It was interesting that I had received an invitation to this free event. It turns out that I received an invitation because of my prior attendance of last year’s Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum. In that event, it attracted many people from both the private and public sectors who had an interest in leadership and the future of business.

I was impressed that someone would create an event and assemble an interesting roster of attendees to discuss the issue local poverty.  Local politicians, representatives, public agencies, and non-profit organizations appeared to be the target audience.  Whereas I, representing small business in the private sector, seemed to be in the small minority.

Although the Poverty issue is certainly not the most exciting or inspiring subject to learn and think about, I am not oblivious of its impact locally, regionally, nationally, and even globally.  Poverty affects everyone even the affluent, wealthy, and the rich.

Unlike presidential candidate John Edwards, who made it a major issue in his campaign, I do not think that government and non-profit organizations can themselves solve this problem.  They can provide some funding and services to assist in the effort and deal with the symptoms but fundamentally, businesses and private sector must ultimately get involved to make a huge difference.

Danny Bivins of The Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia in Athens was the opening moderator of a Panel Discussion that included representatives from the Housing Authority of Columbus GA, United Way, Columbus Public Library, and Open Door Community House.

It was interesting because I have interacted with each of these agencies to various degrees through my normal course of business.  I listened as to what their opinions were regarding the local poverty issue.

A big part of the Panel discussion was finding and acknowledging the “root causes” of poverty, not simply the symptoms.  Issues such as high school education, affordable housing, diversity, home ownership, teen pregnancy, and marriage were all touched upon as “so-called” root causes.

In my mind, I agreed with much of what they said but I also disagreed with a good portion of it.  Most of the issues were politically-correct discussions that avoided the central and politically-charged issue:  the Culture of Poverty.

In the audience, were a few people that were beneficiaries of government programs and non-profit organization services.  So much of the day’s discussion focused on what the government, non-profit organizations, legistlation, and social programs could do help.  There was almost NO discussion on what the private sector and businesses could do to help.  There was also almost NO discussion of personal responsibility of what people in poverty needed to do to pull themselves out of poverty.

In the Poverty Symposium attendee folder, the Shriver Center included a packet that supposedly graded politicians and their performance in fighting poverty.  Not surprisingly, Republicans got failing grades and Democrats got excellent grades.  It was based on voting records on what the Shriver Center perceives as important bills to combat poverty.  From what I could see, there was little regard to the costs of each social program.  I have no doubt each bill have merit but I thought to myself, who pays for every single program that is going to be proposed?

In any case, it quickly appeared to me that the packet by the Shriver Center was clearly Democrat-leaning.  For the record, I classify myself as an Independent.  I cannot classify myself as a traditional Republican or a traditional Democrat.  I disagree enough with both parties to keep myself Independent.

Although Congressmen and Senators were invited, none attended in person.  Young representatives of each politician’s office were there to make their presence known.

Deborah Weinstein of the Coalition on Human Needs, concluded the day with her perspective on the national level. Admittedly, she said each community must do their part to deal with the poverty issue.  Not everything could be handled on the national level.  I agreed with her. But in her presentation, there appeared to be a “hole” in her presentation.

Like her non-profit peers, the focus seems to provide more services and more government programs.  Being patient for most of the day, I finally tried to ask a question regarding why there was no discussion about how businesses and the private sector could be involved in a way that didn’t always require donating money.  It seems that all businesses and private sector are good for are money donations which somewhat offended my sensibilities.

I also desperately wanted to know why no one wanted to tackle the Culture of Poverty and the Poverty Mindset which is ultimately what keeps many people poor, not necessarily the lack of services or opportunity.

Ultimately, a woman who came from poverty and a beneficiary of non-profit services got more “air-time” than others who had resources and fresh ideas to offer.

After the program ended, I had the opportunity to speak to Junie Christian who was a Host of the Poverty Symposium and Belva Dorsey, Executive Director of Enrichment Services Program.  I asked about why there was almost no discussion of the Culture of Poverty issue.

I brought up the well-known saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  Quite simply, I wondered why there are not more educational programs that deal with this.

I also shared the well-known tales of lottery winners who come into a lot of money through their winnings but ultimately run their lives into the ground.  They do so not because they never had the chance to get money, they do so because they fundamentally are poverty-cultured.

They were surprisingly pleasant and engaged my discussion.  I told them I was also concerned about the poverty issue but my “small business” and entrepreneurial perspective vastly differed from the non-profit sector’s approach. Nevertheless, I told them I was willing to keep an open mind to any information they might have since I cannot claim to be an expert on the poverty issue.

All in all, I did not regret my time at the Poverty Symposium.  It did give me a different perspective on the poverty issue and it gave me time to reflect on how I might do my part to help.  But I did know that I wasn’t going to simply throw money on the problem.

It should be interesting to see what happens now going forward

The speakers were:  Dr. & Congressman Newt Gingrich, General Russel Honore, Daniel Pink, Thomas Friedman, John Maxwell, and GA Chief Justice Leah Sears.

I have to say each person made an impact on me in their own special way.  On Day One, I was impressed by how knowledgeable Newt Gingrich was in his presentation.  He went past political arguments to present his case on improving the health care system.

General Russel Honore of Hurricane Katrina fame gave a funny, entertaining but also very serious speech on preparedness.  I felt that more government officials should have heard his speech.  He gave me a perspective of public service that was inspiring.

On Day Two, GA Chief Justice Leah Sears gave a short speech on familes and education.  Her speech was much shorter than anticipated which led to an extended break.

Daniel Pink of “A Whole New Mind” was dynamic and brought a youthful energy into the presentations.  I loved his book which continues to resonate and impact me as I do business.

John Maxwell who has written many titles on Leadership (of which I have several in my bookshelf) gave his view of the 5-levels of leadership.  Those 5-levels made me reflect where I stood in my leadership abilities.

Finally, Thomas Friedman of “The World is Flat” and “The Lexus & Olive Tree” fame presented material from his new book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded”.  His talk was sweepingly huge and had global proportions.  He talked about “global weirding”, a flat world, that is growing in population exponentially.  I enjoyed his thoughtful and low-key approach.

The event was a success with around 800 people in attendance.  They provided two hot lunches and a hot breakfast as part of the event.  The part I did not like was that neither day were full days.  They were only partial days.  However, the 2-day event was only $299 which was a bargain for me especially since I did not have to travel as I normally do.

As the Leadership Forum ended, an announcement was made that Colin Powell would head next year’s line-up.  Colin Powell is an amazing role model, a tremendous thinker, and diplomat.  I will definitely be there for next year’s event.

Several weeks passed and I have observed from afar how the group has progressed. I am pleased to say that even without my or Wes Weaver’s guidance or direction, they have maintained the energy and enthusiasm to move forward together.

Clearly the structure and format has changed under Tony’s leadership. He has brought a new tone and energy to the group. Whereas I led with a “strong hand” and singular mandate, Tony brings a consensus-building, democratic sensibility to the group. It allows the members to participate more in the leadership of the group.

Having seen positive results under Tony’s leadership, I agreed to support Tony from afar. I have no desire to actively manage or lead the group but I am interested in seeing the group flourish and grow. To that end, I have formally supported Tony’s efforts to continue and grow the group.

I will assist in bringing awareness and publicity to the group through my websites. I will also assist in bringing credibility and education to the group by making my published materials to the membership at a discounted price.

I firmly believe that the strength of a group comes from the strength of the leadership. There is another group that regularly meets in Columbus, GA. I do not believe in its leadership nor do I believe in its effectiveness. And so, while I respect the membership and their efforts, I cannot endorse them.

I am a person who believes you should be discriminating who you accept as a member into a group. You are judged by your achievements and performance, not simply having money and being interested.

As long as Tony and I continue to be aligned in the mission, I will continue to support the ongoing efforts of The Investors Roundtable of Columbus-GA.

Essentially, the students learned a lot and I believe everyone was a bit sad that this has come to an end.  However, everyone understood that all things (even good things) must come to an end.

With this ending comes an unexpected new beginning.  Plans are under way to re-launch a modified version of The Investors Roundtable in Colorado Springs!  I anticipate the first meeting/seminar will take place during the first week of December 2007.  An official announcement will come later.

“The Investors Roundtable” will go dormant for the rest of 2007 and very likely into mid-2008.  I may hold informal private meetings that will not be open to the public.  After that, I am not sure what will happen.  I do feel certain that “The Investors Roundtable” concept will be revived at a later date but will be structured and priced differently than it has been.

This decision was made for a couple of reasons.  One, the current group of beginning students have had “enough training” and it is time for them to make deals happen.  Second, I needed to free up some of my time and responsibilities as I try to finish up various projects I want completed in 2007 and lay the groundwork for 2008.

I am currently kicking around the idea of releasing and editing the videos on DVD format as every session has been recorded since we began.

Tony, Wes, and I jointly hosted and presented to the group in a lively, interactive, and fast-paced session.  Many times, I could not tell the how the audience responded.  They were very quiet and their facial expressions a bit neutral.  It appeared they were concentrating and thinking but I simply could not tell if they like what they were hearing.

Tony gave me some feedback afterwards.  To my relief, Tony said the group seemed to enjoy the session.  Now that we have completed it, it is uncertain what happens now.  I believe some of them will attend an Investors Roundtable meeting to see what we do.

But for now, I will let Tony ponder on what will happen to this experimental group.

It appears persistence and momentum does pay off.  WRBL News 3 finally paid attention to the Cobra Collection scam story on June 14, 2007.  However, they called it the “Cobra Collection Controversy“.  Boy, is that an understatement.  I liked WTVM’s title much better because it was more bold but also accurate.  In their broadcasts, they titled it a “business scam” and “collection scam”.

I don’t really know how the process of getting a local story on-air at all.  I have managed to stumble my way through the process a few times but it has always been a chaotic process.  But I am happy Janice Park of WRBL finally caught wind of it and decided to move on it.

She said my email sounded like I was angry with them (WRBL).  Actually, I was more frustrated because I didn’t understand why I got a poor response.  I thought there was so much put together and the client accounts of $6 million would be large enough.

I was thinking to myself, does Cobra Collections have have to blow up a building or the client accounts to reach $10 million to make the news?  If it wasn’t going to be a good story, why not? I simply wanted to know.

Anyhow, after scrambling around making calls, I provided Janice Park a list of people who would appear on camera to talk.  Steve Klemetti of Central Print & Signs and Nancy Wilhite of Dr. Jay Brodwyn’s office were both willing to help the cause.  I was grateful and they did a fantastic job.

In my interview with WRBL, I attempted to be concise.  As always, it was interesting to see what they would choose to air.  I looked like hell after standing in the sun sweating while talking to the cameraman.  But we finally came into my air-conditioned private office and knocked out the interview.

The June 14, 6pm airing was nice clocking at nearly 3 minutes, however the 11pm airing was a bit more disappointing.  Nevertheless, it was far more than we were getting before.  You could see my website CobraCollectionScam.com in the news story.

I asked Janice Park to be straight with me after I thanked her.  I said if this piece was done and did not warrant an update, I would not supply her any new information.  I had said the same thing to Zaneta Lowe of WTVM.  Fortunately, both reporters were open to updates.  So, for now, I have a direct line and email to the two reporters if there are any significant developments.

If any of you want to see the WRBL news story, you can see the video on WRBL.com and CobraCollectionScam.com.

The idea for this experimental session was born from a discussion Tony and I had after I had attended one of his Introductory meetings.  I found the session interesting and enlightening.  However, I also found that were opportunities to advance the level of information and opportunities for the Primerica representatives.  These Primerica “reps” already have some level of success and I thought it might be interesting to see how they responded to the portfolio-building ideas and concepts that Wes and I practice in real life which Tony is now learning.

Because Tony and I are big believers of collaboration and we believe that “small ventures lead to bigger ventures”, we both decided this might be fun to try. 

I have heard of Primerica for years and never really learned much about it.  However, my relationship with Tony has warmed me up to the company.  It appears to be a reputable organization unlike many network marketing organizations I have seen.  The fact Primerica appears to be tied to Citigroup is certainly not a bad thing.

The question of “How will Primerica representatives respond to the idea of real estate portfolio-building?” will soon be answered.  I am looking forward to presenting my material in my “direct and real” style to an entirely new audience.

Tony, the forward-thinking and optimistic fellow he is, is already priming me up for the possibility of a follow-up session!  I told him that we would see how it goes!

Zaneta Lowe has quickly followed up on the heels of her June 1, 2007 story on Janice Ledden and the Cobra Collections story by doing a revisit and expansion of the original story.

In today’s story, Zaneta Lowe interviewed a previous landlord of Cobra Collections.  Additionally, she recapped the previous story while introducing my newest website, CobraCollectionScam.com.  You can view the news clip on that site.

CobraCollectionScam.com continues to grow with the surge of new reports and information coming in.  The stories has helped trigger 3 ex-employees to read the website and come forward.

Zaneta has once again done a great service to the local business community.

The onslaught of information being submitted for CobraCollectionScam.com has taken a significant amount of my time this past week.

I obviously am not required to volunteer my time to sort, organize, and report the new Cobra Collection Agency and Janice Ledden information being submitted to me.  However, I also realize very few people have the flexibility of time, the skills, the means, and the internal fortitude to commit to this course of action.

For years, I have lived and worked in Columbus, GA relatively anonymously.  And now, I find myself in a more visible position in the local area.  Not to mislead anyone to think that I am “famous” locally, but I have met and interacted with more new local people this past week than I have in 3-4 years time!

I think (and hope) I will soon hit a stopping point where I do not have to continually update information.  I believe I have captured most of the important background information but new information and stories could be submitted.

The upside to all of this is that I do not think my time is being wasted.  This new website has shot to the first page within Google on various search names and phrases within a few days.  Obviously, this blog has gathered a lot more local interest than it ever has before.

Sure, I don’t mind being better known but for leading the charge on scam-busting?  That will be an interesting title to add to my resume.