POWER PERSON OF THE WEEK : Maze Jackson: What You Don't Know

Correspondent: Tenille J. Brooks

When I was seven years old, Maze Jackson was fifteen, Working at the McDonalds AND Burger King in Bolingbrook & Lisle! He worked really hard, and I thought he was cool because he brought me toys home from the Happy Meal boxes. By the time I turned fifteen, I knew it was time to get a job (because Maze had a job), so I began working at the Dairy Queen in Bolingbrook. Maze left for college at U of I, and came back home with nothing and I MEAN NOTHING but Royal Blue and White on. Maze had become a member of Phi Beta Sigma, Inc.

I knew I was going to U of I, because Maze went to U of I. And while in college my big brother had the coolest job back in Chicago. I had all the new CD’s and the coolest t-shirts. And when Maze visited me, he drove the coolest cars around campus. I still remember when my brother and his friend Swill rolling around the streets of Champaign-Urbana in the Roc-A-Fella truck with Jay-Z and Memphis Bleek face on it.

By the time I came home from college, Maze had started Universal MazJac Enterprises, Inc. and had an office on 35th street. The office was filled with posters, CDs, stickers, buttons and key chains. He worked a full-time job, and at night he passed out flyers and decorated Chicago’s abandoned buildings, bus stops and poles with Roc-A-Fella posters. I wasn’t really into hip-hop music, but I knew going to Jay-Z concerts was “cool”. But for me, it wasn’t until MazJac was assigned to be the official street team for the new radio station Power 92, and we had to do an in-store promotion with recording artist112, that I knew he was the coolest big brother ever!

Maze put me on the street team schedule to work with Marcie and Phalair passing out bumper stickers for Power 92, all while rolling with 112. It didn’t get any better than that!

One day Maze called and said he was going to do a post-show concert with Little Romeo at United Center for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and that freaked me out. I knew about Ringling Bros., I knew where the United Center was, and I knew who Little Romeo was – but putting all 3 together - Only Maze. Maze had brought urban marketing strategies to major corporations that translated urban trends into sales opportunities for his corporate clients.

Maze promoted me to Senior Account Executive, Human Resources Director, Director of Operations, Vice President and President of Universal MazJac Enterprises, Inc. representing a variety of corporate clients such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus “The Greatest Show On Earth” in 16 cities across the country, the Illinois Department of Transportation – Dan Ryan Project, Body Worlds 1 and 2, Power 92, Soul 106.3 and several others!

It’s not often that I get to say thank you for being a great big brother. Thanks for being a positive role model and leading by example, as well as teaching along the way, and continuously encouraging me to be the best I can be. I'm grateful for the Happy Meal Toys, and my own VIP section at tonight’s party. Thanks for showing me how to work hard and play even harder. Happy 40th Birthday and Congratulations on keeping your vision going for 15 years and counting.

(Tenille J. Brooks, owner of Brooks Balloons, and president of Universal MazJac Enterprises, Inc. www.brooksballoons.com)