Joel Libava5 Things
Ann Handley is considered “One Of The 50 Most Powerful And Influential Women In Social Media.” She is a great writer, and is currently the Chief Content Officer for the 300,000 + member Marketing Profs website. Ann is also a great lady, and one who I have gotten to know this past year.
Last week, I was one of the 5 folks she called on to write “5 Things You Don’t Know About Me.” It all started when this person called Ann out to do a post on the same topic. Ann decided to choose a few folks to write their “5 Things”, so here goes….
1. I really wanted to be a doctor, but I did lousy in school.
This goes under the “If I knew then what I know now” category.
I really struggled big time in school. Actually it was when I got into the 6th Grade. Things like Chemistry and Pre-Algebra totally baffled me. I escaped Elementary school, and entered Junior High.
I had dreams of becoming a doctor. I remember going to garage sales with my Dad, and looking for any type of medical books I could get my hands on. I memorized every organ, and every bone in the human body. I dissected stuff. {A lot of stuff}I was a focused young man.
I remember signing up for Biology class. This was the class I had been dreaming of for years. I was finally old enough to take a real Biology course! I got a D.
I was crushed. I couldn’t hack Biology. Anything beyond Pre-Algebra was not happening, and forget about physics. So much for Medical school.
I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder {ADD}when I was about 35 years old. If ADD was understood more when I was a kid, maybe I could’ve received some help. So it goes…
2. I was a Maitre D in Las Vegas.
I worked in the restaurant business from the ages of 16-28. I worked in some of Cleveland Ohio’s finest establishments, and my restaurant career culminated with my experience in Las Vegas.
My best friend, Phil Madow, currently the President of The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel And Casino in Hollywood, Florida invited me out to Vegas, where he was working in the hospitality business. I moved there, and worked in a couple of places until I landed a job as Showroom Maitre D at The Four Queens Hotel And Casino. It was a really cool job. I sat people, and put my hand out for tips. Good stuff!
3. I’ve had the chance to meet several celebrities
In my restaurant-hotel career, I have had the chance to meet, and take care of, several pretty famous people. They include:
Bob Hope, Bill Cosby, Tony Orlando, Rich Little, Henny Youngman, Don Rickles, Telly Savalas and Frank Sinatra Jr.
4. I had a brief career in Radio-TV
I was blessed with some good pipes, and in my Senior year of High School, I participated in “Senior Project.” Senior Project enabled me to leave the High School grounds, and “work” in a field I was interested in, which at the time was broadcasting…I wanted to be an announcer.
In interned at M105–WWWM-Cleveland. M105 was the #2 Rock station in Cleveland back in 1977, having to compete against WMMS-Cleveland. WMMS was considered one of our country’s top rock stations at the time. Really!
I ended up being invited to stay on as an intern for the rest of that summer, and learned the in’s and out’s of radio. I ended up attending The Ohio School Of Broadcast Technique, where I excelled. I ended up getting some on the air positions pretty quickly, working in Texas, Iowa, and back in the Cleveland area for awhile. I did some camera work for the NBC affilliate in Midland, Texas, and was even lucky enough to do some voiceovers there, too.
Today, I am a frequent radio guest on several small business related radio programs, and I love every minute of it, as it brings back terrific memories of my broadcasting days.
My goal is to have my own radio talk show, someday.
5. I receive yearly royalty checks for a song that I co-wrote.
In 1977, I was part of a Jewish youth group called NELFTY. That stands for the Northeast Lakes Federation Of Temple Youth.
I was an avid singer at the time, {Those pipes again, folks}and usually helped pump up the group at our regional get together’s. This get-together actually was at a summer camp. This was not just any summer camp, tough. Ever hear of the movie “Meatballs”? Meatballs was filmed at that camp. I missed bonding with Bill Murray by one lousy year. {It was filmed the summer after I attended.}
Camp White Pine was an amazing place. It had a lake that was so clear, I was able to see about 25 feet down, like I was looking through glass. I remember fishing with raw hot dog pieces, catching about 25 Smallmouth Bass in 3 hours time. I am grateful that my parents were able to send me there for a week, that summer. To this day, I have some of the best memories of my entire life emanating from Camp White Pine.
Debbie Jacobson, a really close friend of mine at NELFTY, was an amazing guitarist, and was the songleader. The director asked her and I to write a song to be entered in a National Contest. We wrote one, and performed it at camp that week. It won! It is now part of a couple of Jewish Songbooks, and I am paid a few dollars every year based on the number of copies sold.
So, now you do know 5 Things About Me.
Thank you for reading.
Ann, thank you for asking. This was way cool!
Remember, people: Reputation is everything.
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