We were all CELEBRITIES today

We couldn’t have ordered better weather for our 5^th Annual L.E.A.D. Celebrity Baseball Clinic at Turner Field.  We had 60 clinic participants that had the time of their life.

Kelli, Mackenna and I arrived at Turner Field at 6:30AM knowing that today was going to be a great day because it has to be that way when Mary Jo Walker is involved.

For the first year, Kelli and I were able to relax and enjoy the clinic experience. D.J. Huyck, Ben Wolosick and Steve White handled the on field experience like champions.  Dexter Fowler, Bobby Scales, Jon Mark Owings, Chris Epps and Travis Witherspoon had the kids swinging the bat with power from the Turner Field batting box.  The kids were able to roam the outfield grass with Jason Heyward and Telvin Nash.  Jemile Weeks and Tony Plagman taught them how to flash the leather in the infield dirt while Micah Owings and Jamel Mann showed the tools of the trade from the pitcher’s mound.  Barbara Greene proved that baseball is 90% mental in her mental game of baseball workshop.  Special thanks to all of the Kennesaw State University baseball players in attendance.

Doug Melton, ATS Graphics hung out with me for the VIP experience.  He provided over 100 complimentary clinic t-shirts for all of the participants.  We all remained refreshed with Blue-04 water.  These were definitely homeruns for L.E.A.D.! Thank ya Kaisha Weeks!

Our annual Celebrity Clinic truly allows L.E.A.D. to connect communities throughout Atlanta.  Serving others is the "Atlanta Way" and I’m so glad that we were allowed to L.E.A.D. the way!

Tomorrow is our 2^nd Annual Dinner with Champions Awards Ceremony at Turner Field’s 755 Club.  Angie Chesin and Mary Jo Walker are on deck but they are batting 1.000 so I’m not worried.  Our keynote speaker is John Hope Bryant.  Talk about a dynamic speaker.

We will be officially announcing the 2012 L.E.A.D. Ambassadors as well as the 2011 Jason Heyward Award recipient.  There are over 300 guest confirmed with a few tickets remaining.  Click here to purchase your tickets.  You don’t want to miss this.  Our Legacy Builder recipients are Michael Russell (H.J. Russell & Company) and Sam Bacote.  Community Awards will be presented to Victor Menocal (Excel Sports Management), Tom Hughes (Hope Beckham PR), Kathy Brandt (Rotary District 6900 Assistant Governor), Tommy Thomas (Thomas Barber Shop), Lincoln Martin (former Houston Astros scout) and Chuck Dowdle (680 The Fan). 

Special thanks to the Atlanta Braves, Georgia's Own Credit Union, Aramark and 680 The Fan for sponsoring L.E.A.D. Weekend!

What it means to be Georgia's Own

I'm Georgia's Own and that means that I have a responsibility to serve others in my state the same way that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did.

I'm Georgia's Own and that means that I must learn from the success of other communities and bring the good news and practices to the pecan state as Ambassador Andrew Young does.

I'm proud to be Georgia's Own along with my youth development organization L.E.A.D. L.E.A.D. successfully uses baseball to allow inner city Atlanta males to access college. Yesterday, Georgia's Own Credit Union raised over $28,000 for L.E.A.D. in it's annual golf tournament. This donation will allow L.E.A.D. to keep over 10 inner city males on track to graduate from high school and attend college.  L.E.A.D. is a year round organization that serves over 180 middle and high school age males from the Atlanta Public School System.  Our four pillars of excellence are athletics, academics, service and exposure.

The state of Georgia currently graduates 45% of African-American males from high school. Since 2007, L.E.A.D. has graduated 100% of our Ambassadors and they all have enrolled into college while 89% have enrolled in college with a baseball scholarship. We are transforming inner city communities with year round programs that are measured for success.

Our young men have a future and Georgia's Own Credit Union is helping them own it. Special thanks to Dave Preter, Georgia's Own/CEO, Julee Brunson, Georgia's Own; Vivian English, Georgia's Own; and Ted Wood, Morgan Stanley.

We are counting on the Atlanta community to continue to support L.E.A.D.  Click here to purchase your tickets for L.E.A.D. Weekend 2011 at Turner Field Saturday, November 19-20.

What are we doing?

The Legacy League is winding down. Twenty middle school and forty high school student-athletes continue to work hard to develop their baseball and leadership skills.

Our 3-month program provides a service opportunity each month, exposure to over five corporate industries and thousands of repetitions under the watchful eye of professionals.

One of the main purposes of the Legacy League is to help me identify the L.E.A.D. Ambassadors. We choose 20 Ambassadors that represent the best of L.E.A.D. from the 40 high school participants. The Ambassadors will be officially announced at L.E.A.D.'s 2nd Annual Dinner with Champions Awards Celebration. They will continue with their development with me through the summer.

Since 2007, 100% of my Ambassadors have graduated from high school and enrolled in college which 89% of them have enrolled with a baseball scholarship. Why commit to L.E.A.D.?  Because we use baseball to launch educational opportunities.

I can do so much more with your support. Join us during L.E.A.D. Weekend 2011.  Click here to learn more.

Legacy League Opening Day the Omega Psi Phi Way

Saturday was a perfect day for four reasons.

1. I was able to spend time with my beautiful wife and daughters.
2. We had perfect weather in Atlanta.
3. It was L.E.A.D.'s Legacy League Annual Opening Day Ceremony.
4. The Omega Psi Phi fraternity was at Perkerson Park celebrating with us thanks to Rendell Jackson.

The ceremony started with introductions from over 30 Omega's at the pitchers mound.  Each fraternity brother shared the college that they graduated from along with the degree and their current career field.  That was powerful for our young Leaders to witness.

Coach Kelli later introduced our 60 Legacy League Leaders to the crowd.  They received high 5's from the Omega's and lined up on the foul line.  Coach Kelli had everybody's attention with her powerful voice as she sang the National Anthem.

A long day of games began with our two middle school teams competing against each other followed by intra-squad games for our high school division.  We finished the day of games before darkness hit with our Legacy League Prospect Team hosting the East Cobb Saints.  DJ Cosmo kept everybody energized with music from Jay-Z and a bunch of old school.

Opening Day is always fun!  I remember how I felt as a kid on Opening Day at CYO (Cascade Youth Organization).  Lots of people, cheers, food and music.

Baseball is a big deal again in the inner city again.  If my vision is right for L.E.A.D., we will play a major role in repopulating African Americans in baseball at the collegiate and major league levels.  We can do so much more with your help.  Click here and help us L.E.A.D. Today and Change Tomorrow!

One of Georgia's best

We all strive to be the best and on Thursday evening, Georgia Trend Magazine recognized me and 39 of my colleagues as Georgia's best and brightest.  We are Georgia Trend's top 40 under 40.  Click here to learn more.

My good friend and L.E.A.D. advisory board member Steve White told me not to deflect the recognition from this award as I normally do.  Being humble is a characteristic that I am proud of but tonight was a night that allowed L.E.A.D. to shine.

With the support of my family, close friends, my board and advisory board members, we continue to launch educational opportunities for inner city males.  We continue to use baseball to provide access to college for 100% of my Ambassadors.

I walked up to receive a beautiful award for the over 200 inner city males that L.E.A.D. will impact for 2011-12.  With God as the head of my life, I will continue to lead the way for some amazing young men and families.

ICAN be ICONIC

This evening, my beloved city Atlanta paid tribute to a living legend, R. Charles "Charlie" Loudermilk Sr.

Charlie Loudermilk borrowed $500 in the 50's to start Aaron's Rent and today he is partly responsible for Atlanta being a revered city.

Today was undoubtedly a special day for a special man. How could I be anywhere else but in that room? Myself and my L.E.A.D. Ambassador Wesley Clement shared the same space with so many great men that have spent decades giving of themselves and empowering others.

Officially, Mr. Loudermilk was being honored by the Council for Quality Growth as a recipient of their annual Four Pillar Tribute.

Mr. John Schuerholz, President of the Atlanta Braves paid tribute to Mr. Loudermilk with the pillar of QUALITY. Know body in their right mind will argue that Mr. Loudermilk exemplifies the meaning of quality.

Mr. Herman J. Russell, Chairman of H.J. Russell and Company delivered a heartfelt tribute with the pillar of RESPONSIBILITY. I am personally reminded of the responsibility that I have to next generation of leadership in my city.

Mr. John C. Portman, Chairman of Portman Companies made a statement about the third pillar of VISION that I will never forget. "Self doubt is the death to vision." Almighty God has me on this earth for a reason and I will not doubt his plan.

The integrity of a man is based on how he handles situations when nobody is looking. Ambassador Andrew Young made it clear to the crowd of hundreds that Mr. Loudermilk is a man of INTEGRITY.

Mr. Loudermilk is an icon and it became clear to me that I can also be iconic. I will make my time on earth meaningful. I will also have a rich legacy like Mr. Loudermilk. ICAN be ICONIC.

Development includes failure

This has been a great start to the fall Legacy League season.  Everything is going right as planned.  As a coaching staff, we came into the fall development season with a curriculum.  Now it is time to get dirty.

We began our first games of the Legacy League on Saturday, October 1st at the beautiful Perkerson Park with a 10:00AM Middle School Development League game and a 12:30PM High School Development League game.  We have two middle school development teams in the league as well as two high school development teams and one prospect team.

The middle school game included good pitching by Elijah Richardson (Sylvan Hills Middle School) and lots of strong bats.  All of our games are instructional based which allows us as a coaching staff to create offensive and defensive situations.  We really have to spend more time on 1st and 3rd defensive situations.  Team defense is new to a lot of our Leaders.  No problem, that's why the Legacy League was created.

The Legacy League is America's first fall instructional league that targets inner city middle and high school age males and provides baseball development for college baseball scholarships.

The high school development league showcased solid pitching by Marquese Sinkfield (Henry Grady High School). Rhandal Jackson (Benjamin E. Mays High School) was 2 for 3 and was the starting catcher for the Legacy League White Team.

The Legacy League Prospect Team lost 2-1 in a good game on Saturday to the East Cobb Patriots.  We scored lots of runs on Sunday against the Nelson Baseball School team but we also gave up quite a few.  Sunday's game ended with an 11-11 tie.  The Prospect Team received stellar pitching from Julian Phiffer on Saturday.  Julian "JuJu" is a right handed pitcher from Booker T. Washington High School and only threw 29 pitches in three innings.  Wesley Clement (Benjamin E. Mays High School) made great adjustments to his swing this weekend and got some key hits.

I'm looking forward to a great upcoming week of practice with our Leaders.  Development isn't always fun because development includes failure.  Funny how you can fail on a baseball field 70% of the time yet you are considered successful.  The reward for our success in the classroom and on the baseball diamond is a college baseball scholarship.

1, 2, 3, L.E.A.D.!