Day: April 23, 2022

She’s Making Herstory: Meet Beverly Gandara

Posted in Pretty HerstoryLeave a comment

Beverly Gandara is an Award-winning screenwriter/novelist who has written several screenplays, two novels, and one non-fiction book. A New York native, Bev attended Brooklyn College and Marymount Manhattan College before beginning her screenwriting studies at the Gotham Writers Workshop after retirement from the corporate world.

Writing in different genres, she completed several screenplays, many of which are contest-placed. Her comedy script, Rent Money won the Golden Palm Award for Best Screenplay at the 2012 Beverly Hills International Film Festival. Her Latin/Hispanic script Concrete Wings won the 2021 Accolade Global Film Competition for Best Screenplay in two categories, the 2021 World Film Carnival – Singapore for Best Feature Script,  2021 Hollywood on the Tiber Film Awards  for Best Original Story and the 8 & Half Film Awards for Best International Writer.

Bev’s Five Star Readers’ Favorite, debut novel Concrete Wings, a family drama/coming of age story earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval with a recommendation for school and home libraries and 2021 Speak Up Radio Firebird Book Award. Her second novel, Soaring in Silence, a suspense thriller earned a Five Star Readers’ Favorite Seal. Her third book, Women, Work and Triumph is a compilation of interviews with a diverse group of 26 fascinating women from 5 countries in 26 careers from A – Z with 1 goal – acceptance and respect. It earned the 2020 Five Star Readers’ Favorite Seal and 2021 Speak Up Radio Firebird Book Award.

Bev lives with her husband Armando, whose experiences inspired the script and the novel, Concrete Wings.

Being able to sit down with women making Herstory in their lane of expertise is always amazing to us. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Beverly Gandara and ask a few questions about her journey thus far.

What inspired your start in entrepreneurship/Writing?

Since childhood, I have been fascinated by people and their stories. I wrote as a child and received some recognition in elementary school. Family circumstances got in the way and I focused on graduating early and going to work at 16. It wasn’t until retirement that I decided to revisit my passion for story-telling.

What has been the highlight of your career thus far?

The pride in my husband’s eyes when I won my first award, the Golden Palm Award for Best Screenplay at the 2012 Beverly Hills International Film Festival at 68.

If you could tribute your success to anyone in your life who would it be?

My husband, Armando has encouraged me from the first day I told him I wanted to write. He immediately bought me a subscription to a writer’s magazine. He made sure I had all the tools I needed and has never wavered in his support.

What message do you hope women take away from your platform?

Freedom to be, think independently, explore one’s talents (everyone has a gift.) Shed the cloak of suppression and repression from society, family, employers, etc., and follow one’s dream. Find a friend and a mentor.

Avoid people with negative attitudes and unfortunately, if they are family members, love them from afar. Seek love, it is a worthy pursuit. The right partner will support you in any endeavor you choose and hopefully, you will respond in kind.

What is your go-to quote for motivation?

These are my quotes based on my experiences:

  1. Always move forward from strength to strength.
  2. Success is not always measured by what one becomes, but often by what one overcomes.
  3. There is no expiration date on one’s dreams.

What does being a woman making Herstory mean to you?

Being a self-sufficient, independent, confident woman comfortable with her own beauty, reaching for the stars and soaring to new heights with strength and endurance to confront everyday life. Being physically fit, psychologically strong, spiritually stable, financially secure, and most of all happy with one’s self knowing she does her best in all situations.

For more information about Bev and her work, please visit www.bevgandara.com

Bev’s books are available on Amazon and all fine stores where books are sold. https://www.amazon.com/Beverly-Gandara/e/B01E7TYXJ8

Meredith Corning, Founder of Meredith Corning PR, and Meredith Events: Why Nano-Influencers and Micro-Influencers are the Key to Success 

Posted in Pretty Cover Stories1 Comment

Meredith Corning is the founder of Meredith Corning PR and Meredith Events based in the Ozark Mountain region of Arkansas. She has nearly twenty years of experience in the marketing, events, and entertainment sector with a niche in the fashion, wedding, and hospitality industries. Her clients have been placed in Vogue, Southern Bride, Inside Weddings, Influential People, Formidable Woman, and others.

Meredith offers media placement, influencer relations, casting, publicity services, copywriting, blogging, messaging strategy, concept curation, and event planning. With a goal of upleveling her clients no matter what phase in their business they come to her, Meredith will push the boundaries and initiate a dynamic mind shift in how her clients see themselves and their work. With a passion for small business, her clients are often creative entrepreneurs. Her down-to-earth personality is what attracts people to her, but her shoot-for-the-stars attitude is what keeps them around. Meredith is a multi-award-winning event planner and focused much of her career in the event arena. Meredith currently offers event planning services exclusively to her PR clients. 

Share your background in creating visionary events for your PR clients.

Over the years, I have seen so many masterful ways to create events by some of the best in the industry. I love to use all aspects of an artful production from the design to the food to the entertainment factor. When focusing on an event for my public relations clients, strategy plays a key role in the creative process. There needs to be a clear plan for after the curtain has closed with a mindful path to the public interest. Trends change as the wind blows, so staying up-to-date on what matters right now and in the near or even distant future is considered. All of this to say, assembling the right creative team to pull it together will matter the most for an overall successful campaign. 

You are a partner for companies who want to stay ahead of the curve by initiating cutting-edge campaigns that provide a long-term digital footprint. Tell us more.

My professional ethos revolves around the fact that by sprinkling that magic fairy dust across the internet is what makes a well-rounded business. With a focus on content creation, any company big or small can remain relevant by not placing all of one’s eggs in one basket. A broad reach will serve longer than a hyper-focus on, for example, one social media app for all content distribution. One campaign executed appropriately can generate interest for years to come when its wings are spread into the digital space. This includes a company’s own digital real estate, their website, and blog.

How important are nano-influencers and micro-influencers? How have they helped your clients?

Micro-influencers typically have between 10,000 to 100,000 followers, while nano-influencers may have 10,000 or as few as 1,000. This genre of social media stars is on the rise due to the specific communities they have built that can be leveraged with the right brand partnerships. It takes a bit more time for research and outreach, but the results can be highly rewarding. We have gone this route with fashion shows, product launches, and branding campaigns to name a few. Projects with nano-influencers and micro-influencers have reached full potential when combined with both offline and online experiences. Making that in-person connection with influencers builds better relationships and lends credence and credibility to partnerships.

Share your success stories. 

I have just wrapped up a project called Influencers Who Brunch with two of my clients. The brunch served as a campaign for Vibrant Occasions Catering’s new mobile kitchen. It was planned as a styled shoot to be used as a visual explainer. We enlisted the help of some of our favorite hometown influencers and it has been making the buzz we needed. Althea Wiles, a master florist for Rose of Sharon Floral Design Studio, came in and flowered the tables and gifted each influencer their own living floral accessory in the form of necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. It was the perfect offline and online campaign with various strategies implemented.

Currently, we are planning a fashion show for Couture by Tess in Nashville, Tennessee, where we will be partnering with several local fashion influencers. This will serve as the launch for the fashion designer’s latest collections. Who better to get the word out than a group of hometown content creators?

Oddly enough, my client, Sydney Rasch, is dual-talent as a photographer and an attorney that co-owns her own law firm. I often include Sydney as the photographer in the vast majority of my creative projects and influencer campaigns are no exception. Even though “lawyer-ing” is her full-time job, her photography talents aid in getting her name out. Everyone knows Sydney in our area!

http://www.meredithevents.com

http://www.artphotographybysydneyrasch.com