community news - Youth Automotive Training Center

COMMUNITY
NEWS
January 2013
jim moran classic builds brighter futures
for at - risk kids at the youth automotive training center
up when he started stealing them, he
decided to apply.
“I liked popping the hood, checking
out the engine and figuring out how
everything was connected,” Ealey said
to a crowd of nearly 900 supporters
during the 2012 Jim Moran Classic at
the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in
Orlando. After his last arrest, he knew,
“I needed to turn my life around. I was
ready. I said to myself, ‘I am never
going back to jail again.’”
Husband and wife Mike and Ramona
Reynolds, YATC alumni who graduated
Sports legends Jason Taylor (far left) and Joe Montana (far right) presented
Keith Kepler (center) of AlliedBarton Security Services with the $25,000 closest-to-the-pin
prize. They were joined on stage by (from left) YATC student Neiko Ealey, YATC graduates
Mike and Ramona Reynolds, and YATC Executive Director Terry Routley.
D
eerfield Beach and Orlando, Fla. –
Growing up in one of the most
dangerous neighborhoods in
Brooklyn, Neiko Ealey, currently a
student at the Youth Automotive Training
Center (YATC), learned at an early age
that you have to be tough to survive on
the streets.
By the time he was 11, Ealey was
fighting and stealing cars. His teen
years included a string of arrests,
peppered with charges of petty theft,
in 2005 and 2006 respectively,
joined Ealey as guest speakers at the
Jim Moran Classic. The annual event
raises operating funds and awareness
for YATC, a unique program for at-risk
strong-arm robbery and grand larceny.
As Ealey bounced from juvenile centers
to jails and detention programs, his
girlfriend struggled to raise their two
young children.
After his family moved to South Florida,
Ealey continued his criminal behavior.
Eventually he heard about YATC,
which had earned a reputation for
helping troubled kids change their lives.
Because the program involved working
on cars, a passion Ealey had picked
youth founded in 1984 by Jim Moran,
an automotive pioneer and founder
of JM Family Enterprises (JMFE) and
Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET).
Mike has no recollection of his father,
but recalls his mother working two jobs
to care for a family of eight.
At an early age, Mike’s rebellious
attitude had no limits and it would take
years of struggling with substance abuse
before he knew he needed to change.
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NEWS
“I was fed up with my life, but I
didn’t have the courage to stop,” he
said. Then he found YATC and was
determined to “try the other side of
life.” Now a confident young man with
a strong sense of self, Mike credits
his faith, the love of his family and
years of encouragement from YATC for
keeping him on a successful path. He
has gained an inner peace, learned to
show kindness to others and has begun
a prosperous career with Publix.
Ramona enrolled in the program the
following year. One day while waiting
for Mike at the center, she filled out an
application and was interviewed on the
spot. She remembered how during the
interview all of her emotions poured out
as she shared what she wanted for her
life and her children’s futures. Ramona
was accepted to YATC, and said she
will never forget the first day of school
in 2006 when Jim Moran addressed
the class.
(From left) Terry Routley, YATC executive director; Mark Pfeil golf pro and dedicated
YATC supporter; Doug Dunbar, television news anchor and Classic emcee;
Ramona Reynolds, YATC graduate; Chi Chi Rodriguez, Hall of Fame golfer and
longtime friend of YATC; Mike Reynolds, YATC graduate; Neiko Ealey, YATC student;
and Olindo Mare, NFL placekicker.
“I sat in the back of the classroom and
cried,” she said. “This man, so humble
and so genuine, told us he cared. You
couldn’t help but believe him. It was
then that I knew I could be anything I
wanted to be.”
Ramona completed her GED that same
year and, equipped with her knowledge
of cars, joined JMFE subsidiary JM&A
Group. She currently works in the
Customer Service department.
Tennis pros (from left) John Lloyd, Wendy Turnbull, Duby Petrovich and Virginia Wade
congratulated tournament winner Charles Einhorn (second from left), a Southeast
Toyota Distributors associate.
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NEWS
Since opening its doors, YATC has
evolved from a one-room training center
in Hollywood, Florida, into a 16,000
square-foot facility in Deerfield Beach
featuring technical and academic
classrooms, a computer learning center/
library, state-of-the-art automotive shop,
conference room, and fitness area. In
addition to teaching at-risk youth basic
automotive repair, YATC also provides
students with academic remediation
and training in job readiness and life
management skills.
(From left) Emcee Doug Dunbar and LPGA player Nicole Hage helped conduct the
golf clinic for tournament participants.
(From left) NFL great Ed “Too Tall” Jones; Patrick and Peggy Ward of The Cross
Country Group; Jan Moran; Bonnie and Michael Saxton of The Cross Country Group;
and Colin Brown, president and CEO of JM Family Enterprises and member of the
YATC Board of Directors.
“My husband always believed in the
potential of every child, and his vision
was to create a program specifically
for at-risk kids to help them develop
self confidence and prepare them for
brighter futures,” said Jan Moran. “He
would be very proud that the school is
continuing to provide its students and
graduates with a solid foundation of
academic and technical skills, as well
as ongoing counseling and guidance to
ensure they can achieve their goals.”
More than 560 students have completed
the program and 123 have received
their GEDs. More than 90 percent
of graduates are gainfully employed,
furthering their education or have joined
the armed forces. Thirty graduates
hold Automotive Service Excellence
certification qualifying them as Certified
Technicians, while 38 graduates on
scholarship through YATC have earned
an associate’s degree and are pursuing
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NEWS
their bachelor’s, which four have
obtained to date. Graduates of the
model program, along with their families,
continue to receive assistance to keep
them on the right track for success.
“Every year, we have the pleasure
of watching the students transform
themselves into grounded adults who
are committed to improving their lives,”
said Terry Routley, the school’s executive
director. “And once you graduate from
YATC, you remain a part of our family
forever. We continue offering support
services to graduates as they build
their lives and careers, and that is all
made possible thanks to our generous
supporters.”
Among the more than 400 individuals
and corporations who supported this
year’s event were Founding Sponsor
The Cross Country Group, and Super
Big Heart Sponsors Auto Carrier
Express, Inc., and Jan Moran. Big
Heart Sponsors included 22squared,
ADESA, AT&T, Centurion Auto
Logistics, Inc., CEVA Logistics, Dell,
EMC Corporation, O’Brien Auto
Team, Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona
Harley-Davidson / Bruce Rossmeyer’s
Ft. Lauderdale Harley-Davidson /
Daytona Toyota Scion, Tire Kingdom
/ Merchant’s / NTB / Big O Tires,
and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.,
Inc. Grand Sponsors included
3Cinteractive and AlliedBarton
Security Services.
This year marked the Jim Moran
Classic’s 20th Anniversary at the
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress.
(From left) Larry McGinnes, president of the YATC Board of Directors, presented
Mark Cox, general manager of the Villas of Grand Cypress, and Paul Tang,
vice president and managing director of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, with
a special Jim Moran Award honoring the 20th Anniversary of their partnership
with YATC and the Jim Moran Classic.
In appreciation for this longstanding
partnership, YATC presented the
resort with a special Jim Moran
Award. Throughout the weekend,
guests participated in golf and tennis
tournaments along with 50 major golf,
baseball, football and tennis celebrities,
including Joe Montana, Jason Taylor,
Andre Dawson, Earl Morrall,
Anthony Muñoz and Ed “Too Tall”
Jones. The golf clinic was conducted
by World Golf Hall of Famer
Chi Chi Rodriguez, golf pro Mark Pfeil
and LPGA golfer Nicole Hage. Tennis
Hall of Famers Wendy Turnbull and
Virginia Wade, along with pros
John Lloyd and Duby Petrovich, led
the tennis clinic and tournament.
The raffle prize, a 2013 Toyota Avalon
donated by JM Family Enterprises and
Southeast Toyota Distributors, was won
by Carlos Cepeda, an SET associate
in Commerce, Georgia. The Silent
Auction featured a painting donated
by James Gibson, an original Florida
Highwaymen artist, as well as a
2013 Harley-Davidson Tri-Glide
Ultra Classic motorcycle donated by
Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona HarleyDavidson and Bruce Rossmeyer’s
Ft. Lauderdale Harley-Davidson.
Proceeds from the motorcycle auction
benefited the Bruce Rossmeyer
Memorial Kick Start Scholarship Fund
at YATC to assist graduates who want
to pursue their education at a vocational
or technical school.
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NEWS
Colin Brown (back row, fourth from left), president and CEO of JM Family
Enterprises and member of the YATC Board of Directors, and Jan Moran (back row,
fifth from right) visited the Kids & Teens Program participants.
About the Youth Automotive
Training Center
Established by Jim Moran in 1984,
the mission of the Youth Automotive
Training Center is to train and educate
at-risk youth in basic automotive repair,
academic remediation, job readiness
and life management skills. The goal
of this program is to prepare young
adults who are at a disadvantage
in their lives to become self-sufficient,
productive, law-abiding citizens.
Students are referred to YATC in a
variety of ways, including through the
Departments of Juvenile Justice and
Children and Families, as well as
YATC graduates, local clergy and
word of mouth.
For more information about the
Youth Automotive Training Center,
visit www.yatc.org, or call
(954) 428-0909. YATC is located at
399 SW Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue,
Deerfield Beach, Fla.