From Homeless to the C-Suite: CEO Traces Improbable Journey in The Most Unlikely Leader
West Palm Beach, FL, September 27, 2022 — At age 15, Roger Smith dropped out of school, left home and became addicted to drugs. By all accounts, he should have hit rock bottom multiple times before that fateful day, nearly 20 years later, when he found himself on his hands and knees, rummaging for remnants of crack cocaine in the carpet. It’s an image of himself he says he never wants to recreate.
“The picture of who I was at the very end — that picture was so strong in my mind that I just never wanted to go back there again,” Smith said during a recent interview.
The Most Unlikely Leader: An Unbelievable Journey From GED to CEO is Smith’s empowering story of how he got clean, got his act together and rose through the ranks of American Income Life Insurance, where he eventually became CEO. But Smith didn’t stop there. He also went on to serve as CEO of National Income Life Insurance and Liberty National Life Insurance companies.
A fast-paced blend of memoir, business manifesto and leadership manual, The Most Unlikely Leader is an unflinching look at a side of Smith’s life that few people knew about — until now. He takes readers inside his philosophy, his decisions (both good and bad) and the sheer grit he harnessed to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Smith speaks candidly about his struggles with addiction, divorce, lack of formal education and homelessness in an effort to show readers that problems can be solved, bad habits can be broken, and challenges can be overcome with the right mindset and work ethic.
“I want to share my story to tell you that your life and your career and who you are as a person are all within your hands,” he wrote in the book’s introduction. “You can fall all the way down to a dark place where you can’t see your way out … and then through sheer grit and gumption and tenacity … you can claw your way out. Because that’s what I did.”
About the Author
Roger Smith is an American author and former CEO of American Income Life Insurance, National Income Life Insurance and Liberty National Life Insurance companies. His journey is one that embodies the fact that no matter how low a person is in life, almost anything is possible with determination and the right mindset. He was the recipient of the Yitzhak Rabin Legacy Award, Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, Healthcare For All Champion Award, Sol Stein Award and numerous others. He is the father of five adult children (Nicole, Conrad, Emily, Adam and Amiah), proud grandfather of Maggie Mae, and currently resides in Florida with his wife, Demi, and his two dogs, Penelope and Chrome.
Blown Into Now Nudges Readers Toward Light After Loss
San Francisco, Calif., September 27, 2022― Mylo Schaaf had to find a path through the tears and horrors of grief after her son passed away at the age of 24. A trained journalist and editor, Schaaf suddenly felt compelled to string words together in a manner unencumbered by the rules of formal writing.
The result is Blown Into Now: Poems for a Journey, a collection oflyrical writings that offer glimpses into the stages Schaaf went through, techniques that she tried, and manifestations of her son’s presence.
“The path is not all sadness,” she said during a recent interview. “It goes sort of up and down as you suppose any path would, but it eventually heads toward joy and toward understanding.”
In Blown Into Now, Schaaf carries readers from deep sadness and loss to comfort and support, finally edging toward joy. Her melodic words become a guidebook, allowing those who grieve to witness a spectrum of responses, to understand what might give relief, and to know how to look for the signposts that will guide them down the path toward healing.
Each of Schaaf’s 45 remarkable poems is paired with a striking photograph taken by her mountaineer son, Alex Lowenstein, who passed on unexpectedly in his twenties. Schaaf’s personal journey through grief became this book.
To those who must endure such a shocking new reality, she aims to bring compassion, beauty and spiritual connection.
Her poems reveal a mother’s great heart and the love she shares with her son for granite peaks and untracked desert. Each photograph provides a pause from grief and allows us a glimpse of something we want and cannot name.
About the Author
Mylo Schaaf trained as a journalist, editor and physician, before taking a left turn into poetry. Before everything changed, she was a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco, mentoring and teaching students in international, low-resource settings. Her commitment to global health grew out of her work and connection with India, the Americas, Liberia, Haiti and China. Then one day, a shocking phone call collapsed this pursuit of engagement and action. Her 24-year-old son, a mountaineer/peace-and-conflict scholar/veteran, had passed away. Poems demanded to be written. They brought relief and healing, as did warm, grassy hills, tree spirits and arms of sky. Years wandered past. Poems continue to emerge, as the tangles of days slip into light.
For more information, please visit https://www.myloschaaf.com, or follow the author on Instagram at writermyloschaaf.
Blown Into Now – Poems for a Journey
Publisher: Blue Light Press
ISBN: 979-8-9864093-0-6 (soft cover, available now)
Doctors Offer Vaccine Insights as New Boosters are Readied
Santa Ana, CA, September 27, 2022 — Another COVID booster is on the horizon — this one targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 variants — opening the door for more discussion surrounding vaccine efficacy and the overall pandemic response.
Pointing to animal studies that date back more than 20 years, Dr. George Fareed of the Imperial Valley in California recently shared his perspective on why the type of vaccines being used have fallen short of expectations and possibly prolonged the pandemic.
“If you immunize a population in the pandemic with a vaccine that suppresses, to some extent, replication or gives some mild benefit of some sort in terms of the severity of the illness, it’s not a safe thing to do,” Dr. Fareed said. “You always use a blocking or a sterilizing vaccine — one that doesn’t allow the virus to break through. And that’s absolutely what we did not accomplish with these gene therapy-type vaccines … it doesn’t provide immunity or even prevent the infection for more than a few weeks or months … so it allows for a mutable virus to generate variants and perpetuate a pandemic.”
In the early days of COVID-19, Dr. Fareed and Dr. Brian Tyson created an early treatment protocol comprised of both pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. To date, they have successfully treated 12,000 COVID patients (and counting).
In their book, Overcoming the COVID Darkness, Drs. Fareed and Tyson chronicle their journey, detailing (in layperson’s terms) their COVID treatment formula and attempting to provide readers with clarity about the illness — with an entire chapter devoted to the vaccine response. The book also contains testimonials from patients and other doctors, research studies, news clippings, a letter they wrote to congress and a national COVID plan that can be adapted for future pandemics.
“Instead of the vaccine, people should have been treated early in the illness, and then they would have developed strong immunity, and we wouldn’t have all these new variants,” Dr. Fareed added.
About the Authors
Dr. George Fareed graduated from Harvard Medical School with Honors and completed a medical internship at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He has worked at NIAID, at Harvard Medical School and at UCLA School of Medicine.
He was a founder and director of scientific planning of a biotech company, Ingene (International Genetic Engineering, Inc.). Since 1991, Dr. Fareed has worked clinically in primary medical care in the Imperial Valley of California. He has been on the frontline for early COVID-19 treatment, and has practiced the whole spectrum of COVID-19 care, treating outpatients as well as inpatients as a hospitalist. He testified on November 19, 2020, in the Senate Hearing on early COVID-19 treatment.
Dr. Brian Tyson is a board-certified family practitioner who worked as an emergency physician at Arrowhead Regional Medical center for 13 years and as a hospitalist physician for 14 years before opening his own urgent care in 2018.
Dr. Tyson was the Program Medical Director for Cogent Healthcare and Beaver Medical Group. His experience with COVID-19 has been exceptional, with over 30,000 patients evaluated, and zero deaths with early treatment.
His urgent care serves a high-risk population that includes two nursing homes, and his success was due to his aggressive early management. Due to his proven methodology, Dr. Tyson is considered a frontline COVID-19 treatment expert and has been featured on multiple media sites.
Silence understands the struggles of emotional pain well. A survivor of cancer while pregnant, childhood sexual abuse and domestic abuse, she has known enormous suffering, but she learned to defeat her emotional pain to live free and happy.
Silence has taught clients worldwide on topics such as how to understand that past pain impacts the present, how to liberate yourself from those wounds, and how to connect to your own inner healer to create a life where you not only survive, but also thrive.
Now in her new book, Coming Back to Life: A Roadmap to Healing from Pain to Create the Life You Want, Silence helps readers create an opening to possibility. She provides tools, strategies and support that will allow readers to get to the root of their pain patterns while also receiving hope, encouragement and access to the light at the end of the dark tunnel they may find themselves in.
“What the world desperately needs now more than ever before is a way to navigate trauma and difficult emotions,” said Silence. "How you feel is 100 percent based on how healed your past is. There really is life on the other side of whatever darkness people are facing, and this book offers hope, healing, and a roadmap that is guaranteed to empower and encourage readers to take their lives back from an emotionally clear, neutral and grounded space. You’ll never have to feel powerless again, and that is a promise,” Silence added.
Readers will learn how to:
- Emotionally heal and process through anxiety, depression and past trauma, and re-commit to living a fulfilling life.
- Break free from generational pain patterns to become the most authentic and happy versions of themselves.
- Be the source of their own encouragement, take control over their lives and never feel powerless again.
“Coming Back to Life is the book that the world needs in this moment. It will illuminate what has been invisibly holding you back and give you a clear path to feeling good and getting what you want,” said Stephen Lovegrove, America’s Life Coach.
About the Author
Rebeccah Silence is a global advocate and leading coach in emotional healing and relationships. As a survivor of childhood trauma and abuse, and being diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer while she was pregnant, she has helped countless individuals, couples and families process even the most intense traumatic experiences — and heal!
An accomplished TV and radio personality with over two decades of experience speaking to millions about doing the inner work, Silence is a groundbreaking voice in the space of healing and self-development. Her life’s mission is about supporting people in moving through their healing so they can allow themselves to truly thrive.
Silence is the author of Coming Back to Life, host of the Healing IS Possible Experience and the Tougher Together Breakthrough podcast, and the creator of the on-demand The Emotional Survival Kitcourse. Through her coaching, seminars, books and online courses, Silence teaches audiences how to become their own healers, how to love and trust themselves, and how to be their best for others and the world. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, two daughters and two dogs. Visit her website: rebeccahsilence.com.
Coming Back to Life: A Roadmap to Healing from Pain to Create the Life You Want Publisher: HCI Books Release Date: October 11, 2022 ISBN-10: 0757324460 ISBN-13: 9780757324468 Trade Paperback, 256 pages Available for pre-order on Amazon.com
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World Contraception Day - With 48% of pregnancies being unintentional, let’s talk about contraception options
OTTAWA, Ontario, Sept. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As Monday September 26 is World Contraception Day, the SOGC wishes to bring your focus on issues still not solved in Canada. Statistics shows that 48% of young women unintentionally become pregnant (1). This means too few women and girls do not know enough about the options available. Policymakers, educators, corporations and even medical professionals must do more to help.
First option: education. We are offering a podcast to help women and young women to learn about contraception options available and how to discuss the matter with a physician. A panel of experts was gathered by The Brand is Female on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (free recording available on Monday). The Brand is Female is Canada’s leading podcast about women leadership. For World Contraception Day, the SOGC also came up with a specific set of solutions gathered in one location: www.sogc.org/contraception. The SOGC also offers reliable and trustworthy online tools – pregnancyinfo.ca, itsaplan.ca – and a partner such as Organon offers essencelle.ca. They provide women, particularly those in vulnerable positions, with vital information to become their own advocates.
Second option: availability. Abortion pill is unequally available throughout Canada, for example rarely proposed in Atlantic Provinces and Quebec, and rarely available without prescription. The SOGC is totally in favor of health solutions, including contraceptives, being easier to get for women and girls Canada-wide. In many places, barriers will have to burst through or worked around.
Third: time for men to do more. Men must educate themselves on contraception issues and become responsible sexual partners. And where they hold positions of decision-making and sway, men must champion progress and push for positive change.
On this September 26th, World Contraception Day is an opportunity to recognize that millions of women and girls need more education, better availability for contraception options, and better cooperation from men. The SOGC’s latest podcast hopes to help these women to learn and discuss contraception more openly with their partner or with their doctor.
Shaking Up The Vegan Cheese Category Since 2004!
Award-Winning Parma! Vegan Parmesan Offers Cheese Lovers A Delectably Nutritious Range of Dairy-Free, Protein-Rich Condiments Ideal For Main Dishes, Salads, Pizza & More!
MEDFORD, OREGON - With just the right condiment, a plain salad becomes a festival of flavors, a plate of vegetables transforms into a delectable stroll through a country garden, and an ordinary bowl of pasta becomes a savory work of art. And perhaps no condiment covers as many different foods and as many different cultures as classic Italian Parmesan cheese.
Unfortunately, for vegans or anyone following a dairy-free and/or calorie-conscious diet, parmesan cheese has always been not only off limits but one of the most difficult of life’s little indulgences to forego. If only someone, somewhere, could create a non-dairy parmesan cheese alternative so authentically delectable that even the most discerning cheese lovers would never miss its conventional counterpart ever again!
Well, luckily for countless millions of us, someone has. Welcome to the next revolution within the booming vegan cheese category – Parma!
Created in Oregon just over 15 years ago by Sister River Foods’ founder Shannon Schnibbe (Tofurky founder Seth Tibbott is an ongoing Advisor), Parma! was established in response to a rapidly-growing need within the vegetarian marketplace for a breakthrough allergen-free parmesan alternative.
Comprised of four deliciously distinct varieties – including Better Than Bacon Parma! –voted Favorite Bacon-Flavored Product in 2017 by VegNews magazine – Parma! is a plant-based umami superfood line of convenient and affordable products that are Paleo and Keto-friendly, a complete protein, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO and Certified Kosher.
In addition, all four raw nut and seed-based Parma! flavors contain whole raw ingredients, are low in sodium, heart-healthy, packed with essential B vitamins and trace minerals, replete with beneficial animo acids and an excellent source of healthy oils.
Enjoying its most successful period of growth to date in terms of both distribution and revenue, Parma! late last month introduced an ambitious new website featuring easy navigation, boldly colorful images and graphics, exciting new recipes and convenient shopping options.
A World Of Flavor
Available in health stores nationwide as well as on the brand new www.eatparma.com site, Amazon, VitaCost and other online retailers, Parma! is ideal for environmentally conscious consumers, vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and all health conscious eaters. Unlike some other vegan cheese alternatives, Parma! has also proven highly appealing to mainstream cheese aficionados who are ready to eschew traditional cheese so long as a healthier option boasting authentic flavor, aroma and texture is available.
Sold in 3.5 and 7-ounce bottles, Parma! can be savored on pasta, lightly steamed vegetables, pizza, salads, potatoes, avocado toast, popcorn and countless other hor d'oeuvres, main dishes and desserts. For suggested recipes, please visit https://eatparma.com/cat egory/recipes/.
·Better Than Bacon Parma! – Voted Favorite Bacon FlavoredProduct by VegNews and featuring a smokey cheesey umami bacon flavor. Ingredients: Nutritional Yeast, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Ground Paprika, Organic Dried Onion, Natural Flavor, Organic Brown Sugar, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Smoked Salt, Organic Hemp Seeds.
·Chipotle Cayenne Parma! – Blessed with a smokey umami flavor akin to the most popular barbeque potato chips, with a slight cayenne kick at the end. Ingredients: Nutritional Yeast, Organic SunflowerSeeds, Walnuts, Organic Ground Chipotle Pepper, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Organic Hemp Seeds, Organic Onion Powder, Organic Ground Cayenne Pepper.
·Garlicky Green Parma! – Distinguished by acheesey umami Italian herb flavour complemented by nutritiously delicious kelp, pumpkin and sesame seeds. Ingredients: Nutritional Yeast, Organic SunflowerSeeds, Walnuts, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, OrganicDried Garlic, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Organic Hemp Seeds, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Kelp Powder, Organic Dried Basil, Organic Dried Oregano.
For parmesan lovers in Europe (in other words – just about everyone!), Parma! also offers a specially branded line called Shake! Original featuring a mouth-wateringly cheesey umami flavor and such ingredients as nutritional yeast, raw organic sunflower seeds, raw walnuts, raw organic pumpkin seeds, raw organic hemp seeds, and Himalayan crystal salt.
Parma! is expected to introduce a bold new line of products to the U.S. marketplace later this year.
Only The Beginning
Founded in 2004, Parma! has steadily grown to its current status as a leader in the dairy-free cheese alternative arena and a key player in the multi-billion-dollar global vegan food category.
Looking back on the origins of the Parma! brand, Sister River Foods’ co-founder and CEO Shannon Schnibbe recalls that it all started as the result of her severe allergies and effort to find foods that might give her relief. Introduced to raw foods, she was soon inspired to begin making what is now Parma! for herself, friends and family. After moving to Oregon and becoming pregnant with her first baby, she decided to combine her passion for healthy eating with her corporate experience and turn her hobby into an actual business. The vegan parmesan revolution had begun!
Today, Shannon takes special pride not only in the rave reviews, industry honors, new distribution channels and increased sales Parma! has enjoyed in recent years, but in her brand’s ability to provide a more nutritious yet equally delicious alternative for those who have been missing out on one of life’s true culinary pleasures – parmesan cheese.
According to Tofurky founder Seth Tibbott, "Like Tofurky, Parma is an authentic, trailblazing brand with deep roots that took hold when the plant-based world was very young. I love that it is a family owned business run by kind, passionate people producing a wholesome vegan food with exceptional flavor."
Adds Shannon, “Parma! gives you that cheesey flavor without all the dairy baggage. It provides an excellent food source of high-quality vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, omega 3’s and trace minerals, along with the natural goodness of hemp, and it tastes great! We’re deeply grateful for the exceptionally warm reception our brand has received from consumers and industry leaders since our very first days on the market and look forward to continuing to shake up the dairy-free industry for many, many years to come.”
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Ontario’s Russell Alexander Pens New Book Offering Advice to Couples Getting ‘Zoom Divorces’ Family lawyer anticipates rise in online divorce hearings with increase in Covid transmission
TORONTO, Ontario — Longtime Ontario family lawyer Russell Alexander’s latest book “Zoom Divorce” is now available on Amazon and gives sound advice to couples going through divorce in the pandemic era on virtual lawyer meetings and legal hearings by way of videoconferencing.
“Courts are pretty traditional places, so it took a global pandemic for judges to loosen the rules enough to try holding a divorce hearing over Zoom,” said Alexander. “But once we got the hang of it, they turned out to be less stressful and less expensive for our clients, and more accessible than a traditional court hearing in many respects, especially for working parents and those with young children.”
Alexander said that Zoom divorce hearings can allow couples to avoid taking the day off work or avoid having to find childcare just to trek to the courthouse for a routine hearing. They are also helpful for people who are leaving an abusive spouse since they can avoid seeing their abuser in person. And they give lawyers the option to work with clients who may live in remote areas and would otherwise struggle to find legal representation.
When the pandemic began to wane earlier this year, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice moved to cut back on videoconferencing beginning in April, requiring that in-person hearings be the default. Alexander opposed the move, starting an online petition that received over 1,500 signatures and leading an ad-hoc committee of seasoned lawyers throughout Ontario that seeks to preserve Zoom hearings.
But Alexander said that videoconferencing remains available in many areas, depending on the judge and jurisdiction, and throughout other courts in Canada. He also anticipates that it could make a comeback, especially if the return to school and more in-person court hearings lead to more coronavirus infections, continued high gas prices make travel more expensive and family lawyers continue to push back against requirements for in-person hearings.
He said his new book will help couples who are going through a “Zoom divorce” with real-life examples and tips to ensure the best results.
“Just because a divorce hearing isn’t being held in a traditional courtroom, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to prepare for it,” he added. “From getting familiar with the software to knowing how to come off best in a videoconference testimony, there are lots of tips that can help you work towards the best results.”
Doctors Offer Vaccine Insights as New Boosters are Readied
Santa Ana, CA, September 26, 2022 — Another COVID booster is on the horizon — this one targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 variants — opening the door for more discussion surrounding vaccine efficacy and the overall pandemic response.
Pointing to animal studies that date back more than 20 years, Dr. George Fareed of the Imperial Valley in California recently shared his perspective on why the type of vaccines being used have fallen short of expectations and possibly prolonged the pandemic.
“If you immunize a population in the pandemic with a vaccine that suppresses, to some extent, replication or gives some mild benefit of some sort in terms of the severity of the illness, it’s not a safe thing to do,” Dr. Fareed said. “You always use a blocking or a sterilizing vaccine — one that doesn’t allow the virus to break through. And that’s absolutely what we did not accomplish with these gene therapy-type vaccines … it doesn’t provide immunity or even prevent the infection for more than a few weeks or months … so it allows for a mutable virus to generate variants and perpetuate a pandemic.”
In the early days of COVID-19, Dr. Fareed and Dr. Brian Tyson created an early treatment protocol comprised of both pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. To date, they have successfully treated 12,000 COVID patients (and counting).
In their book, Overcoming the COVID Darkness, Drs. Fareed and Tyson chronicle their journey, detailing (in layperson’s terms) their COVID treatment formula and attempting to provide readers with clarity about the illness — with an entire chapter devoted to the vaccine response. The book also contains testimonials from patients and other doctors, research studies, news clippings, a letter they wrote to congress and a national COVID plan that can be adapted for future pandemics.
“Instead of the vaccine, people should have been treated early in the illness, and then they would have developed strong immunity, and we wouldn’t have all these new variants,” Dr. Fareed added.
About the Authors
Dr. George Fareed graduated from Harvard Medical School with Honors and completed a medical internship at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He has worked at NIAID, at Harvard Medical School and at UCLA School of Medicine.
He was a founder and director of scientific planning of a biotech company, Ingene (International Genetic Engineering, Inc.). Since 1991, Dr. Fareed has worked clinically in primary medical care in the Imperial Valley of California. He has been on the frontline for early COVID-19 treatment, and has practiced the whole spectrum of COVID-19 care, treating outpatients as well as inpatients as a hospitalist. He testified on November 19, 2020, in the Senate Hearing on early COVID-19 treatment.
Dr. Brian Tyson is a board-certified family practitioner who worked as an emergency physician at Arrowhead Regional Medical center for 13 years and as a hospitalist physician for 14 years before opening his own urgent care in 2018.
Dr. Tyson was the Program Medical Director for Cogent Healthcare and Beaver Medical Group. His experience with COVID-19 has been exceptional, with over 30,000 patients evaluated, and zero deaths with early treatment.
His urgent care serves a high-risk population that includes two nursing homes, and his success was due to his aggressive early management. Due to his proven methodology, Dr. Tyson is considered a frontline COVID-19 treatment expert and has been featured on multiple media sites.
::::25,000 TICKETS ALREADY SOLD!:::: A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED & MESMERIZING ONTARIO PREMIERE FOR ILLUMI – A DAZZLING WORLD OF LIGHTS BY CAVALIAThe largest light, sound and multimedia show in the world put stars and lights in visitors of all ages’ eyesPHOTOS OF THE DAZZLING EVENING: https://we.tl/t-4B05gXiZ5Y PHOTO OF CREATOR NORMAND LATOURELLE: https://we.tl/t-cyKvefE7NZ RED CARPET PHOTOS: https://we.tl/t-MBxogF7cu8 MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO (FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022) #illumiMississauga – After months of anticipation, thousands of guests and locals flocked to illumi on Tuesday night to celebrate the opening of their new location in Mississauga, Ontario. Underneath the impressive illumi Tree of Lights, Normand Latourelle, creator of illumi, kicked off the festivities and glowed with pride as he reflected on the hard and dedicated work it took to bring the joy of illumi to GTA residents and beyond.
ALREADY A ROARING SUCCESS Latourelle’s passion and vision coupled with the dedication of his team has more than paid off. The latest GTA attraction is sparking tons of buzz and has already sold 25,000 tickets for its first edition in Mississauga! Of the six nights that illumi has run so far, four have been completely sold out.
With ticket prices comparable to those of a movie ticket and free parking close to the entrance, illumi is a perfect choice for a fun outing with your friends, family, or special someone.
AN EVENING WITH LIGHTS, MAGIC AND AMAZEMENT What’s historically been a quiet area of Mississauga at night could not have been more lively on Tuesday evening for the official Ontario premiere of illumi – A Dazzling World of Lights. Over 3,500 visitors of all ages came to take in the sights at illumi. No matter where visitors turned their heads, they could catch families, couples and friends snapping pictures with their loved ones, interacting with light structures like never before, and looking around with sheer wonder and amazement.
On top of exploring the 14 universes at illumi, visitors got the chance to stop for a warm delicious bite at our food trucks or at the illumi food and beverage tent and round out the evening with a visit to the gift shop for souvenirs.
SOME FAMILIAR FACES DAZZLED BY THE LIGHTS Several notables joined illumi for the festivities on Tuesday night and struck a pose on the red carpet. Among them was Mississauga Councillor Carolyn Parrish, CFL legend Michael Pinball Clemons, actors Katie Douglas, Tyssen Smith, TJ McGibbon, Dani Kind, and Jenna Warren as well as other public figures Sarain Fox, Melissa Grelo, Grego Minot, Mike Drolet, Radheyan Simonpillai, Ella Clarens, Leah Collins, Christina Cravero, Azalea Hart, Stacy Lee Kong, Jay Kana, and Kaysey Davis.ILLUMI – THE LARGEST LIGHT, SOUND AND MULTIMEDIA SHOW IN THE WORLD Kids and adults embark on a spectacular outdoor journey on foot through 14 magical worlds across a 600,000-sq-ft site (equivalent to ten football fields!) located near the intersection of the 407 and Hurontario Street. Brought to life by cutting-edge programming technologies, the immersive illumi universe features high-definition projections, jaw-dropping, state-of-the-art animatronic creatures, thousands of light structures, and over 20 million brilliant LED bulbs.
A SPOOKY SURPRISE COMING THIS HALLOWEEN Starting mid-October, illumi will introduce its first seasonal universe, a glowing pumpkin patch filled with 3,000 fiery-eyed pumpkins. Those who walk through this glowing field will see the first illumi installation where the lights look back at you, literally!
Visitors will also have the chance to enjoy special Halloween touches in the following universes: The Crazy Boulevard, Europea Place, The illumi Tree of Lights and its Village, and The Happiest Farm. Expect marvelous monsters, gleaming ghosts, wicked witches, and thousands of jack-o-lanterns of all shapes and sizes.ILLUMI – A DAZZLING WORLD OF LIGHTS BY CAVALIA AT A GLANCEAn epic multimedia journey around the worldA magical and extraordinary nocturnal outdoor journey20 million+ LED lightsThousands of structures spread throughout 14 magical universes, including one rotating seasonal universeA 600,000 square feet site, the equivalent of 10 football fields!Experience a magical walk under the stars like never before!SPOOKY AT ILLUMI, FROM OCTOBER 23THE HOLIDAY AT ILLUMI, FROM NOVEMBER 23 ABOUT CAVALIA AND ILLUMI Cavalia is a Canadian entertainment company that specializes in creating, producing and marketing large-scale live shows and events. A family business founded by Normand Latourelle, the company’s mission is to create the unexpected. Its expertise in high technology, multimedia and special effects creates magical, unique, never-before-seen experiences. illumi – A Dazzling World of Lights is Cavalia’s latest creation: a magical and captivating nocturnal journey created with thousands of monumental light sculptures. With illumi, Cavalia has established a multigeneration tradition in Quebec over the last 3 years, welcoming over 1.5 million visitors of all ages to date.
Follow illumi – A Dazzling World of Lights on social media!
Instagram: @illumiMississauga Facebook: @illumiMississauga TikTok: @illumiinsauga #illumiMississaugaEDITORIAL CALENDARWHAT: illumi – A Dazzling World of Lights by Cavalia WHEN: Now through January 8, 2023 WHERE: 7174 Derrycrest Dr, Mississauga, ON, L5W 1N4 FREE PARKING TICKETS & INFO: mississauga.illumi.com
Faith and First Responders: How Believing in a Higher Power Can Promote Healing
Antioch, CA, September 23, 2022 — If he were given a chance to travel back in time, make different choices and avoid a prison sentence, Norm Wielsch says he would decline the offer. In 2013, the former undercover narcotic agent was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after he pled guilty to corruption charges, and it was there, behind prison walls, where he finally found healing through faith.
“If you don’t believe in a higher power, there’s no rhyme or reason to life,” Wielsch said in a recent interview. “Life is just a series of incidents that happen. But if you truly believe that there is a higher power, and there’s a reason for things that happen, I believe that you can adjust to it, and cope with it a little bit better.”
As a police officer for 25 years, Wielsch witnessed his share of trauma and would later fall into a downward spiral following his own diagnosis of PTSD. He served 8 years of his 14-year sentence and emerged from federal prison determined to help others — particularly first responders — heal from trauma.
Wielsch’s new book, Christ Centered Healing of Trauma: Healing a Broken Heart (and companion small group study guide), teaches foundational principles and tools for resolving issues related to traumatic life events.
Readers will learn how trauma affects the heart, body and soul; how to manage emotions; how to identify the root cause of emotional pain; and how to begin the healing process.
Through a bible study portion, readers will learn God's plan for salvation and healing. Included are numerous sample prayers to guide readers through the healing process.
Wielsch’s Christ-Centered healing method was originally designed to minister to first responders and combat veterans but is also appropriate for counselors, pastors, chaplains and anyone whose lives are impacted by trauma.
“This book is not only for the victims of trauma, but for their husbands, wives, daughters, sons and parents who suffer right along with them,” Wielsch said. “They are wounded people as well. Hurt people, hurt people. Since our families are the closest to us, we tend to hurt them more than we intend.”
About the Author
Norm Wielsch was a law enforcement officer for over 25 years — 16 of those as an undercover narcotic agent. In 1998, he was diagnosed with an incurable neuro-muscular disease, and after more than 30 surgeries, he became addicted to opioids. Wielsch was diagnosed with PTSD, and then his daughter was diagnosed with a serious illness and given a poor prognosis. In a downward spiral, Wielsch made a series of bad decisions that landed him in federal prison.
While incarcerated, he obtained a master’s degree in Theology and Counseling, a Doctorate in Christian Counseling, and a Drug and Alcohol Counseling Degree. He currently works at a men's residential treatment facility as a registered alcohol and drug counselor and pastoral care provider. He is a working credentialed chaplain who hopes to one day launch a first responder ministry.
Wielsch also has a master’s degree in Law Enforcement Management and is an expert in law enforcement tactics, criminal investigations, pursuit driving, high risk search warrant service, PTSD and the police culture.
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