Our greatest desire for our chess program is not to create followers but to create more leaders, because everyone’s vision is not the same, but your vision should be able to motivate and jumpstart someone else’s if it’s powerful enough.
Any vision you have is not effective unless it can touch the minds and heart of others around you, if it can not bring hope, build or impact those you come in contact with, then it serves no purpose.
Our blessings don’t come from what we can do for ourselves, it comes from how we inspire others to do for themselves.
Our politicians and those in our community said we need to focus on bringing more programs into communities. – I don’t agree with that!
We need to focus more on who is teaching those programs in our communities, our focus should be more on the quality of life, instead the quantity of life in the programs we bring.
I rather have three programs in a community that builds up self-esteem, life skills and better decision making and have them seeing beyond their current situation, then to have ten programs were the end result is still at the beginning.
Our attention to details , and giving them what they need from us, instead of what’s available.
Our passion, patience, persistence and dedication and energy lights the fire to their motivation.
We do this by feeding their minds with thoughts and ideas that open them to new possibilities.
We just don’t affect those in the schools, but those in the communities. Those that lack the benefits and resources that other communities have. We help those in low income communities feel rich, not financially, but rich in the heart.
I never claimed to be a chess master or psychiatrist. What I do confess is that I’m a very good teacher and mentor.
I always bring something to the table for them to eat, it might not be their favorite dish, but it will satisfy their hunger, you must understand what makes them tick.
Some people must be conditioned, in order for you to be able to work with. For example, if you have not comb or brush your hair for a long time, you can’t expect the comb to go right through your hair easily, you must condition it to make it easier for you to work with. The same goes with who you are teaching, you can’t expect a youth who’s been in the street to adapt right away to what you are teaching them, it don’t work like that, your going to get some resistance.
The question is, how do you respond when that happens. You can’t fight darkness with darkness, you must bring some light. I do that by introducing them to my friend called the “64 squares of life”. The chess board, starts it and basketball, football, baseball, or soccer is my back up.
Chess is like life, it teaches you to have a game plan, a, b, c, and sometimes d if necessary.
Building up a relationship with them increases their respect towards you and enables you to have a better chance to achieve your goals with them.
When you have 100% of the people in your chess program graduating, it’s a plus. I give them the opportunity to work with me after graduation part-time while they are in college. I rather them work with me then hire someone I have to train, they already know what I expect of them. I have someone who I taught since the fourth grade now working with me part-time.
They need to know that the price of discipline, is less than the pain of regret! One bad decision, can outweigh hundred good ones.
I want our students to build each other up, instead of tearing each other down.
Life is the ultimate cat & mouse game.
We must elevate each other, so others can follow
When my student might have anger management issues I have them read this..
You can be alive, but not living!
You can smile, you can laugh but on the inside it can be darkness.
We’re here to bring the light!
Mental illness is serious!
Their program is one of a kind! Their just not a chess program, they are angels for those in the community. Me, my husband and sister met Mr. Romeo over 10 years ago on the park bench teaching kids chess. We came to play tennis and basketball in the park. My husband was curious and seen about fifteen kids surrounding one man. He wanted to know what was happening, so he went over there and seen them playing chess. He was amazed that one person got the attention of all those kids at once and how attentive they was. As he was talking my husband called our two sons and daughter over and our niece. The rest was history. We’ve been attending his free events since then. His staff his a mirror image of himself, it shows that he’s a good mentor and role model. Two of our children have graduated from college and the other is graduating from H.S. this year. His program a part getting them there. What never did understand is that a program like his never get any financial from the politicians in his area. When ask, he just said I can’t expect them to do what’s not in their heart, and he just left it like that, and I said no more.
This man and his staff are a blessing to our community. He’s always there when you need him.
