d-mars.com Business Journal 115

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March 2017

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Inspire, Inform & Educate

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115th Edition

2017 Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs

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INSIDE

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Mayor Sylvester Turner Do Not Be Afraid, Houston Is a Welcoming City for All

10 TSU President Joins Collegiate Leadership at White House

32

The 8 Hottest New Devices

2  |  March 2017

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

March 2017 | 3

Publisher’s Message

MR. D-MARS

If you are a business owner, you know that it is not always easy. However, it is so worth it.

It is important that we support the businesses in our community so that the community can have economic growth and continue to prosper. It is time that we work together as business owners, using each other’s services.

When we work together in business, we all win.

This month’s cover story highlights the d-mars.com 2017 Top 50 Black Professionals & Entrepreneurs award event and honorees. In life, if you want to be successful, moving forward

Behind the Journal

Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Floyd

ACCOUNTING MANAGER Eugenie Doualla Vice President, Marketing Anita Bates SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES C.T. Foster Tiffany Black PHOTOGRAPHY L.C. Poullard Grady Carter

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Noel Pinnock Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Texas Southern University Pam Taylor, NNPA Carroll G. Robinson, Esq. Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Lonnie R. Matthews d-mars.com News Provider

04 Business 04 Change Is the Main Thing!

04 A Message From Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner 06 #StrengthHasNoGender 07 Blacks Will Account for Nearly 18% of U.S. Population by 2060 08 2017 Looking Bright for Small Business Owners

10 13 Politics 13 Texas Democrats and Progressives Need to Embrace Property Tax Reform 14, 23 Cover Story 14, 23 The Power of Black Economics 15-22 Top Black 50 Professionals and Entrepreneurs 15-22 The 2017 d-mars.com Top 50 Black P&E Awards

LAYOUT & GRAPHIC DESIGNER Angel Rosa

DISTRIBUTION Booker T. Davis, Jr. Rockie Hayden

—Booker T. Washington

10 Education & Career 10 TSU President Joins Collegiate Leadership at White House 10 The Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools 12 Every Student Succeeds Act 12 Parents as Teachers National Center

MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR Andrea Hennekes

Project Coordinator Taelor Smith

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”

contents

Publisher & CEO Keith J. Davis, Sr.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dawn Paul

through difficulties is what produces great rewards. There are no rewards for those who quit when things get difficult. d-mars.com highlights the accomplishments of Black business owners in our community throughout the year, and this award event is an extension of our highlighting African-Americans in various areas of business.

As always, thank you for your continued support of d-mars. com. When you support us, you are supporting more than just our company; you are supporting the communities in which we live and work.

Working together, we can succeed in making positive things happen.

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our services ADVERTISING | MARKETING MEDIA | COMMUNICATION • Business Journal • Health & Wellness Journal • Community Journal • Black Pages Online Business Directory • Top 50 Black Health, Medical & Wellness Professionals • Top 50 Black Professionals & Entrepreneurs • Top 30 Influential Women of Houston • Top 25 Prime & Subcontractors for Diversity • Business Connection • Business Development • Business Consulting • Graphic Design • Photography • Printing • Web Design • Online & Email Marketing • Public Relations • Social Media • Advertising • Writing • Promotional Marketing

24 Politics (continued) 24 New Study: Blacks Feel Ignored by the Democratic Party 24 Chief Justice Carolyn Wright Honored

26 Finance 26 Creating a Budget You Can Live With!

26 5 Reasons Why Talking About Money Can Enhance a Relationship 27 Entrepreneur 27 Goldman Sachs’ Small Business Program 28 Real Estate 28 Wells Fargo Commits To Increase African American omeownership 30 Tips to Help You Navigate the Mortgage Process

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26 30 Technology 30 TripIt Releases “Go Now” 32 The 8 Hottest New Devices 33 Insurance 33 Flood Insurance: Does Your Excuse Hold Water?

33 Tips to Get the Most out of Your HSA Dollars

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4 | March 2017

A Message From Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner

Business

Change Is the Main Thing!

By Noel Pinnock Contributing Writer

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hree-time Grammy® award winner, Donnie McClurkin’s, We Fall Down lyrics are definitely on target with this month’s edition of d-mars.com, partly, because he was able to successfully capture the essence of catching, correcting, and learning from failure. McClurkin wrote: “We fall down but we get up…we fall down but we get up, for a saint is just a sinner who fell down but we couldn't stay there…”

The incomparable William Shakespeare is infamous for saying, “To err is human.” The verb "err" means to do something wrong; to make a mistake is "to err."

"To err is human," because all people (humans) make mistakes. Unfortunately, we are programmed at an early age to think that failure is bad, and this belief prevents individuals and organizations alike from effectively learning from missteps. As children, we learn at some point, that admitting failure means taking blame. How can we respond constructively to failures without giving rise to an “anything goes” attitude?

When executives are asked how many of the failures in their organizations are truly blameworthy, their answers are usually in single digits – 2% to 5%. But when asked how many are treated as blameworthy, they say (after a pause or chuckle) – 70% to 90%. Amy Edmondson and Mark D. Cannon (Harvard Business School) write: “It hardly needs to be said that organizations (individuals) cannot learn from failures if people do not discuss and analyze them.

Yet this remains an important insight.

The learning that is potentially available may not be realized unless thoughtful analysis and discussion of failure occurs.

For example, for Kaiser [Permanente's] Dr. [Kim] Adcock, it is not enough just to know that a particular physician is making more than the acceptable number of errors [in misread x-rays]. Unless deeper analysis of the nature of the radiologists' errors

is conducted, it is difficult to learn what needs to be corrected. On a larger scale, the U.S. Army is known for conducting After Action Reviews that enable participants to analyze, discuss, and learn from both the successes and failures of a variety of military initiatives. Similarly, hospitals use "Morbidity and Mortality" (M&M) conferences (in which physicians convene to discuss significant mistakes or unexpected deaths) as a forum for identifying, discussing, and learning from failures. This analysis can only be effective if people speak up openly about what they know and if others listen, enabling a new understanding of what happened to emerge in the assembled group.”

You see, hindsight is always 20/20, but in order to realize the power that is produced in failure, we must first be able to acknowledge it; second, analyze it; and third, learn from it. German theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein once stated, “We can’t solve yesterday’s problems at the same level of thinking we are at when we created them.” As McClurkin exhorts, in order to get back up when we have fallen down, it requires a change in our beliefs, as well as in our thinking.

When we change our beliefs, we change our thoughts.

When we change our thoughts, we change our feelings. When we change our feelings, we change our actions. At the end of the day, it’s about taking action after a failure. Those who learn from failure will succeed over those who wallow in the blame game.

Now that we know that failure is not fatal, let’s examine what life looks like after one does encounter this inevitable dynamic through the lens of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is vital force in the failure recovery process.

It is vital, because we can’t carry stones in our pockets and expect to run at optimal speeds. Again, Shakespeare wrote, “to err is human,” but he also stated in the same breathe that “to forgive is divine.” Forgiveness is reciprocal my friends, because to receive it, one must give it. And to accept it is to move your life progressively forward. After all, we fall down, but we can’t stay there. We have to get back up, but getting back up doesn’t end the process. It simply begins the process of catching, correcting, and learning from the force that made us fall in the first place. So, there you have it; get at it and rediscover the power in failure! Failure is not fatal, but failing to change is.

To read more about author Noel Pinnock, B.S., M.P.A., C.A., CCC, IPMA-SCP, please visit www. noelpinnock.com. #GetAtIt

Do Not Be Afraid, Houston Is a Welcoming City for All

By Mayor Sylvester Turner City of Houston

w

hen I ran for Mayor, you often heard me say that I wanted Houston to be a city with no limits, a city of hope, opportunity, and inspiration. That is the city I, along with your help, hope to continue to build.

As the nation’s fourth largest city and most diverse metropolitan area in America, Houston is home to people from all over the world. One in four Houstonians is foreign-born; over 140 languages are spoken in our neighborhoods, and 90 countries are officially represented in the consular corps. Immigrants and refugees are our neighbors.

They are the families at our schools, churches, temples, and mosques. They contribute to Houston’s vibrant economy by running small businesses and working in all of our diverse industries.

I know that many in our community are scared and uncertain about how they may be impacted by recent decisions in Washington D.C. I do not agree with the President’s decisions and find them contrary to the values on which this country was built.

As Mayor of Houston, I don’t pick and choose who I represent; I represent everyone. Our police officers do not profile, and they are not ICE. We don’t build walls; we build relationships and understanding. We don’t tear families apart; we help them to stay together, and we, certainly, don’t hate.

In this city, it doesn’t matter where you come from, what you look like, what faith you practice or whom you love, we will stand with you.

In addition to opposing the President’s recent actions on immigration, I have joined many other mayors in asking the White House to maintain the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

I have also launched the City of Houston’s Office of New Americans to serve immigrant and refugee communities living in Houston and help implement our comprehensive Welcoming Houston plan. We are working to improve coordination among groups serving immigrants and refugees and assessing service gaps. The primary goal of this plan will be to make sure that anyone who works and lives in the city of Houston can feel welcome and a part of the city that we all call home.

The City of Houston will not tolerate discrimination of any kind or hate crimes and threats against our residents. Our police department and our Municipal Courts will always respect your constitutional rights, and we will ensure that victims and witnesses of crimes can come forward without fear of retaliation, regardless of where they are from. If you feel threatened or are the victim of a hate crime, please call the City of Houston Police Department’s Hate Crime Hotline at 713-308-8737. If you are an immigrant or refugee and you need information or help, please call the Office of New Americans at 832-393-1010 or visit www.welcominghouston.org.

We will investigate these crimes fully and make our services available to all our residents.

We are, and we will remain, a WELCOMING CITY, and no one should be afraid to live, work, or study here.

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6 | March 2017

Business

The Maker of Brawny® Celebrates Women’s History Month by Recognizing Women Who Show that #StrengthHasNoGender Initiative highlights strong and resilient women past and present and features replacement of Brawny Man® with a woman on Brawny® packages

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n recognition of Women’s History Month in March, Georgia-Pacific’s Brawny® paper towels brand is highlighting the bold accomplishments of women who exhibit strength and resilience and have broken down barriers in traditionally male-dominated professions. For the first time ever, and as part of the second year of its #StrengthHasNoGender initiative, the brand is introducing a limited-edition design for its packaging featuring a woman in place of its iconic Brawny Man. The commemorative packages will be available in Walmart stores during Women’s History Month.

In addition, the maker of Brawny® is also showcasing the stories of four inspiring women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields who have empowered others through their toughness and perseverance. A series of short films at Brawny. com delivers a first-person narrative about the personal and professional obstacles they overcame in pursuit of their dreams and is meant to inspire all of us to reach higher and push further no matter what barriers we may face.

Thefour fourwomen womenfeatured featured The in the films include: in the films include: • Vernice Armour – the first African-American female combat pilot in the U.S. and first African-American female pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps • Dr. Anna Kornbrot – an oral surgeon and clinical assistant professor of OMFS at Penn Dental School who was the first woman to graduate from Columbia College • Patty Lopez, Ph.D. – a platform applications engineer at Intel who has released more than 50 products across five business lines over her career and holds seven imaging patents • Brittany Wenger – the first place winner in the 2012 Google Science Fair who developed the app Cloud4Cancer, a breast cancer diagnosis test With the #StrengthHasNoGender initiative’s focus on STEM fields, the Brawny® brand has partnered with Girls Inc. and is contributing $75,000 to develop girls’ enthusiasm for STEM as part of its Operation SMART programming. As a national sponsor of the program, the maker of Brawny® is helping fund STEM education opportunities for more than

46,000 girls across 76 Girls Inc. affiliates.

“There are women and girls everywhere who exhibit strength and resilience in their lives, and that’s the inspiration behind the Brawny #StrengthHasNoGender campaign,” said Frances Morgan, senior brand manager at Georgia-Pacific. “STEM is among many areas of society that are underrepresented by females, and we felt this would be a powerful platform to address this issue. Our partnership with Girls Inc. will help promote girls’ interest in these fields and empower them to break gender stereotypes.”

The campaign also features a digital anthem video titled “Breaking Barriers” which highlights the journey and accomplishments of women over time, such as Harriet Tubman, Amelia Earhart and Serena Williams, who have contributed to landmark moments in women’s history and demonstrated that #StrengthHasNoGender.

The #StrengthHasNoGender initiative is an extension of the Brawny® Stay Giant®campaign, which encourages and honors Americans who face adversity with strength and resilience.

Visit www.Brawny.com for more information.

AboutGeorgia-Pacific Georgia-Pacific About Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, office papers, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. Our familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, enMotion®, Sparkle®, Mardi Gras® and Vanity Fair®, as well as Dixie®. Its GP Harmon subsidiary is among the world largest recyclers of paper, metal and plastics. The company employs approximately 35,000 people directly, and creates nearly 92,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: www.gp.com.

Source: Georgia-Pacific

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March 2017 | 7

Business

Blacks Will Account for Nearly 18% of U.S. Population by 2060

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA

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ecently the Census Bureau released up-to-date statistics that reveal the total Black population, the number of Black-owned businesses and even how many African-American military members are serving the country.

Currently, the Black population stands at 46.3 million, up about 1.3 percent from the previous year. The Census Bureau identifies individuals as Black, even if they list Black and another race on the survey.

Census officials project that the Black population will increase to 74.5 million by July 1, 2060 and, on that date, African-Americans will account for 17.9 percent of the nation’s total population.

The estimated number of Black-owned employer firms was 108,473 in 2014, according to the Census Bureau. Additionally, there’s an estimated 31,216 Black-owned health care and social assistance firms, the largest sector of Black-owned businesses.

The health care and social assistance sector is followed by professional, scientific and technical support (15,078) and administrative, support, waste management and remediation services (9,644).

The building on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Ill., that housed one of the most famous Blackowned firms in the world, Johnson Publishing Company (JPC), is now being considered for landmark status. JPC gave the world two pillars of Black media, EBONY and JET magazines.

“As we celebrate Black History Month, it is the perfect time to honor this building that stands tall as a decades-long epicenter of Black history and culture,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “This designation will cement this building’s status as a landmark that is not just part of the legacy of the city of Chicago, but the history of our nation.”

Linda Johnson Rice, chairperson of Johnson Publishing Company and daughter of the company’s founder John H. Johnson, said she’s honored that the building is being considered for landmark status.

“My father started Johnson Publishing Company to inform, empower and uplift the African American community,” said Rice in the statement released by the city of Chicago. “With my mother, Eunice by his side, they built an iconic brand. I am thrilled that the building that housed our company for so many years is being considered for landmark status.

Johnson continued: “It is a true testament to the hard work of my parents and all the people who called Johnson Publishing Company home for decades. I am grateful to Mayor Emanuel and Alderman King for supporting this effort.”

Census officials also noted the contributions of African-Americans in the military. The latest figures show that 2.2 million Black military veterans reside in the United States.

Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) said that the battles fought and won by Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, and Martin Luther King Jr., are being waged again today. Photo taken during a recent ceremonial swearing-in event for the 115th Congress in Washington, D.C. Photo Credit: Freddie Allen

Education has also improved among African-Americans with the Census Bureau reporting that 87 percent of the Black population age 25 and over has at least a high school diploma, more than 20 percent hold a bachelor’s degree and 1.9 million have attained advanced degrees.

Currently, nearly three million African-Americans are enrolled in an undergraduate college.

Educators said the results are encouraging and the change that’s making a difference is at the middle and high school levels.

“Gone are the days when we take a 9th grade class and plug them all into those beginning courses,” Sue Chittim, the principal of Annapolis High School in Md., told the Capital Gazette. “We take our time to make sure there’s a readiness level and they’re taking classes of interest.”

Civil rights activist Carl Snowden said the graduation numbers for African-Americans are encouraging, but he is concerned about other indicators of success, such as test scores.

“I would be thrilled if the achievement gap was closing at the same rate, which it’s not,” he said.

Further Census statistics indicate that the annual median household income for African-Americans is $36,544, compared to the $55,775 of the rest of the country. More than 25 percent of the Black population lives below the poverty level, while the national average is 14.7 percent.

The percentage of the civilian employed Black population age 16 and older who worked in management, business, science and arts occupations stood at 28.7 percent, while the total civilian employed population who worked in these occupations was 37.1 percent.

Closing these gaps would be a tremendous challenge even in a reasonable political environment, Congressman Cedric Richmond, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), wrote in an editorial.

The current political climate is anything, but reasonable, Richmond said.

“The battles fought and won by Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, and Martin Luther King Jr. are being waged again today,” said Richmond.

“An unjust criminal justice system continues to decimate African-American families and communities.”

Richmond continued: “Schools in many parts of the country look as though Brown v. Board of Education never happened. The right to vote is in greater peril than it has been in over 50 years. Needless to say, the work ahead of us is as important as it has been at any point in our history.”

For more than 45 years, the Black Caucus, known as the “Conscience of the Congress,” has worked to improve conditions for African-Americans across the country.

Richmond said that the CBC would continue to push for the restoration of the Voting Rights Act and work to end discriminatory voting practices.

“We will continue to lead efforts to reform our nation’s broken criminal justice system and promote community-centered policing,” said Richmond. “We will work to create educational opportunities and equity, ensure programs are in place for job and career training, and strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”

Richmond added: “This moment, like many others before it, will require us all to remain active and engaged, if we hope to reach new heights in this struggle.”

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8  |  March 2017

Business

2017 Looking Bright for Small Business Owners By d-mars.com News Provider

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he year 2017 is still in its infancy, but research shows small business owners feel this year could be one of the best in recent memory.

A new survey, commissioned by Staples and conducted by Wakefield Research, found that 85 percent of small business owners surveyed reported feeling "optimistic" about the small business climate in 2017. That's good news for the owners as well as for their communities, because for many, this optimism is motivating owners to put earned revenue directly back into their businesses and employees.

According to the research, 97 percent of respondents said they plan to increase investment in their companies this year, while 67 percent plan to hire new employees. Those fresh hires also appear to be in line for better benefits, as 72 percent of small business owners report they plan to increase staff compensation in 2017.

"We conducted this survey to better understand the pulse of small business owners and to further identify those priority product and service areas in which we can help our customers achieve suc-

cess in 2017," says Frank P. Bifulco Jr., chief marketing officer, Staples.

The survey included 502 small business owners across the country. For purposes of the research, small businesses were defined as companies that had 10 or fewer full-time employees.

While the research found that small business owners are optimistic about 2017, it also provides a favorable outlook for the years ahead. In fact, many small business owners report they hope to make small business ownership a family tradition. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said they would encour-

age their children to start their own business, and 93 percent said they felt running their own business was the best kind of job satisfaction there was.

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Finding Findingthe thetools toolsto tosupport support small businesses small businesses

For small business owners across the country, optimism can often be directly tied to market success and having the proper tools to support future growth.

Staples Print and Marketing Services offers a comprehensive suite of services, providing everything from business cards and logo design to marketing materials and signage.

Small business owners can find additional support materials online by visiting Staples.com and the Staples Small Businesses Hub. The Hub is a resource that offers expert tips, information and industry advice - everything a small business owner needs to grow their business in 2017 and feel even more optimistic in the years to come.

To learn more about how Staples can support the initiatives in your small business, visit Staples.com. – BPT

March 2017  |  9

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10 | March 2017

Education & Career

Education & Career

TSU President Joins Collegiate Leadership at White House

Embark Sponsors The Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools 47th Annual Meeting By d-mars.com News Provider

Online admissions and application software provider Embark is committed to diversity and increasing enrollment, retention, and graduation of African-American students in graduate programs

Dr. Austin Lane participates in session seeking support for HBCUs

By Texas Southern University

t

exas Southern University President Dr. Austin A. Lane was among 64 presidents and chancellors of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who attended the White House Domestic Policy Council listening session in Washington, DC recently. The gathering – dubbed the ‘HBCU Fly-In’ – was held amid reports of an executive order to move the initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities out of the Department of Education and into the White House.

President Lane, who “expressed concern about that move” in a recent interview, said that “with a new leader in the White House comes a new agenda.”

“If the agenda is about uplifting HBCUs and funding, then there has to be significant dedication and attention placed on these institutions within the Department of Education,” Dr. Lane said. “If it is through the HBCU White House Initiative, I’m all for it staying there, but it has to be effective.”

An executive order to reveal new standards of funding and federal support for Black colleges is expected to be released on Wednesday (March 1).

HBCU leaders were invited to meet President Donald J. Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in the Oval Office before the listening session. Both President Trump and Secretary DeVos expressed admiration and support of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Vice President Mike Pence, along with Secretary DeVos, White House staff and Capitol Hill Republicans, opened the session and addressed HBCU leaders. Representatives from executive departments and agencies, including Housing and Urban Development, Management and Budget and Legislative Affairs met with HBCU leaders. The session was designed to discuss avenues to improve education, strengthen policy, and enhance the infrastructure at HBCUs. Texas Southern University relies on federal funds to support a range of programs that impact students, faculty research and institutional educational priorities.

Funding is distributed on the basis of federal policy that is shaped by the White House, federal agencies and congressional leaders. Listed below is summary of the programs for which TSU is seeking support: • Pell Grants: Pell Grants help defray the cost of college for more than three-quarters of the students enrolled at TSU and those grants come from the U.S. Department of Education. TSU students receive $20 million annually in these federally-funded grants.

• Faculty Research Grants: Individual faculty

members at TSU support their research with grants from a range of federal agencies, including, but not limited to, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. Faculty research, in turn, often supports the undergraduate and graduate research of our students. TSU faculty members receive an average of $6 to $10 million per year in federal research funding.

• Title III Funding: The Department of Education supplies TSU with roughly $10 million a year in Title III funding to establish and strengthen physical plants, financial management, student and academic resources and endowment building capacity.

• HBCU Federal Funding: In addition to federal funds available for all educational institutions, HBCUs are the recipients of a long list of federal funds designed specifically for this category of educational institution.

Omarosa Manigault, director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison, told dozens of HBCU presidents and chancellors that a new executive order would likely be revealed during the second day of the “HBCU Fly-in.” The announcement prompted applause from the presidential assembly and preceding a cadre of executive appointees lauding the impact of black colleges on the higher education and industrial landscapes.

Vice President Pence emphasized President Trump’s commitment to prioritizing the needs of HBCUs. Chancellors and presidents shared best practices and ideas on how to create a better partnership between Trump’s administration and HBCUs. The listening session included representatives from HBCU organizations such as the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the United Negro College Fund and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.

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mbark, the leading provider of application and admissions software, was a sponsor of The Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools 47th Annual Meeting (www.chbgs. com) recently in Annapolis, Maryland. Embark hosted the opening reception and dinner for this year's conference, themed "The New Normal for Graduate Education in Historically Black Colleges and Universities." To learn more about Embark's services, visit http://www.embark.com.

"We are excited to host this year's dinner for a community with whom we've had a longstanding relationship," said Sarita James, Embark's CEO. "I'm delighted that Embark has chosen to sponsor our conference again this year," said Dr. Mark Garrison, Dean of Graduate Studies at Morgan State University, and Treasurer of the CHBGS. "Embark has done a tremendous job supporting our institution and streamlining our admissions processes."

Embark Corporation is a leading provider of application and admissions solutions and has powered more than 14 million applications since it was first founded in 1995. It serves a broad audience of undergraduate and graduation institutions globally and scholarships including the Rhodes and Fulbright.

The Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools (CHBGS) seeks to: • enhance the number and quality of graduate courses and degree programs available in HBCUS and in institutions interested in graduate education for African-American students.

• promote the research mission of member institutions by encouraging maximum involvement in scholarly initiatives and by facilitating the dissemination of knowledge concerning African-Americans.

• support the concept of multiculturalism; however, it recognizes and defends the right of graduate programs at HBCUS to compete equitably for funds to support programs and services in order to promote graduate study among AfricanAmerican students.

• ensure the viable representation of historically black colleges and universities at all forums pertaining to American graduate education.

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Source: Embark Corporation

March 2017  |  11

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12 | March 2017

Education & Career

Education & Career

D.C. Stakeholders Comment Constance Gully Selected to Serve on Every Student Succeeds Act as President & CEO of Parents as

By Pam Taylor NNPA

s the first deadline to submit state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act rapidly approaches, community stakeholders in Washington, D.C., voice their support and concerns for how city administrators will implement the new law.

Last November, the Department of Education (DOE) issued two firm deadlines for the submission of ESSA state plans—April 3, 2017 and September 18, 2017. The Education Department will conduct a peer review process of the submitted state plans after each of the deadlines.

Following years of the increasingly cumbersome requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the bipartisanapproved ESSA allows state-level programs to continue, and even expand, on the progress that educators, parents, and students have made across the nation in recent years.

Today, high school graduation rates are at all-time highs, dropout rates are at historic lows, and more students are going to college than ever before.

Dr. Elizabeth Primas, the project manager for the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) new ESSA grant, is among those touting the strengths of ESSA. The NNPA/ESSA Media Grant, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is focused on raising awareness about the education law in the Black community.

“I am excited about the promise of ESSA to effect positive change in our lowest-performing schools, where children have been underserved, undereducated, and for all intent and purposes, forgotten about,” said Primas. “I don’t want to see ESSA derailed by politics before it even gets underway.”

ESSA not only removes many of the federal restrictions regarding K-12 education, returning the authority to states and local school districts, it also requires states to include strategies and innovations in their plans for the nation’s most vulnerable students in the nation’s lowest performing schools.

According Hanseul Kang, the superintendent of the district’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), “only about a quarter of D.C. students are prepared for college and career readiness, and there are serious and persistent gaps among our lowest income students.”

The district’s draft plan states that only “17 percent of its economically disadvantaged students are on track for college and career readiness in mathematics, compared with 54 percent of their peers who are not economically disadvantaged,” said Kang.

Washington, D.C. is one of the 20plus jurisdictions planning to submit

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plans by the April 3 deadline. The majority of states are opting for the later submission date.

Although OSSE has complied with the federal requirement for a minimum 30-day comment period, many stakeholders feel that the current plan has issues that should be addressed before the comment period ends at midnight on March 3 and before OSSE’s scheduled submission date of April 3.

At a February 23 community engagement meeting in Washington’s Ward 5, many stakeholders supported waiting until September to allow more input into the plan from the community.

Jeff Schmidt, a D.C. resident and alumna of the University of California at Irvine, is convinced that the district’s plan will harm minority children with its “lower math and proficiency goals for Black and Latino children than for White children for the next 22 years— until 2039. D.C. could easily come up with an education plan that is free of racial pre-judgment,” he said.

David Tansey, a math teacher at McKinley Technology High School in Washington, D.C., is not happy with OSSE’s decision not to include a “welldesigned school survey” of high school students as part of its plan.

“McKinley Tech’s typical student grows more than 70 percent [compared to their] peers citywide, the highest level of any DCPS high school,” said Tansey. “OSSE’s plan should not be approved until there is a plan to design and roll out a statistically valid school survey.”

Gary Ratner agreed.

Ratner, the founder and executive director of Citizens for Effective Schools, suggested that, “DCPS should administer the School Climate Assessment Instrument (SCAI) to all DCPS students, teachers and parents.

SCAI would be an invaluable tool for identifying each school’s strengths and weaknesses.”

The SCAI can vary in scope from district to district; according to the National Center for Community Schools, the SCAI measures physical, social, affective/emotional, learning and moral indicators when assessing the quality of a school’s climate.

OSSE reported that they met with more than 100 organizations at 50 hosted meetings, before they released their draft on January 30. For details, visit the OSSE website at www.osse. dc.gov/essa.

Teachers National Center By d-mars.com News Provider

A

fter a rigorous national search conducted by a highly regarded national executive search firm, the board of Parents as Teachers National Center (PATNC) voted recently to promote Constance Gully, MBA, to the position of President and CEO, effective immediately. Ms. Gully, Chief Financial Officer, has been serving as Interim CEO since August 2016.

"Our Board committee took great care to thoroughly vet several well-qualified candidates for this position," stated Patricia Kempthorne, Founder and CEO of the Twiga Foundation, PATNC Board Vice- Chair, and Chair of the Board CEO search committee. "What became abundantly clear to the committee was that our very best candidate was right in front of us: Constance Gully."

"Patricia and I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Constance in this interim period and getting to watch her in action. The decision was unanimous," said Thomas C. Melzer, Cofounder and Managing Director of RiverVest Venture Partners and Chair of the PATNC Board. "Constance has been an active and effective interim CEO and has earned the trust and respect of our national partners and stakeholders.

Constance also made her mark in recent months by leading the successful PAT International 2016 Conference, held in St. Louis with over 1100 attendees and significant newly established sponsorships. She also led the effort to garner financial support from a broader base of the organization's key stakeholders.

"Constance has an exciting vision of the significant opportunities available to Parents as Teachers," Melzer continued. "With a strong and cohesive senior team, and a national staff that is clearly flourishing under her leadership, we look forward to a bright future for the families and children we serve."

"I am honored and excited to have been given this opportunity to lead an organization of which I am so proud, and with such a talented and experienced staff that supports so many families and young children across the country and the world," noted Ms. Gully. "My family has benefitted from the services of Parents as Teachers and I look forward to building on the hard work and success of our previous chief executives, including our founder Mildred Winter."

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

Ms. Gully is a licensed Certified Public Accountant with professional memberships in the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Black Accountants. Prior to joining Parents as Teachers in 2014, she served as Executive Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs at Harris-Stowe State University, a historically Black public university located in mid-town St. Louis and in a dual role as the Interim President for eleven months. She led the Campus Expansion Committee that oversaw the planning, design and construction of more than $50 million of development on the campus. Under Constance's sixteen years of leadership, Harris-Stowe maintained a stellar financial operation in a climate of declining state funding, including clean external financial audits for each of those years.

Ms. Gully practiced public accounting for more than a decade before working in the higher education and nonprofit arenas. She was responsible for planning, performing and managing external and internal audits for government and nonprofit entities. She also served as managing or senior consultant for various management reviews and operational assessments of administrative and financial operations, including assisting in the implementation of redesigned processes.

Ms. Gully serves in two gubernatorial appointed positions as a member and Chair Emeritus of the Dr. Martin Luther King State Celebration Commission for the state of Missouri and Vice Chair of the Bi-State Development Agency Board of Commissioners. In addition, Constance is a member of the Missouri History Museum Sub-District Board and serves as Treasurer of the La Salle Middle Charter School Board in St. Louis. She is the wife of André Gully and proud mother of Nicholas Bowman (her Alum PAT baby).

About Parents as Teachers: Founded in Missouri in 1984, Parents as Teachers serves more than 195,000 children in all 50 U.S. states, more than 100 Tribal organizations, schools and communities, five other countries and one U.S. territory. Its internationally recognized network uses an evidence-based model to deliver parent education primarily through personal visits and group meetings, equipping parents with knowledge and resources to prepare their children, from prenatal through kindergarten, for a stronger start in life and greater success in school. Parents as Teachers programs operate in various settings, including schools, hospitals, faith-based organizations and housing communities. For more information, visit ParentsAsTeachers.org. 2015-2016 Annual Report.

Source: Parents as Teachers National Center

March 2017 | 13

Politics

Texas Democrats and Progressives Need to Embrace Property Tax Reform

By Carroll G. Robinson, Esq. Contributing Writer

or years, Democrats and progressives have rallied in support for investments in education, improvements in healthcare, and protection of the environment. They have been tireless champions of civil rights and voting rights. Unfortunately, what they haven’t talked about enough—is the increasingly high rate of property taxes surging in Texas.

Democrats need to talk about tax reform.

Property taxes in Texas are some of the highest in the country. Because of our antiquated tax system and exploding appraisal rates, middle and working class Texans bare the overwhelming burden of taxation. While commercial property owners have successfully used the system to keep their taxes low by

F

fighting appraisal values—homeowners have suffered.

Residential tax payers are supposed to be protected by a tax cap,—which is set to 10% per year. But because of near automatic value increases—it’s turned into a backdoor tax increase that is a financial burden on working and middle class Texas homeowners.

These annual increases in property valuation mean annual local property tax bills are increasing at a rate higher (and faster) than the annual rate of inflation and far exceed the average annual salary increases of working and middle class Texans.

Some people forget that when property valuations increase, homeowners’ property insurance bills increase along with their property tax bill—contributing to the rising cost of home ownership.

The purchase price of a home is not the only factor in keeping housing affordable. Consideration must also be given to the long term ability (sustainability) of homeowners to afford annual property tax and homeowners’ insurance payments.

Before the Great Recession, one of the major causes for the loss of homes and the existence of abandoned buildings in inner city neighborhoods was delinquent property taxes; so-called upside down properties where the taxes and fees owed exceeded the value of the property, resulting in evictions.

We literally taxed people

out of their homes.

Those abandoned homes became sites for crime and violence, while reducing the values of neighboring properties and further destroying inner cities.

While Republicans have talked about property tax reduction—they have not yet done enough to really help fix the problem. GOP state leaders have increasingly shifted the burden of services and taxation downward. While the city has a revenue cap on property taxes— the county doesn’t and those taxes have skyrocketed. Insufficient action by Republicans in Austin and Harris County Government has kept our property taxes far too high.

To solve this problem we need to embrace fiscally sound and progressive solutions.

One of the best ways is to expand the homestead exemption. The legislature should give local governments the authority to expand the property tax exemption for the first $150,000 of residential taxable property. The net effect of this would be a significant tax cut to middle and working class homeowners as well as a cut for all homeowners.

Similarly, a reduction of the 10% tax cap to 5% would reduce the rate of “automat-

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

ic” increases in appraisal values. Local governments could still raise more revenues but they would need to actually raise the rate rather than simply take advantage of a stealth tax.

Finally, we need fundamental reforms to the appraisal system. There is no debate that large corporate entities have successfully challenged appraisal values reducing their property values and shifting tax burdens to homeowners. Appraisal districts are ill-equipped to fight the well-healed corporate lawyers these firms employ. The Texas Attorney General’s office should be empowered to intervene in any case involving a corporate entity in opposition to their request to lower their appraisal value. We need to level the playing field to protect homeowners.

Middle class Texans need leaders that will advocate for them—not just the special interests. Texas Democrats have to lead the way in fighting for a lower and fairer tax system.

Carroll G. Robinson, Esq. is a former At-Large Houston City Council Member and Houston Community College Trustee. Carroll has served on the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities, is a past president of the Texas Association of Black City Council Members and is also a former General Counsel of the Texas Democratic Party.

14 | March 2017

The

Power of Black Economics

By Dawn Paul Associate Editor

G

reenwood was a district neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as “Black Wall Street” to those in the community. In the early part of the 20th century, Greenwood was a thriving business district featuring African-American owned businesses and a strong Black middle and upper class. In 1921, however, it all changed. This affluent Black neighborhood was destroyed in the Tulsa Race Riot. Working together as a community and keeping the Black dollar in the community is what made Black Wall Street what it was. Recent events have African-Americans coming together like never before, reminding us that there is power in economics. There is great power when we pull together and support each other, especially from a financial standpoint. d-mars.com has been a successful business in the community for almost 20 years.

The d-mars.com Publisher and CEO Mr. Keith Davis, better known as MR. D-MARS, understands that this communications company would not be where it is today without the support from the Black business community.

Under the leadership of MR. D-MARS, d-mars.com has been inspiring, informing and educating Houston and the surrounding areas through relevant content in its journals for our community and outstanding business services.

In addition, the company inspires through award events, like the recent 5th Annual d-mars.com Top 50 Black Professionals & Entrepreneurs event. MR. D-MARS makes it one of his top priorities to connect people and businesses for success. In fact, he has always had such a genuine ability to connect people, that he earned the nickname “Hookup Man.” Over the years, after founding dmars.com, he has become widely and popularly known as MR. D-MARS, still connecting businesses and people in our community so we all can win. “When one becomes successful and shares information for another to become successful, and that one shares information and so on, then the community as a whole becomes stronger and economically powerful. We all can win. That is the mindset at d-mars.com,” says MR. D-MARS. MR. D-MARS grew up in Fifth Ward. Growing up, he witnessed the selfless spirit of his mother, father and grandmother, who were regularly seen giving back and paying it forward to others in the community. The example they set stuck with him throughout his life. Losing his mother at a young age to breast cancer, he was determined to succeed and make her proud. As he grew older, he witnessed African-Americans doing amazing things in different areas of business and more positive images of people of color, something that the mainstream media did not and still does not always highlight. In fact, this was one of his inspirations to publishing the d-mars.com journals. He wanted to create a platform where Black businesses and people of color could be celebrated and

“d-mars.com is a very necessary platform for Black businesses, helping to create and heighten awareness of their brand. There is real power in economics. There is real power when we support the businesses in our community. It is our responsibility to be conscious in our efforts of supporting Black businesses.”

—MR. D-MARS

where they could obtain quality services for their business at a rate that would not put them out of business. MR. D-MARS says, “On this journey of life towards a better future and a positive environment, I was exposed to more positive images of African-Americans. I love my people. I love Black people. I love seeing our people thrive in business and work together to create more economic growth for our community.” MR. D-MARS never forgets where he comes from, and the community and people who helped him get to where he is today. That is why he is so passionate about the support of Black businesses, and sees d-mars.com not just as a business, but as a tool to help the community prosper.

Do you support Black businesses in the area? Are you intentional about patronizing Black businesses in our community? Now there are some of us who have moved out of the community and to the suburbs. There’s nothing wrong with that, however, I want to encourage you not to forget to utilize the services of the businesses in the community. Help contribute to the economic growth of the community.

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

March 2017 | 15

www.blacktobusiness.com listed some great reasons to support Black Businesses Ourcommunities communitiesbecome becomestronger stronger.

Our –

It is said that the Black dollar stays in the Black community for only six hours. According to Noel King, reporter for Marketplace’s Wealth and Poverty desk, “Blacks tend to spend more on electronics, utilities, groceries, and footwear. They spend a lot less on new cars, alcohol, entertainment, healthcare, and pensions.” Research has shown that the economic state of a community is partially related to the amount of money spent in the businesses within that community. We mustn’t complain about our communities if we are not consciously making an effort to put money back into our communities. Instead we must recognize and learn the importance of financial literacy, investing our earnings and savings into Black businesses and communities. Doing so will promote economic growth, and encourage the next generation to do the same.

Professionals and Entrepreneurs

Better – Betterquality qualityjob joboptions optionsbecome becomeavailable available.

Super Traiblazer

One of the components that many overlook when supporting Black business is job creation. In May 2014, the US unemployment remained steady at 7.8%, while the unemployment rate for Blacks was more than twice that of whites at 13.79%. Even more alarming, in 2013, 12.4% of Black college graduates between the ages of 22 and 27 were unemployed. Both statistics alone prove the dire need for entrepreneurship and job creation within Black communities, and the fact that the days of having a college degree being a gateway for a better future may no longer be the case. The problem isn’t that Blacks don’t get hired. The problem is that there aren’t enough Black-owned businesses to hire unemployed Black people. Blacks can start doing basic investing, starting with beauty supply stores and distribution sales, such as food, clothing and different forms of entertainment. Time is overdue for change, and we must pool our resources and build our own reality. Believe in yourself and your idea, and get a few friends to take the risk with you.

Super Traiblazer

Super Traiblazer

It diversifies our options to HELP each other – When in need of immediate financial assistance, what organizations do Black people turn to? Small Black-owned businesses, It diversifies ourshown options churches, and our local Black organizations.

Studies have that to theHELP Black each churchother. remains the most powerful institution in the Black community. The informal financial and spiritual support and caregiving assistance offered by African-American churches is second only to the support by the actual family. The importance of continuing to invest and pour into faith-based and social organizations has and will continue to be more reliable than government assistance.

It grows OUR economy – Evidence has shown that Blacks are spending money making others rich instead of those in our own communities. Other ethnic communities such as Jews, Latinos, and Italians operate almost independently, circulating business in their communities.

What makes us different? Economic growth occurs when people take resources and arrange them in ways that make them more valuable. Economic growth cannot achieved everyonebydoing the same thing and creating the same types of businesses.

“I am honored tobehave been with recognized people The most celebrated industries for African-American businesses tend to be achievements in the sports, arts, politics, education, It grows OUR economy. who truly understand the importance of me becoming and civil rights.

Although these industries have rightfully earned their the FIRST Black female sheriff in the State of Texas.stripes in the Black community, we must continue to tap into other industries likeback technology, food and services and engineering.

Looking for many African-Americans, the sher- Strengthening for Black communities strengthens the economy, in turn allowing the US economy to remain globally competitive. iff’s badge across the South has been associated with

racial injustice. This position in law enforcement is I do noteconomic take lightly.

I have made hisd-mars.comsomething is all aboutthat promoting growth in the community. d-mars.com is proud to be known as the tory in this position, but it does not stop with me.

I communications company that is uplifting and promoting Black businesses.

One of the ways that d-mars.com promotes Black hopeful that my service will Business be an example for theThis marketing tool for African-American businesses and businesses isam through its Black Pages Online Directory. generation to seeminority that anything is possible.

Thank entrepreneursnext is effective, keeping businesses connected and helping increase profits for Black businesses. Sign up you for this honor.”

Dr. Austin A. Lane today at www.d-marsonlinedirectory.com.

Thomas Jones, Jr., CPA

– Sheriff Zena Stephens, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

After being in business for almost 20 years, MR. D-MARS has not forgotten to pay it forward to the businesses and community that have helped to make the d-mars.com brand what it is today. This is one of the reasons for the d-mars.com Top 50 Black Professionals & Entrepreneurs annual event. Are you supporting business in the community? It is important for all of us to do our part. No one person or neighborhood can do it alone. When we all support, then we all win. There is great power in economics. The Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was home to one of the most successful Black economies in American history. Let’s recreate Black Wall Street! Visit d-mars.com on the web at www.d-mars.com.

Sources: bloomberg.com | atlantablackstar.com | blacktobusiness.com

Sheriff Zena Stephens Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

16 | March 2017

Traiblazers

Community Heroes

“Wilma Rudolph encouraged us to never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion. The potential for greatness lives within each of us. MR. D-MARS and his team recognized that potential of greatness in myself and so many others. I am so honored to have been a part of the Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs event.”

"It was truly an honor to receive recognition with so many outstanding individuals. d-mars.com proves and demonstrates that African-Americans are a very productive and progressive people.

I salute MR. D-MARS for sharing his vision and being a beacon of light within AfricanAmerican communities and throughout the great State of Texas."

—Dr. Sophia L. Davis-Fields, Forever Families, Inc.

—John “Doc” Mayes, M.S., ATC, LAT, C.A.E.O.S. Project Foundation, Inc.

“It was certainly an honor to be recognized at the d-mars.com P&E Awards. In light of the negative media often associated with the African-American community, it was quite refreshing and enlightening to see this media outlet highlight the many accomplishments of people of color in various fields. I’m proud to have been a part of such a first class affair. The synergy and networking were fantastic! Kudos to MR. D-MARS for highlighting in such an empowering way, the successes of Black professionals and entrepreneurs.”

—Marlon D. Mitchell, Houston Business Development, Inc.

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

March 2017 | 17

Community Heroes

PARTNERSHIPS “Words cannot express the gratitude that Attorney Fuller and I have for being honored at the d-mars.com Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs event. Though it was an award ceremony, it was more than that.

Networking with some of the most influential African-Americans in the area was an awesome experience. The evening was first class, from the venue to the food. It was a night that we will not forget.”

—Barbara Jackson Hudson, Esq., Fuller & Hudson

The Honorable Ruben Davis Community Hero Award for Law Enforcement “I would like to express gratitude to MR. D-MARS for honoring my husband, Ruben G. Davis, Jr., with the Community Hero Award for Law Enforcement.

Ruben dedicated his life to protecting and serving Fort Bend County and Houston, and it was an honor and privilege to accept the award on his behalf. Ruben would have been humbled and speechless, learning the impact that he had on the community.

Our family would like to thank those who have recognized him for this award and for keeping his memory alive. It means so much to our family that he hasn’t been forgotten. This award brings healing to our family, seeing the continued recognition of his life and the impact that he had on

others. Keeping his legacy alive will hopefully inspire individuals entering into law enforcement that this is a rewarding career that touches the lives of many.”

—Sharon Davis

Super Top P&Es "What a great event! It was an honor to be celebrated as a Super P&E along with other outstanding honorees. This award means a lot to me, because there have been many obstacles I have had to face and overcome in order to be where I am today. Receiving this award is a testament and recognition to my journey. This award has inspired me to continue to press on and move forward.

Thank you MR. D-MARS for all you do and continue to do to highlight the accomplishments of Black professionals and entrepreneurs.”

—Jimmy L. Adams, Jr., Ed.D, Houston Community College

“It was such a great honor to be recognized as one of the Top 50 Black P&Es in the community. The evening was awesome!

I felt so honored to be among such prestigious individuals. It was great to network with so many people and learn about their businesses. Thank you again MR. D-MARS for this opportunity to be recognized as one of your Top 50.”

—Janette Hammond, CenterPoint Energy

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

18 | March 2017

“As an entrepreneur, I know that there are no rewards for those who stop when times get tough. This year’s Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs event continues the d-mars.com tradition of honoring African-Americans in various fields who are deserving of recognition. Yes, successful in their professions, this Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

March 2017 | 19

group also has a spirit of community, paying it forward to the communities that helped raise them. These honorees give us a reason to aim higher. They have proven that there are no excuses, and you can have success with hard work and perseverance.”

— MR. D-MARS Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

20 | March 2017

Super Top P&Es

“It was a great honor to be recognized with such distinguished professionals and entrepreneurs. This event is important, in that it recognizes African-Americans who have made important contributions in Houston and in the State of Texas.”

– Eric Finley, Finley Enterprises

“It was an honor to be among those who were selected as the d-mars. com 2017 Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs. This was my first time attending a d-mars.com event. To be named as one of the Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs was a very special recognition for me. This is a responsibility that I do not take lightly, and I will endeavor to represent with the utmost transparency and boldness.”

– Jackie Lee, Taylor Construction Management

EVENT

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

March 2017 | 21

Super Top P&Es “I am very grateful for being honored at the d-mars.com Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs event. It was such a joy to see so many influential individuals being honored for the amazing work they are doing in the State of Texas.”

—Tony Thomas aka “Tony T” Hyundai of Silsbee

“It is always an honor to be recognized by the business community and peers in your chosen profession. I commend d-mars.com for highlighting the successes of AfricanAmerican professionals in the area. Thank you MR. D-MARS for the award and memorable public recognition as one of the 2017 Top 50 Black Professionals and Entrepreneurs!”

— Victor D. Walker, Esq., The Law Office of Victor D. Walker, P.C.

EVENT

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

22 | March 2017

The

Power of Black Economics Sponsors

By Dawn Paul Associate Editor

G

reenwood was a district neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as “Black Wall Street” to those in the community. In the early part of the 20th century, Greenwood was a thriving business district featuring African-American owned businesses and a strong Black middle and upper class. In 1921, however, it all changed. This affluent Black neighborhood was destroyed in the Tulsa Race Riot. Working together as a community and keeping the Black dollar in the community is what made Black Wall Street what it was. Recent events have African-Americans coming together like never before, reminding us that there is power in economics. There is great power when we pull together and support each other, especially from a financial standpoint. d-mars.com has been a successful business in the community for almost 20 years.

The d-mars.com Publisher and CEO Mr. Keith Davis, better known as MR. D-MARS, understands that this communications company would not be where it is today without the support from the Black business community.

Under the leadership of MR. D-MARS, d-mars.com has been inspiring, informing and educating Houston and the surrounding areas through relevant content in its journals for our community and outstanding business services.

In addition, the company inspires through award events, like the recent 5th Annual d-mars.com Top 50 Black Professionals & Entrepreneurs event. MR. D-MARS makes it one of his top priorities to connect people and businesses for success. In fact, he has always had such a genuine ability to connect people, that he earned the nickname “Hookup Man.” Over the years, after founding dmars.com, he has become widely and popularly known as MR. D-MARS, still connecting businesses and people in our community so we all can win. “When one becomes successful and shares information for another to become successful, and that one shares information and so on, then the community as a whole becomes stronger and economically powerful. We all can win. That is the mindset at d-mars.com,” says MR. D-MARS. MR. D-MARS grew up in Fifth Ward. Growing up, he witnessed the selfless spirit of his mother, father and grandmother, who were regularly seen giving back and paying it forward to others in the community. The example they set stuck with him throughout his life. Losing his mother at a young age to breast cancer, he was determined to succeed and make her proud. As he grew older, he witnessed African-Americans doing amazing things in different areas of business and more positive images of people of color, something that the mainstream media did not and still does not always highlight. In fact, this was one of his inspirations to publishing the d-mars.com journals. He wanted to create a platform where Black businesses and people of color could be celebrated and

EVENT

“d-mars.com is a very necessary platform for Black businesses, helping to create and heighten awareness of their brand. There is real power in economics. There is real power when we support the businesses in our community. It is our responsibility to be conscious in our efforts of supporting Black businesses.”

CONCRETE & CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

A N D E R S O N & S M I T H P. C .

—MR. D-MARS

where they could obtain quality services for their business at a rate that would not put them out of business. MR. D-MARS says, “On this journey of life towards a better future and a positive environment, I was exposed to more positive images of African-Americans. I love my people. I love Black people. I love seeing our people thrive in business and work together to create more economic growth for our community.” MR. D-MARS never forgets where he comes from, and the community and people who helped him get to where he is today. That is why he is so passionate about the support of Black businesses, and sees d-mars.com not just as a business, but as a tool to help the community prosper.

Do you support Black businesses in the area? Are you intentional about patronizing Black businesses in our community? Now there are some of us who have moved out of the community and to the suburbs. There’s nothing wrong with that, however, I want to encourage you not to forget to utilize the services of the businesses in the community. Help contribute to the economic growth of the community.

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

March 2017 | 23

www.blacktobusiness.com listed some great reasons to support Black Businesses Ourcommunities communitiesbecome becomestronger stronger.

Our – It is said that the Black dollar stays in the Black community for only six hours. According to Noel King, reporter for Marketplace’s Wealth and Poverty desk, “Blacks tend to spend more on electronics, utilities, groceries, and footwear. They spend a lot less on new cars, alcohol, entertainment, healthcare, and pensions.” Research has shown that the economic state of a community is partially related to the amount of money spent in the businesses within that community. We mustn’t complain about our communities if we are not consciously making an effort to put money back into our communities. Instead we must recognize and learn the importance of financial literacy, investing our earnings and savings into Black businesses and communities. Doing so will promote economic growth, and encourage the next generation to do the same.

Better – Betterquality qualityjob joboptions optionsbecome becomeavailable available.

One of the components that many overlook when supporting Black business is job creation. In May 2014, the US unemployment remained steady at 7.8%, while the unemployment rate for Blacks was more than twice that of whites at 13.79%. Even more alarming, in 2013, 12.4% of Black college graduates between the ages of 22 and 27 were unemployed. Both statistics alone prove the dire need for entrepreneurship and job creation within Black communities, and the fact that the days of having a college degree being a gateway for a better future may no longer be the case. The problem isn’t that Blacks don’t get hired. The problem is that there aren’t enough Black-owned businesses to hire unemployed Black people. Blacks can start doing basic investing, starting with beauty supply stores and distribution sales, such as food, clothing and different forms of entertainment. Time is overdue for change, and we must pool our resources and build our own reality. Believe in yourself and your idea, and get a few friends to take the risk with you.

ItItdiversifies – diversifiesour ouroptions optionstotoHELP HELPeach eachother other.

When in need of immediate financial assistance, what organizations do Black people turn to? Small Black-owned businesses, churches, and our local Black organizations.

Studies have shown that the Black church remains the most powerful institution in the Black community. The informal financial and spiritual support and caregiving assistance offered by African-American churches is second only to the support by the actual family. The importance of continuing to invest and pour into faithbased and social organizations has and will continue to be more reliable than government assistance.

It grows OUR economy – It grows OUR economy.

Evidence has shown that Blacks are spending money making others rich instead of those in our own communities. Other ethnic communities such as Jews, Latinos, and Italians operate almost independently, circulating business in their communities. What makes us different? Economic growth occurs when people take resources and arrange them in ways that make them more valuable.

Economic growth cannot be achieved with everyone doing the same thing and creating the same types of businesses. The most celebrated industries for African-American businesses tend to be achievements in the sports, arts, politics, education, and civil rights. Although these industries have rightfully earned their stripes in the Black community, we must continue to tap into other industries like technology, food and services and engineering. Strengthening for Black communities strengthens the economy, in turn allowing the US economy to remain globally competitive. d-mars.com is all about promoting economic growth in the community. d-mars.com is proud to be known as the communications company that is uplifting and promoting Black businesses. One of the ways that d-mars.com promotes Black businesses is through its Black Pages Online Business Directory. This marketing tool for African-American businesses and entrepreneurs is effective, keeping minority businesses connected and helping increase profits for Black businesses. Sign up today at www.d-marsonlinedirectory.com.

After being in business for almost 20 years, MR. D-MARS has not forgotten to pay it forward to the businesses and community that have helped to make the d-mars.com brand what it is today. This is one of the reasons for the d-mars.com Top 50 Black Professionals & Entrepreneurs annual event. Are you supporting business in the community? It is important for all of us to do our part. No one person or neighborhood can do it alone.

When we all support, then we all win. There is great power in economics. The Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was home to one of the most successful Black economies in American history. Let’s recreate Black Wall Street! Visit d-mars.com on the web at www.d-mars.com.

Sources: bloomberg.com | atlantablackstar.com | blacktobusiness.com

Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

24 | March 2017

Politics

New Study: Blacks Feel Ignored by the Democratic Party

Cornell Belcher Releases Study Showing AfricanAmericans Feel Ignored by the Democratic Party

Politics

Texas Women Lawyers 2017 Pathfinder Award Honors Chief Justice Carolyn Wright for Her Tireless Dedication and Effort in Improving the Judicial System By d-mars.com

By Lauren Victoria Burke

News Provider

NNPA

exas Women Lawyers ("TWL") was pleased to announce that the 2017 Texas Women Lawyers Pathfinder Award recipient is the Honorable Carolyn Wright, Chief Justice of the 5th District Court of Appeals in Dallas.

The TWL Pathfinder Award is given each year to an individual who has championed the advancement of women in the law and who exemplifies professionalism, leadership, and commitment to the public interest. Chief Justice Wright has held various positions that were historical firsts for women and minorities in Texas, including serving as the first African American to be appointed a Chief Justice of an intermediate court and the first woman to win a multi-county election for any state elected office.

"Throughout her legal career, Chief Justice Wright has blazed her own path," said Lisa Hasday, TWL President-Elect. "TWL is honored to present this award to such a dynamic jurist and community leader."

A Texas judge for more than 30 years with civil, family, criminal, and mediation experience, Chief Justice Wright served as a practicing attorney, Dallas County associate judge, and state district judge before being appointed as a Justice on the Court of Appeals by Governor George W. Bush in 1995.

Currently, Chief Justice Wright leads the largest intermediate court in Texas and one of the busiest courts in the nation. She is a recent inductee into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame and Governor Bush presented her with the Yellow Rose of Texas Award for significant contributions to her community.

Presentation of the 2017 Texas Women Lawyers Pathfinder Award was held at TWL's Annual Meeting and CLE in Dallas recently. For more than 20 years, TWL has hosted powerful annual programs and this year's program, entitled "Learning to Lead," was no exception. The speaker line-up included Charla Aldous, Founder of Aldous Walker LLP, and Bryan Garner, Founder of LawProse. All Texas lawyers were invited to attend. More information can be found at www.texaswomenlawyers.net/home/events/cle.

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C

ornell Belcher, the CEO of Brilliant Corners Research, said that it’s no surprise that Black voters have presented a very clear mandate to the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose the Trump Administration, because 92 percent of African Americans voted against President Trump.

“However, to maintain this broad level of support among African American voters, Democrats more broadly will have to reevaluate the way they are engaging this critical section of [their] base,” Belcher said in a statement on February 9.

Belcher made a presentation and presented his new study to members of the Congressional Black Caucus at their retreat on February 7. House Democrats then departed to Baltimore for their annual three-day retreat the next day.

Belcher's phone survey questioned 601 African Americans, at least 18 years-old, and registered to vote; the survey was conducted from January 4-8.

The results of the Belcher survey showed that African American voters were dissatisfied with President Trump and the direction of the country, and want more drastic tactics used to fight programs and policies that negatively impact their communities. The results also showed that protecting social security, reforming the criminal justice system, keeping the country safe from terrorists and other issues are priorities for African Americans.

“African Americans are the Democratic Party’s most loyal voters and they should be treated as such,” said Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the chairman of the CBC, regarding the new study. “The results of this survey are clear marching orders for the Congressional Black Caucus — African Americans want Democrats to stop using the same old playbook and to make substantive progress on the issues that affect their communities."

Here are some of the findings from Here are some of the findings from Belcher's study: Belcher's study: • A large majority of African American voters (63 percent) feel taken for granted by the Democratic Party. This startling majority represents a growing problem among one of the most critical components of Democrats winning coalition. The outcome of the 2016 election was widely the result of this coalition splintering away from the top of the ticket along the margins with younger and browner voters.

• The majority of African American voters (53 percent) want the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose President Trump. While 53 percent is not an overwhelming majority, it does represent an unusual decision for voters that normally prefer cooperation rather than obstruction from elected officials in Washington.

Photo Credit: Freddie Allen

Cornell Belcher, the CEO of Brilliant Corners Research, presented a new study on Black voters to members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

This photo was taken during the National Urban League 3rd annual urban ideas forum.

• African-American voters broadly support more drastic tactics to obstruct the Trump administration, including not confirming President Trump’s appointees (53 percent), sit-ins and other acts of civil disobedience.

• African-American voters are overwhelmingly dissatisfied (69 percent) with the direction of the country now, a drastic departure from the satisfaction they experienced during the Obama administration. Only 22 percent of African Americans are satisfied with direction of the country now, while 69 percent are dissatisfied.

• The list of important priorities for African American voters includes: Protecting Social Security (88 percent, very important), keeping us safe from terrorists (78 percent), criminal justice reform (74 percent), reforming the election process so the candidate with the majority wins (72 percent), investigating Russian interference with the 2016 election (72 percent), protecting Obama’s legacy (71 percent), banning assault weapons (61 percent), and blocking Sessions (60 percent) are the top legislative priorities for African Americans nationally.

Lauren Victoria Burke is a political analyst who speaks on politics and African American leadership. She is also a frequent contributor to the NNPA Newswire and BlackPressUSA.com.

Connect with Lauren by email at LBurke007@ gmail.com and on Twitter at @LVBurke.

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About Texas Women Lawyers TWL is an organization committed to the empowerment of women lawyers to achieve full rights, privileges, and responsibilities in the legal profession. Through its network, TWL advocates for the interests of women in the justice system and in society.

Source: Texas Women Lawyers

March 2017  |  25

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26 | March 2017

Finance

Finance

Creating a Budget You Can Live With!

Lonnie R. Mathews Contributing Writer

B

udgeting has gotten a bad reputation among those who like to spend. When most people think about having to budget they think about not being able to spend money freely. I have come to learn that budgeting really means freedom, freedom to choose how your money is going to be spent, and freedom to choose what you want to spend your money on. The only caveat is having a budget forces you to be honest with yourself about where your money is going.

Financial author Robert Kiyosaki said it best when he wrote: “With each dollar that enters your hand you and only you have the power to determine your destiny.

Spend it foolishly, you choose to be poor. Spend it on liabilities, you join the middle class. Invest in your mind and learn how to acquire assets and you will be choosing wealth as your goal and your future.”

When it comes to budgeting and creating a budget that you can live with, the first thing you have to do is be honest with yourself. The most difficult part of the budgeting process is following through; anyone can write numbers down on a sheet of paper, as the math part doesn’t require a lot of effort. It’s about conquering the desire to spend money on the things that are not part of your budget.

The budgeting process has three components that you must master in order to create a budget you can live with: 1) Your current income 2) Your current and future expenses 3) YOU

Your YourIncome Income In most cases when you think about the money you make, your income is your income. In other words, rarely do we have any choice about how much we bring in on any given payday (Unless of course you are in a sales position and can earn additional income by selling more). For the purpose of this article, we will assume that your income is the same each payday and you have little control over how it changes from payday to payday. That being the case, in order to create a budget that you can live with, you must first track your spending.

By tracking your spending you will get an idea of your current financial habits and where your money typically goes from payday to payday. Tracking your spending will require you to develop a habit that most people don’t have; so an easier way to get started developing a budget that

you can live with would be to look back at your typical spending rather than tracking your spending going forward.

Grab the last two months of your bank statements and do a quick analysis. By doing this you can get an idea of how you spend your money, your tendencies of where you spend your money, and what’s important to you. When you analyze your bank statements pay special attention to a couple of days after each payday; it is usually during that time that most people tend to overspend and have very little accountability for what they spend their money on.

Currentand andFuture FutureExpenses Expenses Current Since we have little control over our income unless we change careers and/or jobs, the most practical and easiest way to get your budget in line with where you would like for it to be would be to focus on current and future expenses. This is one of the two components of the budgeting process that we have the most control over.

To develop a budget that you can truly live with, you must take a good hard look at ALL of your current expenses, and make it a point to do a better job of managing your future expenses. The best way to manage where your income is going is to set and prioritize some financial goals.

By setting financial goals you have the freedom to choose where your money will go going forward.

Setting financial goals is the key to creating a budget that you can live with. After looking at your current expenses spend a few moments and decide what areas you can make changes to help you accomplish your new financial goals. Afterwards, you must make a conscious effort to change the habits that would allow you to obtain your new financial goals.

YOU You The last component of developing a budget that you can live with is conquering yourself. Most people have it all wrong when they say “I have money problems.”

The truth is your money has a problem; and the problem is you. It was once said that “In order to live, we must first conquer ourselves.”

Creating a budget that you can live with requires you to form a big picture of where you would like to be financially and develop goals to help you get there. Decide today what a better financial future looks like for you, and then make the conscious effort to change your spending that will allow you to get there.

Lonnie R. Mathews wrote this article for the Who’s Minding Your Money blog. Lonnie is an author and speaker in the area of personal finance. To learn more about Lonnie or to contact him, please visit www. lonniemathews.com.

5 Reasons Why Talking About Money Can Enhance a Relationship

By Wells Fargo Advisors and Consumer Lending

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hinking about combining finances with your significant other? Whether you're getting married or just thinking about getting serious, talking about money can help couples understand each other and avoid unhappy surprises down the road. Here are five reasons why talking about money can enhance a relationship.

ItItmakes makescouples coupleshappier. happier.

Talking about things like spending, saving and debt may sound businesslike and unromantic, but financial experts agree that money is a frequent topic of arguments in many relationships. In fact, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association, almost a third of adults with partners reported that money is a major source of conflict in their relationship.

"What I see when talking with couples is that learning how to resolve money disagreements - and there will be disagreements - helps build important relationship skills," says Daniel Prebish, director of Life Event Services with Wells Fargo Advisors. "Those skills will be valuable both at the beginning of a relationship and likely for a couple's entire time together."

helps couples couples connect ItIthelps connectby by understanding what's understanding what'sgoing goingon. on.

Couples should discuss pros and cons of combining finances versus keeping finances separate. According to research by Wells Fargo & Company, about half of couples choose to combine accounts, while the other half prefers separate accounts. Regardless of where you and your significant other fall in this spectrum, both people in a relationship should understand how their financial habits impact - positively or negatively - the life they are building together.

helpscouples couplestrack tracktheir their ItIthelps shortand andlong longterm termfinancial financial short goals. goals.

Be open with your significant other about your full financial picture.

Questions that can help open the door to meaningful conversations include: 1. Are we paying ourselves first?

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2. Do we have a safety net?

3. Are we paying all our bills on time, every time?

4. Have we reviewed our insurance needs in the last year?

5. Do we track our spending to know where our money is going every month?

6. Are we paying down high-interestrate debt first?

7. Do we know where our credit stands?

8. Are we saving for retirement?

helpscouples couplesafford affordthe the ItIthelps "extras"that thatmake makelife lifefun. fun. "extras" Building a solid financial future shouldn't mean forsaking enjoying life.

When couples have a common understanding of how they'll prioritize and manage their day-to-day finances like housing costs, grocery and utility bills, it's easier to figure out where splurges fit in.

It helps helps avoid avoid financial financial It surprises. surprises.

Hearing your friends shout, "happy birthday" is a welcome surprise. What's not welcome is suddenly discovering you can't afford to pay this month's bills or that retirement is farther away than a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Being up front about money issues and sharing complete financial information with your significant other helps avoid financial surprises that can add unnecessary stress to a relationship.

While discussing money may not feel romantic, it certainly is emotional. So how do you get started? Here are tips: 1. Admit the conversation can feel awkward, but commit to having it anyway.

2. Pick a mutually agreeable time.

Your candle-lit Valentine's dinner may not be the right setting. Pre-arranging the conversation will help ensure both people are mentally prepared.

3. Be open with your significant other.

Share your values and opinions about spending and savings habits and goals you would like to achieve together.

4. Work at it. Commit to an annual meeting to talk about money, credit and whether you're on track to achieve your financial goals.

By opening the lines of communication, you can get on the same financial page before joining financial forces. – BPT

March 2017 | 27

Entrepreneur

Goldman Sachs’ Small Business Program Alumni Create Jobs, Increase Revenue

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Contributor

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ight hundred Southern California businesses have joined thousands of entrepreneurs across the country in an initiative to create jobs.

The business owners are participants in Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, a scholarship-based program that convenes them to learn critical business skills and create growth plans for their companies.

Just one of these local entrepreneurs is Patricia Watts, of FCI Management.

“I’m a year out of the program and we’ve added about three employees,” said Watts, who in 1998 established FCI, a Long Beach-headquartered company that develops and implements energy and water efficiency solutions for corporate, residential, commercial and industrial clients as well as for public and private schools, universities, and government and municipal agencies.

“We also had about a 15 to 16 percent growth in revenue,” Watts said.

Watt’s story is not unique.

The Goldman Sachs “10,000 Small Businesses” curriculum is designed

by Babson College, the leading busi-

ness school for entrepreneurship. Just six months after their graduation, 69 percent of alumni see revenue growth.

Approximately 48 percent of the alumni create new jobs within that same timeframe. As a comparison, 23 percent of U.S. small businesses added new jobs in 2015.

Community colleges across the country run the program in partnership with Babson College faculty, creating a direct connection between business experts and urban communities.

Southern California is the only region in the country where two community colleges jointly run the program. Los Angeles City College and Long Beach City College partner together in the region, creating a scale of impact that is unique nationally.

“We have reached 800 business owners and we have a graduation rate of 99 percent,” said Vivian Shimoyama, the regional executive director for the Southern California Region for “10,000 Small Businesses.”

“Eighty-five percent of the business owners who participate collaborate with the other owners and they are growing their businesses together,” Shimoyama said. She added that “the program has had a great impact on not

only increasing revenue, but on creating jobs.”

The Goldman Sachs “10,000 Small Businesses” program offers practical business management education for entrepreneurs. Those accepted into the program experience access to the education, business support services, and peerto-peer networking that helps grow their companies, Shimoyama said.

For Watts, the program was a key step to understanding growth opportunities for her business.

“The year before I started the program, I ended up at the end of the year in the red with a loss,” Watts said. “However, this year, one year later, we ended up with a profit that was significant, because it was almost a $1.5 million swing from loss to profit,” she said.

While participants in “10,000 Small Businesses” hail from a wide array of industries, they engage in the program from their shared experience as entrepreneurs. Southern California alumni include businesses focused on marketing and design, health and fitness, food service, staffing, education, manufacturing, and other industries.

Through the peer-to-peer learning environment, the participants focus on overcoming universal business chal-

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lenges such as human resources, access to finance, and leadership.

“You know how people always say you should work on your business not in your business? I learned that I have not done a good job in training my leadership team to take on [some other responsibilities],” Watts said. “I learned that I have to look at my staff differently and that I have to make them accountable. I have to look at my financials month to month to see where there are gaps and to fill them and incorporate and bring in the right skill set of people.”

With an eye to the future, Watts is ready to keep growing her business.

“I’m looking forward to continued growth as a national company. I have an office in New York and an office in Atlanta and I’m looking to grow the company nationally and I’m looking at growing our business in the federal sector,” Watts said, adding that, “I’m always optimistic, the most optimistic person you’ll ever meet and my motto is ‘failure is not an option.’ I don’t accept it and I’m not having it.”

Business owners are invited to apply to the upcoming cohorts of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at Los Angeles City College and Long Beach City College.

Learn more at: www.10ksbapply.com.

28 | March 2017

Real Estate

Cutline for photo: Wells Fargo & Company, the leading U.S. home loan lender, announced a $60 billion lending commitment to create at least 250,000 African American homeowners by 2027.

Wells Fargo Commits To Increase African American Homeownership

By NNPA Newswire

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ells Fargo & Company, the leading U.S. home loan lender, recently announced a $60 billion lending commitment to create at least 250,000 African American homeowners by 2027.

The company’s commitment is a direct action to help address the lower homeownership rates in the African American community and follows Wells Fargo’s announcement to address Hispanic homeownership rates in 2015.

Wells Fargo’s commitment seeks to: Lend $60 billion to qualified African American consumers for home purchases by 2027, Increase the diversity of the Wells Fargo Home Lending sales team, and Support the effort with $15 million to support a variety of initiatives that promote financial education and counseling over the next ten years.

“Wells Fargo’s $60 billion lending goal can contribute to economic growth by making responsible homeownership possible for more African Americans in communities across the country,” said Brad Blackwell, executive vice president and head of housing policy and homeownership growth strategies for Wells Fargo. “We are proud to be the first mortgage lender to make a public commitment to help increase African American homeownership. And, we are grateful for the support of key housing and civil rights organizations, who work alongside us to increase economic prosperity in our communities.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by the year 2024, 75 percent of the expected 14 million new households (renters and owners) in the U.S. will be diverse. African Americans are projected to represent 17 percent, or the third largest segment, of the new households.

Joining Wells Fargo in the effort are the National Association of Real Estate

Brokers (composed of African American real estate professionals), which has also set a homeownership goal, and two of the nation’s most influential civil rights organizations, the NAACP and the National Urban League. The National Urban League provides homebuyer education and counseling through its network of affiliate offices across the country.

“NAREB applauds Wells Fargo’s $60 billion loan commitment. The bank is the first financial institution to acknowledge publicly Black Americans’ wealthbuilding potential which could be greatly improved through homeownership,” said Ron Cooper, president, National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB).

“NAREB welcomes their entry into the struggle to close the ever-widening wealth gap for Black Americans, and looks forward to having Wells Fargo as a partner in NAREB’s ‘2 Million New Black Homeowners in 5 Years’ program. Let us all work together and grow this initiative which represents a solid and meaningful start for more Black Americans to become homeowners and wealth-builders.”

The African American lending commitment is the second initiative from the

company’s Housing Policy and Homeownership Growth Strategies group, a Wells Fargo Home Lending team advancing homeownership for minorities, first-time homebuyers and low- to moderate-income customers. In 2015, the team announced an agreement with the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals to support their Hispanic Wealth Project.

"Homeownership has become an indispensable part of being a full participant in American society," National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said. “An erosion of homeownership rates among African Americans represents not only a devastating financial loss but a barrier to full participation in the American dream.”

In addition, according to NAREB’s 2016 commissioned study, “The State of Housing in Black America,” housing finance industry barriers such as creditscoring models, the lack of affordable housing inventory and economic constraints like unemployment and underemployment contribute to low homeownership among African Americans.

In addition, barriers to homeownership

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in black communities include the costs associated with accessing mortgage credit, limited funds for down payment and lender averseness to extend credit to consumers with lower credit scores and smaller down payments. Additional research concludes that the lack of exposure to generations of long-term homeownership and the persistence of myths about homebuying may keep future homebuyers on the fence.

Despite these factors, Wells Fargo has learned through a series of consumer surveys with Ipsos Public Affairs that African Americans view homeownership positively. According to the 2016 survey, 90 percent of African Americans say homeownership is a “dream come true,” 79 percent say it’s essential for building families and 51 percent are considering buying a home in the next two years.

Wells Fargo offers a number of home financing choices for a wide range of homebuying needs. For example, yourFirst MortgageSM has a homebuyer education incentive and offers a down payment as low as 3 percent for fixed-rate loans; for veterans, a VA loan requires no down payment; and Wells Fargo is the exclusive provider of the Union Plus mortgage program, which offers benefits for most union members and their families. There are also low down payment options for jumbo loan customers.

The Neighborhood LIFT program, celebrating its 50th event on March 3, 2017, offers down payment assistance and homebuyer education to low- and moderate-income homebuyers, and has created more than 13,000 homeowners since 2012. There are still LIFT dollars available in some markets. Learn more at www.NeighborhoodLIFT.com.

For more information or to speak with a home mortgage consultant, consumers can call 1-877-937-9357.

Source: Wells Fargo & Company

March 2017  |  29

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30 | March 2017

Technology

Catching Your Flight Just Got Easier: TripIt Releases "Go Now"

New TripIt Pro Feature Helps Travelers Plan When to Leave for the Airport By d-mars.com News Provider

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ripIt® from Concur®, the world's highest-rated travel-organizing app, today announced Go Now, a new feature available to TripIt Pro users. The new feature helps travelers make the most of their day by suggesting the best time to leave for the airport based on their current location, flight status and local traffic conditions.

"Even for the most seasoned travelers, finding the right time to leave for the airport can be tricky, especially in an unfamiliar city," said Jen Moyse, director of product at TripIt from Concur. "Leave too late, and you end up scrambling to catch your flight.

Leave too early, and you're stuck in the airport for longer than you need to be. Add in a flight delay or cancellation, and suddenly your day is ruined. With Go Now, we'll take all of that into consideration so you don't have to."

Howititworks works How TripIt's new Go Now feature helps TripIt Pro users plan their next trip to the airport. It suggests the best time to leave for the airport based on a traveler's current location, flight status and local traffic conditions—and then reminds the traveler when it's time to leave for a flight. The new feature also includes a countdown clock, allowing travelers to see how long they have until they need to head to the airport.

The Go Now feature becomes available within the TripIt mobile app a day before any U.S. domestic flight. After activating the feature, TripIt Pro users will be able to see when they need to leave for each of their upcoming flights.

Go Now is available on the TripIt iOS and Android apps. While TripIt organizes travel plans in one place for free, a subscription to TripIt Pro ($49/year) is required to access the new feature. To learn more about how TripIt Pro can help you stay one step ahead, visit www.TripIt.com/pro.

AboutTripIt TripIt About TripIt from Concur, the world's highest-rated travel-organizing app, instantly organizes all travel plans in one place. Simply forward confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and TripIt will create a master itinerary for each trip with all travel details in one place—for free. The premium service, TripIt Pro

($49/year), has all the organizing power of TripIt plus additional features that help members stay one step ahead while traveling. Real-time flight alerts, refund notifications, and the ability to track rewards points and miles are just a few of the additional benefits TripIt Pro members receive. Companies can extend TripIt Pro to their employees, while managing travel plans from every booking channel, with Concur TripLink; and provide their travelers with an easy way to reach their TMC if they need assistance during their trip with the TripIt for TMCs program. To learn more about how TripIt delights more than 13 million travelers worldwide, please visit us at http:// www.tripit.com, follow us @TripIt on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and watch us on YouTube.

AboutConcur Concur About For more than two decades, Concur, an SAP company, has taken companies of all sizes and stages beyond automation to a completely connected spend management solution encompassing travel, expense, invoice, compliance and risk. Concur's global expertise and industry-leading innovation keep its customers a step ahead with time-saving tools, leading-edge technology and connected data, in a dynamic ecosystem of diverse partners and applications. User-friendly and business-ready, Concur unlocks powerful insights that help businesses reduce complexity and see spending clearly, so they can manage it proactively.

Learn more at concur.com or the Concur blog.

Source: TripIt from Concur

Real Estate

Self-Employed? Tips to Help You Navigate the Mortgage Process By d-mars.com News Provider

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hen you're self-employed, you often work harder than anyone else you know. That's what it takes to be your own boss. While rewarding, it comes with a lot of added responsibility.

This is especially true when applying for a mortgage.

"Self-employment can complicate the mortgage process for one very simple but critically important reason," says Eric Hamilton, president of Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance. "Lenders need to know you will have the income to afford a loan payment. This sometimes requires people who are self-employed to provide more detailed information and paperwork than those who are traditionally employed."

Proofof ofincome income Proof It's not only good business sense for lenders to know a borrower can afford a mortgage before they make a loan, federal law also requires they do so. The evaluation process typically requires fewer steps for people who aren't self-employed - those who get a salary for working for another person or company. The lender will review the applicant's total income, existing debt, credit history and score, as well as other factors, and base the decision on that information.

However, when you're self-employed, proving your income can be more complex. About 10 percent of people working in America are self-employed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). If you're among those 15 million people, it can be more difficult for you to document your income and prove you can afford to pay back the amount you're asking to borrow.

"Lenders may ask self-employed applicants to complete a 4506T form, which allows the lender to look at the applicant's tax documents, including recent income filings," Hamilton says. "They will also likely request a professionally prepared profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet for the business to show you have steady income throughout the year between taxfiling times."

Improvingyour yourchances chances of of approval approval Improving Fortunately, if you're self-employed, you can take steps to be better prepared when beginning the mortgage application process. Hamilton and the team at Vanderbilt, which specializes in financing mortgages for manufactured homes, offer some tips: • Before you apply for a loan, pay off as much debt as possible. Mortgage lenders will consider your debt-to-income ratio, which compares your total income to the total amount you owe.

• Save up a substantial down payment.

• Work to improve your credit score by paying all bills on time and reducing your debt. Payment history and credit-utilization ratio (the total credit you have available compared to the amount you're actually using) are important factors in determining your credit scores.

"Being prepared before you start a mortgage application and getting your finances in order can help make the mortgage process go much smoother," Hamilton says. "The mortgage application process is just one step on your journey to home ownership, but it's an important one."

To learn more about mortgages for manufactured homes, visit www.VMF.com. – BPT

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March 2017  |  31

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32 | March 2017

Technology

The 8 Hottest New Devices By d-mars.com News Provider

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hen it comes to the latest technology, you can never have too many options. And for tech lovers, there is nothing like the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which takes place Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas.

CES delivered an exciting look at the newest Windows 10 devices that will make your life easier by having a battery life long enough to last through a 15-hour flight, allowing you to log into your computer with just your face – no need to remember a password and much more. Featuring experiences such as Windows Hello, touch, Windows Ink, Cortana and Continuum, these devices will command attention this year. From PCs to all-in-ones, gaming solutions and portable devices, here are some of the most amazing unveilings from CES 2017 sure to enable the creator in everyone.

1. Dell Canvas. Channeling the innovative possibilities of Windows 10 and the upcoming Creators Update into a new category of smart workspace technology, the Dell Canvas expands productivity allowing you to create, communicate and express your ideas as naturally as you do with pen and paper. Through the use of touch, digital pen and totems, you can turn drawings into part of the digital workflow with Windows Ink or mark up webpages in Microsoft Edge. Powered by virtually any Windows 10 PC, this device plugs seamlessly into software solutions from many partners to unleash the creative genius in everyone.

2. Samsung Notebook Odyssey. Built specifical-

ly for intense and casual gamers alike, the Samsung Notebook Odyssey features advanced technology, such as the HexaFlow Vent, an advanced cooling and ventilation system allowing the device to remain cool at all times. For optimal gameplay, the Samsung Notebook Odyssey is equipped with an intelligent and robust processer. Powered by a 7th Generation Intel Core i7 processor, both models of the Samsung Notebook Odyssey offer lightning fast performance with premium graphic technologies.

3. LG Gram. Weighing in at only 2 pounds and featuring a 60W battery – the highest capacity in the industry to-date – for a long battery life between charges, the LG Gram has a near edgeless touch screen and is built to deliver superior portability. Complete with a built-in fingerprint scanner that unlocks Windows Hello, the LG Gram promises to be this year’s hot travel companion.

4. HP Spectre x360. The second generation of HP’s 15.6-inch revolutionary x360 is the most powerful in the Spectre profile and can be pre-ordered today. Its bigger battery allows for up to 12 hours while powering a micro-edge 4K display and featuring the latest Intel processors, high performance NVIDIA GeForce 940MX discrete graphics. It also offers fast and secure login with Windows Hello and a nearly borderless display with two new front-facing speakers to round out the user experience.

5. Lenovo ThinkPad XI Yoga. The latest ThinkPad X1 Yoga is flawlessly flexible and adapts to your needs offering true multi-mode capability that delivers stunning colors and absolute blacks. The only 14inch notebook with an OLED display option, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga also comes with a rede-

signed rechargeable pen and improved “rise and fall” keyboard. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga will be available in February.

6. Toshiba Portégé X20W. A premium 2-in-1 convertible PC running Windows 10 Pro with a 360-degree dual-action hinge allow you to use the Portégé as a notebook or digital inking tablet. And with a 7th Generation Intel Core processor, the Portégé packs plenty of power into its thin, 2.5-pound frame that includes a 16-hour battery. The pre-configured Portégé X20W will be available soon in Slate Gray.

7. Acer Aspire VX 15. With its crisp videos, smooth games and clear audio, the Aspire will be hot throughout 2017. Available in January, the Aspire is equipped with a 7th Generation Intel Core processor, a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS screen and dual fans to keep it running at optimal temperature, no matter how much you push it during a gaming session.

8. MSI GS63VR Stealth Pro Gaming Laptop. Created with the gamer in mind, the MSI GS63VR delivers a faster and smoother VR experience and is part of the latest lineup of MSI gaming devices powered by Windows 10. Thanks to the new 7th Generation Intel Core processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX1050 Ti & GTX1050 gaming graphics cards. Enhanced audio makes the GS63VR ready to support the finest audio quality through SABRE HiFi DAC delivered straight to high-end headsets.

These are just a few of the hottest devices shown for the first time at CES, and if you didn't get a chance to see them at the show, don't worry. They'll be available in the coming weeks at your nearest Microsoft Store, microsoftstore. com or a partner retailer, so don't wait to experience this amazing new tech this year. – BPT

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March 2017 | 33

Insurance

Flood Insurance: Does Your Excuse Hold Water?

“I don’t live in a flood plain so I don’t need “Iflood don’tinsurance.” live in a flood plain so I don’t need flood insurance.”

By d-mars.com News Provider

e know the old saying: when it rains, it pours… and when it pours, it floods. With winter snow storms coming to an end, the threat of flooding increases as the snow begins to melt and the rivers and creeks begin to swell. It’s easy to forget about how powerfully destructive water can be.

In fact, nine out of 10 natural disasters include flood, making it the number one disaster in the United States according to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). However, only 15 percent of homeowners have flood insurance. From 2006 to 2015, total flood claims cost more than $1.9 billion per year and the average claim was more than $46,000 during that time.

“Even just a few inches of water can cause thousands of dollars in property damage,” says Corise Morrison, executive director of underwriting at USAA. “While it’s possible to mitigate flood damage, complete prevention is nearly impossible. If you don’t take the proper precautions, it can be devastating to your family finances.”

For most homeowners, that means looking into flood insurance. But does it make sense for everyone?

As an insurance professional, Morrison has heard all the explanations. Here are some of the most common misconceptions about flood insurance:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency found that as many as 20 percent of flood claims come from moderate-to-low risk areas. These are areas in which lenders don’t require the purchase of flood insurance.

However, "less likely" doesn’t equal "no risk." Complete this quick self-survey: "Does it rain where I am?" If the answer is yes, consider flood insurance because it can flood anywhere it rains.

w

“Floodisiscovered coveredby bymy myhomeowners homeowners “Flood insurance policy.” insurance policy.”

Typically, flooding is not covered by a homeowners insurance policy. Therefore, homeowners must purchase a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from their insurer. If the

“Floodinsurance insurancewon’t won’tprovide provideme mewith withthe “Flood the coverage I need anyway.” coverage I need anyway.”

It is true that the NFIP limits coverage of a single residence to $250,000 for the structure and another $100,000 for contents to the home, but they aren’t the only source for coverage. Excess flood coverage can also be purchased above the $250,000 limit.

“I’lljust justwait waituntil untilititrains.” rains.”

“I’ll

homeowner does have flood insurance, it’s important to regularly reevaluate it to ensure it provides adequate coverage.

“Floodinsurance insuranceisistoo tooexpensive.” expensive.”

“Flood To emphasize an earlier point, the average cost of a flood claim hovered around $46,000 from 2011 to 2015. The average annual premium for flood insurance in the U.S. is $650, according to NFIP. Do the math.

Sorry to break this to you, but most insurers require a 30-day waiting period before a policy is effective. Unless your own forecasts rival the best science and technology have to offer, it might be wise to stick to the mantra, "better safe than sorry."

The consequences for being ill prepared for a flood can be long lasting. Research and carefully weigh the risk to you and your property. Chances are that you’ll find that it might be more reasonable than you thought.

Visit USAA.com/flood for more tips and information on flood insurance and what to do before, during and after flooding occurs. You can also visit FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center for more information or to determine your flood risk. – BPT

Insurance

Tips to Get the Most out of Your HSA Dollars By d-mars.com News Provider

M

illions of Americans with high-deductible health insurance plans rely on health savings accounts to help them manage the costs of health care. If you're among them, you know how important it is to maximize the value you get out of every HSA dollar.

If you don't yet have an HSA, you may qualify for one if you receive health insurance through an employer-sponsored plan with a high deductible. Individuals may qualify if their deductible is at least $1,300, and families may qualify with a deductible of at least $2,600, according to the IRS. With an HSA, you can deposit pre-tax dollars into the account to pay for certain health and medical-related expenses - up to $3,400 for an individual and $6,750 for a family in 2017.

While there are approximately 17 million HSAs currently in use in the U.S., insurance industry watchers predict that number could rise significantly as the federal government again addresses health care reform, the Boston Globe reports.

You can maximize the value of your HSA in several ways, including: • If you're at risk for arterial or heart disease, you and your doctor may decide preventive screenings are in order. Screening proactively can help catch warning signs of trouble before a more serious problem devel-

ops. However, most insurers won't pay for preventive screening for arterial health.

You can use your HSA dollars to schedule vascular health screening through Life Line Screening. You don't need a doctor's referral to schedule a simple, safe and painless ultrasound to detect possible plaque buildup in arteries - a leading factor in stroke and heart disease. Life Line Screening tells you the price of the screening up front and offers appointments in convenient locations throughout communities. Visit www. lifelinescreening.com to learn more and schedule an appointment.

• Keeping track of HSA-eligible expenses can be challenging, but budgeting software can help. Numerous free programs are available online. Most HSA providers also offer online access and digital tools to help you monitor your account, track saving and spending, and better understand the tax impact of your contributions.

• If your employer doesn't provide vision insurance, you can use HSA funds to pay for eye exams, corrective lenses and even Lasik surgery. Studies show regular vision care is an essential component of overall health, and helps not only preserve your eyesight and eyes, but can also help detect other serious health problems.

• Only about half of American workers have dental insurance through their employers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For those who do have dental insurance, it typically does not cover all expenses.

Yet dental health is intrinsic to overall health. You can

use HSA money to pay for dental care, including exams, X-rays, braces, dentures, fillings and oral surgery.

• Smoking is one of the most damaging things you can do for your health, and your HSA dollars can help you kick the habit. Smoking cessation treatment is a qualified medical expense that can be paid for through health savings accounts. When you quit smoking, your body immediately begins to repair the damage caused by smoking, and you reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer, according to the American Lung Association.

"Smoking is associated with multiple chronic diseases, so quitting is one of the best things you can do for your overall health," says Dr. Andrew Manganaro, chief medical officer at Life Line Screening. To help people understand their personal risk, Life Line Screening offers a program called "6 For Life" that outlines an individual's risk for six chronic diseases and includes blood tests.

• Although controlling your weight is another important factor in overall health, few health plans will cover any kind of weight loss program. However, a doctor-prescribed weight loss program aimed at treating a specific disease such as obesity, high blood pressure or heart disease can be paid for with HSA money.

Your health savings account comes with many benefits and cost savings and tax breaks are just two of them. More importantly, when used wisely, your HSA can help you achieve better health. – BPT

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