---The Apprentice---
Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" has given professionals and entrepreneurs new reasons to assess their work styles, goals and business practices. If you have ever been 'fired' or mysteriously let go, perhaps you should consider the following tips offered by one of New York's best public relations advisors, Alicia Evans of Total Image Communications. She says there are four lessons to be learned whether at the helm of a successful business venture or while a team player at work:
1) Know who is on your team - Understand the people you have to work with and how they fit in with your
position. What are their strengths and weaknesses and how do they fit in with your strengths and vulnerabilities.
2) Harness energies- Understand where your time and energy is extended. Time spent complaining
and gossiping is a waste when it can be utilized in a more efficient manner to enhance your project.
3) When at the helm, don't be afraid to take charge - People management is an art. There is a way to inspire a team and make them want to support overall goals. Yet, when there is a challenge, you are responsible for directly addressing the issue or the issue will grow to undermine the success of the project.
4) Know that even when you lose, you win - For Kwame, he may have technically lost but his ability to make it as far as he did proves him to be a winner, especially in the eyes of our community. Now, he is able to assess lessons learned and use them for the future.
What did you learn from "The Apprentice"…Kwame …Omarosa or others on the show? Share your wisdom, by sending an email to info@unityfirst.com.

---From "The Apprentice" to the Tour of Success in New York--
"We want to provide minorities with business solutions to meet the challenges of the new economy and help lead them to success," said Melodie Cunningham, event producer of the eight-city Business Exchange: 2004 Tour for Success which begins in New York City on April 29, 2004 at the New York Marriott Marquis hotel. If you are interested in learning more about business and getting your questions answered about how to be successful, attend and hear from the following speakers: Restaurateur Author B. Smith, Ramon Rodriguez, Host of Hispanics Today and CEO of US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Shin Choi, Designer and Owner of Shin Choi Designs. Renowned lawyer Willie E. Gary, owner of MBC Network in Atlanta will be the guest speaker at the Legacy Award Luncheon. Noreen Carro of LNM Printing and "The Queen of Soul Food" Sylvia Woods will be honored with the Legacy Award recognizing their achievements in running successful family businesses. The Global Diversity Group Business Exchange: 2004 Tour for Success begins at 9 a.m. (registration opens at 8 a.m.) with free interactive workshops focusing on key business issues and trends including: "Winning at the Contract Game", "Marketing Your Way To Success" and "Gaining the Competitive Edge via Technology," There are also workshop tracks focusing on issues that concern mature businesses as well as Business Basics workshops for startups." The workshops are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Information on tickets for the Economic Empowerment Networking Reception and the Legacy Luncheon is available at www.mpbnetwork.com or by calling 1.888.265.6480.

---Atlanta Networking for Success: Attend Linkage's 2004 "Summit on Leading Diversity" and Making Connections Networking Reception (April 28) --- The 5th annual Linkage Summit on Leading Diversity is taking place in Atlanta, Georgia at the Marriot Marquis from April 26th-29th and tackles practical solutions for leveraging diversity and creating productive work cultures. An annual reception, "Making Connections," co-sponsored with UnityFirst.com, will feature a host of businesses and community-based professional organizations from across the nation. To attend the conference, or reception, send an email to: jfondon@unityfirst.com or contact Janine Fondon at 413-734-6444 by April 20. FYI, Business leaders, diversity experts and celebrities like boxing superstar Sugar Ray Leonard and Public Television's Ray Suarez will offer keynote presentations at the conference. Also, attending will be CEOs, senior executives, and diversity experts from organizations as diverse as Boeing, Cingular Wireless, Ernst & Young, Georgia-Pacific, Harvard University, The Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Lucent Technology, MTV, Pepco Holdings, Inc. and Verizon.

---April is National Minority Health Month: National Medical Association to announce findings of first-ever national survey of African-American Physicians' Perceptions & Attitudes about the Medical Profession --- Did you know...While African-American physicians make up only three to five percent of all physicians in the U.S., over two-thirds (67%) of their patients are minorities? Clearly, the attitudes and perceptions of African-American physicians have a direct impact on the minority patients they serve...and on the health and well-being of these patients. The first-ever survey of African-American physicians' perceptions of the medical profession will be unveiled, this week...Why does the study matter? Who will it affect? How can reforms be made? What does the future hold for minority and underserved people's access to healthcare? If you are interested in receiving a summary of the study, please send an email to: info@unityfirst.com. Founded in 1895, the National Medical Association(NMA) is one of the oldest and largest of the nation's medical associations, representing the interests of more than 25,000 African-American physicians and their patients. The NMA is committed to improving the quality of health among minorities and underserved people.

---Black Enterprise founder Earl G. Graves treated for Prostate Cancer---
On March 3, BLACK ENTERPRISE Founder and Publisher Earl G. Graves Sr. underwent surgery at the Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins for prostate cancer. He was the recipient of a revolutionary nerve-sparing procedure developed by Dr. Patrick Walsh and performed by Dr. Arthur Burnett, a full professor and leading urologist on staff. The technique allows for prostate removal with the preservation of potency and continence. Graves' first warning sign came in the form of an irregular PSA (prostate specific antigen) test and was later confirmed by a biopsy. Dr. Burnett deemed the operation successful and expects Graves to make a full recovery. "The disease has changed my life forever," says Graves. "I must take a PSA test every three months for the rest of my life so that the condition can be constantly monitored." According to the National Cancer Institute, the preponderance of prostate cancer among Black males is almost at epidemic levels. Black men in America are at least 50 percent more likely to develop prostate cancer than men of any other racial or ethnic group in this country. Mortality rates among black prostate cancer victims are twice as high as that for white men. "Prostate cancer can be treated successfully if caught early," notes Graves. In the May issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE, he issues an urgent call for all men age 40 and over to get tested and keep getting tested every year.

---Atlanta: Black Business Professionals and Entrepreneurs Conference 2004-- The Black Business Professionals and Entrepreneurs Conference continues to strongly promote the Black business agenda with the coming of its fourth annual event themed, "Business Empowerment Gained through Economic Development." The event will be held at the Marriott Marquis, April 22-25, 2004, in Atlanta, GA. The four-day conference will host exhibitors from many cities with the Business Expo being open to the public. Attendees registering for the full conference package will also receive a FREE copy of conference founder Jewel Daniels' debut book, "The Enterprising Entrepreneur." Seminars and workshops begin on Friday afternoon and continue until the closing presentation, "Where do we go from here?" to be held on Sunday, April 25th. Conference registration is required for the workshops, the Saturday evening gala, and the Business Expo. For more information, please call (912) 354-7400.

--Amnesty International calls on Sudanese Government to end systematic rape of women and girls--Amnesty International (AI) today urged the government of Sudan to immediately intervene to end the systematic rape of hundreds of women by government-backed armed militias in Darfur. The organization also called on the international community to put pressure on the Sudanese government to address the rapes, as well as unconfirmed reports that women and girls are being abducted and used as sexual slaves or domestic workers. In the past few months, AI has received countless reports of rapes in Darfur. In March, a local sheikh told the United Nations (UN) that in western Darfur up to 16 women were being raped every day as they went to collect water in the riverbed. The women felt they had no choice but to continue going to the river-they feared that if their men went they would be killed. "Government forces and allied armed groups in Darfur are waging war on women's bodies," stated Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "While the peace process has received accolades from the international community and is being sold to the public as moving forward successfully, government-backed militias in Darfur have created a climate of fear in which women cannot carry out daily tasks without the threat of rape." For more information go to: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/sudan

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