Glenn Toby Joins Team To Launch

August 20th, 2007

Rethos.com attracts its latest ally: hip-hop’s philanthropist

New York, USA/Montreal, Canada—August 20, 2007 Fame, Fortune, and Activism. Increasingly, celebrities are using their influence to take a stand on social and environmental issues. However, only a select few understand the power of social entrepreneurship to deliver much needed solutions to pressing social and environmental issues.

Glenn Toby, a talent and financial manager of some of the world’s most influential figures in entertainment, sports and business, has joined a new social venture, rethos.com as Global Strategic Advisor. Toby will be traveling the globe, uniting millions of allies onto rethos.com.

Rethos.com is the world’s first online social network and media portal devoted to uniting individuals, non-profit organizations, and socially responsible businesses on solutions to social and environmental issues, such as poverty and AIDS. Rethos.com has been dubbed “myspace with a conscience.” Rethos.com uses the power of social networking to break down barriers of race and geography, thereby enabling its members to unite in addressing these problems.

Dr. Cornel West (rethos.com/cornelwest), a professor at Princeton University, author, and associate of Toby’s has also stepped up onto rethos.com as a pre-launch ally. Toby has also rallied others to join him for the rethos.com launch, including DJ Hurricane (rethos.com/djhurricane) of the Beastie Boys, and Smush Parker (rethos.com/smushparker) previously a L.A. Laker, now on the Miami Heat team.

Dr. West further describes Toby as a man who “has been shaped by poverty.” As a child, Toby’s family was evicted from their home, their possessions thrown out to the streets of New York City. It was outreach support, plus Toby’s optimism and determination to conquer adversity that enabled him to rebound with phenomenal success.

Today, Glenn Toby (rethos.com/glenntoby) is widely recognized and respected in business, sports and entertainment as well as a philanthropist, and founder of The Book Bank Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting and providing educational opportunities for at risk children. Always applying a hip-hop strategy to giving back, this visionary is now part of the international team of social entrepreneurs that are driving the rethos’s mission.

“The world is getting smaller and our challenges are getting bigger. Rethos.com is a portal that breathes, thinks, and speaks to responsible individuals who are serious about creating a better life for everyone,” commented Toby.

“Glenn Toby and Dr. Cornel West have the courage to take a stand and spark a resource for the world to use. They are unwilling to accept that urban poverty and other challenges are a necessary reality, and are putting out a call to action for others to ally by their side. Rethos.com is the platform for this community to drive change,” stated Alex Salzman (rethos.com/alexsalzman), co-founder of the social venture and Princeton University graduate.

About Rethos www.rethos.com http://rethos.com/press

™is the world’s first online social network and media portal devoted to uniting individuals, non-profit organizations, and socially responsible businesses to generate solutions to pressing social and environmental issues. As a platform for change, rethos.com enables users to receive comprehensive information, unite with allies who share a common passion and purpose, and take urgently needed action.

About Glenn Toby Glenn Toby is the CEO of Glenn Toby Enterprises which includes Glenn’s Grooves Productions, Total Entertainment Athlete & Artist Mgt Inc. and I Sports Concepts. Services his company offers are artist, sports and financial management, marketing and real estate ventures. In 1998 Mr. Toby founded The Book Bank Foundation to provide educational tools and resources for homeless children. To date the foundation has serviced over 100,000 children nationwide. www.glenntoby.com, www.bbf.org

For more information about Glenn Toby please contact: Lyn K. Lynk Public Relations lynkpr@gmail.com

Democracy Matter by Cornel West

n Democracy Matters, Cornel West’s follow-up to 1993’s Race Matters, the author’s diagnosis of the state of modern American democracy is grim. The institution suffers, he says, from what he calls free market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism and escalating authoritarianism, forces that put a stranglehold on efforts to achieve better social and political results on a global scale. These systemic problems exist simultaneous to a pervading sense of nihilism throughout the American corridors of power, West contends, making lawmakers feel that they are inherently virtuous because they are so powerful and accepting a system they know to be unjust, while the press sacrifices truth and insight in pursuit of a sentimental story. Along the way, West makes extensive use of literary and historical parallels, employing Alexis de Tocqueville, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Toni Morrison and others, with grea! t efficacy for the most part, to illustrate his points. West’s prescription calls for a path toward a style of Christianity more in keeping with what he sees as true Christian ideals as well as a greater enfranchisement and understanding of young people and youth culture. West has a lot to say and the vast scope of West’s arguments could be construed in at least a couple of ways: either he boldly takes on the enormity inherent to the topic of democracy, or he loses his way and attempts to touch on too wide a swath of topics while rarely going into sufficient detail on any of them. Besides being a provocative author, West is a highly respected professor and Democracy Matters reads something like a university lecture sounds: often insightful, occasionally disjointed, periodically obtuse, and sometimes brilliant. But in the ongoing effort to establish a better democracy, Professor West’s perspective is highly instructive. —John Moe

Amazon.com

Democracy Matter by Cornel West

Amazon.com n Democracy Matters, Cornel West’s follow-up to 1993’s Race Matters, the author’s diagnosis of the state of modern American democracy is grim. The institution suffers, he says, from what he calls free market fundamentalism, aggressive militarism and escalating authoritarianism, forces that put a stranglehold on efforts to achieve better social and political results on a global scale. These systemic problems exist simultaneous to a pervading sense of nihilism throughout the American corridors of power, West contends, making lawmakers feel that they are inherently virtuous because they are so powerful and accepting a system they know to be unjust, while the press sacrifices truth and insight in pursuit of a sentimental story. Along the way, West makes extensive use of literary and historical parallels, employing Alexis de Tocqueville, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Toni Morrison and others, with grea! t efficacy for the most part, to illustrate his points. West’s prescription calls for a path toward a style of Christianity more in keeping with what he sees as true Christian ideals as well as a greater enfranchisement and understanding of young people and youth culture. West has a lot to say and the vast scope of West’s arguments could be construed in at least a couple of ways: either he boldly takes on the enormity inherent to the topic of democracy, or he loses his way and attempts to touch on too wide a swath of topics while rarely going into sufficient detail on any of them. Besides being a provocative author, West is a highly respected professor and Democracy Matters reads something like a university lecture sounds: often insightful, occasionally disjointed, periodically obtuse, and sometimes brilliant. But in the ongoing effort to establish a better democracy, Professor West’s perspective is highly instructive. —John Moe

Amazon.com

Nuclear Madmess

After months of waiting for rethos, today’s emails brought me here to share with you a little of my journey across the country discussing the nuclear nightmare. Recently moving to California because of the De Vore referendum to rescind state legislation banning new nuclear reactors in the state until the waste issue has been fully resolved, I feel that this is the anti-nuclear movement’s last stand against the corporate nuclear industry. Their feelings are that it is hopeless for opposition since the money put into aggressively promoting nuclear energy as a viable solution to the climate crisis is beyond belief…Only a few die-hard activists understand the dangers lurking behind the sugar-coated words of the nuclear industry. One accident and their solution becomes another nightmare on par with the terrorist’s destruction of the World Trade Centers!!! Opposing the nuclear industry is my life, it is my goal and objective; rethos is my vehicle to do this!

Going Green At The Banyan Resort

Eco tourism is increasingly gaining buzz as one of the hottest parts of ‘green-living.’ It sounds great  - enjoy the benefits of a vacation away from the busy working life, and do it in a way that respects the environment during your escape! While the word ‘eco-tourism’ might make you think of roughing it in the great outdoors, thanks to some innovative social entrepreneurs, it is now possible to enjoy palm trees, exotic surroundings, and room service without doing what most of us do on vacation: take a break from the real world, and the stress we might feel from trying save it.  There is a movement underway to help travelers and vacationers enjoy our world, in all its variety, without leaving behind a giant carbon footprint wherever we go.

On behalf of Rethos I had the chance to visit the Banyan Resort in Key West, Florida in April of 2008 and was very glad to escape an unusually cool Montreal spring. The Banyan Resort (www.thebanyanresort.com) proved that the benefits of staying at an eco-resort could be much more that just respecting the environment; it can be an amazing experience that a traditional stay simply can’t afford.

Nestled in downtown Key West, the resort is a series of historic houses dating back over 100 years, and surrounded by a lush green grove of local vegetation. The houses are tall with crisp, white boards; zigzag staircases climb their exteriors and carry guests to higher upper level rooms. Shaded by the surrounding Banyan trees, the series of houses almost feels like a village of luxury tree houses.

The resort has several unique floor plans to choose from including studio, loft, one bedroom and two bedroom suites.  The particular suite I stayed in was one of their loft floor plans.  The living area/kitchen/bath are immediately revealed as you enter. A spiral staircase leads to a bedroom loft where skylight windows frame lazy palms outside.

Inside the rooms, environmental common sense prevails. There are signs in the bathroom and bedroom asking guests to indicate whether towels and sheets need not be washed in order save water and energy consumption, and reminders to shut lights when leaving the room, as well as low-level settings are default on the refrigerators. But, as I learned, this was only the beginning of The Banyan’s eco-credibility.

When I had a chance to meet with the Assistant General Manager of The Banyan Resort, Julie Brown, and the General Manager, Julie Crane, I was able to better understand the full scope of the measures that the Banyan Resort had taken to ensure the Resort’s sustainability and earn the honor of being the first ‘Green Lodge’ on the Florida Keys.

‘The Julies,’ as the duo are often referred to in ‘green’ circles on the island, are two inspiring ladies with a clear passion for environmental protection and a proactive attitude that seems a bit out of place amongst the ‘easy does it’ attitude of Key West.

Before taking the steps to being a Green Resort, Julie and her colleagues at The Banyan Resort had already begun to implement environmentally aware initiatives, such and installing Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) throughout the compound. When the Lodging Association of the Florida Keys called an informational meeting for local community leaders on the possibilities of taking Key West ‘green,’ the Julies and others were the first to attend. Julie Brown says she was surprised by how easy it was to make some of the changes on a checklist for a hotel or resort to achieve a high degree of sustainability, that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) offered during the meeting.

One year later the Banyan Resort is now a model for others in the community looking to reduce their environmental impact. The more Julie Brown described the overhaul, and the more one looks, the remarkable initiatives below the surface begin to be revealed: black solar panels stretch across the roofs of the buildings which serve to heat the pool, compost is transferred from the pool-side bar to a composting unit in the back garden, this compost is then used as fertilizer for the glorious green vegetation integrated throughout the resort, and the list goes on…The landscaping crew even replaced the vegetation at the resort with local plants, in a practice known as xeriscaping.  The plants are accustomed to the Key West conditions and do not require as much watering as foreign plants.

The Banyans, with their amazing hanging roots, meanwhile keep watch over the greening efforts below!

Since The Banyan Resort had implemented these practices several years ago, they did not have savings statistics to share.  They have always strived to operate the most efficiently wherever possible as it just makes good business sense, the decreased impact on the environment is an added bonus.  However, since they received their green designation, their focus has shifted from cost savings measures to implementing measures that not only decrease costs but benefit the environment.  They make the conscious decision to purchase products made from recycled or sustainable materials that can again be recycled on the way out.  Examples of this are installing carpet made from recycled materials that are 100% recyclable on the way out and furnishings made from Bamboo.

Individual homeowners and other resort and bed and breakfast owners frequently contact The Banyan Resort to find out how they can follow in their footsteps and also earn a Green Resort certification. As the movement towards sustainability continues to gain momentum, the Julies and the team at the Banyan Resort are proud to be knowledge brokers and leaders in their community. They are now affiliated with a new initiative, Green Key West: A Coalition for Sustainability that was recently launched by Key West mayor Morgan McPherson and other organizations, including Love Your Island (loveyourisland.com). This initiative is an effort to pool the various efforts to protect the delicate natural ecosystem of Key West and other islands.

The Banyan Resort has received significant attention and press coverage for their pioneering efforts in eco-tourism, and the growing interest in eco-resorts. Eco-tourists interested in more information about the Banyan Resort’s commitment to the environment are directed to www.thebanyanresort.com where an engaging multi-media experience unfolds, offering more information on the resort, its history, and what guests can expect during their stay

A well deserved congratulations to the team at The Banyan Resort for protecting a small paradise for today’s travelers and future generations to enjoy.

The Banyan Resort

Address:
323 Whitehead Street
Key West, Florida 33040

Phone:
(305) 296-7786
Toll Free: (866) 371-9222
Fax: (305) 294-1107

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