the international gazette june edition

June 2014 Volume 1 No. 1

Did You Know?

Tragedies Fuel Fire for Business author and Radio Host Olivia Parr-Rudby David Block

Author/radio talk show host Olivia Parr-Rud Courtesy: Twitter

Walnut Street � eater. � e theater opened in 1809 as “� e New Circus”, and was used for equestrian displays. A dome was soon added, making the structure the highest in Philadelphia at the time. In 1811 a stage was added for theatrical productions, and the theater was renamed “� e Olympic”. In 1812 the � rst theatrical production was held there, entitled “� e Rivals”. President � omas Je� erson and the Marquis De Lafyette were in attendance. In 1820, the theater was renamed “� e Walnut Street � eater”, and went back to “� e Olympic” in 1822. In 1828 it was again renamed the “Walnut Street � eater”, putting the schizophrenia at last to rest.

When some people are confronted with tragedies, they cower, shrivel up, and some even contemplate suicide. � en there are those who face tragedies head-on and become stronger as a direct result; author/radio host Olivia Parr-Rud is a great example. (She wrote Data Mining Cook Book, (2001) and Business Intelligence Success Factors, (2009). She hosts the radio talk show, Quantum Business Insights – Emerging Perspectives on People, Process, & Pro� ts on the Internet talk-radio station, the Voice America Network.) � e hardships she encountered compelled her to be a success.

� e loss of her FatherAt age � ve, Parr-Rud’s father died in a plane crash. “� at was horrible,” said Parr-Rud, “but it allowed my mother to be a strong person in her own right.” Her mother had a college degree and went into business. “I grew up seeing a woman succeed in business.” She knew that that could be a viable option for her, too. Unfortunately, some of her female friends had trepidation about pursuing business careers. � is was the early 1970s, when it was less common to see women in the workforce than today.

Her Car AccidentIn 1970, Parr-Rud was in a car accident and broke her femur. “I was in the hospital for eight months and rehab for two years,” Parr-Rud remembered. “I was so sick from all the drugs that I could not get healthy through western medicine. I discovered alternative medicine in the early 70s and I just went a� er it. I learned everything I could. I ate organically, and I drank � ltered water.” She still maintains that diet today. Whenever she has medical checkups, the doctors are amazed that she could be in good health without taking pharmaceuticals. (continued on page 2)

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� e International Gazette

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(Parr-Rud, from page 1)Her Mother’s DeathTwo years a� er Parr-Rud’s major car accident, while she was still recuperating, her mother died. “Here I was, not very healthy in college - no parents - and I had to {now} � gure out life on my own.” She worried how to care of herself, how would she � nd her way in the world without � nancial assistance. Combatting these problems made her stronger. In 1999, Parr-Rud had surgery for breast cancer. A� er the surgery, she took better care of herself and refused to let stress interfere with her life.

Her Business Breaks A� er earning her Masters Degree in Decisions and Information Systems in statistics at Arizona State P. Carey School of Business, she moved to California to work for a credit card bank, building predictive models.

(A predictive model is made up of a number of predictors, which are variable factors that are likely to in� uence future behavior or results. In marketing, for example, a customer’s gender, age, and purchase history might predict the likelihood of a future sale.)

“I was developing models, saving these banks millions of dollars a year by being able to tell them who to make o� ers to; I started to become known outside the bank.” Parr-Rud spoke at business conferences, o� en discussing data mining. (Data mining is the process of analyzing data from di� erent perspectives and summarizing it into useful information - information that can be used to increase revenue, cuts costs, or both.) People attending asked her to recommend books about data mining, but there were none out there. � is led to her to write Data Mining Cook Book. Parr-Rud said, “I was writing the book to establish myself as an expert. Having a publishing company like Wiley behind me helped…Because things were changing {in the business world} - because things were getting so complicated, that led me to the research that became my second book Business Intelligence Success Factors.” She added, “I started out in mathematics, but I always had an interest in psychology. I was seeing that as I worked in business, there were a lot of issues that technological advancements and all the data in� ux was causing stress.” She realized that people needed to be more creative to solve problems. “We have to rely more on our own human intelligence rather then just rules and the ways that we used to do business was more linear now it’s more complex and multi dimensional.”

(continued on page 3)

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(Parr-Rud, from page 2)

Olivia the Radio HostIn July 2013, the Voice America Network approached her about hosting a show, quantum Business Insights. � e show was in its early stages of development. Its producer championed Parr-Rud’s work and believed that she was highly quali� ed for the job.� e show � rst aired September 6, 2013. According to Parr-Rud, a� er one month, she had two thousand listeners. “� e Voice America tracks who’s listening,” she said. � is weekly radio show features Parr-Rud conversing with thought leaders from around the world. Each week she says, “I want to draw attention to those systems and processes that take advantage of our most valuable asset, our human capital.” One of her guests was Rebecca Costa, author of � e Watchman’s Rattle (2010). Costa’s book explains how complexities are outpacing our brain’s evolution, thus causing stress. She o� ers solutions and ways to manage it.

For more information about Quantum Business Insights, go to www.quantumbusinessinsights.comFor more information about Olivia Parr-Rud, log onto oliviagroup.com

Celebrating 40 Years of the Ronald McDonald HouseBy David BlockForty years ago, a simple heart-felt idea came to life and became a global phenomenon. Kim Hill, the three-year-old daughter of the Philadelphia Eagles’ tight-end Fred Hill had Leukemia. He and his wife never le� Kim’s hospital bed. � is meant sleeping on the � oor, chairs and eating from the vending machines. � e Hills saw that there were other families in the same boat. Moreover, some families had traveled great distances to bring their sick children to the medical facility. � e high health-care cost made it impossible for many of these families to stay at comfortable facilities. Mr. and Mrs. Hill were saddened to see that, so the Philadelphia Eagle decided to do something about it.


One of several family rooms found withinthe Philadelphia RMH, along with othersnationwide.

Courtesy: RMH Website

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SEPTA Store Employee Give TrolleyModel Classic Repaintby Jason HandSEPTA Transit Store employee George Rice, inspired by the Suburban Red Arrow Trolley that was wrapped in the Red Arrow Lines’ classic red paint scheme, has gone ahead and wrapped another trolley in vintage colors. � is time, it was a model of a City Transit 1981 Kawasaki LRV (Light Rail Vehicle) trolley, painted in the green and white colors of the old Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC). Rice said that turning an idea into a work of art for others to enjoy is a rewarding experience.

Rice’s repainted LRV sports the number 2040, which was the actual number for a real PCC (Presidents’ Conference Committee) car that once operated on the old Route 6 trolley line. � e model itself in unpowered, and is on display at the SEPTA Transit Store, located at 1234 Market Street. Rice also curates two, full-sized model railroad displays featuring models of current and vintage rail stock.

More information on SEPTA’s 50th anniversary can be found at http://www.septa.org/media/50th.html.

(RMH, from page 3)Fred Hill persuaded his teammates and general manager Jim Murray to help these families. � ey gave their support to Dr. Audrey Evans, Head of Pediatric Oncology Unit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Like the Hill Family, the sight of seeing families who had no alternative but to stay in uncomfortable hospital wards wanted a house that would serve as a temporary residence for them. � is paved the way for the � rst-ever Ronald McDonald House.

Susan Campbell, who has been the Executive Director of the � rst Ronald McDonald House (3925 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19104) for the past six and a half years, said that both Dr. Evans and Jim Murray are still board members of that speci� c facility. According to Campbell, there are now 338 Ronald McDonald Houses in the world with 10 to 14 more scheduled to commence this year.

� e Ronald McDonald Houses provides a number of services for families. “Our house provides a meal every night served by our guest chef groups,” said Campbell. “We provide breakfast in the morning. Di� erent groups come in and o� er activities for the children and adults at night. We have donated vans. We have a set van schedule to and from the hospital every day.” She elaborated that there are in house social workers at each house that takes care of the families. “Everything that you would have at home whether laundry facilities, outdoor playgrounds, indoor play areas, computer area, 24 hour kitchen, is provided to our families,” said Campbell.


Courtesy:Photographers Direct

SEPTA Transit Store Employee George Rice with painted Kawasaki LRV Trolley Model.

Courtesy: SEPTA website

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(RMH, from page 4)“I always feel like I get more out of it than what I give,” said Campbell. “� ere’s always great stories of families going home for good reasons and children cured. Sometimes there’s sad stories. Regardless, I know we take the best care of those families and provided the most support that we could during their stay. We make their di� cult situation a little easier by providing support and services and anticipating their needs when they may not have had that as a focus in their lives.”

� e Ronald McDonald House will celebrate its 40th anniversary this October 17 at the Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia. “� at evening will be a fund raising event for the {Ronald McDonald} House,” said Campbell. “We will highlight the 40 years of serving families. We will highlight our partners, highlight speci� c families, and show an impacting video, and talk about the future.”

� e Ronald McDonald Houses are always in need of volunteers and donations. For more information, log onto www.philarmh.org.

A child receives an ice cream during an event at RMH in 2012. Courtesy: RMH website

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Since childhood, Natalie Martinez has been passionate about helping the poor and homeless. It was so important to her that she founded the Philadelphia based non-pro� t 501c3 organization, � e Vine Ministries International in 2009.

She is a � rm believer in the Golden Rule, which states that we must treat others the way that we want others to treat us. � e � rst eight years of her life, Natalie lived in poverty in Columbia. She lived in a shack with no electricity and no running water.

Her extended family compensated for these impoverished circumstances. “I was the happiest child,” Natalie remembers. “I had my cousins, friends, aunts, uncles. I was part of a loving family.” Natalie was particularly close to her mother’s younger sister, Aunt Amal� . At the time, Natalie thought that everyone in the world lived the way that she did.

Her extended family compensated for these impoverished circumstances. “I was the happiest child,” Natalie remembers. “I had my cousins, friends, aunts, uncles. I was part of a loving family.” Natalie was particularly close to her mother’s younger sister, Aunt Amal� . At the time, Natalie thought that everyone in the world lived the way that she did.

Coming to the United States� e only thing that made Natalie unhappy was that she was separated from her mother, Irma. In 1982, Irma le� Columbia to work in the U.S., and save enough money to bring Amal� and Natalie to the U.S. Natalie was separated from her mother for three years.

Natalie and Amal� arrived in the U.S. in 1985. When Natalie � rst saw large multi-room houses with indoor plumbing and electricity, she thought it was surreal.

When Natalie arrived in the U.S., she did not know a word of English. “It wasn’t so bad because I had my mom and my aunt,” she said, “but now my whole community was gone.”

Her mother was a live-in housekeeper in the a� uent Main Line suburb of Merion, Pennsylvania. Natalie now lived in a spacious and commodious house, which had four bathrooms, wall to wall carpeting, and cable TV.

“It was the � rst time that I realized that I was an only child,” said Natalie. “Before, I was surrounded by tons of people, cousins and friends; now I was alone.”

Her very � rst friend was an English Sheep Dog named Pebbles, who belonged to her mother’s employer. Her � rst human friend was the little girl who lived across the street. “We had a language barrier, but we still had fun together,” said Natalie. “We ran around, played hide and seek, and laughed a lot. Laughter is universal.”


� e Vine Ministries International: Homeless not Hopelessby David Block

Courtesy: Youtube

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(Vine, from page 6)Remembering Her Roots By the end of her � rst year in the U.S., Natalie had mastered English and now felt at home here.

Taking part in church projects to bene� t the homeless reminded her of the poverty of her childhood. Natalie noticed a big di� erence in attitudes. When she was poor, she had been happy because she was surrounded by a loving, extended family. � e people she was trying to help were miserable. � ere was no laughter, there was no extended family, there was no nurturing.

In high school, Natalie went on missionary trips to Mexico and Peru, where she saw families living the way that she lived in Columbia. “� at could have been me,” said Natalie.

� e Vine Ministries InternationalNatalie began leading church youth groups in 1998 to feed the homeless. To encourage more people to volunteer, she formed the Vine Ministries International in 2009. “We were doing the same work that we had been doing, except it was now through a non-pro� t organization,” said Natalie.

She named it the Vine Ministries a� er the passage in � e Book of John chapter 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Homeless Not HopelessOn one occasion at Love Park, Natalie and fellow church members were feeding the homeless. “A man approached us on a bike to get food,” said Natalie. “Someone with me said to the man, ‘you don’t look homeless.’ He replied, ‘I may be homeless, but I’m not hopeless.’”

Natalie continued: “It taught us an important lesson: We cannot judge a book by its cover. We don’t know what people are going through. It’s not our job to determine if a person is homeless to decide whether he gets food. We’re there to provide food and clothing to people who ask for it.”

Contrary to popular belief, not all homeless people are drug addicts or su� er from mental illness. Natalie met a number of individuals who became homeless because they lost their jobs and/or were unable to a� ord housing. She said that some people had to choose between food and shelter.


SEPTA Late Night Subway Service BeginsSEPTA Press ReleaseOn Sunday, June 15, SEPTA launched a pilot of weekend overnight service on the Broad Street and Market Frankford Lines. A total of 5,792 riders were counted as they entered the system between midnight and 5:00 a.m. on the � rst night of subway service. � is represents a 35 percent increase over the average of 4,301 riders who used Nite Owl bus service for travel on Sunday mornings.

SEPTA sta� reported “a lot of young people” choosing the subway with high ridership counts observed at the 40th, 2nd, Spring Garden, and Girard Stations on the Market-Frankford Line. Ridership on both lines peaked between midnight and 2:00 a.m., with numbers of riders declining more than half a� er those hours. According to Chief � omas Nestel who joined patrol for the entire overnight period, no crime was reported or observed by SEPTA Police or operational sta� on the subway system.

Pilot trains operated every 20 minutes from 12:01 a.m. until 5:00 a.m., with arrival times staggered at the City Hall/15th Street Stations by 10 minutes to accommodate transfers. Some minor delays were reported, mostly due to passengers who were unfamiliar with boarding procedures at non cashier stations. “Signs are posted in each station informing passengers of Nite Owl boarding locations,” said Assistant General Manager for Operations, Ronald Hopkins. “We expect that our riders will quickly become familiar with the overnight boarding pattern as the pilot program continues.”

Aimed at accommodating the demand for subway service among late night riders on Fridays and Saturdays, the weekend overnight service pilot will continue through Labor Day, replacing the existing bus service that operates during that time. SEPTA sta� will evaluate ridership, sta� ng costs, overall security and other factors collected during the pilot to determine if subway operation will continue past that date.


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(Vine, from page 7)GuatemalaIn May 2010, Natalie and members of her church, Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life), located at 7811 Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia, went to Guatemala to run a one-week medical clinic. Pastor Gamaz helped organize the trip because he had spent considerable time in Guatemala. He also owns the health care agency that provided � e Vine Ministries International with physicians, nurses and a dentist.

“We operated out of a school in Guatemala City,” Natalie said. “We screened hundreds of people daily. We provided a lot of medication and dental work.” � e dentist was the busiest of all the doctors because most of the patients had rotting teeth due to the poor quality of the food that they could a� ord.

Natalie remembered a girl who was particularly worried about her teeth. She was about to have her “quinceañera,” and did not want her rotted teeth to spoil her pictures. (In certain Latin American countries, when a girl turns 15, she o� en has a quinceañera, a special 15th birthday celebration, similar to a girl’s sweet 16 in the U.S.)

� e dentist provided her with cosmetic work, and she was no longer embarrassed about her teeth.

A� er leaving Guatemala City, Natalie and her church group traveled to rural sections of the country like Coban. Some of the areas they visited had no running water, no electricity, and no access to health care. “It was the � rst time that missionaries went to that section of Coban,” said Natalie.

Natalie manages “Timeoteo football,” a � ag football team for adolescents sponsored by her church. Some of the players have been in trouble with the law, and others wanted to drop out of school. � e league gives them opportunities to play sports and to have fun. It also provides them with mentors. “I’m proud to be a mentor,” said Natalie.

Natalie hopes to add more programs and services to � e Vine Ministries International.

For more information email Natalie at [email protected] or call her at 215 917 4422.

(SEPTA, from page 7)“Based on these initial reports - SEPTA is pleased that pilot operation of weekend service on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines appears to be a popular option for late night travel,” said SEPTA General Manager Joseph M. Casey. “We hope that the pilot continues to be convenient not only for existing passengers, but new riders attracted by additional hours of subway operation.”

Additional information about the weekend overnight service pilot program, including rider tips and schedules is available online at: www.septa.org/service/all-night.html.

A Market-Frankford Line train on regular schedule. Courtesy:Philadelphia Transit Vehicls

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Courtesy: Banked Track

Hazel Roop Recalls Her Roller Derby DaysBy David BlockHazel Roop, 97, was inducted into the National Roller Derby Hall of Fame on November 13, 2010. “It was wonderful to get the honor,” Roop said. “I felt like I did something that was good.” Two years earlier, she received the � rst ever Roller Derby Pioneer Award.

When Roop was young, she wanted to be a nurse. Due to an unexpected turn of fate, she became a roller derby skater.

“Because I was too young to start nursing school in Columbus, Ohio, my aunt had me come live with her in Chicago for a year. I got bored.” Roop attended her � rst roller derby event at the Chicago Coliseum in 1935. “I went to the games because I had nothing else to do,” said Roop. Some of the skaters noticed her regular attendance, and they invited her to compete. “I told them I didn’t know how to skate, so they o� ered to teach me.”

Learning to skate was nerve-racking because roller derby was skated on a banked track. Roop remembered falling a lot while trying to master the banked track. By 1936, she was con� dent enough to compete.

“Roller Derby was so di� erent when I skated,” said Roop.

� e Beginning Leo Seltzer invented roller derby in Chicago in 1935. Transcontinental Roller Derby was an endurance contest where men and women skated as couples around a banked track, to see which couple covered three thousand miles � rst.

Before the end of the 1930s, Seltzer and sports writer Damon Runyon changed roller derby from an endurance race to a � ve-on-� ve contact sport. Two teams of � ve men and � ve women played against each other for eight � � een-minute periods, with men and women skating alternate periods. � e two o� ensive players – the jammers – scored points by passing opposing skaters, while two blockers tried to stop them. � e pivot had the option of blocking or jamming. Eventually, skating periods were reduced to ten minutes.

“I started skating in Chicago in 1936,” said Roop. She and her partner, Wes Aronson � nished the 3,000 mile race in second place. She skated about two dozen races. Her favorite partner was roller derby legend, Buddy Atkinson, Sr.

� e Good Roller Derby Has DoneOver the years, roller derby has been compared to the predetermined outcomes and theatrics of professional wrestling. Many people don’t realize the good that roller derby has done for women, minorities and people with disabilities.

According to Roop, in the 1930s, roller derby was the only sport where a woman could be a professional athlete. She elaborated that there were no opportunities for women to do other sports and get paid.

Roop remembered fellow skater Jay Levy, who was deaf. Because Levy could not hear the whistle blow, o� cials turned on strobe lights whenever a jam started, so that he would not be caught o� guard. Slamming Sammy Skobel skated from 1945-1965. Legally blind and unable to see faces or read uniform numbers, Skobel recog-nized his teammates and opponents by the way that they skated.


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(Roop, from page 9)From the beginning, Roller Derby welcomed African Americans and all other minorities. Roop said that some of the organizers conducting roller derby tryouts had seen African Americans excel at professional wrestling. � ey knew that African Americans would enhance roller derby and they were right.

When unruly fans harassed African American skaters, the ushers threw those fans out.

Fights & � eatricsNumerous fans and young skaters assumed that � ghts became part of roller derby a� er it transformed to a � ve-on-� ve game. According to Roop, � ghts were part of the sport from the beginning. “A couple skaters would get mad at each other o� the track, so on the track, they’d let it out.” During a game you could get away with pushing, shoving, elbowing and hitting. “I avoided � ghts because I was a real goody,” Roop said.

As a roller derby skater, Roop, the young girl from Columbus Ohio, competed in cities all across the U.S.- San Francisco, Miami, and New York - and parts of Canada.

A� er the transcontinental era, roller derby teams consisted of good guy teams and bad guy teams. � e drama and rivalries drew fans to the games. “Only some of those � ghts were fake,” said Roop.

Roop competed from 1936 to 1941. World War II ended her career.

On December 8, 1941, the day a� er Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Roop was skating in St. Louis, Missouri. “� e (roller derby) announcer said that war had been declared,” said Roop. She and some of the other skaters enlisted in the service immediately.

“I had basic training in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.” Roop entered the armed forces as a private. When she was discharged several years later, she was a sergeant.

“I spent time in England,” said Roop. “� at was bad because sometimes they had bomb scares every half hour.” A� er the U.S. dropped the Atomic Bomb, Roop was transferred to the Pentagon, where she worked with some of the Japanese victims of the Atomic Bomb, who were brought to the U.S. for medical treatment. “I had nightmares about a male prisoner because the whole side of his face was missing,” said Roop. “A� er I was discharged from the service, I was the secretary for some lawyers in Atlantic City (New Jersey).”

Tracy SmithToday, Roop’s granddaughter, Tracy Smith, 42, skates for the Penn Jersey Roller Derby League. “I wanted to be a skater because of my grandmother,” said Smith. “She used to tell me exciting stories about her roller derby days. She told me about the wonderful people she met and all the places she traveled to. When I told her I joined (the roller derby) she said, ‘you’re crazy; you’ll break every bone in your body.’ So far I only broke my wrist.”

Smith said, “Roller derby is in my blood.” Roop gave her granddaughter pointers on how to skate on the inside of the track. Her uncle, Bill Bogash Jr., also a roller derby skater, gave her additional useful tips.

“Roller derby saved my life,” Smith said. Before she joined the roller derby in 2005, Smith had a serious drug problem. She joined Penn Jersey and her life improved. “I now had a purpose. Roller Derby got me through hard times. My 10-year-old son used to worry about me getting hurt on the track, but he remembers how I was unhappy before it became part of my life.”

Courtesy: Press of Atlantic City

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