Belmont University | FYI


September 28, 2007

Belmont News



Billionaire Dennis Bakke Speaks on 'Joy at Work'
newsbakke.jpgBillionaire Dennis Bakke, co-founder and former president/CEO of the AES Corporation, spoke at Belmont this week, detailing the ideas behind his New York Times best-selling book, Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job. Bakke founded AES in 1981, helping to build the international energy corporation into a multi-billion dollar company with 40,000 employees in 31 countries. Co-sponsored by the Belmont Center for Business Ethics and the Office of Spiritual Development, Bakke led a networking reception and lecture Tuesday night for local business leaders and spoke again at a convocation in Neely on Wednesday.

"Making money is absolutely essential to running a business," Bakke said. "But it's not the purpose for the business. It's not the reason the business exists. Our purpose should be to do something useful for society, to serve."

Bakke concluded his talk on Wednesday by discussing the qualities necessary to be a great leader: humility and love. "Be the best in the world as a manager but don't confuse it with leadership. Management is about control while leadership is about freedom, freeing people to make decisions."

Curb College Announces 2007 Christian Showcase Winner
Christian Winner 07.jpgFreshman commercial voice major Jordan Kyle won Sunday night's 2007 Christian Showcase, “Resonate.” The show, which was produced by music business majors Luke McElroy and Brittany Parks, featured four talented acts in an evening of praise and worship.

Kyle, a St. Louis native, began playing violin in the third grade and was concertmaster of the symphonic orchestra in high school. After fracturing his wrist while playing football in high school, Kyle began teaching himself to play guitar. His set for the showcase included “Solid Rock,” “Just Till Noon” and “Astounded.” Other Belmont talent featured at Resonate included artist/performers Katie Redding, Joshua Eric Wright and Hana Wishy.

The Christian Showcase was the first in a series of six concerts presented during the academic year by students within the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Produced and managed by university students, the series has become a living laboratory for concert production and promotion, artist management and sound reinforcement skill development.

The Urban/Pop Showcase, the next production in the series, will take place on Sat., Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Curb Event Center.


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