Bio of Joseph H. Daniels Jr.

Childhood years

On March 6, 1959 Joseph was born the eldest child to Mr. Joseph H. Daniels Sr., and Mrs. Donna Daniels in Cleveland, Ohio. A year and a half later his brother Jervase was added to the family unit. Three years would pass before his sister April and then Jerome where born. Later William was born in all, there were four boys and one girl.

The household was not abusive or strove in poverty. At that time in Joseph Sr., and Donna’s early historic life wasn’t bad. Joseph Sr. worked as a meat cutter at Carson’s Grocery Market on 105th Street in Cleveland. In the 1950’s and early 1960’s Carson’s Market was an infamous grocery store in the neighborhood it was a place where most African Americans and Jewish people who lived in the area at the time had come to shop. The proprietor whose name was also, Carson was one of the first African American mom and pop type grocers in that community at that time.

In the early months of 1964 Mr. Joseph Sr. and Mrs. Donna Daniels decided to divorce leaving my mother a single parent and welfare recipient. A year later Donna met Willie Simpson who became a live-in step father and in the early 1970’s Donna had born William the final sibling of the family. Donna never remarried so; William Daniels was given his mother’s married last name which was a common practice at that time. Four-years after the baby sibling was born

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Willie Simpson and Donna Daniels parted company. Donna struggled with four young boys and a little girl in a lower income situation. Donna never took in another live-in mate so, life in these years was rough. Yet, because of Donna’s parents the Reverend Charles and Mrs. Louise Cook, her loving sisters were there to help see that her children would never go hungry or cold. Then Joseph Sr., called for his eldest son to live with his grandmother Mrs. Mamie Daniels so that he could work with him in the family business. Joseph Jr. was twelve years of age.

Teenage years

When Joseph arrived at Grandmother Daniels’ home he had to get reacquainted with his uncle who was the same age as he and was just six-months older. The two teenage boys were like brothers and they attended martial arts school together at Cory’s Family Recreation Center in the early 1970’s. While Joseph was living with Grandmother Daniels he was to work with his father in the family grocery market at the time. Joseph Sr.’s brother-in-law had bought the Caron’s Market and they both forged a partnership that made this little mom and pop type grocery store one of the best in the Glenville community.

Mr. Steve Rogers and Joseph Sr. dissolved their partnership and soon after Steve Rogers had saved over one-hundred thousand dollars in one the local banks. Steve Rogers borrowed over a million dollars from the bank and launched Super Value Inc., of Cleveland. Joseph Sr., decided to take the position as produce manager and Joseph Jr., would be his assistant. Joseph Jr., was fifteen-years of age and had a steady part-time job while attending middle school. Super Value grocery markets had a rapid rise of success. The first year of Super Value’s operations the first store produced five-million dollars. During the early rise of Super Value grocery markets Joseph shown an ability to garner a lot from his father and Uncle Steve. Joseph Daniels Jr., was making a million dollar a year for his uncle’s company at the tender age of sixteen years of age. It wasn’t long before Uncle Steve had grown the business to making over $30 million a year. There were five grocery markets and two warehouses that made up the Super Value Inc., of Cleveland. Joseph was seventeen-years of age at the time.

Growing up around a multimillionaire wasn’t so bad. In fact, Joseph was asked to live with his wealthy uncle and auntie in Shaker Heights, OH but, decided to stay with his father’s mother Grandmother Daniels in the Glenville community. Yet, Joseph and his same age uncle Grandmother Daniels baby son practically lived at his wealthy uncle’s home on Van Aken Blvd., often stealing his luxury sports cars and taking them for joy rides. One of those luxury cars was a quarter of million dollar Rolls Royce in which Joseph and his same age uncle was reported driving. We knew that if we were to get a scratch on this very expensive vehicle we would get disciplined from all of the adults around us who were closets to my wealthy uncle and my same age uncle his brother-in-law. We knew that we had to be meticulous.

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This one early lesson was garnered during these teenage years that Joseph Jr., had to research and question everything about his projects. For instance, Joseph was eves dropping on one of his uncle’s business meetings and overheard how the markets were making four million dollars a year while the two warehouses where making eight million a year. Joseph Jr., knew that the grocery markets were making five million a year and the warehouses where worth twelve million. So, he decided to investigate the matter. At the tender age of seventeen Joseph Jr., barged into his uncle’s main office/warehouse. He told the security that he was Mr. Steve Rogers’s nephew and if he didn’t unlock the doors he could get fired. Joseph hurriedly walked in the warehouse without a word to the security guard and went to the accounting department. There he saw his uncle’s executive administrator and another female secretary counting over two-million dollars in cash spread out neatly on a banquet like table. So, while the female secretaries barely noticed that Joseph was in the room Joseph Jr., went to a part of the warehouse/office where the accounting ledgers where held and took a peak. These accounting ledgers were jet black and in them was verified the amounts of four million a year for each store and eight million for the warehouses yet, Joseph Jr., discovered a single ledger on his uncle’s desk that was solid red. Joseph Jr., where reading the solid red ledger here was the evidence that supported his suspicions that the black ledgers were wrong. The five grocery markets were producing five million dollars a year and the warehouses were worth twelve million yearly. At the moment Joseph closed the red ledger Uncle Steve’s executive administrator walked in and caught him spying through his uncle’s red ledger. She didn’t get angry or threaten him she explained about the two books. She said this is what’s called “cooking the books.” After this incidence Uncle Steve ordered that his ledgers always be locked in a safe yet, never brought up the matter with Joseph. Big money grip was his first nick name and it was given to Joseph Jr., after he investigated his uncle’s financial standing. Today the nick name evolved to big money gripp. The extra p is for power.

Early Adulthood

There would be other nicknames Joseph Jr., would earn during his life as an enlisted United States Marine Corps personnel then as hot shot officer of U.S. Special Forces. Initially, Joseph Jr., wanted to fly to France and learn business and acting in the French market. Aunt Jackie Uncle Steve’s wife would not have one of her beloved nephews overseas and in her words “trying to kill himself” so, Joseph Jr., had to recant his first aspirations and chose something more practical. At one of the many family gatherings that was to take place at his wealthy uncle’s home Joseph Jr., was made to make a second career choice he chose to own his own business. Uncle Steve thought he needed a little more insight so, he interjected for Joseph Jr., to go to college and upon graduation work as a manager in a white American owned company. Joseph Jr., silently rejected his uncle’s suggestion for him to work for someone else especially,

since he saw first handedly how an African American could advance his or her skills and make themselves financially independent. Joseph new that entrepreneurship was for him in this l IV

Joseph Jr.’s career started while he was working with his father in the produce department at one of his wealthy uncle’s Giant Eagle sized grocery markets. During the first year of operations at one of the new stores Joseph Sr., had won an award for produce manager of the year. This award is given by the state of Ohio for produce departments in Ohio that worked to one million dollars in sales. Joseph Sr., and his fifteen year old son had sold over one-million dollars of produce in one year at one of his brother-in-laws grocery markets. When Joseph Jr., realized that his name was also, on the produce worker of the year award it further established the desire for Joseph Jr., to start-up his own company.

In everyone’s life there are turns in the road. Joseph Jr., had his turn in the road when he overheard his wealthy uncle and father arguing over giving a raise. Joseph Sr. wanted a minor raise in yearly pay and Uncle Steve had straight out refused the request. Then came that speech Uncle Steve made to Joseph Sr. that would stay with Joseph Jr., forever the unction went “you are working for my dreams if you want your own dream then you need to start your own company, damn it.” The feeling Joseph Jr., felt at the time was total disappointment so he enrolled into the United States Marine Corps. Joseph Sr. signed for Joseph Jr., to enlist in the armed forces at the age of seventeen.

In the U.S. Marine Corps Joseph Jr. excelled and had rave reviews on his test and inspections. Joseph Jr., was soon cast as a pay officer for B Company of 2nd Battalion yet, what earned his second nick name was a mission that was to be a priority reconnaissance in Central America. Joseph Jr., while in hand to hand combat took on thirty armed Central American bandits and walked away without a scratch. This earned his nick name “Dangerous Dastardly Daniels.” Today, on any USMC military base if one was to call out the name “Dastardly” a Marine would yell back “Dastardly!” Plus, Joseph Jr. was promoted to warrant officer one. The USMC brass saw Joseph Jr.’s business talent and gave him orders two operate a two-million dollars a month budget to pay recon personnel. On a mission Joseph Jr. secured an injury and was released from duty. Of course, business and owning his own entity was at the top of Joseph Jr.’s list.

The rise of Vahalla

It was a hard transition from military to civilian life for Joseph Jr. He had to spend a lot of time at the U.S. Veterans Hospital and the with VA doctors. Joseph went back home to live at his father’s mother home. Joseph Jr., found that his old home wasn’t quite as comfortable as it

was when he first joined the armed forces. It seemed to him that it would be a cinch to ease back into a civilian life style and everything would be looking towards success. The walk to V

becoming a civilian again would prove almost as difficult as becoming military. Uncle Sam wouldn’t have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to train personnel to become military and then have someone just shake off its influences in that area. It took Joseph years to re-trainto be a civilian basically, civilian training wouldn’t take this long it’s that Joseph Jr. wasn’t following the VA doctors’ directives. While in this transition Joseph Jr., took a position with the U.S. Postal Services maintenance department. During his time off Joseph Jr., sold water and air filters. The money from his part-time venture was made a trickle at a time. He acquired two distributors the whole three-years he was a distributor for the NSA Corp. Yet, Joseph Jr. knew that if he could make this business a success he could pool funds from this venture and he would start a traditional company. Before Joseph Jr., would realize incorporation he would try his hand at two other network marketing companies. He met with little success at both the Equinox and Quixtar corporations. The beginnings of the nineteen-nineties were under way.

Vahalla Company Incorporated was incorporated on September 3, 1993. It was the budding sole proprietorship and network marketing company Joseph Jr., tried to operate under the companies of NSA and Equinox. The corporate articles were drawn at one of the biggest and prestigious law firms in the Northeast Ohio area. The name of the firm was called Climaco, Climaco and Gharifoli. Today, this law firms name is Climaco, Climaco and Climaco.

In the beginning Vahalla Co. Inc., started with Joseph Jr. and a veteran buddy met at one of the U.S. Veterans Small Business courses how to start and operate small business. Joseph Jr. held the position as president and the veteran buddy named John (Big John) Clemons took the job as director of operations. In a couple of short years Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons grew a business of two people to over thirty management, administrative and technical personnel. There was a learning curve to the story which, signified whether Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons would stay in business.

Joseph Jr., had acquired certain knowledge to operate as president of the company. The U.S. Veterans Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration teamed up to provide veterans with a thirty-week certificate course that taught veterans how to operate a small business. The federal departments mentioned hired some of the most successful business owners, senior executives, lawyers, bankers, and wealthy multi-millionaires, billionaires in the country to instruct veterans on how to start, grow, operate and finance a small business operation. Joseph Jr., then decided that he needed more knowledge to head up Vahalla so, he enrolled into other certificate courses at the Cleveland State University’s continuing educational department. There Joseph Jr. learned more about LB Contracting, DOT Hazardous Transportation, financial management, project management, risk assessor/inspector

certification and RCRA certifications were earned at the CSU continuing education department. Yet, there was an unforeseen dilemma lurking in the mist of Vahalla Company Inc. At one point in time Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons were in-charge of training the technicians in attaining a LB VI

technician and other environmental engineering certifications that would give them the title of environmental technician 1. The managers of a five person team of technicians team hold the title of environmental technician 2. Training people to acquire these titles turned into a nightmare. Joseph Jr., and Mr. Clemons had devised a training plan that would make the personnel they’ve hired to be technicians in the company. Joseph Jr. was to take half of the training schedule to train technicians. The company was paying at the time $8.50 per hour to go through the technician training program. It was soon found out that people only wanted to show up to receive the training pay and wouldn’t try to retain the information to become environmental tech 1. Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons tried everything to get people to come to the training on time and know the material in the class that was being presented to the newly hired employees. The two engineering technician instructors were baffled they even bought donuts and coffee to no avail. Plus, trainees kept showing up tardy and were very non-serious personnel. So, Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons decided to find out what they were doing wrong and took a day to brainstorm the issue. On Saturday’s it wasn’t consider a usual work day however, during government contracts we sometimes worked the entire weekend of both Saturday and Sunday’s. This is the time that Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons took to figure out the lousy training of technicians that were occurring. Joseph Jr. figured out that maybe it was their image that had coerced them to play with the training program. Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons figured that since that they never trained just African Americans to work in a professional environment with brothers as leaders in the organization that it was the image trainees had been given through the American society that was getting in the way of newly hired personnel to acquire the environmental tech 1 position. Furthermore, the two senior executives found out that they were instructing and managing minority technicians the wrong way in this situation. It was decided that all directors and managers had to go through leadership training that dealt with leading minorities. Joseph Jr. and Mr. Clemons found out that they’ve never worked in a company with just African Americans. The usual business model on how to train minorities and how to manage minority personnel hadn’t been invented yet, so one had to be created. Vahalla Company Inc. contracted out the technician training program to the Environmental Group Inc., in Cincinnati, OH. To handle the company’s management dilemma Joseph Jr. hired Lucius Lewis and the Better Way Institute to train directors and managers on how to lead minority personnel. Lucius Lewis and Better Way Institute are African American owned management training company.

The move to subcontract out to other entities the training of both management and technician personnel departments proved to be a brilliant move by the president of the company’s part. Those problems that were expressed on how blacks would work with one another started disappearing. Things such as, tardiness, disrespecting management or managers disrespecting

employees evaporated. Work not completed in time or at all disappeared. It took a few months to turn a nightmare into a dream work place. Everyone in the company acted professionally and

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like a family of some well-trained operators Joseph Jr., decided it was time to get going into the state and federal government contract area.Writing a SBA 8a certification proved very timely. A lot of paper work and other certifications were needed to complete the application. The SBA leant a hand by critiquing the 8a applications before they were sent out of town for processing. Vahalla Company Inc. got its first taste of political strong arming during this time. The strong arming came right after the SBA determined that Vahalla Company’s Inc. could earn $160,000,000.00 a year. That’s hundreds of billions a year. This company had invented a state of the art curb-side waste recycling plant that would revolutionize the recycling industry. Vahalla Company Inc. would also, take advantage of all the other innovations that would come out of such a substantial industry. This company was posted to hold a major share of a budding new green technology market. It seems that not all was happy about Joseph Jr. and the Vahalla Company’s announced success. A few politicians on Capitol Hill found out and ordered a FBI agent to thwart Vahalla Company’s SBA 8a application. One of the laws of the application stated that an agent would investigate and report just felonies on the application. At the time Joseph Jr. had one misdemeanor and traffic arrests. Mr. Clemons had a few misdemeanors on his arrest record. The minor legal problems ordinarily, wouldn’t stop a SBA 8a certification however, the FBI agent made some critical remarks regarding Joseph Jr.’s past legal situations. The FBI agent sent to the U.S. Small Business Administration a lengthy discourse on why Joseph Jr., wouldn’t make a good candidate for an 8a certification. The SBA had no choice but, to refuse Vahalla Company its application to receive funding and government contracts through their program. Joseph Jr. knew that a hurricane, earth quake and forest fire were coming their way in the manner of political evilness and their supporters “old money rich.”

Present Day Operations

Today, the company lies dormant. Out of six directors and twenty-six employees the company had to lay all but two people off. All those man hours figuring out the learning curve in and then figuring out how to train and work with minority personnel went out the door. Plus, the managers and technicians were not able to find equivalent employment that would accept their expertise as environmental technician 1 and 2. The president of the company Joseph Jr. was charged with a fifth-felony which is illegal under federal law and unjustly incarcerated for a year. Presently, Joseph had the opportunity to file a federal suit against the state of Ohio. The two people who remained with the company are Joseph Jr., and the Director of Architecture and Engineering Kennard Hairston. Joseph filed federal charges against the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the State of Ohio.

A return to open the company’s doors seems eminent. Joseph Jr. went to graduate school at the Weatherhead School of Management Case Western Reserve University and is working with the experts there on growing the Vahalla Company Incorporated-Environmental Engineering Consultants and Environmental Marketing/Sales to fortune 1000. Can somebody say, round 2?