What's the Story???
A Letter from AACS's President

PBA is fortunate to have a strong working relationship with the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS). In fact, we share a building! We asked AACS President Anthony F. Fragomeni to share his thoughts.

It is said that the only difference between a fairy tale and a war story is the way it starts. A fairy tale starts out with, "Once upon a time…" A war story starts out with, "You ain't gonna believe this…"

Stories and fairy tales have been told since the beginning of time. With varied content and purpose and over time, stories have been told to teach lessons, illustrate points, crystallize beliefs and espouse virtues. Many of these stories have been passed down generation to generation, with each taking some editorial latitude to embellish the story to fit the time. Others are time tested and have remained relatively unchanged through times. One thing they all have in common, though, is what I call shelf life.

Believable or not, true or fabricated, a good story can live forever. And even though you may have heard it before, the story is enhanced by a great story teller. You know who they are. They just captivate you and drag you into the story and make you feel like you can see what they are telling. It is an art form. Great story tellers don't always have a great story to tell, often they just tell it great. But give a great story teller a great story, and voila-magic.

You see we have a tremendous story to tell that is not being told. We are the best kept secret in the world. I speak of two collective we's. One is the professional beauty industry, and the other is the institutions that give the budding professionals their base education. And since we give these budding professionals their start, it is incumbent upon us to tell the story.

So…what's the story? The professional beauty industry is a profession of choice not a vocation of default. We offer professional opportunities that will not be replaced by computers or robots and will not be shipped overseas. We offer professional opportunities to work in salons in a climate-controlled environment around some of the most positive, progressive and innovative people on the planet. We offer professional opportunities for people that don't want to be limited by an antiquated and archaic corporate structure. We offer professional opportunities for people to work in the theatre, television, movies, print ads, performing arts, education, research and development, sales, marketing and management, just to name a few. We offer professional opportunities to touch, change and transform people in ways that no other licensed professional can. We are philanthropic, responsible and responsive, and we care about the communities where we do business.

We have a great story to tell. All we have to do is start telling it, telling it well and telling it consistently, and it will live on forever.

Anthony F. Fragomeni
President, American Association of
Cosmetology Schools (AACS)
NWSHC
Peekskill, NY