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EVAN T. MCCONNELL
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Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board
Evan McConnell's initiative and foresight have made him what
he is now - Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of
the Board of EarthWalk Communications, Inc.
As early as high school Evan exhibited his enterprising ambition
by starting his first business - a school store. In the 70's,
Evan started one of the first professional disc jockey companies
on the East Coast, SoundTech DJ's. Evan oversaw every aspect
of SoundTech DJ's success, from designing and building the
sound systems to personally training the 50+ disc jockeys
employed. He continued in the entertainment vein by opening
Bogart's, one of the most popular dinner dance clubs in Fairfax,
VA.
In 1987, Evan once again recognized a need and established
the publication, Best Weddings, a bridal magazine. Best Weddings
was an immediate hit by providing a central resource for wedding
vendors, planners, and brides alike. Best Weddings was in
print for eight years and during that time sold over 500,000
issues annually and was distributed on over 4,000 newsstands
nationwide. Evan wrote all the operating and management software
for the magazine and had the foresight to see that the publishing
industry was turning to digital output. In 1995, Evan designed
an interactive web site as the next step in publishing. Offering
real time advertising, the subscriber could modify their ad
with immediate results. With a desire to share his experience
and promote a user-friendly world-wide-web, Evan then moved
on to consulting and training on using the Internet.
Evan is an experienced programmer in Java, Delphi, Pascal,
D-Base, and several other computer languages and programs.
Identifying a need for families to view the Internet in their
living rooms, Evan built and sold one of the industry's first
computers that would convert its signal through a television.
In 1997, Evan created EarthWalk, seeing an even greater need
for this type of display device in the school system. EarthWalk
was borne from his vision of providing the combination of
technology and tools to improve computer and Internet in the
classroom. Evan obtained an exclusive marketing agreement
from Hitachi for their quality hardware and covered the entire
U.S. educational market. Already, with an established customer
base of over 3,000 school districts within the U.S. alone,
EarthWalk has developed a reputation for delivering advanced,
cost effective technology that not only enhances the educator's
ability to teach, but also the students' willingness and desire
to learn. Evan remains active in every aspect of EarthWalk's
inner workings. He has his personal imprint on everything
- overall strategic direction, new product development, the
introduction of NetWize, as well as financing and partnerships.
Recognized in 2001 by Deloitte & Touche's Technology Fast
500 Program (a ranking of the 500 fastest growing companies
in North America based on a five-year percentage revenue growth)
EarthWalk was named #52. During the evaluation period, EarthWalk
grew and astounding 11,491%! In addition, EarthWalk earned
the honor of being ranked #1 on the Virginia Technology Fast
50.
Evan based EarthWalk in Manassas, VA - a suburb of Washington
DC, out of his desire to give back to his community. Evan,
his wife Peggi, and their two children call Manassas home.
Evan serves on the Prince William County Public Schools Education
Foundation Board as a way to stay involved with his personal
commitment to advance education. He has been involved in a
wide variety of community leadership and charitable work and
is an avid golfer. A recent source of pride was being named
a finalist in the prestigious Ernst & Young 2002 Greater
Washington Area Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) awards program
in the category of Communications.
Responsibilities: Overall strategic direction, new product
development, introduction of NetWize, financing and
partnerships.
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MARGARET A. MCCONNELL |
Co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer
Margaret A. McConnell (Peggi), co-founder, President and
Chief Operating Officer of EarthWalk Communications, Inc.
brings her own brand of leadership and creativity to the table.
Widely respected and admired by the entire EarthWalk organization
for her business acumen and management skills, Peggi also
is the spouse of CEO, Evan McConnell.
Peggi has owned and operated her own businesses for the past
twenty-five years. One of her strengths is her resourcefulness,
tapping into unexplored territory and bringing new products
into niche market places. Her first business involved installing
and designing commercial salt-water aquariums for restaurants,
medical centers, and public facilities. After only a year,
this little operation quadrupled in size. That growth led
to the importing and exporting of exotic shells and other
gift items that she marketed to national department stores
such as Macy's and Bloomingdale's. The success of her gift
business later mushroomed into a separate entity entailing
the wholesale manufacturer of custom décor. Peggi was
the Co-Publisher and Editor-in-Chief for Best Weddings, a
bridal magazine that provided a central resource for wedding
vendors, planners, and brides. She took the magazine from
regional to national distribution by expanding the advertising
to include a national editorial section.
Utilizing her outstanding marketing talents, Peggi is credited
for creating the evaluation program currently used at EarthWalk.
This marketing strategy played an important role in acquiring
the exclusive distribution rights from Hitachi. Peggi's responsibilities
run from one end of the spectrum to the other and include
(but in no way limited to) overseeing the daily operations,
sales and marketing, and logistics. The creation of the International
Sales Department was a direct result of Peggi's perseverance
and hard work. That hard work paid off dramatically in the
reward of a significant educational partnership with the territory
of Puerto
Rico.
Peggi and Evan McConnell have been partners in business and
life for over twenty years. While Peggi probably considers
many of her successful business ventures her "babies",
in actuality she has raised two remarkable children. Peggi
grew up locally and felt it was important for EarthWalk to
establish it's corporate headquarters in Manassas, Virginia.
Responsibilities: Oversee daily operations, including sales
and marketing, operations and logistics.
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ROBERT "GREG" VANDERLIP |
Executive Vice President / General Manager
Greg brings to EarthWalk over twenty-six years of experience
in the consumer electronics and computer industry. For the
ten years prior to joining EarthWalk, he was the Multi-Media
Manager for Hitachi, managing over 140 million in consumer
electronics and regulating distribution of consumer electronics
and multi-media products. He began his career with Pacific
Stereo, a subsidiary of Columbia Broadcast Systems. After
achieving National Sales honors for 1978-84, he accepted a
regional management opportunity in retail operations for the
southern U.S. Greg has produced and managed a variety of product
launches, national tradeshows, and marketing campaigns. His
expertise includes sales force development, motivational and
product training, conceptual product design, product development
and vendor negotiations.
Married with two children, Greg lives locally and thrives
in the creative and technologically advanced environment of
EarthWalk. In 2001 he was honored by the sales staff for his
valuable contributions and was recognized as the MVP for that
year.
Responsibilities: Sales, Operations, and Product management.
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