Bright Side with Tekneshia

Dr. Greg Tefft likes to say he was his own first case history in personalized nutrition. Even as a seven-year-old champion swimmer, he became convinced that by using nutrition and exercise, he could custom design a one-of-a-kind body built to help him achieve his goals of being a World Class Swimmer and Track and Field Athlete. He just missed a spot on the Olympic Swim Team in 1972, and then the 1976 Track and Field team. His drive to excel followed into adult life as a powerlifter-turned-bodybuilder, when he became a three-time Natural Mr. America (meaning without steroids)—never done before in history!

But despite his success and commitment to healthy living and proper nutrition, Dr. Tefft suddenly found himself hospitalized, unable to breathe at the pinnacle of his bodybuilding career. It turned out to be asthma -- standardized medicine provided no real cure and no permanent relief. After hearing Dr. Carlton Fredericks, an early leader in alternative health on a radio show, Dr. Tefft pursued a course of testing that was beyond the scope of traditional medicine. These test results showed his body was suffering from high chlorine and mercury levels, plus he proved deficient in a many vitamins, minerals and critical substances that his body wasn’t absorbing.

After correcting these issues using chelation therapy, supplementation and a prescription diet, his asthma was gone. This experience led him on a quest to go beyond conventional medicine to find the root cause-and-effect issues to help people find the specific keys to their personalized health. Dr. Tefft has been treating patients since 1984 as a board-certified naturopathic physician, chiropractic doctor and drugless physician.

Since her early years in Memphis, Tennessee, Deirdre Hade has been an artist and a visionary, writing poetry and conversing with the mystical worlds. As a ballet dancer and choreographer recognized by Robert Joffery, she performed throughout the country and founded the dance ensemble, “Celebrations to the Sacred.” At sixteen, her mother diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, Deirdre discovered the healing power of light, enabling her mother to live thirteen years longer than expected. As the founder of Radiance Healing and Meditation, Deirdre has guided people worldwide, teaching them to harness their own inner wisdom and healing potential. She is currently writing her story of life as a modern day mystic. To learn more, visit: DeirdreHade.com.

KEVIN HANCOCK is the President of Hancock Lumber Company. Established in 1848, Hancock Lumber operates ten retail stores and three sawmills that are led by 475 employees. The company also grows trees on 12,000 acres of

timberland in Southern Maine.

Hancock Lumber is a multi-year recipient of the ‘Best Places to Work in Maine’ award. The company is also a past recipient of the Maine Family Business of the Year Award, the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence, and the MITC ‘Exporter of the Year’ award.

Kevin is a past chairman of the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealers Association, as well as the Bridgton Academy Board of Trustees. Kevin is a recipient of the Ed Muskie ‘Access to Justice’ Award, the Habitat For Humanity ‘Spirit of Humanity’ Award, the Boy Scouts of America ‘Distinguished Citizen’ Award, and Timber Processing Magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ Award. Kevin also spent 20 years coaching middle school basketball for the Lake

Region school district.

Kevin is a graduate of Lake Region High School and Bowdoin College. He is also a frequent visitor to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In 2015, Kevin published a book about his experiences with the Oglala Sioux Tribe titled, Not For Sale: Finding Center in the Land of Crazy Horse. The book won the 2015 National Indie Excellence Award, the 2016 Independent Authors Network Award, and the 2016 New York Book Festival Award.

Kevin is an advocate of strengthening the voices of all individuals—within a company or a community such as Pine Ridge—through listening, empowering, and shared leadership.

Will Schneider is a full-time writer living in the wine country of Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. Formerly working in business development, Schneider spent years as the Licensing Director for the world-renown artist, Laurel Burch, as well as a National Sales Manager in the wine industry and high-tech arena.

An adventurer at heart, and naturally drawn to the ‘edge’ of things, his current passion is kayaking along the wild Pacific coast. Will has equally experienced a calling to explore and push the boundaries of his inner world, and has spent decades deeply immersed in the study of various metaphysical traditions. Thirty-five years of deep training from a variety of exceptional spiritual teachings has allowed him to develop a wide-ranging platform of knowledge and understanding regarding the human inner landscape and our potential range of consciousness.

Learn more about Will Schneider at the book’s website, www.LucifersGame.com.

Karma Ambassador Darlene Tipton, aka. “Karma Dar,” is co-creator with her husband of AmazingKarma.com, a website and mobile app designed to help people reward acts of kindness, courtesy, and honesty, and expose acts of unkindness, discourtesy, and dishonesty. A child abuse survivor, breast cancer victor and five-time Jeopardy Champion, Darlene has a long career in radio, television and film that includes working as a Hollywood studio executive and now as award-winning independent producer. Learn more at AmazingKarma.com.

Karma Ambassador Ken Tipton, aka. “Karma Ken,” is co-creator with his wife Darlene Tipton of AmazingKarma.com, a website and mobile app designed to help people reward acts of kindness, courtesy, and honesty, and expose acts of unkindness, discourtesy, and dishonesty. A serial entrepreneur, Ken is a writer/actor/producer/director and subject of the award-winning film “HEART of the BEHOLDER,” which was based on his family’s true story. Learn more at AmazingKarma.com.

Mary Wingo was born in the United States where she earned a Ph.D. in human stress research from The University of North Texas. in 2014, She emigrated to Ecuador, a tiny country in South America. Living in a new and very different society opened her eyes to the unsustainable social, economic, and political costs preventable stress causes in the modern world. Dr. Wingo's aim is to clearly explain to the public the biological mechanisms behind the stress response, as well as its staggering costs to society.

I.J. Rosen was born in Brooklyn in the 1950s. Destined to live the life of the artist he moved to lower Manhattan in the late seventies and began showing ingalleries and performing in underground clubs in Soho and Tribeca. After leaving the art world, the author pursued his quest for spiritual knowledge. From shamanic initiations in Peru with a traditional medicine man, to receiving a Masters degree in art therapy – Rosen delved deeper into his own psyche. Pushing the envelope he introduced his own form of guided imagery and self-expression into psychiatric hospitals with populations ranging from children to the criminally insane.

On the other side, he developed and taught Whole Self Management programs to Executives, and Executive Coaches in the U.S. and Australia. I.J. Rosen is the co-author to the book Inner Security and Infinite Wealth (Select Books 2003) and the critically acclaimed book The Flip (Hampton Roads 2006). As a publisher and the founder of DreamSculpt Media, Inc. Rosen has produced dozens of digital media e-books for best selling authors, film producers and media channels as well as presented at venues ranging from the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco to TED X in Malibu. CA. I.J. Rosen lives in the Sonoma Wine Country with his wife.

Juston has also made an effort to step outside of his comfort zone by taking voice and dialect classes with USC's Kathleen Dunn-Muzingo, who has coached for various television series including "The Last Ship," "How to Get Away with Murder," as well as recognizable films such as Marvel's "The Avengers."

 

Additionally, Juston was cast in a New Works play at the university. USC's New Works festival gives MFA writers and actors a chance to work with reputable directors throughout the rehearsal and performance process.  USC brought in Actor/Director Edward Padilla to direct MFA writer Rebin Zangana's "The Vending Machine," a coming-of-age story where eight characters are brought together by a vending machine.  Juston was cast to play Elroy, a father figure who hopes and dreams for his son's success and happiness – something that Elroy has not, nor will ever obtain.

 

Juston is known for his role as Dale Grayden in By the Book (2012), as well as his lead and supporting roles in Padlock(2014), and Beyond the Call of Duty (2016) - http://resumes.actorsaccess.com/justonrg

Dr. Joe Martin is an award-winning international speaker, author, educator, and expert “man builder.” He's authored or co-authored nine books, including Are You the Man: 201 Lessons I Wish My Dad Would Have Taught Me, The Real Man Spiritual' Leader Blueprint, and Gifts & Handkerchiefs: A Lesson in Servant Leadership. Joe has spoken for more than 750 businesses, organizations, churches, colleges & universities, and K-12 schools/districts, and he was voted & National Speaker of the Year by the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities. He’s also the host of “Real Men Connect,” the top-rated podcast on iTunes for Christian Men.

To find out more about his remarkable story of redemption, visit him on the web at www.RealMenConnect.com, email: [email protected],or call: 423.763.7675

Co-founder of the Fan Boy Film Festival and TotallyPopCulture.com, entrepreneur Michael Kanik  has been interested in the film and comic book world since he was a young child. He has been hooked to everything pop culture ever since he was read the Spider-Man Clone Saga as bed-time stories.  In 2014 he teamed up with Marvel to bring a TotallyPopCulture.com Amazing Spider-Man exclusive variant as a New York Comic Con exclusive. His vision for the Fan Boy Film Festival is for the site to become a hub for everything pop culture. He intends on creating an online global community for filmmakers and artists to share their work with fans as well as their peers.