L.E.A.D. Ambassador Jason Gresham leading the way

Is it most effective to lead from the front of the line or from the back? I would say both. If you lead from the front, you can spot the danger ahead and reroute your followers. When you lead from the back, you give the followers more of an opportunity to become leaders like you. 


L.E.A.D.'s mission is to create positive outcomes for at risk minority inner city youth males by leveraging the relationship between education, athletics and service. Our four pillars of excellence include athletics (baseball), academics, exposure, as well as service/civic engagement. 

Due to unfortunate social issues, 60% of Atlanta Public School black males will not graduate from high school. We are a proud recognized partner of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) and to date 100% of our L.E.A.D. Ambassadors have graduated from high school and enrolled into college. 90% have enrolled into college with baseball scholarship opportunities. 

I'm proud to say the least of this accomplishment. It is a "village" effort to reach this success. Let me share something else that has made me proud. On Tuesday, May 22nd, L.E.A.D. Ambassador Jason Gresham was recognized as one of 2013 11Alive Salutes Kids Who Care. Jason is a junior at the New Schools at Carver (APS). He is a catcher and outfielder with the L.E.A.D. Ambassadors. 

Jason Gresham is at the far right and featured with Donna Lowry and the 2013 11Alive Kids Who Care

Since 1987, 11Alive and the Junior League of Atlanta have recognized the unselfish contributions of young people who dedicate themselves to making our community a better place.

L.E.A.D. offers year round programming to over 250 APS middle and high school students. Their dedication is measured monthly with their attendance to school, grades, behavior and community service. 

Jason is no stranger to service. He started with us as an 8th grade LEADer at Walter L. Parks Middle School (APS). He has matriculated to become an 11th grade L.E.A.D. Ambassador who has already collected over 200 total hours of community service. Hundreds of middle school youth count on the year round mentorship of Jason in our L.E.A.D. Middle School Character Development League.

L.E.A.D. Middle School Character Development League photo at the GA Tech baseball field on Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Photo by Cortney McArhur (BornToCompete.com)

You can watch this years Community Service Awards show on 11Alive, Saturday, April 27th from 7:30-9:00PM and then on MyATL on Sunday, April 28th from 1:00-2:30PM. L.E.A.D. Ambassador (New Schools at Carver) Jason Gresham is among the recipients.