Skilled Labor and Schools
by Vickii Howell

Skills and Schools: A Crucial Connection

SkillsUSA Alabama– a two-day expo, competition and conference that allows businesses in industries such as construction and technology to expose schoolchildren to technical careers – starts today in Birmingham.

If you’re wondering why I would take the time to write about this, let me explain.

Recent reports, such as a recently completed Harvard University study, show that too many of our kids and youth are not prepared to enter the workforce as well-trained workers, and certainly not enterprising entrepreneurs who create jobs. Continue reading →

by Vickii Howell

A Hole in Our Community- Missing Doris Powell

There’s a hole in the fabric of Birmingham today. Doris Powell, a long-time neighborhood leader and transit advocate, died yesterday.

She died doing what she did best – communing with neighbors who were her constituents and co-leaders of the Northside community. Ms. Powell was among them at the Fountain Heights Neighborhood park when she collapsed and later died. Continue reading →

by Vickii Howell

I Rode the Bus . . . And I Liked It

My New Year started with a bang: someone crashed into my car.

It was sitting there, parked on the street in front of my apartment, minding its own business, when, at some time in the night/early morning of Jan. 3 or so, some clown ran into it. No ice was involved in the making of this wreck, by the way. Alcohol, maybe.

Old Bessie (an Acura Legend) was the real-deal metal car, not some fiberglass mash-up. So whoever hit it damaged their vehicle, because little flecks of glass covered the hood of my car. But the hit knocked my car off its front-end axle. It was totaled. I don’t know who hit it because the offender took off never left a note or a message.

Because I didn’t have the type of insurance that covered the loss, I was carless for several weeks. Continue reading →

by Vickii Howell

Gala With A Purpose: The 2011 Birmingham UNCF M.A.S.K.E.D. Fundraiser

I grew up hearing the slogan, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste,” not knowing the power behind the words.

I knew it was the catch phrase for the United Negro College Fund. Most of the time when I was growing up, it meant Lou Rawls would headline an all-star fundraising telethon for UNCF, much like Jerry Lewis did for muscular dystrophy around Labor Day.

So now, these many years later, I have a much better appreciation for what that slogan and those raised funds mean. Continue reading →

thecashflow-meagan-and darrius peace 100 urban entrepreneurs
by Vickii Howell

The Power of Good Ideas

Creation, it is said, starts with an idea, a thought that builds in the mind. The mind contemplates it, turns it over and around, studies it from different angles, and images how it could work under various conditions and circumstances.

The appearance of that idea, turning it from a thought into a tangible reality, is where the mind uses its power – its experiences, its reasoning ability, its access to resources, its outward actions through the physical body it controls – to act on the idea.

Faith (idea) without works (action), after all, is dead.

Putting faith into action is how TheCASHFLOW, and its non-profit foundation 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, came into existence. The idea is to provide start-up funding and coaching to young inner-city entrepreneurs who have great business ideas but little to no support that can help them turn those ideas into reality. Continue reading →

tommy_wrenn
by Vickii Howell

Tommy’s Words of Wisdom

Tommy Wrenn, a long-time civil rights activist and Birmingham foot soldier, died last week.  He did more to help me understand the true meaning and spiritual concepts of the Movement more than any book I’ve ever read. It is a shame when living icons leave. But fortunately, he left behind a grio’s legacy of stories and remembrances to touch the next generation of  city leaders. Continue reading →