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It's fairly apparent due to the amount of times we've had to explain the pronunciation of our name, that EDANA (ee-dah-na) is unique to say the least. In some ways, Edana was born many moons ago in Astoria, Queens. At least that's where the two people that it would be named after would grow up; Anita Sayago, born Ana C. Fernandez and Edward Luisi aka Ed or Eddie Luisi. Eddie would participate in an internship at ABC while attending Hunter College, which would turn into a full time gig. Eddie would become "Stage Manager to the Stars" at Good Morning America in NYC...a position and profession he is blessed to say continues today, over thirty years later. Anita would later attend, Baruch College, CUNY in New York City where she would pursue her degree in Marketing with a minor in Psychology, earning her a Bachelor's of Business Administration (BBA). It would be her years in New York City and her Advertising Media instructor at Baruch College that would spark her love of the advertising and entertainment worlds. In the late 80's/early 90's, Professor Loretta Volpe not only taught at Baruch but was also partner at Griffin Bacal, a top 40 advertising agency with billing of $250 million. She would meet Anita right around the same time she was wrapping up production on the Coca-Cola account/commercial with the late Whitney Houston. Professor Volpe would make it a point to let Anita and the class know on a daily, that Anita had all of the qualities needed to kill it in the advertising game. So much so that she put her money where her mouth was and offered her a job at Griffin Bacal. She went further and told her that based on her skill set and natural affinity for the business that she would be running the agency one day. Flattered and very naive, Anita expressed her deep gratitude, but did not take her up on her offer. Interestingly enough while Anita did not have the incredible fortune of working alongside one of today's advertising geniuses, Professor Volpe gave her all of the tools, encouragement and mentorship that would last her a lifetime. Anita would pursue modeling and acting during her college years and even auditioned for radio. Soon after graduation Anita would fall in love, marry and go on to have four sons. It would be after her youngest was six that she realized she could shelve her passions for only so long. She would return to her marketing roots with artist's in different stages of development including, but not limited to, branding, booking, and public relations. Her career would begin with a brilliant young crooner from Sacramento named Mitch Franco. He was chosen by Simon Cowell out of 20,000 participants to be the next "Frank Sinatra." Mr. Franco would go on to become an international touring artist for several years only recently returning to the states. Rumor has it there may be a new collaboration between EDANA and Mr. Franco. Currently, Anita splits her time amongst several projects. In the music space she works with the very talented CMT artist, Ashley Wineland and has successfully built multiple tours for her throughout the United States. EDANA is working on Ms. Wineland's fall tour and expects to get her in some new cities very soon. She also works with singer/songwriter Riley Biederer, best known for her placement in Season 9 of The Voice. Most recently Ms. Biederer was selected by Katy Perry as the winner of YouTube's, Best.Cover.Ever. As the winner, Riley would record a video with Katy Perry. It was released in November and has since gone viral. Anita books this rapidly rising star all over the country, and assists her with many of her PR needs.
In the film space, Anita is enjoying her role as producer and creative director on a brand/series called Youthful Ambition."Youthful Ambition" or YA as it's called was created by her colleague, Filmmaker and Director, Terence Gordon of TNG Films, and Black Ink Pictures.
At the core of everything Ms. Sayago does is the strong desire to provide mentorship and make a difference in the lives of others. Her tenacity and strong work ethic is fueled by this. Her greatest personal and professional accomplishments have come from her involvement with the non-profit sector, particularly, the Dove House in Mooresville, NC. The Dove House Children's Advocacy Center is a fully accredited, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing a safe and child-friendly facility that is supporting the investigation, prosecution, and therapy/follow up of reported child sexual assault cases that occur in Iredell and Alexander counties. This past May at their annual fundraiser, one of the artist's EDANA is working with (Riley Biederer) raised close to $100,000 for the children of Dove House. It would be that evening that would pave the road for an even stronger desire to work within the non-profit sector. EDANA is already looking to expand its reach to the mental health arena.
In its simplest form Edana was created with the "Ed" in Eddie and the "Ana" from Anita's legal name. What made it even more appealing was that Edana also has other meanings, which include: "little fire" "fire" "passionate" "fiery" all of which personify Edana's owner, Anita Sayago, and how she feels about the people and projects she works with.
The funniest definition of Edana is found in the Urban Dictionary at www.urbandictionary.com While some of it describes its creator very well, those that know her realize that others couldn't be further than the truth. At the end of the day, it's worth sharing, as the important elements are noted:
An independent, funny woman. Likes to appear androgynous on occasion but is still feminine. Weird by name, weird by nature. Doesn't drink often, but when she does she isn't afraid to go all out. Very unique; piercings, tattoos, hair. She isn't one to start a confrontation, but will always fight her corner. Has a large obsession with David Bowie. Spends far too much time blogging. Worries about her appearance to a certain extent, but still has hairy arm pits. Basically, she's mental, but loveable. Critical, but honest. amazing friend. when she says the friendship is for life she means it, just don't mess up on your part because she won't be messed about.
To sums things up, Edana was created by two friends and professionals that grew up in the same town, shared the same church, friends, and core values. It was a blessing to have Eddie Luisi as part of Edana Entertainment, but he was recently called to put all of his heart and soul into his ministry - Fences Coming Down. We will miss him here at EDANA, but know his ministry is serving an amazing purpose!! We welcome you to visit his site at fencescomingdown.
