This continues to be an amazing week of exposure for the L.E.A.D. Jr. Ambassadors.  On Monday, we toured the World of Coca-Cola and Tuesday we learned how the world gets its news from Atlanta’s own CNN.  Today, we were guest at The Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

The L.E.A.D. Jr. Ambassadors at the Fernbank Museum entrance

The Fernbank Museum of Natural History educates us all about nature as intended by nature-lover and visionary Emily Harrison in the 1800’s. Emily grew up in east Atlanta in an area that she called the “Fernbank”.

Natural history is the study of organisms including plants or animals in their environment.  The environment is the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.  While at the Fernbank today with the L.E.A.D. Jr. Ambassadors, I saw a really cool sign that defined culture for me.

The world “culture” has many meanings.  In this exploration, we define culture as a system of beliefs, values, behaviors and customs that are shared by a group of people and passed down from generation to generation.

As Coach Kelli Stewart said, “We are who we associate with.  If you want to be great, hang around other people that are great!”  L.E.A.D. is a great organization to join and we are focused on creating a new generation of college bound, civically engaged student athletes.

Coach Kelli speaking to the Jr. Ambassadors about a display in the background related to join groups and culture.

L.E.A.D.’s mission is to provide inner city Atlanta middle and high school age males with access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball.  We have partnered with the Atlanta Public Schools System (APS) since 2007.  APS currently graduates 34% of African-American males from high school.  There are currently 47,000 students in APS and 80% of those students live at or below the poverty level.  Lack of education and poverty usually equals crime so it is no surprise that youth living in the 30310, 30315, and 30318 inner city zip codes grow up to represent 80% of the prison population.

Something went terribly wrong generations ago that has caused the terrible problems that exist in the inner city of Atlanta.  However, every problem creates an opportunity.  Thus the reason that my wife Kelli and I established L.E.A.D. in 2007.

We continue to use baseball to make a significant impact on youth in Atlanta.  Impact is so important to us that we measure.  To date, 100% of our L.E.A.D. Ambassadors have graduated from high school while 100% have enrolled in college and 90% have enrolled in college with a baseball scholarship.

The negative culture that exists in parts of inner city Atlanta can change but it is going to take a lot of love, consistency from willing and able mentors, youth programs with measurable outcomes, and sharing of resources.

We are L.E.A.D. and welcome your support!  Click here to find ways to join us and continue to change the culture in the inner city of Atlanta.

The L.E.A.D. Jr. Ambassadors at the entrance for the Fernbank Museum of Natural History

The ingredients for Coca-Cola is on the back of the bottles and cans but it’s not the secret formula created in 1886 by Dr. John Pemberton. The secret formula is now in The Vault at the World of Coca-Cola.

The Jr. Ambassadors and I had the opportunity to tour the World of Coca-Cola here in our home city. This experience is one of the reasons that so many people from across the world visit Atlanta.

We finished the day with a wiffle ball game in Centennial Olympic Park which my team lost by one run.

To me, Coke is all about tradition, family and legacy.  It’s more than a beverage. It’s what most people enjoy during holiday’s and family gatherings.  It’s pretty cool that I’m writing this blog inside the Varsity enjoying 2 chilli slaw dogs with onion rings and a large Coke.


Atlanta has so much history and so many experiences. This was the first visit to the World of Coca-Cola for several of our Jr. Ambassadors.  It’s in walking distance for several of them yet off limits due to financial reasons.  Exposure to Atlanta’s best has always been important to me because it provides a sense of belonging as well as motivation to achieve greatness.


How about a L.E.A.D. Ambassadors commemorative Coke bottle?  Click here to help us achieve this and many other academic and civic goals by attending upcoming events, joining our Tailgate Club and donations.


L.E.A.D. is one big family committed to our mission to provide inner city Atlanta at-risk males with access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball. And we drink a lot of Coke.  


Tomorrow we are visiting the CNN Center. Look out for my next blog tomorrow. 

Today we went to Georgia’s Own Credit Union Corporate Office and it turned out to be much better than I thought. We were guest of the CEO Dave Preter and CMO Kelly Garmon. I was expecting them to talk to us all day about boring stuff, but it was actually pretty fun. They talked to us a little bit about the company and how to manage your money wisely. We had visits from different people in the company and we also took a tour of the place. At the end we also got to play some fun trivia games. I have my own account with Georgia’s Own that I got just last year. It’s a good thing that I have it because I can put the money into it now, and once I get older I have a lot more money in that account. What I got from today is that what you do in this point of your life, can have a really great effect on the one farther down the road.

Did you know that the major difference between banks and credit unions is that banks are for profit while credit unions are non-profit?

Did you know that Georgia’s Own was founded in 1934 by a group of telephone employees with an initial investment of $160?

Did you know that you can open a Georgia’s Own checking account at the age of 15 with a minimum amount of $5?

I guess the best thing about today was not the ride in the limo, the pizza and soda for lunch, or winning fun prizes. The best thing about today was knowing that I was covered, and Georgia’s Own Credit Union has my back whenever I need them. I don’t know about you, but that fact takes a lot of stress off of me and my future.

Thank you Mr. Dave Preter, Kelly Garmon, Mr. Will and all of the Georgia’s Own staff for making today an enrich filled day for my Ambassador brothers and I.

Major decisions are made daily under the “Gold Dome” that is our Georgia State Capitol building. It is only fitting that the L.E.A.D. Ambassadors are allowed to tour the nostalgic building and meet Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal.

Being an L.E.A.D. Ambassador is the representation of our great city Atlanta. To date, 34% of African-American males graduate from high school in the Atlanta Public Schools district. Take a deep breath of relief because L.E.A.D. continues to put a big dent in those numbers by graduating 100% of our Ambassadors while 100% enroll into college since 2007.

L.E.A.D. provides inner city Atlanta at-risk males with access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball. We are creating a new player. Student-athletes that are invested in our city. Young men that believe that their legacy is more important than their reputation. Click here to find the next opportunity for you to meet your L.E.A.D. Ambassadors. We are officially the real deal!

I’m writing this blog from the USA Baseball National Training Center. This week 144 players are competing for one of the 20 roster spots for Team USA 18 and under team. I am fortunate to be on the coaching staff for Team PONY this year. These are some of the top players in America that money can buy.  People don’t realize the financial cost involved to become an elite baseball player.

Most of the kids here begin training with professionals and showcase their talent nationally by the age of 12. Below is a breakdown of annual cost to be the best in this game as an amateur.

Instruction (hourly four times per month) $4,800.00 per year
Strength/Speed/Agility Training (hourly four times per month) $4,800.00 per year
Travel Team $2,000.00 per year
Equipment (including bats, glove, cleats, etc.) $1,500.00 per year
Travel (including hotel and food for 15 tournaments) $4,000.00 per year
Total: 17,000.00 per year to be the best

These numbers are high but reflects what the top players in America are spending to be the best. If the families aren’t spending it, someone is sponsoring them financially because of their ability with the return on invest being a college scholarship at the least.

The number of African-Americans competing are low at the collegiate and professional level. In my opinion, the numbers are low in participation because of the high cost to develop and showcase your baseball talent. It is often said the reason for the decline is due to a lack of interest but if that were the case, there wouldn’t be baseball teams in predominately black high schools at all.  Baseball has been in the black community dating back to slavery.  Baseball is a business now.

As a professional instructor for Diamond Directors, I support the position of the game because it provides an opportunity for me to make money doing something that I thoroughly enjoy. I created my organization L.E.A.D., Inc. to provide inner city at-risk Atlanta males with access to higher education and civic engagement through baseball. If you don’t have money or someone willing to sponsor you, you can’t compete at this game beyond high school.

The kids here in Cary are vying for an opportunity to make Team USA deserve to be here because they are talented and continuously make sacrifices to be the best. I still believe that baseball is still America’s favorite pastime but so many kids are being passed over because of lack of financial resources and mentorship.  The answer to these problems in Atlanta is called L.E.A.D.  Click here to learn more about L.E.A.D., Inc.