Meet Our Board
KAREN CYNOWA
MEETING DIRECTOR |
STEVE DOTSON
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR |
NORA D. RICHARDSON
MARKETING DIRECTOR |
Meet Our Members
Members are listed by business category.
COACHING: Communication
T.A.L.K. Associates
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J. Bert Freeman is a positive direction expert, facilitator and speaker. He is the author of Taking Charge of Your Positive Direction, Your Positive Direction NOW and the Positive Direction ESP Performance Development Manuals. He is the Owner/Founder of T.A.L.K. Associates. As a result of his early signature work, his 30 plus years of experience evolved into providing the 21st Century Organization Development and Positive Direction Communication Skills that are essential for organizations and individuals to strategically streamline Organizational Unity, Leadership Consistency and Workplace Respect.
From 1998 to 2008, he was a designated Delaware Department of Education Distinguished Educator Consultant. Since then he continues to work with schools and districts to establish performance improvement strategies for student success. Much of his work also includes organization development and leadership consistency for organizational business segments, state and government agencies. Bert is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Engineering and Golden Gate University with an M.S. in Human Relations. He was a Combat Engineer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is a member of ATD, ISPI and Toastmasters International. He is also a Consistent Positive Direction Pinnacle. Bert also was a U.S. National Fencing Champion and member of the U.S. Olympic Fencing Team. He is joined by a team of resident facilitators. They are independent business, education and public professionals who are adept at incorporating Consistent Positive DirectionTM with their expertise. |
COACHING: Leadership
La Toya Gadson Coaching
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What if your organization had more leaders?
La Toya Gadson is the CEO of La Toya Gadson Coaching, and is a proud Certified John Maxwell Coach, Trainer, and Speaker. La Toya is a leadership influencer who has more than 15 years’ experience developing and transforming managers to leaders within the workplace. Using the John Maxwell methodology, she partners with organizations to improve leadership soft skills, team building, and personal development. La Toya is highly recognized in the industry for turning around underperforming teams, reducing high turnover and creating synergistic cultures within organizations. La Toya also has a passion for empowering women to discover the path to their dreams through intentional living. She is from San Jose, California and has lived in Charlotte, North Carolina for 4 years. She holds a degree in Behavioral and Social Science, loves to travel, and is a fitness enthusiast. “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” —John Maxwell |
COACHING: Mindset
Manifest Coaching
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As a mindset coach and trainer, Amy advises and consults with top
performers and executives, managers, other success coaches and sales professionals in the area of peak performance, leadership behavior and building more collaborative and productive relationships both on the job and at home. She wrote and recorded “The Six Insanely Effective Mindset Shifts” - a primer on how to shift ones thoughts to attain more abundance and joy at work and at home. Up until 2012, Amy recruited, trained and coached over 500+ sales professionals in her career between NYC, Atlanta, GA. and Charlotte, NC. Running in high pressure positions led to burnout and the discovery of mindset coaching. Finding this modality a powerful, quick and effective tool—she got certified. Today, Amy is making a difference in other people’s lives moving them to achieve more at work and living every day with passion. From Greenville, SC, Amy has been married 33 years to Ted, a corporate banker. They have 3 adult sons and her commitment is to her family first. She also deep sea fishing, hiking, dancing and singing. |
COACHING: Sales & Revenue
KaaS: Ken as a Service
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What if you had a trusted colleague with significant sales and operational leadership in your back pocket that you could ask questions around sales leadership, team building, sales team culture, industry issues and corporate best practices? Or simply a fresh perspective on a specific issue?
Someone who has been in your shoes, made hard decisions and been successful. We created KaaS to be just that. You can hire "Ken as a Service" to use as a sounding board and for help with situations like: ~ Planning & Organizational Leadership ~ Revenue & Profit Growth ~ Executive Sales, Marketing & Business Development ~ Partnerships & Alliances ~ Value Added Products & Customer Relationships ~ Finance, Accounting & Budgeting ~ Human Resources / Team Building / Culture~ Information Systems & Technologies Had I had such a person when I was in your shoes, not only would I have been much more successful and profitable more quickly, I would have been more effective and still been able to spend more time with my loved ones. What if you had such a person? Let's chat. |
COACHING: Speaking
RTF Coaching
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Rochelle Togo-Figa is a Speaking & Sales Coach and Trainer with 20 years experience. Her area of expertise is teaching people how to confidently present their services to win business. Rochelle works with business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, authors and professionals who are eager to attract more clients through learning exactly what to say and how to say it. She
teaches them speaking and sales strategies that propel their businesses to the next level. After surviving breast cancer, Rochelle turned her journey of recovery into a positive life-altering experience that transformed her life forever. Rochelle then left the corporate world to pursue her dreams of helping entrepreneurs follow their dreams and goals. She took the lessons she learned that turned her life around and together with her 20+ years corporate experience, created a thriving coaching and training business. She combines her life-altering experience with her speaking and selling expertise showing people how they can create a powerful message and present it to win more clients. Rochelle leads workshops on speaking to hundreds and hundreds of people. She is the creator and workshop leader of The Speaker Success Series Workshops, a series of workshops teaching speaking skills and techniques to become a confident speaker. She is also the creator of the Powerfully Speak and Listen to Attract More Clients Workshop, a half-day workshop teaching powerful speaking and sales strategies. |
FINANCIAL: Advisory Services
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
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As a Financial Advisor, I provide sound financial advice and value-added service to investors — always striving to build long-term relationships that are based on mutual trust and respect. Through a long-term investment approach, I help clients develop and implement strategies for building wealth and realizing their financial goals. Whether you are planning your retirement, saving for your
children’s education, or looking to preserve your wealth, I can help. I graduated from The Citadel, in Charleston, S.C., with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Business. I served as an officer in the United States Army Reserves for eight years. As a Financial Advisor with the Charlotte South Park office of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC., I take pride in working for a firm that puts the client first. Because I believe that retirement is probably one of the most significant financial goals of my client’s lives, I obtained the designation of Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM ,CRPC®, by meeting rigorous professional standards and passing a comprehensive examination from the College for Financial Planning. This added designation improves my ability to serve my client’s needs. Away from the office, I am active in the local community. I participate in many civic and community organizations, including the Porter Ridge Athletic Association, the Charlotte Area Citadel Club and volunteer at the annual Queens Cup Steeplechase event. I enjoy golf, reading and sporting events. My wife, Christina and I live in Indian Trail with our five children. My mission is to help each client plan for a financial future in a way that best meets their goals. I look forward to extending my experience to you and your family. Together, we can discuss financial strategies designed to fit your unique situation. |
FINANCIAL: CFO Services
Brecken Capital Advisors
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Our primary target clientele are business owners/executives. Through Brecken Capital Advisors (BCA) & Charlotte Consultant Services (CCS) we provide a seamless way to manage & plan finances aimed at improving the overall income of business owners. This means not only doing so WITHIN the business but OUTSIDE the business. Through CCS we provide CFO/Bookkeeping services aimed at improving overall business income while BCA assists in financial planning and portfolio management in deploying that income.
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FINANCIAL: Tax Services
The Walters Way
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My focus is helping families & individuals keep more of their hard-earned money through strategic tax planning and financial strategies via The Walters WaySM. My degrees from the University of Cincinnati are a Masters in Accounting and a BBA in Accounting. I have developed a dynamic skillset from more than 18 years of tax consulting experience as well as product & project management experience in multiple industries (especially in financial services). I have advanced MS Excel expertise and I earned a Lean Six Sigma certificate from Villanova University (online).
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INSURANCE
Health Market Genius
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I am a health insurance agent specializing in individual health (including Obamacare) and Medicare related coverage, as well as short term and dental insurance.
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Larry S. Helms & Associates
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My goal is to provide individuals, families and business owners assistance in protecting their assets and building their financial freedom. I have the skills, knowledge and experience required to help meet my client’s established goals. My personal goal is to become a lifetime resource for each and every client.
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IT CONSULTING
@NET
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In 1993 I moved to Charlotte and have been an IT consultant and Network Engineer since then. I am fascinated by all aspects and applications of technology, especially the new innovative, emerging mobile and cloud-based technologies. I’m now working with AT-NET Services, as an account manager. We provide “Managed Services” (one price per month for complete IT coverage), and many other technology-related sales and services including: Office 365 (hosted email), VoIP – Hosted Phones, Wi-Fi, Internet Access, Network Security, Data Backup, Network cabling, and Surveillance Cameras.
I typically work with the business owner or decision maker, and offer 20+ years of experience. With my expertise and AT-NET’s capabilities, we offer peace-of-mind, allowing the business to focus on their core competencies while we focus on the technology that runs the business! |
Cyberlitica
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Richard Freiberg is Director of Business Development for Cyberlitica. A CPA by training with over 40 years of experience with middle market clients, he specializes in building and nurturing client relationships and securing loyalty in a competitive environment by utilizing a consultative selling approach. His influential communication skills afford an ability to recognize new opportunities by aligning with key decision makers.
He has gained a reputation as a distinguished executive-level leader by leveraging top-caliber sales teams, and in partnering with channel partners he has learned that empowering not only your sales force but your entire staff with the information and tools necessary to make better strategic marketing decisions improves your company’s competitive advantage and profitability. Cyberlitica offers cyber awareness training and education (phishing simulations). Most businesses that are breached are the direct result of employees clicking on malicious links which subjects them to the possibility of malware, ransomware, cyber extortion, virus, reputational damage and revenue loss. costly remediation, and litigation expenses, Additionally our service offerings include a continual monitoring of the Dark Web (which comprises a significant portion of the internet) including instant notification and alerting the company what is for sale on the Dark Web. Most companies have 25 – 100% of their employees on the Dark Web. By quarter 2 2019 we will also be incorporating both an identity theft component as well as a password management system which will enable us to offer a full service which no other company offers. |
LEGAL SERVICES
This could be you...
YOU
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When you become a Ballantyne Business Connections member, you get to be listed amongst these great businesses.
Come visit our monthly luncheon or our quarterly socials. Here are a few of the following service categories we have open:
Membership info |
MARKETING: Branding Services
Spot-On Branding
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Six-figure branding strategist, Nora D. Richardson hasn’t always been successful. By year eight in business, she was still unable to consistently pay the bills because she didn’t know where to find the right clients. Frustrated and feeling that time was running out on her entrepreneurial dream, she dove into the world of business, marketing and sociology.
Over the last decade, she has applied what she learned and has consistently doubled her income. Nora has developed a proven, results-driven process for entrepreneurs which is structured differently than the current (antiquated) marketing method. Her process brings the heart and soul of your business to life, which drives customers to your door. Nora has spoken to international audiences, been mentioned by the New York Times, worked with big brands like Kahlúa and The Olympics and continually helps her clients achieve 6-figure wins. Her secret: “When you build a business as unique as you are, you create a brand people love-love-love, which leads to six-figure wins.” |
MARKETING: Communication Services
WOW Them Marketing
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Most of my career has been in office administration and accounting. I have an Associates degree in accounting.
By 2005, I spent 6 years as a mortgage loan processor for my sons’ mortgage business. When the mortgage industry changed in 2011, I was out of a job as his company went out of business. I also owned a radio station, however I was still in charge of the day to day business operation. It was a short-lived adventure. In 2014, I was introduced to a greeting card and gifting system based in Salt Lake City, Utah. I immediately fell in love with the concept, as their mission was to spread kindness around the world. I have been with SendOutCards for 4 years as a referral partner and sharing information about the system with businesses to help them to maintain their customer base and increase referrals. The system is doing great things for all sizes of businesses. In fact, the founder of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner, has written about SendOutCards in many of his books, singing its praises. I recently found a new company that’s a big hit with businesses. The company, Banner Season, offers greeting cards, gifts and one-offs, meaning they can produce coffee mugs and water bottles, with pictures, names, logos, and text for just one personalized item at a time. Many other items can also be personalized. The products are very reasonably priced and it’s a great compliment to SendOutCards. I love them both! |
MARKETING: Website Services
Lightning Mine
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I use current Search Engine Optimization best practices when building company websites and e-commerce stores. I also build online Customer Account Portals which connect to Quick Books. Customer account portals empower your customers to log in, view invoices, pay their bills, change contact information and other functionality right from your company's website. It is also important that the transactions update in QuickBooks without the transactions requiring manual re-keying. This is convenient for your customers and saves time.
Customers expect to be able to self-serve online. Now there is an affordable way for companies to add this functionality to their website. I also build exciting, engaging, SEO friendly websites that are mobile friendly. It is critical that websites work well on mobile devices now that more web traffic comes from mobile than traditional PCs and Macs. Have you visited your website from a phone? I have the best team to build excellent websites with proven results. It starts with a great website and goes from there... Specializations: Mobile Friendly Websites • Search Engine Optimization • Search Engine Marketing Websites for: Industrial Manufacturers • Industrial Distributors • Trucking Companies Medical Practices • Small and Medium size businesses of many types |
MORTGAGE SERVICES
Wells Fargo Mortgage Services
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Jennifer McNeil joined the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Team in 2010. She has 16 years of experience in all areas of mortgage financing, including underwriting, processing, and closing loans. Before joining our staff she successfully managed an entire general banking team for many years and has reviewed and personally approved thousands of mortgages.
Jennifer truly understands your financial needs, and has the knowledge and resources that will allow you to obtain a mortgage that is right for you. To accomplish this she has three primary goals as your Home Mortgage Consultant; to answer all of your questions about mortgage financing, to simplify your home financing experience while providing you with a high level of service, and to build trusting relationships with you and your family. |
Certainty Home Loans
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A focused, proactive and dedicated mortgage professional with broad experience in multiple aspects of mortgage finance, underwriting, credit analysis, community management, property management and real estate services. Also known as a creative, focused community-minded management professional with broad experience in multiple aspects of non-profit management, fundraising, fiscal management, sales, marketing, public relations volunteer recruitment & training. Recognized for ability to cultivate strategic partnerships throughout our community. Adept at best practices for successful delivery of program services. Respected expertise in leadership, organization and networking to facilitate the cause of organizations represented. Passionate about customer service with exceptional presentation skills along with a proven track record of oral and written communications.
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REAL ESTATE
Brokered by EXP Realty
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I am enthusiastic about helping you with your Real Estate journey; whether it involves buying, selling, or relocation, I recognize that lives change direction and it is my purpose to make that change a positive, painless adventure for all of my clients.
My organizational skills, eye for detail and negotiation skills will be to the advantage of all my clients. I look forward to be working with you. |
Westervelt Property Group
Rhonda Westervelt
Phone: 704-572-0983 email Rhonda Visit Rhonda's Website |
With over 20 years of real estate marketing and sales experience, I bring a high level of professionalism and attention to detail to every transaction and every client. I am an Accredited Buyer Representative, Certified Relocation Specialist and Certified Military Residential Specialist and I pride myself in building strong relationships with fellow Realtors, clients and partners. As a Keller Williams "BOLD" graduate, I and my team of assistants & trusted vendors with Westervelt Property Group, LLC & Keller Williams Realty are experienced in negotiating foreclosures with Fannie Mae and other institutions as well as regular residential and commercial transactions and working with short sales. "We do what it takes to help in all aspects of real estate and treat everyone with the highest level of respect and appreciation."
Rhonda Westervelt is an avid dog-lover and truly believes in kindness and understanding "This business isn't rocket science. My goal is to help transactions be as stress-free as possible for our clients." Rhonda offers free consultations and can help clients move anywhere in the United States or abroad. With 90% of business coming from referrals, the greatest compliment is a referral from past clients, Realtors and networking partners. Westervelt Property Group's areas of expertise lie in both residential and commercial properties in the Metro Charlotte area including Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, south Iredell and west Rowan Counties in NC & York and Lancaster Counties in SC. I Help Make Dreams Come True...Let's Get Started on Yours Today |
WELLNESS
Isagenix, International
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As someone who has tried the gamut of products to get fit, I had all but given up when I met this vibrant, energetic, healthy woman my age. After experiencing my own transformation releasing 52 inches and 35 pounds, I shared with a couple friends. Suddenly, the company sent me money! I then turned my head to this exciting financial opportunity in a stable, debt-free, billion-dollar company that is 16 years in and poised to become the industry disruptor in network marketing with proven products, thousands of transformations, outstanding leadership and a brilliant compensation plan.
Why Contact Me? ✓ I will personally provide you with the tools and phenomenal support to help you reach your physical and financial goals ✓ You would come in on one of the fastest growing teams in our company with superb leadership, team training & support ✓ Because I'm fun to work with, and I work with fun, amazing people who will welcome you Seeking: ✓ Anyone who has a servant heart, wants to build relationships based on trust and respect, and leads with honesty and integrity ✓ People who are like myself, who want to be successful and are energized by the vision of what is possible ✓ Reliable people; focused, organized and good communicators ✓ People who would like to experience a personal development plan with a paycheck attached |
Total Nutrition Technology
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Total Nutrition Technology (TNT) assists individuals in obtaining optimal health and sports performance goals resulting in healthier, longer, and stronger lives. Our one on one coaching, personalized meal planning, excercise guidelines, and continual body fat analysis provides clients the tools to achieve his or her goal(s) in a realistic manner resulting in a lifestyle change.
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CONSTRUCTION
GV Construction Consulting, LLC
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Founded by Gordon H. Vincent, has more than 35 years of experience in the construction industry and 30 years as a registered architect and construction contract administrator. Our project involvement ranges from project conception, design, construction and post construction services. The projects are all across the eastern United States including many different building and construction types ranging very small ($2000.00) to very large ($100 million). He offers have a unique set of skills, knowledge, education and experience.
Gordon has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, a Master's degree in Construction Management from East Carolina University and is pursuing a PhD in Technology Management specializing in Construction Management. While completing his master's degree, he concentrated on the constructability and buildability aspects of design and construction. |
