Non-Profit Founder Offers Tips for Raising Kids to Succeed

Welfare may seem like a charitable measure for struggling families. But it's a self-perpetuating trap when it becomes the only way of life parents know how to teach their children, who then know nothing else to teach their own children, says Virgil Brannon, founder of the non-profit I Am Vision Inc.

"Living on entitlements becomes a way of life for recipients when it's handed down from one generation to the next because the family loses any tools it might have once had to forge a life based on self-discipline, achievement and challenging," says Brannon, author of Democratic Coma (www.DemocraticComa.com).

"It's no different from the child who grow up being given material thing he wants, along with excessive praise that's not deserved. One child may be from a poor family and the other from an affluent family, but both are at risk for growing up without the skills necessary for success."

Brannon's non-profit organization mentors disadvantaged children, helping them develop the values, understanding and knowledge they need to be motivated and equipped to succeed. He has found that coaching children to manage their lives as they would a business helps them not only develop good habits and skills, it also teaches them some essential business lessons:

•  Your life is your business: Our business is how we act, speak, the way we dress, how we treat ourselves and how we treat others. Like any other business, it is expected to grow and prosper and to do that, we must invest in it. Part of that is feeding the mind with the information needed to make good choices.

•  The people you meet and the friends you make are your clientele: Treat all people with the respect you would any customer or potential customer. Our relationships can elevate us if people feel their treated fairly, honestly and with respect.

•  The more you provide or produce, the more you advance: Business involves providing a service or product. Business people do not care about excuses; they care about what you have to offer them. It doesn't matter where you come from or what color you are, if you have something they need - and a reputation for integrity -- they will come to you for it.

• Your appearance means everything: You must look the part to get the part. The secret is to look as though you already have it to obtain what you want.

Parents should teach their children to be business-like and to think like a professional, Brannon says.

"That includes giving them the best education possible, including learning at home about history, civic duty and different cultures," Brannon says. "In business, people are expected to display good manners and to communicate with others, from a firm handshake to looking others in the eye and speaking clearly and correctly.

"That is the most important investment we can make."

About Virgil Brannon

Virgil Brannon is a private investigator and the founder of I Am Vision Inc., a non-profit program that embraces and empowers youth with academic and leadership challenges. His goal is to promote the personal growth of socio-economically disadvantaged youth and their families by encouraging their dreams and providing members with a roadmap for success. Brannon attended Shepherd's Care Bible College and received his master's and doctoral degrees in ministry religious counseling.

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Three Iowa City-based filmmakers are bringing Hollywood star power to their newest independent film project. "The Formula," starring Brandon Baker, Reginald VelJohnson and Sasha Jackson, has wrapped principal photography and is currently in post-production with a hopeful Iowa premiere of December '12 - January '13. Backrow Studios will be releasing the company's new website and trailer for "The Formula" on Tuesday, September 18^th.

Backrow Studios' production team Ravi Patel, Tim Nash, and Joe Clarke bring the story of two engineers who invent a mathematical formula for seducing women with "The Formula." The film stars Brandon Baker, best known for his work in Disney movies such as "Johnny Tsunami," "The Jungle Book," "Johnny Kapahala: Back on Board," as well as the NBC sitcom "One World." Also starring in the film is Reginald VelJohnson, a veteran actor best known for his roles in the classic action picture, "Die Hard," and as Carl Winslow in the long running family sitcom, "Family Matters." Rounding out the cast is Sasha Jackson, who played the lead role of "Dana" in 2011's "Blue Crush: Wild Coast." She also plays the recurring character of "Kylie" on the popular TV series, "One Tree Hill."

"The Formula" is the story of Quinn (Baker) and Graham (Schminke), two engineering students who discover a mathematical formula to pick up women with ease. Quinn is a hopeless romantic who falls head over heels for a young student teacher. Graham is a chauvinistic womanizer who thinks the key to finding the woman of his dreams is by wooing as many as possible. As "The Formula" follows Quinn and Graham from one date to the next, they discover that there is no shortcut to finding true love.

"The Formula" is the third film produced by Backrow Studios, LLC. Its first feature length film "Kung Fu Graffiti" signed a contract for sales and distribution with Los Angeles -based production house Entertainment 7. The company's second feature "The Wedge" is hitting the film festival circuit, and landed three awards including Best Professional Feature at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Makers Festival on April '12. Go to www.backrowstudios.com to see the trailer for "The Formula" and other films and digital shorts by Joe Clarke.

"The Formula" was written by Joe Clarke and directed by Joe Clarke and Thomas Beecher. For media inquiries and interview requests, please contact producer Tim Nash at 319-531-6324.

DAVENPORT, IA - On September 14, 2012, David Kent Minor, age 38, and Kadar Ameer Wall, age 37, both from Davenport, Iowa were sentenced by United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Minor was sentenced to 140 months imprisonment and ordered to serve five years supervised release. Wall was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment and ordered to serve five years supervised release. Both were also ordered to pay $100 towards the Crime Victims Fund. Three other co-defendants, Charles Bateman,
Charles Harrington, Roscoe Lee, have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

From approximately October 2007 until June 2011, Alon Shorter, Dale Shorter, Roscoe Lee, Charles Bateman, Charles Harrington, David Minor and Kadar Wall conspired to distribute in excess of 2.8 kilograms of cocaine base. This investigation included two controlled purchases of crack cocaine directly from co-defendant, Dale Shorter. The investigation also included five controlled purchases of crack from Harrington and Bateman, who distributed crack cocaine provided by Dale and Alon Shorter. Minor and Wall also agreed to distribute crack cocaine for Dale and Alon Shorter at multiple locations in Davenport, including an apartment on Heatherton Drive.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds at their weekly news conference today revealed further details of the Governor's Bullying Prevention Summit this fall, including the line-up of speakers and a web site at which to register.

 

The summit will be held on Nov. 27, at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines. Registration opens today on the website: https://preventbullying.iowa.gov/

 

 

The agenda for the Governor Bullying Prevention Summit is as follows:

 

8:30 a.m.- 10 a.m. Registration

10 a.m.- 10:05 a.m. Welcome - The Honorable Kim Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor of Iowa

10:05-10:15 a.m. Opening Remarks – The Honorable Terry Branstad, Governor of Iowa

10:15 a.m.-10:45 a.m.     "It Takes a Community" Paul Gausman, Superintendent of the Sioux City School District

11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Breakout Sessions

 

Breakout Session One

"24/7 Bullying in the Digital Age"

Marsali Hancock, CEO and president of the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, will speak and moderate a panel discussion, followed by questions from the audience

 

Panelists:

• Ben Barry, Guidance Counselor at Carlisle Middle School
• Elizabeth Englander, Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State University
• Matt Shankles, Student at Linn-Mar High School, Marion
• · Jenny Pfeifer, College student from Simpson College, Indianola 

Breakout Session Two

"Schools in the Legal Twilight Zone"

Tom Wheeler, Member of Frost Brown Todd LLC, Indianapolis, IN, and Past Chair of the National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys, will speak and moderate a panel discussion, followed by questions from the audience

 

Panelists:

• Drew Bracken, Attorney at Ahlers & Cooney PC, Des Moines
• Judy Bradshaw, Des Moines Chief of Police
• Matt Carver, Legal Services Director for School Administrators of Iowa
• Frank LoMonte, Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center, Arlington, VA
• Beth Townsend, Director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission

 

12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Box lunch available

12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. "Queen Bees and Wannabes: Teaching Social Competency" Rosalind Wiseman, Parenting and Bullying Expert whose book became the basis for the movie "Mean Girls"

1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Breakout Sessions

 

Breakout Session One

"Sick from Bullying"

Diana Schroeder, Director of Bullying Prevention Initiatives for the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Windber Research Institute in Windber, PA, will speak and moderate a panel discussion, followed by questions from the audience

 

Panelists:

• Cheryll Jones, Health Services Coordinator and Director of Policy and Advocacy for Child Health Specialty Clinics, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
• Dr. Jennifer Groos, pediatrician at Blank Children's Hospital, Des Moines, and vice president of the Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Laura Jackson, Executive Vice President, Health Care Strategy and Policy, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Des Moines
• Sharon Guthrie, Executive Director of the Iowa School Nurse Organization
• Michael Peters, Great Prairie Area Education Agency school social worker, Ottuwma

 

Breakout Session Two

"The Culture of Mean"

Barbara Coloroso, author of "The Bullied, the Bully and the Bystander," will speak and moderate a panel discussion, followed by questions from the audience

 

Panelists:

• Ella Daft, Student at Newton Senior High School
• Lori Eastwood, Counselor with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Decorah Office
• Dave Kramer, Executive Director of the Iowa Pupil Transportation Association
• Michelle Lane, Parent Advocate for Youngsters with Disabilities, Waterloo
• Mike Schlesinger, Publisher of the Marshalltown Times-Republican

 

2:45 to 3:45 p.m. "Leadership Makes the Difference"

Conference-wide discussion moderated by Iowa Public Television's Dean Borg, followed by questions from the audience

 

Panelists:

• Penny Bisignano, Consultant for Bullying Prevention and Intervention, Iowa Department of Education
• Arthur Tate, Superintendent of the Davenport School District
• Joel Pedersen, Superintendent of the Cardinal School District, Eldon
• Emily Domayer, Student at Morningside College, Sioux City
• Timothy Minard, Senior Vice President, U.S. Distribution, the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines
• Nate Monson, Executive Director of Iowa Safe Schools, Des Moines
• Nishan Singh, Student at Iowa State University, Ames

 

3:45 to 4 p.m. Final remarks by Jason Glass, Iowa Department of Education Director

 

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