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| Be BlessedOne day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: 'Yesterday the person who had been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym'. In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself. The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up... Everyone thought: 'Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!' One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs. Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your reality. It's the way you face Life that makes the difference! | | |
| CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY
Lencola Sullivan made history by breaking through the color barrier within the Miss American Pageant. Sullivan became the first African-American to win every competition she ever entered. Her first foray into pageants was in 1977 when she represented her hometown of Morrilton. She won the title of Miss Morrilton in 1977 and Miss University of Central Arkansas in 1978, placing in the Top 10 at the Miss Arkansas pageant both years.
The following year she was crowned Miss White River 1979 and won the title of Miss Arkansas 1980, and was selected as the Coleman Dairy Outstanding Talent Winner out of all 48 contestants. Miss America was her next stop where she garnered national attention as the winner of the preliminary swimsuit competition and then making history by placing in the Top 5 of the world's most prestigious pageant in 1980. She continues her involvement with the Miss America Scholarship Program as a consultant, judge, mistress of ceremony and performer.
Lencola earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Theatre Arts from the University of Central Arkansas, and was a Board Member of the NSA/New York Tri-State Association before embarking on her current life passion, public speaking.
Sullivan is an international speaker who delivers dynamic workshops and training programs on security awareness for companies, groups and individuals. She transfers life-saving knowledge to prepare individuals on how to avoid, respond to and survive calamities, emergencies and disasters. In this world of global threats against our society, she is able to deliver the key elements of security, so people at all levels will be able to maintain or gain back control in a crisis situation. With the same power and enthusiasm, she motivates her audience on subjects such as diversity and corporate social responsibility, motivation, inspiration and even entertainment. She incorporates a strong message and a song to deliver a presentation that will stay with you for a very long time. | | |
| CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORYDid You Know?In Washington DC, at the edge of the National Mall, at 7th Street and Maryland Avenue, S.W., there were slave markets called "Robey's Den." Did You Know?Chemist George Washington Carver used peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes, and pecans in his work at Tuskegee University. Did You Know?In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 to integrate the U.S. military. Did You Know?In 1870, Hiram Revels of Mississippi became the first African American senator. Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi took the oath of office five years later. In 1967, a century later, Edward Brooke of Massachusetts followed. In 1993, Carol Moseley-Braun became the first African American female U.S. senator. In 2005, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois took the oath of office and became the fifth African American to serve and the third to be popularly elected. Did You Know?W. E. B. Du Bois' initials stand for William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. Having received a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1895, Du Bois focused his extraordinary intellectual energies on studying the question of race in America. Did You Know?In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, declaring discrimination on race illegal. Did You Know?The United States Capitol was constructed using slave labor. Did You Know?While enslaved, Elizabeth Keckley (c. 1818-1907) developed a cutting and fitting women's clothing system. She bought her freedom with her earnings. Did You Know?In 1964, the Nobel committee awarded Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the Nobel Peace Prize today in Oslo, Norway. He was the youngest person to receive the prize. Did You Know?In 1619, the first African Americans arrived at Jamestown, VA. Did You Know?Olympic gold-medal winner Wilma Rudolph had polio as a child. Did You Know?Frederick Douglass spoke with such dignity of bearing and brilliance as an orator that some questioned whether he had ever been a slave. Douglass wrote three autobiographies, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), My Bondage, My Freedom (1855) and The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881). After an extensive lecture tour in Britain, where supporters raised the funds to purchase his freedom, Douglass returned to the United States in 1847 and expanded his antislavery activism by launching the North Star newspaper. Did You Know?In 1965, Satchel Paige pitched three no-hitter innings at the age of 57. Did You Know?In 1776, blacks made up almost one quarter of the population of the American colonies. Did You Know?In early 1923, African-American inventor Garrett Augustus Morgan designed a cross-shaped traffic signal, for which he submitted a patent application on February 27 of that year. He also invented a gas mask. Did You Know?In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court. Did You Know?In 1783, Massachusetts outlawed slavery within its borders. Did You Know?The "Black Edison," Granville T. Woods' inventions, including his automatic air brake, helped to make railway operations safer. Did You Know?In 1969, Marie Brown patented the first video home security system. Did You Know?In 1881, Booker T. Washington, who was born into slavery, established the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Did You Know?The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established on December 16, 2003, when President Bush signed into law legislation establishing the museum as part of the Smithsonian Institution. Did You Know?In 1970, the Congressional Black Caucus was established. Did You Know?In 1900, James Weldon Johnson and his brother, John Rosamond Johnson composed the song, Lift Every Voice and Sing. Did You Know?In 2005, the founding Council of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture held its first meeting. Did You Know?In 1983, the legislation creating the holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was signed into law. Did You Know?In 1911, Nathaniel Alexander received a patent for a folding chair. Did You Know?In 1998, Dr. Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist became the first African American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention, a method for removing cataract lenses. Did You Know?The Smithsonian Board of Regents, the governing body of the Institution, voted in January 2006 to build the National Museum of African American History and Culture on a five-acre site on Constitution Avenue adjacent to the Washington monument. Did You Know?In 1993, Rita Dove became the first black woman Poet Laureate. Did You Know?In 1926, historian Carter Godwin Woodson established Negro History Week. Did You Know?Frederick Douglass was a Republican, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Democrat, and at the end of his life, W.E.B. Du Bois was a Socialist. Did You Know?Billie Holiday had to wear make-up to darken her complexion when she performed. Did You Know?In 2002, Halle Berry was the first African American woman to receive the "Best Actress" Oscar award. Did You Know?In 1935, Porgy and Bess debuted on Broadway. Did You Know?In 1943, the first cadets graduated from the segregated flying school at Tuskegee Institute (later Tuskegee University). | | |
| Pray for me...Hey everyone out there. I am asking everyone to pray for me. I became sick over the weekend and had to spend a couple of hours in the hospital emergency room this morning. I had to miss church. I heard it was a good sermon Mrs. Brittle gave. She is a very strong woman. I am doing somewhat better now , but my baby girl is afraid that I am not alright. Just continue to keep us both in your prayers. I am off to bed now, so I will talk to you guys later. | | |
| CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORYMaya Angelou
Ms. Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman. Being a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director, she continues to travel the world making appearances on college campuses, spreading her legendary wisdom. A mesmerizing vision of grace, swaying and stirring when she moves, Ms. Angelou captivates her audiences lyrically’ with vigor, fire, and perception. She has the unique ability to shatter the opaque prisms of race and class between reader and subject throughout her books of poetry and her autobiographies. Ms. Angelou‘s background is as complex as the woman herself Born in St. Louis, she spent her early childhood in Stamps, Arkansas. Her family then moved to San Francisco. Determined to carve out a stage career, Ms. Angelou studied drama and dance. In 1952, her career took a significant upturn when she received a scholarship to study dance with Pearl Primus in New York. She then joined the 22-country European tour of “Porgy and Bess.” In this politically active period, Ms. Angelou met and married a South African freedom fighter and went to live in Cairo and then Ghana. In both countries, she continued her writing as a journalist. She became the first woman editor of The Arab Observer (Cairo), the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East. When she lived in Ghana, she was the feature editor of The African Review (Accra). She was also a teacher and assistant administrator at the School of Music and Drama at the University of Ghana.
In the Sixties, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ms. Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She was also appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission, and by President Jimmy Carter to the National Commission on the Observance of International Women‘s Year.
In the film industry, especially through her work in script writing and directing, Maya Angelou has been a groundbreaker for black women. She was the writer of the screenplay “Georgia, Georgia, “which was the first original script by a black woman to be produced. She has also done numerous musical scores for her own films and others as well. Ms. Angelou was writer/producer for 20th Century Fox TV, for whom her film, ‘Sisters, Sisters, “was the first initial full-length effort. In television, Ms. Angelou has made hundreds of appearances on both network and local talk shows. She was the subject of an hour interview with Bill Moyers on the PBS special in Salado, Texas. Her renowned auto biographical account of her youth, “I Know Why the Caged Bird sings, “was a two-hour TV special for CBS in 1979. Other significant television accomplishments include the five-part mini-series, “Three Way Choice,” aired on CBS, for which she was both the author and executive producer. and ‘Afro-American in the Arts, “a PBS special for which she received the coveted Golden Eagle Award.
Drawing again upon her many talents, Ms. Angelou, in collaboration with Godfrey Cambridge, wrote, produced, and performed in the revue, “Cabaret for Freedom.” She also appeared with Cambridge in Jean Genet's play, “The Blacks.” This production later went on to win the Obie Award. In 1974, she wrote an adaptation of Sophocles’ ‘Ajax “for the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Ms. Angelou ‘s musical, ‘And Still I Rise, “for which she was librettist, lyricist, and composer, was first produced in 1976 She wrote and presented a BBC documentary, “Trying to Make it Home, “in 1988, and her most recent achievement is the production of “Moon on a Rainbow Shawl,“ in which Ms. Angelou directed the play written by Errol John. This production opened in May, 1988 in London, England.
Ms. Angelou’s awards and honors are unlimited in virtually every field. To mention only a few: she received the Chubb Fellowship Award from Yale University in 1970; a National Book Award nomination in 1970 for “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings “; a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1972 for ‘just Give Me a Cook Drink of Water Fore I Diie"; and a Tony Award nomination in 1973 for her performance in “Look Away.” Ms. Angelou was chosen from literally thousands of A men can poets to compose and deliver a poem for the 1993 inauguration of President and fellow Arkansan, William Jefferson Clinton. Her selection “On Pulse of Morning” is now on record as poetry "from the heart melting to the heart” of America‘s melting pot.
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