Anthony
Random tidbits:
My dad is a great story about coming here and having to make it without his parents - definitely in the same camp as a lot of Cubans. He didn't complain, he sold shoes, and went through school. He really is like a patriarch of big accounting here in South Florida. He is one of the first Hispanics to get recognition for his field. I'm very grateful to be the son of an accountant. It gives you a very good business acumen because you're sitting in a restaurant and he's talking to you about their PNL and how things are going in the books. It gives you an education beyond the face value of things. It's really paid off for me and my brothers. He is one of those great boy-dads who really set up his kids to carry the torch.
Ariel
Random tidbits:
Yes. It's always very different. We're doing commercial real estate and the market's been really, really good. We're more concerned about what's going to happen in five years than what happened in the last five years. Last five years were actually pretty easy to make money. The next five years is what we are concerned about. What's going to happen with interest rates and the economy? Rental prices have increased 15% year over year for the last five years. That's unsustainable especially with everything that's happening currently right now.
Don
Random tidbits:
My goal as a parent was to do the exact opposite of what my parents did. My mother was an alcoholic and kind of a drug addict. My father was an alcoholic. He worked hard, he was a truck driver. He came home and just wanted to get the day over kind of thing. My goal was never to be anything like them and to try to be involved in my children's lives as much as possible.
Jason And Melanie
Random tidbits:
Jason: I thought it was pretty interesting the day I looked over at your booth and you had Lenny Kravitz and Rita Marley three feet from each other. I know Rita visits you often and it was the first time I had seen Lenny there. If they had just turned around, I wonder if they know each other – a musical connection.
Seth
Random tidbits:
Take a step back and look at the community that you and Adena created, and now people are coming to your new store. Everybody came and lined up. You're nurturing it and stoking the flame. It's really impressive and amazing.
Thaddeus
Random tidbits:
I think one of the primary issues when people are facing a challenge, whether it's a potentially positive challenge - like paddling across the Florida Strait, or something difficult - like a home situation or substance abuse - whatever it might be, you're not alone and there are other people who have similar experiences or desires and thoughts. If somebody is considering a challenge, no matter what it might be, talk about it and find people who share the enthusiasm and with that, by definition, it becomes bigger than an individual. To me that is spirituality and in that comes strength and the momentum to make things happen. It's beautiful.
David
Random tidbits:
We changed television. We were the first ones who put major talent together and let them just play. The Home Box Office (HBO) people like to know exactly what's going to happen. Putting together talent to jam was a little dangerous. But for me, that was perfect. Having Fats Domino, Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis play together on the same stage with Paul Shaffer as music director and Ronnie Wood, from the Stones, on guitar, was pretty wild. It was an iconic show and broke all the records for Home Box Office subscriber satisfaction. Paul Shaffer had 12 year old fans and 80 year-olds love Ray Charles. It had a demographic that was never beat. I also worked with Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie, and did a big Latin show in ‘89. My last big production was Aaron Neville's Christmas in New Orleans with Linda Ronstadt; they have pretty cool voices together. I was the executive producer and producer. I not only put the show together, raised the money, made the deals. I also produced the show itself.
Rich
Random tidbits:
i respond to spam email as kind of a hobby or avoidance behavior. I'm not sure which. There's lots of people that want to send me money. Somebody wanted me to be a secret shopper. So, I wrote back and told them that I'm over seven feet tall and that I'm prone to violent outbursts, but I really welcome the opportunity to finally have a job. They sent a website link to apply.
Ben
Random tidbits:
I like the notion that you can make big, meaningful changes in people's lives. There are currently a half million active medical marijuana patients in the State of Florida. A few years ago there was zero. There are people having a better quality of life because of something that I helped achieve. And, in a bigger way is our success on minimum wage. People think that people in politics are cynical. Some people are, but it's tough to do this for a living and be cynical. You have to give a shit about this. The rewarding part is giving a shit.
Kadie
Random tidbits:
Yes! Thank you for that opportunity. I have dyslexia. My children have dyslexia and so does my husband. Our whole household is neurodivergent. I believe we are not doing enough to provide the right educational support for kids who learn differently. I've become an educational advocate, helping to get structured literacy into the schools. It is kind of a best practice, not just kids with dyslexia. About 20% of the population has some sort of neurodivergence in terms of a learning disability, and there are not enough specialized programs.