Month TWELVE-The Leadership Portfolio Activities-THE BIG SIX!!

AHHHH! Month 12 has finally arrived and I now have the opportunity to see the culmination of my hard work. Having submitted my 23+ page Business Plan, Company Snapshot and my Business Plan Presentation Slides, I can now assemble all of the documentation for 6 Leadership Portfolio Activities. My "BIG SIX" LP Activities included involvement in the Full Sail Black Student Union (1) and MEISA (2); Volunteering for the Youth Scholarship project at the Crosby YMCA (3), Hannibal Square Heritage Center(4) Coalition for the Homeless (5) and serving as panelist for film festivals in NY, TX and FL (6).

B&W photo credits: Elizabeth June as Louise in "Seven Guitars" (Khe Kikomo-photographer) & Elizabeth June as Bride in "JITTERS" (Louis Tavarez-photographer).

Participating in A HISTORIC THEATRICAL Black Student Union Event:

Under the leadership of Director CeDarian Crawford, seven actors got on the stage at the former, smaller Full Sail Live and performed a genre of the arts never before performed on Full Sail's campus: a play. CeDarian held a casting session in December 2009 and assembled a wonderful group of actors, some experienced Equity actors (ok, one such actor, ME-playing the part of Louise as pictured above with FAKE cigarette) and others who had never performed a play before, but regardless of background or resume, we did something no other group of students had ever done on Full Sail's campus. We rehearsed in our extremely capable Stage Manager's (Sade Battle) apartment. We used our own money to rent our costumes, we gave up weekends and late, late nights of our lives for two months in preparation for our Black History Month celebratory performance. There was laughter, tears and gnashing of teeth, but we got the job done. We performed Tony Award Winning August Wilson's play "Seven Guitars" and the Black Student Union will never be the same as the bar has been significantly raised.

Volunteering at Coalition of the Homeless:

Before I even enrolled in Full Sail's EBMS program in August 2009, I applied to be a volunteer for the Central Florida Coalition for the Homeless. And waited. Around October 2009, I received a packet in the mail stating that I had to fill out forms granting permission for a criminal background check, which, of course, I did and sent back to the Coalition immediately.

In March 2010, I was emailed about an orientation for volunteers, which I happily attended.

I then asked the Volunteer Coordinator, Marty, if there was any interest in Yoga among the Homeless Residents and she got excited and told me the women at the WRCC (Women's Residential & Counseling Center) would love free yoga classes. Marty was an excellent leader to observe as she gave us volunteers a tour of the facilities and she didn't sugar coat the responsibilities. She told us straight out that she would completely understand if we decided that working with the homeless was not for us. I don't know how many people walked away, never to return. I just know that I am glad that I had the chance to provide free yoga sessions for the women and children of the WRCC as well as help out at the front desk or in the kitchen whenever I was needed. Marty's leadership style was so charismatic that it made it difficult to refuse her any request. Especially when that request was to volunteer to help out at the STYX benefit concert at Universal Studios!

Volunteering at Hannibal Square Heritage Center:

The Hannibal Square Heritage Center, a non-profit organization located in Winter Park, FL, was in need of a videographer to document special events and edit them for a dvd to be screened in their facility. The founder and docents made plans to purchase a large HD Flatscreen TV and they needed a dvd featuring footage from their events to play continuously for visitors to the center to sit and watch for awhile. I was able to observe Peter Schreyer, the Founder and Executive Director of the Center along with his Docent Manager Ms. Fairolyn Livingston organize and promote events, talk about how to use the funding from grants and strategize on ways to get more foot traffic into the center. I videotaped, interviewed and edited documentary shorts for the Heritage Center including the Lauren Austin: Talking Quilts (see below) event.

Volunteering with YMCA Scholarship Campaign:

One main difference between the YMCA and other gyms is the fact that the Y provides scholarships to offset the cost of the monthly membership fees for individuals who can't afford the full price. As a yoga instructor at both the Winter Park and Crosby Y centers, I was in a unique position to influence members to make pledges to contribute to the scholarship campaign to help underprivileged kids go to summer camp or take swimming lessons or help a family who suffered from downsizing. I secured 10 donors who helped out the campaign and I also secured "Storytellers" who were trained to share their favorites YMCA stories with new members to help create a feeling of "community". I was given the opportunity to observe scholarship fund raising experts like Heidi Farber strategize ways to get members and community leaders to get involved by donating or storytelling to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Scholarship Campaign.

Participating in MEISA Event:

Under the leadership of then MEISA President Jamecia Stoudermire, I was given the task of performing as Mistress of Ceremonies for the January 21, 2010 OPEN MIC at the Diesel Bean on Full Sail's campus. It was a great show, but none of it could have come together without the organizational skills of Jamecia Stoudermire. She rallied up the troops to get to the meetings to discuss the idea of the open mic and the networking benefits. Jamecia also delegated responsibilities to various members making sure the flyers were created and distributed around campus and on Facebook. She made sure the show was jam packed with great Full Sail musicians, singers and, of course, a great MC!

Panelist for 3 Film Festivals featuring my film short, JITTERS, in NY, TX and Orlando:

The past 12 months have been exciting for me as a Full Sail Student and as an indie filmmaker. My first stab at writing, producing and performing in a short film was rewarded and awarded with Official Selections and First Place wins in the Enzian FilmSlam in Orlando, FL; The Texas Black Film Festival in Dallas and The Women of African Descent Film Festival in New York.

I was grateful for the opportunity to observe the leadership of the executive directors of these festivals. They each had very laid back, modest styles of leadership similar to the leadership style described in the Developing the Leader Within You book we studied in Executive Leadership during Month 1.

John Theisen, director of the Enzian FilmSlam and the host of the local cable tv film review

show, Indie Cinema Showcase, was very encouraging, informed on all types of film genres and sympathetic to the plight of the no-budget indie filmmaker. He is a filmmaker himself so he fully understands what we go through. The Enzian FilmSlam is well respected in the Orlando area as it partners with the local art film mecca, The Enzian. So very grateful to Mr. Theisen for his support of JITTERS by placing us in the FilmSlam and on TV!!

David Small, executive director of the Texas Black Film Festival, was so incredibly generous with his time, his resources, his praise and even his vehicle. He's a big time entertainment lawyer with major record label signed acts, yet he personally picked up us indie filmmakers from the hotel and brought us to the screening venue and made sure we were taken care of. The more I "googled" his accomplishments AFTER I met him, the more I was impressed with his humility.

Deirdre Corley, programmer of the Women of African Descent Film Festival is a wonderfully friendly, tireless, hard working organized White Girl.

Which reminded me of two things: never assume what a person looks like from emails and the love of film has no color. Working with Deirdre was a delight and she made sure that all the filmmakers who attended were taken care of and they even gave us a Certificate for Achievement in Film plus, they used my still (see above, as Bride) from JITTERS on their poster and on the cover of their programme booklet.

For a glimpse of the announcement of winners from the March 2010 Enzian FilmSlam, please click below:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/enzian/archives/march_filmslam_gets_the_jitters/

For a peek at the 8 minute video of the short film, JITTERS, please click below:

http://vimeo.com/6785099

Month ELEVEN-Business Plan Development

The Business Plan Development course was the first one I took online. I am very much a people person so working independently from home was a challenge. I was glad for the opportunity to meet my course directors Mike Koch and Stephen Burhoe in person as they graciously allowed me to come to their office and ask any questions I might have. Once I completed all the pieces of the Business Plan puzzle, I could now look toward completing my final course related Leadership Portfolio project.

Our assignment was to research two industry experts and find out their opinions/advice on Business Plans. I chose to do my research paper on Magic Johnson and Martha Stewart, two entertainment industry moguls who have created empires and who have written books on being successful entrepreneurs.

Martha Says:

Martha Stewart advises that all entrepreneurs create a well-researched business plan to get a grasp of how big their vision is and what they will need to achieve it. In creating a business plan, Stewart asserts that entrepreneurs will begin to learn the difference between taking risks and taking chances. This is another important component of being realistic in terms of what you think you can and cannot achieve.

Magic Says:

In Magic Johnson’s book “32 Ways to be a Champion in Business”, he dedicates a whole chapter to Creating a Strong Business Plan. “A strong business plan is money in the bank. A properly done business plan shows that you’ve done your homework. Research your idea. See if there's a demand. A lot of people have great ideas, but they don't know if there's a need for it. You also have to research your competition.” .

“When I did my research on minorities, at the time they made up 35 percent of all moviegoers—an extremely high number. So I said, Wow, if African Americans are going but there are no theaters in that community, if I build one, they will come. And I’m going to help them understand that if violence happens, this theater will close. So I’m just gonna say, Hey, look, I’m building a brand-new theater. We’re gonna employ people from this neighborhood, and this is for you. And I talked to both gangs, and they told me they would not do anything bad in the theaters. So we hired some gang members on the construction crew.”

Month TEN-Mobile Marketing and Commerce

Bill Thompson loves New York! He also loves to talk about Commerce and about his time working on Wall Street and he, like Department Chair Ron Cook, takes time out to teach his students about investing and managing money. But what he loves most is his iPhone and all the cool apps he can use and show to his students with reference to Mobile Marketing. Bill introduced us to helpful websites like Mobile Marketer Daily and qrcode.kaywa.com to generate our own qr codes-if you have an iPhone, click on the qr code shown.

Our Leadership Portfolio project was to survey 6 people regarding their cell phone use and their opinions of advertisers marketing to them directly to their cell phones. I interviewed a wide range of personalities from a pre-teen who uses her phone to text, tweet and take pictures to the President of TIME, Inc. Digital who is responsible for the digital marketing for TIME, People and Entertainment Weekly for all of North America and abroad. I was so grateful to my personal acquaintances who graciously agreed to take the survey-individuals from varied backgrounds of race, gender, culture and age. 3 males, 3 females: African American, Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian ranging in ages 12-83 years of age:

Month NINE-Internet Marketing/Search Engine Optimization

Twitter Me This. Twitter Me That. Tweeting reminds me of yellow birds with speech impediments obsessing over "puddy cat"s which is why I made a solemn vow to NEVER, EVER join TWITTER. But, of course, one must never, ever say "never." On the first day of class, our wonderfully wise and quirky course director Charles Everett asked to see a show of hands of people who have vowed to never open a Twitter account and of course my shoots to the air. At this point Mr. Everett informs us that as part of our grade we MUST open a Twitter account and we should discover ways to use it to promote our businesses and to find out information about the businesses of others. We also had to create a Blogger account and "web log" information about our chosen segment of the entertainment industry and the industry's competition.

For our Leadership Portfolio, we were required to create a wiki page detailing the top competitors in our field, any innovations and future trends. My focus was on the Personal Growth Industry and comparing personal growth gurus with entertainment superstars as these gurus make millions selling books, cds, dvds and "perform" live spoken word concerts filling stadiums and arenas around the world.

Here is the link to my Leadership Portfolio Wiki Site:

https://sites.google.com/site/digitalimo/big-selling-self-improv

Month EIGHT-Media Publishing & Distribution

Loved This Class!!! Learned from all of my courses, but this class forced me to re-Kindle (pun intended) my love affair with books. From re-reading books written by others to the audacity of thinking I can write my own books and gaining the knowledge to publish them, this class opened doors I thought were closed. Kim Craft was so incredibly generous in sharing her own personal experiences as an author who has dealt with the big publishing companies and managed self-publishing successfully.

My leadership portfolio assignment was to create a self-publishing business strategy for my project. Kim Craft had us all break up into groups and we got to choose whether we wanted to focus on the publishing and distribution of music, film or books. Kim encouraged us to find ways publish and distribute our products in the most efficient way through research, research and more research. We had to develop a marketing plan, author's bio, define our target audience and create a budget. I chose to build a business strategy for the publishing and distribution of my book, "How to Love Jesus and Jenna Jameson." A picture clipping from my "one-sheet" for the book can be found below:

Month SEVEN-Advanced Entertainment Law-March 2010

Intellectual Property Audit, Four exams on Terms of Use/Contract Essentials/Legal Terminology/Cyber Law, Case Studies, Management Contract Reviews, Trademark Assessments...Boo, I'm not trying to BE a lawyer, I just wanna play one on TV!!! Cassandra Willard, ESQ makes the following proclamation on the first day of class each month: "If you take good notes and listen to my lectures, you will have gained $40, 000 worth of legal advice." And believe me she makes you pay for that legal advice in sweat! That last week of class, where 40% of my grade was on the line, almost broke a sista down, but the A+ was, of course, the ultimate goal and that goal was achieved. Learned alot, worked hard and came out on top.

For my research paper, I chose to focus on the legal battle between Personal Growth Guru Tony Robbins and copy cat motivational speaker Stephen Pierce. I learned that significant liability issues with my final business project's industry include: misappropriation, unfair competition, violation of right of publicity and false impression of association. The fact that I even know what that means is scary, in a good way. Robbins accused Pierce of illegally taping the former's seminars and using his name and likeness in unauthorized advertising.

My Leadership Portfolio assignment was to interview an Entertainment lawyer. I was happy to discover that the Executive Director of the Texas Black Film Festival where my indie film was featured. Mr. David Small graciously agreed to answer my questions regarding his clients who include new band Forever the Sickest Kids and from Lil' Wayne's Young Money label hip hop artist Lil' Twist.

Month SIX - Product and Artist Management - February 2010

The one thing I learned from all of the intense work that went into our Product and Artist Management class is that I do NOT want to be a Product or Artist Manager. The amount of work that goes into preparing for a concert in a major arena or into trying to get a product from the idea stage, to manufacturing and then to market is INSANE. I much prefer being the Artist who pays someone else anywhere from 15-25% to manage me. That being said, this class gave me a better appreciation for all the work that goes into getting performers on the stage & screen or getting products on the shelves. My leadership project was to interview an Artist manager and Mary Gardner, former celebrity booking manager, public speaker and author was gracious enough to share some of her experiences. Mary Gardner booked celebrities for speaking engagements in universities and for corporate events around the country. A short list of the celebrities Mary has worked with can be viewed below:

We also had to create a "product" that we had to pitch and work out details for as far as money, marketing and managing. The product I wrote, created and presented with 3 classmates was a sitcom idea called The TOY BOX. The sitcom is about the adventures of a toy demonstrator who works at the world's largest toy store. When the toy demonstrator gets a promoted to costume character, the first Black Barbie, she finds out the secret world of the toy store when the kids go home and the grown ups come to play. Check out the all star cast and concept below:

Month FIVE-Negotiation and Deal Making-January 2010

Happy New Year!! It was 2010. A new year. A new decade and a new course director! Suzann Bain: Attorney, Author, Musician, Yoga Instructor and Monopoly game enthusiast. I nicknamed Suzann Tina Fey because, everyday was a comedy sketch with Suzann. She always had funny personal stories about the way she cleverly negotiated to get what she wanted. Whether it be a car, a book deal, a legal case, Suzann Bain gets what she wants and she taught us various tactics to use when it comes to negotiating and deal making in the entertainment industry.

For my research project, I had to research a current event that involved negotiations in the Entertainment Industry. I didn't have the look far. In January 2010 one of the most controversial contract negotiation in television history was unfolding in front of my eyes. I did my research project on the Conan O'Brien/NBC negotiation.

My Leadership Portfolio interview regarding negotiations in the entertainment industry was with Patrick Flick, Director of New Play Development & Casting at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre and Four-time Emmy Award winner for television shows on ZDTV. Patrick successfully negotiated bringing Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis to "the Shakes" for the 2009 Play Festival.

Patrick Flick also auditioned, cast and negotiated a contract for a lesser known actor for the 2009 PlayFest to play the title role in the play reading, "Missing Celia Rose" featuring Elizabeth June as Celia Rose.

Month FOUR-FINANCE-December 2009

Numbers. Not sure when it began. Perhaps sometime during high school when Algebra got a little too heavy. Whenever it began, my number phobia was real and I knew that only a caring, supportive, patient instructor would help me overcome it. Ron Cook is that instructor. Ron Cook impressed us with his leadership qualities before we even sat in his classroom. He came to visit our third month class just to introduce himself to us and to allay our fears regarding his class.

Ron also took the time to familiarize himself with our business plans and he proved it by making jokes using the titles of our businesses in a funny way. When we got to his class, Ron would share with us his success stories and tell us about his gigs as a drummer for a cover band. Because Ron Cook is successful himself, he had no trouble teaching us how to become successful as well. Ron made us promise that when we ever become millionaires we are to give him a call. Ron also taught us two words to say if anyone were to ask us if our business would fail: HELL NO!

Ron also went out of his way to make sure we had a working knowledge of how to invest and he required us to read Robert Kiyosaki's best seller "Rich Dad, Poor Dad."

My Leadership Portfolio assignment was to interview a financial officer to find out the procedure for obtaining funding for our businesses. Because of the nature of my business, I was referred by Course Director Ken DeGilio to meet with Trudy Wild, Vice President of External Grants and Research for the United Arts of Central Florida. Ms. Wild graciously agreed to meet with me and answered all my questions. I found out that many of the organizations I have worked and volunteered with like the Hannibal Square Heritage Center and the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre are programs funded by the United Arts. I also found out the programs UA of CF fund are companies that that have already been in existence for at least a year and with the current federal budget cuts, new arts programs have a difficult time getting funded. She did say that as an individual artist, there were some grants available, which was very encouraging.

Month THREE-Business Storytelling and Brand Development-November 2009

"There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you"-Zora Neale Hurston. That is one of my favorite quotes and I am reminded of it when I think of my Business Storytelling and Brand Development class. This class, more than any other, helped me to define who I am as the leader of my company and why I am so passionate about what I do. Our course director, Ken DeGillio, has a talent for getting us to realize why customers are attracted to one product or brand over another. Ken showed us the psychological tricks that are used including color and shape of logos, use of fonts for titles and the importance of listening to the stories of CEOs of major corporations to get a feel for why they were successful. Ken introduced us to TED Talks which feature 18 minute windows into the souls of Technology, Entertainment and Design leaders from around the world.

My leadership portfolio project was to create my own "TED"-like talk in an iMovie format. Please the short Business Storytelling film below:

Month TWO-Project & Team Management-October 2009

My experience with Project and Team Management can be summed up in one word: YOGI!!!!!!! Our course director at the time was Mr. Yogi Mueller who was a mixture of stand-up comedian, hard task master, sensitive and supportive counselor, brilliant mathematician and musician and, as his nickname suggests, big cuddly bear! The diagrams, charts, tables and formulas were overwhelming for someone like me who had not taken a math class in over 20 years!!

The best thing that could have ever happened to a perfectionist like me was to fail the midterm and have to humbly sit down with Mr. Mueller and have him go over each question I missed. His patience and professionalism gave me the encouragement I needed to ace the final exam with an A+ and bring my overall Project & Team Management grade up to a B+ (which is now an A+ thanks to Student Success Seminars offered by Full Sail to help students with their lowest score -YAY!!). I share this personal story because Yogi's leadership in knowing just how to deal with a student like me who was so discouraged about my choice to return to school was more of a lesson to me than the class course work. Yogi's favorite acronym was R.A.V.E. : Respect Appreciate & Value Everyone. His positive example of leadership, along with the help of his Associate Course Director at the time Annie Roun, was one important lesson on how to lead and inspire.

The other lesson was how important it is to have a strong members on your team. Team members who are interested in excellence and in settling for nothing less than a superior project. I learned what is was like to be a follower and a team player and how important it is to support the team leader in getting the project done well and on time.

The leadership portfolio project for our team was providing the Hannibal Square Heritage Center, a non-profit organization focused on preserving the history of the once Black owned downtown district of Winter Park Florida with a video documentary short of their Community Heritage Day. The following video will provide a glimpse of that project and the day's events:

Month ONE-Executive Leadership-September 2009

Executive Leadership was the first course and it was delicious! Dr.
Steve Adkins set the tone for the program on a positive note by sharing his personal experiences and his wealth of knowledge regarding the two styles of Leadership discussed in our textbooks: "The 48 Laws of Power " and "Developing the Leader Within You". Both books were informative and I learned that I have already incorporated elements from both books in my own career and in the way I conduct my life. Executive Leadership is where I had to decide upon and disclose what my business plan would be, the business plan that I would cultivate and build upon for the next 12 months. My business, Junejaja Edutainment, is a Holistic Personal Growth and Development Seminar company targeting the under-served populations in correctional facilities, shelters and urban schools with a high percentage of "at risk" youth.

Course Director Steve Adkins exemplified leadership through his encouragement and support of my presentations, my leadership ability and of my business plan which gave me the confidence to move forward.

Steve also introduced us to the television show "Shark Tank" which helped to prepare us for the "elevator pitch" we would have to make to defend our thesis projects 11 months down the line.

Month One is also where I had to choose 6 activities that involved my observance of leadership within non-profit organizations or industry related businesses from which I could learn much. I would complete these six activities over the course of the next 12 months. The activities I ultimately chose were the following:

Volunteering at the Coalition for the Homeless
Volunteering at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center
Volunteering for the YMCA Scholarship Campaign
Participating in a Black Student Union Event
Participating in a MEISA Open Mic Event
Attending 3 Film Festivals in which my film, JITTERS, was featured as an Official Selection

The EXL project that I loved was the assignment to research a Leader in the Entertainment Industry. I chose Hattie McDaniel, the first Black to ever be invited to the Academy Awards, let alone win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Gone With the Wind. The following is an excerpt from my APA paper:

Hattie McDaniel is arguably one of the most underrated, misunderstood, misrepresented Academy Award winners in the history of the entertainment industry. Sadly, many know her only as the fat Black lady in Gone With the Wind, which is one of AFI’s top 10 films of all time. Hattie McDaniel died of cancer at the age of 57 in 1952. Researching the complex career of this multitalented blues singer/songwriter, comedienne, radio show personality, television and film star is well worth the trouble for any artist, of any race, in search of a role model, a symbol of success and the epitome of an entertainment leader. I’ve chosen a leader who overcame obstacles in the entertainment industry during that tricky Post Civil War/Pre Civil Rights Movement time when Blacks had to do whatever was necessary to survive financially, emotionally, spiritually and physically. It would have been easy for Hattie to refuse to play a maid, but the fact of the matter is, Black women were maids back then. Black women are maids NOW! It would have been the height of insanity for her to pass up an Oscar winning role, the 17 room mansion she purchased where she had parties that Clark Gable attended and the $2000 a week salary she made while shooting her comedy show, Beulah, on ABC just so some clowns at the NAACP could praise her for playing “respectable” roles.