They are becoming legendary because they are L.E.A.D. Ambassadors

Your L.E.A.D. Ambassadors were announced on Saturday, November 1st and what a great first day.

7:00AM

We felt the chill of upper 30 degree weather at Booker T. Washington High School while 31 L.E.A.D. Ambassadors filled vans from our supporter Enterprise.

8:00AM

We stopped by to see Mr. Tommy at his famous barber shop. Thomas Barber Shop has been serving Atlanta in Buckhead for over 55 years. I've been getting my haircut at Tommy's for over three years now. Other men that get their haircut in the famous barbershop are Dan Reeves, Don Keough, James Cox Kennedy, Governor Nathan Deal and Larry Gellerstedt just to name a few. Tommy is full of wisdom, influence and concerned that 60% of black males aren't graduating from Atlanta Public Schools on time or at all.

8:45AM

We arrived at Miller Brothers in Buckhead for our annual fitting for custom L.E.A.D. blazers. Greg and Robby have invested in our Ambassadors for over seven years realizing that they are future leaders of Atlanta. Our Ambassadors play several competitive baseball games in their Mizuno uniforms and they also frequent many black tie functions throughout the year.

10:00AM

OK Cafe was our food choice of the day. I had the pleasure of meeting legendary Georgia Tech basketball coach Bobby Cremins while in the restaurant. I shared our L.E.A.D. vision and results with him and he asked if he could spend some time in the near future with the Ambassadors. Of course the answer is yes. To become a legend, you must spend quality time with legends.

12:00PM

We are at Phipps Plaza for our second fitting of the day. Belk CEO Dave Penrod has been a fan and supporter of L.E.A.D. for over two years. For the second consecutive year, Dave has outfitted our Ambassadors with shoes, collard shirt, slacks and belt.

Our 5th Annual Dinner With Champions is Saturday, November 15th when we officially introduce our 31 L.E.A.D. Ambassadors to the city of Atlanta.

L.E.A.D. (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct) is a proud partner of Atlanta Public Schools and our mission is to empower an at risk generation to lead and transform their city. Click here to check our impact stats. 

Two Different Learning Institutions in Atlanta

L.E.A.D. Ambassador Jamequavius Jordan (Maynard H. Jackson High School, Atlanta Public Schools) spent a day with me today.

My day started with a meeting with Morehouse College President John Wilson followed by a Rotary meeting on the Georgia Tech campus.

Here are the three differences that Jamequavius learned today between Morehouse and Georgia Tech while being on both campuses.

1. Morehouse College has 2,000+ students and Georgia Tech has 20,000+ students.


2. Morehouse College is a historical private college and Georgia Tech is a historic public college.


3. Georgia Tech has a Walmart, Waffle House and hotel on the campus along with lots of buildings and a state of the art athletic facility. Morehouse College doesn't offer a lot on the campus. I guess it's because of the community that it is located in.

Engaging the Dragon

Last week I (Ryan Martin), along with Austin Evans, went to the Engaging the Dragon: Economic Diplomacy in China Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the World Affairs Council. We were able to listen and learn so much from our keynote speakers about China, conditions there, U.S. relations, and how the two nations could come together and be stronger. A special commentary from former President Jimmy Carter was broadcasted live via satellite from the Carter Presidential Library. This was special because Carter was the key figure involved in creating the relationship we have today with mainland China nearly 35 years ago.

Austin Evans (Senior, New Schools at Carver), Rachel Nelson-Flyod and Ryan Martin (Sophomore, B.E. Mays High School)

In addition to President Carter's insights, two keynote speakers that have accomplished unthinkable things in government and on different cultural platforms discussed their views on China's economic growth over the last two decades, U.S. competitiveness, and future relations between the two countries. Our first keynote speaker was Mr. Henry "Hank" Levine who is a Senior Director with the Albright Stonebridge Group, a strategic advisor firm in Washington, D.C., where he helps international firms deepen there interactions with government and non-government entities in China and resolve business issues. Our second keynote speaker for the night was Professor Andrew Wedeman. He is a Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University. He has spent eighteen years with the Department of Political Science at the University of Nebraska, where he served as Director of Asian Studies.

Being at the World Affairs Council meeting gave me the opportunity to understand exactly what the organization does and ponders over. The World Affairs Council of Atlanta provides a forum for dialogue and an entrance for research on international affairs and global issues that impact the corporate community. The mission of the Council is to deepen the understanding of world affairs, enhance the international reputation and help drive the economic development of Atlanta, the state, and the region.

I enjoyed being in an environment of college students and influential people from multiple cultures and societies. I saw this opportunity as a chance to further my knowledge of not only my culture but the cultures and economic structures of China. It was definitely a privilege and I am thankful to have been a part of it.

Not Just Another Chicken Dinner

Georgia claims the crown for the state with the most non-profits in the country, so there will no doubt be hundreds of fundraising galas during the last quarter of this year.

There is another crown that I want Georgia, specifically Atlanta to claim: the City that graduates black male students at the highest rate in the country. So far with L.E.A.D., we're on the right track. To date, every young man that completes our program graduates from high school and enrolls into college and 92% of them receive scholarship money to help pay for college.

Now before you applaud those stats, let us all understand that in order to sustain those stats and to bring more young men into the fold, we must have sustainable support. This year, I need you to put L.E.A.D.'s 5th Annual Dinner With Champions on your calendar, so you can meet the young men we call Ambassadors; young men who were on track to be liabilities to this City, but who are now on track to be the assets they always had the promise to be.

Legendary Football Coach Vince Dooley along with the L.E.A.D. Ambassadors, Kelli Stewart and CJ Stewart at the Dinner With Champions

For those of you who like numbers, the problem is really simple. Right now, youth in zip codes 30310, 30315 and 30318 grow up to represent 80% of Georgia's prison population. When it comes to juvenile expenditures for youth housed in Georgia's detention centers, it costs the State about $100K per child each year.

On the contrary, it costs L.E.A.D. about $21,000 per student over six years to develop young men into Ambassadors; that's about $3,500 per student each year. It comes down to paying now for proven prevention or paying later for incarceration and rehabilitation.

I hope you will join me this year to celebrate as we announce our 7th Ambassador Class. My hope is that you will also join others in supporting L.E.A.D. so we can sustain our work thus far and make L.E.A.D. available to more young men in Atlanta. The tickets are only $150; a small price to pay to save a life. Click here to purchase your tickets.

L.E.A.D. is a proud partner of Atlanta Public Schools serving student-athletes from the 6th-12th grades.

L.E.A.D. Fall College Tour - Savannah State University

This weekend, we took our Leaders on their second college tour of the fall to Savannah State University. There's no way to relay just how transformational this trip was for all of them unless you were there to witness it for yourself, but I hope these reflections will give you a glimpse on the amazing experience we had.

Keevis Montgomery, Benjamin E. Mays High School, Atlanta Public Schools

During my Savannah State University experience I learned that college teams prepare just like L.E.A.D. We saw Savannah State play East Georgia College on Saturday and I realized that even players at the college level make mistakes. I had a good time talking with my teammates from other APS schools. I learned some new stuff about them. I found out that one of my teammates just started playing baseball. I also learned some new facts about Savannah while on the trolly. Savannah is the most haunted city in America. I learned a lot on this trip and it was a great experience.

Cameron Tucker, Henry W. Grady High School, Atlanta Public Schools

I learned a lot on this Savannah trip. I learned the importance of establishing a better relationship with the team. I also learned the importance of calming myself and my teammates down on the field. During the game, I began to get upset because I had two strikeouts. After talking to Coach CJ, he explained it wasn't the end of the world, so I was able to focus on exposing my talent in front of the Savannah State coaches. This trip was worth the drive for more than baseball.

Nile Kennedy, Maynard H. Jackson High School, Atlanta Public Schools

I had an awesome time while in Savannah. I learned a lot just from watching the Savannah State game. I also learned from Mendez (2012 Ambassador Alum & Grady HS Graduate) when he gave us the motivational speech. In the future I will take what I learned and put it into action. But one thing I'm proud of myself is when I guaranteed Coach CJ that I wouldn't show negative emotion during the game. I'm terrible at keeping in my anger and not showing my emotion. When I made an error, I calmed myself down and stayed focused. I had to have a short term memory. I held it together and kept my cool. I got a chance to show my skills during the game and I gave my all. I also had a lot of fun during this trip and I want to thank Coach CJ and Coach Kelli for giving me this opportunity to be in Savannah. It really means a lot.

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The ABC's of graduating from high school

Graduating from high school can be really easy for some and really difficult for others. For me, it was really easy because of the guidance from my mother, father, coaches, teachers and church family; I was able to follow the ABC's.

In my hometown of Atlanta, GA, 60% of black males will not graduate from high school on time or at all from Atlanta Public Schools (APS). L.E.A.D. (Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct) has partnered with APS since 2007 to change that story. Click here to check our success.

Attendance

I'm proud to say that I had perfect attendance from kindergarten through 12th grade. People ask me if I ever got sick and I don't remember being so sick that I couldn't go to school. My mom stayed on top of immature things that I would do to get sick like making sure that I got plenty of rest. Staying on the phone or hanging out with friends on a school night wasn't happening. We hardly ever had junk food in the house and I never skipped meals.

I spend a lot of time in a lot school cafeterias and I witness students not eating breakfast or lunch. Not eating properly and trying to perform well in school is like trying to drive from Atlanta to Miami with a gallon of gas. It ain't happening! In addition to breakfast and lunch, Atlanta Public Schools now has an amazing program called Supper On Site that provides dinner to APS students.

Behavior

I was fortunate to be educated by men and women who took the time to connect with me first before trying to lay down the rules, etc.

My mom and dad didn't spare the rod on discipline by any means. Neither did my relatives or coaches. It takes a village to raise a child and in my case that included discipline - expectations and consequences.

At school, my teachers knew what I valued and who I valued and they used that as a tool to effectively mentor me. 

Course study

As a child baseball was my favorite sport and the batting average was the golden standard to determine your ability. When I realized that grades at school worked the same way, I began to take education more seriously. My grades were a reflection of my character and I knew that I couldn't be successful at anything if I was average at best.

As the co-founder of L.E.A.D., a Pathway2Empowerment organization, we serve hundreds of male students that have academic struggles. We are committed to inspiring them by exposing them to what their futures can be; ultimately, the motivation must come from within.

"You can't even toast bread without being educated about how to do it." ~C.J. Stewart

When I was a student, the better my attendance and behavior, the higher my grades were. Sure there were times when I pressed the envelope and did immature things, but I had instinctive, committed educators who connected with me well enough to get me back in line - quickly. (Shout out to Ms. Annette Dotson who took no mess from no one. Period.)

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Be mad without commitent or win with it

I've been fortunate to do and experience a lot of great things in my 38 years. One of the things that I struggled with the most as a young adult was commitment to excellence.

The simple definition of commit is to do or to perform. I failed in the area of commitment as a young adult due to a lack of maturation, attitude and discipline. Lacking the ability to commit caused madness for me.

Maturation

I had to finally get to a place where I was sick and tired of myself. Lazy was becoming very comfortable for me and preventing me from committing to great opportunities. Experience is a great teacher.

Attitude

I was raised by good parents and knew the difference between right and wrong at a very young age. I chose to have a bad attitude because it allowed me to get attention although for the wrong reasons.

Discipline

Discipline boils down to doing what what you should do but don't want to do. I didn't commit to a lot of positive things that I should have committed to because I lacked discipline. I also had a bag full of excuses to go along with it.

2012 Georgia's Trend Magazine 40 Under 40

As I have increased in age and grown grey hairs, I am proud to say that I am a committed man now. I am a fan of commitment now due to wisdom, integrity and nobility. By being committed, I'm a winner now.

Wisdom

I've messed up a lot and I've learned a lot. You have to go through some things to become a wise man. I can be committed to excellence now and it feels good.

Integrity

Integrity is all about doing the right even when you don't want to. I am a man of integrity now. Didn't say that I was perfect but I can now be committed to excellence without others being suspicious of me.

Noble

When character became important to me I was able to remove the mask of consistent negativity and become a better character. It's better to be considered as a noble man than an uncommitted child.