CELEBRITY OF THE MONTH

He is young but strong like an oak tree. He is vibrant and stormy but careful with shrewd business wisdom. He is rich and self assured, but also down to earth and your kind of a guy. I met Ari Ackerman, long time ago. He is unique, fun, full of life, vividly intelligent and makes you wonder whether creative thinking alone catapults success, or that "un je ne said quoi" is needed to make it big in business. Ackerman has both: This individual charisma and business creative strategy.

Three days after having met Ari, I wrote a piece on him and it was published in a major Jewish newspaper. The owner, publisher and office manager of that paper were stormed by phone calls and bombarded with mail asking and perhaps "demanding more stuff" about this bright young man. This happened, two years ago. But, last week, I got a few calls from a female admirer and a biographer a propos of Ari Ackerman. They read my article on a website, somewhere, somehow, but were unable to put their hands on the original article published in that newspaper. And all of a sudden, I remembered Ari Ackerman. This year, I wrote a 50 page article on the best and the worst of the year. I missed Ari Ackerman. But nevertheless, I kept that article I wrote on him, in my memory and in a file on very special Jewish entrepreneurs. It is hard to forget people like Ari Ackerman. I want to share that article with you. Here it is:

Ari Ackerman, 32 year old, is one of the brightest pioneering entrepreneurs and strategic thinkers in the nation. This, makes him New York City most eligible bachelor. Grosso modo, Ackerman is the symbol of THE perfect success blended with an intoxicating charisma and bright, very bright visionary mind. A pioneer to some, a genius to others, and a role model to millions of aspiring leaders and youngsters who want to make it big in life. Six years ago, Ari Ackerman, (President and CEO of BUNK1, a web site bringing super high-tech tools and software of the Internet to the summer camp industry) thought about a quasi revolutionary entrepreneurial idea. Nobody encouraged him to go ahead with his creative visions. For, many believed that Ackerman's ideas would and could not work. But Ari Ackerman knew better. When he started out, his father said to him: ‘What's wrong with you, are you nuts? You turned down a $150,000 a year job to do this?!" Ackerman had a dream, a vision with a lot of guts. He was determined to succeed in business and life despite all odds. You could say , Ackerman is a pragmatic dreamer with romantic but extremely effective shrewd approach to business. He does not believe in impressing others or stealing the show. Being or becoming extremely visible and HUGE are of no concern to Ackerman. He sees success as a harmonious, useful, autonomous, intelligent and complete completion of a project. A project which can fulfill his objectives, offer visible, touchable and constant services to the camping industry and makes him free. Free from being bossed by anybody. He always wanted to stay small but focused, to enhance and perfect the technology without pretenses, to target the right clientele and be satisfied with a sufficient niche. Today, Ari Ackerman has accomplished this mission and fulfilled his dreams. Today, Ari Ackerman is a millionaire. Ari himself, is a summer-camp lifer and lover who grew up amid the urban grit of New York City. He loved being outdoors and mingling with children of his age. Experiencing the camaraderie of the camp life was his plat du jour. "Every summer I looked forward to getting out of the city and onto a playing field. When I was a camper, I imagined one day I’d own my own camp. But the fact is I love what I’m doing now too much.” said Ackerman.

PARENTS, PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ACKERMAN

Ackerman's hard work, unusual strategic thinking and creative leadership paid off, and served him well. He is 32 year old, wealthy, handsome, vivacious, bright and politely challenging. I wanted to know him in person. .I wanted to know and sense Ari Ackerman, the man and the visionary, not the CEO or the successful businessman. I have already amassed tons of literature about him, and visited ad infinitum websites and search engines about his accomplishments. And I read zillions of articles about his success. But it was, Ari the man, I was interested in. And I was not disappointed in meeting him. I arrived to his headquarters and was directed to his executive office. I dashed in, and Ari warmly welcomed me with a bright, refreshing and genuine BIG smile. I liked him on the spot, for I could sense an avalanche of positive energy, a bright and warm charisma, a shining intelligence all over his face, and above all a "laisser aller, a friendly intellectual-scientific cowboy nonchalant flair" about him. Ari with his long hair, bright eyes, big smile, young age, blues jeans, casual and dynamic presence looked like a blend of Howard Hughes, Chris Kristoffersen and a gentle-wild Johnny Depp. The man is likable. Up front, I told Ari that I am not here to learn more about his small empire or to ask more questions about his business strategies and HOW he made it big in life. Ari continued to smile and said : "Any thing you need. You can ask me any question you want." We began to chat. We talked about almost everything, his age, his education, his years at college, his past and present dreams, what he likes most in life, about his parents, his hobbies, the games he likes, you name it...And every time Ari Ackerman replied or commented on anything, a big smile and a delightful goodness of soul shined over his face. I asked Ari what are the three most important things in his life. And Ari Ackerman replied in an order of importance: "Family (he meant his parents), principles (he meant ethics, high standards and social values), and his business (he meant services and fruitful results). And his answer pleased me a lot. I asked Ari again "How does your director of human resources handle employment applications and review resumes? In your company who decides who is to be interviewed, considered for a position, hired or turned down?" and in a split second Ari replied: "Me. I don't have a human resources director. I want to meet, to see and get to know in person, all those who come to work for me. I am the director of the human resources. Professional qualifications are essential but, the human touch is primordial in selecting an applicant."

Ari Ackerman's office, the offices around and meeting rooms of his corporation are submerged with boxes, unopened containers, packages, stuff, computers, files, desks, hardware, scanners, printers, and equipment God knows where they came from. They are everywhere, in corners, in front of you, behind you, around you, on desks, on shelves, in unopened boxes, on the floor, Holy Moses, they are everywhere! In brief, Ackerman's corporate playground/office is a giant Babylonian show house filled with all sorts of gadgets and tools needed to make Bunk1, a leading pioneer in the camping industry. I did not mind walking over or circulating around tons of stuff, screens, monitors, hardware, software and printers, for, Ari Ackerman, the bright role model was the center of my attention.

Ackerman, today, has revolutionized the camping industry. He is wiring it and innovating it without depriving it from its original rural beauty, classic cache, its old fashioned warmth and traditional values. "Parents who sent their kids to a camp want to stay in touch with them. My company allows them to do so. Kids who are playing ball at the camps are not sitting around computers emailing their parents. They are having fun. Bunk1, allows parents to learn and see what their children are doing at the camp. Parents want to see the pictures of their kids." said Ackerman. Bunk1.com offers parents a one-way window into their children world at camp through uploading daily photos and online newsletters. Parents want to know more and more about what is going on there, what types of activities and leisure the camps are offering to their children, the type of amusement, educational programs, in general, the whole picture of the their children involvement with the activities of the camp. BUNK1 on one hand, through the Internet, offers their clients an illustrative home page of their services, a hosting facility and full package design. On the other hand, BUNK1 provides parents with one-way communications system which allows them to connect with their children. And this is happening in fact, for more than 2,000 camps and 750,000 clients in North America have been already served by BUNK1, thus making it a leading pioneer and the most successful enterprise in the camping industry. The process is practical and extremely easy. Once parents log on to a protected password, they begin to email their children and send messages to them through BUNK1 at "Bunk Notes Board". The parents' messages are e-mailed to the camp's office, where an authorized employee prints out the parents' messages and distributes them on a daily basis. The charge for this service is around $1 per piece. Instead of using the regular mail and fearing that letters might not get there, now parents can use a speedy and more secure mail delivery system through the internet, directly from their personal computers at home. However, the children at the camp do not sit in front of computers to e-mail back their parents. They use the old-fashioned way, meaning they write back to their parents with a letter or a postcard. "The kids can have the camp experience as we all remember it, being outdoors and enjoying themselves with their friends,” Ackerman explained. “They are not on the computer answering instant messages and e-mailing all day, which is what they do all winter long. The integrity of the camp experience is not disrupted.” added Ari Ackerman.

The whole entrepreneurial idea of Ackerman saw the light for the first time, while he was researching a venture capital project as an MBA student at Northwestern University. Ackerman began to combine his passion for camping with an ambitious business plan, when he discovered that there is a $9 billion mama and papa business that remained an unchanged strong industry for almost one century. Ackerman strongly believed that there are so many ways to target and find opportunities within this industry perimeter. And this is exactly what he did. He capitalized on those opportunities. Also, Ackerman found out that camps are unable to create, build and develop that technology, on their own. Ackerman said: "Even, if these camps have the know-how of the technology, they don't like to bother with. It is too much stuff and technical tasks to deal with. They prefer to outsource the whole thing." And this exactly what BUNK1 is doing now, and BUNK1 is growing every year. In June 1999, a week after he graduated with honors, Ari Ackerman took off and drove across America to sell his idea. He meet with more than 100 camp directors nationwide. And his idea began to infiltrate the minds of the camping industry executives, directors, business persons, counselors and educators. It was perfect timing for Ackerman. “This was at the peak of the dotcom rage and age. Everybody wanted to have a DOT.COM. Many began to create an Internet company. I stepped in with my idea and visions, and was able to reach out for camps directors, children and parents.” said Ari Ackerman. And the rest is history!

Ackerman's Bunk1’s is very concerned with some delicate Jewish issues. Ackerman explains: "Jewish issues concern me a lot. Being a Jew myself, I am very sensitive to the Jewish camps. I grew up very religious. So, having said that, e-mails are sent out to children and delivered before Shabbat. Parents are happy, because BUNK1 makes deadline as late as possible. All e-mails are sent and delivered before Shabbat begins." Ackerman's BUNK1 caters to more than 300 Jewish camps nationwide. Today, Ari Ackerman has become a major key player and a dominant force of the camping industry, and the entrepreneurial world of DOT.COM! He made it his way. And what a way it was!-By MDL.

2005 was a very good year for Paulette Attie. The New York JEWISH POST selected her as "Star of The Month". And in the Post's annual list of "Most Outstanding Women of America", Paulette Attie was on the list. World Art Celebrities Journal in their special edition of the year, Paulette was nominated "Grande Dame of the American Showbiz". Paulette made the cover of "STARS ILLUSTRATED", magazine and was nominated "STAR OF THE YEAR". In the recent edition of "WHO'S WHO OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN FEMALE SINGERS", Paulette Attie occupied a place of honor. In Paris, "La Femme Magazine" chose Attie "Artiste Extraordinaire of the Year". So, this nymph is still making noise and a big buzz!

President Bush sent Paulette a letter of congratulations for her song “United Are We" and for donating her time to work with the children at PS 1, the school nearest Ground Zero that was still operating after 9/11. She was invited to sing "United Are We" at PS 1 on the six month anniversary of 9/11, where fifty 7 and 8 year olds joined her. The performance was seen several times on NY1 TV. On September 11, 2002 the entire student body of 650 children at PS 1 sang “United Are We” with Paulette honoring the one year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.

ATTIE, THE EDUCATOR: In addition to major productions and plays she took part or starred in, and between writing books and essays, Paulette Attie devotes a great deal of her time to education. She has taught and lectured in colleges and institutions, presenting interactive programs of songs and poems, to both educate and entertain. She is highly admired for her original children’s show Time for a Rhyme, which includes songs and poems she has written, along with those of Langston Hughes, Irving Berlin, William Shakespeare, and Nikki Giovanni.