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Big Ups Jelani…
Posted by KPope
Jelani Kelly, a 23 year old black professional pilot from California, founded a private jet service company named APEX Flight Management .
In recent weeks he has launched his marketing campaign to introduce his services to the masses.
Jelani describes his company as:
“A full service aircraft charter brokerage for clients who are looking to enjoy the luxury, security and convenience of private jet travel. We not only handle flight logistics, but we can arrange private ground transportation and five star catering.”
Good luck brother and Congrats! For more information on APEX, services, etc., please click the link above.
Young Professional Spotlight: Randal Pinkett
Posted by Brian
Dr. Randal Pinkett has established himself as an entrepreneur, speaker, author, scholar and community servant. He is the Co-Founder, Chariman and CEO of BCT Partners, a multimillion dollar management, technology and policy consulting firm based in Newark, NJ. BCT Partners works with corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the areas of housing and community development, economic development, human services, nonprofit and community technology, healthcare and education. A partial list of BCT’s clients includes: Johnson & Johnson, Ford Foundation, Pfizer, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hewlett-Packard, Annie E. Casey Foundation and Microsoft.
Young Professional Spotlight: Jerome Boykin
Posted by Brian
23-year-old Jerome Boykin was entering grad school in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina sent him, jobless and aimless, to his parents’ house in Houma, Louisiana.
To get him off the couch, Jerome’s father took him to watch a mall parking lot being cleaned and suggested it might be a profitable business. Boykin now keeps lots tidy in eight parishes, and his company brings in half a million dollars a year. He does pull all-nighters; that’s when the lots are swept.
In Houma, there was only one guy cleaning parking lots, for 10, 15, 20 years. He had a monopoly. My daddy found out about it from a friend of his. He tried to bring me to the water but he couldn’t make me drink.
I talked to the store manager at Wal-Mart. He told me that he was unsatisfied with the guy that was cleaning his parking lot and told me how much he was paying him. I couldn’t believe it: It was between $3,200 and $3,800 a month for just that one store. The light bulb blew up in my head. I was, like, “I’m sold.” The manager said, basically, “If you buy a sweeper truck, then I will give you the contract.”
We didn’t know where to get the truck. We didn’t know nothing. We just knew we had to get into the business. I got on the Internet and did some research on sweeper trucks. I found a dealer in Alabama and asked him a bunch of questions. Within 30 days, I got a truck. The truck cost about $75,000.
I have nine Wal-Marts now. I do nine or 10 parking lots myself every night. I have two sweeper trucks. The first will be paid off by the end of this summer. I’m about to buy another truck next month. When I started cleaning for Victor, I cleaned that Wal-Mart so good that other people started noticing. And he started spreading the word. I don’t have my company name on any of my trucks; I don’t advertise. My company grows by word of mouth.
Plenty of Young Black Professionals doing it big and making a difference and we want to cover them here. Send profiles yp@openentrance.com and a picture with it helps.
Young Professional Spotlight: Dionne Mack-Harvin
Posted by Rod
“An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success,” says Stephen Covey, Author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. From Librarian to the first African American woman Executive Director of the Brooklyn Public Library (the fifth largest library system in the nation), Dionne Mack-Harvin brings undeniable authentication to those words.
Ms. Mack-Harvin began her employ with the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) in 1996 as a Librarian in the Crown Heights Branch. From there, she went on to become Branch Manager-Supervising Librarian of the Marcy Branch, then Regional Librarian in charge of 24 neighborhood libraries, and later, through her hard work and perseverance, Ms. Mack-Harvin became Director of the Central Library, being charged with administration of a $5 million budget and staff of 122 people.
Mack-Harvin becomes first female African-American Director of
For more on this story click here.
Young Professional Spotlight: Jade Simmons
Posted by Brian
Decided to focus a post on people that are putting it down, but not yet the Diddy’s and Jay-Z’s of the world.
Jade Simmons, 29, is a pianist that has performed as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician and her performances have been broadcast on PBS and National Public Radio affiliates. She recently became the first ever New Music, New Places Fellow for the esteemed Concert Artists Guild organization.
She speaks on numerous topics of social concern as founder of the Where Do You Stand?! speaking series and has appeared on a variety of radio and television programs where she has spoken on topics ranging from the arts to provocative issues such as youth suicide prevention.
Jade was Miss Illinois and 1st-runner up at the 2000 Miss America Pageant where she performed Chopin’s Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.10 No.4 live and before a television audience of millions. Jade is currently touring, to see some of her schedule go here.
You can here some of her work on her Myspace page.
