The Spotlight™: A Marketer’s Mission to Uplift Students and Community

There has been one constant through most of Tene Manning’s professional career: marketing.

She’s been in the profession, in one capacity or another, for more than 20 years. Her experience spans business development, campaign strategy, client relations, and more.

Most recently, she has been passing her expertise along to students as a marketing teacher for Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia.

Tene Manning

“When you’ve got a passion for something and you are really strong in that area of your career, it’s easier to teach,” Manning said. “It doesn’t feel like work.”

That enthusiasm and drive have yielded results.

At her campus, Collins Hill High School, Manning has helped to transform the marketing program from a single-track pathway into a thriving, multi-faceted curriculum that prepares teens for real-world success in business and beyond. The marketing course selection grew from one marketing pathway to two pathways and a marketing-language arts hybrid program, increasing enrollment in the marketing program by approximately 62% over the past three years.

Manning says she is fueled by the “why” behind her decision to teach: empowering young people for success.

“My passion is seeing my students thrive,” she said. “I love getting messages from them (after they graduate) that say, ‘Hey Miss Manning, remember me?’”

Manning is also a co-advisor for her campus’s 100+ member chapter of DECA (formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America), an organization that prepares students for college and careers in industry and entrepreneurship.

And she spent three years helping other marketing teachers be more effective, through her role as a marketing pathway coach lead for her school district, where she led initiatives to organize seminars and other continuing education activities.

Now Manning is looking ahead to even more opportunities for impact, including some shared projects with her husband and a new passion in her life: a local nonprofit.

Marketing Lessons to Share

That’s not to say Manning will be leaving her role as an educator any time soon. She doesn’t find her work easy, she says, but she believes she has something of value to pass along to new generations.

One of her goals as an educator is to prepare students not only to help employers and clients market their brands but also to market themselves as professionals.

“We start with, what is your passion? And we end with, how are you going to market yourself? They’re going to have to figure out how to get out there and market themselves, because they’re competing against every student who is graduating high school, every student who’s trying to get into the best college, every student who’s trying to get into that program or this apprenticeship. What I really want them to walk away with is the importance of personal branding.”

Manning’s courses include one on entrepreneurship. In addition to teaching practical skills, she strives to help students develop the soft skills that contribute to entrepreneurial success, beginning with resilience.

“It doesn’t matter what you go into, whether it’s business for yourself or you go into a career and work with someone, you’re going to face adversity,” she said. “You have to learn how to be resilient. You have to learn how to pivot, and you have to know that just because you get a no or something didn’t work out the way you thought it would, that doesn’t mean the world is over and you have to quit.”

Manning also encourages her students to understand the importance of meeting deadlines and mastering time management.

“If you’re going to possibly survive as an entrepreneur, being your own boss, you need to be accountable to yourself and to others,” she said.

Healing Power of Storytelling

As for Manning’s responsibilities outside of the classroom, she recently became the co-chair of community partnerships for nonprofit Becoming Love Project.

The organization was established by Tamala Baldwin.

“She’s a producer and writer, and this is her brainchild,” Manning said. “She wanted to bring together people of all ages and backgrounds who are passionate about storytelling and also passionate about mental health.”

The goal, Manning says, is to create opportunities for traumatized individuals to heal by writing scripts about, or inspired by, experiences that have influenced, challenged, or traumatized them.

“It should be something that’s on your heart, and you know that you need to get this story out, not only creatively, but also for your well-being.”

Manning had been looking for an opportunity to serve on a board in an area she was passionate about, and when she learned about the opening at Becoming Love Project, the storytelling aspect resonated immediately.

“Stories help us connect, right? I think they help us thrive. We need stories to give us inspiration. We need stories to make those human connections. We need stories to encourage us to pursue our passion. So storytelling, whether you’re trying to tell a story with a brand or you are telling a story as a way of catharsis, I think is important.”

Manning recently helped Becoming Love Project organize its first event, The Story Rewrite, to give participants a foundation in using screenwriting to heal. The program featured expert speakers and personal storytelling exercises.

Throughout the organizational process, Manning drew upon her experiences as a marketing professional and the community relationships she has developed as an educator.

“Everything came together so easily. I feel like things are happening the way they’re supposed to, like this is meant to be.”

Sharing a Children’s Tale

Manning has engaged in her share of storytelling, not only as a marketer, but also as a children’s book author.

She has written several book manuscripts, and she published one of them: “What’s God’s Favorite Color?” The inspiration for the story came from her oldest daughter.

“She was coloring something, and she asked, ‘What’s God’s favorite color?’ I thought it was a really great question to ask. And just the fact that she was thinking that made me wonder, what’s prompting this? What is it that you’re trying to reconcile? And from that conversation, I decided to create a children’s story.”

The book sold, though not as well as Manning hoped, and she’s glad she had the experience of writing (under pen name Thelma Elizabeth) and seeing it through to publication.

“I’m proud that I actually stepped out on faith and saw where it led,” she said.

Looking Ahead (And Building Together)

In addition to pursuing her own work and her new role with Becoming Love Project, Manning has been working behind the scenes to support the many entrepreneurial pursuits of her husband, Jack Manning III. He’s the owner of photography/videography company JAXONPHOTOGROUP, LLC, and producer of podcast The Clubhouse Lounge.

“The podcast is presented by a bunch of friends, celebrities in their own field, and the focus is being more than your occupation,” Manning said. “The host is Niko Goodrum, a retired MLB (Major League Baseball) player.”

Jack also has created a production company, Tyler Street Films, with two business partners.

“They have actually been doing quite a lot,” Manning said. “Jack's looking to grow that, and I want to help him. We have been putting our heads together about what’s next. That’s very exciting.”

The story Manning is writing — in the classroom, the community, and beyond — is far from finished.

Copybrighters specializes in ghostwriting for businesses and nonprofits. If you’d like help telling your story, contact us for a free consultation.