The next Atlanta Community Breakfast is on July 21, 2010.  Our speaker will be Brent Darnell (www.BrentDarnell.com)

Are you ready to move your company to the next level?
Through this program, Brent teaches the foundation of Emotional Intelligence. He examines its
importance, how it is measured, how it can be improved, the tie in to health and wellness, and the powerful results it will have on
your company.

About Brent Darnell
Brent Darnell is a mechanical engineer and a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology.  After working in the construction industry for twenty years, he started his own leadership development company.  He is a leading authority on emotional intelligence and a pioneer in its use in the construction industry. Over the pat 10 years Brent has helped to improve the social competence and leadership skills of thousands of people in over 70 companies in more than 20 countries around the world.  His book, The People-Profit Connection, How Emotional Intelligence Can Maximize People Skills & Maximize Your Profits, has been read by over fifteen thousand people around the world.  He believes in a holistic approach to personal development, creating fundamental and lasting change. He practices yoga and is an avid reader.  He lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife Andrea and their dog Ginger.

Shane Thompson

In 2001, Shane and his wife Stacey took a leap of faith.  The Thompson family was riding around one Sunday afternoon when they passed an old, beat-up roadside shack for sale. Shane fantasized aloud about abandoning corporate America – at the time he had a very successful career in the cardiac medical field and Stacey, a Radiology Technologist- and opening a family restaurant.  Without skipping a beat, Stacey said let’s do it!  Armed with a pipe dream, his granddad’s (aka Big Dad) BBQ sauce recipe and no restaurant experience, Shane and Stacey opened Shane’s Rib Shack in 2002, on Highway 155 in McDonough, GA.

Fast forward a couple of years, a handshake and a few signatures and this tin roof favorite with the cult-like following became a national franchise system.  Involved every step of the way, Shane and Stacey Thompson became national restaurateurs, traveling the country serving as brand ambassadors and leaders for customers and franchisees alike.  Shane currently serves as the President of Shane’s Rib Shack where he is responsible for overseeing the brand and its day-to-day operations.  Stacey is in charge of the newly formed “Shack Crew.” The Shack Crew provides local store marketing support and front-of-house training to Shane’s more than 65 locations across the country.  Stacey and the Shack Crew spend time working with franchisees to develop skills that will help them thrive as Shane’s Rib Shack operators within the local communities.

Shane and Stacey reside in McDonough, Ga. with their four children, where the family still runs the original shack off GA Highway 155.

Lori Ruff

May 19, 2010 – Atlanta Community Breakfast Welcomes Lori Ruff – The LinkedIn DIVA! Come learn from one of the world’s foremost Social Media Experts!

Lori Ruff is the Chief Learning Officer for Integrated Alliances. She is a recognized authority in the global world of Social Media and LinkedIn training. Lori is a sought-after speaker, trainer and online business reputation consultant who delivers with poise and high energy. Lori has delivered over 2,000 hours of training and presentations.
She has been known as a connector of people to opportunities for over many years and she uses social networking to enhance those skills. Lori has tremendous Social Media credentials – With 15,000+ LinkedIn connections, she ranks as the #9 most connected woman on LinkedIn. In addition, @LoriRuff has 40,000+ Twitter followers and her pseudonym @LinkedInTrainer has over 22,000 followers. Because of the global reach of her writing and consulting work, she boasts more than 3,500 Facebook friends worldwide.

Lori is highly active and well versed in the strategic use of many of the other social media platforms and social media tools. She currently works with a select group of clients as a social media coach, consultant, speaker and trainer. She is Co-Author of Rock the World with your Online Presence (http://www.RockTheWorldBook.com), working on two additional books and is on the global editorial team of an Executive MBA Textbook “Management through Crowd Sourcing”.

Her credentials and experience is available on her LinkedIn Professional Profile at http://www.LoriRuff.com.

Mark Walker

Why do two sales people with similar experience and backgrounds have such different selling results?

One frequently outsells the other by 50 to 100%.  We will discuss this at our table groups, then take a look at what separates the high achievers from the others.

We’ll also talk about ways to help people grow to reach higher levels of achievement.

Join us on January 20, 2010 7:30 a.m. as the Atlanta Community Breakfast launches a new year by tackling the tough issues of faith/work balance.

Not long ago I was in a staff meeting and felt we needed to pray Рbut is that appropriate?  Have you ever faced a similar situation?  While we can and do pray all the time, can we engage others on our team in this activity?  How would you handle this situation?  If we impose prayer on those who do not wish to pray, are we driving them from the Kingdom?  Where do we draw the line between work and faith (or do we)?

In our new format we’ll break into small groups and discuss situations we face every day as Christians and how we can exercise our faith in all facets of our lives.

Since January 1993, Bob has been President and Chief Executive Officer of Christian City. Founded in 1962 with one cottage for abused and abandoned children, Christian City is now a conglomerate of nine, 501 C 3, not-for-profit corporations providing independent retirement housing, and a broad range of health and social services for children, the aged and infirm. Christian City has grown from it original 50 acres to its present 500-acre complex housing over 1,000 permanent residents and supported by 500 employees and hundreds of volunteers.

Bob came to Christian City following fifteen years of public service, most of which was with the U.S. Department of Justice, and fifteen years as a commercial realtor where he received numerous industry awards including Top Agent for RE/MAX of Georgia.

A native Georgian, Bob received his formal education in business management at Georgia State University. He is a Graduate of the Georgia Realtor’s Institute and, as a Certified Commercial Investment Member of the National Realtor’s Marketing Institute, he was one of only three Atlanta members of the National Real Estate Exchange. He is a member of Vistage, an international organization of chief executives, The Southern Institute for Ethics in Business, The American and Georgia Associations of Homes and Services for the Aging, Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children, Georgia Health Care Association, and the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

Throughout his career, Bob has been active in the not-for-profit community as a member and often chairman of various boards overseeing such activities as a home for unwed mothers, a private placement adoption agency, a support program for the families of prisoners, a family enrichment program through churches and public schools, and a faith-based organization designed to help resolve disputes as an alternative to the courts. In addition, he has been a church administrator, a consultant to various religious and educational institutions, and an active leader in faith based and civic organizations. He is past president of both parent/teachers associations and the Smoke Rise Community Association. He is a member of Mount Carmel Christian Church where he has served as Bible School teacher, trustee and elder.

Bob has been married to Judi for 46 years and, together, they have two grown sons.