Meet Rich Germaine
FAIRtax fan Rich Germaine is giving our media presence a shot in the arm. Rich is a
30-year media professional with experience in radio, TV, and film. He uses his digital studio to produce audiobooks, internet radio programming, corporate and internet videos, book trailers, and other multi-media marketing tools.
You will find many of Rich’s audiobooks on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and other online audiobook stores.
Rich’s lengthy resume includes directing and going on-air as a personality at KFOG Radio San Francisco, producing and going on-air as an announcer at KIRO Radio Seattle, and serving as Vice President of Crista Broadcasting, including General Manager of KCIS, KCMS, and KLYN in Washington State. Rich’s other accomplishments include being a Marketing Director of GMT Film and TV Studios in Culver City, California, serving as Vice President of GMT Motion Picture Distribution in Culver City, and working at Telecommunications Inc (TCI) in cable ad sales and TV Production in Florida.
Rich’s career highlights include his role as an Associate Producer on the documentary “James Dean, An American Legend,” starring Anthony Michael Hall. He has narrated and produced over 50 audiobooks, including Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
Rich considers himself privileged to have worked with George Gallup, Jr. in conducting two national studies on the American culture, the Whitehouse Conference on the Family during the Carter administration, and a variety of regional research projects. For over ten years, Rich was the voice on the opening for the PBS show “Rick Steves Travels In Europe.”
In 1995, Rich founded his current business, Media Arts Institute, LLC, a digital media and marketing company. Media Arts produces internet radio, audiobooks, music soundtrack services, audio and video.
Rich first reached out to the FAIRtax in 2018, wanting to know about our TV and media plan, including how to be creative and how we measure the impact of our plan. In October 2023, he contacted our Illinois FAIRtax activist, Marilyn Rickert, who referred him to our board.
We found his ideas interesting, but our concern was that we needed a budget for his professional media services. Rich advised us that he wanted to volunteer. He would only ask for money for unusual expenses, saying, “I want to see the FT passed, the 16th amendment repealed, and the IRS eliminated within my lifetime. That will be compensation enough.” If we can come to the point where we have a budget, we would still like to pay him.
We invited Rich to our Directors and Delegates Zoom Meeting on November 17, 2023, to present his fundraising idea. The discussions kept going from there.
Rich’s current plan is to create a series of “whiteboard” animations. Whiteboards are the best tool to keep the audience's attention. We have some whiteboards already but need more on specific FAIRtax subjects. For example, we need an animation on embedded tax costs. Rich produced a high-quality first cut that runs slightly over a minute and a half. We plan to have a more extended 5-10-minute version that gets into more detail.
Once we have the whiteboards refined and ready for prime time, we plan to put them on social media and make them available to volunteers for group presentations.
Rich has opened our eyes to artificial intelligence. He demonstrated inputting a minimum amount of information, and an AI program cranked out a business plan about five pages long. We need to review and revise the plan, but the demonstration was impressive. Rich can turn any article into an abstract and a video. He proposes upgrading our impact on Social Media, starting with YouTube. We can exponentially create content to fill a YouTube channel and increase sorely-needed awareness of the FAIRtax almost overnight.
Rich and his wife Cherie have lived on the Olympic Peninsulas in Washington State for ten years. They have four adult children and six grandchildren.
We are lucky to have Rich on our team.
30-year media professional with experience in radio, TV, and film. He uses his digital studio to produce audiobooks, internet radio programming, corporate and internet videos, book trailers, and other multi-media marketing tools.
You will find many of Rich’s audiobooks on Amazon, Audible, iTunes, and other online audiobook stores.
Rich’s lengthy resume includes directing and going on-air as a personality at KFOG Radio San Francisco, producing and going on-air as an announcer at KIRO Radio Seattle, and serving as Vice President of Crista Broadcasting, including General Manager of KCIS, KCMS, and KLYN in Washington State. Rich’s other accomplishments include being a Marketing Director of GMT Film and TV Studios in Culver City, California, serving as Vice President of GMT Motion Picture Distribution in Culver City, and working at Telecommunications Inc (TCI) in cable ad sales and TV Production in Florida.
Rich’s career highlights include his role as an Associate Producer on the documentary “James Dean, An American Legend,” starring Anthony Michael Hall. He has narrated and produced over 50 audiobooks, including Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
Rich considers himself privileged to have worked with George Gallup, Jr. in conducting two national studies on the American culture, the Whitehouse Conference on the Family during the Carter administration, and a variety of regional research projects. For over ten years, Rich was the voice on the opening for the PBS show “Rick Steves Travels In Europe.”
In 1995, Rich founded his current business, Media Arts Institute, LLC, a digital media and marketing company. Media Arts produces internet radio, audiobooks, music soundtrack services, audio and video.
Rich first reached out to the FAIRtax in 2018, wanting to know about our TV and media plan, including how to be creative and how we measure the impact of our plan. In October 2023, he contacted our Illinois FAIRtax activist, Marilyn Rickert, who referred him to our board.
We found his ideas interesting, but our concern was that we needed a budget for his professional media services. Rich advised us that he wanted to volunteer. He would only ask for money for unusual expenses, saying, “I want to see the FT passed, the 16th amendment repealed, and the IRS eliminated within my lifetime. That will be compensation enough.” If we can come to the point where we have a budget, we would still like to pay him.
We invited Rich to our Directors and Delegates Zoom Meeting on November 17, 2023, to present his fundraising idea. The discussions kept going from there.
Rich’s current plan is to create a series of “whiteboard” animations. Whiteboards are the best tool to keep the audience's attention. We have some whiteboards already but need more on specific FAIRtax subjects. For example, we need an animation on embedded tax costs. Rich produced a high-quality first cut that runs slightly over a minute and a half. We plan to have a more extended 5-10-minute version that gets into more detail.
Once we have the whiteboards refined and ready for prime time, we plan to put them on social media and make them available to volunteers for group presentations.
Rich has opened our eyes to artificial intelligence. He demonstrated inputting a minimum amount of information, and an AI program cranked out a business plan about five pages long. We need to review and revise the plan, but the demonstration was impressive. Rich can turn any article into an abstract and a video. He proposes upgrading our impact on Social Media, starting with YouTube. We can exponentially create content to fill a YouTube channel and increase sorely-needed awareness of the FAIRtax almost overnight.
Rich and his wife Cherie have lived on the Olympic Peninsulas in Washington State for ten years. They have four adult children and six grandchildren.
We are lucky to have Rich on our team.
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CALL FOR PICTURES AND WRITEUPS
We need more of you to send in pictures and news. If you have something to share, please send your material to me, jim.bennett@fairtax.org, (908) 578-4975, or fax (908) 598-2888. When others see your activity, they are inspired, and the process snowballs. When the process snowballs, Congress Members, Senators, and even the President start to listen.
CALL FOR PICTURES AND WRITEUPS
We need more of you to send in pictures and news. If you have something to share, please send your material to me, jim.bennett@fairtax.org, (908) 578-4975, or fax (908) 598-2888. When others see your activity, they are inspired, and the process snowballs. When the process snowballs, Congress Members, Senators, and even the President start to listen.
Jim Bennett
AFFT Grassroots Coordinator & Secretary🇺🇸 Call For Pictures & WriteUps - When others see your activity, they are inspired, the process snowballs and Representatives, Senators and, yes, even the President start to listen to you and me. Please send your material to me at Jim.Bennett@FAIRtax.org.
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