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A DECADE+ OF STORYTELLING POWERED BY THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET

BE PART OF THE LEGACY

TAMPA BAY • FEBRUARY 23-24 2026

This FINAL encore experience will be unlike any other. Because like everything we do, it's been "reimagined" from beginning to end. It's not a virtual or hybrid event. It's not a conference. It's not a seminar, a workshop, a meeting, or a symposium. And it's not your typical run-of-the-mill everyday event crammed with stages, keynote speeches, team-building exercises, PowerPoint presentations, and all the other conventional humdrum. Because it's up close & personal by design. Where conversation trumps presentation. And where authentic connection runs deep.

The Anxious Voyage: Stop Hate

–with Special Guests Melissa Hughes, Peggy Willms, and Dennis Pitocco

Recent discussions about antisemitism have fostered awareness of hatred in all its myriad forms. As a result of this awareness, some people are stepping up to raise awareness still higher — to communicate, to educate, and to move toward the middle ground at which every stereotype breaks down at the level of the individual. Mark is joined by three guests to discuss hate and to announce two new initiatives: Stop Hate 360˚ and Unsheltered: Voices From the Street.

Mark O'Brien
Mark O'Brienhttps://obriencg.com/
I’m a business owner. My company — O’Brien Communications Group (OCG) — is a B2B brand-management and marketing-communication firm that helps companies position their brands effectively and persuasively in industries as diverse as: Insurance, Financial Services, Senior Living, Manufacturing, Construction, and Nonprofit. We do our work so well that seven of the companies (brands) we’ve represented have been acquired by other companies. OCG is different because our business model is different. We don’t bill by the hour or the project. We don’t bill by time or materials. We don’t mark anything up. We don’t take media commissions. We pass through every expense incurred on behalf of our clients at net. We scope the work, price the work, put beginning and end dates on our engagements, and charge flat, consistent fees every month for the terms of the engagements. I’m also a writer by calling and an Irish storyteller by nature. In addition to writing posts for my company’s blog, I’m a frequent publisher on LinkedIn and Medium. And I’ve published three books for children, numerous short stories, and other works, all of which are available on Amazon under my full name, Mark Nelson O’Brien.

DO YOU HAVE THE "WRITE" STUFF? If you’re ready to share your wisdom of experience, we’re ready to share it with our massive global audience – by giving you the opportunity to become a published Contributor on our award-winning Site with (your own byline). And who knows? – it may be your first step in discovering your “hidden Hemmingway”. LEARN MORE HERE


CONVERSATIONS

  1. Mark, first of all thank you for dealing with me when I couldn’t see you guys and I look half baked most of this interview. Regarding any emotion…We own our emotions. WE OWN THEM. We cannot be damned, judged or ridiculed for them. We need someone to listen and try to understand them. There is always history behind emotions. Those who have been hated upon…feel hate and often expel it towards others. Those who have been through trauma, feel distrust, anger…and often hate. I try not to simplify any topic, but we HAVE to begin listening and understanding each other, how we got here, and where we want to head together. My newest mantra, “Never judge someone off the chapter you just walked in on.”

RECIPIENT OF THE 2024 "MOST COMPREHENSIVE LIFE & CULTURE MULTIMEDIA DIGEST" AWARD

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