is a business advisory and full-service accounting firm that works in tandem with its sister company, Reliance Payroll LLC, a full-service payroll and human resources outsourcing firm. Prior to starting his own firm, Chris was a corporate controller.

He earned a degree in accounting from Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business and is active in local community groups such as the Rotary Club and numerous CPA groups.

Questions and Topics in the Interview

Tell us about CB Smith & Associates
Where are your offices?
As a public accounting and business advisory firm, what do you do for businesses and individuals?
What are some tax Law changes in Georgia that individuals and businesses need to know?
Last year, the Georgia Governor signed House Bill 149 into law (resulting in Rule 560-7-3-.03 being adopted). Explain the law to us and tell us more about pass-through entity elections and what business owners need to know.
What should companies know about the new lease accounting standards?
Why is it important for a business owner to have a CPA (or team of CPAs) on their team?
Are you currently hiring/recruiting?

Andy Kalajian, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

November 7, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Andy Kalajian, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

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Andy Kalajian, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 559)

Andy Kalajian joined North Fulton Business Radio host John Ray to discuss the mix of generations in the workplace and its effect on corporate culture, millennials in the workplace, causes of poor employee engagement, why employees are seeking more meaning and purpose in their work, how he helps teams diagnose and solve nagging performance difficulties, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC is a Personal and Professional Leadership Development company.

They believe in Transformational Thought in Action! Transformational thought in action means that your thoughts become your actions. Those actions invested in your life, over time, become your habits.

When you invest your habits in your life over time, those habits produce your Character. And your Character determines the destiny of your life. With this model, you can understand why Character development is so very important! And Character Development is Leadership Development. This is why we believe that at Fort Leadership We Create Healthy Corporate Cultures One Character at a Time! They do this by conducting Executive Leadership Group Training at 1000 Avalon in North Fulton or via Zoom!

The workplace is comprised of 4 working generations. All four of these Generations are working in the United States right now. “The young adults are taking longer to grow up, middle- age adults are taking longer to grow old, and the elderly are taking longer to leave this earth.” Tim Elmore author of A New Kind of Diversity “As a people, we are growing older, more unequal, more diverse, more mixed race, more digitally linked, less married, less fertile, less religious, and less confident” Paul Taylor Pew Research Center.

Further dividing us in the workplace is the music we listen to, the heroes we celebrate, and the villains we denigrate. We are divided by our use of technology, the news outlets we watch, the events that we celebrate, and the politics venerate In the 1960s and 70s, work was a place where the employees made a living. People got their purpose and meaning from churches or houses of worship. We lived within 15 miles from where we were born and raised and so we had family all around us. We had a sense of community from bowling leagues, card parties, and the Rotary or Kiwanis club.

Today, all of this social responsibility has fallen on the workplace. The workplace is where Gen Y and Gen Z expect to get their meaning & purpose, it’s where they get their friend groups and their sense of community. They want everyone to agree with their politics. When you add the emotion of fear exacerbated by Covid and their sense of the fragility of life itself, they want and need the workplace to be their therapist too.

Now with this as a backdrop, it’s easier to understand why there is such a large exodus from the workforce. The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that 38 million workers left the workforce in 2021. Furthermore, they indicated that another 4.4 million headed for the exits in February 2022. Clearly, some Boomers took early retirement after Covid or just decided the heck with it, it is not worth it anymore.

Like the aftershocks of an earthquake, Covid is still causing tremors in our workplace. This is why Fort Leadership believes that strong Character driven Leadership is vital to the workplace and to the nation today! It is time for Leaders to stand up and teach the next generation what it looks like to model servant leadership. It’s time for leaders to sharpen their leadership skills. It’s time for leaders to invest in their leadership teams so that they can lead the people safely through turbulent storms. It’s time to gather them one by one, by one, and teach them the necessary skills to help them not to just survive, but to thrive.

So do you have a leadership growth plan for yourself? If not, why not? And do you have a Leadership Development plan for your people? As the leader, it’s incumbent on you to make the right decisions. This is your call to action!

Company website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Andy Kalajian, Founder & President, Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC

Andy Kalajian has been a highly sought-after public speaker for more than 25 years. He has received public acclaim for his brand, EnTheos, Latin for Spirit Within and predecessor to the word Enthusiasm. Andy enthusiastically delivers powerful talks and lessons steeped in wisdom literature and their practical application to busy lifestyles. His tagline, transformational thought in action, serves as a reminder to the participant that one can, indeed, permanently change the destiny of their life by changing the nature of their thoughts and actions.

Andy was born and raised in Detroit Michigan. As a young boy he discovered his passion for serving others in medicine and his gift for public speaking. At the age of 12, Andy, at the urging of his father, began to earn his own way as a Golf Caddy. His sense of adventure also led him, along with his father, to the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved the Rank of Eagle Scout. In High School, Andy was fed books from his mother, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

While a golf caddy, Andy was awarded the prestigious Evans Scholarship, a full academic and leadership scholarship, to study at Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology. In 1985, he coupled his lifelong passion for medicine and serving people with his gift of enthusiastic speaking and moved to Atlanta to begin his career in Medical Sales.

As a young professional, Andy’s Mom continued to fuel his desire for wisdom literature from authors/speakers Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, Les Brown, Stephen Covey, and John Maxwell. Andy applied the character traits instilled in him from the Boy Scouts and the leadership skills taught to him by John Maxwell, Stephen Covey, and others to enjoy over 30 years in an award-winning medical sales career. It was during this time that Andy was asked to speak to groups as small as 4 or 5 and as large as 500+ all over the US and Puerto Rico.

Andy is very involved in the lives of his two children, Mallory and Drew. For 12 years they were engaging in monthly adventures with the YMCA Adventure Guides program where Andy volunteered in several leadership positions including Nation Chief. Andy and his wife, Sherrie, have four adult children and are active members of Pastor Andy Stanley’s congregation at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Andy enjoys time invested with his wife Sherrie, his family, and friends. He still has a voracious appetite for reading the wisdom literature and the biographies of the American Founders. He enjoys weight lifting, aerobics, golf and hiking the outdoors. Andy continues to have a passion for speaking, coaching, and training others to lead a life of significance.

Connect with Andy Kalajian on LinkedIn.

Questions and Topics in the Interview

Who is Fort Leadership and Sales Consulting, LLC and how are you helping folks out there?
Can you give our listeners some insights as to what you are learning about our nation’s workforce in this post Covid world we are ALL living in?
How are the Millennials impacting the workforce today?
Why are so many workers leaving their employers?
How can employers solve the problems with employee engagement and employee retention?

Bruce Orr, ProNovos

October 31, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Bruce Orr, ProNovos

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Bruce Orr, ProNovos (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 557)

Bruce Orr, Founder and CEO of ProNovos, joined host John Ray in-studio to discuss his company’s difference making data analytics software for construction contractors. Bruce discussed how and why he formed the company, the problems construction companies have which ProNovos solves, why he partners with CPA firms to deliver their services, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

ProNovos

Bruce Orr founded Atlanta-based ProNovos in 2012 after hearing a construction CFO recount her frustration at running 40 different siloed applications, with missed opportunities for higher-order analysis.

Having filled data analytics roles at Citibank, AT&T, P&G, Kronos, and WiPro Technologies, Orr knew there was a better way.

The construction intelligence cloud he created now empowers contractors nationwide to rely on real-time information rather than guesstimates. In the field, they use ProNovos to record and share photos, drawings, submittals, daily reports, RFIs, crew and equipment resources, and more. Back at the office, they gain insights by pulling data into the platform from a wide array of project and financial apps.

Company website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

Bruce Orr, CEO and Chief Data Scientist, ProNovos

Bruce Orr is the founder and Chief Data Scientist of ProNovos Construction Analytics. Following his passion for data, problem-solving, and construction, he launched the Atlanta-based tech startup with the sole mission of helping contractors embrace Business Intelligence best practices.

Orr had previously filled analytics-related positions such as Chief Data Architect for Citibank’s Singapore operations; Principal Information Architect/Senior Consultant for Wipro Technologies; Analytics Architect for the software giant Kronos; and Data Warehouse Manager for Procter & Gamble Co. Orr has contributed to industry research by Dodge Data & Analytics and periodically speaks about the subject for CFMA and other organizations. He has authored analytics-related columns for the likes of Construction Business Owner, Retrofit Magazine and AEC-Business.com.

Orr continues to seek constant improvement and is on the leading edge of academic research into construction data analytics, having signed a research partnership agreement with Colorado State University in 2019. Orr is a member of CFMA, the Data Warehouse Institute, the American Subcontractors Association and the Associated General Contractors of America. Orr is deeply involved in ongoing efforts to improve construction industry performance and resilience through greater Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

He is the current Chair of CFMA’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and previously served on the organization’s D&I Task Force, launched in 2020. In recognition of this work, Orr was awarded a 2020-21 CFMA Chairman’s Challenge Coin.

Questions and Topics in the Interview:

Why build a data analytics startup in construction?
What were/are your biggest hurdles in the process?
How are you navigating the issues with recruiting and retaining good people?
Tell us about your strategy for partnering with CPA firms. Why did you decide to do that?

Stephen Lee, The Stephen Lee Group

October 26, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Stephen Lee, The Stephen Lee Group

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Stephen Lee, The Stephen Lee Group (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 556)

Stephen Lee, Realtor and CEO of The Stephen Lee Group, was the guest on this episode of North Fulton Business Radio. Stephen and host John Ray discussed the current residential market, the challenges realtors face in this market and in their businesses, how Stephen coaches and supports individual realtors and realtor teams, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

The Stephen Lee Group

The Stephen Lee Group is a team of experienced, licensed real estate agents serving the Greater Metro Atlanta area with a proven track record of getting results quickly and a direct line of communication at all times.

They are a real estate team that is dedicated to giving back to the community that has given so much to them. They are here to make your Real Estate dreams their priority.

Company website | Facebook | Instagram

Stephen Lee, CEO & Realtor, The Stephen Lee Group

Stephen is an experienced Realtor and owner of The Stephen Lee Group. He is skilled in helping businesses get to the next level. In addition to owning a Real Estate Group, he coaches Realtors and teams on effective systems and growth.

He previously was in the restaurant industry, having worked in cooking, wine education, restaurant management, and new restaurant openings.

Stephen grew up in Marietta and is still based there.

Questions and Topics in the Interview:

Current Market Conditions
What Sellers need to be doing right now
What Realtors need to be doing right now
Real Estate Coaching

Pepe Fundora, Cork & Glass and Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant

October 24, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Pepe Fundora, Cork & Glass and Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant

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Pepe Fundora, Cork & Glass and Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 555)

Pepe Fundora of sister businesses Cork & Glass and Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant joined host John Ray on North Fulton Business Radio. Pepe discussed his Restaurant Manager of the Year award from the Georgia Restaurant Association, his father Tony’s posthumous induction into the Georgia Restaurant Association Hall of Fame, the beginnings of Cork & Glass, how Casa Nuova keeps its employee turnover so low, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Cork & Glass

Take a comfy seat and enjoy a specially curated wine tasting. Experience a wide array of tastes and maybe find your next favorite!

Their wine dinners embody our promise of “Making Wine Accessible”… and not just any wine, but GREAT wine.

C&G’s wine education experiences will help you grow your understanding and appreciation of the nuances of wines from around the world.

Food pairing challenge? Put their team to the test and let them help you find the perfect bottle for your next dinner event.

Company website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

Casa Nuova

Casa Nuova is a family-owned gourmet Italian restaurant, owned by Maria Fundora and her son, Jose “Pepe” Fundora. Casa Nuova is a true farm-to-table restaurant and is Trip Advisor’s 2021 Traveler’s Choice in Alpharetta.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Pepe Fundora

Jose “Pepe” Fundora is the owner of the wine shop Cork and Glass and co-owner of Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant located in Alpharetta, GA, in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

Pepe is a social Electrical Engineer turned Sommelier. Pepe earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech in 2010 and spent some time in the corporate world before ultimately deciding to return to his roots, his family’s local Italian restaurant.

From a young age, Pepe worked and became fully immersed in the hospitality industry, from dishwashing to serving tables and learning the tricks of the trade from his parents, Maria and Antonio Fundora, longtime restaurateurs in the Atlanta area. Pepe became a co-owner of the family restaurant in 2015.

Pepe always had a deep interest in wine though he affirmed his passion after meeting with reputable winemakers on a business trip taken to California wine country in 2013. Later on, Pepe had aspirations to open his very own wine shop, Cork & Glass, with the idea of “Making Wine Accessible”. His concept includes highlighting various regions to showcase current trends in the wine world, teaching how to pair different flavors together and offering sales on select exclusive wines. His goal is to offer high-quality wines at great, everyday values. Cork & Glass officially opened for business in July 2020!

Pepe is very engaged in the wine world both in the Atlanta area and across the US. Pepe has led over 40 virtual wine dinners with esteemed winemakers from California, Italy, Argentina, and Australia. He was nominated amongst restaurateurs across the country to participate in the prestigious Oregon Pinot Camp in Willamette Valley in 2016. He has volunteered for the High Museum Atlanta Wine Auction for several years and the Auction Napa Valley.

Pepe is a Certified Level 2 Sommelier. He is studying to become an Advanced Sommelier (Level 3) and eventually will finish at Master Sommelier (Level 4) in the future.

Questions and Topics in the Interview:

Georgia Restaurant Association GRACE awards
Restaurant Manager of the Year Jose “Pepe” Fundora and his father’s inductee into the Hall of Fame posthumously,Mario Antonio “Tony” Fundora
Virtual Wine Dinners
Seasonal Wines
Gift Giving
Wine pairings