About Bridge Media Communication (me),
What brings me here today is a culmination of experiences in my lifetime. It is the reason why I started Bridge Media Communication in 2008 and why I am so passionate about creating, helping and giving back to the community. But where do I start?
I was made in Puerto Rico and born in the Unites States, I always say-It's true. I remember growing up being placed in a bi-lingual classroom for a year (which helped my spanish immensely) and being referred to as laws, which didn't help. I hated when my name was mispronounced, so I took it upon myself to correct the teachers every chance I got, even if it was met with the how-dare-you-interrupt-me stare. "Ivette, please... please call me Ivette," I would say. But that didn't help, because I became eyevette. It really didn't matter, for whatever reason, at home and in my native lovely island, the trend was to nickname all those children who were named Ivette, Bebe. At home they called me Bebe. Friends started to create variations of Ivette, Bebe, Eve, Vivi...my babysitter decided to call me Vivian. And by then, I had given up on my choice for a name and didn't care, so long as they didn't call me laws or tease me about being "loose", which is how you pronounce Luz which means light in Spanish.
I was a very curious 8 year old who was interested in opportunities and getting involved and being purposeful. Once out of 3rd grade an into 4th, I became fascinated with all the programs the school had to offer. I became a crossing guard, joined a wrap group (discussion group) and then became a little disappointed when I couldn't join any other programs due to schedule conflicts.
I was a church goer-Catholic and hardly ever missed mass. I became the child that walked alone every Sunday down North Ave from Harding passed Central Park to Maternity BVM Catholic Church. I was also the child that sat near the choir and asked several times if I can join the group-to no avail. I joined Youth Service Project instead as a volunteer. So this is where I went to hang out and read through all the books on drug awareness and prevention and pregnancy, etc. Whenever I could, I would help with office work and organizing.
You may think reading about drugs might be a bit too much for me at age 9, but the Youth Service Project and the school didn't think so. Talk about influential, I will never forget the graphic pictures and movies I saw with the rest of my classmates on drugs and their effect on people. It was not only influential for me but my classmates. I still recall all the sound effects made by my class mates as they expressed their disgust in echo through the auditorium.
I lived around Pulaski and Grand and greeted the statue of the man above the car shop every morning as I walked to school. My neighbors were mostly Italian and Polish. My best friends were Charlie and Helen. They were my neighbors and 70 years my senior, until I met my childhood friend Evelyn. They were very nice to me and every so often invited me in for dinner. This is where I think I fell in love with the older generation. I don't know when...but I realized early on how important it was to connect with them and to learn as much as possible from them. Until I broke the window of Vincent, my Italian neighbor who put his hands up in the air as he expressed his anger and frustration, "Ventana!" yes, window in Italian and in Spanish, consequently. This I knew very well and while I should have been upset about breaking the window and getting in trouble, I was happy to have realized that I knew a little Italian, even if it was just one word.
During my grammar school years, I won a 2 month pass to the Walt Disney School near the lake. I was in heaven! The dancing, the art, the creating, the reading, the music-wow. I credit that school for what it did for me as an artist. My summers were spent, dreaming about singing and long hair, which I didn't have due to an allergy in the scalp. I made up for it, by putting a towel on my head and swinging the ends around it as if I had Jaclyn Smith hair. One summer, after pleading with my dad, he bought me a type writer. I was so happy. I started taking books out from the library to recreate them on my typewriter. I even drew the illustrations. I spent most of my summers recreating books, all in fun and without any knowledge of copyright infringement (I don't think creating one book would have counted).
My Mom and Dad were first generation Puerto Ricans, who worked hard and loved music. They worked at Zenith and Florsheim shoes for most of their lives until my Dad bought a store. My Mom and Dad were good to me, they taught me happiness. They took great care of me. Yes, I got everything I asked for, but on their schedule. It was clear, the expectations at home were good grades and the completion of chores around the house.
As for Music, anytime I wanted an album, my dad would fork up the money. I had my own living space (books, canopy bed, T.V., radio and album player. I had albums by Barbara Streisands-The Way We Were, Tony Orlando's, Knock Three Times, Michael's Off the Wall album, Queens, Chic, loved R&B, disco and rock n' roll. The radio was what I listened to and what I put my ears to, in identifying instruments. My dad taught me how to dance. When we visited Puerto Rico, we always had family gatherings and music to dance to and reminisce to. If I remember correctly, there was a period of time, when it seemed like we were in Puerto Rico during Spring break, Summer and Winter. Christmas, my favorite time of the year-when the three kings would come to play. That is, play their acoustic guitars (12 string included) and sing in harmony-christmas folkloric music, Hibarito music, music of the island. It is just like singing the blues, full of emotion, a depiction of the life of the puerto rican, cuban, dominican islander. I loved the music, I learned how to play guitar, the maracas, the cowbell, the palitos (sticks) and guiro. We ate, danced and listened. There was always homemade moonshine waiting for our guests. They came at whatever hour struck them. Sometimes we waited and they didn't show up. It's all apart of the tradition-it's suppose to be a surprise. To this day, in Chicago, my Dad will get a serenade at wee hours of the morning-the neighbors understand. Niles residents need not worry, no one has my address. Another big influence in my life is my Aunt Carmen, a folkloric singer herself, well established in the Puerto Rican Community. Her poems are like food that melts in your mouth. Her gift of song is amazing. Whenever she sang in front of a crowd, she would call me up to get on the stage and dance. I loved dancing along side her. She still sings. She and my Dad are the reasons I went into Singing as a profession.
Dominoes and Baseball were permanent elements in our home as was rice and beans, all kinds of rice and beans; yellow rice, brown rice, white rice, orange rice, with all kinds of meat, with or without sazon, you name it. French bread and butter, with cheese and coffee-as I grew up, I just couldn't understand why this was not the norm with my american friends and in other cultures-I remember feeling embarrased about this choice of a snack. And then I realize that it is part of our culture and most likely came from our european ancestors. On a side note, while I loved my family, I have to say that getting pinched on the cheek, followed by a wet coffee kiss on the cheek was definitely not my favorite thing to experience.
I am please to see that ESPN has made a sport of the Dominoes game. My dad has collected over 1,000 trophies in his lifetime, but they became a nuisance when they were used to build a sofa, a table, because really, what else can you use these trophies for? He has Roberto Clemente pictures on his walls. He is a Cubs fan...yeah, I am pretty sure of that.
Fast forwarding to High School, which I hated and loved. It was like being in prison with the majority of gals interested in boys, makeup, hormones, confusion all abound. I just wanted to do my work, prepare for the army and get out. I wanted to be like my brother, a black belt in Karate, an Army vet, who looks like Cojack and is 6 feet 6 inches tall. He is as lean as Mr. Clean. A man who reads all the time, who can fix anything, who is, I am pretty sure a millionaire and whose vocal projection is as expected, coming from a Puerto Rican. You see, when you are raised in the mountains of Puerto Rico you are expected to communicate and hold a conversation from a peak of one mountain to another (well, yes and no). His amazing vocal gift to speak loudly even when you are inches away is proof that he is Puerto Rican (kidding). I attended Roberto Clemente, then spent my last few months at Lane Tech and graduated a year earlier. I spent my summers in programs at Loyola University and Depaul Universtity and Loyola School of Law for credit and in an effort to graduate in three years.
I started writing, poems, then songs, started painting, then, I had an epiphany. I wanted to sing. My Mom wasn't too happy with my decision. I started vocal coaching with Karyn Sarring in Lincoln Park and by age 20, I was ready for my first audition at the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. I was thrilled! No one knew me, I was a contender and most of the girls who auditioned where recommended by some of Chicago's most established professional singers/vocalists. I was a ghost that came from no where, so it seemed to them. For me an inner-city girl who wanted to prove my mother wrong and prove to myself that I can do and be whatever I want. I auditioned with Allen Kaye Orchestras. I had (still do, although rusty) a four octave range, a chest voice like Ethel Merman, did Aretha better than Aretha, the Righteous Brothers better than the Righteous Brothers, Whitney better than Whitney-I got the part. And so I went...I had clothing and money challenges, I had to dress the part. But I did what I could and wowed them with my voice. I sang in front of crowds of 2,000/3,000, at weddings and corporate events held at places like the Drake, the Ritz Carlton to name a few. I've sang at over 300 events in my lifetime. I moved forward in my singing career, I performed with Joey Valentino, Ken Arlen Orchestra, Hay Market Riot Orchestra, Sweeter Sounds and subbed for many other vocalists. I went in to the studio and recorded my own music, performed at the Taste of Chicago, Fiesta del Sol. In 2007, I sought musicians to perform at an annual awards dinner for the American Business Woman Association in Cape Coral. It went well, to say the least. Old Standards, black and white tie affair with a whole lot of Cole Porter and Gershwin. They loved it, and so did the local media, the Breeze and the News Press.
Throughout my early adult years, school was always in the forefront, and working in the health care industry was always the way to go. My experience landed me a position with the Illinois Department of Insurance as an Educational Specialist where I, ready....here we go, established SHIP Programs in 15 locations within hospital and social service organizations in Cook County and Hispanic communities throughout the State of Illinois; recruited and trained 100 volunteers with respect to all line of Insurance, Coordination of Benefits, Guaranteed Rights, etc. extending our ability to reach the underserved Medicare population; attended 100 events promoting the Ship program which included EXPOs and Health Fairs; successfully communicated and connected with an audience on complex healthcare information in over 200 public speaking events; partnered with many organizations including Illinois Department of Human Services, Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services and Department on Aging and interpreted and updated Healthcare and Medicare legislation for training sessions.
The other opportunity I had was working for the University of Illinois, Reference Laboratory in recruiting, Interviewing and selected individuals for hire, admin duties and team building with 15 staff members, in addition to monitoring and maintaining A/R processes for two specialties, from cradle to grave. I assessed, Initiated and tested billing software programs necessary in the procurement of revenue. In two years, I oversaw financial transactions and was responsible for the collection of revenue that in the first year amounted to 250,000 (net) and was 7 million at the end of the second year.
It's a long story and someday, I will share it with you as to how I ended up in Florida, but it was by no coincidence that my experience there would point me in the direction of where I should be and what I should be doing. I joined Family Magazine/La Familia, a bi-lingual flip who I didn't know was in need of a strategic marketing plan. It was in it's three years of infancy. I was their first sales person and in a span of a year, I Increased public awareness of the magazine by attending business events resulting in increased number of readership from 32,000 to 100,000 in one year and number of pages from 15 to 32 pages; developed and executed a successful strategy to promote the magazine in the community tripling readership numbers and sponsorship/partnership numbers from 2 to 30; organized and implemented market research to help re-evaluate content and visual presentation involving over 60 people and used the information to successfully rebrand the magazine; increased visibility by organizing public events, sold advertising and had writtend articles that were published.
I found my niche! Create platforms for support...Create opportunities, better yet, identify opportunities where individuals, residents, business owners alike can support one another. Bridge the gap between gender, generation, language, tech and non-tech users by informing and educating. This is what I have been doing since 2008, creating and developing this business, assisting other non profits and small businesses with their endeavors and projects, helping them get set up as an nfp, helping them establish a sound foundation and processes. And finally helping them grow through grass-root marketing, the creation of goodwill , partnerships and solicitation of funds on their behalf for their events. About goodwill, I know it doesn't pay the bills-but people will most likely choose to do business with a business who gives back to the community-there is value here.
And now for the best part, I believe in transparency, as you can see. Donations and a portion of Bridge Media's revenue will go back to the community to help foster the interest of students who share a passion for music, art and writing, after all, isn't that what most non for profits do?
And there it is...I look forward to working with you and helping you obtain the results you want in your business endeavors.
One of my goals is to provide you with resources and possibly help with some of your questions, please feel free to contact me and watch for my blog, which will have information relevant to your business.
