In a city that pulls thousands and thousands of individuals all over the world, Emmanuel Bailey’s success story began in Washington. He began from humble beginnings, growing up with a single mother and moving from rental to rental throughout town and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for many of his childhood. At the peak of the drug epidemic, he saw his hometown affected by crime and poverty, and when he returned from college, his town was considered the murder capital of the country. Yet despite these adversities, he all the time worked hard and looked to a brighter future – a super his mother instilled in him since he was a small child.

As Bailey began his journey to a brighter future, he realized that to achieve success, he needed to pursue a university education. Through these pursuits, he became the primary member of his family to attend and graduate from college. He enrolled at Eastern Kentucky University, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration. While at EKU, he set out to realize the high level of success his mother expected of him in all areas. After graduating from EKU, he obtained an Executive MBA from the Business School. Robert H. Smith on the University of Maryland.

Emmanuel achieved early success within the financial sector. Over the following 25 years, he rose through the ranks, starting as a branch manager at Citizens Bank of Maryland and ending with vice chairman of Fannie Mae. These roles provided him with invaluable experience as a seasoned entrepreneur and leader. After all the pieces he had achieved at Fannie Mae, it was time to strike out on his own.

Seeing the potential within the lottery industry, Emmanuel founded an operations and management services company to run lotteries more efficiently and effectively. Key service providers (VSC) has management experience in all facets of the state lottery contract, including providing direct supervision and management of lottery agents, retail systems, implementation and maintenance of gaming equipment, and oversight of the performance of the central gaming system. He worked in various positions in state lotteries across the country to achieve real institutional knowledge of the ins and outs of the brand new industry he was entering. Combining his latest knowledge with business sense, he decided to win contracts with the most important names within the industry.

The lottery industry is amazingly competitive, and contracts are sometimes awarded to large national firms. However, as Emmanuel grew his business, hiring experienced staff and expanding VSC’s capabilities, he began to make a reputation for himself as a trusted and talented operator within the industry. He soon partnered with titans in the sector and eventually became the one black business owner to operate a state lottery in your entire United States, in his home “state” of Washington.

But his success didn’t end there.

Bailey continued to hone his expertise, turning VSC right into a multi-million dollar company with over 100 employees. He was honored with the 2020 North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) Powers Award, which he won based on nominations from the DC Lottery itself. In its nomination, the District of Columbia said Emmanuel “is far from a stereotypical executive… and will ensure that the DC Lottery continues to operate every day and that our company remains profitable into the long-term future.” It continues to grow its business by opening a VSC office in Maryland and searching to expand its geographic reach.

Despite all his success, Emmanuel never forgot his family and his connection to his community. He stays deeply committed to giving back to DC communities. He has donated a whole lot of 1000’s of dollars to varied local DC-based organizations supporting programs comparable to school athletic and humanities departments, educational support and health care. He also served and continues to serve on the boards of many local organizations.

Now Emmanuel looks to the longer term. Always striving to enhance his business, Emmanuel works to enhance operations and improve the efficiency of the DC Lottery, while also giving back to the community and creating more opportunities for young children growing up in circumstances like his own. While his feet are firmly planted within the DMV, his ambitious and entrepreneurial spirit has his eyes on expansion into additional states. He says his best achievement, above all his other achievements, is that he helped his mother retire.

December is the birth month of David Shands and Donnie Wiggins, friends and business partners. Most people have fun by throwing a celebration. Others imagine it must be catered for. The chosen ones spend the day relaxing in peace and quiet.

Then there’s Shands and Wiggins.

The two decided that the best birthday gift can be to offer individuals with resources for generational wealth through a conference called “My first million”in Atlanta.

It’s a compromise between how their families and family members need to honor them and their desire to proceed to serve others. Shands acknowledges that almost all people won’t understand, and he unapologetically doesn’t expect them to.

“It’s not up to us to convince anyone why we do what we do,” admits Shands.

“I think everyone does what they do for different reasons, and I would just attribute it to a sense of accomplishment that I can’t explain to anyone else.”

He doesn’t need to clarify this to Wiggins because she understands his feelings. Wiggins has had a passion for serving others for so long as she will be able to remember.

“When I was in middle school, there were child sponsorship ads on TV featuring children from third world countries. I was earning money at the time and I asked my mother to send money,” she says BLACK ENTERPRISES.

She recalls how sad she felt for youngsters living in a world with so many opportunities, but at the same time going hungry. Her mother allowed her to send money, and in return she received letters informing her of their progress.

“It was very real to me,” Wiggins says, now admitting she’s undecided the letters were authentic. “I received a letter from the child I sponsored, a photograph and some updates throughout the 12 months. It was such a sense of being overwhelmed and it was something I felt so good about. I didn’t even tell my friends I used to be doing it.”

She carried this sense throughout her life, even when she lost every little thing, including her house, cars, and money. She still found ways to serve and give back, which is the basis of her friendship with Shands.

They each love seeing people at the peak of their potential, and that is what “My First Million” is all about. There can be no higher birthday gift for them than helping others create generational wealth.

What to expect during the “My First Million” conference.

They each built successful seven-figure empires, then train others, write books about it, and launch an acclaimed podcast Social proof.

Now they’re imparting that knowledge through the My First Million conference, an event for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. Shands and Wiggins need to prove that being profitable is feasible and encourage people to bet on themselves.

“David and I, on paper, are not two people who should have made millions of dollars. Number one, we want (people) to see it,” Wiggins says. “Then we want them to actually get out of that room with practical and actionable steps.”

Both are clear: this just isn’t a motivational conference. This is a conference where people, irrespective of where they’re of their journey, will come away with clarity about their business and what they must be doing as CEOs. Shands and Wiggins want individuals who do not have a transparent marketing strategy or are considering starting a business to also attend the meeting.

“A few areas we will cover are inspiration, information, plan and partnership,” adds Shands. “We will give you 1-2-3 steps because some people get depressed and uninspired. Even if they know what to do, they won’t leave, go home and do it. So we have to really put something into their heads and hearts that they come away with.”

Sign up and enroll for My First Million Here. The conference will happen on December 13 this 12 months. but Shands and Wiggins say it definitely won’t be the last for those who miss it.

Operation HOPE Inc. takes over Atlanta for the biggest game in the country dedicated to financial literacy and economic empowerment, Saporta reports.

The HOPE Global Forums (HGF) Annual Meeting 2024 strengthens the crucial link between financial education, innovation and community upliftment in hopes of finding solutions to the problems that stifle challenges around the world.

Organized by Operation HOPE founder John Hope Bryant, together with co-chairs Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, the forums, to be held December Sep 11 at the Signia Hotel, will have fun its 10th anniversary with three days of engagement discussions, observations and forward-looking presentations.

Under the theme “The Future,” Hope Bryant says attendees are looking forward to a “powerful moment in history.”

“Over the past decade, we’ve brought together great minds with daring ideas, servant leaders with voices for change, and other people committed to a brand new vision of the world as we realize it. “‘The Future’ is a clear call to action for leaders to help ensure prosperity in every corner of society,” he said.

The extensive program includes influential and well-known speakers who address business, philanthropy, government and civil society. Confirmed speakers include White House correspondent Francesca Chambers, media specialist Van Jones and BET Media Group president and CEO Scott M. Mills.

“John Hope Bryant and his team have been doing this for ten years, and every year HGF raises the bar,” Young said. “Discussions about the FUTURE are important not only for civil dialogue; they are also essential to bridging the economic divide and solving some of today’s most important problems.”

Atlanta is predicted to welcome greater than 5,200 delegates representing greater than 40 countries.

“I have long said that Atlanta is a group project, and through our partnership with HOPE Global Forums, we are inviting the world to join the conversation,” Dickens mentioned. “From home ownership and entrepreneurship to youth engagement and financial education, HGF will offer bold and innovative ideas to ensure a bright future for all.”

It coincided with the organization’s annual meeting launched one other path to enhance financial knowledge with HOPE scholarships. With three tiers of scholarships – HOPE Lite, HOPE Classic and HOPE Silver – clients could have access to free financial coaching and academic resources.