October 2016 Famous Fall ‘16

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

“The prizes of life are at the end of each journey, not near the beginning. Failure I may still encounter at the thousandth step, yet success hides behind the next bend in the road. Never will I know how close it lies unless I turn the corner. Always I will take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another , and yet another.” — Og Mandino

II

As

I’m imagining John C. and Johnny N. waddling down the run in shackles,

heading out to MTC’s pimped out version of the Blue Bird on the first leg of

their journey to real freedom, it hits me! Holy smokes! What in the world did I get myself

into?! Now it’s up to me to crank out a monthly Chronical and a Weekly Journal for

Flamboyant Fall ’16. Good grief. Suddenly I know what Charlie Brown feels like when he’s

standing on the pitcher’s mound contemplating the miseries of the upcoming baseball sea-

son looming in front of him like a shroud of all that is bad. Not only am I expected to

have to put out something creative, interesting, funny, witty, engaging, and to top it all

off, spelled right, I have to do it with a ragtag bunch of characters who are easily dis-

tracted, will want to do things their own way when or even if they want to do it, miss

out on even more rec, spend way too much time in front of a computer screen, wait even

longer to go to commissary, cut into my Law Library time, get less sleep than I already do,

miss out on watching Fox News and keep up with my facilitator responsibilities. Good grief!

What’s worse is that I asked for this, all of it. No, really I did. When John C. ap-

proached me about helping out with the newsletter I thought , “Cool, I’ll hang out, watch

movies, listen to some good music, drink good coffee, play on the computer and as an

added bonus, I get to make fun of Conradt and Nguyen all day until I get bored and

leave. Not a bad deal, for me anyway. Who knew that those two clowns would leave be-

fore me, leave me holding the bag, and stick me with working with Popeye (a.k.a. Thomas

Willis). No, wait a minute, I did that to myself too. Good grief!

That’s when I said to myself, “Okay, enough of this pity party/whine-fest/woe is me stuff.

Get over yourself, rub some dirt on it, pull on your big boy pants and cowboy up. First of

all you’re not doing this all by yourself. You’ve got a great team of people around you

such as Popeye, Wall Street, Coco Puff, and Gomer Pyle (a.k.a. James Cassey). Not to mention

from Famous Fall ‘16, an experienced team of Peer Educators, the PEP staff, as well as the ex-

ecutive volunteers! So all in all it’s not so Charlie Brown after all.

Taking on this roll actually gives me and everyone involved the opportunity to con-

tribute and be involved. It also helps me to realize that as long as I have the support of

all my PEP family that I am never truly alone in

anything I do. It all boils down to this: the only

way to truly be successful in life is to embrace

life and those around you. King David nailed it

in Proverbs 11:14 when he said, “For lack of guid-

ance a nation falls, but many advisors make vic-

tory sure.”

prison entrepreneurship

program

From the Editor...

Wellington W. (a.k.a. Macarena Man)

III

Thomas W.

William H.

Wellington W.

John C.

Cody W.

Juan B.

Rene G.

Robert L.

Russell C.

Calvin R.

Justin H.

Fernando C.

PEP Staff

Executive

Volunteers

IV

From the Editor

Contributors

James Cassey

Chatter Box

Photo Bucket

Writer’s Corner

Mini—Me’s

Wardens Fashion

Inspirational

Trick or Treat

Perspective

Poster Boy

Family Liason

Josh N. Project

Dearly Departed

Final thoughts

You’re the Best Jeff!

Juan B. Fernando C. & Russell C. Thoughts on Hal-loween

Guest Speaker Cody Wharton And His Scary Thoughts!

Entrepre-neur of the Month: Robert Lo-gan and his Mobile Mechanics Venture

Accounta-ta-ta-ta-tability

V

We would like to take a m o m e n t

and address the many mistakes that were made in the last edition. There were a couple of arti-cles that were credited to the wrong individuals and an abundance of grammatical errors. This was the first edition to be published, by the new staff and we’re going through an obvious—growing process. Most importantly we want to recognize the efforts of Leroy Punch and his po-em on the 10 Driving Values. We kind of botched his work and he voiced—that we de-valued his abstract poem. We apologize. Now, let's get back to James Casey and this man that bears many oddities. As you all know Mr. Ca-

sey is on the Media Team but previously he seems to of been the subject matter of many hi-larious pictures. James truly finds satisfaction in resonating in the moment. During times of cele-bration or when he really wants to remember, he will stop in the middle of what ever is happen-ing, close his eyes and bank the moment. Now, if you have ever been in contact with this—I just

want you to remember this moment in person, you know it can really bog down the fluidity of things. James is an in the moment person and we want you to now focus at the pic-ture at the bottom of the page and see how disappointed James is when William Hutson steps in and steals his hand shake. He literal-ly has an expression that is screaming—YOU JUST STOLE MY HANDSHAKE AND

MY MOMENT.

VI

If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to clamber out. But if you place it gently in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a tran-quil stupor, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death.

—Version of the story from Daniel Quinn’s The Story of B

The boiling frog is an anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of threats that occur gradually.

According to contemporary biologist, the premise of the story is false: a frog submerged and gradually heated will jump out. However, some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true, provided the heating is sufficiently grad-ual.

The story’s common metaphorical use is a caution for people to be aware of even gradual change lest they suffer eventual unde-sirable consequences.

The boiling frog story is generally offered as a metaphor cautioning people to be aware of even gradual change lest they suffer eventual undesirable consequences. It may be invoked in support of a slippery slope argument as a caution against creeping nor-mality. It is also used in business to reinforce that change needs to be gradual to be accepted. Oppositely, the expression “boiling frog syndrome” is sometimes used as shorthand to invoke the pitfalls of standing pat.

An individual amongst the immoral and depraved is bounded within imminent transgressions. Our surroundings such as peers, family members and places we chose to place ourselves all have an effect in our lives. Unknowingly and gradually, our actions are influenced shaped into, ultimately leading to adverse outcomes—just as the oblivious frog to its impending death.

If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to clamber out. But if you place it gently in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a tranquil stupor, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death.

(Version of the story from Daniel Quinn’s The Story of B)

The boiling frog story is the metaphor that individuals are more inclined to small and gradual adjustments rather than drastic changes. We’re an adaptive and habitual species who are more inclined towards expectations. Individuals in leader-ship understand that to implement change, it must come in increments. We are reluctant to the sudden and unanticipated—which tends to stem tension and discomfort.

Initially mindfulness may have been present, but because of the access and influence of the immoral, ultimately adopt similar behaviors. His values may have conveyed virtue but the lack of accountability, it digresses. Such transformations and transgressions are, like the gradual growing heat of the water, unnoticeable and incremental. When this idea is considered, understood and made more aware, it’s easy to understanding where our transgressions stemmed from and began to take place. We may have abusive parents and became abusive ourselves. We may have had external circumstances that led to our damaging habits.

A small dosage of some substances may seem minute and harmless. But soon, as creatures of habit, the number and regularity of those behaviors become more present. Such transgressions and familiar paths are easily returned to. This is the common reason many prisoners are currently serving their second or third sentence. Much less like the frog, many people chose to place themselves within preventable situations that would cause them hardship—in this case, a return to prison. What produces a criminal mentality can be prevented if one chooses to reside within healthier surroundings—it would save them future relapse. That is why it would be considered wise, even bold to take the initiative in relocating. With support and resources, a favorable environment is needed in order to abstain individuals from veering off course.

The ideal environment include others who desire positive change, success, have goals and are accountable. Just as one can

become a criminal from negative influence—it can be relived.

How To Boil A Frog

VII

VIII

Dear Chronicle, I know I signed up to come to this program and try to make a dif-ference in my life and others but I really just don’t get it. So many people seem to just talk and never attempt to walk the walk. One of the 10 driving values is Execution and states to “lead by exam-ple” and I just haven’t seen it yet.

Dear “Walking the Walk”, First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your endeav-or to become a better person and I must commend you also on the fact that you noticed that life just isn’t about you anymore. I recently heard a little talk radio and it spoke about life and that the most important aspect of life is rela-tionships. So let me expound a little, o-kay? Seriously, isn’t this the two greatest commandments that J.C. gave, first to love God with all your heart and then to love your neighbor as you would yourself. I believe we are all in different stag-es of where we are headed and where we desire to get to. Sometimes we lose touch with what is the most important issue —relationships! Remember, it is always easier to point the finger but we must also remember that in doing so we have three more pointing back at ourselves. We all have some positive traits to share, display, and/or give to others and we must look for those in others and hope that what we display will allow the next man the ability to understand we are trying to lead them by example too! Theodore Roose-velt stated that “It’s not the critic that counts or the man who points out how the strong man stubbles… The credit belongs to the man in the arena.” I know it’s hard but you said it best by reiterating to lead by example and this is may-be why you have been blessed to arrive in this position, to lead that individual to the next phase in life. Thanks for stepping into the arena of transformation and desiring to build the relationships that will make this world a better

place.

Dear Chronicle, Alright, who came up with all of these rules? I thought I was here to learn about business and to “wash the penitentiary off of me”? I feel like someone pulled a fast one on me. It seems like every time I turn around there’s someone there waiting to tell me that I can’t do this or that. Then another person telling me that I have to stay in line, pull up my pants, don’t gamble, and stop cursing. Then they threaten me with push-ups, homework or separation from the program. I didn’t think an inmate was able to exert authority over anoth-er inmate. What ever happened to that rule? Some-times I wonder if putting up with all these rules is worth the effort and why is it that everyone’s always droning over these “10 Driving Values” and throwing them in my face? What’s that about? I don’t mind tell-ing you that I’m starting to get some serious second thoughts about this whole PEP thing. After all, they invited me, I didn’t ask for that little post card.

Dear “Too Many Rules”, Wow, that’s a lot of stuff you’ve got on your mind. Let’s take it from the top and see how it goes, shall we? Yes, you are here to learn about how to success-fully open and maintain your own business. In order for you to be able to do that, there are a few things that need to be “adjusted”. PEP puts us through Phase I, which consists of Leadership Academy and Men’s Life to focus on character. We all landed in this extended stay vacation spa for a variety of reasons. Some of us for a wider variety reasons than others and that is exactly why the program is structured the way it is. During Leadership Academy and Men’s Life eve-ryone gets a chance to actually place labels on our dif-ferent characteristic attributes. We focus on identify-ing our strengths and developing our weaknesses. This can only be done if we stop and take a look at the parts of us that we have traditionally overlooked. This process is extremely beneficial and at times painful, because in order for us to be able to run or to be a part of a successful business we need to make some real changes. Now if we’re truly being honest with our-selves, we know that real change is not something that can easily be accomplished on our own. We often find that we need the help and support of others. For that we have our servant-leaders. These brothers have been through the same valleys and pit falls that all in-vestigators and participants experience. That’s not to say that we’re all perfect because we are still going through changes and adjustments of our own. For that reason, we continually are being brought back to the 10 Driving Values as well as our peers. Accounta-bility, Love, Wise Stewardship, Integrity, Fun, Excel-lence, Innovation, Servant Leader Mentality, and Fresh

Start Outlook are all guidelines for becoming successful, not only in business but in life as well. It’s not easy! That’s why PEP is an elite organization, by definition that means that it’s not for everybody. Do you want to be a part of this new rev-olution? The choice will always be yours.

IX

Roger Bewley

Brando

1 package chunk chicken (chopped)

7 tortillas (torn in pieces)

2 tablespoons jalapeno cheese

1 package jalapeno pepper (seeded & diced) (desired amount)

1 ½ packages chicken seasoning ½ bag jalapeno chips (crushed)

4 tablespoons powdered milk

Directions

In a bowl, combine seasoning, jalapeno peppers, and chips. Fill insert half full with water and add milk. Slowly add seasoning mixture, cheese, and chicken to insert. Stir well and cook for 2 hours. Add slowly tortilla pieces and enough hot water to make creamy. Stir very little and very gently. Cook another 30 minutes

Serves: 2

1 Chicken Chunk 2 Bags Of Potato Chips Regular Flavor) 1 Bag of Sunflower Seeds 1 Ranch Dressing 1 Pair of Latex Gloves (Sanitary) 1 Cup ( For Smashing Stuff) 3 Empty Rice Bags

Directions

Drain water from the chicken chunk and

empty into a bowl. Crunch the 2 bags of chips up well.

Empty about 1\4 of the bag of sunflower seeds into a

bowl, and with a cup smash the seeds. Do so until all

seeds are smashed to a fine mix. In bowl, mix with both

bags of chips. Now mix the chicken with your hands in a

separate bowl along with 1 ranch dressing (work the

dressing into the chicken). Slowly work the chips and

seeds into the chicken until well mixed. Ball the mixture.

Place in a Hot Pot and, with the top of the bag open (but

not submerged in water) or until the balls cook out the

moisture, cook for 25-30 minutes. Serve meal hot over

r i c e o r r a m e n n o o d l e s .

Chicken & Dumplings:

X

ManFancy.com

My name is Michael Warden and I approve this message.

XI

Many men have a misconception of what a king truly is. We tend to think that a king is a fierce warri-or that is dominant in battle or one who simply rules over a secluded territory, But do we really think that’s all that is required to be a king – Not at all.

Being a king comes with many duties. To be a king you have to be a counselor, to be able to reach out to the people that you tend to lead and assist them with information that will guide them through their struggles and shortcomings. A king must be a decisive leader in moments of duress. He must also be able to assist his people/community in time of need by being involved in their lives and well-being. Lastly but not least, a king must love his people! This is probably the hardest of all because most kings feel you should rule with an iron fist and not compassion. If you, as a king, do not show compassion to your people then how do you expect your people to show their love and compassion for you as their leader?

Let’s talk about Julius Caesar for a moment. Caesar was known as a fierce warrior. He won many battles and was known across the land for these victories. He won much respect from people because he was such a great war-rior. In Rome, the land in which he ruled, he was hated by his own people due to his lack of involvement with them. Caesar did not partake in anything with his people other than battle and the celebration of his many victories. He sepa-rated himself from the poor and the workers only to converse with the rich and many women. He was so arrogant that his best friend Brutus killed him! As Caesar lay dying he asked Brutus why? He replied “et tu Brut’e” or “you also Brutus” implying that he had forgotten the people he had once ruled.

I can usually catch what God is saying to me, but it’s the times that I become dis-tracted with the stupidity of the environment and carelessness of peoples actions that my mind is not focused on what matters most. Especially, when I feel people should be acting at the level of their self-proclaimed intellect. It’s at this time that I allow a circumstance to seem bigger than the love of Jesus. It’s these times that I can't hear what is most important, as I know that I should be the one allowing God to influence how I should respond or be affected. My daily discipline has been slacking and I need to regain my stance. So Lord, as I come to you today I ask that

you work in me to refresh my drive to strive, each and eve-ry day. I want to be equipped and secure in every spiritual, emotional and academic quest that has been placed and or-dained by You in my path. I want to thank You for drawing my heart into Your Kingdom unto the Gift of Salvation that I have accepted and now rejoice incomprehensibly. I thank You for all the promises of Your truth and I receive any and all blessings You chose to pour and encamp unto me and my family. You are the greatest Father, Brother, Friend an-yone could ever ask for. Thank You for loving me when I didn’t love myself and thank you for bringing me to a point where I love again. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

—Nathan B. a.k.a. Chocolate Pudding—Spring ’16 —

Calvin Rosette

XII

I believe everyone has a story behind every idea. As for my business idea it began during my teenage years. Every summer my dad would take us to the valley to spend time with his side of the family. My favorite uncle, Uncle Joey, would always ask, “Do you want to go with me to the cemetery?” Of course I would say no. Then he would always throw in, “Afterwards we could go to the island.” I loved going to the island, so of course I agreed. Every time he would carry along supplies: a spray bottle with soapy water, a couple of rags, and some fresh flowers. Upon arrival we would go strait to work cleaning out his brother’s headstone and lay out fresh

flowers. Afterwards, he would walk me around and point out where his great grandpar-ents were laid to rest as well as some great uncles and aunts. He had stories to tell about each of them. The cemetery and the experience were equally beautiful. In the end , I would think that it would be great to have a better image of them—how they spoke, did they have a twitch in their eye, anything to make them more real to me. Who knew that a little post card in prison would give me an opportunity to realize my dream?

Trick or Treat!!! Juan B. (a.k.a. Abu)

Who’s to say that fear is unhealthy? As a risk taker, I have come to embrace the reality that fear allows me to see life for what it truly is. As a child I began to test the capabilities of my body, especially during the month of Oc-tober. I intentionally faced scenarios to engage my unique proclivities. I was either willing to embrace them or I simply walked away from them unsatisfied. Halloween is the perfect holiday to celebrate such occasions! Eventually, it got to the point to where simple haunted hayrides and visits to the all-to-predictable house of horrors were unable to purchase any of the intoxicating fear I craved. The fact that my friends would always get me to lead our merry band through the hollows of horror attributed my daring attitude. Of course, this type of behavior lends to the precarious situa-tion I find myself in today. I have learned through my unhealthy ways, through my trials, to manifest my desired fears. Now I must utilize healthy avenues to embrace my daring side. Halloween may eternally remain my favorite holi-day always! However, I am positive that I will one day over-come my fear of deep water and little fuzzy bunnies.

Many scary returns from the asylum! Russell C. (a.k.a. Psy)

Shazam!

Shazam!

Shazam!

Ya Ya!

XIII

When I was asked to write this segment, I thought it would be a great idea to provide insight into my business plan. Most of my fellow entrepreneurs in classes before Famous Fall ‘16, chose business ideas that they could re-late to or that seemed comfortable for them. My particular idea involves a certain amount of creativity and ingenui-ty. Everyone knows that sooner or later they will have to make a decision about their final rest. My firm targets customers who want refreshingly new choice for the way they and their loved ones send them off. At Custom Cas-

kets and Design, we want to create something specially tailored for your dreams or your passions. Let us add it to your legacy by designing your custom casket. Your choices are eternal. Motorcycles, civil service, your choice. If you served in the military, we can honor your service to our country by depicting your particular branch of service. This type of service is fashionable and trending. We believe our product will be in great demand in the near future.

Maybe, sooner for some than they think.

Happy Halloween!! Fernando C.

XIV

“I loved making my kids costumes and we actually won 1st place with three

little devils!”

Kristie

aka Mimi

“My most memorable experience

is all the little butterfingers I use

to get from my daughters bag.

She probably never knew how

many of these were missing

from her bag. I loved them and

till this day it still brings a laugh!”

-Bob C. (repeat attender)

The homemade cos-tumes and the 100 Grand candy bar. I use to just love them.” - Sandi (repeat Attender)

“My roommates and I dressed up as the nativity scene. We only had two wise-men though. But we did have a camel and a lamb! It was pretty funny and a lot of fun!” Rachel (aka

Guard Dog)

“Taking the kids house to house was fun. We would trick or treat in Roger Clemens neigh-borhood and he would pass out autographed baseball cards which was really neat!”

-Barry

(First Time Attend-er)

“The starburst candies are what I remember most about Halloween. They were sweet and chewy and

just rocked my world!”

Jarvaris J.

(aka Eddie Cain Jr.)

XV

“A friend and I went pumpkin hunting you might say and ended up getting ourselves in a fancy predica-ment with some dogs chasing after us.” - Carl

(repeat attender)

“Taking pictures of all the little kids and pass-ing out candy is what was special for me!”

-Sherry

(repeat attender)

“The creativity of the cos-tumes and all the fun with the trick or treaters”

-Brandon G.

aka Swagger Wagon

“I enjoyed the school carnivals. Riding my bike to the school, the cool air, the dunking cham-ber” Darin (Repeat Attender)

“I enjoy the

haunted houses

and can-not wait to get to one this

year” - Charles H.

aka

Captain Kangaroo

“””We wrapped the varsity Q.B.’s house and that was really a fun time that I remem-

ber” - R.J.

U. of H. Stu-

dent

XVI

Today was a very exciting day for Fa-mous Fall 16’! As we made our

way to the PEP room you could see anticipation and ex-citement on everyone’s faces. We were treated with two special guests, David Rains and Steven Hausman (a.k.a. Wilma). Steven had been incarcerated for over 13 years and understands the challenges as well as the se-crets to not only staying out, but staying out and suc-ceeding. He has also been facilitating sales training clas-ses for over 10 years in the recruiting industry. Both were very knowledgeable when it came to what we refer to as Integrity Selling. Integrity Selling is the book that was written by Ron Willingham and it teaches you how to sell the way people want to buy. It is also required reading for the PEP program, as well it should be. This event was a great teaching tool that everyone will be able to apply in any business. Since Integrity Selling is based on sound scientific teaching principles, one must ask, “So how exactly do you sell the way people want to buy?” It starts off by using the AID INC. acro-nym. This stands for: Approach–To gain rapport, re-member the importance of body language. Interview–To

identify needs, ask open-ended questions, listen 80% and talk 20%. Demonstrate–To show how you can fill those needs, translate product feature into customer bene-fits. Validate–To prove your claims, you must validate before you negotiate or close. Negotiate–To work out problems. Close–To ask for a decision. Mario H. (a.k.a. Toucan Sam) properly demonstrated how you are to ap-proach someone and how to build a rapport with them. The key is to understand and identify what people need and in order to do this you should ask open-ended ques-tions. Once you have identified their needs then you are to demonstrate how your product or service will sat-isfy their wants and needs. These are the six magic words the customer needs to hear: what this means to you is…. Once you have met their needs then you must

validate yourself and your company. David and Steven explained that there are four types of people in this world and they are: talkers, doers, controllers, and supporters. You must learn to identify these four

types before you can approach them. Then it’s on to negotiating the sale. The key here is to isolate their concerns and address them. Remember perfect practice makes perfect results! We also learned how to use the feel, felt and found method when negotiating with our potential customers. It goes something like this, “I un-derstand how you feel...many have felt the same way...until they found that our product will make their life better by…” We, of course, also learned how to close the deal. It’s easy to stand up and talk about your-self, your business and your product closing the deal is no different, it is simply asking for a decision at the right time. The great thing about today was that we all learned many valuable lessons. Famous Fall ’16 would like to say thank you to David, Steven, Mike, and Pat for making it a wonderful experience.

Cody W, (a.k.a. Fivel)

We also learned how to use the feel, felt and found method when

negotiating with our potential customers.

By: Cory Wharton

XVII

My name is...

And it did-n’t hurt a

bit!!

Logan, Robert Logan and I am the proud founder, own-er, head mechanic and chief bottle washer for Mobile Mechanix. What is the most frustrating thing you have to deal with when having to deal with automotive re-pairs? The bill? Finding an honest mechanic? How about the extra time you don’t have to spend dealing with this disruption? All equally valid concerns. Now with Mobile Mechanix you can face these inconvenienc-es with reasonable pricing, honest solutions, and con-venience. Our services range from basic preventive maintenance to computer and engine management, as with bumper to bumper repairs. We’ll be starting opera-tions the fall of 2018, servicing the North Dallas area. Our hours of operations will run between 7a.m. and 7p.m. We’ll also be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergency roadside assistance calls. With over 15 years of automotive experience and six ASE certifica-tions, we’ll be able to service our customers’ automotive emergency needs. Even though we will be servicing resi-dents of this area our main focus will be primarily with commercial fleet accounts. Our main marketing efforts will be word of mouth, flash drive key chain distribu-tion, and social media. We’ll also be giving back to the community by providing opportunities to high school students enrolled in their school’s work release pro-grams, as well as setting up an annual $10,000 scholar-ship fund for local students. So what do you think? The facts are there when it comes to value, conven-ience, and trustworthiness. The only question left is who are you going to call when the time comes to meet your automotive emergency.

Robert L. (a.k.a. Forrest Gump)

Invoice

XVIII

Well , the day has come when Famous Fall ’16 gets an opportunity to be exposed to some of the brightest minds that the great state of Texas has to offer, The Wolff School of Business. These young minds came in on a beautiful fall Saturday morning to spend the day with our

PEP brothers and listen to their business ideas and concepts. They shared their thoughts from a perspective of other future entrepreneurs who are currently being exposed to new ways of approaching business. The real amazing part of the whole thing was how much both groups learned and grew from the experience.

Before we get into how all of this came about, let’s take it from the top. The day started with Fall ’16 coming in to get their blood pumping and juices flowing. With the benefit of some toe tapping music vitality inducing danc-ing you could almost taste the buildup. That “buildup” came when the lights in the PEP room flicked signifying that the guests have arrived and everyone prepared to receive them PEP style! Participants and servant-leaders alike joined to welcome them in a precession called “the tunnel of love” guiding them through a maze of high-fives and genuinely warm handshakes. Once the crowd was properly primed by Wellington W.’s (a.k.a. Macarena Man) pep rally calls and a “welcome one and all!’ from Charles H. (a.k.a. Candy Kangaroo), the event was officially called to order by Michael G. (a.k.a. Baby Simba) as he prayed the event in.

Since everyone was stilled primed up, it was an excellent time for the participants dance crew to work their way to the front of the room by showing off their skills dancing up the aisle. The crew consisted of Darrell C. (a.k.a. Kit Kat), Javaris J. (a.k.a. Eddie Cane Jr.), Charlie W. (a.k.a. Chocolate Sushi Roll), Brandon G. (a.k.a. Swagger Wagon), Jordan P. (a.k.a. Edward from Twilight), and Justin J. (a.k.a. Mr. Pringles). Once they arrived each had an opportunity to answer questions about their experiences in PEP and how the program has impacted them. There were truly some unexpected and memorable thoughts shared with everyone in attendance.

Then it was time to welcome up the advisor/volunteer dance crew to give them the opportunity to shine as well. Shine they did! There was an amazing performance that came from a “repeat attender“ from the last Business Plan Workshop, who wowed the crowd with some remarkable moves. Upon their arrival to the front they also had an opportunity to speak about why they came and a little about their interests. It was enlightening to hear and further motivated Fall ’16 to get the next step of the event started.

Once instructions were given, Anthony R. (a.k.a. Pedro) had an opportunity to share his testimonial about how he came to prison and some of the changes he has experienced through the program. Everybody was moved and amazed by the transformation that has occurred and is yet to come. Afterwards, everyone broke out into their designated groups and locations to conduct a day-long series of one-on-ones. It was really incredible watching as people engaged one another realizing that everyone involved was gaining something out of each encounter. There was such intensity that when it came time to break for lunch brainstorming conversations continued on the chow hall. All in all the two groups spent an amazing, and exhausting, five hours pouring into one another.

When the one-on-ones were finally over it was time to reconvene in the PEP room. Participants and guests alike had wanted more time but as Ed Sullivan use to say, “The show must go on!” or was that W.C. Fields? Anyway, now was the time for people from both sides of the aisle to come up and share with everyone about what they gained from the event. As was expected everyone who stepped up to the mic was surprised and amazed by what they had witnessed firsthand. Afterwards, sweet-names and tough-names were given to repeat attenders.

After Charles H. shared a few closing comments with everybody, it was difficult not to notice the strange look of euphoria on the faces of the participants and the Wolff students as their minds continued to whirl with new ideas. The time to wrap up the event came and the Wolff students had committed to spreading the word of the life transforming work being done at the Cleveland Unit and some committed in advance to return. As Joseph N. (a.k.a. Gargamel) did the honors of praying out the festivities, we all recognized the immensity of the blessings re-ceived. Look out world, the next wave of the PEP revolution is coming to a town near you!

XIX

Many of my PEP brothers are aware of the fact that I came to the program because I saw an opportunity to improve and develop my character, and with that improvement, bettering my chances of restoring rela-

tionships. I was eagerly waiting for the day that we all got to meet our family liaison.

Everyone involved in the program does an amazing job at what they do, but these ladies commit and dedicate their effort to reconnecting us with our families. I can only imagine how much work these ladies do in order to give us an opportunity to re-unite with our loved ones.

We can all try to share with our families about everything involved with the program, but words can only accomplish so much. No one in the free-world has a small chance of un-derstanding exactly what the program does for us and our futures.

This is why the lord has blessed us with these wonderful ladies. They are the bridge that provides a new and bright path to reunite with the most important people in our lives.

Suddenly the significance of these thank you cards hit home. I had to pause and think be-fore I began to express my gratitude in words. My prayer is that we all recognize how blessed we truly are to have this avenue of communication open up for us. These ladies are sincere , kind and help so much in so many ways! They are a beautiful example of what it is to live for and do for others. So let us all be wise stewards of all the wonderful relationships we are blessed with.

I remember when Halloween used to be so special. You always looked to see who had the best costume and which houses to get the best candy from. It was all great fun! Not to mention throwing eggs and the usual toilet paper in the trees

mischief. Well, there were these few years, while growing up, that my aunt used to make costumes for me and my cousin. I used to be considered the bad apple in their eyes, go figure, so they would make my cousin’s costume real special and use all the leftover material to make mine. When we were ninja’s they would make his all authentic looking from head to toe and even had ninja throwing stars and a sword. With mine, they would make a belt, a head band and give me a stick for a bow staff. That is just how it went growing up with them. Everything they would do for us they would do differently. He would get something nice and I would get something similar but not as nice. Once they bought him a nice black leather belt with a little bit of silver on it. So I wouldn’t feel left out they got me a belt too. Mine was black leather too but it had so many sliv-er rings around it that it weighed about ten pounds and wouldn’t even fit through my pant loops so I didn’t wear it. I mean, who would wear something like that at my age? Then of course I was just ungrateful and didn’t deserve anything anyway . It went on for years like that: he would get everything cool and I always got the same thing just the uglier version. So one year my aunt was making our costumes and wouldn’t tell us what they were, but promised that they would both be cool. We were supposed to be in a parade for school and she was going to surprise us. Myself, knowing what to expect, could not get anyone to buy me a backup costume because everyone said “your Aunt is making you a good one”. The day of the parade came and my cousin was given the coolest vampire costume we had ever seen. Everything from the hair, to the cape and shiny shoes, to the button up shirt with a jewel pendant. Then I saw mine—my heart sank and and I wanted to cry! I had a green plastic suit with a huge cut-out of a jack-o-lantern that went over my shoulders with a strap to hold it to my back and front. According to my aunt the paint would glow in the dark and that was suppose to be the cool part. If it couldn’t get any worse, I must have moved the wrong way and my pants split up the crouch. There I was, a giant pumpkin with my bumpkin showing through. So remember don’t embarrass your kids, get them something cool, because it’s a memory that will last a life time.

Gabriel Garcia

Family Liaison

A Halloween Tale

Rene Garcia

XX

A. Xzavian Dillard owns Rubber Ducky Physical Fitness and offers personalized training services.” He may be the only personal trainer that eats cake every night “He personally invested $50,000 and an equity investor invested an addi-tional $25,000 in exchange for 10% share Xzavian’s company to get this place started. He considers his basic service to include four one hour workouts and a one hour session of nutritional counselling. Xzavian charges $10 for each hour workout and $10 for the hour of nutritional counseling. He has to pay direct labor to his trainers of $2 per hour for workouts and $5 to his nutritionists for each hour of counseling. Sessions less than one hour are prorated. In April, Xzavian sold 300 units. Xzavian’s rent for the month is $500. He has to pay annually an ad agency $12,000 and $10,000 in administrative expenses “also yearly”. Considering that everything remains the same Calculate Xzavian’s Quarterly statements.

B. Name and calculate the three lines that make up his revenue model.

C. Calculate the breakeven point.

D. Show his income statement.

E. List percentage of sales for each line (round to the nearest whole percent).

F. On average, how many units did each customer buy?

G. What was his yearly ROI (return on investment)?

Down Across

2. A value derived from public companies that divides the current earnings per share into the price per share.

3. The effort to reverse the decline of a business.

4. The entrepreneur that buys the franchise from the franchisor.

6. Benefits paid for by the company.

9. A basic contract generated by the Franchisor for all Franchisees.

1. A method of business valuation that involves taking the earnings of the business and multiply-ing that figure by the market premiums of com-panies in the industry.

5. A method of business valuation that simply to-tals all of the hard assets of the organization and adds in a good will value.

7. Businesses that specialize in selling businesses.

8. The firm that originates the idea for the business and develops the operational method, then sells them to franchisee.

8 3

2 5

1 9 6 7

8 3

4

1 5

8 9

7 9

XXI

T here are many times in life when we take things to seriously. It may just be our cur-

rent mindset that convinces us that something is of dire importance when in all actuality that’s the farthest thing from the truth. So in the nature of not forgetting one of our most important driving values – Fun. We have decided to dedicate a section of this Chronicle to Joshua

because we all know he can take a joke!

The Joshua Nichols Project

XXII

A very wise man once stated

that “If you do the things you

need to do, when you need to do them,

then you can do the things you want to

do, when you want to do them.” For these

brothers now getting the chance to do just

that we all bid you farewell. There comes a

time when all you been working on comes to

a pinnacle and must be placed into action.

This is where you all are, so allow your ac-

tions to speak louder than words, leading by ex-

ample and paving the way for those of us still

waiting our turn. Always remember to stop and

smell the roses, that whatever you might be go-

ing through will pass and that there is always a

bright sun after a gloomy storm. More than any-

thing don’t ever take for granted two of the most

important elements of life – meaningful relation-

ships and the greatest commodity of all time!

Farwell Men!

Thomas W.

(a.k.a. Popeye)

John C.

Isidro D.

Charles G.

William R.

Ryan M.

Adrian P. & Brandon C.

William H.

Clifford V.

XXIII

“A Boat with a Hole in it”

There was a time once where my dad and I had took a boat out to check out its sea bearing ability. I was just a

teenager and my knowledge of boats and the water were very limited-basically none to nil. My dad was a tough old coot and being

raised in the backwoods of Louisiana just didn’t equate to having the ability to be taking a boat out into the Gulf. Don’t get me

wrong, he had plenty of courage to face things head on but boats, water and uncertain circumstances is a dicey situation for the

most experienced individuals. From the get go I had my doubts. However, I loved fishing and desired to bond with my dad. I

thought this would be cool and maybe after all these years of chaos maybe there was hope for us. It’s an early Saturday morning,

the sun is beaming, the slight hint of salt is dashing through the air and the water is flat and smooth as table top glass. Slowly but

surely we got the boat in the water and I’m giving the duty of holding it to the dock. Simple enough

right? So he’s pulling off the boat ramp and this easy task of controlling the vessel becomes horrify-

ing! I look down at the boat and the entire back side is filling up with water, my first thoughts were

“surely my dad didn’t buy a boat with a hole in it.” I look at it now, laugh and just think of the back-

woods he was raised in and laugh some more. So I’m standing on the dock yelling for my dad to come

back down so we can hopefully salvage the boat before it submerges completely. He gets down

there and we com- mence to trying to winch the boat back up on the trailer. Needless to say, our

boating experience was evident because we were basically setting ourselves up for what could have

been a serious injury if the winch cable had busted and whiplashed back hitting one of us. However, some other fishermen had seen

our struggle, went through the same turmoil and actually had sustained an injury trying the same thing we were doing when the

winch cable broke on them.

T he boat with a hole in it became a learning experience. But it was only after some introspection that this knowledge was

gained. Those fella’s informed us what needed to be done; get a plug, get in the boat, put it in gear and open it up on the

water. My first thoughts were that these guys had been out on the water smoking something and

not fishing! Yet, their knowledge was excellent and the ap- plication worked out well. We headed out into

open water, full throttled the boat out and believe it or not the water started getting pulled back through

centrifugal force, I then plugged the hole. I was amazed, yet probably more elated that we wasn’t going

to be swimming back to shore that morning! Here’s the kicker of it all that really just sank in, it’s in

these moments of awkwardness some key memories can be made as with lessons learned. Also, how we

can learn from others experience if we listen for a moment and give them the time of day which we so

often don’t. That people don’t always have an ulterior mo- tive when helping out their fellow man, maybe

they just don’t want to see others suffer as they did. Offer- ing kindness to the next man doesn’t cost me

anything but a few words of encouragement, some understanding or maybe a listening ear. There is almost always a bigger per-

spective and learning experience obtained if we just look at it in a different light and perspective.

T ime is priceless and everyone is only allotted so many days regardless of who they are. The old cliché applies, “ If I only knew

then what I know now,” I would have laughed at that situation, shown more gratitude to those old boys helping my dad and I

but also, to my Dad for trying his best to be a friend at that moment. We need to appreciate the small things in life to truly

understand its worth. It’s time for us as men to lead as we should, cherish those around us and in our life. While appreciating the

moments that we have because they become memories far faster than

what anyone of us might believe. Over the years I’ve come to figure

out it wasn’t just a boat with a hole in it, it was a precious learning ex-

perience about life, relationships and memories being made

---- Thomas W. (aka “Popeye”)

XXIV