Leo Passage Receives international legends award

Leo Passage, Founder and Chairman of Pivot Point International, was the recipient of the International Legends Award at the 3rd Annual International Legends Ball at HairWorld 2008, hosted by NCA and Americas Beauty Show. He was honored for his many achievements and educational contributions to the profession spanning Pivot Point’s 45 years.

Keynote Address

Besides receiving the distinguished award, he was also a keynote speaker. He delivered the keynote address in an interview format with his daughter, Corrine Passage, Sr. VP, Production and Systems Development of Pivot Point. He spoke of his passion for the profession, his love for the expression of creativity that it fosters, and lifelong learning.

OMC Award

That weekend he also received the OMC Award of Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the educational contributions that he and Pivot Point have fostered worldwide since 1962.

Best of Show

As a HairWorld participant, Pivot Point International was recognized for Best of Show for its innovative Snap Cap product, produced and made available to the profession in 2007.

Intercoiffure

In April, Leo Passage and son Robert, industry consultant and global ambassador, will receive the Innovator of the Year Award from Intercoiffure in Las Vegas.

Oprah's Hairstylist Presented L.E.O. Award by Pivot Point international

Andre Walker, personal hairstylist to Oprah Winfrey for 24 years, was among six Pivot Point International-educated beauty industry leaders recognized for career achievements during America's Beauty Show in Chicago.

The L.E.O. Award stands for Leadership in the salon industry, Excellence in designer education and Outstanding Pivot Point Alumnus, while also honoring Pivot Point International's Founder and Chairman Leo Passage.

The six 2008 L.E.O. Awards recipients include:

* Joseph Cartagena, owner, Genacelli Salon & Spa, Chicago, IL, and vice president, Cosmetologists Chicago, the association of salon professionals who own and operate America's Beauty Show;

* Mary Beth Janssen, owner, The Janssen Source, Palatine, IL, an authority on the beauty and wellness connection and author of four books;

* David Raccuglia, founder, American Crew, a men's grooming product company, Denver, CO;

* Manuel Rodriguez, international educator and competitive hairdressing trainer, Evanston, IL;

* Christine Schuster, senior vice president of education, Redken Fifth Avenue NYC/PureOlogy, New York, NY;

* Andre Walker, exclusive hairstylist to Oprah Winfrey for 24 years, Chicago, IL.

"With the L.E.O. Award we honor the achievements of all the beauty professionals our founder Leo Passage and Pivot Point have trained, influenced and inspired over 45 years," announced CEO Karen Wilkin-Donachie.

"Our alumni," Wilkin-Donachie added, "could easily number in the millions as Pivot Point beauty education is currently available in 73 countries and 11 languages worldwide. More than 50,000 cosmetologists graduate with a Pivot Point-based education every year."

Pivot Point founder and son receive
visionary of the year award

Leo Passage, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Pivot Point International, and son, Robert, industry consultant and global ambassador, received the distinguished Visionary of the Year Award recently at the Intercoiffure America/Canada (ICA) meeting in Las Vegas.

The Passages received the award in recognition of their revolutionary approach to hair design education and commitment to elevating the cosmetology industry through lifelong learning. The Pivot Point philosophy adapts Bauhaus artistic principles to hair design education.

Founder Leo Passage established Pivot Point International 45 years ago in Chicago with five students and one classroom. The Pivot Point system of education is now taught and used in more than 70 countries in 13 languages. Pivot Point provides educational solutions for the industry's top salons and manufacturers. Over one million designers have been trained in the Pivot Point system of education with 50,000 cosmetologists graduating worldwide each year.

elisa Graybill Captures Medallion of Excellence at WorldSkills in Japan

Elisa Graybill of Freeburg, PA, participated in the recent 39th WorldSkills Competition in Shizuoka, Japan, where she earned a Medallion of Excellence for her skills performance at the four-day contest.

Elisa won the WorldSkills Trials competition in February 2007 and for the next eight months trained with Manuel Rodriguez, Ladies' competition coach; Crystal Ferry, Men's competition coach; and her adviser, Crystal Gutshall of Sun Area Career and Tech in New Berlin, PA.

Graybill competed in categories for Ladies' Hair by Night; Ladies' Consumer Day; Long Hair; Cut and Color; Men's Perm, Classic Cut, Fashion and Progressive. She demonstrated her skills on Pivot Point mannequins, created for professional competitors and coaches.

Salon Success, A Learning Guide for

Career Advancement, in New York Times Article

Pivot Point’s Salon Success, A Learning Guide for Career Advancement, was written about recently in an article in The New York Times by Kayleen Schaefer, Times writer. Schaefer wrote in “A Guide to Clients,” part of the larger article, “Your Hairdressers Know, But They’re Not Talking,” that “Salon Success, a new class for hairdressers, doesn’t leave it to intuition. Pivot Point International, which developed curriculums for more than 250 cosmetology schools this year, teaches stylists to read their clients like so many tea leaves.” She added, “…these body-language cues, torn from the Salon Success handbook, help stylists to size up their clientele quickly.”

“In salons as a whole,” she wrote, “hairdressers who don’t want their clients to tell them their troubles are as rare as those who believe in natural blondes.” She quoted Gordon Miller, executive director of the Chicago-based National Cosmetology Association, who said, “If you don’t want to talk all day long with a lot of people, the belief is that you’re not going to fit in very well.”

Salon Success, A Learning Guide for Career Advancement, was created with today’s student and tomorrow’s salon professional in mind. It includes a student coursebook and Personal Success Planner journal. The Personal Success Planner journal allows students to monitor and measure their own performance and progress with clients on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis, just as they will in the real world.

The educational module also includes an interactive DVD with salon-related scenarios that capture real-world happenings. The Teacher’s Support Material is created in electronic format on CD-ROM. Included are lesson plans, curriculum, planning charts and answer keys. For more information, contact Pivot Point International at 1-800-886-4247.

(Quotes from The New York Times used with permission).