Andrea Polk Talks Entrepreneurship on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Jump start your new by listening to Living Your Best Life  as we profile businesses, serial entrepreneurs, and non-profits that will empower, inspire, and motivate you to love your BEST life.

On Saturday, January 3, 2015, tune in to hear from serial entrepreneur, Andrea Polk, the founder of Solo Noir.  Solo Noir is now available at retailers around the country and online and has been a hit with men who invest in living a healthy lifestyle.

Listen to Andrea Polk share how she went from passion to purpose. Hear her discuss what it is like to take a leap of faith and turn down a 9-5 corporate job and join the ranks of entrepreneurship by launching an exclusive product line that initially required her attention 24/7.

Andrea will help guide those who have longed to become an entrepreneur with real life lessons about being determined, faithful, and focused as they make 2015 their year to start their own businesses.

Must hear radio!

This interview promises to empower, inspire, and motivate you to live your BEST life.Tune into 760AM in the Middle Tennessee Region, on Tune In, streaming live online at UStream.TV, and on military bases on Saturdays from 9:00-10:00am CST.

More About Solo Noir

Solo Noir is a complete grooming line for men featuring 100% organic 2-in-1 grooming products.  For years the male grooming market has been overlooked and Solo Noir is the solution to the markets void. Solo Noir offers cutting edge skin care technologies coupled with ORGANIC ingredients to achieve skin perfection for our consumers.

Stacey McBride-Irby Shares Prettie Girls Fabulous Year on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

As the 2014 draws to a close, join Living Your Best Life  as we profile businesses, serial entrepreneurs, and non-profits that will empower, inspire, and motivate you to love your BEST life.

On Saturday, December 27, 2014, tune in to hear from designing woman, Stacey McBride-Irby, creator of Prettie Girls Multicultural Dolls.  Prettie Girls Dolls are now available at retailers around the country and online and  have been a hit with girls long before the Christmas buying season started.

After designing for an international toy company for nearly two decades and launching the successful So In Style Dolls, Stacey took a leap of faith and decided to start her own line, One World Doll Project. Stacey created Prettie Girls to celebrate global diversity. Stacey McBride-Irby and the Prettie Girls have feature been in the media throughout the year as the popularity of the dolls caught fire.

Tune in to hear Stacey McBride-Irby share her inspiring story and hear what is in store for doll lovers, old and young, alike in 2015.

 More About Stacey McBride-Irby

As a child Stacey consistently played with dolls.  Barbie was her favorite.  She loved mixing and matching her clothes, and styling her hair.  Not long after Stacey stopped playing with Barbie™ dolls at the age of 13, she made the decision to enter the fashion world.  She started sketching fashion and going to the library and checking out books about fashion.

Stacey’s father had saved a newspaper article that featured Kitty Black Perkins, a Mattel™ designer.  With the encouragement of her father and her instructor of a fashion computer course at El Camino College, Stacey called Perkins.  In addition to showing her portfolio and resume during the interview, Stacey had to design a Barbie™ fashion.  It was approved and she was hired as an assistant designer which begin her career in the world of toys and doll design.

Stacey was a Project Designer for Mattel™ in El Segundo and was with the company for 15 years.  She is the creator of the So In Style™ line of African-American Barbie™ dolls which were released in 2009. While at Mattell, Stacey was tapped to design the sorority Barbie, Celebrating the Centennial year of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first African-American Greek Sorority, founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.  She designed a one of a kind take on the 1980’s Black Barbie.  She also designed some of the 2010 Barbie career dolls, including Pet Vet Barbie, Rock Star Barbie and Bride Barbie.

Stacey has been interviewed for magazines and newspaper articles such as Ebony, Essence, Heart & Soul, LA’s Beauty Beat, Upscale, Chicago Sun Times and Daily Breeze.  Stacey McBride-Irby made the front cover of Wall Street Journal Personal newspaper.  The So In Style ^TM dolls have been featured in Barbie and Jet magazine.

Stacey has appeared on CNN Prime News with Richelle Carey “New Barbies Look More Like Black Women”.  And on May 2, 2010 Stacey appeared on BETs My Black is Beautiful, Episode 1:  Celebration of Black Beauty.  She is currently a featured designer in the Barbie Exhibit at The Children’s Museum of  Indianapolis.

Stacey’s motto is, “A happy, inspired childhood creates happy, inspired and powerful women.”  She also loves the Lord with all her heart.  She knows that without God that none of her accomplishments and success would be possible

Dinner and Discussion Book Club: Postcards from Cookie

I received a copy Postcards from Cookie in March and fell in love with the author's, Caroline Clarke Graves, journey. I recommended the book to the book club I am in, to listeners of Living Your Best Life Radio and several friends in women groups. I have read the book several times since March and with each sitting, I felt as if I was turning the pages of the book for the first time.

I knew the book was a hit when I got an email from Diane Hines who simply stated "I loved Postcards From Cookie." I immediately called her and we spent the afternoon sharing our favorite stories from the book. A few days later, Joyce Searcy emailed me from London and said, "I read the book while I was on the plane." I also recieved a postcard from her which I thought was a great lead up to our book club meeting. When Cathy Ramsey called she said, "I have something to share but will wait until we see each other."

With so many positive comments, I could not wait for our meeting to hurry up and get here. The anticipation to fellowship with fellow book lovers and natural story tellers and hear their feedback had me counting down the days until I could see the ladies of club share more of their thoughts about Postcards from Cookie. While waiting to meet with them, I sent emails to the Caroline, letting her know the popularity of the book and how I could not wait to see her in person soon.

The Dinner and Discussion Book Club met at Sunset Grill to discuss Postcards From Cookie.
The afternoon spent together over diner and drinks was truly a special time. Cathy put our discussion questions on postcards that she made from photographs of student life at Palmer Memorial Institute. During dinner, Cathy revealed that she had attended the school at one point and understood the mindset of many of the women like Maria Cole who graduated from the school.

As usual, Cathy's questions were thought provoking and lead to follow up questions and sharing of individual stories that mirrored some of the family dynamics that were told in the book. As Veronica and Anessa shared from chapters of their lives, I felt the strong pull of Postcards from Cookie bringing women closer together as we read Caroline peeling back layers of her life one page after another while giving readers a glimpse of how life was in the inner circle of Black Royalty through Cookie's life.

Postcards from Cookie is rich with history, heritage, and mayhem that have helped shaped African American communities from North to South and East to West over several generations. It mingles the past with the future while having you reaching for your latest issue of Black Enterprise. After my first reading, I reached out to old friends that I met at BE Conferences and Events over years. Several places mentioned in the book during Caroline's travels regarding BE, I was there with other entrepreneurs. Oh, the fund memories. Those calls to friends had me searching for thank you notes from Mr. and Mrs. Graves that I saved. I was reminded of the power of sending notes and thank you cards and how special I feel when I receive one for any reason.

As Caroline reveals in Postcards from Cookie and my biggest take away from reading it, God does not make mistakes and we are all "uniquely and wonderfully" made.



Photo Credits: Genma Holmes, Harper Collins

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee held its annual selection meeting today and elected seven individuals to the Class of 2014. Bringing the total number of members in the Hall of Fame to 287 are linebacker Derrick Brooks, punter Ray Guy, defensive end Claude Humphrey, tackle Walter Jones, wide receiver Andre Reed, defensive end Michael Strahan, and cornerback/safety Aeneas Williams. - See more at: http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/2014/2/2/pro-football-hall-of-fame-class-of-2014-elected/#sthash.jtyMmoEW.dpuf

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee held its annual selection meeting today and elected seven individuals to the Class of 2014. Bringing the total number of members in the Hall of Fame to 287 are linebacker Derrick Brooks, punter Ray Guy, defensive end Claude Humphrey, tackle Walter Jones, wide receiver Andre Reed, defensive end Michael Strahan, and cornerback/safety Aeneas Williams. - See more at: http://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/2014/2/2/pro-football-hall-of-fame-class-of-2014-elected/#sthash.jtyMmoEW.dpuf

When a Book Club Meeting Turns Into a Testament to The Goodness of God

A few weeks ago, Dinner and Discussion Book Club met to discuss the The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. Normally, we chose a restaurant that has a connection with the book. This time, we met at The Cookery, a cafe on 12th South with a unique mission to train homeless men culinary skills. It was by coincidence the owner, Brett Swayn, is from Australia, the backdrop for the book.

The book was riveting and full of twists and turns for me. The reviews from the group ranged from kinda of crazy to too confusing to I am headed home and getting ready to deal with family, I am going to give everyone a copy of this book  to it gets better the more you read it to I loved it. Our comments and thoughts about the book were better than reading the book.

Cathy came with a trinket box with questions, that was truly a Pandora box. After ordering our food, I was the first to open the box and read aloud this gem of a question:

When Cecilia finds the letter addressed to her from her husband, "To be opened only in the event of my death," she is tormented by the ethics of opening it. Do you agree with her ultimate decision? What would you have done?

Without hesitation, I answered, "I am opening any letter that is marked do not open only in event of my death on the spot!" The Pandora box filled with questions was a creative idea and kept us entertained throughout the evening. One great question after another, helped us dig deeper into the book and had several of us peeling back layers to our personalities. The atmosphere of the restaurant said "come as you are" and it spite of being in the open, the evening was intimate. There was a steady flow of entrees that we devoured from the menu as we made our way to the end of the book. I even had the chef to prepare a salad Genma's way, a version of one of the menu items that was prepared my way on my birthday.

In June, I had quietly celebrated my birthday with Joyce and the cooks at the restaurant. With the restaurant to ourselves, they went above and beyond to make the evening special for me. After being serenaded by two of the best cooks in town on my birthday, I was in love with the restaurant and learned their stories and the concept behind the restaurant. I have returned every week since my birthday. The Cookery was the perfect venue for our book club.

At our book club outing, unbeknown to us, our carefree banter was being observed by a young man in the restaurant. When he got up to leave, he stopped at a our table and said he enjoyed knowing we were "having a great time on your ladies night out." He even suggested a book for us to read. He told us he was raised by his grandmother and went on to share that his life had been interrupted by bad choices. But he was determined to do the right thing. He then laid several 20s on the table and told us to enjoy our night on him because we reminded him of his grandmother and her friends.

 

Totally stunned by his actions, the book loving mother hens began to question him about what was the next chapter for him. As he revealed more about his life, his mother and grandmother, I could not help but snap photos. I sensed something special was happening and I wanted to capture the moment. Cathy, forever a teacher, asked him about pursing an education. Joyce,Veronica, Diane, and Anassa encouraged him to stay focused and inquired about his employment.

I asked for his number to text him the photos and he asked if I would share his photos with his mother as he gave me both numbers. Cathy invited him to church and told him he was welcome to join her and her husband. While she was giving locations and times for her church, I said he was welcome to join me, we meet at one address:) The money that he gave so graciously to us was shared with the cook (my Sweet James) and the waitress.

Anassa, Genma Joyce, Diane, Quortez, Veronica, and Cathy

Our book club meeting was one I did not want to end. We stayed in the parking lot for another twenty minutes talking about any and every thing. As I drove home, I kept thinking how our time at the restaurant was preparing me spiritually and mentally for the 4th of July weekend with family in Mississippi. Our meeting at The Cookery was a glaring testament to the Goodness of God; He readily gives us what we need, when we need it, in the most unexpected way.

On Sunday morning, I got a texted photo and these words:

The Ramseys with Quortez

" Look who came to Mt. Zion today. Quortez. He found an usher to help him find me. He brought his sister. God uses us for his purposes. Can't wait to see what He wants us to do with this young man."

With tears in my eyes, I could not help but shout, "Ain't God good!"

Marcia Dyson and Crystal DeGregory on Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes

Living Your Best Life Radio with Genma Holmes celebrates the strength, courage, and boldness of women who embrace life to the fullest and have not let others "no" determine their destiny in life. Join us to hear the from women who are seasoned with success and who believe in mentoring other women to become trailblazers as they empower, inspire, and motivate us to live our BEST life.

On Saturday, April 5, 2014, join us to hear from trailblazers who believe  "There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside of you." Dr. Marcia Dyson, CEO and Founder of  Women Global Initiative, and Dr. Crystal DeGregory, Founder and Executive Editor of HBCUstory, will share their stories and passion for uplifting women and our global community through education, justice, equality, and economic empowerment.

ColorComm's Chloe Louvouezo, Harriett Fulbright, Dr. Marcia Dyson, Lauren W. Wilson and Amber Allen

Dr. Dyson will discuss why it is imperative to promote, inspire, and support the future leaders of the world and why she believes every citizen is a leader.  Dr. Dyson will share lessons learned from her encounters with world leaders and the role of the business community plays in sustaining nations for the next generation. Dr. Dyson will also share about the C2 Conference that will be held in August 2014.

HBCUstory 2012 Honorees

Dr. DeGregory will share the need for HBCUstory, founded in 2012, as an advocacy initiative that is preserving, presenting, and promoting inspiring stories of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) community’s past and present, for our future. She will share about her latest body of work  “The Relationships of Revolution: Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil Rights Movement and Political Change in the Bahamas”and the upcoming 2nd Annual HBCUstory Symposium that will be held in Washington, D.C.

Tune into 760AM in the Middle Tennessee Region, on Tune In, streaming live online at UStream.TV, and on military bases on Saturdays from 9:00-10:00am CST. 


More About WGI

Women's Global Initiative (WGI) works closely with a network of corporate, government, university, faith-based, and other partners. Through these partnerships, we create and support innovative new programs that help extend effective existing efforts of women. We are an exclusive membership club, to inspire, inform, and engaged members to promote intercultural, political, and religious dialogue though a unique combination of online and global events.

WGI serves and supports women from every walk of life. The hierarchy of economic empowerment, beginning at the lowest levels of household and community control, is still globally genderized in favor of men. This is a form of structural discrimination that ultimately undermines national interests
and economic possibilities.

Although women are at the center of the household, they are too often disempowered. Investment in women's individual agency balances decision making within the household, resulting in a positive systemic impact upon society.

We believe that efforts toward an equitable national economy must be mirrored in the household. Therefore, gender-based exclusionary elements must be corrected at that most basic level of social organization.

WGI is committed to solving the underlying problems that threaten, undermine, and impair women's ability to lead productive and fulfilling lives. We focus on ameliorating the economic and socio-cultural barriers that limit women's opportunities. We dedicate our resources toward lowering these barriers wherever we encounter them within the communities we serve.

More About ColorComm Conference (C2)

C2 is the ultimate business conference for women of color in communications. Innovative programs, presented by the industry’s top practitioners and thought leaders, will address key issues and predict future trends.

Unlike many professional conferences with thousands in attendance, C2 is an intimate group of approximately 300 multicultural, professional women. That means everyone can identify with common experiences and challenges and everyone is accessible. With access comes action, the kind of action you need to advance your career, build your business and enhance your personal development.

C2 is for you if you are a woman of color in the vast field of communications. This includes Public Relations, Media Relations, Corporate Communications, Advertising, Journalism, Broadcast, Consulting, Social Media as well as Entrepreneurs, Educators and more. C2 is for you if you want to connect with and learn from the best and the brightest.

More About HBCUstory 

Founded in 2012, HBCUstory, Inc. is an advocacy initiative, preserving, presenting and promoting inspiring stories of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) community’s past and present, for our future.

Each and everyday, the HBCU community is writing the HBCUstory. We have fond memories of administrators, faculty, staff and fellow alumni–of people who believed in us and made us believe in ourselves.

We who believe in the mission and vision of HBCUs must leverage our HBCU stories as more than mere memories. Our memories must serve as compelling evidence for the future of these’s educational, cultural and social treasures.

More About HBCUstory 2nd Annual Symposium

Photo Credits: HBCUstory, ColorComm, Dr. Dyson and Dr. deGregory