Born in Staten Island, New York, Ingrid Priscilla Wiggberg moved to Georgia in 1991. The combination of the witty and wise New Yorker teachings of her parents and the sweet, Southern hospitality of her childhood gave her the best of both worlds, and shaped her into who she is today.

Ingrid began her college career at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She completed her degree in Communications at Oglethorpe University.

A new business owner, and founder of The Party Makers, Ingrid Priscilla Wiggberg is quickly making a good name for herself and her company in the metro Atlanta area. Her future goal is to have event planning businesses in many other cities along the East Coast, including New York.

Her late mother who passed away about five years ago is her main inspiration for deciding to pursue the event planning business. Ingrid’s mother is sorely missed by her family and friends and she is most remembered for her talent as a great hostess and fabulous entertainer.

Excited about taking it to the next level, Ingrid plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps by making the most of the “gift” for event planning that her mother passed on to her.

People You Need to Know is proud to welcome Ms. Ingrid Priscilla Wiggberg to the Network!! Look for her in the next edition of PYNTK. She can be reached at 770-853-2069. Listen to her radio interview below.

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The mission of Festival Peachtree Latino is to serve as an integrating path between Hispanic audiences and businesses, fostering development, strengthening commercial relationships, and culturally responding to the modern and traditional activities of their community.

The first thing that is evident when arriving at Festival Peachtree Latino is its sheer size! Although a majority of visitors are Hispanic, people of all cultures attend Underground Atlanta to watch or participate in the festivities. This demonstrates that the Festival is an excellent resource to reach out to new customers. It is a great opportunity to showcase your products or services to all who attend, while enjoying a cultural experience of music, food and other exciting activities that the Festival has to offer.

Two stages featuring international performances, a parade, exhibition booths and an arts & crafts showcase are held in the Underground Atlanta area. In only 5 years, Festival Peachtree Latino has become a long awaited and ever-expanding event not only for Hispanics, but for the rest of our diverse community as well. The attendance has tripled from its beginning in 2000, to the present with a record of over 80,000 visitors in 2004.

Join us as we participate in this festive event on Sunday, August 23rd. For more information visit the Festival Peachtree Latino website!

Even though we are literally wrapped up in the age of emails, blogs, video conferencing, streaming videos, podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, etc., there are still throngs of people who prefer basic face-to-face marketing or networking instead of online social networks.

For instance, your initial business contact with Spark Plug, publisher of People You Need to Know, would probably never be through an online social network, but on the phone or face-to-face. He prefers the old school way of communicating. He says it helps him get to the heart of the matter more quickly when it comes to doing business.

On the other hand, I’m ashamed to admit that I’m addicted to Twitter. Though I enjoy events, meeting face-to-face to do business is a last resort because I believe I can do everything I need to do online. So, considering the various habits and social preferences of people, there is still a large audience looking to meet primarily at Expos, conventions and other events. The spirit at these face-to-face gatherings is inspirational, uplifting and motivational, but more than anything else, the opportunities are endless.

As a matter of fact, we use face-to-face marketing frequently to promote the people in our network and to distribute our publications. We probably participate in events throughout each year totaling more than 1 million people in attendance. We have a chance to further strengthen the brand of our clients, give people a chance to ask questions, look into their eyes or invite them under the People You Need to Know tent for a chat.

Benefits of Face-to-Face Marketing:

• Meeting people who can use your product or service
• Generate new clients or get referrals
• It gives your business more credibility
• Become more than a voice, business card, flyer in the mail or Tweet
• A chance to really show just how professional your product is to those who are not familiar with it
• Distribute new and updated information via one-pagers, brochures, product samples, etc.
• Collect business cards from potential clients to contact after the event
• Run into old friends you haven’t seen in years because you’ve been too busy working
• And if you’re lucky, you can get your product photographed and placed in the local newspaper for even greater exposure or better yet, online!

I hope you consider doing more face-to-face marketing or networking. The experience can be priceless and the opportunities are endless. In addition, it will give you a chance to get out of the office and breathe some fresh air.

~ Jacqueline Benjamin-Thomas

I am often asked how to lose weight quickly and easily.

Of course no one wants to listen to a lecture on the importance of healthy eating coupled with a solid exercise routine. That would preclude the quick and easy part.

So in a world where two thirds of all adults are overweight or obese, and some doctors predict that we will soon see a generation with a lower life expectancy than their parents due to obesity related diseases, I’ve come up with a solution that is both quick and easy. (Drum roll, please.)

Stop eating fried foods. (Gasp!)

Fried foods, despite having little to no nutritional value and being loaded with fat and calories, have become an accepted indulgence in our society. So accepted that many restaurants serve fries or chips alongside every meal.

It’s no wonder that fried foods are the number one thing that most people crave – they are salty, addictive and plentiful.

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When Facebook first came online back in 2004, I viewed it, as I know many other people did, as a personal communication site for the college age demographic. I remember my daughter telling me about being “face-booked” by a childhood friend who had moved away, or a former classmate who had gone to college in another state.

Due to their high accessibility and relative ease of use, more people began to utilize internet based sites to form relationships, not only for personal, but for political and business use as well. A shift was created in how people were locating, reading and sharing news, information and content. This union of sociology and technology has become known as social media. Facebook, one such social media site, has kept pace with and emerged as a global giant in this changing trend.

Facebook is free for individuals and businesses to join. The individual user sets up a “Profile” where they can share information about themselves, become “Friends” with other users, and there is even a chat feature for real-time communication. Each time a friend posts their status, new pictures, or an item of interest, it is visible to you through the news feed function.

Businesses can set up a Facebook “Page” which is publicly available and accessible for indexing by search engines. Businesses invite individuals to become a “Fan” of their page, and benefit from viral growth through the fan’s recommendation of the business to other friends. Through the news feed, businesses can push information out to their fan base. Any individual that is a friend of that fan, can also see the information the business distributes.

Other ways to form relationships and promote your business on Facebook include:

• Joining Networks which are based around a region, workplace or school;
• Joining or creating Groups relative to your industry or niche;
• Utilizing the Events application to broadcast an upcoming event or gathering;
• Creating your own fun Application that friends and fans can interact with, sponsored by your company;
• Purchasing targeted ads based on CPC or CPM basis (cost per clicks or impressions).

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Did you know that you can actually age backwards? Jackie Silver is Aging Backwards and she shares her secrets, tips and shortcuts in her book, Aging Backwards: Secrets to Staying Young, on her Web site, on TV, on radio, in print and in person. She is the anti-aging expert on the syndicated television show, Daytime, the beauty editor for Clear Channel’s Mix 100.7 FM Nancy & Chris Mornings in Tampa Bay, Florida, and a weekly columnist with The Tampa Tribune. In addition, she’s an expert contributor to Total Health Breakthroughs and BestLifeDesign.com, as well as a regular contributor to FocusOnStyle.com, Galtime.com and HealthNewsDigest.com.

Silver is a sought-after speaker and coach who combines her natural reporter’s curiosity with her desire to help others look and feel young. Her best-selling book is available at: Amazon.com and AgingBackwards.com.

Listen to Jackie Silver Live on Spark Plug Radio, August 7, 2009 at 9:00 am. She will be sharing her secrets, tips and shortcuts for staying young! You can also follow her on Twitter @agingbackwards.