The LJS Connection Bureau

Your Home for World Class Personalities

Entertainment

This beautiful, soulful, funky diva has all the ingredients of a superstar. AVIS HARRELL has truly paid her dues in the music industry and is willing to pay more, because it is completely unacceptable for the world not to know what a magnificent comet that is passing through this Universe! She has much to offer in the way of versatility, stemming from her childhood musical upbringing. AVIS comes from a very musical family. She has studied with the best of the best and has been inspired by her Mother, Father, Sisters, Mia and Ayana, Brother Tim and many professionals.  Seeking apprenticeship with more established artists, AVIS did back up work, tours, and recordings with Ray Charles and Wayne Newton. [Show Profile]

Jimmy Castor...legendary songwriter,  singer, saxophonist, percussionist, producer, arranger, humorist …alias The E-Man, has earned his well deserved reputation as “THE EVERYTHING MAN.”

Before even finishing junior high school, Jimmy Castor had written his first million seller for Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers called, “I Promise To Remember.” While furthering his education at New York City’s prestigious High School of Music & Art and later attending City College, Jimmy pursued his musical career by assembling a band of his own playing an assortment of major New York nightspots. He then wrote his second million seller, “Hey Leroy Your Mama’s Calling You,” on Mercury Records, through which a new flashy and spirited performer was introduced to the public – JIMMY CASTOR. Still early into his career, Castor befriended such music greats as Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Tito Puente and King Curtis to name only a handful. [Show Profile]

Marion J. Caffey's 3 Mo’ Divas:  A New Concert Smashing Musical Barriers is a thrilling evening of entertainment wrapped around a unique and proven concept!  Seeing 3 Mo' Divas for the first time is an exhilarating experience!  The three women are all classically trained vocalists and all possessing Class, Sass & Style.  The discovery of their phenomenal vocal versatility is nothing short of astonishing!  The concert delivers some stupefying, genre jumping feats that continue to amaze audiences: Including OPERA, BROADWAY, MOVIES, JAZZ, BLUES, SOUL, R&B, ROCK & ROLL, SPIRITUALS & GOSPEL. [Show Profile]

This Bay Area native of Puerto-Rican ancestry, FEMI, has established her musical presence with powerfully sweet vocals, passionately poetic song writing and sultry production. Her music has been defined as neo-funk & soul but its roots go much deeper with an infusion of afro-latin/carribean rhythms, jazz, hip-hop, salsa and rock, blending perfectly to create a unique sound all her own. As one of the pioneers of the Oakland underground music scene, FEMI has laid the groundwork as an emerging artist, captivating the heart, soul and ears of those in the Oakland art community and beyond. Some of her most recent accomplishments have been working with and/or opening for national & international artists like the Black Eye Peas, A-plus (Hieroglyphics Records), Ledisi (Verve Records), Goapele (Skyblaze Records), Mystic, Ron Trent (Prescription Records), Martin Luther & Les Nubians. [Show Profile]

Inspiration and Motivation

 Janis F. Kearney, publisher, author, educator and literacy advocate, is one of 19 children born to Arkansas Delta Sharecroppers. She served as Personal Diarist to President William Jefferson Clinton for five years, from 1995-2001. Her job entailed chronicling the Clinton presidency on a day to day basis - the first time in history a President had made such an appointment. She continued in that role throughout the six-month tenure of President Clinton’s transition office, which ended June, 2001.
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Jacqueline Wales is the author of The Fearless Factor: Living Your Best Life Now! a guide to creating the life you want. And When The Crow Sings, a semi-autobiographical novel about three generations of women in Jacqueline’s family who struggled with children born outside of marriage until one woman had the courage to break the chains and give her daughter up for adoption. Jacqueline says “in my family, no one was expected to succeed, and there was no encouragement to dream big dreams because you would ultimately be disappointed. I never agreed with that philosophy.”

More than 40 years later, the native of Edinburgh, Scotland (who now lives in New York) is the author of five books, has been a singer/songwriter and a lay-cantor, holds a black belt in karate and is the mother of four great people. She now uses her past experiences to help others overcome their own obstacles and create the life they want in her groundbreaking program The Fearless Factor. "It's never too late to pursue your passions. I started writing at the age of 40 and earned my black belt in karate at the age of 49. I’m just getting started!”
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Linda Blackman, CSP, a motivator extraordinaire, helps CEO’s deliver messages more powerfully to employees, stock-holders and the media. Linda combines this expertise with her background as a coast-to-coast television news anchor, reporter and talk show host – to show audiences how to be brilliantly effective when presenting, handling the press and dealing with a crisis. Linda began her career at WILX-TV in Lansing, Michigan as a reporter and news anchor. Her expertise gained her positions at KCRA- TV/Sacramento, WNAC-TV/Boston, KYW- TV/Philadelphia, and at Warner Communications' QUBE CABLE/Pittsburgh. Linda's incisive consumer and economic reporting in Philadelphia earned her the prestigious Mayoral Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism. Linda, who is recognized as a communications expert and author, teaches the secrets of body language.
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Finance

William R. Patterson is CEO of The Baron Solution Group. He is also Chairman and CEO of The Warcoffer Capital Group, LLC ("WCG"). He leads WCG's corporate strategy and development consulting efforts including portfolio management, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. William is ranked as the #1 Business Motivational Speaker by Ranking.com. He is a three-time award-winning lecturer and national best-selling author who uses his trademark approach, THE BARON SOLUTION™, to coach, train, and motivate small business owners, executives, sales professionals, and investors. He has shared the stage with billionaires, presidential candidates, and Fortune 100 CEOs.
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Host of the popular "Finance: According to Your Faith" on The Word Network, Deena Marie Carr earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Northwestern University, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. In addition, Ms. Carr has spent most of the past twenty years working in financial services in the areas of: institutional money management, mergers and acquisitions, personal insurance and investments, and employee benefits and business planning. Currently, as a partner in a major management consulting firm, Ms. Carr services clients in financial services and insurance.
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Creative

Tracey Moore Marable arrived in New York City to pursue a directing career, but she was suddenly sidetracked by the many opportunities that she discovered. He first venture was CEO of "The Jokes On You!" Inc., an ensemble of actors who performed practical jokes for hire. Through the success of her company, she developed lasting relationships with various actors who were anxious to be a part of this wacky production. [Show Profile]
 

Marion J. Caffey - Born in Hempstead, Texas and raised in Gainesville, Florida, Marion is the son of two generations of proud Florida educators. Marion began his career as a song and dance man in New York City in 1981, performing on Broadway and around the world. In 1997, he made a career choice to dedicate his time and talent to conception, directing and writing. 3 Mo’ Divas (A Musical Celebration of Class, Sass & Style) is his fifth successful commercial production; following Blackbirds of Broadway, Cookin’ at the Cookery, Street Corner Symphony and Three Mo’ Tenors.
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Culture and Society

A highly respected minister and community activist in Summit, IL, Elder Wheeler Parker is a living witness to one of the most sensational cases in the American Civil Rights movement.

In 1955 Parker, with his cousin, fourteen year old Emmett Till, traveled from Chicago to Mississippi for a summer vacation to visit their grandfather, Moses Wright. While in Mississippi, Emmett Till was murdered after speaking to a white woman in a store, an event that changed Wheeler Parker's life forever.
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