TAG - Who Are We

Some of Our Instructors

Lauri (Plesco) Ross Instructor/TAG Founder	Jodi Marks Instructor/Television Host	Larry Blase Instructor/Producer/ Director/Emmy Judge
Also see Advisory Panel

Who We Are

The Teleprompter Accreditation Group (TAG) was established in order to achieve a higher level of standards for agencies, production companies and directors.

TAG accredited actors/speakers save hiring professional’s money and time by ensuring that their work will be smooth and that they are highly experienced with teleprompting jobs.

TAG offers an outlet and a resource for training and accreditation that no other organization has established before.

Instructors

The Teleprompter Accreditation Group has been founded by professionals with over twenty years worth of experience in maintaining, training and supporting speakers and talent.

Instructors consist of Professional Actors, Television Anchors, Directors, Public Speaking Coaches, Body Language Experts and Professional Teleprompter Operators.

Our Professional Teleprompter Operators command a standard of excellence in teleprompting. Training with our Operators will make your speaking jobs easier by understanding the dynamics involved in working with your future teleprompter operators.

These professional operators set up the teleprompting gear and scripts to make sure you have a smooth read. With decades of experience in the business, every thing you can imagine has been experienced in the teleprompting world and these professionals are here to support you.

	Lauri Plesco Ross - TAG Founder/Instructor Lauri Plesco Ross has owned and operated Peachtree Prompters since 1989. Her Teleprompter Rental House is the largest Teleprompting venue servicing the Southeast and specializes in every Teleprompter imaginable. Operators are Advanced Level Professionals working with the latest software and equipment to date. Lauri has worked across the Country Teleprompting for Celebrities, Feature Films, Television Shows, Commercials, Political Campaigns and more. Some of her credits include: Drop Dead Diva, Sigourney Weaver, Ludicrous, In The Heat of the Night, Jane Fonda, Ted Turner, President’s: George H. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Vice President Al Gore, Obamas 2008 campaign, Dan Rather, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Landeau, Robby Benson, Miley Cyrus, Travis Tritt, Larry King, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Jerry Springer with America’s Got Talent, Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, Blue Planet, Pogo Films, Craig Miller Productions, and many, many more! Lauri’s vast experience in the local Atlanta market has given her the opportunity to work with almost every Producer and Director in town. She has been privy on set to what works and what doesn’t work. Lauri knows what Directors are looking for in Teleprompter Talent. She has seen Producers scrambling to find qualified Teleprompter Talent and Actors looking for an affordable way to become a viable Actor skilled with Teleprompters. Her goals are to help the market as a whole, offering a place for Actors to hone their skills and Producers and Directors a bigger pool of Teleprompter Talent when calling their Agents. You can find out more about Lauri by visiting: www.peachtreeprompters.com or www.telegroup.org Back to Top

	Jodi Marks - Instructor/Television Host Born the first of twin girls in, Jodi Marks had construction in her blood from the beginning when her father brought the family construction business with him to the South from California. She has been doing home improvement ever since she was old enough to follow her dad around offering to hold the flashlight or getting the tools out of the toolbox. With her vast knowledge of construction and a theatre background Jodi embraced a niche in the television industry hosting home improvement shows and demonstrating construction processes. She is best known as “The Fix It Up Girl!” In 1997, she began her television hosting career for Home and Garden Television (HGTV) as co-host for the series Fix It Up! Other credits for HGTV include covering The National Hardware Show from 1997-2005, Home Watch, Great Fall Fix Up, Blitz Build 2000, and Christmas Across America. In 2002, Jodi was asked to join the team at Turner South to co-host a home improvement show highlighting stylish living in the South called Southern Home by Design. In 2003, TBS brought Jodi on board their original programming line-up as construction expert for the weekly series The Man Made Movie. In the summer of 2004, Jodi was asked by Lowe’s Home Improvement to join them in celebrating their grand openings nationwide through personal appearances and how-to clinics. Jodi and co-host, Paul Wilson, collaborated in 2007 to create The Tile Doctor series. Available online and in select home improvement stores nationwide, these videos teach just about every facet of tiling for your home. And due in stores in 2009, Jodi and co-author, Steve Schultz, are writing a home improvement book that tackles basic and intermediate projects encountered by homeowners. In 2008, Jodi joined Today Homeowner with Danny Lipford where she hosts the “Best New Products” segment and appears on camera with Danny in other areas of the show. Jodi also worked on a week long demonstration video as Host Talent for Pergo flooring in 2008 where she met and worked with Lauri (Plesco) Ross, owner of Peachtree Prompters. Jodi and Lauri not only enjoyed a professional relationship between Talent and Teleprompter Operator, but they discussed the benefits of using Teleprompters and the need for more Teleprompting courses in the film and video community. Lauri and Jodi developed a bond and today they are co-facilitating Teleprompting Workshops specifically geared towards demonstrating products while reading a Teleprompter and walking, talking, performing and using multiple Teleprompters simultaneously. These advanced courses offer benefits to new and established Actors wishing to enhance their skills and an ongoing affordable means to facilitate the art of working with Teleprompters. You can find out more about Jodi at www.jodimarks.com. Back to Top

	Larry Blase - Instructor/Producer/Director/Emmy Judge Television Producer/Director for over 25 years. His vast experience involves working with and Directing News Anchors and Reporters as well as Reality Show Talent using Teleprompter. Some of the highlights of Larry’s years include Executive Producer of CNN News, Producer/Director of Trading Spaces (from the outset of the show), News Producer at WAGA-TV Atlanta (Fox News), Writer/Producer of Headline News and Programming Consultant for TV2-Denmark. Besides acting as an Emmy Judge, Larry is currently an Adjunct Professor at Reinhart College School of Communication Arts. Back to Top

Nadia Bilchik of Greater Impact Communications leads teleprompting courses with Lauri Plesco Ross.

Nadia is a television news anchor, keynote speaker, media trainer and communications consultant.

She has anchored for the CNN Airport Network, and was the main anchor and special assignment reporter for MNET Television, the leading network in South Africa.

It is her unique, fun and practical approach to communication skills that has helped her interview world-renowned figures and celebrities including Dr. Nelson Mandela, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins.

She has also provided training, consulting and keynote addresses for Coca-Cola, Turner Broadcasting, Mercedes Benz, Virgin Atlantic, BMW, Delta, and more.

Patti Wood MA, CSP is an international speaker and trainer.

Since 1982, she has designed and conducted keynote speeches, workshops and convention seminars for hundreds of companies and associations. Patti delivers over 100 presentations a year and 75% of her business is from clients inviting her to return.

Patti is known as "The Body Language Lady" because she's a sought after expert for comments on the nonverbal messages of stars, politicians and people in general. As the "The Body Language Lady," Patti Wood is an internationally recognized non-verbal communications and behavior expert who has conducted years of research on body language. Publications such as Entrepreneur Magazine have cited her as an expert on Body Language. She has conducted many years of research on body language, written countless articles, and written the book Success Signals-Body Language in Business (www.pattiwood.com).