Reader Stanley McKie asks how hundreds of millions of people wanted this for America It’s hard not to feel like you can’t control your own life David Hoffmann is betting big on Americans caring about local news who joined as a board member in February when Mithaq Capital bought a majority stake in the company The leadership transition comes shortly after The Children’s Place announced its Q4 and full-year performance. For the full year, net sales fell 6.2% to $1.6 billion Comparable retail sales also fell 4.7% and the company posted an $83.8 million operating loss for the fiscal year ended Feb The company thanked Elfers, who led the business since 2010, for her time at the company. From a low point of performance in 2015, Elfers led the company to a pre-pandemic turnaround. But following sales declines, the retailer in 2020 accelerated store closure plans It planned to shutter 300 locations over 2020 and 2021 “The Children’s Place and our portfolio of brands have a strong connection to our customers and I look forward to leveraging the many opportunities ahead in the children’s apparel retail segment,” Umair said in a statement “My focus will be to foster growth through innovation deliver exceptional value to our customers and drive returns for shareholders.” Umair’s prior professional leadership roles include serving as a senior adviser for Origin Funding Partners He also was a senior auditor at Ernst & Young and has over 17 years of experience in financial and investment management He’ll lead a company with more than 500 stores in North America The Children’s Place portfolio includes Gymboree The Children’s Place also sells through wholesale marketplaces and has distribution in 16 countries through six international franchise partners In a May 24 letter to shareholders, board chairman Turki AlRajhi, who is also chairman and CEO of Mithaq, outlines how he wants to reshape the company's capital allocation and operations As part of the company’s go-forward strategy They include prioritizing repayment of the company’s debt “We do not want to leave [The Children’s Place] at the mercy and kindness of lenders who are not aligned with [The Children’s Place’s] shareholders,” AlRajhi said The Children’s Place will work to enhance operating controls reduce bureaucracy and reshape the company culture with a focus on innovation Following board member visits to The Children’s Place headquarters stores and the company’s Alabama-based distribution center as well as meetings with members of its senior leadership AlRajhi said he’s identified two issues that can likely change quickly One is possibly increasing the minimum order value for free shipping when the company implemented a minimum free shipping order value of $20 The Children’s Place had offered free shipping with no minimum order a situation that “was financially unsustainable as it resulted in significant losses on low-value orders.” AlRajhi said management is “currently thoughtfully thinking through” a decision on further increasing the minimum purchase value for free shipping which it says sits at $35 to $50 at many competitors AlRajhi also said the company may look to expand and further automate its Alabama distribution center to cut costs and improve operational efficiency the board chairman said that going forward the company does not plan to conduct any quarterly earnings calls or offer quarterly guidance for the market “We want management to focus on long-sighted decisions and long-term value creation not on short-sighted decisions and behaviors to meet or beat quarter-to-quarter earnings guidance,” AlRajhi said Get the free daily newsletter read by industry experts It could be an attempt to broaden revenue streams it remains key to growth for many retailers But the era of the DTC brand as we know it is over The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines the Pasco County charity Community Aging & Retirement Services Inc provided a full menu of social services for the county’s elderly In May, the nonprofit better known as CARES notified the regional overseer of such programs that it had decided to withdraw from providing the smaller service program “after much review and consideration.” That program provided homemaker, chore and adult day care services. That announcement came just as CARES was trying to sort out how to deal with a notice it had received that a $162,000 loan had come due, according to records it sent to the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas Inc., the regional agency that oversees services for seniors. CARES chief executive officer Kristin Amato wrote to the Area Agency on Aging regarding that loan saying that it “is part of our bankruptcy.” She noted that the previous executive director, Jemith Rosa, had taken out a payroll loan. “We had our legal council look at all of the documents and apparently she also signed a personal guarantee to this loan unbeknownst to any of us,” Amato wrote. “I know I have said this several times, the damage she has caused to CARES is irreversible. Please know each day we continue as a team to do our best to service the seniors despite all that we are facing,” Amato wrote. Last week was the deadline for other organizations to submit proposals for the services that CARES had determined it could not complete. After the notice that CARES was financially unable to provide that service, the Area Agency on Aging decided to cancel a separate small state-funded homemaker service contract for about 100 clients that CARES had retained as well. In conversations with CARES officials, the Area Agency on Aging learned that they would not be able to make payroll after May 31. As of the start of July, “all seniors impacted by that agreement have been shifted to other homemaking vendors in the area,” said Ann Marie Winter, executive director of the Area Agency on Aging. Earlier this month, Pasco County ended its $20,000 annual grant to CARES to provide several programs through the Elfers Senior Center, including its annual “senior prom” festivities, classic car shows and fine arts shows. According to Brian Hoben, the county’s director of community services, when Pasco picked up much of CARES’ work last year, it did not have a place to keep all the staff involved in that contract in one place. After CARES vacates its operations center next month, county staff will be able to move in. Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter You’re all signed up!Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started. Having the county in charge of that site also means that it can soon become the fifth congregate care dining program for Pasco there had been another senior dining program near the Southgate Shopping Center but it closed and never reopened Amato said that some of the programs offered by CARES at Elfers will now move up to the charity’s Hudson office on Clock Tower Parkway She also said that CARES has been trying to work with the county and the Area Agency on Aging to make sure that every client that had been served before will continue to get services Winter said that was also her agency’s goal CARES lost its lead agency contract through the Area Agency on Aging after spending more than it had been awarded and making several questionable financial moves Those included selling its Dade City day care location to its then-chairperson and asking board members to dig into their own pockets to make payroll and the nonprofit’s troubles continued when it lost an offer from a developer to provide a new senior center in Central Pasco The county received a $1.5 million allocation from the state Legislature this year to finish construction of the new building. Barbara Behrendt is a reporter covering Pasco County. She can be reached at bbehrendt@tampabay.com. The town of Chester Planning Board recently saw the resignation of its chair and other members leaving only five of seven seats currently full On February 5 the board unanimously selected Jackie Elfers to be the interim chairwoman Councilmen Tom Becker and Larry Dysinger were on hand at the meeting Dysinger said the town board and planning board would be interviewing to fill the two vacant seats and the town board will be the board to select the full-time permanent chairperson February 5 was the first meeting for the new planning board member former zoning board member Giuseppe Cassara as well as planning board attorney Dominic Cordisco of Drake Loeb Dysinger told the planning board that it was “critical” the planning board has procedures it follows He said the new comprehensive plan is the guidebook for the planning board began a short conversation about the comprehensive plan but the board said they needed time to review the 100-plus page document before diving fully into it The next meeting is March 5 where a discussion about the plan is expected to take place Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More Below are some of the river flood warnings associated with Debby They are updated as of Wednesday afternoon Manatee River at Rye Bridge. Moderate flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast Forecast...The river is expected to fall below flood stage late tonight and continue falling to 5.1 feet Saturday morning View more from the National Water Prediction Service about Manatee River at Rye Bridge. Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast The river is expected to rise to a crest of 20.8 feet this afternoon It will then fall below flood stage early tomorrow afternoon Hillsborough River near Hillsborough River State Park The river is expected to fall below flood stage early Friday afternoon and continue falling to 8.5 feet Saturday morning Major flooding is occurring and major flooding is forecast The river is expected to fall below flood stage early Saturday afternoon and continue falling to 9.4 feet Monday morning The river is expected to fall below flood stage early Friday morning and continue falling to 7.6 feet Saturday morning The river is expected to rise above flood stage just after midnight tonight and continue rising to a crest of 32.4 feet early Friday morning Zachary Russell is the digital editor at Chain Store Age He has been with CSA’s parent company EnsembleIQ since 2021 first serving as associate editor at Store Brands he was a freelance reporter covering local news stories of all kinds for the Press & Guide and The News-Herald newspapers Zach graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in print and online Journalism in 2020 Connect with Zach on LinkedIn. The longtime chief executive of The Children's Place had departed the company The children’s apparel retailer said that president has departed under "mutual agreement." Muhammad Umair has been appointed as president and interim CEO In an SEC filing Children's Place said it had entered into a separation agreement with Elfers that included a separation payment of $3.75 million Interim CEO Umair joined the Children's Place board in February of this year he was a senior advisor for Origin Funding Partners Umair had been an investment adviser at AMD Holding in Saudi Arabia since 2016 The CEO change comes as the retailer has been struggling financially. In April, The Children’s Place received a second loan from its majority shareholder (Umair was one of four people Mithaq had nominated who Children’s Place appointed to its board.) Children’s Place has received $168.6 million in funding from Mithaq composed of the recent $90 million term loan and a previously announced $78.6 million in interest-free unsecured and subordinated term loan funding Umair held positions in various organizations including head of advisory at Armacom and senior auditor at Ernst & Young He has more than 17 years of experience in the fields of finance and investment management “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the board of directors for putting its trust and confidence in my leadership," stated Umair "The Children’s Place and our portfolio of brands have a strong connection to our customers and I look forward to leveraging the many opportunities ahead in the children’s apparel retail segment.” deliver exceptional value to our customers and drive returns for shareholders,” said Umair The Children’s Place's global retail and wholesale network includes more than 500 stores in North America wholesale marketplaces and distribution in 16 countries through six international franchise partners.  accessories and footwear predominantly at value prices primarily under its proprietary brands: The Children’s Place CINCINNATI — We are just weeks away from the start of the regular season for the Bengals We wanted to know where you could get Bengals gear at the lowest price, so we asked on social media and got hundreds of comments sharing recommendations WCPO 9 Consumer Reporter Taylor Nimmo went to some of those locations to see where you can go to stock up on some new stripes without breaking the bank I think everyone's really excited to have Joey B back,” said Karlie Elfers store manager at Plato’s Closet in Florence “I think you can feel the excitement when people are shopping.” Elfers said customers get even more excited when they look at the price tags Breanna Louden with Plato's Closet showed us a Ja'Marr Chase cropped hoodie for $6 Elfers said they’re constantly getting new Bengals pieces “When it comes time for preseason or big games “The price ranges anywhere from $6 to up to higher price with the jerseys.” If you buy a Bengals jerseys at full retail price Plato’s Closet had an orange Joe Burrow jersey that looks brand new for just $50 — and that's not even all they had to offer it probably retails around $40 in store,” Elfers said WCPO also went to the Goodwill in Fairfield to check out its selection Vice President of Retail Dawn Corley said as soon as they put the Bengals gear out on display “We had a ton of Bengals gear here on our three way and it was pretty stocked,” Corley said so we’ve been out in the racks trying to find new items to fill it back up.” you gotta go digging if you want to find some gems “You never know what kind of treasures you’re going to find out there on the racks that really is your best bet to go out there and go through piece by piece in the sizes that you’re looking for," said Corley Just a quick sweep through the racks and we found multiple Bengals shirts Both Goodwill and Plato’s Closet said they get new pieces everyday "We're doing our best to buy things from customers so that people can afford to go to the games and still be in there game day gear,“ Elfers said Below is a list of other recommendations from viewers: "Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com Have a problem?Send us an email, at jmatarese@wcpo.com or Taylor.Nimmo@wcpo.com or message John on Facebook and Taylor on Facebook. 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-wjxay9-SquareButton{transition-property:background-color;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-152q15n-SquareButton{transition-property:background-color;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0 1);}}.css-x340e0-SquareButton{margin:0;padding:0;display:inline-grid;-webkit-column-gap:8px;column-gap:8px;grid-template-columns:repeat(3 1);}}@media screen and (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.css-x340e0-SquareButton{transition-property:background-color;transition-duration:0ms;transition-timing-function:cubic-bezier(0 1);}}.css-v6oqvx{margin:0;font-family:Lato,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:20px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;font-stretch:normal;padding:0.5px 0px;}.css-v6oqvx::before{content:'';margin-bottom:-0.4973em;display:block;}.css-v6oqvx::after{content:'';margin-top:-0.4463em;display:block;}Listen Muhammad Umair, who has a finance background and was appointed to the company’s board of directors three months ago, was named interim CEO. You can follow him on Twitter @TomiKilgore a gentleman and a giant of venture capital’s history The firm is named after the street where Elfers lived in Wellesley Hills Having worked for General Georges Doriot at the original venture capital firm an innovative firm that emphasized collegiality and partnership over a more hierarchical approach to running venture investment organizations “That would be a crucial element in selecting and developing the general partners and creating the framework for the firm’s culture.” Over the course of his 50 years in venture capital Bill led investments in companies such as The Shipley Company BTU International and Damon – and also served on the Board of Directors of ITT Westvaco and the Sherman Fairchild Foundation Bill was a graduate of Princeton University and the Harvard Business School Apple|Google|Spotify|Youtube Personal — born Sept. 14, 1995 … daughter of William and Deborah Elfers … father is in the Princeton Class of 1971 … has a younger sister Amelia … studies German, and hopes to learn more languages. Editing by Jonathan Guilford and Aditya Sriwatsav , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved and why Washington and Beijing may tacitly agree on the need to pull apart The man behind the book about the 1913-14 White Sox-Giants world tour answers more questions about the subject Throughout my series on the 100th anniversary of the White Sox and Giants' world tour, the name "James E Elfers" appeared just as often as more famous figures like "Charles Comiskey" and "John McGraw." There's a good reason -- his book "The Tour to End All Tours: The Story of Major League Baseball's 1913-1914 World Tour," was instrumental in my understanding of the endeavor I only discovered the tour's existence because there's a White Sox tour jacket and the Egypt photo on display at the Hall of Fame When I read the caption and saw a centennial was approaching I wrote an email to myself reminding me to write something about that photo in a year and a half Elfers reached out to me to let me know that he had discovered my series and that he could gladly offer some assistance and not only did he send me a veritable trove of photos clips and other materials (like the picture of the fruitcake above) but he also helped me resolve conflicting information when I ran into it If you read the comments at the right time you might have noticed him sneaking into the comments to drop some more color under the handle "Delawheredad." Here are 10 Jim-to-Jim questions for everybody to see: Elfers: I have been employed by the Morris Library of the University of Delaware for the last 26 years I literally started out as the mail room guy and I have progressed up the ladder over the years I assign call numbers to books and movies for our collection I do many of the things a librarian does except that i do not have a Masters of Library Science I have two grown sons here in Delaware and an ex-wife in Alabama I was raised in the remote suburbs of Philadelphia and the lovely New jersey Shore I have always loved baseball even though I was never more than a mediocre player myself I have the outlook and hobbies of most "nerd" types Elfers: I am a lifelong Phillies fan I actually think that my rooting interests made me more qualified to write this book I carried no prejudices about either team into the writing process with me Not being a supporter of either team made me more objective about both and what was it that made you decide that you had to write a book about it Elfers: I discovered this tour when I did research in late 1980s at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown The project I was working on became the book "The Hurlers" authored by noted baseball writer and English professor at the University of Delaware (Among Kerrane's works is the seminal and highly influential "Dollar Sign On The Muscle," which is about the fascinating world of baseball scouting.) In some musty files of the library I found some yellowing accounts of the tour I had not really heard about the tour before and I was amazed at its extent and I was amazed by the fame of the players and owners who went on the tour I copied the articles and my quest to learn all I could about the tour Do you think World War I stunted its possible effects Did the Federal League turmoil steal some of its thunder before the war blew up The sports media just LOVES those kind of tales It is likely that the Braves stole some tour thunder as well the establishment of the Federal League began to gain credibility I didn't really touch upon that parallel storyline because it didn't really transfer to a travelogue format and the gravity of the shift didn't measurably affect the players until they returned home The Federal League's biggest impact was a cumulative one Halfway around the world all the players realized that they were all worth much more than they were being paid Some of the good feelings between ownership and the players began to erode in the wake of that news Things got so bad Jimmy Callahan accused Tris Speaker of being an agent for the Federal League That the tour was quickly overshadowed leads me to wonder -- was there a better time to do it I don't think they could've done it much earlier because the game hadn't quite matured enough And they tried it another European excursion in 1924 but there wasn't nearly the level of interest and they pared it down considerably after poor turnouts in England the world's a lot smaller and a lot more complicated It seems to me that baseball had a pretty small window where they had the ambition idealism and organization required to pull it off Elfers: I think the only other window for the world tour would would have been around 1905 or so It was also a time of relative world peace and general good feelings towards America and Americans That combination has rarely existed since 1914 But really it is a miracle that the tour got off when it did at all 25 years after Spalding's tour was significant to both McGraw and Comiskey In a sense they wanted to steal Spalding's thunder press sometimes ran stories about the Spalding tour's anniversary but nearly ALL of the coverage was about the great endeavor of McGraw and Comiskey I do imagine that a similar tour could have been funded by the CIA during the Cold War whether it would have been seen as anything more than American cultural imperialism however is highly doubtful Who was your favorite character on the tour (and if you're going to say Germany Schaefer Elfers: My favorite would be hard to pin down. The most underrated player would have been Hans Lobert. He raced a horse around the bases in California and was in the thick of most of the adventures His memory as fantastic as he could recall accurately details of events that occurred five decades earlier The most important tourist was without question Jim Thorpe He was one of the most famous men in the world even before the tour began and his fame drew crowds to what might have otherwise been empty stadiums Thorpe was shy and reserved and bitter over the loss of his medals The world reaction Thorpe was greeted with soothed over his bitterness a bit He saw that the rest of the world saw things HIS way (Note from Margalus: Lobert indeed seemed like a sweet guy from Ritter's interview with him:) Who was the figure you found least appealing Elfers: The least appealing tourist was easily Ted Sullivan He was Comiskey's best friend but no one else could stand him He was every negative cliché foreigners held about Americans in one package well behaved on the tour although I did find evidence that some of the single players probably visited a brothel in Shanghai If true I would love to have had an account of those going on Were there any people on the tour who surprised you one way or the other (liked him/her more than you thought Elfers: I came away from my book liking Charles Comiskey far more than I expected to he could be overbearing and pompous at times but he DID put up a considerable part of his fortune to pull the tour off Having been raised in the political machine of Chicago (his father was a city alderman) "Commy" could often sweet-talk domestic and foreign dignitaries when needed I had gone into my research believing that the picture of Comiskey painted in "Eight Men Out" was gospel had Comiskey been just a bit more of a "people person" and understood his players a bit more the Black Sox scandal might never have happened McGraw was more of a jerk than i had expected The way he treated Jim Thorpe both on the tour and at home is downright criminal If you were casting "Muggsy" in a movie you would give him the physique of Joe Pesci and the personality of Larry Bowa He was the classic example of "short man syndrome" writ large How much would you pay for a copy of Frank McGlynn's movie Elfers: To see Frank McGlynn's movie I would gladly sell my soul to Beelzebub consign all of my co-workers to be tossed into an active volcano and sell state secrets to any enemy power under the sun (Elfers pieced together a possible outline of McGlynn's movie based on what the director and other sources said cameras caught which gives you an idea of how valuable that film would be.) Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Former Ben-Gal Debbie Elfers-Schroeder has a passion for cheerleading "I cheered for the Bengals for five years back in the early 90s," said Elfers-Schroeder "I've always loved cheerleading and then I had a daughter there's not really as many opportunities." To help her daughter experience the joy of cheerleading Elfers-Schroeder co-founded the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati Cheer Squad "I really wanted to introduce cheerleading to kids and teens with Down syndrome," Elfers-Schroeder said one of the girls asked 'when is my game?' I said 'oh honey we don't have any games.' Then I thought why don't we have any games?" What started as a small clinic with five attendees and no performances has grown to 21 cheerleaders with 10 performances including Friday night's season finale at Anderson High School that's what works best," said Elfers-Schroeder It takes about three practices and then they have it down We meet with them on game day and run through the dance two or three times." The crowd loves when the Down Syndrome Cheer Squad takes the court with the high school cheerleaders they are so proud of themselves and the crowd just goes crazy for them They're just smiling ear to ear and get so excited," Elfers-Schroeder said I love their precious little smiles and we have one girl who cries after every performance because she is so overwhelmed with excitement The cheerleaders performing alongside them are also enjoying the experience It gives kids a chance to work with people with special needs that may not have had a chance to do that yet in life," Elfers-Schroeder said "And some of them are finding that this is really my niche That part of it has been really great to see with high school kids." Right now the cheer squad is focused on performing at basketball games but could expand to football games in the future "Every year it gets bigger and we're asked to do more things," said Elfers-Schroeder "It's one of my favorite things in the world to teach these kids and watch them grow and how their confidence builds." For more information on the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati Cheer Squad visit www.DSAGC.com The Bengals today signed free agent TE Nick Eubanks Zac Taylor signed an extension through 2026 Joe Mixon's football camp was held at his high school in California Carl Lawson is one of the many guys happy to see voluble and valued veteran left end Carlo Dunlap surface for this week's mandatory minicamp who usually sets up at right end on passing downs nearly broke Dunlap's rookie sack record last season and he likes the competition And on Tuesday he offered a challenge to a guy he calls "like an older brother to me." Bengals fans will get their first chance to see this year's team up close when Bengals Training Camp Elfers Democrat William Vernon Pura opened a campaign account to run against Yeager in November in Pasco County’s House District 56 As Florida Democrats try to field candidates in Republican-held legislative districts Elfers Democrat William Vernon Pura opened a campaign account Thursday to run against Yeager in November in Pasco County’s House District 56 according to the state Division of Elections website who was first elected to the House in 2022 had raised $49,518 for his re-election campaign as of March 31 XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong> Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" Listen: Environmentalists in Pinellas County are calling for a renewed.. 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Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Tom Elfers Inducted to Ohio Golf Hall of Fame 08.08.12 | Women's Golf Those that want to contribute in the memory of Tina may do so to: Sien-Shelton Funeral Home P.O. Box 655 Skiatook, OK 74070 or by calling 918-396-9500. Tribute Archive Xavier Athletics announced today that women's golf coach Tom Elfers will retire following the 2014-15 season "My wife and I have been discussing retirement for several years," Elfers said "Now is the time and I appreciate the years I've had at Xavier It's been a fun run and I'm proud of the young women who have been a part of this program." Elfers is in his 12th year with the Musketeers The growth of the program on and off the course has been tremendous under Elfers including the team's best season in history which included two tournament titles during 2013-14 The Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) rated the team ninth in the country in team grade-point average (3.729) while six members of the team were named All-American Scholars by the WGCA 15 players have been All-American scholars and eight earned All-Conference honors "I want to thank Tom for his tremendous service to Xavier and to our student-athletes," athletic director Greg Christopher said "He had a positive impact on countless players over the years We appreciate his efforts and look forward to celebrating his career work during the 2014-15 season." Elfers was a 1972 Ohio State graduate and three-year letterwinner He was inducted into the Ohio Golf Hall of Fame in 2012 Above: Tony Elfers (L) and Gary Guzman (R) Tony Elfers is an award-winning senior music composer/producer who creates for a variety of platforms including television shows Tony has composed and produced hundreds of commercial brands like Hyundai and hundreds of television series like Catfish,Young Sheldon Flying Wild Alaska (in which he won a BMI TV Music Award) to name a few When not composing and producing music for Sonixphere Elfers is an in-demand live musician and band leader Gary Guzman is a senior producer/composer at Sonixphere sung and/or composed music for hundreds of TV and social commercials - including McDonalds Gary has composed and produced music for TV shows on such networks as ABC His music has won prestigious advertising awards such as the London International Advertising Award Gary is a multi-instrumentalist who has been performing live since the age of 10 and continues to do so with various music projects Tony> We love starting with a conversation with our clients They’ll often start by bringing certain musical styles to the table but it’s when we probe deeper with questions about emotional response and story arc that we really start to see what the musical possibilities for a project may be but having a conversation makes a huge difference Step two is often an exploratory music search Gary> Our initial music searches are a huge help for clients - especially those who know they want upbeat energetic music but may not know what specific genre they’re looking for until they hear it So we’ll often start with a music search to give them ideas of what direction to go in musically and we can narrow it down to what genres and styles may work best for their project Gary> Being around creative people every day is a great thing we always discuss it as a group and throw ideas around together The ‘strength in numbers” approach that Sonixphere has just makes the end result of a project that much better Tony> Collaboration almost always leads to a better project – our most memorable professional collaborations have often been in the recording studio with agency members and their commercial clients being there while the music is being created and recorded We do this all over the world – Abbey Road in London Miami (to name a few) and it’s equally as rewarding for the agency and the clients as it is for us Gary> We get to write different styles of music every single day One day may be a heavily orchestrated classical piece the next day is a loud and aggressive metal tune I think it keeps us well-rounded as producers and composers since we work on all styles of music from day to day Tony> When our clients come to us with a problem and we find a great solution for them – there’s nothing quite like that Finding their pain points and making that pain go away is incredibly satisfying And of course when Greg Allan (Sonixphere president/creative director) tells us that the clients just called and were blown away Gary> Commercials have a lot of licensed songs nowadays compared to commercials in the past which featured more original songs and jingles There’s something to be said about jingles and why they’re so effective It’s customised music that creates memorability and can have more of an emotional connection and response A custom piece of music is a great way to reinforce brand identity and often more than a licensed song can achieve Tony> Authenticity is at the top of the list Having a team of composers and musicians that truly know and practise their creative styles and don’t just mimic other artists out there In the end the goal is for music to amplify the emotional message – and it only works when the music is coming from a place of authenticity Gary> Tony and I both started out as interns when we got into the business I was a complete sponge - observing sessions and learning everything I could from producers The knowledge and experience I earned from that is invaluable There are tips and techniques that I learned from our senior producers back then that I still use to this day I hear my mentors’ voices in my head every time I compose a new piece of music – all the way from Sonixphere’s ECD Greg Allan back to my first music teacher at six-years-old Gary> I constantly have music on in the background I have an ongoing list of albums to listen to and check out so I’ll often put them on when I’m typing e-mails or writing content for our company’s social media.  Tony> I am the complete opposite; I have always needed complete silence while working on any task Music of any kind is nearly paralysing to me – music pulls me in so deeply that I can’t concentrate on the task at hand!   If we’re scoring music for a TV show and there is a ton of dialogue we know to stay out of the way by not having busy melodies playing underneath them we avoid any instruments that may be in the same frequency and tone as the person speaking on-screen so the music isn’t fighting the dialogue in any way.  Tony> Totally – and communication is key That’s why I love when we are doing both Sound Design and Music for a job We can communicate about which element is taking the lead and step back to the let the other element breathe during its key moments.   even though more people have access to amazing sound systems than ever before there’s also more content being consumed over laptops So you better believe that in addition to mixing on our high end studio monitors and subwoofers we’re also referencing on built-in computer speakers and anything else an end-user may be listening on Tony> Early morning is when I consume new music During the work day nearly all listening is related to on-going music projects At night I’m either catching live music or if I’m at home I’m throwing some vinyl on my 1965 Thorens TD150 turntable a serious turntable for anyone out there looking for a vintage machine that’s still affordable Gary> I constantly get music forwarded to me from producer / musician friends who want me to check out something new and exciting - so often it’s a lot of word-of-mouth when learning about new artists or soundtracks I’m also constantly on Apple Music browsing around and YouTube always throws out suggestions as well Gary> I’ve been a collector of physical media since I was a kid so I have a huge collection of both vinyl and CDs we have huge sound libraries of instruments and effects and they’re constantly growing and being updated.   I love anything old with vacuum tubes in it Most cherished would be my 1965 Fender Bassman and 1968 Fender Pro Reverb When we use something “vintage” we know we’re going to create some amazing music that sounds different than everyone else out there who is using the same old sample libraries Gary> One of my favourite pastimes is playing pinball and slot machines so I’m constantly listening to music that’s created for those types of games - which has come a very long way from the beeps and basic tones of game music in the '80s So it’s been fun hearing that audio evolve and seeing how it adds to the overall experience of the game play I’m a huge fan of live music and always have been Watching other musicians is a great way to learn and get inspired In addition to my CD and Vinyl collection I’m way into vintage toys and pop culture memorabilia from the ‘70s all the way to today Tony> I love finding all the experts out there who are really knowledgeable about specific niche subjects and getting a taste of their blogs or their podcasts Are you a vintage bourbon aficionado who can describe a whiskey using terms like “burnt leather” and “moist wood pulp?” I’m interested Are you a repairman that specialises in the restoration of early 1900’s field coil speakers Tony> Getting to the birthplace of any style of music and Brass Bands in New Orleans has to be one of the highlights as well as watching the Salzburg Philharmonic performing the music of Mozart in Austria.   Gary> Working as music supervisors and arrangers on a film project in Budapest was definitely a highlight We don’t speak Hungarian but we had no problem communicating to them exactly what we wanted through the music notes and articulations on the score Gary> I definitely listen to more music genres now than I did when I was younger it’s a job requirement for what we do - but for casual listening I’m constantly discovering music from the past that either I wasn’t aware of or didn’t pay enough attention to before So it’s fun doing deep dives of artist’s catalogues and listening to the production techniques and writing styles of a particular era There’s so much incredible music in the world and so many artists who are making the world a better place to live in I’m still hanging posters on the wall of musicians I’m discovering But now the palette has so many more colours It’s a great time to be open to new music and new creators And Gary and I agree on this: the way Sonixphere has changed since its inception (branching out from ads into TV shows and more) has allowed us to grow as composers in all new ways We’re fortunate to have such diversity in our projects It keeps our productions super fresh and current as we’re always evolving Who she is: A girl walks into a bar needing a job and she ends up being the backbone of Wilmington’s best known comedy club As general manager of Dead Crow Comedy Room which has hosted comedians like Trevor Noah and Michael Che Aimee is responsible for every aspect of your comedy experience without getting behind the mic herself She fills roles from bartending to welcoming the comedians and making them feel comfortable Aimee never saw herself having a job like this She is not a comedian herself but since working at Nutt Street Comedy Room she’s developed a love and taste for comedy Why she does what she does: Aimee has worked with Dead Crow since it was formed in 2014 and the business has started to feel like her baby Aimee enjoys working for the club’s owners Sherrill hired Aimee when he opened Nutt Street and she credits him with making Wilmington a comedy destination for new and seasoned comics Aimee respects the work the comedians do and she listens to stand-up in her free time “I think that you have to be a good writer no matter what.” She’s watched local comedians start out at open mic night and grow into talented performers and she’s met comics she admires But her favorite part of the job is seeing the impact comedy can make on a person’s life “Comedy is there so that people can laugh about painful you get to laugh for an hour and a half and then you feel better when you leave...knowing that is a good feeling that somebody's mood has changed because they come in here.” Women in comedy: While Aimee doesn’t get starstruck by the comedians Dead Crow has presented she does get excited to see a woman succeed as a comic and do well and be of the same caliber as a man who's been doing it the same amount of time,” she said Comedy is hard no matter what gender the comedian is but Aimee thinks female comedians have felt a unique pressure to prove themselves “If you try and write a joke the same way as a man would it's not gonna work,” she said “So women have then been forced to find a way around that to make it work.” Message to the community: In today’s climate Aimee thinks people are too quick to accuse each other of being wrong everyone's just so angry all the time and I think that laughing it off is actually a thing that helps.” Aimee won “Best Chicken Legs” in the Wayne Chicken Show in her hometown Reporter Sophie Whisnant can be reached at 910-343-2310 or Sophie.Whisnant@StarNewsOnline.com Woman Crush Wednesday is a weekly StarNews feature on women worth admiring in Southeastern North Carolina To suggest someone email Sophie.Whisnant@StarNewsOnline.com or Tweet using the #WCWILM hashtag After spending a nearly two-decade-long career in merchandising and retailing including a nine-year stint as CEO of Lord & Taylor Jane Elfers decided to embark on an even bigger retailing challenge in 2010; turning around the then-failing chain at the annual Retail Marketing Society’s annual VIP breakfast at FIT Elfers shared her winning strategy (the company’s stock now sells at whopping $145 per share a reflection of the company’s extreme profitability in a difficult market) imparting lessons that any retailer should heed during these turbulent times Elfers made the tough call to replace almost all of the company’s existing corporate staff choosing to hire people who had the expertise and experience she needed in areas as diverse as real estate “My basic philosophy of any company is that you need the right talent to overlay your plans and the operational excellence to carry it out,” she told the capacity crowd should be any company’s number one priority which is true of many other people in the market So we analyzed the demographics we had on our customers and then created excellent product we knew they would want.” In her company’s instance that has translated to a continued emphasis on basics over fashion which most appeals to the company’s target consumer (a 28-year-old mother of young children) with the company owning too many stores in failing as well as stores that were unnecessary large (as big as 20,000 square feet) when she took the reins she has opened more stores in strip malls and outlets which often out-perform existing in-mall stores and renegotiated many of the leases for existing stores “It’s rare for any of current leases to exceed three years,” she said the company has expanded beyond its original North American presence and now has plans to open over 300 stores in China within the next five years Elfers also decided the company needed others alternate channels of distribution choosing well before other competitors to wholesale its product through Amazon She would not disclose what percentage of the company’s profits come from those online sales but assured the audience that it had proved to be the right decision for The Children’s Place and that Amazon had not begun to knock off her product Elfers has implemented new CRM and other database and inventory management solutions (the company had none when she took over) and says her company now knows everything they need to about the people who shop at Children’s Place (It’s one reason the stores now carry some larger sized clothing because mothers of 12- and 13-year-old still want to shop there.) While the company’s e-commerce business has doubled in the last eight years she expects it to become 35 percent (or more) of the company’s sales by 2020 she is determined to find better ways to interact digitally with all of the company’s consumers from sending them truly personal emails and coupons to increasing programs such as “buy online and pick up in store.” Finally she also has her eye on ways to ensure that the children of her customers eventually become the store’s customers in the next couple of decades are just beginning to be put in place for a very good reason “Building a business is like a building a house You start with the foundation and work your way up to the roof Join Our Mailing list