Over 100 attendees from across the country converged for the first annual Beyond the Red Carpet" conference.
(PRWEB) April 8 2004 -- The setting was professional, the discussions lively, and the panel presentations were outstanding," commented Misty Green who traveled from Canada to attend the conference held March 16-17 2004.
The event kicked off Thursday night with a wine tasting held at Madison Grille in midtown. The tasting, sponsored by Beaulieu Vineyards, a 100 year old vineyard, provided a sampling of 3-5 wines. Certified wine educator, Michael Bryan led the session and answered questions. Conference attendees, members of NABFEME, WISE and the Flow-works A-List had a change to mix and mingle and enjoy Hor'duerves throughout the evening. The following morning, at Upscales Event Facility, attendees lined up early for the all-day workshop and panel discussion. Dionne M. Muhammad, President and CEO of Celebrity Personal Assistants, Inc., opened the event by reading a letter from Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin who welcomed attendees to the city and applauded CPAI's groundbreaking accomplishments in personal assistant services.
Bonnie Low Kramen, co-founder of the New York Celebrity Assistants (NYCA) also sent words of encouragement to the attendees since her schedule did not allow her to attend this years affair. Ms. Kramen has worked as an assistant for nearly 20 years to Oscar Award winning actress, Olympia Dukakis.
Presentations were made by working personal assistants in music, sports and business. Brenda Thomas shared her insights of professional sports and provided real-world experiences about her tenure as a personal assistant to NBA All-Star, Stephon X Marbury. She also discussed themes and topics from her best-selling novel, Threesome: Where Seduction, Power and Basketball Collide.
The audience was taken on tour with the music industry" by Janice Faison, Yolanda Ray and Maisha Harrell (personal assistants to OutKast, Usher and Matthew Knowles, respectively). Allison Manswell, a corporate trainer and Reinvention Architect," delighted the audience with her unique message and engaging communication style. She helped the audience to make the connection between "who you are and what you attract." Ms. Manswell taught sessions on Time Management, Customer Service and Personal Branding.
Other sessions included: Personal Dynamics; Qualities and Skills Needed for the PA Profession; Security; Knowing your Terrain; Concierge Services; Ethics, Principles and Confidentiality.
Recruiter, Tanya Gray, discussed the human resources process used by CPAI to secure placements for personal assistants with the agencys A-List clientele. She provided tips regarding how to format the resumes and listed the key-words that clients look for when considering applicants.
CPAI presented the panel of assistants with their very own Oscar-styled trophy. Conference attendees received canvas tote bags that they filled with items from the exhibit area provided by event sponsors: Red-bull, Starbucks, BMG Music, Microsoft, Hertz, American Express, 1-800-Flowers and Upscale Magazine.
Attendee Rose Patterson said, It was a wonderful experience and a great opportunity to meet other personal assistants as well as those hoping to enter the field. I enjoyed all the lectures and had a lot of fun too. I would highly recommend that others who want to work as an assistant make an effort to attend next year."
We are expanding the conference topics next year to include presentations from stylists, publicists and other support-staff of celebrities in addition to the personal assistant focus," commented conference co-chairs," Tamika Howard and Cassandra Brown-Hassan. We will also include more "resume" clinics during the conference to assist with preparing resumes for presentation to high-profile clients," said Tanya Gray.
ABOUT CELEBRITY PERSONAL ASSISTANTS INC:
CPAI is a licensed staffing agency that exclusively provides professional" personal assistants and other support staff to individuals" in the sports and entertainment industry. CPAI has recruited PAs for musicians, actors, professional athletes, politicians, attorneys, entertainment managers and other A-list personalities. The company has offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York. Dionne M. Muhammad, President and CEO, is the author of "Beyond the Red Carpet: Keys to Becoming a Successful Personal Assistant."
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