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Ron Pecora, Senior VP Marketing of Waste Pro USA, encourages us to surround ourselves with people smarter than us and pay close attention. Be persistent, versatile & meticulous. It’s easy to come up with plans and ideas. What makes the difference is the ability to execute them.

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Ron Pecora has more than 35 years of professional experience in marketing management, relationship marketing, public relations, advertising, and community engagement. At Waste Pro, he manages corporate-wide internal and external communications, advertising, sponsorships, internet sales, collateral literature development, and business development programs.

Prior to joining Waste Pro, Ron owned a marketing communications (advertising and public relations) company for twenty years and, early in his career was the marketing director for a consulting engineering firm with fifty offices throughout the Southeast. He has been active in the Central Florida community chairing the boards of many social service organizations and served as a Commissioner of the Orlando Housing Authority.

Ron is a 1968 graduate of the University of Florida, College of Journalism and served as an information spokesperson in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War era.

Waste Pro is a corporation headquartered in Longwood, Florida. It is one of this country’s fastest growing solid waste collection, recycling, processing, and disposal companies, managed by the southeastern United States’ most experienced team of waste professionals.

In the summer of 2008 Waste Pro acquired American Recycling with operations in Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama. Contingent with this acquisition Waste Pro was awarded a long term contract for the Atlanta Hartsfield airport for all of its recycling and waste collection. As Waste Pro has grown and evolved, it has pro-actively entered the GREEN age by purchasing environmentally conscious vehicles to help reduce the carbon footprint, creating LEED certified pick up for our customers, and powering our facilities with solar collectors. In 2011, Waste Pro announced the transition of our diesel powered fleet to natural gas with and investment of $100 million.

Today, Waste Pro offers services from 75 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi. Waste Pro holds 115 exclusive City and County franchises and is currently contracted to provide solid waste and recycling services to over 1.5 million residential customers and over 35,000 businesses.

Join Ron Pecora on Inside the Winner’s Circle as he discusses Waste Pro’s humble beginnings & its commitment to giving the best people, the best equipment & the best service.

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Isha Edwards, founder of EPiC Measures LLC, talks about empowerment. Effectively analyze your strengths and weaknesses and surround yourself with people who can help you overcome your weaknesses at the same time learn from your strengths.

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Isha Edwards is an idea catalyst for individuals and organizations across 12 industries including music, media, fashion, film, academia, professional services, nonprofit, and small business administration. Through EPiC Measures, Isha provides brand-driven marketing consulting and business development services. Her skills and experience in business management, business education, and marketing communications enables her to implement a practical, comprehensive approach to establishing, operating, and growing a business.

Branding is an essential part of marketing a good or service and even a person. Long before becoming a household name was the “in” thing to aspire to, companies took pride in their products, stellar customer service was a vital part of the brand experience and so were value-added incentives. Today’s economic malaise has led to a series of shortcuts for product brands—all in the name of savings and continued profits. People brands are now more popular than product brands yet struggle to maintain the key ingredient required to market effectively. What is the business of branding? Join Isha on Inside the Winner’s Circle to find out!

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Elizabeth “BJ” Mathis, Chairman of the Henry County Board of Commissioners, urges everyone to be tenacious. Do not be limited by what others say you can or cannot do. Do not be afraid to take risks and reach for your dreams. Rise up to your potential and accomplish everything you set your mind to.

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Now in her third year as Chairman, Elizabeth “BJ” Mathis began her service as Henry County District Two Commissioner in January of 2005.  After serving in various ministry positions for 14 years, and working with numerous faith-based agencies, she felt politics was simply another way to serve the people in the community.

Under her leadership, an Economic Development Plan has been completed for Henry County that will help guide economic development decisions for years to come.  Acknowledging the link between education and economic development, Chairman Mathis is now working to assist the school system in raising the graduation rate, encourage higher education, and make Henry County a Work-Ready Certified Community.

Henry County Commission Chairman Elizabeth ‘B.J.’ Mathis is one of the five elected officials selected to serve on the Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable Executive Committee for the proposed regional SPLOST program.  The Executive Committee will be responsible for creating a draft investment list of projects that is both fiscally constrained by the projected revenue of the ten-year sales tax and deliverable within that ten year time frame.  Her service on this committee will ensure Henry County and the entire south metro has a strong voice in the process.

With her strong focus on families and conservation, Chairman Mathis more than doubled the park land in District 2 while preserving an historic civil war battlefield that had been slated for a large development. Her desire to provide unique places for citizens to gather led one of District 2’s parks, North Mt. Carmel Park, to be ranked #5 among all parks in metro Atlanta by accessatlanta.com. In fact, the oversized playground surrounded by a kid-sized “highway” for bikes and trikes coupled with the only dog park in the County has made that park one of the most popular destinations for Henry County’s families.  She has also led the fight against gang involvement among Henry County’s youth.

For all these reasons and more, Chairman Mathis was one of 45 women from Clayton and Henry counties to receive Senator Gail Buckner’s Legacy of Leadership Award for their contributions to their communities.

She and her husband John, a retired police Lieutenant with the City of Atlanta, have been married 28 years and have three children and three grandchildren.

In this episode, BJ Mathis joins Inside the Winner’s Circle to talk about Henry County’s economic development, green initiatives & how it’s poised on the brink of greatness.

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Al Simon, President of Simon Inc., an authorized licensee of Sandler Training, reminds us that the focus in sales should always be on the prospect and not the salesperson. Once you create a genuine connection with the prospect, getting the sale comes easily.

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Al Simon is President of Simon Inc., a sales performance training and coaching firm with training facilities in Norcross and Marietta, and is an authorized licensee of Sandler Training. Mr. Simon specializes in training and coaching business professionals to be effective and consistent with their selling strategies and tactics. He is the author of the “Simon Says” weekly sales tip and numerous articles for various publications, websites and blogs.

A 1977 graduate of Georgia Tech, Mr. Simon has 34 years of direct sales experience using many different sales strategies and approaches. Consistently the top performer in sales volume in his corporate career before starting Simon Inc., he has mastered the art of selling in both simple and complex sales cycles. Mr. Simon has also successfully managed salespeople in highly competitive, high-risk situations.

Sandler Training is the world leader in sales performance training and coaching, sales management training and coaching, and customer service training, with over 280 locations in 29 countries. Sandler-trained professionals have developed their skills and acumen in the world of person-to-person deal-making. They are productive and effective is keeping control of the sales deal while keeping and growing the trust level with their prospects and clients.

Join Al Simon & the Inside the Winner’s Circle team as they discuss Sandler Training, Simon Inc. and the unconventional yet effective concepts and approaches  they bring to sales.

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Dr. Marsha Firestone, Founder and President of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), encourages us to be patient in starting a business. Take it one day at a time and keep going amidst tough times. Believe that you are strong enough to make the venture a success.

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Dr. Marsha Firestone is a recognized expert in entrepreneurship and the Founder and President of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), which began in 1997. WPO is a peer advisory organization for women who own multimillion dollar businesses and has 95 Chapters on four continents. She is also the Founder and President of the Women Presidents’ Educational Organization, dedicated to increasing access to business opportunities for women’s business enterprises (WBEs).

Dr. Firestone is also the author of The Busy Woman’s Guide to Successful Self-Employment and has published research in business and educational journals on adult learning theory, nonverbal communication, and managerial competency.  She also serves the worldwide women’s business community as a frequent guest speaker.

Dr. Firestone shares her professional knowledge by serving on numerous boards and advisory councils including: the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), Enterprising Women Advisory Board, Forbes Executive Women’s Board, Newcomb College Institute Director’s Advisory Council, the International Women’s Forum, and The Key Bank Women’s Advisory Council.  She also serves as a special advisor to the Chair of the National Women’s Business Council Board. Dr. Firestone earned a Master’s degree in Communication from Teacher’s College of New York and a Ph.D. in Communication from Columbia University, where Margaret Mead sat on her dissertation committee.

In this episode, Dr. Firestone joins Inside the Winner’s Circle to tell us more about the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), from its early conception to what it is now, the premier global peer advisory organization connecting top women entrepreneurs who own multi-million dollar companies. She also discusses the model on which the organization was based upon as well as the dynamics within the group itself.