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Entrepreneur Plans To Use ‘Crowdfunding’ To Launch Reality TV Show
Longtime Minister To Be Honored During Pastor’s Appreciation Month
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
What began as a vision to pay a special tribute to a Tampa minister has become a reality. And, the vision will be presented to the community on Saturday, October 24th.
On that day, members of the community will pay tribute to Rev. Dr. C. P. Epps during the first Annual Pastor’s Ap- preciation Ceremony. The event will take place at St. John Progressive M. B. Church, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Pastor Moses Brown said the idea of honoring a leg- endary minister came to him in a vision. “God gave me the vision and told me to act on it. I contacted Mrs. Clara Cobb because she makes visions come true.”
He further said this month was chosen because October is Pastor’s Appreciation Month.
Pastor Brown said Dr. Epps was chosen because “He has impacted so many lives. He is a father figure and he represents all of the ministers of the community who have tirelessly given of themselves.
“It’s an honor for other pas-
PASTOR MOSES BROWN ... Given the vision to honor pastors
tors to honor someone else, he’s the Dean of Preachers.”
When contacted by the Sen- tinel, Dr. Epps said, “I feel very good about getting to- gether with my old friends. I am 91-years-old, going on 92, and I tell those who know any- thing about me to tell it now, good or bad.”
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Dr. Epps and his wife, Mrs. Lillian Scurry Epps, moved to Tampa in 1946 after serving a 3-year stint in the U. S. Navy. Dr. Epps said he came to Tampa by faith and didn’t know any- one when he moved here.
REV. DR. C. P. EPPS
... First honoree of Annual Pastor’s Appreciation Month Celebration
He and his wife stayed at a hotel on Central Avenue until he found a job and a place to live. “When I was overseas, I promised the Lord that if he got me back home, I would do whatever he wanted me to do.”
After finding employment, Dr. Epps said the first church he united with was Beulah In- stitutional Baptist Church.
He stayed there for a short time, then moved to St. John. His next church was Mount Olive M. B. Church, where he met Rev. Levy Nelson. “When he left, I left, too. I was a trustee then,” Dr. Epps said.
Rev. Nelson established Oak Hill Missionary Baptist Church and Dr. Epps served as a trustee.
After being called to preach the gospel, Dr. Epps’s first church was Mount Olive Mis- sionary Baptist Church. He ac- cepted the calling and remained the senior pastor of that institution until his retire- ment November 30, 2011.
During his tenure, Dr. Epps has led the congregation in accomplishing several goals, including the establishment of new buildings, the naming of the church annex in his honor, the burning of the mortgage, and the renaming of a portion of the street.
He has also been instru- mental in providing schools supplies for students, helping parishioners, members of the community, and residents in Haiti.
He currently serves as the Elder Statesman for the Pro- gressive Missionary & Educa- tion State Convention of Florida, and other positions.
After retiring as the senior pastor of Mount Olive Mis- sionary Baptist Church, Dr. Epps, and his wife, Lillian, returned to Oak Hill Mission- ary Baptist Church, where he is currently a member. “I went back as a member. After 52 years, the son came home.”
Dr. C. P. and Mrs. Epps are the parents of 10 children
Delatorro McNeal, center, and The Keynote Cast.
Tampa native, Delatorro McNeal, II has recently been ranked as one of the top moti- vational speakers in the world.
For over 17 years now, De- latorro has been sharing his heart-felt, hard-hitting, and life-changing presentations with audiences all over the world. Starting off in Toast- masters and climbing the ranks of the National Speakers Asso- ciation, McNeal has made a name for himself as major force in the professional speaking in- dustry throughout the world.
In 2013, he decided to broaden his message by throw- ing his hat into television by ex- ecutive producing and starring in his own reality TV Show.
“I’ve always loved Reality TV. Business shows like The Ap- prentice and Shark Tank have always been favorites of mine because of their educational and inspirational duality,” Mc- Neal says.
Delatorro came up with a concept called THE KEYNOTE, an Inspirational Business Real- ity TV show based on the #1 Fear in America...Public Speak- ing.
In the show, 15 aspiring speakers from all walks of life come to Florida to spend 1 week with Delatorro in a large mansion where they all live together and are put in the pressure cooker. Delatorro teaching his 12-Step Blueprint for building a full-time speak- ing career – while having to prepare and deliver speeches and presentations to live audi- ences in a competition-type en- vironment.
The cast members come
from a very diverse back- ground.
McNeal has traveled the country attending industry conferences, pitch-meetings, and one-on-one network ap- pointments to show the trailer of his new show with hopes of getting it picked up. However the big networks thought the show was too positive and did- n’t have enough of the negative elements common in popular reality TV shows today.
So McNeal has chosen to take matters into his own hands, maintain the integrity of the original intention of the show – as well as the original cast, and utilize a popular new form of online fundraising. That online fundraising is called Crowdfunding to raise the money necessary to post- produce and launch the reality show online in the first quarter of 2016.
Each episode includes in- tense speaker training, on-the- spot challenges that speakers have to compete in to earn ‘The Mic,’ powerful scenes of the cast members presenting in front of live audiences with short prep times, footage of the contestants living in the man- sion and the infamous Cellar Moments.
Mentorship, accountability, teamwork, overcoming adver- sity, building self-esteem, over- coming fear, connection, work ethic, transparency, and busi- ness acumen are key themes that come out during the show.
The website for the The Keynote Crowdfunding Cam- paign is www.TheKeynoteCam- paign.com. The campaign began October 15th and runs through November 27th.
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