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Morgan Chalk with Ronald Blue and Co.

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Morgan Chalk / Ronald Blue & Co.
Private Wealth Advisor

Morgan Chalk serves both the Professional Athlete Division and the Private Wealth division of Ronald Blue & Co. in Atlanta, Georgia and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM certificant. Morgan is a registered Player Financial Advisor with the NFL Players Association.

As a Private Wealth Advisor for the Private Wealth division, Morgan integrates financial planning, investment management, and estate and philanthropic planning into a custom-tailored financial plan that helps clients accomplish their dreams and financial goals. He is responsible for bringing together the expertise necessary to effectively meet his clients’ needs and for building long-term client relationships based on integrity, confidence and trust.

As a Financial Advisor with the Professional Athlete Division, Morgan works with athletes as they build their wealth and assists them in giving generously and managing their financial resources wisely. The Professional Athlete Division of Ronald Blue & Co. employs a customized service model geared to the unique needs of the athlete in their specific sport. Services include coordination of tax and legal counsel, bill paying, cash flow management, financial and estate planning, and philanthropic strategies. Ronald Blue & Co. serves over 100 active and retired players and coaches across the MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA, NASCAR and the NCAA.

Morgan earned his BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia.

Morgan and his wife, Libby, are active members of Roswell Community Church and live in Roswell, Georgia with their two children.

 

Special Edition: Demystifying Leadership

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Mack and Ria Story

 

Mack Story / Top Story Leadership

Mack began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership.

With more than 20 years working with and on the front lines, he brings a powerful blend of practical experience and leadership knowledge to his clients. Mack is a published author of several leadership books including: Defining Influence, 10 Values of High Impact Leaders, and Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.

He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

For more detailed information on Mack and to learn about the leadership development services he provides, please click here to visit Mack’s website.

 

Ria Story / Top Story Leadership

Ria is a motivational leadership speaker, author, and a world class coach who has a unique ability to help people develop and achieve their life and career goals, and guide them in building the habits and discipline to achieve their personal view of greatness.  Ria brings a wealth of personal experience in working with clients to achieve their personal goals and aspirations in a way that few coaches have achieved.

Ria’s background includes more than ten years in administrative healthcare, including several years in management and later, Director of Compliance and Regulatory Affairs for a large healthcare organization.  Ria’s responsibilities included oversight of thousands of organizational policies, organizational compliance with all State and Federal regulations, and responsibility for several million dollars in Medicare appeals.

Like many, Ria faced adversity in life. Raised on an isolated farm in Alabama, she was sexually abused by her father from age 12 – 19. Desperate to escape, she left home at 19 without a job, a car, or even a high school diploma. Ria learned to be resilient, and not just survive, but thrive. She worked her way through school, an MBA, and eventually resigned from her career in the corporate world to pursue a passion for helping others achieve success.

Now a motivational speaker, coach, and author of 7 books, she co-founded Top Story Leadership, which offers leadership development, speaking, training, coaching, and consulting. Ria also coaches authors and speakers on writing, speaking, and more. 

Lara O’Connor Hodgson with NOW Corp

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Lara OConnor

Lara O’Connor Hodgson / NOW Corp

Lara O’Connor Hodgson is a founder of NOW Corp and has served as its President and CEO since its inception.

Lara has launched both product and service businesses, raised capital, and served in executive management roles with Nourish (a patented consumer product for children), Insomnia Consulting LLC (an infrastructure development company), Dewberry Capital Corporation, DCH (a $400M private equity firm in which she was a founding principal), Dunk (a performance footwear and apparel brand), and iXL, an Internet development company. With extensive experience in brand development, corporate strategy, business development, marketing, and operations, Lara has worked with companies such as Nike, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, Keds, and others.

A member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2004 and the Leadership Georgia Class of 2005, she was recently honored by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association with the Total Person Alumnus Award and by the Georgia Tech Women in Engineering as Alumnus of the Year. Lara is a member of the Georgia Tech Young Alumnus Hall of Fame and is an internationally recognized speaker on innovation and creativity.

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Brian Peters with Citizens Bank, Jay Jhun with AIMA and RJ Harrington with Twenty and 3

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Citizens Bank

 

Brian Peters / Citizens Bank
Southeast Regional Executive

Brian Peters joins Citizens following a successful 20-year career at SunTrust, where he most recently served as Head of National Corporate Banking, leading a geographic expansion that included the opening of seven new offices. Peters has a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Indiana University. He will be based in Atlanta, where he has served clients and the community since 1991.

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Jay Jhun / Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association
President

Jay Jhun was elected to serve as AIMA’s 2017 President after serving in multiple capacities as a volunteer and board member over the course of the last 6 years. An Atlanta transplant from the SF Bay Area, He has worked at some of Atlanta’s top digital marketing agencies and is now an IBMer working in the Watson Marketing group.

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Amanda Sparks / Response Mine Interactive
Director of New Client Development

RMI specializes in acquiring customers through content marketing, social media, SEO and PPC and focuses on enlarging the client bases of companies providing e-commerce, home services and health, wellness and fitness services.

Amanda Sparks’ transition into this position came at the end of three years guiding the recruiting processes of RMI. Many of the prospecting and closing techniques she employed in that capacity adapt well to identifying viable prospects and presenting them with clear, concise convincing descriptions of the benefits our services provide.

In Amanda’s free time, she volunteers as a board member of the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association to plan their social programming events.

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RJ Harrington / Twenty and 3
Lead Creative

RJ Harrington is the Lead Creative at Twenty and 3 – a one-stop creative shop, providing the services required to build alluring brands including brand strategy, photography, and graphic design. Twenty and 3 serves entrepreneurs just starting their business venture, as well as established companies wanting to elevate an existing brand. Success is achieved through simplicity, integrity and innovation.

In addition to her creative work, RJ enjoys helping both large and small audiences improve their personal brand. ‘Brand Talks’ cover first impressions, color theory, and how to magnify your strengths. These discussions improve productivity, boost morale, and encourage participants to move forward in excellence.

RJ is an advocate for community service and sits on the board of Integrity Mentors girls program and serves as a remote Triple M mentor for the Irving, Texas Independent School District. RJ is based in Atlanta and available for world-wide travel.

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Storytelling in Business

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Ria Story

 

Ria Story / Top Story Leadership
Leadership / Resilience Expert

Like many, Ria faced adversity in life. Raised on an isolated farm in Alabama, she was sexually abused by her father from age 12 – 19. Desperate to escape, she left home at 19 without a job, a car, or even a high school diploma. Ria learned to be resilient, and not just survive, but thrive. She went on worked her way through school, an MBA, and a successful career in the corporate world of administrative healthcare.
Now a motivational speaker, coach, and author of 7 books, she co-founded Top Story Leadership, which offers leadership development, speaking, training, coaching, and consulting.

 

Natalie Joy / Defining Your Joy
Strategic Business Growth Coach

In 2014 Natalie Joy began her journey pursuing her God-sized Dream to help women find more Joy in their personal & professional lives. Six years prior she had been forced to start her life over after a failed marriage involving infidelity and emotional abuse. She took on the last name Joy as a daily reminder that each day we have the ability to choose to have Joy in our lives.

Prior to launching, Defining Your Joy, Natalie Joy worked in the corporate world as a Top Level Strategic Coach and Traveling Corporate Trainer-helping businesses grow at a rapid rate of 20% each year in a market of only an average of 3% growth. Speaking & Coaching others are Natalie’s passions but after 13 years in this industry she desired to make a much bigger impact in the lives of women.

 

Denard Ash / Ash Training & Consulting
Project Management Lead

 

Paul Johnson with Displayit, Kris Casariego with Predictable Success and Casey Graham with CaseyGraham.com

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Predictable Success

 

Paul Johnson / Displayit
Chief Marketing and Product Officer

Paul Johnson joined Displayit in 2014 as head of the Marketing Advantage team. He’s responsible for determining clients’ needs, ensuring Displayit has the right products and services, and making it easy for Displayit Clients to buy.

After working in numerous sales roles – from account manager to vice president of sales and marketing – Paul discovered that true sales success is achieved with a healthy combination of effective product management, smart marketing and consultative selling. Thus, he began his unending pursuit of the “question behind the question,” developing a knack for hearing what others aren’t saying, connecting the dots, and helping people make decisions that solve their problems.

Paul’s never met a Hawaiian shirt he didn’t like. On any given day, there’s a 76% chance you’ll see him sporting one around Displayit’s offices. After work, he enjoys playing guitar, bicycling or learning something new. Paul has a degree in electrical engineering, and once rebuilt a manual transmission with only 4 part left over.

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Kris Casariego / Predictable Success
Marketing Director

Kris is responsible for the development and implementation of the marketing strategy for Predictable Success. Before joining the Predictable Success team, she was Marketing Director for meeting facilitation training and consulting firm, Leadership Strategies, where she helped lead the company to more than 40% growth during her tenure.

With a focus on hitting goals, Kris’s areas of expertise include inbound marketing, lead generation, strategic planning and team leadership.

As a thank you for tuning in, you can save 15% on our Public Acceleration Workshop in Atlanta on May 16, 2017. Find out more here! 

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Casey Graham / CaseyGraham.com 
Founder / CEO

Casey Graham is a fired-up entrepreneur with a tremendous passion for helping other business owners. Casey’s transparency and high-energy leadership style have made him the go-to voice in the small business community. As CEO and Founder of The Rocket Company, Casey has developed the 5 P’s of a 7-Figure Business as a template of his success to share with other corporations.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Derrick Meek

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GreenSeasonGroup

 

KSUEntrepreneurship

Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Derrick Meek / The GreenSeason Group
Founder

Derrick founded The GreenSeason Group because he wanted to do business differently.  His family, particularly his mother, influenced his old school way of doing business.  There’s no snake oil here – for Derrick, business is about honesty, helping others succeed and a passion for excellence.  Calling himself a landscape evangelist, Derrick believes there’s something magical about a beautiful landscape and being able to deliver beauty coupled with an awesome client experience is what it’s all about.

Growing up, Derrick’s entrepreneurial talents were always encouraged by his mother and father – something he’s very grateful for as, he laughs, “I never imagined mowing the neighbor’s grass in middle school to support his fishing habit would later develop into a calling”.

If he’s not spending time with his wonderful wife, or chasing his four boys around, he’s nose-deep in a book, or working on what seems like an ever growing honey-do list.  He’ll tell you his inspiration comes from his faith, his family, and a never ending desire to win.

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Tony Merendino with ServIT and Chris Markl with Georgia State University

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ga-state-university

 

Tony Merendino / ServIT
CEO

Tony Meredino has over 20 years of experience in Executive level positions in the arena of technology. Tony is the former owner/CEO of BMC Solution and is also a former athlete, playing NFL football with the NY Jets. Tony is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has recently acquired an all organic farm with is producing organic hay and organic angus beef.

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Chris Markl / Georgia State University
Visiting Instructor of Social Entrepreneurship

Chris Markl is a Visiting Instructor of Social Entrepreneurship at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Prior to joining Georgia State, he was a Social Entrepreneur Residence at Florida State University’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement. A social entrepreneur, Markl founded Kourage Athletics which leveraged the storied tradition of Kenyan runners to create authentically Kenyan running apparel. Kourage sold products to over 20-countries and worked with Kenyan Olympians. Markl also founded and led two charity cross-country bicycle rides. Outside of entrepreneurship experience he has worked as an economic analyst in emerging economies.

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Natalie Barrow and Pam Hubby with ArtsBridge Foundation

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artsbridge-foundation

ArtsBridge Foundation is dedicated to providing quality arts education and community programs that engage, motivate, inspire, and elevate the next generation of artists and arts supporters. ArtsBridge provides arts education opportunities to students in grades K-12 through programs at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre including Field Trips, Master Classes, a Family Series, and the annual Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards – The Shuler Hensley Awards. Since inception in 2007, ArtsBridge has served more than 300,000 students and educators from 54 Georgia counties, plus students from Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina. ArtsBridge Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To learn more, visit artsbridgega.org.

 

Natalie Barrow / ArtsBridge Foundation
Director of Arts Education & Community Outreach

Natalie Barrow serves as the Director of Arts Education & Community Outreach for ArtsBridge Foundation, the arts education outreach arm of Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Natalie is responsible for the development, design, implementation and delivery of quality arts education programs targeted to students K-12 and related community audiences. Natalie manages four types of programs including: Field Trips, Master Classes, Family Series Performances & the Georgia High School Musical Theatre Awards – Shuler Hensley Awards. In addition, Natalie produces and directs the annual competition for the Shuler Awards, including the selection and training of the qualified adjudicators that evaluate these school performances.

Prior to joining the ArtsBridge team, Natalie served as the Artist Partnerships Manager at Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center. Before joining Woodruff, she served as the Manager on Duty at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre in the Cobb County Civic Center complex.

Natalie has a performance background in musical theatre and received a BA in Theatre & Performance Studies from Kennesaw State University’s College of the Arts. Natalie was recently selected for the inaugural 30 Under 30 program with the International Association of Venue Managers, she was a member of the 2014 Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta class and was a member of the 2016 Leadership Cobb class.

Natalie is passionate about arts education programs designed to engage, motivate and elevate the next generation of artists and arts supporters, which is always her goal through ArtsBridge programs!

 

Pam Hubby / ArtsBridge Foundation
Director of Development

Pam Hubby is Director of Development for ArtsBridge Foundation, the arts education outreach arm of Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. In this role, Pam is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the foundation as well as fundraising, donor cultivation, special events and community relations.  Prior to joining ArtsBridge, she was the Director of Corporate Relations for Kennesaw State University and before that worked extensively in the banking industry including at Citizens & Southern National Bank (Bank of America), Bank of North Georgia and Georgian Bank.  Currently, Pam is a member of Arts Leaders of Metro Atlanta(ALMA)’s Class of 2015, ARC’s Regional Leadership Institute Class of 2015 and Cobb Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Club.

 

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors Features Halsey G. Knapp, Jr. and Jonathan Hawkins

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krevolinandhorst

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors interviews industry experts from in and around the Metro Atlanta Area. Our goal is to provide valuable information that all business owners and managers can use in their day-to-day work to help them succeed.

 

Halsey G. Knapp, Jr. / Krevolin & Horst, LLC
Partner

Halsey is described as an “aggressive and attentive litigator with good trial experience and a strong reputation for business break up cases (Chambers).” Halsey has been recognized by his peers as a top 100 Lawyer in Georgia since 2009 and as a Super Lawyer since 2004, which suitably fits the pre-eminent business litigation practice of Krevolin Horst.  Halsey received his undergraduate degree in 1977 from Cornell University before earning his law degree in 1980 from Emory University School of Law, where he received the Best Brief Award in the Law Day Competition and served as President of the Student Bar Association. His association with Emory continues to this day as a Master, Executive Committee Member and former President of the Lamar Inn of Court and a member of its Board of Law Advisors.

Halsey frequently speaks on jury selection, business litigation and alternate dispute resolution topics. He is also a frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal. Halsey Knapp regularly advises clients on crisis management and best practices with particular emphasis on business arrangements, limited liability entity operating agreements, graceful employment departures, and more antagonistic, high stakes, “bet the company” business divorces and litigation.

 

Jonathan Hawkins / Krevolin & Horst, LLC
Partner

Jonathan E. Hawkins is a partner at the law firm of Krevolin & Horst, LLC. Whether it be as trusted advisor, outside general counsel, or as a litigator, he provides guidance where legal issues, risk management, and business strategy intersect. Jonathan also serves as outside general, business, and ethics counsel to lawyers and law firms and assists them in risk management, law firm structuring, partnership agreements, employment agreements, of counsel agreements, lateral moves, separation agreements, law firm dissolutions, attorney fee disputes, employment issues, and ethics advice. Jonathan maintains a robust trial practice and represents clients in numerous business sectors in high-stakes complex commercial litigation. His cases typically involve significant and complex business fraud, tort, contract, and fiduciary duty claims. He also publishes a blog dedicated to discussing the business and law of lawyering at www.alawyershandbook.com.

 

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk (Host) / bbr Marketing
President

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk has been a member of the creative and marketing services community for over 20 years and does not appear to be leaving it anytime soon. As president of bbr marketing, she has relished the challenges of entrepreneurship as she worked to grow and nurture a new business. Since the firm’s inception in 2009, Bonnie has led the young company to become widely recognized and respected within the professional services marketing niche, with award-winning client websites and an outstanding history of business success having worked with clients in 23 states and 2 Canadian provinces.