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DeKalb Business Radio

Month: July 2015

DeKalb Business Today “Lunch Hour” – July 31, 2015

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On the latest edition of DeKalb Business Today, host Matt Holmes talks with two people who are helping businesses and business people to get their message out. Steve Brett joins the show from Presentation Tune-Ups to discuss how he helps companies perfect their pitch from the elevator to the boardroom. Respectful Signage founder Pam McNall discusses how her innovative approach to signs is turning heads in businesses as well as in local schools.

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Steve Brett/Founder-Teacher at Presentation Tune-Ups

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Steve Brett is a pioneer in digital marketing and website development and a 30-year veteran in the marketing, advertising and sales business.

Now he’s instructing researchers and scientists, policy makers and politicians, teachers, trainers, lawyers, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs, and business people of all kinds how to tell a better story, design a better deck and deliver a better speech. What makes him qualified?

In the past, he built a 4As ad agency in New York City that worked with Fortune 500s as well as local retailers. Steve has worked with some of the best-known and least-known companies in the world, from the New York Stock Exchange to regional banks; from big Pharma to biotech start-ups; from luxury brands to collectibles. Steve worked with an early cell phone company that merged with Verizon; he built the first website for the Citizen Watch Company; and for the first time, his group offered athletic shoes for sale online for The Sports Authority.

Working with Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, Steve will be the “discipline expert” for The RAISE Forum, which will match growing businesses with senior funding opportunities in order to help create a more collaborative investing climate in the Southeast.

Steve holds a Masters in Teaching from Agnes Scott College and a BA in Literature/Education from The New School in New York. He is currently developing a curriculum for the CDC and he is working on a book.

 

Pam McNall/Founder & CEO of Respectful Signage

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Pam McNall spent 19 years at CNN – starting in the newsroom and working her way up to the documentary unit. She spent 12+ years in the “Special Projects” unit, where most of her award winning experience happened.

Pam’s production work has been rewarded by the Emmys, Peabodys and she’s also won a National Journalism Award.

Pam started her own business five years ago – Let’s Chat Productions LLC, the umbrella company for RespectfulSignage.com.

She designed business and financial plans for start-up companies and started Respectful Signage exactly one year ago.

DeKalb Business Today – July 31, 2015

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Business is booming in the Tucker-Northlake area and that’s the focus of the latest edition of DeKalb Business Today. Host Matt Holmes is joined by three members of the Board of Directors of the Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District (CID): Resurgens Bank President and CEO Charles DeWitt, Rosenfeld’s Jewelry President Bill Rosenfeld and commercial real estate developer Ben Kushner of the Ben F. Kushner Company.

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Charles DeWitt/President & CEO of Resurgens Bank

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Charles DeWitt is a founding board member and President & CEO of Resurgens Bank, a community bank headquartered in the Atlanta area. He founded the bank in 2008 with the commitment to serving his surrounding community and providing a fresh approach to lending across metro Atlanta. As he and his team successfully navigated the bank through the Great Recession, Resurgens Bank routinely receives top ratings from third parties as a strong and top performing bank.

Charles is very involved in his local community of Northlake/Tucker. He has been involved in Northlake Community Alliance, Northlake Business Association and recently was elected to the board of the Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District.

Bill Rosenfeld/President of Rosenfeld’s Jewelry

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Bill Rosenfeld is the president of Rosenfeld’s Jewelry in Tucker. The folks at Rosenfeld’s Jewelry enjoy educating the public about their craft. With over 150 years of combined Fine Jewelry experience, they invite customers to experience the professional difference.

Ben Kushner/President of Ben F. Kushner Co.

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Ben-Fox Kushner, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has been in commercial real estate continually since 1971. He started Ben F. Kushner Co. in 1979. In addition to being President and CEO of Ben F. Kushner Co., he is Managing Partner of over 24 LLC’s that own retail and office properties.

Ben Kushner is also an Adjunct Professor of Business at Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University.

He and Connie Kushner hope to one day live in the style to which their two children have become accustomed. Daughter Jennie is a graduating senior in Journalism at the University of Alabama and Henry is business major at the University of Alabama. They both work with the Company assisting in the management of the seven properties in the Alabama portfolio.

In addition to real estate and teaching Ben-Fox enjoys sports, flying his plane, fitness, riding horses and golf. He loves to read and write, and continues to take courses in a myriad of subjects not related to business.

DeKalb Business Today “Lunch Hour” – July 24, 2015

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On the latest edition of DeKalb Business Today, host Matt Holmes looks at the importance of bookkeeping to local businesses. Dwayne Belle and Bianca Crawford from Decatur’s ACC Business Services join the show to talk about the accounting and payroll services they offer. Plus, Laura Vandewiele from Young Rembrandts stops by to talk about the work she’s doing in local schools to expand children’s brains through art.

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Dwayne Belle/CEO, ACC Business Services

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Dwayne Belle is a native Texan. He has been practicing accounting for 25+ years. He has a BA in Business Administration and an MBA in Accounting and Financial Management. Dwayne is truly a “numbers” kind of guy! He is serious about his work and providing his clients with World Class Service.


Bianca Crawford/Business Development Manager, ACC Business Services

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Bianca Crawford has lived in Atlanta for 10 years and has a BA in Communications. Bianca is a “connector” by natural trade. Meeting and networking with other like-minded business professionals is truly her gift. She is responsible for attracting new business clients to ACC Business Services and providing the business with Public Relations Management.

 

Laura Vandewiele/Owner, Young Rembrandts of North Fulton and DeKalb

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Young Rembrandts is an award winning drawing program for children ages 4 – 12.  The drawing classes are taught at local elementary schools and recreation centers across the United States and Canada.  Young Rembrandts uses a step-by-step methodology that teaches students the technical skills of drawing.  This method of directed drawing allows students to draw increasingly complex images and ensures that every child is a creative success.

Laura Vandewiele owns the local Young Rembrandts franchise serving Fulton and Dekalb Counties.  Laura’s background is in education, but since starting Young Rembrandts in 2012, she finds that owning a business is a great fit for her. She is passionate about helping kids develop their drawing skills and discovering their own creativity.

DeKalb Business Today – July 24, 2015

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On this edition of DeKalb Business Today, host Matt Holmes looks at the role technology plays in our corporate culture. Keith Drew of Morse Communications and Joshua Gerber from Digital Agent join the show to discuss how their companies are helping businesses large and small to stay up to speed in an ever changing technological world. Plus, Decatur attorney Douglas Park stops by to explain his work in small business and trademark law and Dr. Shanesha Brooks-Tatum of Creative Research Solutions discusses how she’s helping companies to re-examine their futures.

 

Keith Drew/Director of Sales, Morse Communications

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As a leader in Unified Communications (UC), Keith Drew has evaluated thousands of businesses, their communications needs, and designed UC solutions to improve their organizations as they seek to meet their goals and objectives in an ever-changing business environment; transforming businesses within the global/internet-connected economy.  This process is the concept of Transforming Businesses through Process Innovation–blending people and technology; making companies more effective, more efficient, and thereby more profitable. After having worked with four manufacturers in the telecom industry, Keith now brings this expertise to Atlanta as Director of Sales for Morse Communications, so together they can help your business find the same transformation through improved communications.

 

Dr. Shanesha Brooks-Tatum/Vice President, Creative Research Solutions

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Dr. Shanesha Brooks-Tatum is Vice President of Creative Research Solutions, LLC, a research and evaluation firm located in DeKalb County. Creative Research Solutions was founded in 2009 by Dr. Brooks-Tatum and Dr. Travis Tatum. Their firm’s results-driven approach measures and documents their clients’ impact, maximizes clients’ resources and enables them to tap into new sectors.

In 2014, Creative Research Solutions received the Shining Star Award from the National Association of Women-Owned Small Businesses (NAWOSB).  Creative Research Solutions is the 2015 Business of the Year, Community Workforce Award Recipient from the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Brooks-Tatum was a recent Scholar-in-Residence at Agnes Scott College (2012-2014), a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at Emory University in 2014, and a Fulbright-Hays Fellow in Brazil in 2013. She is also Founder and Chair of the National Annual Black Women’s Life Balance and Wellness Conference, convening its 5th conference this September.

 

Douglas Park/President, Douglas Park Law

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Doug Park focuses his practice on providing transactional legal services to small businesses in the Atlanta metropolitan area. His services include entity formation, corporate governance, trademarks, mergers and acquisitions and exempt securities offerings. He has practiced law for over a decade and has previously worked for the Atlanta office of an international law firm and as in-house counsel for a public company.

Mr. Park graduated magna cum laude from Wake Forest School of Law and he also had a Master of Laws degree in Tax from the University of Alabama.

 

Joshua Gerber/Sr. Sales Executive, Digital Agent

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Joshua Gerber is the Senior Sales Executive for Digital Agent, LLC.  He’s been with the company for over six years and he’s responsible for closing and managing most of the firm’s largest accounts.  Joshua is a Grant Park resident, graduate of Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business and an active member of Atlanta’s business community.  Joshua is a sailor, home brewer and a motorcycle enthusiast.  He and his wife are expecting their first child this December.

DeKalb Business Today “Lunch Hour” – July 17, 2015

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On the latest edition of DeKalb Business Today, host Matt Holmes welcomes a panel of female entrepreneurs who in a short time have already made their mark on DeKalb County. Hear insights from Keline Bornelus with Farmers Insurance, Margaret Mason Tate McIntyre of Intown Doula and Monica Selden from Selden Enterprises.

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Keline Bornelus/Principal Agent & Owner of Bornelus Insurance Agency

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The companies comprising the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies make up one of the country’s largest insurers of vehicles, homes and small businesses and provide a wide range of other insurance and financial services products.

Farmers is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.

The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange) owned by their policyholders, and together with their subsidiaries and affiliates comprise the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies. Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, in their capacity as attorneys-in-fact, provide administrative and management services to the Farmers Exchanges.

Margaret Mason Tate McIntyre/Owner of Intown Doula

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Margaret Mason Tate McIntyre is a South Carolina native who moved to Atlanta in 2011 to be with her husband and stepson. Margaret holds a BFA from St. Andrews University in North Carolina and has a background in counseling. In 2012, she decided to become a doula, and in early 2015, opened Atlanta’s premier doula agency. Margaret enjoys running, spending time with her family and three dogs, and is looking forward to participating in the Junior League of DeKalb this year.

Monica Selden/President & CEO of Selden Enterprises

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Selden Enterprises, Inc. is a leader in commercial finance and specializes in oil and gas financing. They are a dynamic financial institution with a focus on the future. Their innovative business loans are designed to meet individual needs in various types of lending today and tomorrow. Instead of offering a cookie-cutter approach to financial challenges, they offer real solutions for businesses in today’s changing marketplace.

DeKalb Business Today – July 17, 2015

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On this edition of DeKalb Business Today, host Matt Holmes looks at ways to grow and maximize your business with marketing guru Diane Conklin, as well as Earl and Danielle Walker of Image 360 Tucker. We also go behind the scenes at one of Metro Atlanta’s fastest-growing colleges, talking with Cynthia Dorsey Edwards of Georgia Piedmont Technical College.

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Diane Conklin/President & Founder of Complete Marketing Systems

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Diane Conklin is an internationally known author, entrepreneur, coach, consultant, marketing and business strategist, implementation specialist and speaker. Diane is a direct response marketing expert who specializes in showing business owners how to integrate their online and offline marketing strategies, media and message, to get maximum results from their marketing dollars.

Diane also shows entrepreneurs and small business owners how to outperform their competition by measuring their marketing, and strategically use multi-media campaigns to stand alone in their marketplace as the go-to provider for their products and services.

As the founder of Complete Marketing Systems, Diane and has been involved in numerous campaigns grossing over $1,000,000.00 several times in her career and routinely helps people grow businesses to 6 figures, and beyond, in short periods of time, several times in as little as 90 days.

As a speaker, Diane has shared the stage with the likes of Barbara Corcoran, Joan Rivers, George Foreman, Cal Ripken, Jr., Harry Dent, Marie Forleo and many others. Diane was voted Glazer-Kennedy Marketer of the Year for her innovative marketing strategies and campaigns and was nominated for Atlanta Business Woman of the Year.

Earl & Danielle Walker/Image 360-Tucker

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Image360 – Tucker provides specialized graphic solutions to businesses and organizations. From the small and unassuming to the vast and complex, their team of professionals works closely with customers to maximize the creativity and visual impact of multi-use signage, custom banners, environmental graphics, mobile advertising, wayfinding signage systems and illuminated displays. By combining the familiarity and cost effectiveness of a local graphics expert with the resourcefulness of a network with hundreds of partners, Image360 – Tucker assures a best-in-class solution every time.

Serving Tucker and surrounding regions for over 15 years, Image360 brings a fresh approach to professional graphic solutions with enhanced customer service to the area. They’ve served clients such as Grecian Gyro, Silverman Construction Program Management, DeKalb County Government, The Ministers Council, ABCUSA and Burlington Coat Factory.

Cynthia Dorsey Edwards, Vice President of Community Engagement & Public Affairs for Georgia Piedmont Technical College

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With convenient locations, the HOPE Program, and a warranty, Georgia Piedmont Technical College is committed to preparing students for successful careers and maximizing student success.

Established in 1961, Georgia Piedmont Technical College is one of the oldest and most respected of Georgia’s 33 technical colleges. Recognized for our student-centered atmosphere, Georgia Piedmont Technical College prepares individuals with the education, training, and skills to enter the workplace ready to make a difference in their hiring companies and in the ever changing global economy.

Residents of DeKalb, Rockdale, Newton, and Morgan counties have the opportunity to attend classes at one of two campuses and five centers conveniently located throughout the service area. Georgia Piedmont Technical College provides real-world skills for rewarding careers. In fiscal year 2010, the College served 24,590 students and conferred 1,118 awards to graduates earning associate degrees, diplomas and technical certificates of credit. Graduates have a 99 percent job placement rate with 69 percent graduate placement in jobs in or related to their program of study or in further education.

The best kept secret in Georgia is the HOPE Program. HOPE, Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally, provides financial assistance for students to enter and to complete associate degree, diploma, and certificate programs as follows: HOPE scholarships assist students in associate degree programs (“B” average required); HOPE grants assist students in diploma and certificate programs (“B” average not required), and HOPE vouchers assist GED graduates to enter postsecondary technical education.

Our programs are guaranteed. Curriculum standards have been developed with direct involvement of business and industry. These standards serve as the industry-validated specifications for each occupational program. “If one of our graduates educated under a standard program or his/her employer finds that the graduate is deficient in one or more competencies as defined in the standards, the technical college will retrain the employee at no instructional cost to the employee or the employer.” This guarantee is in effect for a period of two years after graduation.

Students also have the opportunity to accelerate the power of their resume with membership in campus clubs and organizations. With opportunities ranging from the chess club to the international honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, Georgia Piedmont Technical College students can easily fulfill their need to serve and be recognized. When a prospective employer sees Student Government Association on a resume, they know the applicant is a team player with experience in getting things done.

The Georgia Piedmont Technical College adult education program is one of the largest adult and international literacy programs in the state. Programs and services offered include adult basic reduction (ABE), GED preparation and testing, English literacy programs (ELP), and citizenship education (EL/Civics) and are offered at 18 convenient locations throughout the four-county service area.

Georgia Piedmont Technical College is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, a unified system of technical education, custom business and industry training and adult education. Our programs use the best available technology and offer easy access to lifelong learning for all Georgians. This system is part of a seamless education process for Georgia in which students can transfer credits efficiently as they advance from secondary schools to technical colleges and to the colleges and universities within the University System of Georgia.

From Behind the Mic: Job Creation in DeKalb

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DeKalb Business Radio is two weeks old and, I’m glad to say, much less fussy than your typical newborn. We have already hosted business leaders from the restaurant, health and tech industries and are looking forward to more this Friday from the marketing, automotive and higher education worlds.

One theme that has stuck with me over the past couple weeks: jobs. As we have long known – and have had reinforced over the past decade – our economy runs best when people are working. Fortunately in DeKalb County, local businesses are growing, expanding and in need of more workers.

Just from this past Friday we had three businesses come into our studio saying they need good people and they need them now.

AF Packaging and The Greater Good Barbecue are just two of the companies hiring right now in DeKalb County.

AF Packaging and The Greater Good Barbecue are just two of the companies hiring right now in DeKalb County.

Scott Sutton, Marketing Director for American Fiber Packaging, says his company is looking to hire for three positions in their Tucker factory. Amanda Arnet joined us from Earth Fare, a retailer who created dozens of new jobs with their Emory Point location and is looking for more help as they plan a new store in Cumming. Similarly, Don Cobbs of The Greater Good Barbecue is hiring staff for a third area location. These waiters, cooks and hostesses are not having to wait until the restaurant opens this fall, they are being hired and trained right now in The Greater Good’s Tucker and Roswell Road locations.

Add to that the fact that holiday shopping season will be here before we know it. Retailers all across Metro Atlanta are already setting the wheels in motion to hire thousands or seasonal employees to help handle the Christmas rush.

As we forge ahead in the weeks and months to come, we at DeKalb Business Radio really hope to highlight the importance of businesses in the local economy and shine a spotlight on some of the good things they are doing. If you know of a business doing work within DeKalb County, let us know! Tweet us @dekalbradiox, leave a message on our Facebook page or go the old-fashioned route and email us at mholmes@businessradiox.com.

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Host Matt Holmes shines a spotlight on the good work business are doing in DeKalb County on DeKalb Business Radio. Catch his shows LIVE each Friday at 10 am and noon. Each show is available for download as a free podcast.

DeKalb Business Today “Power Lunch” – July 10, 2015

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We turn our focus to the local food and drink industry in the first edition of the DeKalb Business Today “Power Lunch”. Restaurateurs from Souper Jenny and The Greater Good Barbecue are joined by representatives from Wahoo! Wine & Provisions and American Fiber Packaging to look at all aspects of the DeKalb food and drink industry.

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Scott Sutton/American Fiber Packaging Marketing Director

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Scott Sutton is a co-founder and Director of Marketing at American Fiber Packaging.  He holds a BFA from SCAD and an MBA from the University of South Carolina.

Ski Peterson/Wahoo! Wine & Provisions Co-owner

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Ski Peterson is co-owner – with wife Pam Ledbetter – of Wahoo! Wine & Provisions. He has been in the food and beverage industry since he was a teen. Working in the restaurant industry taught him a great deal about providing great guest service and, along the way, sparked his interest in wine. Now, with Wahoo! Wine & Provisions he has been able to turn these passions into a wonderful new business. He is now able to do his favorite things about the restaurant business: talk about wine and food with his guests.

Keith Yaeger/Souper Jenny General Manager

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Keith Yaeger is General Manager of all four Souper Jenny locations in the Atlanta Metro Area.  He joined the company in January 2014 and has helped open three locations – Decatur, Brookhaven and Westside. He now helps oversee operations of all locations.

Don Cobbs/The Greater Good Barbecue Owner

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Opened in July of 2012, The Greater Good Barbecue is a full service restaurant specializing in barbecue with an emphasis on Southern home cooking.  They make all of their items from scratch and are constantly striving each and every day to cook the best food possible.  They offer a full service dining experience with a friendly waitstaff to show you down home Southern hospitality, an ever-expanding beer list, live music from time to time as well a banquet room for groups from 15-100.  It’s all for The Greater Good.

DeKalb Business Today – July 10, 2015

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On this edition of DeKalb Business Today, host Matt Holmes welcomes CSR Computers General Manager Scott Rippy as well as Nikki Foreman from the DeKalb Chamber Young Professionals group. We also take a look at DeKalb County’s newest business – organic food retailer Earth Fare – which just opened its doors Wednesday at Emory Point.

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Scott Rippy/CSR Computers General Manager

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Scott is the Executive Vice President of CSR Smarttech LLC and General Manager of CSR Computers, a retail computer store specializing in Home and Business IT Solutions. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional with over 25 years industry experience as a senior technology and business consultant.

Scott has over 16 years’ experience in supporting the technical needs of small businesses with emphasis on Security and OS configuration, DNS, Group Policy, hardware support, storage, and raid methodologies. He has strong knowledge of the Small Business Server Suite.

He currently supports dozens of small- to medium-sized businesses remotely monitoring established network infrastructures and implementing changes as needed to maintain a secure and efficient network. He performs preventive maintenance and develops technical installation work plans, as well as implementing network and software upgrades and modifications. He also provides data backup and recovery, quality assurance reviews, and accurate risk assessment, while building and maintaining PCs and the functionality/security of virtual private networks (VPNs).

He is skilled in managing local and wide area network connectivity through maintenance and troubleshooting of routers, switches, hubs, network cards, and dial-up networking with 20+ years of break fix and server experience within a LAN environment through proactive LAN administration roles. He has system architecture design (LAN and WAN) experience, as well as strong knowledge of implementing and utilizing remote network management and monitoring tools (LAN Desk, WebEx, Microsoft RDP).

Scott serves on the Board of Directors of the Tucker Business Association and is a member of the Tucker Day 2015 and Friends of Kelley Cofer Park Planning Committees.

Certifications: MCSA, MSDST, MCP, A+, Network + Lexmark, HP, Dell, IBM, Compaq

Nikki Forman/DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Chairperson

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Nikki Forman is the new Chairperson of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals organization. Professionally, Nikki serves on the DeKalb Medical Marketing Communications team, where she manages internal strategic communications to engage and align more than 4,000 employees and physicians in over 20 locations around the goals of the organization.

She has major responsibility for counseling the CEO and members of the senior leadership team in excellent communications practice and in positively positioning the DeKalb Medical brand both internally and externally. Earlier this year, Nikki was recognized by the DeKalb Chamber as their 2014 Ambassador of the Year for her volunteer service to the organization.

Nikki is the oldest child of two retired Army colonels who served our country for more than 50 years collectively and has had the opportunity to live around the United States and abroad, but has found the most satisfaction since moving to Atlanta.  She is passionate about the opportunity to serve young professionals in DeKalb County and looks forward to seeing DCYP grow and thrive.

Amanda Arnet/Earth Fare

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Founded in 1975 in Asheville, North Carolina, Earth Fare is the authentic organic and natural healthy grocery store with 37 locations across the Southeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Their full-service philosophy incorporates the highest food Quality Standards in the industry with compelling value, friendly and knowledgeable service, and a superior customer experience.

They opened their newest Earth Fare location on July 8 at Emory Point in Decatur.