Clint was ambitious, focused and methodical. Already a success in the pharma sales world, he took a bet on four guys starting a consulting firm and hopped over to the entrepreneurial space becoming the VP of Subrogation at Innovative Recovery Services, Inc. (IRSI).

Cheryl Read is one of those force of nature women you don’t realize you need in your life until you have experienced her power, reach, influence and understanding. She’s extremely opinionated and generally right. She has an instinct and intuition that surpasses most – understanding issues and getting to the bottom-line of a conversation, reading the room, being prepared, developing thud-factor reports to be ultra prepared for a corner office meeting and dressing to the nines.

Reggie made it ok to be smart, he fostered it and held extremely challenging, higher standards and held interesting and thoughtful conversations with me…he was ridiculously smart and I think he was impressed (maybe proud) of the fact that I could keep up.

Ms. Woods is petite, kind and about her business…in high school, it would always tickle me to see her move into her ‘professional sista-girl’ when you were not doing what you were supposed to be doing. As a guidance counselor at an inner-city high school, she saw the lives of her students from all walks of life, but she always treated us like we were her own. She saw the good in each one of us…and wouldn’t let us forget it.

Grandmother Campbelle was a formidable woman. Living to be 108, she saw and lived through a lot…including the opportunity to attend her 80th class reunion at Clark Atlanta University. She knew the power of the press, pen, and amplification before any of those phrases were a big deal, and she was a publicist before her time.

Wash Rose, a former slave, left South Carolina and moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1866 after buying his freedom. In Yazoo, he started a blacksmith shop in a two-story brick building around 1870 and was regarded as a very successful, respected and regarded businessman with an intense level of attention to detail.

Francis was “Uncle Francis” for years. I learned so many pearls of knowledge from him like, ‘listen intently and talk less, you’ll learn where the bodies (projects/details/info) are buried’ and that it was always better to ‘beat ‘em up in the back room Perri, but be their friend and protect them in public.’