SmartCEO magazine recently announced its 2014 Brava! Award winners including Beverly Stewart, president/director of Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, Inc., and Back to Basics K-12 Private School.
This year’s Brava! Awards will celebrate the achievements of 25 of Greater Philadelphia’s top women business leaders. This year’s class collectively generates more than $1.5 billion in annual revenue and employs over 4,287 individuals.
Brava! Award winners combine their entrepreneurial spirit with a passion for giving back to the community. They are exemplary leaders of both their companies and their communities, encouraging local philanthropy, mentoring up-and-coming leaders and setting their companies on the path to tremendous growth, according to the magazine.
According to event organizers, the qualities that truly distinguish Brava! Award winners, like Stewart, include the crucial attributes found in a leader such as vision, passion, compassion, dedication, and perseverance.
For example, Stewart began her company in 1985, literally from the kitchen table in her one-bedroom apartment.
Since those early days as the company’s sole proprietor, Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, has served the varied educational needs of 13,500 students of all ages and today employs over 90 professional, degreed tutors, translators, interpreters, and psychologists combined. Stewart has expanded services to include translating and interpreting in 16 foreign languages, business education for students over age 16, SAT/ACT prep, and more than 60 subjects for 1-on-1 tutoring for children and adults.
And, in addition to her company’s tutoring, Back to Basics now operates Delaware’s only 1-on-1 Private School. All of the winners’ achievements will be celebrated at the Philadelphia Brava! Awards ceremony on July 23, at the Crystal Tea Room.
Belfint, Lyons passes peer review
Belfint, Lyons & Shuman, P.A. (BLS), a certified public accounting and consulting firm with offices in Delaware and Pennsylvania, announced that the AICPA National Peer Review Committee has accepted the report on the most recent system peer review for our firm. The report had a peer review rating of “pass,” which is the 12th consecutive “pass” opinion the firm has received. A “pass” rating is the highest rating possible and reflects the diligent efforts and commitment to quality throughout our firm, a release stated.
The AICPA Peer Review Program is dedicated to enhancing the quality of accounting, auditing and attestation services performed by AICPA members in public practice.
Jeffrey A. Elwell, CPA, Director, who heads quality control at BLS, said he is proud of the peer review results and the commitment to quality our employees continue to demonstrate. “This high rating would not be possible without each BLS team member’s commitment to our profession’s high standards of quality and professionalism, and I thank all of them for their contributions and efforts to achieve this honor,” he stated.
Sussex Tech student makes wins Jefferson honor
The Jefferson Awards Foundation honored Emma Rider, a rising senior at Sussex Technical High School with the 2014 National Jefferson Award for her participation in the Lead360 Challenge. Rider was awarded the Jefferson Award gold medallion.
The Lead360 Challenge engages America’s youth (ages 5-25) to elevate their local service projects onto a national platform. More than 5,000 service projects were posted to “the Challenge” with over 1 million youth participating.
Rider’s project “Quenching Souls” was chosen out of the twenty 27 finalists during a two week social media campaign that engaged social media networks across the globe. Over the past 3 ½ years Rider has collected over 80,000 pairs of new and used shoes, and raised between $30,000 and $35,000. Her efforts have generated enough money to purchase 40 WaterStep chlorinators, bringing pure water to as many as 400,000 people.
Unsatisfied with just donating supplies, Emma traveled to Kenya where she not only helped install three water purification systems, but also taught Kenyans about health, hygiene, clean water, and how to maintain the systems for maximum use. Thanks to the efforts of Emma Rider and others, the rate of waterborne fatalities has declined.
“The Lead360 Challenge is about recognizing exceptional youth service wherever it’s taking place, “ said Jefferson Awards founder Sam Beard. “From schools and non-profits to faith based organizations and inspired individuals, any young American 25 and under with a passion to serve can win. Emma Rider is just one of those youth.”
