Meet The ONE: Who Is Sean C. Robinson?

Sean Robinson has always enjoyed writing.

Born on January 22, 1968 in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA, Sean was the youngest in a family of nine. Sean has always been encouraged by his adoring mother, Sadie, who advised him to chart his own path, make his own rules, and forever be a man of His word. As a youth, Sean whiled away hours reading fables and tales of mystery before finally deciding to recreate the same type of splendor in stories of his own.

Initially, Sean took an interest in writing poetry and soon found he had a flare for the imaginative.  Knowing this, he decided upon relaying his thoughts through longer script, short stories, and song. This talent became useful as Sean grew older, soon becoming a writer for local newspapers, company newsletters, and helping with advertising and marketing campaigns for small businesses.

No matter where he was or what he was doing, Sean always found a way to share his love for writing. While stationed in 29 Palms, CA during his eight year stint in the USMC, Sean contributed articles to the military base's newsletter and was often called upon as soldiers needed to "find the right words" to express themselves in letters home. While still in the military, Sean received a full scholarship to attend Prairie View A&M University. There, he studied electronic engineering as a student within the Benjamin Banneker Honors College program.  Sean maintained a vocal presence on campus as he was elected class president for three consecutive years.  As a student leader at PVAMU, Sean was instrumental in changes that effected the entire student population.

While running for President of his class organization, Sean was once asked what could be done to help to slow the decreasing enrollments of males in post-secondary education. Sean, who was already assisting with the Miss PVAMU Scholarship Pageant, suggested that a male pageantry system be instilled. The males could compete for the title of Mr. PVAMU and would be sponsored by different colleges, organizations, fraternities, etc. that freckled the school campus.

Each would be asked to raise a certain amount of money in order to enter the competition and, collectively, the money raised would be turned into a scholarship for the winner. The categories would depend on scholastic achievements and talents as opposed to many male scholarships being given solely for athletic prowess. Today, the scholarship sereies continues and has become the catalyst for the statewide system known as the Mr. Collegiate African American Scholarship Pageant™, owned and operated by UNITAN Communications™.
 

Sean was the first elected class president who successfully wrote class bylaws for the entire student government association. He also insisted upon class colors and a class prom. He, then, opened offices in the lower level of the Student Union Building and was the only class to assist in opening the storage rooms; revitalizing the space into usable office areas and recreation center. All the while, Sean continued to offer articles to the campus newspaper and would soon lend his voice to the airwaves of the campus radio station. "I've always wanted my views to be seen and heard," said Sean, "and this was a great vehicle to accomplish my goals."

After leaving PVAMU a more learned man, he relocated to North Carolina to live with his elder sister who was stationed in Fort Bragg, NC,   There. he worked closely with three local minority-owned publications who desperately needed local news representation. Each week, Sean interviewed budding businesses all around the Fort Bragg, NC area. Within a year, his stories spanned from Wilmington to Rocky Mount and, with that, so did the popularity of the publications in which he wrote. Realizing this, Sean began to gain notoriety as a writer with a refreshing perspective and an uncanny attention to detail.

Encouraged by a growing fan-base of readers, Sean compiled his writings and began publishing his own small business magazine, GFA Horizons, in 1998. To him, the publication's name was dual in nature. GFA stood for keeping God First Always. This, he says, humbled him. He always acknowledged that the talent and ability to be so instrumental in the promotion of other businesses was a gift. The word Horizons represented the point where Heaven touches Earth. Again, an acknowledgement of a divine intervention. To his readers, GFA Horizons was, quite literally, a Greater Fayetteville Area publication that was going to put their business' name in front of over 25,000 readers monthly.
 

Sean's unique way of interpreting thoughts to paper was well-received and, within two years, GFA Horizons was a staple to the growing business sector in the downtown area. It was here that Sean decided to start hosting monthly networking sessions, inviting in guest speakers and using his talents to offer the most assistance to businesses all across NC. Honored during an anniversary celebration with over 400 businesses and local elected officials in attendance, Sean received the Publisher of The Year award.

Feeling he had saturated the local market, Sean set his sites on a larger city with an even larger small business community. Expanding his reach, Sean moved to Atlanta, GA in 2003 and reinvented his publication as ONE Atlanta Magazine and PERSONA Online A&E Magazine and, to this day, remains true to His word.

Sean currently hosts quarterly networking sessions for the small business community in various locations in and around the metropolitan area.  His videotaped sessions and articles appear on his website PERSONA. With the onset of the recession in December 2008, Sean stopped printing his monthly magazine and moved hispublication online.  In addition, Sean maintains visibility by offering his political satire in a column known as ONE Man's Opinion.  To date, Sean has continued to lend his talents to others as a ghost-writer, co-author, lyricist, and screenwriter.