{"id":526,"date":"2008-11-24T09:22:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-24T09:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expandsmtest.com\/franchiseking\/5-things-you-dont-know-about-me-joel-libava\/"},"modified":"2021-05-22T16:13:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-22T20:13:36","slug":"5-things-you-dont-know-about-me-joel-libava","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefranchiseking.com\/5-things-you-dont-know-about-me-joel-libava","title":{"rendered":"5 Things You Don’t Know About Me, Joel Libava"},"content":{"rendered":"

5 Things<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ann Handley<\/strong> is considered “One Of The 50 Most Powerful And Influential Women In Social Media.” She is a great writer, and is currently the Chief Content Officer<\/strong> for the 300,000 + member Marketing Profs<\/a><\/strong> website. Ann is also a great lady, and one who I have gotten to know this past year.<\/p>\n

Last week, I was one of the 5 folks she called on<\/a><\/strong> to write “5 Things You Don’t Know About Me<\/strong><\/em>.” It all started when this person<\/a><\/strong> called Ann out to do a post on the same topic. Ann decided to choose a few folks to write their “5 Things”, so here goes….<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> I really wanted to be a doctor, but I did lousy in school.<\/p>\n

This goes under the “If I knew then what I know now”<\/em> category.<\/p>\n

I really struggled big time<\/em> in school. Actually it was when I got into the 6th Grade. Things like Chemistry and Pre-Algebra totally baffled me. I escaped Elementary school, and entered Junior High.<\/p>\n

I had dreams of becoming a doctor. I remember going to garage sales with my Dad, and looking for any type of medical books I could get my hands on. I memorized every organ, and every bone in the human body. I dissected stuff. {A lot<\/strong> of stuff}I was a focused young man.<\/p>\n

I remember signing up for Biology class. This was the class I had been dreaming of for years. <\/em>I was finally old enough to take a real Biology course! I got a D. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I was crushed. I couldn’t hack Biology. Anything beyond Pre-Algebra was not happening, and forget about physics. So much for Medical school.<\/p>\n

I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder<\/a> {ADD}when I was about 35 years old. If ADD was understood more when I was a kid, maybe I could’ve received some help. So it goes…<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> I was a Maitre D in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

I worked in the restaurant business from the ages of 16-28. I worked in some of Cleveland Ohio’s <\/strong>finest establishments, and my restaurant career culminated with my experience in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

My best friend, Phil Madow<\/a>, currently the President<\/em> of The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel And Casino <\/a>in Hollywood, Florida invited me out to Vegas, where he was working in the hospitality business. I moved there, and worked in a couple of places until I landed a job as Showroom Maitre D at The Four Queens Hotel And Casino. It was a really cool job. I sat people, and put my hand out for tips. Good stuff!<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> I’ve had the chance to meet several celebrities<\/p>\n

In my restaurant-hotel career, I have had the chance to meet, and take care of, several pretty famous people. They include:<\/p>\n

Bob Hope, Bill Cosby, Tony Orlando, Rich Little, Henny Youngman, Don Rickles, Telly Savalas and Frank Sinatra Jr.<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> I had a brief career in Radio-TV<\/p>\n

I was blessed with some good pipes, and in my Senior year of High School, I participated in “Senior Project.” Senior Project enabled me to leave the High School grounds, and “work” in a field I was interested in, which at the time was broadcasting…I wanted to be an announcer.<\/p>\n

In interned at M105<\/strong>–WWWM<\/strong>-Cleveland. M105 was the #2 Rock station in Cleveland back in 1977, having to compete against WMMS-Cleveland. WMMS<\/strong> was considered one of our country’s top rock stations at the time. Really!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I ended up being invited to stay on as an intern for the rest of that summer, and learned the in’s and out’s of radio. I ended up attending The Ohio School Of Broadcast Technique, where I excelled. I ended up getting some on the air positions pretty quickly, working in Texas, Iowa<\/b><\/a>, and back in the Cleveland area for awhile. I did some camera work for the NBC affilliate in Midland, Texas<\/strong>,<\/a> and was even lucky enough to do some voiceovers there, too.<\/p>\n

Today, I am a frequent radio guest on several small business related radio programs<\/strong>,<\/a> and I love every minute of it, as it brings back terrific memories of my broadcasting days.<\/p>\n

My goal is to have my own radio talk show, someday.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> I receive yearly royalty checks for a song that I co-wrote.<\/p>\n

In 1977, I was part of a Jewish youth group called NELFTY<\/a><\/strong>. That stands for the Northeast Lakes Federation Of Temple Youth.<\/p>\n

I was an avid singer at the time, {Those pipes again, folks}and usually helped pump up the group at our regional get together’s. This get-together actually was at a summer camp. This was not just any summer camp, tough<\/strong>. Ever hear of the movie “Meatballs”<\/strong>? Meatballs was filmed at <\/a><\/strong>that<\/span> camp<\/span>. I missed bonding with Bill Murray<\/strong> by one lousy year. {It was filmed the summer after I attended.} <\/em><\/p>\n

Camp White Pine was an amazing<\/em> place. It had a lake that was so clear, I was able to see about 25 feet down, like I was looking through glass. I remember fishing with raw hot dog pieces, catching about 25 Smallmouth Bass in 3 hours time. I am grateful that my parents were able to send me there for a week, that summer. To this day, I have some of the best memories of my entire life emanating from Camp White Pine.<\/p>\n

Debbie Jacobson<\/strong>, a really close friend of mine at NELFTY, was an amazing guitarist, and was the songleader. The director asked her and I to write a song to be entered in a National Contest. We wrote one, and performed it at camp that week. It won! It is now part of a couple of Jewish Songbooks, and I am paid a few dollars every year based on the number of copies sold.<\/p>\n

So, now you do<\/em> know 5 Things About Me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for reading.<\/p>\n

Ann, thank you for asking. This was way cool!<\/p>\n

Remember, people: Reputation is everything.<\/strong><\/p>\n