Priceless Vol 8 Number 9


Personal and Professional Empowerment www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


Serving Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach since 2006


New Chesapeake Men for Progress Scholarship Breakfast


Page 8


MISSING: Los Angeles Music and Television Executive


SPECIAL TO HRM television


A Los Angeles music and executive,


Debra


Hughes has gone missing. Ms. Hughes has worked with the likes of Tyler Perry, Stevie Wonder and SnoopDogg and has worked for Films/Television


Orange County, CA and had recently


Dominion Celebrates 30-Year Legacy of Volunteers


Page 7


President Obama's Trip to Asia


Page 9


Adapting Brings Success to ILM Corporation


SPECIAL TO HRM


Lionsgate and


Twentieth Century Fox. Ms. Hughes lived in


was moving to the Central California


told friends she city of Lancaster.


Ms. Hughes, sources say, had recently experience a fight with Cancer and a relationship break up and was seeking a new start. She told friends she was moving to Lancaster, CA and had actually already started working on projects in that area via her Los Angeles based company, CB Music Group, Inc. It seems the last known comunication with Ms. Hughes was around January 18th, even though there have been other unconfirmed reports of friends being in contact with her as late as February 10th. Family members have been hard to find and those with which contact has been made are distant relatives and cannot confirm contact with Ms. Hughes in the recent months. Ms. Hughes social


media


sites, company website, cell phone, office line and emails are all either disconnected at this point or have given no response to repeated attempts by friends to contact her.


At this point there are hundreds of Ms. Hughes


Debra Hughes


friends across the country and even some in the UK, Germany, and Japan, seeking her whereabouts. Close friend and confidant, Adrienne Lawson says, “I have known Debra for 6 years and she has always remained consistent with her business and a full time friend. No matter what was going on in her life, good or bad Debra is a talker and is never one that likes to be alone. This is the major point in the puzzling disappearance of Debra and why I and the hundreds of other friends will not stop looking for her until she is found.”


A Facebook page has been set up to collect leads and information


disappearance of Ms. Hughes (www.facebook.com/where- isdebrahughes). Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed the filing of a Missing Persons Report and Detectives are now working the case.


If anyone information please


has any call


Detective Carnes, LASD at 323.890.5500


This Edition’s Highlights


Your Opinion Matters Editorial Health


Hampton Roads Upcoming Events Scholarships Watch


Clippers Owner Teaches that Racism Isn’t Just a Black and White Matter A Clippers Season Ticket Holder Weighs in on Sterling


National Eye Institute Announces Funding for New Technology Health & Wellness Information Center at Portsmouth Library Blackbeard Festival Odebrecht Award for Sustainable Development


14 4 2


12 13 6


on the


Oppo r t u n i t y is when hard work and luck collide. No one knows this better


than company Jason


Cohen, President of ILM Corporation, a Fredericksburg, Va.,


that


provides document data entry, scanning, indexing and clerical services to large corporations,


banks,


universities and federal agencies. ILM has experienced many ups and


downs since Cohen’s father founded the company in Jamaica in 1976 with two other partners and entrepreneurial support from Cohen’s mother. In 1978, ILM relocated to Fredericksburg, establishing a sales office that supported the Jamaican data entry operation. The business eventually grew to 600 employees in multiple offices.


Cohen joined the family business after


graduating from Old Dominion University in 1991 and entered into a difficult phase of the company’s history. By the end of the decade


the bottom fell out on the industry due to a seismic shift in technology and work place attitudes. The company was reduced to six employees with one office and the Jamaican operation was closed.


Learning from past mistakes, Cohen bought the business in 2001 and rebuilt it using a different business model, taking advantage outsourcing Seizing


of technological advances, and a changing workforce. upon Fredericksburg’s central


location and close proximity to Washington, D.C., he shifted its focus toward federal contracts.


SUCCESS PAGE 3


10 Ways to Protect Your Personal Information and Your Money


The news often includes reports about


thieves gaining access to sensitive personal information that can be used to commit fraud or steal money, sometimes involving major security breaches at large companies such as retailers. "These reports may cause some consumers to be skeptical about engaging in even the simplest financial transactions, but that is unrealistic for most people, especially in today's online and electronic world," said Michael Benardo, Chief of the FDIC's Cyber Fraud and Financial Crimes Section. "That's why it's important to be vigilant about protecting your finances by taking some reasonable precautions."


generally


While federal laws and industry practices limit


losses for unauthorized


transactions involving bank accounts, debit cards and credit cards, it pays to be proactive. Here are 10 things you can do to help protect yourself:


1. Know that offers that seem "too good to be true" are probably a fraud. Crooks often pose as businesses promising or guaranteeing high interest rates, high-paying jobs or other


Jason Cohen, President of ILM Corporation


Free May 2014


"opportunities," such as a big prize or lottery winnings for which you must pay taxes or other charges upfront. Be especially careful if someone pressures you to make a quick decision or if you are asked to send money or provide bank account information before receiving anything in return.


2. Guard against scams involving


fraudulent checks and requests to wire money or send a prepaid card. A stranger or unfamiliar company might send you a check for more than you are due for an online sale and ask you to deposit the check and wire back the


10 WAYS PAGE 5


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