Media pioneer Moira Quinn shares her top tips for professional success

Moira Quinn, a force on Charlotte's media scene since her early 20s when she was a pioneer camerawoman for WBTV, was the speaker at a recent meeting of the Charlotte chapter of Femfessionals, a national networking group for professional women.

Quinn shot to national fame when she landed one of the primo jobs of her era: co-host of the nationally syndicated TV show PM Magazine with Bob Lacey. I didn’t know until her Femfessionals talk that she auditioned for that job on a fluke. Even though she didn’t have any on-air experience, she beat out hundreds of other hopefuls, including a former Miss America. The producers knew what they were doing because the show was a hit.

Today, Quinn is still winning fans as vice president of communications for Charlotte City Partners where her work ethic, upbeat personality, quick wit and non-nonsense attitude adds even more shine to her sterling reputation as one of Charlotte's top business people.

She gave out so much great advice that night that I asked her to boil down her top tips. Although her talk was geared toward women, the advice she shares here is universal and will work for anyone in any career.

Moira's Top 5 Tips for Professional Success

1. Always raise your hand first to try something new. Being unwilling to do that is saying “no” to yourself. What the heck? Try. Always try. You just might succeed. But always have a plan “B”.

2. In a tough situation, there will always be people who will help you. Ask them for help and ignore the rest. Then work your butt off to listen, learn and be the best you can be.

3. Your word is your bond. Never, ever lie. Trust is earned and your most valuable possession.

4. Help others and pay it forward. Be a volunteer. That is how you feed your soul and build community.

5. Favorite quotes will motivate you. Here are a few that are meaningful to me:

"When were the good and the brave ever in a majority?” - Henry David Thoreau.

“I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that. Then I realized “I” was somebody.” - Lily Tomlin.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Ghandi

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work…but rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery (It’s all about vision, not tactics)

The next Femfessionals meeting is March 28 at the Duke Mansion with speaker Kathryn Heath who’ll talk about her book “Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking that Block Women’s Paths to Power.” Register at www.femfessionals.com.

Come prepared with plenty of your business cards and be ready to share what the group calls its “Femfessionals 30-second pitch” where you stand up and give your name, profession, the company you work for, a personal tidbit about yourself and your passion followed by an endorsement/testimonial of another Femfessional.

Ernest Perry is as good as gold

I certainly don't cover business news - it's not my beat. But when Ernest Perry of Perry's Fine, Antique & Estate Jewelry sent an invitation to a party in honor of the store's new location in the gold building (how appropriate!) at 6525 Morrison Blvd. across from SouthPark mall, I knew I had to be there because he is the hardest working man on Charlotte's charity scene.

He, his beautiful wife Priscilla, and members of his expert staff generously support numerous charity events throughout the year by offering items for silent and live auctions. And now his oldest daughter, Hadley Perry Pacheco, is joining them as a new member of the Perry's at SouthPark team.

That is enough to make them golden in my book, but Ernest takes it to a whole other level by donating his skills as an auctioneer to many charitable live auctions. Talented Observer staff writer Mark Price captured that side of Ernest in a wonderful profile that ran several years ago.

During the eight weeks that Price followed Ernest for the story, Ernest's average was up to two auctions a day that raised $50,000 per event for schools and charities. At that time, his total was already in the millions of dollars raised, and it's probably climbed a few million more since then.

That's an incredible gift that Ernest shares with this community that he and his family love so much. And if you've ever seen Ernest in action doing a live auction at a charity event, you know that his skills really are a gift. It is an amazing thing to watch. He can get thousands of dollars out of people even for items that might not normally create a buzz (he once sold the first spot in a school's car-pool line for $2,000).

One of his secrets is that he constantly reminds those who are bidding that they're not there to get a deal, they're there to give to a good cause. Charlotteans have such big hearts, they practically throw their wallets at him when he starts putting it all into perspective for them.

Another thing I admire about Ernest, Priscilla and Hadley (now that I'm getting to know her), is that they are truly genuine people who are not only sincerely nice but also a ton of fun to be around.

During the opening party for their beautiful new store that's worth a visit whether you're buying or selling jewelry, Hadley and I talked about the plan for her to eventually take over the business one day now that her father is "semi-retiring." I had to put that in quotation marks because I don't believe it, or maybe I just don't want to believe it.

"That just means he's going to work six days a week instead of seven!" said Hadley.

Celebrity makeup artist Julie Hewett

I talked with makeup artist Julie Hewett recently while she was at home preparing for the Oscars. As head makeup artist for two nominated films, “The Descendants” and “The Artist,” she was doubly excited. She is George Clooney’s favorite, so he requests her for all his films, including the 2008 release “Leatherheads,” which was filmed in Charlotte. Hewett will be back here March 16-17 for appearances at Jeffre Scott Apothecary at 607 Providence Road (www.jeffrescott.com). On March 16, she’ll do a presentation from 5 to 6:30 p.m. using a model to show off makeup trends and her own line, Noir. It’s free and open to the public. The next day, she’ll be doing private one-on-one consultations.

Q. How did you end up being such a successful makeup artist? I fell into it. I grew up in L.A. surrounded by the movie culture. I thought I wanted to be a designer. I went to fashion school at Parsons in New York, but I couldn’t sew. When I would get frustrated with the technical aspect of fashion – the cutting and the sewing – I would sit around and draw faces, which led me to makeup.

Q. There are so many makeup lines, why did you create your own? It was out of necessity. On the set of “Pearl Harbor” I wanted each of the beautiful ladies (including star Kate Beckinsale) to have their own distinctive red lip color, but I couldn’t find it. When you’re a makeup artist, you’re a mixologist, so I starting mixing and dabbling, and that’s how my line started, with lipsticks.

Q. What is it like to work with George Clooney? He is so much fun. He just called and asked me to work on a movie with him that will film for four months in Europe. All my friends are so jealous.

Q. What is the biggest mistake women make with their makeup? Picking the wrong foundation. That drives me crazy. The best way to make sure you have it right is to take a mirror and go out into the sunlight. If you don’t see it, then it’s perfect. If you have to blend around your chin, it’s not right. It should look just like your skin, but better.

Q. Since you’ve been here before, what is your impression of Charlotte women? I’m a huge fan. I think Southern women are the most pulled together and feminine women. You girls don’t leave the house without looking fabulous. You are so open to wearing makeup and experimenting with new things. You just seem to have more fun with being a girl.

Anatomy of a successful fundraiser

Art With Heart event co-chairs Katherine Daly and Hillary Lacouture deserve a lot of credit for the success of this year's art auction that brought in $150,000 in one evening for United Family Services and its new shelter for victims of domestic abuse. That impressive number brings the annual event's fundraising total over its history to more than $1 million.

Of course a lot of hard work went into that one evening. The number of hours Daly, Lacouture and their equally energetic committee members put into the event over the past year are off the charts.

I'm always in awe of the dedication of volunteers in our community. Many of them - including Daly and Lacouture - have a lot going on in their lives already such as full-time jobs, spouses, children and homes to take care of. Yet they care enough to put the effort into finding a nonprofit that's close to their hearts; and are self-aware enough to have figured out their own special talents and how they can be used to help the cause the most.

Art With Heart already had a lot going for it thanks to past event committees: A great cause (stopping the cycle of domestic violence), a great signature event (an auction of quality art at a variety of different price points), a great date (it's in early February when the social calendar hasn't exploded) and a great venue (Founders Hall, which is large enough to comfortably contain the hundreds of guests while still having space to show off all the art).

But like all good gala chairs, Daly and Lacouture wanted to make it even better. Here are four things they added this year that were a hit with guests, and one thing they would do differently.

1. BidPal. It was the first time guests were given one of the gadgets that literally bid on their favorite silent auction items for them. Since almost everyone is tech-obsessed now, it was not only fun but practical. Guests enjoyed the evening, and placed more bids, because it made the process so much easier.

2. House of Prayer Band. Any event organizer knows that trying to move guests from one area to another makes herding turtles look like a breeze. When it came time for the live auction to begin, guests were motivated to move by the energetic House of Prayer band that marched in and engaged and entertained guests enough to lead them into the auction's seated area.

3. Professional Lighting. Guests who had been coming for years were blown away by the quality of lighting at this year's event, and how it showcased the art at its best. In the past, volunteers hung the art against black backdrops. This year, United Family Services' president and CEO Phil Kline, the former head of the Mint Museum, recommended that the museum's Kurt Warnke, head of design and installation, hang the art. The difference was dramatic.

4. The Best Bar Ever. In my professional party experience, one of the top reasons guests will get grumpy is if they have to wait in a long line for a drink. No one could complain at Art With Heart because there was a large oval bar in the center of Founders Hall. Its shape meant that guests could order their drink from many different angles so no one ever had to stand in line or wait. Plus, there were several smaller bars set up in the corners. Brilliant.

The dynamic duo has signed on to be next year's volunteer event chairs. And of course they're already planning on how to top themselves. One thing they've decided to add in 2013 are new mediums to the art offerings including blown glass and other three-dimensional works.

Aretha Franklin remembers Whitney Houston during special Charlotte concert

There was already excitement over legendary singer Aretha Franklin performing Feb. 13 at McGlohon Theater in Spirit Square as part of the private concert series, Music with Friends. But when Franklin’s goddaughter, Whitney Houston, died a few days beforehand, a national media frenzy broke out because it would be Franklin’s first concert since the sad news.

“I’ve been in this business since 1973 and I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Larry Farber of EastCoast Entertainment, who’s also co-founder of Music With Friends. “ABC, NBC, all the networks – everyone was calling because they wanted to be there to see what she would do.”

It turned out to be a magical, heartfelt evening, and freelance photographer Daniel Coston was there taking photos for the Observer. He has a wonderful description of the evening on his blog, Coston Chronicles, at danielcoston.blogspot.com.

The first half of the show was upbeat, and Franklin showed she can still nail the notes in her iconic songs. After a break, she sat down at the piano and took the audience on a tribute to Houston.

“It really was like being thrown back into an old Baptist church 30 or 40 years ago,” Farber said.

Franklin, whose style is rooted in gospel music, started playing the chords to “I Will Always Love You.” As Coston described it, Franklin began to rearrange the chords into a gospel hymn, singing to God and to Houston in a call-and-response manner. “There are gates at the entrance to heaven,” Franklin sang, “and they swung open for her.”

“It was understated and real,” Coston told me later. “She was really working out her emotions on stage, then she thanked the audience for sharing the moment with her.”

For Farber, it was a highlight for the club, which presents three concerts a year by legendary musicians in an intimate setting for 600. There are 30 memberships left. The initial fee is $500; annual membership dues are $1,650 per person and include the concerts, cocktail parties and after parties.

For more info, contact Becky Mitchener, director of development for Music with Friends, at 704-907-1806 or e-mail her at bmitchener@musicwithfriends.com. Details are also at www.musicwithfriends.com. For more photos, go to the Scene & Heard slideshow at www.charlotteobserver.com/style.

A tiny treat for someone sweet

One of my colleagues brought in an army of these adorable edible mice for us to enjoy.

I was so taken with how cute and delicious they were, I wanted to share this photo and recipe in case you're looking for a quick homemade treat for someone sweet on Valentine's Day.

Because you decorate each mouse's face, they take on their own cute personalities. Of course that didn't stop us from grabbing them by their "tails" and gobbling them up, but we did pause to look at their precious faces beforehand.

Ingredients
24 maraschino cherries with stems
Waxed paper
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
24 of your favorite variety of Hershey's Kisses, unwrapped
48 almond slices

Instructions
Drain the cherries and pat them dry with paper towels. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
Place the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat them until smooth, working in 15-second intervals, stirring between each.
Holding a cherry by its stem, dip it into the chocolate and swirl it around to completely cover the fruit. Set it on its side on the waxed paper and immediately press a Hershey's Kiss onto the cherry for the head. Allow a few minutes to set, then gently wedge two almond slices between the Kiss and the cherry. Repeat to make 24 mice. Take a skewer and dip the tip in the melted chocolate to add on the eyes and mouth.

A lovely evening with Linda and Bob Bertges

Wells Fargo executive Bob Bertges and his wife Linda are the honorary chairs of For the Young at Heart Valentine Ball coming up Saturday, Feb. 11, at Myers Park Country Club. The gala covers two causes that are close to the couple's hearts: the arts and history.

The gala raises money for Charlotte Concerts, a nonprofit founded in 1930 that was the first organization to present a performing arts series in Charlotte.

The lovely evening starts at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception where guests can mingle and bid on silent auction items before being seated for dinner. There's also a live auction conducted by auctioneer extraordinaire Ernest Perry. A Frank Sinatra singer will woo guests with the legend's famous songs and there's dancing to the Count Basie Tribute Orchestra.

Tickets are $250 per person and can be reserved until noon on Friday, Feb. 10, by calling 704-458-5141.