'Apprentice' contestant settles in for Q&A at BBCC

Jackson shares prescription for success, experiences

MOSES LAKE — When Kwame Jackson said that the question-and-answer session is his favorite part of public speaking, the former "Apprentice" contestant wasn't fibbing.

After speaking for a half hour Thursday evening at Big Bend Community College and sharing his own secrets to success — which included fearing nothing, taking calculated risks and staying positive and persevering — Jackson spent more than an hour leisurely answering questions from the audience.

Over the total course of nearly two hours, Jackson revealed to the gathered crowd at the BBCC Peter DeVries Activity Center, amongst many other tidbits, how he came to try out for and compete on the NBC Donald Trump reality series (a friend sent him an e-mail coercing him into auditioning in order to use the exposure for their own business ventures), his first entrepreneurial endeavor (selling candy on the bus in the third grade, until the school authorities shut him down) and, of course, he dished a little "Apprentice" dirt in between sharing his own career experiences.

Jackson on infamous "Apprentice" opponent Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth: "Because there are very, very few images of African-American professionals on television, if you had a chance to change what those perceptions were, what would you be doing? I felt as though I wanted to change what the perceptions would be out there, and so I tried to conduct myself like I had a little home training. I felt like, in her case, she probably did not do that and maybe provided a lot of stereotypes … so I was very disappointed."

Jackson on the impact of the world economy upon smaller businesses: "One of the difficult things for us to relinquish is a lot of the traditional, good, manufacturing jobs that have been the bread and butter of American society. America is moving more and more towards a service culture, more towards technology … so America is going to continue to suffer from the fact that people can make things for two cents on the dollar for what we can in Mexico, Asia, etc. We have to adjust for that, we have to be able to come up with new industries and new service products that will continue to keep us strong …"

Jackson on Trump's hairstyle, and whether it distracted him during the show's boardroom meetings: "I didn't really focus on his hair, because I was focused on not being fired … It's just his style. Trump is Trump. You have the number one TV show and a couple million dollars, you'd wear your hair the way you wanted too."

Jackson's prescription for success included being a succinct communicator, having a vision, possessing the ability to connect the dots (and thus see how one endeavor can help a person later), and conducting oneself with polish and class.

The businessman's presentation drew positive response from those who turned out for the evening.

"I'm into economics and stuff like that," explained Krystal Herrera, an Othello High School junior taking Running Start courses at BBCC, who wanted to hear what Jackson had to say about how he got where he is now. "I didn't really watch 'The Apprentice' — I just heard that he was from 'The Apprentice,' and I've heard that show before, so that's why I came."

Herrera said that Jackson's presentation was excellent.

Joy Horst got extra credit in her BBCC speech class for attending Jackson's presentation, but she said she thought it would be interesting anyway.

"I enjoyed it very much, I learned a lot," she said. "Just his attitude, his outlook in life — it's very motivating."

"I've been an avid watcher of the show, I've enjoyed it, and I was very interested in what Kwame had to say and what he had to share," said Suzanne Palmiero. "I thought he had some great insights very relevant to the work world. It was very good, I enjoyed it."

Royal Slope resident Leonard Meyer surprised the audience and Jackson by revealing that he was former "Apprentice" contestant and good Jackson chum Troy McClain's father-in-law.

"I just wanted to see him, because I've talked to Troy about him, in person and on the phone, and (Jackson) is one of his best friends, I mean period," Meyer said. "All the things they went through together, as far as I'm concerned, they fed off each other and they made each other what they are. I think that was a great opportunity for Troy and for him both."

Meyer said that Jackson was a good speaker.

"You could tell that he's a success, just by the way he talks," he said. "It was a lot of fun. It gives young people a general idea of what to expect in the real world and what you can get out of it. He's a living example of getting something good out of it."