August: then (2019), now (2020), and later (2021)
What a difference a year makes.
This is a phrase a number of us are familiar with. And yes, I can attest to that as I get ready to turn the personal page. This time last year, I was preparing to cover the season opener between Utah State, led by 2020 1st round draft pick Jordan Love, and my alma mater, Wake Forest (click HERE to read the article). Wake would win the game as they picked Love 3 times, and en route to an 8-5 season and their 4th bowl game in a row, 11 of the Demon Deacons' players would either get drafted or sign free agent deals with NFL teams.
That was not the only sports story covered. After wrapping up with minor league baseball a few days prior, it would be the start of covering Atlanta Gladiators' hockey games (click HERE to check out an article). The hard hitting action of the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League Team) affiliate of the Boston Bruins is an engaging sport and time, including the pre/in/post game coverage of a team that was making their move for the playoffs.
Other media events covered included being a correspondent for the big parade in Philadelphia in November (where I was able to ride around and get it, so click HERE to view my ride through the parade), women's football (click HERE for the article), and of course, my television show in tandem with Status Network (click HERE to subscribe) in bringing great people across entertainment, business, community, and more to screens big and small.
On the education end, we still pushed forward with the schools and teams worked with, especially with their ACT and SAT prep, along with individual tutoring and coaching sessions. And in August and February on the writing end, in addition to our editing services (as we edited multiple books by some truly good authors and people), we spent time in the studio creating two audiobooks from scratch (click HERE and HERE to learn more).
And then came March. The game "done" changed thanks to the pandemic.
Book festival season is on hold. In-person education work is limited. And yes, there were some tense times on this end.
However, you can't stay stuck there, and neither did we.
On the writing end, we completed our 3rd audiobook (click HERE for more details), and a seed that was planted when I attended my high school class reunion (which I almost did not attend) came to fruition with my 3rd book, nothing Minor (click HERE to find out more), which has some key contributions from EmoryRose Photography. We are currently editing multiple books by some more good authors, and in tandem with Celebrity Source Tyressa Ty, the #allabouttheauthors series (every 2nd and 4th Sunday at 3pm EST) is a way for us and our peers (fellow authors) to share their work and reach out to multiple reading audiences.
And of course, thank you to all the media outlets for covering our work.
Thanks to Zoom, we're doing virtual tutoring and coaching, ranging from ACT/SAT prep to working with elementary students (along with middle and high school students).
Our show, The Conversation Corner, has brought in candidates for public office (locally to the US Senate), along with other guests across the board (and reach out to us to be a sponsor). And on the press/media end, community advocate Kechia Hardeman is among the people we are working with, let alone covering events which let people know that socially, we have work to do, but there's reason to be encouraged.
Yes, it's different from what I surely thought a few months ago.
However, during the now normal, it means we take precautions, make adjustments, add to our toolbox, and know that with planning, persistence, patience, perseverance, and a little prayer (ok, a LOT of prayer), positive and powerful things can be done.
If all else fails and is forgotten, remain grounded and stay the course.
And now, time to sit back, celebrate another personal year, and be it slow or swift, remain focused on positive movement, thinking, and energy resulting in success for those we work with along with those we're about to work with.
Let's get to it.
