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Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Gwinnett Studio





Gwinnett Business Radio

Author: gwinnettbusinessradio

Travis and Patsy Gatson with Popcorn Palladium and Kathryn Fletcher with Draffin & Tucker, LLP

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Travis Gatson, Patsy Gatson, Kathryn Fletcher, Mike Sammond

Travis Gatson, Patsy Gatson, Kathryn Fletcher, Mike Sammond

Travis and Patsy Gatson/Popcorn Palladium

Popcorn Palladium opened its doors in October 2010. Since that day, Popcorn Palladium has been serving the best popcorn in town, which is prepared on location in Suwanee, GA. In addition to serving the best popcorn in town, Popcorn Palladium is also a great place to have the best party that will be remembered for years. Travis and Patsy Gatson are the original owners of Popcorn Palladium and look forward to serving the community for many years to come.

Kathryn Fletcher/Draffin & Tucker, LLP

Kathryn Fletcher is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and currently serves as a Quality Control Manager for the regional accounting firm Draffin & Tucker, LLP. Kathryn joined the firm in 2001 and assists the firm with accounting and auditing research, attest engagement reviews, training and development of firm personnel, and monitoring of the firm’s quality control policies.

Draffin & Tucker, LLP is a full-service accounting firm widely recognized as a leader in the healthcare industry, with an additional focus on the construction, manufacturing, real estate and governmental industries. Celebrating more than 60 years of quality client service, the firm provides auditing, income tax and consulting services to clients across multiple states, primarily the Southeast. Draffin & Tucker, LLP is led by 13 partners and approximately 60 professional staff, with office locations in Albany, GA and Atlanta, GA.

Tess Turrin with basiQa and Lynn Shine with Olympic Printing

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Tess Turrin, Mike Sammond, Lynn Shine

Tess Turrin, Mike Sammond, Lynn Shine

Tess Turrin/basiQa

basiQa is a data-driven, marketing technology company that specializes in marketing strategies by using data analytics, then executing through direct mail, text messaging, personalized URL’s  and e-mail communications. They have a dedicated IT team along with a local full service IMB print facility with the latest technology “all under one roof” which typically means cost savings to their clients.

Lynn Shine/Olympic Printing

For more than 25 years, Olympic Printing has worked with some of the fastest-growing companies all over the globe. They take a very collaborative approach to work with their clients and they love a challenge. Olympic has a flexible production mindset that allows them to cater both to the needs and expectations of designers, corporations and agencies.

Your company needs a powerful visual presence and achieving this singlehandedly can be a challenge. You are constantly faced with deadlines, budgets and quality control issues. So you want more than a printer. You want a partner. Someone you can count on for sound advice, attentive service and, of course, a beautiful job delivered on time and under budget. Olympic Printing can make this happen.

Jay Bandy with Goliath Consulting Group and Yoshi Domoto with Japan-America Society of Georgia and JapanFest

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Yoshi Domoto, Jay Bandy, Steven Julian

Yoshi Domoto, Jay Bandy, Steven Julian

Jay Bandy/Goliath Consulting Group

Restaurant consulting firms are a specialized group of companies that supply business strategy and solutions to independent restaurants to multi-national chains. Since they are strictly B2B companies, the general public many times are not aware they exist, and in some cases, restaurateurs as well. The services provided by restaurant consulting firms cover every area of the business from site, selection, design and construction management to business planning and concept development, to training, operations, supply chain and marketing and the list continues.

Goliath Consulting Group specializes in making restaurants more profitable by improving operations and training, building strategic growth plans, and creating breakthrough marketing plans. They also have the tools and resources to grow your concept from one restaurant to 100 and beyond.

Yoshi Domoto/Japan-America Society of Georgia and JapanFest

JapanFest Weekend, the largest Japanese festival in the Southeast, will be held September 21-22, 2013 at the Gwinnett Center from 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday. Japan is the number one foreign investor in Georgia and JapanFest celebrates the special economic and cultural bond Japan and Georgia share together.

The Japan-America Society of Georgia (JASG) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote mutual understanding between the people of Japan and the State of Georgia through establishing and promoting ties and programs in the areas of culture, customs, education, commerce and politics.

Eva Scott with Premier Financial Alliance and Brad Raffensperger with Tendon Systems and Revitalized Structures

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Mike Sammond, Eva Scott, Brad Raffensperger

Mike Sammond, Eva Scott, Brad Raffensperger

Eva Scott/Premier Financial Alliance

Premier Financial Alliance is a company that specializes in designing tax free retirement strategies for small business owners and individuals. At PFA, they believe in taking minimal risks with your money or your life. How would you like locking in your gains every year when the market goes up and never losing them again? How would you like to protect your investments having no losses due to declines in the index? How would you like being able to access most of your cash value at any time through policy loans without penalties or tax consequences?

Another key element in a sound retirement plan is protection. Their clients have access to a new kind of life insurance they don’t have to die to use. A percentage of your life insurance proceeds can be accessed in the event of a terminal, chronic or critical illness. You can take care of your living expenses if you become ill or receive a monthly income during a disability (if you cannot perform 2 of the 6 activities of daily living) and be able to pay your bills without tapping into your savings or investments.

Premier Financial Alliance takes the guessing and the worrying out of your retirement plan.

Brad Raffensperger/Tendon Systems & Revitalized Structures

Tendon Systems is focused on providing advanced technology and dependable solutions for some of America’s largest and most prestigious construction projects. Tendon Systems specializes in post-tensioning. This includes high rise, multi-family, parking garages, hotels, offices and condominiums.

Revitalized Structures, a division of Tendon Systems, has over 30 years of experience from over 400 projects focused exclusively on structural strengthening, restoration, repair and retrofit services for all types of structures. With over 30 years of industry experience, the company leadership has the in-house know-how to design and construct even the most challenging structural changes and repairs. Their specialty lies in the combination of structural engineering and the field crew and leaders to execute designs appropriately. Their expertise lies in carbon fiber strengthening, external post tensioning and structural steel reinforcement. Spall repairs, epoxy crack injection, expansion joint repairs and more are all in their normal line of activities.

Dr. Daniel Kaufman with the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Carla Carraway with Precision Planning, Matt Hyatt with Rocket IT and Terri Jondahl with CAB Incorporated

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Carla Carroway, Dr. Daniel Kaufman, Matt Hyatt, Terri Jondahl, Mike Sammond

Carla Carraway, Dr. Daniel Kaufman, Matt Hyatt, Terri Jondahl, Mike Sammond

Dr. Daniel Kaufman/Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

The Gwinnett Chamber is the forum where business, government, education, healthcare, arts/culture/entertainment, and the philanthropic and public service communities come together to craft a common vision for the Gwinnett community.

Dr. Daniel Kaufman is the President and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber and is responsible for the overall leadership, management and direction of the 2,700-member organization located in Duluth. Dr. Kaufman most recently served as the charter president of Georgia Gwinnett College. He is a decorated Army veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. He has worked for the White House National Security Council and with the Office of the Secretary of Defense

Carla Carraway/Precision Planning

Precision Planning is a Gwinnett based business that has provided engineering, architectural and surveying services throughout Georgia for over 30 years. They work diligently to improve the quality of life for the communities they work with through unique and innovative design principles and superior customer service. Their employees and principals are involved in numerous civic, charitable and community-based efforts in and around Gwinnett County.

Matt Hyatt/Rocket IT

Serving Gwinnett County and surrounding areas since 1995, Rocket IT helps businesses and other organizations thrive by taking care of people and making technology attainable, useful and reliable.

Terri Jondahl/CAB Incorporated

Unsurpassed excellence since 1982, CAB Incorporated is a leader in international supply chain and quality management, specializing in supplying industrial castings and forgings, steel pipe flanges for waterworks, and wind tower components for industrial applications on three continents. With manufacturing and distribution in the U.S. and engineers on the ground around the world working with supplier factories, CAB’s deep expertise in manufacturing and process control drives down costs and minimizes risks of an international supply chain and provides options for U.S. based inspection, manufacturing, assembly, just in time inventory management and other value added services.

Dr. Louis Cavallo with AC Spine & Wellness Center and Martin Birkbeck with American Family Insurance

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Martin Birkbeck, Mike Sammond, Dr. Louis Cavallo

Martin Birkbeck, Mike Sammond, Dr. Louis Cavallo

Dr. Louis Cavallo/AC Spine & Wellness Center

AC Spine & Wellness Center (formerly AC Chiropractic Life Center) is an integrated family wellness center, combining the benefits of chiropractic and functional medicine to achieve your optimal health. Functional medicine measures how the organs and systems of the body are functioning and then use nutrition and other natural treatments to regain proper working of the body’s systems. Their goal is to identify those problem areas, restore deficiencies naturally and prevent them from leading to serious illness and disease.

Dr. Jeanette Altieri and Dr. Louis Cavallo have been serving the Gwinnett community for over 21 years and are dedicated to creating a healthier world, naturally! They specialize in family care, pediatrics and pregnancy, sports performance and frozen shoulder therapy. AC Spine & Wellness’ multi-specialty team provides you with a non-surgical approach to your pain or injury. They offer specialized in-house testing which allows them to look inside your body and see what’s going on, helping them effectively direct you in your quest for better health. Their goal is to achieve healing from the inside out as opposed to the medical model of healing from the outside in.

Martin Birkbeck/American Family Insurance

The Martin Birkbeck Agency of American Family Insurance opened the first Gwinnett office of the Fortune 500 company in 2009. Martin’s Agency is a multi-line insurance agency providing home, auto, business and life insurance.

Bill Blackwell with The Gwinnett Center and Jess Villegas with Leading Concepts Group

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Mike Sammond, Bill Blackwell, Jess Villegas

Mike Sammond, Bill Blackwell, Jess Villegas

Bill Blackwell/The Gwinnett Center

The Gwinnett Center is a 90 acre campus located off Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, GA. The Center includes The Arena at Gwinnett Center, a 13,000 seat multi-use facility that hosts concerts, sporting events, corporate events and religious gatherings. The Convention Center has 50,000 square ft. of exhibit halls, 23 meeting rooms and a 20,000 square foot Grand Ballroom. The Performing Arts Center is a state of the art 700 seat theater used for plays, corporate events, dance recitals and traveling shows. The Hudgens Center for the Arts is also located on campus but is operated separately from the other venues, but the Gwinnett Centers sales staff does handle bookings of the facilities for weddings, receptions and other gatherings. The Center employs approximately 100 full-time and over 200 part-time people. The Gwinnett Center is directed by the Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors and operates as a non-profit organization. The bricks and mortar are owned by the County but the Center has operated without County funding after construction. This year they celebrate 10 years service for the Arena and Grand Ballroom and 20 years service for the PAC and Convention Center.

Jess Villegas/Leading Concepts Group

The LC Group (Leading Concepts Group) is a business consulting organization dedicated to elevating the systems-thinking capabilities of every individual in the organization to positively impact results, the development of leaders at every level of the organization, and the construction of strategic plans and business models that are aligned with the objectives of the organization.

Joe Stone with BlueFin HR, Todd Tipton with CEO Business Centers, Melody Glouton with Webb, Tanner, Powell, Mertz & Wilson and Russell Estey with RooterPLUS/Atlanta Cooling Pros

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Mike Sammond, Joe Stone, Melody Glouton, Todd Tipton, Russell Estey

Mike Sammond, Joe Stone, Melody Glouton, Todd Tipton, Russell Estey

Joe Stone/BlueFin HR

BlueFin HR is THE most comprehensive, easy-to-use recruitment, applicant tracking and HR management software available. Small to enterprise-class employers can enjoy this configurable and quick-to-implement application. From job request to recruitment to applicant screening to hiring to onboarding to benefits management, BlueFin’s manageable portal has you, your managers, your applicants, and employees covered.

BlueFin has expanded from just servicing the K-12 education districts to higher education institutions and health delivery systems. BlueFin has clients primarily in the Southeastern U.S., ranging in size from 450 employees to 12,000 employees. They also have experience with the largest financial service company in the world that has 20,000 employees in 12 different companies in the U.S.

Todd Tipton/CEO Business Centers

At CEO Business Center, it’s their business to make your business flourish by enabling you to spend time and money on what’s really important: increasing productivity. They significantly reduce your company’s overhead, eliminating the costly distractions associated with administrative staffing, full-time office rent and build-out, and technological infrastructure. CEO Business Center offers you, the independent executive, a wide range of affordable business solutions tailored to suit your needs, whether you require minimal presence in the Atlanta market, or full-time office space with the complete catalogue of related services. Their Virtual Office Packages and Executive Office Rentals are thoughtfully designed to propel your company toward success.

Melody Glouton/Webb, Tanner, Powell, Mertz & Wilson

Webb Tanner has been known in the Gwinnett legal community since 1929 for its timeless values and progressive solutions to complex legal issues. They are a team of skilled and dedicated attorneys that have been providing a full- service practice to their clients for eight decades. Their attorneys are capable of handling a broad range of legal matters including civil litigation, real estate, business law, corporate finance, municipal and government law, estate planning and probate administration, and personal injury.

Russell Estey/RooterPLUS and Atlanta Cooling Pros

RooterPLUS has been providing plumbing, sewer, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and septic tank service to residential and commercial customers since 1994. Their extensive service area includes Atlanta, Marietta, Alpharetta, Cumming, Gainesville, Roswell, Lawrenceville and the surrounding areas. Their experienced, professional staff is state licensed. RooterPLUS provides high quality service at affordable rates to residential and commercial customers. They never charge extra for answering your call at night, on the weekend, holidays or for emergency service.

Atlanta Cooling Pros has been providing all HVAC services to residential and commercial customers since 2008. They employ qualified, highly trained and experienced professionals to provide heating, cooling and indoor air quality services. Their licensed technicians are experienced professionals and can do everything from minor repairs to extensive new installs.

Jim Denny with Navicure, Teryn Ashley with Your Online Marketing Pro and Lori O’Brien with Atlanta Special Events

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Mike Sammond, Lori O'Brien, Teryn Ashley, Jim Denny

Mike Sammond, Lori O’Brien, Teryn Ashley, Jim Denny

Jim Denny/Navicure

Navicure is a leading medical claims clearinghouse that helps physician practices increase profitability through improved claims reimbursement and staff productivity. Serving over 40,000 healthcare providers in practices nationwide, Navicure’s solutions automate account receivables processes, including primary and secondary claims reimbursement; patient eligibility verification; rejected and denied claims management, including appeals; electronic remittance and posting; claims and remittance reporting and analysis; and patient statement processing. Navicure’s solution is supported by its unique 3-Ring Client Service which guarantees that a client service representative will answer every client call in three rings or less, even during times of transition like 5010 and ICD-10.

Navicure is the exclusive clearinghouse of the MGMA AdminiServe Partner Network. The company received “Best in KLAS” distinctions for the claims and clearinghouse services market segment as part of the 2008, 2010 and 2012 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Services report. KLAS is a leading source of information on healthcare information technology vendor performance. Navicure also received the 2013 Gold Stevie Award for Healthcare Customer Service Team of the Year as part of the 2013 Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service.

Navicure is the founding sponsor of www.icd10hub.com, a free educational website devoted to making physician practices’ transitions to ICD-10 easier. Navicure continues to be ranked among the fastest growing companies nationally in the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500 rankings.

Teryn Ashley/Your Online Marketing Pro

Your Online Marketing Pro focuses on website design, search engine optimization and lead generation for local businesses. Teryn is an expert in Reputation Marketing to help businesses build a 5 star reputations, build trust in the marketplace, convert more customers, build authority in the market place and enhance the marketing that they are already doing.

Lori O’Brien/Atlanta Special Events

Atlanta Special Events is a full service corporate Event Planning Company with over 25 years of experience in the events industry. They have won 5 Consumers Choice Awards for Event Planning, Casino Events and Atlanta DJ. They provide Entertainment, Catering, Attractions, Décor and Rentals for Corporate Events, Company picnics, Team building, Conferences,  Holiday and Themed Parties.

Henry Hardin with SCI Companies, Greta Cairns with Strategic HR Initiatives, and Bryan Nicholson and Fielding Alderman with Credible Solutionz

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Mike Sammond, Henry Hardin, Greta Cairns, Bryan Nicholson, Fielding Alderman

Mike Sammond, Henry Hardin, Greta Cairns, Bryan Nicholson, Fielding Alderman

Henry Hardin/SCI Companies

SCI Companies is a first in class Human Resource Provider specializing in offering solutions to help companies leverage the full potential of their human capital. SCI offers professional HR and business consultation, Human Resource Information Technology, HR administration in the areas of payroll, benefits, workers’ compensation, performance management, talent acquisition and efficient processes to help maintain compliance with both state and federal regulations. SCI’s professionals maintain expertise in all areas of Human Resources to support companies at every stage of their life cycle. SCI Companies has developed innovative services designed to allow businesses to focus on their core areas of performance in order to fully support the business goals of the organization.

Greta Cairns/Strategic HR Initiatives

Strategic HR Initiatives, LLC provides human resource consultation and services to companies that do not see the ROI for maintaining an internal HR infrastructure and/or need to augment their HR capabilities with expertise that is not core to their business. Over 45% of companies have recognized a need to reimage their HR structure to ensure more efficiency and build a workforce whose skills match their business priorities. Strategic HR Initiatives professionals are skilled in analytics, consulting, compliance and HR services that will help a company’s leadership achieve a leaner HR structure that provides more value for every dollar spent on their Human Capital.

Bryan Nicholson & Fielding Alderman/Credible Solutionz

The NUMBER ONE problem facing small businesses today, listed on the U.S. Small Business Administration website, is the lack of knowledge.  The US/SBA says it’s the number one reason that over 70% of small businesses close their doors by the tenth year.  The knowledge demand forces business owners to wear too many hats.  Chaos, by definition, is a gaping void. The lack of knowledge is chaos!

Credible Solutionz understands chaos. Their Chaos Quotient Process is the only tool of its kind to help business owners understand exactly how chaos shows up in your business. Escape The Chaos/Small Business Re-Invention is the only business plan designed to take your small business of 1-9 employees from chaos to no chaos!

A plan for you to Escape The Chaos is now available – a plan that will restore the hope that your business can create the freedom you desire!