This year the event will feature food from ten of the North Shore’s finest restaurants and caterers. The raffle baskets and silent auction items are even more extravagant and individually raffled baskets means the chances of getting the basket you want are higher.

The Annual Taste of Success is always an exquisite and eclectic evening of networking, socializing and food tasting with some of the North Shore’s finest business men and women.

Ticket are: $55 if purchased early before May 7th, or $65 up until the event.

If you have a raffle item you would like to donate (a great way to advertise your business), please contact Kerri L. Moses, CFP® at: kerri@cf-network.net

For more information, please contact Ipswich Clambake Company’s Functions Coordinator at: ipswichclambake@verizon.net

Start Time: 18:00
Date: 2009-05-21
End Time: 21:00

The panelists are Massachusetts State Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante, City of Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk, Manchester Essex Regional School District Superintendent Marcia Adams O’Neil, Rockport Board of Selectmen Chair Sarah Wilkinson, and moderator Val Gilman of the Gloucester School Committee. Each will tell life stories illustrating how they got where they are today. A question and answer period will follow their presentations.

Take advantage of this opportunity; hear inspiring stories, network with the Businesswomen in a relaxing atmosphere, and enjoy an assortment hors d’oeuvre and beverages.

Admission is $25.

For more information, or to reserve tickets, please contact the Chamber at: (978) 283-1601, or email: info@capeannchamber.com

Start Time: 17:30
Date: 2009-03-04
End Time: 19:30

Explore the evolution of women in the business and economic worlds – from invisible – to visible – to the actual control of wealth. Chart the progress and influence women have on the world today, and illuminate the economic power of women of the future.

For more information, or to register online, please visit: www.mvvf.org

Date: 2009-04-06

The meeting will involve opportunities to share a :60 second commercial and trade business cards with all. A great networking opportunity with referrals, leads, and more.

Tickets are $25.

For more information or to register for this event, please visit: www.northshorechamber.org

Start Time: 08:00
Date: 2009-03-20
End Time: 09:30

The seminar is designed to help those Chamber members who are taking part in the Home & Garden Show on March 28th-29th at the Gloucester High School Field House. During the interactive session guests will learn how to leverage time, money, and energy by having a specific plan and specific goals. They will also learn how to engage prospects and get them to talk and open-up, and how to separate their own business from the competition.

Space for the seminar is limited, and registration is recommended.

For reserve a space, or for more information, please contact the Cape Ann Chamber at: (978) 283-1601, email: info@capeannchamber.com, or visit: www.CapeAnnChamber.com

Start Time: 16:30
Date: 2009-03-09
End Time: 18:30

Barry Finegold at the Andover Fire Department

In my early twenties, i was willing, if not eager, to take risks. I maxed out credit cards so I could run for public office. I started a law firm with nothing but my degree and my partner. I bought my first piece of real estate because I always liked playing Monopoly, and I approached a gorgeous redhead in a crowded bar because I knew I had a hunch about this one. I took risks partly because I was young and partly because the economy of the times allowed me to.

Times have changed. I’ll admit, the current state of our economy makes me a little anxious. I’m a small business owner and husband to a small business owner. I’m a property owner and a dad who’s already thinking about how to pay for college for my two girls who haven’t even hit elementary school.

Our economy has changed and the evidence is crystal clear on the North Shore. But transition is a powerful force and the evolution is often painful as jobs move from one sector to another. We’ve been here before. Where the fishing in Gloucester and manufacturing industries in Lynn once dominated, we now see bio and high-tech firms, life science, and alternative energy research facilities sprouting along our coastal communities. Further inland, Andover’s Smith and Nephew continues to grow where corporate giant Lucent once reigned supreme, and upon entering the North Shore from the south, Nuvera Fuel Cells is poised to try on the shoes of the late Wang and Digital.

The way I see it, our national economy is in the midst of a transition more than it is on a decline. And while the kinks that are inherent in change are causing some pressure in the
Commonwealth and across the nation as a whole, I steadfastly remain optimistic. Tax revenues and unemployment levels will be challenged in the coming months in our region, but will not be nearly as damaging as they are in places like Michigan and the manufacturing Midwest. Massachusetts is hard at work to find ways to alleviate the effects of the downturn by investing long-term in job growth. But most of all, we’ve got our feet dipped in several different pools. Our interests here in the Commonwealth are diversified and that’s a good thing. In fact, our state earned top honors in the Beacon Hill Institute’s Eighth Annual Competitiveness Report, which measures all states’ abilities to attract and retain businesses while maintaining a high standard of living for all residents. The report, released in mid-November 2008, found that Massachusetts ranked first in the percentage of the population with health insurance, the ratio of physicians per 100,000 residents, the percentage of students proficient in math, patents per 100,000 residents, and science and engineering graduate students per 100,000 residents. The report also points to Massachusetts’ high total of grants from the National Institute of Health and prominent high-tech workforce as reasons Massachusetts moved from second to first in this survey.

As a property owner of both residential and commercial real estate, I’ve been sweating jelly beans with the rest you. However, when I walk around Newburyport, for example, I can’t help but marvel at what developer Steve Karp has bought and the transformations he’s already begun to initiate in the town. Some of the best real estate deals he made that actually positioned him to continue to buy today, were struck during our last economic downturn. Where there is change, there is often opportunity, and on the North Shore, we have the ingenuity to realize both. Karp recently spoke to a group of commercial real estate brokers and one great line rang true. “Many of you have told me that you wished you would have bought what I did in the early ’90s,” he said. “Well, here’s your chance.”

There are ways in which we can help ourselves, as well, especially when it comes energy. As a nation, we cannot continue to consume 21 million barrels of crude oil per day. With the atmospheric rise in gas prices during the summer of 2008 and the heightened focus on the environment and global warming, hybrid vehicles are becoming less of a novelty and more of a necessity. In order to keep up, US-based automakers have a choice to make: offer a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle or risk obscurity. The Finegold family now drives one hybrid car and we’re in the market for another. It is important that we lead by example here on the North Shore and ride out the aches and pains of transitioning into the green technology of tomorrow. Companies like All-Pro Solar and Olympic Engineering of Haverhill, as well as Powerhouse Enterprises of Lawrence and many other green technology companies in our region, are helping to ease this transition and helping us to become a region of job growth for years to come.

Besides the lawyer, businessman, and family hats, there is one more that I wear. I am a State Representative. In turn, each day as I balance meeting payroll at the law firm, shuffling the kids to and from activities, and being sufficiently present for my wife, who keeps us all together, I’m also working to help balance the Commonwealth’s past with what I deem to be a very exciting future. In the Legislature, we have taken steps to guard against downturns and stabilize our economy. The Commonwealth had built up a balance of $2.25 billion in the stabilization fund, which is over a half-billion more than the state had when we entered the last economic downturn. In 2006, the Legislature passed an economic stimulus package designed to make investments to promote job creation, economic stability, and competitiveness in the state’s economy, and we took steps to help cities and towns save money by allowing municipalities to join state’s group insurance commission and enter the state’s pension system. On October 3, 2008, Business Week Magazine’s “States with the Worst Budget Shortfalls” listed twenty states. Massachusetts was not one of them. While we may not have seen the worst of this economic downturn, precautionary measures like those above will help to ensure both a softer economic blow and a swift recovery for our state.

Like many of you, my 401(k) has slipped down to what feels like a 201(k). Those old credit cards from my youth are finally paid off, but my family has cut back on some of our extras and I’m cooking dinner a lot more. While we may have changed the way we do things in the Finegold household, I can’t help but ask myself, “When it’s for the betterment of the economy, the environment, and the future for my kids, what’s so wrong with change?” So, now as I fill up at the pump, I remember the transitions that I’ve bounced back from, that our country and our state have bounced back from. I remember even before I honed my business chops and entered public service, what it was like to be a kid in the ’70s, waiting in the back of my parents’ Plymouth Duster, wondering if we’d ever make it to the front of the gas line. A few decades later, I can say that after taking a few risks, we did make it. We lived to work another day and the sun rose again. And in a few decades more, that same sun might just power my daughter’s first car, on her way to work on the North Shore. —Barry Finegold

Latitude CEO John Grossi

By Barbara Bellesi
Photography by Christopher Churchill

But after the tight neon spandex fad was over, we had more blood flowing to our brains and realized there was a lot more to fitness than simply heaving barbells and bouncing around.

John Grossi and Ralph Bagarella knew that well before the rest of us caught on. As owners of Latitude Sports Clubs, they have worked to transform fitness or “preventative maintenance” as Grossi likes to call it—so that everyone can find a way to get fit and stay that way.

Grossi was an electrician by trade with a penchant for hockey and golf, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch for him to make the transition to building fitness facilities. He and his brother, John, opened the first Gold’s Gym east of the Mississippi River in Everett in 1983. Over the next decade, the Grossi brothers opened Gold’s Gyms in Braintree, Methuen, Salisbury, and Portsmouth, NH.

Bagarella, however, was a flight attendant for 26 years, 6 of which he served as union president for flight attendants at United Airlines, and was a member of Gold’s Gym in Everett when he met Grossi. Bagarella wanted a job that kept him on the ground, and so he became Grossi’s business partner in expanding the Gold’s franchise. Grossi notes that Bagarella’s customer service experience in the air was vital to growing their business, adding the personal touch that is not always associated with a franchise establishment.

In addition to expanding the business to include locations in Andover, Bradford, and Salisbury, Grossi and Bagarella bought back the Methuen branch of Gold’s, which had been doing poorly. “Membership trends were changing,” says Bagarella, noting that people were looking for pools, tennis, basketball, and other fitness options that most gyms weren’t providing. The decision was made to build a new 60,000 squarefoot facility in Methuen, which opened in August of 2002. People started noticing, however, that Grossi and Bagarella’s Gold’s Gyms were different from others within the franchise. Gold’s Gym, as its logo of a man lifting a barbell will attest, enjoyed a reputation of being a place where men could go and lift weights. But Grossi and Bagarella’s gyms had pools, basketball courts, running tracks, and fitness classesóthings that attracted not only women, but anyone who had been previously intimidated by the idea of joining a gym. Grossi still believed in the Gold’s brand that he grew on the North Shore, but the vision he and Bagarella developed for fitness was taking them farther away from that brand.

Grossi at the Latitude club in Methuen.

The franchise agreement with Gold’s expired in 2004, after which Gold’s attempted renegotiations, a buyout, and ultimately a lawsuit – the national chain didn’t want to let go of Grossi and Bagarella’s clubs with their incredible reputation. But by 2006, Grossi’s and Bagarella’s minds were made up and so Latitude Sports Clubs were born.

Breaking free from Goldís was a shrewd business decision that did not come without some qualms on Grossi’s part. “It was like a divorce for me,” Grossi says. The way Marketing Director Dave DeRosa saw it, it was the best option they had. “We were bringing the [Gold's] name up while other places would bring the name down,” DeRosa says. “We were constantly apologizing for the brand. Changing the name was the best thing we ever did.”

Before dropping the name, DeRosa says that they “couldn’t just go where we wanted” to expand the club’s offerings. Now with a brand new name, there was a great opportunity to fulfill Grossi and Bagarella’s vision of having the best club on the North Shore, if not all of New England. High-end fitness facilities are usually associated with New York and Los Angeles, but Grossi, Bagarella, and JORADA, Inc. – the partnership that owns the Andover, Bradford, and Methuen locations – have worked to bring that exclusive club atmosphere to the North Shore, and at a much more affordable cost.

“We try to provide The Capital Grille service at Outback prices,” quips DeRosa. Business partners Bob and Mark DeNisco have joined with Latitude to build a new location in Peabody scheduled to open in the spring of 2009 and one that promises to stand out of the crowd. The Peabody megaplex, as well as the other Latitude locations, was designed by Montclair, New Jersey architect Rudy Fabiano. Grossi and Bagarella call it “the ultimate fitness experience” but DeRosa has an even better name for it. “It’s the Disney experience,” he says with a laugh.

DeRosa’s not really exaggerating, either. The amenities at the four-floor, 130,000-square foot megaplex will make members feel giddy, as though they might not want to ever leave. Members will have access to an indoor track, a pool and sundeck, executive locker rooms, tennis and racquetball courts, a regulation basketball court, a womenís only workout room, studios for kinesis, spinning, and pilates, sauna, steam room, hot tub, and a juice bar and cafÈónot to mention the four-floor rock climbing wall. Members of other clubs need not succumb to fitness envy – membership includes access to all five Latitude locations on the North Shore: Andover, Bradford, Methuen, Salisbury, and the new mega facility in Peabody.

Clubs with the caliber of Latitude have a funny way of scaring off some people who haven’t yet reached their fitness goals, but thanks to Latitude’s own “Biggest Loser” program, modeled after the NBC show of the same name, more and more people understand the importance of fitness. To date, over 3,000 pounds have been lost by participating members.

In addition to keeping people fit, Latitude Sports Clubs also give back to the community. The highly successful Spinathon raised $100,000 in just 24 hours for the V Cancer Foundation, named in honor of Jimmy Valdano, the award-winning sports commentator. Latitude’s Spinathon also raised more than $60,000 for various school districts throughout the North Shore, helping kids build strong fitness skills and habits from an early age. America is one of the most overweight nations in the country, and to help kids get in shape early and for the rest of their lives, Latitude has included a children’s party room at its new Peabody location, where it offers fitness-centered entertainment. Now birthday boys and girls can have their cake and burn off the calories, too. The company has opened a kiosk at the Northshore Mall for new memberships while the new Peabody location is being built. The new building will reach 70 feet into the sky, providing a visual reminder to those on the North Shore that fitness should be a part of their daily lives.

THE PORTFOLIO

Founded: 2006
Number of Clubs: 4 (soon to be 5 with new Peabody facility)
Number of Employees: 300 (soon to be 420 with new Peabody facility)
Number of Members: 19,000
Cost of Membership: Adult fees start at $39 per month, and access is granted to all 5 locations.
Services: Racquetball, basketball, walleyball, swimming pool, indoor track, Pilates, yoga, kickboxing, spinning, tennis, kinesis wall, cardio and free weights area, women’s-only center, locker rooms, sauna, steam room, spa, child care, protein juice bar, pro shop, personal and group training programs, and much more.
New Peabody Location: 4 floors, 130,000 square feet, $20 million to build
Contact: 888-552-8488, latitudesportsclubs.com

By Beth Daigle
Photographs by Robert Boyd
Illustration by Joe Mckendry

Greener Acres: Wind and solar power, recycling, adding plants and trees for storm water management, hybrid vehicles, and fluorescent light bulbs are just a few of the eco-friendly options for the home.

Remember when conserving energy meant turning out the lights? The trend of “going green” has given new meaning to the idea of doing your part. But do you know all that it encompasses? Businesses, schools, and residents throughout the North Shore are making impressive strides in the effort to protect the environment and achieve sustainability with long-term savings—and they’re doing it without staging protests or sit-ins.

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”
For most people, a natural first step in protecting the environment is to take part in town-wide recycling programs. Improved curbside pick-up initiatives have made it easier than ever to reduce household waste and jump on the recycling bandwagon.

According to John Wood, facility manager of Waste Management Recycle America in Lawrence, “the move to singlestream recycling [where participants combine glass, metals, paper, etc. into one receptacle] has increased volume an average of 30 percent.” Recycle America works with North Shore towns like Ipswich and Gloucester, encouraging customers to “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Wood says that diverting recyclable material from a landfill can save businesses and households thousands of dollars and in some cases, rebates are paid for the commodities delivered.

E-cycling is one of Recycle America’s latest initiatives. The plan takes e-scrap, or discarded computers, monitors, cell phones, video games, etc., and diverts them from landfills. This, in turn, minimizes the potential leaching of toxic metals, like lead, cadmium, and mercury into nearby ecosystems. In partnership with companies like LG Electronics and Sony, Recycle America has created programs that take back as much as 10 million pounds of e-waste per outreach. Taking advantage of these programs will be of critical importance as technology upgrades result in more and more e-scrap.

Green Energy
Beyond recycling and waste reduction lies the commitment to reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints. Companies like Nexamp of North Andover have developed turnkey solutions to assist their customers with renewable energy, sustainable solutions, and energy management. Nexamp has successfully turned its own workplace into a “beyond zero net-energy” environment which produces more energy than it consumes. Free home assessments determine the energy efficient options that are feasible for potential residential customers. Solar photovoltaics (PV), solar thermal, wind, and geothermal options are just some of the opportunities available from Nexamp that can help homeowners reduce their carbon emissions and embrace an eco-friendly lifestyle.

“Our mission is to help our customers become their own utility,” Nexamp President Daniel Leary explains, “to make clean energy simple and profitable.” Additionally, Leary reports that, “typical residential customers with solar PV projects have about a nine percent annualized return on their investment.” Customers might also benefit from a 50 percent reduction in their electric bill.

From the Ground Up

Building Block: The exterior of the new Brooks Science Building.Other north shore institutions, like Brooks School in North Andover, have made large contributions to the “go green” cause. The recent opening of a 29,000 square foot science building, using green construction practices, resulted in a reduced carbon footprint along with the potential for a 35 percent reduction in energy expenditures. The building took five years to meticulously plan and about 14 months to build. Details down to the terrazzo floor made from recycled glass, seashells, and stone, as well as ceiling tiles recycled from wood and paper products, boasted aesthetic appeal while serving their environmentally conscious purpose.

Brian Palm, Chair of Science Department at Brooks, explains that in an effort to create a physical and mental connection between the inside and outside, the space was designed around a 150-year old oak tree which stands outside the second floor sitting area. In addition, interior benches and signage were constructed from walnut trees milled directly from the site. The science building is automatically monitored and regulated based on outside temperatures to ensure that the in-floor radiant heating and natural gas-fired heating system are operating at a minimal level. “The building operates at about 33-35 percent less energy usage than a normal building of the same size,” Palm says. “We are lighting the building with about .75 watts per square foot. A good green building will be 1 watt per square foot.”

The science building’s “living roof ” hosts 45 native plants and acts as a storm water management system. What would otherwise simply be a typical asphalt roof is transformed into a biologically diverse habitat that encourages life and growth. The vantage point from the roof reveals a man-made, wet-dry garden that handles run-off that eventually filters through the living roof. Both the living roof and the garden provide function as well as unique scenic value.

Eco-Lifestyle
Businesses and schools across the North Shore are not alone in their desire to promote change. Residents are embracing the ideology as well, driven by concerns surrounding rising energy costs, foreign fuel dependency, natural resource scarcity, and global warming. Movement towards the purchase of hybrid vehicles and organic products are on the rise along with the desire for green renovations and green design. Green design products and materials including paint, organic fabrics, and sustainable furniture have all become more readily available to customers looking for alternative, zero VOC (volatile organic compounds) options.

Circle Furniture of Danvers is committed to preservation and conservation. The company is a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council, a non-profit coalition of industry players created to promote sustainable practices among manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. Circle’s raw materials are selected from forests that are managed according to strict environmental standards. “Even our floor coverings and hi-tech, media storage pieces come from factories that are friendly to Mother Earth,” says Circle Senior Design Consultant Christine Carine Cellucci.

Little Things Matter
While the possibilities may seem overwhelming, taking small steps in the right direction is also worthwhile. Simple changes like replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient fluorescents, drinking from reusable water bottles, turning the water off when brushing teeth, unplugging appliances and electronics, and returning your plastic grocery bags to the store are all important ways to preserve our earth’s natural resources and save, both environmentally and financially. Education is also paramount. Conditioning our youth to make good recycling decisions and environmentally correct choices will naturally progress us to an improved environmental state for the future.

Lindblad is a vice president in the bank’s corporate real estate group. In his nine years there, he has led design and construction projects for the bank’s headquarters at Ten Post Office Square in Boston, as well as its offices in the Back Bay and Hingham. His most recent assignment has been to design the space for the bank’s new office in Beverly.

In many companies, a corporate decorator simply chooses paintings and photos similar to what hangs in the halls at the head office. But Lindblad, who has degrees in architectural history and art history, as well as a keen interest in historic preservation, wanted to do much more than that. He set out to research, identify, and buy items with direct ties to the area. Each piece needed to have a clear reason for being part of the ensemble. And the décor as a whole had to connect with the bank’s headquarters in Boston.

To accomplish this, Lindblad spent months researching the history of Beverly. He spent hours at the Beverly Public Library, at local museums, in antique shops, and online. He bargained with art dealers and local antique shops. All the hard work finally paid off in an office filled with paintings, artifacts, sculptures, and even a hand-crafted bronze spiral staircase in the foyer.

The office’s rich travertine floors, mahogany furnishings, grand staircase, and oriental silk tapestries connect it to the bank’s Post Office Square headquarters. But what truly distinguishes Lindblad’s project are the works of art that promote the rich history of the very ground on which the Beverly office stands, at 57 Enon St. (Route 1A). Through his research, Lindblad learned about a grant of land from King Charles I of England of 1,000 acres parceled out equally to five local planters in 1635. It is these five men for whom the bank’s major spaces are named – the Conant Gallery, the Woodbury Room, the Trask Room, the Balch Lounge for employees, and the Palfrey Room.

Tim carefully planned every purchase and determined where each painting would be hung. Every piece has a sense of place and purpose. The first floor of the bank is representative of Beverly in the 17th and 18th centuries. The second floor reflects 19th- and 20th-century Beverly. The first-floor conference rooms feature a painting of Washington’s fleet – “The Wolf Pack” – as well as other works of art that hark back to Beverly’s early maritime history. They also include botanical prints of sugar cane and nutmeg to typify Beverly’s extensive trade with the East and West Indies, China, Russia, and Spain.

The focal point of the foyer of the Beverly office is a large antique floor globe, chosen as a reminder of trade between Beverly and the larger world. Overhead, about a dozen botanical prints hang from bronze rods. The rods had been sitting in storage at the Post Office Square headquarters, where they had been part of the original heating system. They turned out to be just right for a new life in Beverly. Lindblad knew when he saw them that they would have a useful purpose someday. As usual, his foresight proved right.

”I started singing when I was a kid in grammar school in Salem,” says the lifelong North Shore resident. “In my younger days, I was on WESX with Otis Blanchard and the Magic of Youth.”

From high school choir to the New England Conservatory to the chorus at Temple Beth El (now Congregation Shirat Hayam) in Swampscott to VA hospitals and churches to the North Shore Music Theater and North Shore Spirit baseball games, Segal has sung in all sorts of places. Her singing has even taken her from the North Shore to the northern shore of the Mediterranean.

”I had a solo when Paul Madore’s chorale performed in Italy,” Segal recalls. “We did a worldwide broadcast with Pope John Paul II.”

Closer to home, Segal has had many important performances as well.

”I got to sing with my mother at her 90th birthday at the Jewish Rehabilitation Center in Swampscott,” Segal says, citing the site of one of her longest-running gigs.

And yet, despite her many performances, Segal has been able to hold down another gig for quite some time.

“I work for attorney Loring Paul Fluke,” Segal says. “I have been with him for 39 years.”

That means she’s been involved in law almost as long as she has been involved in music.

”I started in law when I was a senior in high school,” Segal recalls. “The guidance counselor told me he had a job for me. It sounded exciting, so I tried it.”

Segal began her legal career with Al Bacharowski, but left his office when her children were born. Even during this time, however, she stayed involved in the legal world.

”I started helping out some of my friends, filling in when their secretaries were ill,” Segal explains. “Then I got the job with Loring, and I am still there.”

Though Fluke is known for his solid civil litigation and estate work, Segal appreciates him most for the work he has allowed her to do, both in and out of the office.

”He has always allowed me to take care of my kids, and he supports my singing career,” Segal says. “In fact, he hired me to sing when his parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary!”

Such solid backing from her boss has made it easier for Segal to pursue her musical dreams. And she works hard to give him all the support she can as well.

”I try not to book things during the work week,” she says. “I perform mostly in the evenings and on weekends. But Loring is very flexible and very understanding.”

You might say that they make quite a duet. And sometimes, they do!

”When we are in the office, we have our own repertoire,” Segal says. “Something will come up that will remind us of a song, and we will sing.”

Apparently, the halls of justice have good acoustics.

When not singing with her employer, Segal can often be found performing with the other man in her life, her husband Charles.

”Charles has also been in entertainment,” Segal explains, “and we have done some shows together.”

Having recently celebrated their own 30th anniversary, the Segals have a built-in audience comprised of seven children, 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

”They are our life,” Segal says. “And it is a pretty full life!”

With the support of family, colleagues, and friends, Segal has been able to share both her legal and musical skills with people all over the world. And yet she takes neither for granted.

”I have been fortunate enough to have my work during the day and to sing at other times,” Segal says. “It has taught me to live every day to the fullest, because life is not a dress rehearsal.”

Age: 57
Gig 1: City planner
Gig 2: Boston public school teacherÂ
Gig 3: Marketing consultant at Sadow Marketng Group, LLC (www.sadowmarketing.com )

”I took an undergraduate course [at UMass-Amherst] with the president of the school, who had been a former undersecretary of H.U.D.,” recalls Sadow, who received his master’s in city and regional planning in 1973, “and it compelled me. I liked the idea of it being people-oriented and allowing me to help communities.”

After graduating, Sadow went on to work with the Office of the Mayor in New York City and on community development projects in Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia.Sadow says the disciplines developed as a community planner continue to serve him in his current pursuits.

”It helps me as I map out projects and deal with people,” he says, “especially people in difficult situations.”

In 1979, Sadow became “disenchanted” with the state of the urban planning world. Eager to continue to hone his sales and people skills, he moved into marketing management. For the next 12 years, Sadow worked for such companies as Massachusetts-based Sheaffer Eaton and Ohio companies like Mead Corporation and Globe-Weis, where he served as a product manager for lines with annual sales of over $40 million. Sadow also helped Heinz develop the squeezable ketchup bottle.

“That was a fun project,” he recalls.

In 1991, Sadow went out on his own, opening Sadow Marketing Group. As the head of the company, Sadow has been able to “foster meaningful and successful products” while remaining true to his commitment to social justice and environmental protection.

“I have this nice little hidden agenda that I call ‘social enterprise,’” Sadow says. “Basically, I try not to work with companies who are so anti-environmentalism that they allow or encourage non-sustainable activities. But if a company sees the advantages of such practices, I will work with them.”

During a period when finding such clients proved difficult, Sadow changed gears again, becoming certified in elementary education. In 1997, Sadow went to work in the Boston public school system.

“Many people had told me that they felt I’d be a good teacher because of my patience and my ability to explain things clearly,” says the guest lecturer and adjunct professor at Babson College, Bentley College, and Harvard University. “That experience also helps me with my current work because it helps me be creative in how I express myself and explain the options and alternatives to clients and potential clients.”

From start-ups to fully realized companies, Sadow Marketing Group helps individuals and businesses at every level reach their professional, personal, and ethical goals while Sadow continues to do the same.

”I call my company Sadow Marketing Group,” Sadow explains, “because I work and form strategic alliances with people in other fields in order to give my clients what they need.”

A member of the North Shore Business Forum, Sadow now runs his company from a Lynn loft in what was once a shoe factory that goes back to 1853.

”It works for me because I am very much into pride of craftsmanship,” he says, “just as the shoemakers were.”

Perhaps harking back to his days as a city planner, Sadow is also a big proponent of the revitalization of Lynn and its surrounding communities.

”As I am a bit older and a non-Yuppie, I am an atypical member of the ‘New Lynn,’” Sadow admits, “but I am still a big urban supporter.”

Whether it involves cleaning oil spills, dispensing condiments or helping youth at risk, Sadow does what he can to help bring people together and to support individuals, companies, and communities.

”I like adventure and a bit of reasonable danger, and that has allowed me to develop business plans that are different,” Sadow says. “It has been a struggle, but I put my money where my mouth is and stick to my ideals while trying to be a realist at the same time.”

On April 1, over 300 walkers from around the North Shore and as far away as Wales, MA, and Manchester, NH, came to Marblehead’s Devereaux Beach to participate in the 2006 MS LifeLines Walk. The Walk is one of 18 annual fundraising walks held throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire that are sponsored by the Central New England Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (www.msnewengland.org) to raise money to help fight Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Last year, over 5,000 walkers raised more than $1.5 million.

“People prefer the convenience and identity of a local walk,” says Central New England Chapter Director of Communications Steve Sookikian. “That’s why we do so many local walks, rather than just one big one in Boston.”

MS is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, causing highly unpredictable and often devastating symptoms that include fatigue, paralysis, and blindness. Over 400,000 people in the US have MS, and 200 new cases are diagnosed each week, most of them in women.

“Without the MS Walk,” Sookikian says, “we might as well turn back time over 50 years, when there were no medicines to treat MS, and no one knew how the disease worked, and there was no help for your needs today, and no hope for a cure tomorrow.”

Fortunately, there is the Walk and there are thousands of people who participate throughout New England, including the hundreds who gather in Marblehead.

“People who do the Walk [and] people who volunteer at the Walk,” Sookikian suggests, “they really are heroes.  They don’t have to do this.  They can stay home and leave it up to someone else.  MS Walkers are heroes because they put themselves second, and they put the cause first.”

Each year, individuals and teams come to Marblehead to walk in support of friends and relatives who may no longer be able to as a result of this debilitating disease. And though the reason for the event may not be joyous, when it is over, the walkers reconvene on the beach to celebrate their contribution to what will they hope will be a happy ending.

“MS Walkers are outstanding human beings,” Sookikian says, “because they take action today to make tomorrow better.”

And there waiting to meet these “outstanding human beings” is Louise Moore, the chef from the popular Beach-side eatery Flynnie’s (www.flynnies.com).

“I started doing this in 1992,” says Moore, who notes that she has “too many friends with MS” not to be involved in some way. A Danvers native, Moore was studying to be a high school math teacher when she got a job in a kitchen.

“I started working as a prep cook in college to pay my rent,” she recalls, “and I fell in love with it!”

Having moved to Marblehead in 1988, Moore began to work with the MS Society even before her restaurant was known as Flynnie’s.

“It will actually be 10 years in April that we are Flynnie’s,” she recalls, “but I was here when this place was called The Sand Bar and Grill.”

Fortunately, when the restaurant changed hands, new owner Jeff Flynn not only allowed Moore to continue her community-serving ways, but encouraged her.

“He gives me the creative freedom to run the place and to get involved in things like this and the Cancer Walk,” Moore says appreciatively. “Most times, he will be right next to me serving the food.”

And there is a lot to serve! From 50 gallons of soup to 50 pounds of vegetarian pasta salad and tuna and chicken salad, Moore and her team spend weeks preparing.

“The night before, I am in the kitchen for six or seven hours cutting up chicken and making salad,” Moore says. “My main contribution is time. I don’t own the restaurant, so the financial part is more the owner’s contribution.”

In addition to helping finance and serve the food, Flynn also makes sure that the walkers have places to wash up before eating. “He turns the water on and opens the bathrooms even when the restaurant we have on the beach is not open,” Moore notes, “which it is not in April.”

Moore also thanks her food purveyors and the MS Society’s army of volunteers themselves for their contributions.

“We couldn’t do it without their help,” Moore says, noting her suppliers donate as much as half of the food for the day. “It is really fun to be able to work alongside our customers!”

And the contributions do not end when the last walker finishes his meal.

“Anything we have left over goes to the local fire department and to a homeless shelter in Salem,” Moore says. “It is a feel-good day because you are helping out a lot of people.”

Another sent the tie from their deceased daughter’s bathrobe.
A third sent a ribbon with the legend “Happy Anniversary” repeated over and over.

These are just three of the hundreds of “threads” that were woven into a four- by-six-foot decorative wall hanging to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Fidelity House Human Services. Fidelity House is a Merrimack Valley nonprofit devoted to helping developmentally disabled people make a better life for themselves.

The commemorative weaving was the brainchild of Fidelity House director Yvonne M. Allard of Newburyport. Barbara Provest of Framingham designed and created the piece.

The work will hang in the reception area for all to see as they enter the headquarters of Fidelity House, at One Parker Street, Lawrence. The nonprofit serves some 600 adults and children with developmental disabilities from the Merrimack Valley, the North Shore, and Greater Boston.

“I was casting about for some way to celebrate our anniversary, something from the heart,” Allard said in an interview with Northshore. “We didn’t want to do a fundraiser. I liked the concept of the threads coming together to make a whole. Fidelity House is more than an agency. It is the people who came together with this sense of mission.”

A few months ago, Allard wrote to these special people – individuals receiving services, their families, Fidelity House employees, board and corporation members, founders, donors, colleagues, neighbors, community groups, local and state officials, anyone who has helped the agency in some way – asking them to contribute “threads” that had special significance for them.

The response was immediate. Hundreds of friends, including Rosalie Ruggiero, founder of Fidelity House, and Lillian Pease, its first director, wanted their threads to be included in the wall hanging.

Allard had a vision that the threads could be woven into a work of art, an intricate and beautiful symbol of the interdependence of everyone involved in the care of the disabled.

She set about finding the right person to create it. Her efforts led her to the venerable Weavers’ Guild of Boston and Barbara Provest, a veteran weaver.

It took Provest weeks to sort the threads and weave the pattern, using the monk’s belt technique, an old Scandinavian pattern.

“I received a huge box of threads from Yvonne,” Provest told Northshore Magazine. “I had plenty to work with. There were interesting fibers, beautiful ribbons, some metallic, even shoelaces that people donated. I even had a  necktie. They were like puzzle pieces in different colors, reds, yellow, blues, and turquoise. It was a challenge, but great fun.”

It was exacting work. Each thread had to be placed precisely.

“It all had to be coordinated. And of course I had to work on it in daylight so I could see the harmonies of color,” Provest said.

“I enjoy the fact that everyone is represented through fiber. The string and thread that they donated is the weft [the horizontal weaving]. The warp [vertical threads] is the Fidelity House colors holding it all together,” she said.

“Barbara is a gift,” Allard said. “She was as excited about the project as I am. She said that as soon as she heard about it, she started to imagine what she would do.”

Allard thinks it is appropriate that woven art represents the strength of the Lawrence-based Fidelity House. “Lawrence has a great textile history. Here on Parker Street, we are completely surrounded by the big, old textile buildings. When we started this project, we hoped to do something to commemorate the agency’s 35 years of history with the many people important to Fidelity House. We are delighted with how it turned out.”

To see the wall hanging…

…to learn more about Fidelity House Human Services, or to volunteer, call Yvonne Allard, director, at 978-685-9471, extension 121. Fidelity House, One Parker St., Lawrence, can also be reached through its website, www.fidelityhhs.org .

Fidelity House was founded in 1971 by a group of parents who wanted an alternative to state institutions for the disabled children they would someday no longer be able to care for themselves. The agency opened its first group home for women in the Tower Hill section of Lawrence in 1972 and now operates 16 fully staffed homes for small-group living for both men and women throughout the Merrimack Valley.

Men and women also live in their own apartments, with staff support.

The FHHS Children and Family Services Group serves 458 families and individuals throughout the Merrimack Valley, the North Shore, and Greater Boston.

It is funded through contracts with the Department of Mental Retardation, through the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and by private contributions.

Weavers’ Guild of Boston

Founded in 1922, the Weavers’ Guild of Boston is the oldest weavers’ guild in the United States. It meets the second Wednesday of the month from September through May (except December and January) at the Evangelical Congregational Church in Westborough. Visitors are welcome.

Call 508.870.0468. Visit www.weaversguildofboston.org or their office, library, and classroom space at 8 Church Street, Westborough.

As a mother involved with her daughters’ educations serving on Pike School’s Parents Association board and as a financial advisor to women in transition , Susan Wilson has come to know a lot of great women. During a January ’07 walk with neighbor and friend Margaret Hamilton, Susan shared a multi-dimensional vision that had been percolating. “I had been searching for a way to connect all the great women whom I knew and respected. I had visions of this exciting talent pool as a place for personal and professional growth, not to mention fun. I also wanted to have a greater purpose that went beyond the members, so successful women helping young girls in need seemed to be a perfect mission. Esperanza was a new school and they were open to so many of our ideas like Shadow Day [editor’s letter],” Susan reflected one year later. Margaret, sharing Susan’s vision, quickly created an image campaign to brand it. “Naming it was easy; it just had to be Great Women to Know,” said the independent graphic designer and GWTK c founder. “One year later Great Women To Know is a 501 (c) (6) corporation, with a full schedule of social events, relevant speakers, and hands-on opportunities for volunteering, including skills sharing and mentoring with the Esperanza girls,” Margaret said. “And we’re still looking for a few great women of different backgrounds and professions.”

Amy Moore
WTK Visionary | Certified Divorce Financial Analyst | Merrill Lynch | Burlington | Amy’s residency: Wenham

How did your professional life influence your founding vision for GWTK?
My business partner Amy Moore and I are advocates for women in transition, such as retirement, divorce and widowhood. We have found that by creating a team with specialists in different areas, such as legal and tax professionals, we can help our clients make sound decisions and achieve their financial and personal goals.

How important is it for you to influence the financial education of young girls?
I am passionate about the topic of teaching personal finance to the next generation. As a parent and as a professional, I am very concerned with kids’ attitudes about money. They need to learn the basics of budgeting, banking and goal setting at a young age. When they go off to college they are being bombarded with offers for credit cards and can get themselves into serious trouble.

Has Merrill Lynch been supportive of your efforts this past year?
Yes, Merrill Lynch provided the seed money to finance the early stages of GWTK, and has also donated generously to Esperanza Academy. How has your family been involved with this project? My husband and two daughters, Audrey and Marie, have been very supportive of my efforts this past year with GWTK. They have shared their ideas with me, helped out at the school and a few of our events. My daughters are benefiting so much just by observing these great women in action and seeing what we can accomplish together. They are inspired by all of this.

How has your family been involved with this project?
My husband and two daughters, Audrey and Marie, have been very supportive of my efforts this past year with GWTK. They have shared their ideas with me, helped out at the school and a few of our events. My daughters are benefiting so much just by observing these great women in action and seeing what we can accomplish together. They are inspired by all of this.

Margaret Hamilton
Graphic Designer, Cofounder, GWTK |
Andover

You aren’t originally from the North Shore, we can tell…
I was born in Scotland and went to college in Edinburgh, where I met my husband, who was from Ireland. After college, we moved to England, then to the U.S. in 1995 with our then family of three children.
You’ve been volunteering at Esperanza since its inception. What attracted you to the school?
It’s my belief that, besides health, education is the best gift that a child can receive. Esperanza provides opportunities for girls at all educational levels the opportunity to learn in a safe environment. There are no academic requirements to be accepted.

You are one of the founders of Great Women to Know. How does it feel one year later?
It’s been lots of fun, and it’s been more work than I ever imagined! Learning from each other and working as a group in GWTK we have been able to accomplish much more for the girls and the school than we would have individually!

Meg Rokos
Director of Sales and Marketing, Software Firm |
North Andover

Why is it so important for women to socialize and “network” with each other?
For me, connecting with other women is as important as oxygen. It has led to many breakthrough opportunities for me, like helping to start GWTK. Other women have always boosted my confidence, enabled me to test new directions, and try new skills. Having a built-in support system like GWTK counteracts the isolation of working from home.

What is special about GWTK for you?
I’m about to become an “Empty Nester” and am thinking a lot about what that transition means to me. GWTK is great sounding board for testing ideas for my “Act III.” The Esperanza girls are wonderful and a beacon of hope. My daughter and I will be teaching them to play cribbage this spring, a game I taught my own kids to reinforce their math skills.

So, what’s next for you?
I just completed a post- MBA program for women at the Tuck School at Dartmouth. Going back to school was very energizing! I’m a very creative problem solver, and I love to write. I wish there was a  ob title that captured the essence of those skills… “Director of Articulated Problem Resolution?” Small niche, I might have to go more mainstream…

Denise Bordonaro
Home Manager (and former Commercial Real Estate Attorney)
Andover

What led to your transition to being home based?
I worked for many years as a commercial real estate lawyer, first at a large Boston law firm, then at Staples’ corporate office. It was difficult to juggle the needs of work and children, and I felt it was important to be there for the after-school “debrief” with the kids. It’s become even more important as they get older! You have three boys.

Why mentor girls?
Yes, even my dog is male! I find it particularly worthwhile to mentor girls as a way to share some of my life experiences as a girl and a woman. Education is very important to me and I am very impressed by the level of commitment and success achieved at Esperanza.

What about the networking?
It is wonderful to share the bonds of being women in the workplace and the home. Regardless of whether they work or not, women still bear a larger part of the responsibility for home management. I enjoy learning how other women launched or re-launched their careers and how they manage all the other aspects of their busy lives.

Andrea Carlin VP/Portfolio Manager | Citizen’s Bank | Boston
Why Esperanza?
I was compelled by the disparate world the girls of Esperanza live in as compared to my community, and wanted to help these girls have a quality education. Every time I meet with the vibrant Esperanza girls, they are truly embracing the opportunities they have been given, and that reinforces my enthusiasm.

Has Citizens Bank been supportive of your efforts?
Citizens Bank is dedicated to giving back to our local communities. The Bank not only supports, but encourages my volunteer efforts and in particular, my role as GWTK fundraising committee chair for Esperanza Academy. Moreover, Citizens Bank has financially supported Esperanza as a “Champion in Action.” This initiative rewards non-profit organizations that work to champion change in our communities.

Why create something new when there are so many women’s networking groups out there?
GWTK is special because of the planned diversity of its membership and its singular service mission to The Esperanza Academy. Besides, what women wouldn’t want  to be a “Great Woman to Know?”

Denice Clark Ware
(“D.C.”) Director, Human Resources Business Partner- New England Regional Operations | Verizon Communications |
Andover

Why H.R.?
My path to human resources is paved with an inherent passion for all aspects of people management. Since people are the lifeblood of organizations, my work offers me the opportunity to influence corporate culture.

Is Verizon supportive of your community involvement?
Verizon not only encourages employees to volunteer, we have a foundation program that rewards the non-profit organizations in which we volunteer over 50 hours per year.

Who are you outside of “what you do for work?”
I am an avid traveler. I believe that in exploring diverse cultures, one gains humanity. There is never a moment when a new adventure isn’t planned from my own “1.000 places to see” listing.

Chery Juba
Owner, B Sporty, Promotional Logo Apparel and Products
North Andover

Why did you join Great Women to Know?
As my children grew, I found my former career as a mental health counselor to be isolating, and decided that I was up for the new challenge of becoming an entrepreneur. Networking is an important part of starting and growing a business. Great Women to Know provides that network with the added benefit of helping the girls at Esperanza.

What has the transition between your two careers been like?
Transitioning from a career in mental health to being a small business owner has been both challenging and rewarding. I’ve been able to use many of the same skills to grow a private therapy practice and my promotional apparel and product business.

Celeste Niarchos, Esq.
Family Law Attorney |
Salem

What is the most satisfying element of your career?
I co-founded HAWC, Help for Abused Women and Children in 1978. Fortunately there has been a profound change in our culture, from one in which domestic violence was accepted or trivialized, to one in which domestic violence is not tolerated.

What drew you to GWTK and Esperanza?
I am a graduate of an all girls’ high school. This experience shaped my identity and made me realize how important it is for young girls to have a single sex education, where their voices are heard consistently. When the opportunity came up for me to become involved, I was delighted.

Why is it important for women to mentor girls?
Shadow Day was such a rewarding experience—for the mentors and the girls. We were able to show the girls how rewarding a career as a lawyer can be and how we became lawyers through the help and encouragement of other lawyers. Planting an idea “seed” in the mind of a young girl is extremely powerful!

Amy T. Sollins
Domestic Relations Attorney |
Salem

How has the experience of mentoring Esperanza girls enriched your life?
The energy of the Esperanza girls is infectious. They recharge my batteries. It is powerful to think that the Esperanza girls want to emulate what I have become. If I am to be a role model, then I want to be good one!

Why is it important for women to mentor girls?
We are proof of the possibilities that lie ahead for them.

What did you get out of Shadow Day?
It made me want to be a better lawyer. As a family lawyer, I often advise people in delicate visitation and custody situations, but I rarely meet the children that my work impacts. Working with the Esperanza girls reminds me of how impressionable and vulnerable girls are and how carefully adults must treat the decisions that impact their lives.

Graduate of Lynn Classical High School Married to Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker; mother of three “healthy” girls Autumn, Sonnet and True. Was Tommy Hilfiger’s first African American model Met husband on the Boston film set of “Blown Away.” She played his girlfriend. Recently came “home” to treat girls from Girls Inc. of Lynn to an inspirational dinner and to launch her own lip gloss line, Kissable Couture, at high school friend’s boutique.

Loves it when: her kids say, “No our Mom’s not from Boston! She’s from Lynn!”

On being a celebrity: “I have fun with it and I haven’t forgotten where I come from. Sometimes someone at a party will make a big deal like `I went to school in France’ and I think, `Whatever! I’m here sipping the same champagne as you!”

Surreal moments: When Oprah or Mary J. Blige rings her on her cell phone as she’s carpooling her kids to school or soccer.

On being a “model mom” trying to blend in at a soccer game: “My kids say, `Mom, you’re not blending! You’re wearing three-inch heels and you have a film crew with a boom mic following you.’”

How she juggles being a model, TV spokesperson, entrepreneur, really good friend, mom and wife: “I’ve got the world’s best `manny!’ He can do everything. He teaches us hip-hop; he can pick out Manolos, hang with the soccer moms and plan parties. And he makes a mean apple crumble!”

Forest as father: “He opens his eyes every day with a smile. If he’s got just a three-day break from filming, he’ll fly home even if it’s just for a day and a half.

Favorite part of award nights: Her “Team Whitaker” pre-parties that she plans and hosts at home. Gives daughters “best daughter awards” before heading to the red carpet.

Where to get Kissable: She gave high school friend Amy DePerrior owner of LuxeBeautiQue in Swampscott (right over the Lynn line) exclusivity in Mass. “Amy would make me up at the kitchen table and take Polaroids and say that I just had to become a model. Me and Amy – we were always the fashion-forward ones!”

Favorite Kissable Couture color: “Forest.”
Model Mom/ Proud Girl from Lynn

Graduate of Lynn Classical High School Married to Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker; mother of three “healthy” girls Autumn, Sonnet and True. Was Tommy Hilfiger’s first African American model Met husband on the Boston film set of “Blown Away.” She played his girlfriend. Recently came “home” to treat girls from Girls Inc. of Lynn to an inspirational dinner and to launch her own lip gloss line, Kissable Couture, at high school friend’s boutique.

Loves it when: her kids say, “No our Mom’s not from Boston! She’s from Lynn!”

On being a celebrity: “I have fun with it and I haven’t forgotten where I come from. Sometimes someone at a party will make a big deal like `I went to school in France’ and I think, `Whatever! I’m here sipping the same champagne as you!”

Surreal moments: When Oprah or Mary J. Blige rings her on her cell phone as she’s carpooling her kids to school or soccer.

On being a “model mom” trying to blend in at a soccer game: “My kids say, `Mom, you’re not blending! You’re wearing three-inch heels and you have a film crew with a boom mic following you.’”

How she juggles being a model, TV spokesperson, entrepreneur, really good friend, mom and wife: “I’ve got the world’s best `manny!’ He can do everything. He teaches us hip-hop; he can pick out Manolos, hang with the soccer moms and plan parties. And he makes a mean apple crumble!”

Forest as father: “He opens his eyes every day with a smile. If he’s got just a three-day break from filming, he’ll fly home even if it’s just for a day and a half.

Favorite part of award nights: Her “Team Whitaker” pre-parties that she plans and hosts at home. Gives daughters “best daughter awards” before heading to the red carpet.

Where to get Kissable: She gave high school friend Amy DePerrior owner of LuxeBeautiQue in Swampscott (right over the Lynn line) exclusivity in Mass. “Amy would make me up at the kitchen table and take Polaroids and say that I just had to become a model. Me and Amy – we were always the fashion-forward ones!”

Favorite Kissable Couture color: “Forest.”
Model Mom/ Proud Girl from Lynn

Graduate of Lynn Classical High School Married to Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker; mother of three “healthy” girls Autumn, Sonnet and True. Was Tommy Hilfiger’s first African American model Met husband on the Boston film set of “Blown Away.” She played his girlfriend. Recently came “home” to treat girls from Girls Inc. of Lynn to an inspirational dinner and to launch her own lip gloss line, Kissable Couture, at high school friend’s boutique.

Loves it when: her kids say, “No our Mom’s not from Boston! She’s from Lynn!”

On being a celebrity: “I have fun with it and I haven’t forgotten where I come from. Sometimes someone at a party will make a big deal like `I went to school in France’ and I think, `Whatever! I’m here sipping the same champagne as you!”

Surreal moments: When Oprah or Mary J. Blige rings her on her cell phone as she’s carpooling her kids to school or soccer.

On being a “model mom” trying to blend in at a soccer game: “My kids say, `Mom, you’re not blending! You’re wearing three-inch heels and you have a film crew with a boom mic following you.’”

How she juggles being a model, TV spokesperson, entrepreneur, really good friend, mom and wife: “I’ve got the world’s best `manny!’ He can do everything. He teaches us hip-hop; he can pick out Manolos, hang with the soccer moms and plan parties. And he makes a mean apple crumble!”

Forest as father: “He opens his eyes every day with a smile. If he’s got just a three-day break from filming, he’ll fly home even if it’s just for a day and a half.

Favorite part of award nights: Her “Team Whitaker” pre-parties that she plans and hosts at home. Gives daughters “best daughter awards” before heading to the red carpet.

Where to get Kissable: She gave high school friend Amy DePerrior owner of LuxeBeautiQue in Swampscott (right over the Lynn line) exclusivity in Mass. “Amy would make me up at the kitchen table and take Polaroids and say that I just had to become a model. Me and Amy – we were always the fashion-forward ones!”

Favorite Kissable Couture color: “ForeModel Mom/ Proud Girl from Lynn

Graduate of Lynn Classical High School Married to Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker; mother of three “healthy” girls Autumn, Sonnet and True. Was Tommy Hilfiger’s first African American model Met husband on the Boston film set of “Blown Away.” She played his girlfriend. Recently came “home” to treat girls from Girls Inc. of Lynn to an inspirational dinner and to launch her own lip gloss line, Kissable Couture, at high school friend’s boutique.

Loves it when: her kids say, “No our Mom’s not from Boston! She’s from Lynn!”

On being a celebrity: “I have fun with it and I haven’t forgotten where I come from. Sometimes someone at a party will make a big deal like `I went to school in France’ and I think, `Whatever! I’m here sipping the same champagne as you!”

Surreal moments: When Oprah or Mary J. Blige rings her on her cell phone as she’s carpooling her kids to school or soccer.

On being a “model mom” trying to blend in at a soccer game: “My kids say, `Mom, you’re not blending! You’re wearing three-inch heels and you have a film crew with a boom mic following you.’”

How she juggles being a model, TV spokesperson, entrepreneur, really good friend, mom and wife: “I’ve got the world’s best `manny!’ He can do everything. He teaches us hip-hop; he can pick out Manolos, hang with the soccer moms and plan parties. And he makes a mean apple crumble!”

Forest as father: “He opens his eyes every day with a smile. If he’s got just a three-day break from filming, he’ll fly home even if it’s just for a day and a half.

Favorite part of award nights: Her “Team Whitaker” pre-parties that she plans and hosts at home. Gives daughters “best daughter awards” before heading to the red carpet.

Where to get Kissable: She gave high school friend Amy DePerrior owner of LuxeBeautiQue in Swampscott (right over the Lynn line) exclusivity in Mass. “Amy would make me up at the kitchen table and take Polaroids and say that I just had to become a model. Me and Amy – we were always the fashion-forward ones!”

Favorite Kissable Couture color: “ForestModel Mom/ Proud Girl from Lynn

Graduate of Lynn Classical High School Married to Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker; mother of three “healthy” girls Autumn, Sonnet and True. Was Tommy Hilfiger’s first African American model Met husband on the Boston film set of “Blown Away.” She played his girlfriend. Recently came “home” to treat girls from Girls Inc. of Lynn to an inspirational dinner and to launch her own lip gloss line, Kissable Couture, at high school friend’s boutique.

Loves it when: her kids say, “No our Mom’s not from Boston! She’s from Lynn!”

On being a celebrity: “I have fun with it and I haven’t forgotten where I come from. Sometimes someone at a party will make a big deal like `I went to school in France’ and I think, `Whatever! I’m here sipping the same champagne as you!”

Surreal moments: When Oprah or Mary J. Blige rings her on her cell phone as she’s carpooling her kids to school or soccer.

On being a “model mom” trying to blend in at a soccer game: “My kids say, `Mom, you’re not blending! You’re wearing three-inch heels and you have a film crew with a boom mic following you.’”

How she juggles being a model, TV spokesperson, entrepreneur, really good friend, mom and wife: “I’ve got the world’s best `manny!’ He can do everything. He teaches us hip-hop; he can pick out Manolos, hang with the soccer moms and plan parties. And he makes a mean apple crumble!”

Forest as father: “He opens his eyes every day with a smile. If he’s got just a three-day break from filming, he’ll fly home even if it’s just for a day and a half.

Favorite part of award nights: Her “Team Whitaker” pre-parties that she plans and hosts at home. Gives daughters “best daughter awards” before heading to the red carpet.

Where to get Kissable: She gave high school friend Amy DePerrior owner of LuxeBeautiQue in Swampscott (right over the Lynn line) exclusivity in Mass. “Amy would make me up at the kitchen table and take Polaroids and say that I just had to become a model. Me and Amy – we were always the fashion-forward ones!”

Favorite Kissable Couture color: “Forest.Model Mom/ Proud Girl from Lynn

Graduate of Lynn Classical High School Married to Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker; mother of three “healthy” girls Autumn, Sonnet and True. Was Tommy Hilfiger’s first African American model Met husband on the Boston film set of “Blown Away.” She played his girlfriend. Recently came “home” to treat girls from Girls Inc. of Lynn to an inspirational dinner and to launch her own lip gloss line, Kissable Couture, at high school friend’s boutique.

Loves it when: her kids say, “No our Mom’s not from Boston! She’s from Lynn!”

On being a celebrity: “I have fun with it and I haven’t forgotten where I come from. Sometimes someone at a party will make a big deal like `I went to school in France’ and I think, `Whatever! I’m here sipping the same champagne as you!”

Surreal moments: When Oprah or Mary J. Blige rings her on her cell phone as she’s carpooling her kids to school or soccer.

On being a “model mom” trying to blend in at a soccer game: “My kids say, `Mom, you’re not blending! You’re wearing three-inch heels and you have a film crew with a boom mic following you.’”

How she juggles being a model, TV spokesperson, entrepreneur, really good friend, mom and wife: “I’ve got the world’s best `manny!’ He can do everything. He teaches us hip-hop; he can pick out Manolos, hang with the soccer moms and plan parties. And he makes a mean apple crumble!”

Forest as father: “He opens his eyes every day with a smile. If he’s got just a three-day break from filming, he’ll fly home even if it’s just for a day and a half.

Favorite part of award nights: Her “Team Whitaker” pre-parties that she plans and hosts at home. Gives daughters “best daughter awards” before heading to the red carpet.

Where to get Kissable: She gave high school friend Amy DePerrior owner of LuxeBeautiQue in Swampscott (right over the Lynn line) exclusivity in Mass. “Amy would make me up at the kitchen table and take Polaroids and say that I just had to become a model. Me and Amy – we were always the fashion-forward ones!”

Favorite Kissable Couture color: “Forest.”

For years, almost reflexively, portfolio managers have recommended that a portfolio of equities contain a five-percent holding in gold.

Is it time to re-think that percentage?  With the U.S. budget deficit at well over $400 billion, the surging demand for natural resources and precious metals from India and China, the struggling U.S. dollar, and the now ever-present threat of terrorist attacks and epidemics, it may time to increase it- maybe substantially.

In the past few years, the price of hard assets and natural resources have soared. Oil, copper, gold, coal, water, etc. are in ever-increasing demand as the global economy rapidly expands. It seems that even some third-world countries have gone from agrarian economy to technology-driven economies while almost by-passing the industrial economic stage. Though “ink on paper” assets such stocks, bonds, and cash still have value, their worth is increasingly being squeezed by the hard asset demands of burgeoning economies.

Would it be profitable, then, to own more of what the world seems to be demanding? Would it make sense to re-calibrate the “normal” percentage of hard assets to a level as high as15 or 20 percent?

Each person’s risk tolerance is different and it is their advisor’s job to anticipate, explain and educate their clients about the import of these economic trends. They also need to inform their clients that, by sticking with old formulas, they may be potentially increasing rather than managing risk in their portfolios.

The explosion of paper assets in the latter part of the 1990s seems a distant memory- notwithstanding the bitter taste of stock-price collapse, corporate malfeasance, and loss of wealth. While the Federal Reserve’s raising of short-term rates may induce a slowdown in the U.S. economy, or even a recession, unless and until that happens, investors may wish to consider moving more of their dollars into natural resources or hard asset companies which are positioned to benefit from strong global demand. They may also wish to become more vigilant about the sectors of the economy that rely on the value of paper assets.

Simply put, it’s time to think “hard.”

Scott Smith is a partner with Beacon Investment Management, LLC. (www.beaconinvestments.com ) with offices in Boston and Manchester-by-the-Sea. A long-time Beverly resident, Smith has over 20 years of investment advisory experience and is also an Investment Advisor Representative of Commonwealth Financial Network, Member NASD.

If you hold a do well with a piece of real estate, stock, or a family business, the good news is that you made a lot of money. The bad news is that you may owe a lot in capital gains taxes.

In fact, many people are afraid ever to sell their investment for fear of the tax burden. However, there is an excellent strategy to defer capital gains taxes and create retirement solutions for you and your family.

The Private Annuity Trust (PAT) defers the impact of capital gains taxes, sometimes for decades, without penalty or interest. The deferral takes place because the individual receives the sales proceeds in a lifetime income stream from the private annuity contract. (The term “annuity” refers here to the income stream; a PAT is not an annuity product.)

Let’s compare the sale of a $1 million asset via a normal taxed sale versus using a PAT.  The assumptions involved include 1) a cost basis of $200,000, 2) a 6 percent annual return, 3) a couple both aged 45 as the investors, and 4) a 15 percent federal and 9.3 percent state capital gains tax, plus 25 percent ordinary income tax rates.

Under the normal taxed sale, the couple would start to receive retirement income starting at age 65 of $228,000 per year for the balance of their assumed life expectancies, or an after-tax life payout of $3,540,000.  By using the PAT, the couple would receive $307,000 per year, or an after tax life payout of $4,541,000.With this scenario, the couple would create an additional $1,564,000 of retirement income by using the PAT. Additionally, there are other very important benefits:

1) The PAT asset is removed from the estate, thereby saving on estate taxes.

2) There is never any probate or gift tax owed on the PAT asset; and.

3) The family remains in control of the asses.

The uses are varied for a PAT and careful consideration of all of the risks and rewards should be explored fully. As with any estate, tax or financial planning strategy it is vital that you consult with a professional familiar with these types of transactions.

Mark Singer, CFP, is a radio talk-show host and president of Safe Harbor Retirement Planning, LLC, located in Lynn (www.retire55.com ).