Celebrating Our Educational Leaders

good evening my name is Gloria fight and I am with the um steart Heritage Museum our fearless leader Gary Maxwell had a family emergency and had to leave so I'm going to handle the program tonight and I want to say thank you thank you for attending I I don't think I've ever seen this many people at one of our programs I'm abs absolutely thrilled um we have with us tonight the chamber choir and boys Ensemble of the Murray Middle School led by Dr Anita Caswell and then and they are going to start off our program With The Star Spangled Banner Dr Caswell was so proud the Twilight gaming the rock the bursting in Pro through the night that our flag was still there the of Thee and our next presentation will be an award tonight that will be presented by Amy Pender of the D and it is the women and American history award to Sandra thurlo thank you uh our chapter Hal ptio chapter is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year and we had the privilege of Sandra thurow uh doing a program for our January meeting and we awarded her with the chapter's women in American history award and unfortunately the post office was late and she got her certificate but we have a medal for you as well Sandra so I'd like to present that to you just want to say I want to take as little time as possible but uh it's a great honor and you know Alice luckart received this and herself and she was so proud of it and I'm very proud to follow in her footsteps with the V award thank you a and now I'm going to turn this over to Dr Caswell and there will be three selections done by the choir good evening and thank you for having us this is not everybody come Jo stand behind me uh we are going to do for you I hear America singing which is kind of appropriate for the award that was just given and then the ladies are going to come back and sing for you I am his child and because it's Black History Month we will end with the spirit Elijah Rock and it will be a combined number with the boys and the young ladies okay the gentlemen and the young ladies EXC I hear America singing of his goodness I hear America is strong I hear America singing of his Beauty I hear America singing today together children children you talk children you get there's aing in the promised land s together children you get we s together children you get we children you get we there's a great in the Pro America singing America singing Sing America Sing America Sing America singing sing together America sing we're going to sing I never we're going to sing and never sing and never there's a breakout meeting breakout meeting and America singing Break meeting break meeting in the promise America bre PR woo I may not all that you are I may not be a shining star but one I am I thank the Lord for making me his child I may not be all that you are I may not be a shining star but what I am I thank the Lord for making me his child thank you Lord for hearing every prayer thank you Lord for just being there thank you Lord thank you Lord for I am not worthy of your love I may not be all that you are I may not be a shining star what what I am I thank the Lord for making his child thank you Lord for hearing every prayer thank you Lord for just there thank you Lord thank you Lord for I am not worthy of your love I may not be all that you are I may not be a shining star but what I am I thank the Lord for making me his don't use me or abuse me for am don't tease me or mistreats me for still child even talk about me so we're preparing for mpa Mr Anderson text Doc I need you so that means you get ready I got ready so we are here because he asked and it's always a pleasure thank you so much um this is just a part of 160 group of kids that I do have El El El El El elah El Rock Elijah Rock shouts shouts Elijah Rock call up Lord Elijah Rock shouts shout Elijah rocking up Lord elij elij Elijah elij Satan and a too if you don't watch out he you if I could I surely stand thees El Rock shout shout El Rock up elah Rock shout shout elah Rock up lord El elij El El El El sh Elijah rocking up Lord Elijah Rock shouts shouts Elijah Rock coming up Lord elij elij Elijah elij elij Elijah elij elij they're going home it's late so I'm going put them to bed we are honored tonight to have a longtime resident of Martin County Dr Dr Anthony Anderson an Tony everyone knows him by Tony anyway it just so happens that I was fortunate enough to know Tony's father Jesse Reverend Jesse Anderson and of course I knew David his brother worked on his campaign so it's kind of like old Home Week Tonight to see a local come in and join us and give us some great information on the schools and segregation in Martin County so without any further Ado I'm turning it over to Anthony Anderson thank you thank you very much it's it's just a a pleasure to see so many faces here tonight uh first of all I want to thank the Heritage Association for what they have been doing here in this County for years uh I told someone the other day that even if you moved here in the last 20 years there's really so much Martin County you don't know anything about but we have a history we have a legacy that we can really be proud of and we need to be reminded of that those of us who knew that and those of us that are here and never knew about it you need to hear about it so I was asked at of all times to speak about education I say are you kidding me but that's okay um when you've been around a while you know exactly how to address things so I was actually happy to talk about education because you know what since this is the Heritage group we're going to go back and we're going to talk about a time and place not only in this County but in this history when it was very difficult but our predecessors I mean they were just unbelievable and how they navigated that so I want everybody to relax tonight there won't be any kind of politically charged you know things going on nobody be rolling their eyes and and taking shot that's not what this is about I know too many good stories to go down that road and that's what I'm going to do so let me just start out with a little background and talk about the importance of knowing our history and our heritage or why why is that important you know history helps us to understand past events and it help us to shape who and who we are today because of the past it is lessons from the past that can teach us about ourselves and how we came to be it also helps to avoid mistakes of the past that we can create better paths for the present and also for our society history gives us what we need to analyze and explain as far as problems of the past there may still be some unresolved issues and therefore when we're provided with critical perspective of what took place we can be able to face the future and solve the problems that have hared US History helps all of us to become informed citizens history provides us with a benchmark it provides a point that we can look back to I call it a reference point where we can look back where something really good happened and we can refer to that that's what history can do and even today we can learn from the past I'm going to and I've chosen to highlight some personalities that really were crucial you see the headlines here I'm going to circle back to that later but that was the headlines in the pond Beach post on the 2nd of February in 1965 you see what that says within minutes that was unheard of in this country and and even in the the adjacent counties uh Palm Beach County and St lcy County a matter of fact they had to get a court order to do it so we have a lot to be proud of here in Martin County okay a lot of you newcomers would never know that but we haven't always act you know out and act foolish in this place we've we've been civil people and we want to continue that and and I'm proud of that Legacy and we want to continue to do that as well Maria if you would hit the first slide I want to highlight gentlemen by the name of Thomas crook he was born in Memphis Tennessee he was a natural athlete okay uh he lettered in four Sports he did service like a many of our leaders in the military he served for 29 years as principal and as superintendent in the Martin County School District here is where he uh and his family shared with us during some very very challenging times his leadership helped us and it was vitally important during this phase he had to make some bold moves considering what was going on at this time we did hit some snacks okay I don't want anybody to several people kind of like cornered me off the other day and say now I want you to know we got a lot to be proud of but but but but you know we had some shit we had some problems and we did but there were nothing Monumental compared to what was going on and that was understandable this was uh Uncharted Territory so you could expect that okay um go to the next slide please might know him he's still alive he's still with us today that superintendent Jim nisy he came to Martin County in 1964 okay um he was only 35 years old when Thomas Kook resigned he was appointed by Governor Claude Kirk 35 years old he retired after 21 years of service the school system grew and flourished under his leadership he understood people and he understood the matters at hand he had a gift a natural gift of pulling and leading people together he's probably one of our most beloved superintendent even till this day a lot of people wondered at that time so young just got here but I do believe that that would probably be ordained by God because for what he did it's just unbelievable so we we are are so fortunate okay next slide please Jack Smiles huh boy he was really a people's person he was quite a character he was like the right-hand man of the superintendent and uh he he he he really he was a leader he was a great leader uh he spent considerable amount of time in the classroom and then of course as assistant superintendent and anything I tell you tonight I want you to know you can go and look it up you can read it for yourself okay it's it's all there he did a piece called setting the record straight from segregation to integration and here's what he said Florida schools were invited to the West Coast to attend meetings to attend a meeting that was called by the Attorney General of the United States the superintendent and I attended that meeting to represent our school board we were told that separate sep separate but equal was no longer and complete integration was now the law when the plan was presented to the public sure he said some problems arose there were things like uh going to school with other races I don't think so I'm just not going to do it there were a loss of friendships he said there and he says it in a my way there was there was a noticeable coolness exhibited among some of the residents he said yeah there were threats of violence against he and Mr Crook and other school Personnel they even threw explosives at his house egged his house yell obscenities out in public but overall even at that nothing like what we were seeing all over the State of Florida and of the world now I have to pause to tell you that at this point in time I attribute this navigating this critical time to the leadership the leadership you know that you're going to always have people on the fringes that's going to carry on and and and for you to sit here and not think that happened then we'll be deceiving ourselves that did happen but when you have the core the leaders saying this is it putting their foot down and this is what it's going to be you can do your job okay and when we have schools that are doing that teachers can do their jobs and not worry okay principales can do their jobs and not worry superintendents can do their jobs and not worry even Schoolboard members can do their jobs and not worry so I attribute that to the leadership from the top down you got to be together A House Divided cannot it will not stand it's almost like if you got kids parents you got to be on one Accord one way or the other other than that it's a recipe for disaster so uh a lot of what was taking place was because we were blessed uh with the leaders next slide please so I go back to that other slide that talked about uh the schools were integrated uh and and everything so here here's some some notes from the meeting it says a 9 Minute special call meeting took place 9 Minutes on such a critical subject right I guess those people meant business they say we're going in here to do what we're going to do and and and and that's it we don't have to he and H all day long this is the law and they did what they were supposed to do he said the meeting was punctuated by one question question okay and after that the Martin County School Board desegregated its school system that deserves a hand when you think about what happened all over there's another key point the school board unanimously voted give them a hand again was no Split Decision all five members Frank the Stefano okay TR our Chambers uh Henry GM uh grum Joseph uh greenless and uh Janet alumn I think was the name okay they they were all together on this but that's a picture of them and that's superintendent niny there so we had an all white uh board but they did the right thing they were looking out for everyone and I that that is something to really be proud of we should really be proud of that okay yes go on to the next slide and it's ironic this is black history but black history is American history in American history everybody had a hand in black history okay had it not been for whites we would probably still be where we are let's not deceive ourselves it wasn't all about what blacks did they were good- hearted white people that did the right thing and I really tip my cap to them because they had everything to lose and nothing the game but they stood firm on their faith and what was right Lord knows if we can only go back to that today we will be a much better country but that's a story for another day here's gibbert Miller gibbert Miller was homegrown okay he grew up on 20 acres of waterfront property down where L lli Bay is he had the best life there off of be Lake I knew him well we knew the family we spent many times there as a matter of fact eventually our family on some probably down there as well oh if we only had it today but we had a very close relationship with he and his family he attended he was a local boy as I said he attended St training school and like a lot of the young boys at age 18 when he graduated he went to serve his country he went to Europe and he was in France and he was actually fighting over there on the third attack of the nomy beach he put his time in he moved up the rank some foul when he came back as a teacher check this out so he was not only and this was still doing segregation he was not only a teacher he ended up being the principal and you can get all this it's it's documented okay down at Dumar down there was a elementary school line he was the principal he was the custodian he was the bus driver all in one to the tune of $2,100 a month okay he put his time in he eventually became the assistant superintendent and guess what that's why we want to highlight these guys today because a lot of what we're enjoying today your kids and especially you newcomers that are coming here what you're enjoying today I know there not many blacks around in the school system and there's not many of us in the but you need to know that African-Americans had skin in the game when it comes to the growth and the development of Martin County and we should never forget that I advise everybody to get to know the history and and and learn some things it it may do you good he became assistant superintendent but guess what he also was over the head stop program as a grant writer and I remember at his funeral when superintendent nisy got up and he talked about one of the first times when they went for federal dollars they took a trip to Atlanta Georgia they drove up there and they didn't know how it was going to come out cuz this was new territory little old Stewart trying to get federal dollars for Head Start start and they put on a presentation and they were rewarded bountifully he said they laughed and clap all the way back home that was new ground thank God for these guys y'all need to know these stories so again Head Start we've come a long ways but everything has a these guys were the foundation they were the Bedrock and we should never forget those that came before us we owe it to them because without them it would not have been us he and superintendent nisy work very well together as they expand the resources and programs in Martin County that we all are enjoying today next slide please this is Mr Robert Murray he was uh Murray Middle School is name after him now this is this a strange situation a lot of people to my understanding think that school is named after him it's actually named after his family his picture hangs there okay but he had uh it was I think three other brothers his wife was a teacher and they were they were very astute business people in Martin they came to Martin County and we were blessed by these men I mean they they had so many skills and talents and they put it to use and and and Martin County became a much better place but he did end up being principal there but I mean so many attributes that they brought to Martin County and we are a better place today because of the impact that the Murray family have had on Martin County I want to talk about next slide Felix A Williams we may be getting down to the to where some of y'all may be to to catch up now right but you know have to tell you I mean I'm old but I'm not that old but I was a young guy but everybody that I mentioned I remember them as a little boy I was blessed to know them and I remember their words of wisdom they took time out to talk to Young K one of the things Mr Felix A Williams told me young man I'm going tell you something right now whatever you do when you start working save some money save some money what what advice huh they always had Mr Murray told me I went there to pay uh rent my brother old my oldest brother Jesse was renting one of his places at the time and I went there to take the money and Mr muray I was getting ready to leave he said hold on wait a minute he said don't you ever give anybody money without getting a receipt and he wrote me a receipt I was you're talking a primary source folks this is not anything I read in the book or in the newspap I knew these people firsthand primary sources for all of you histo history majors out there that's that's about as pure as it gets okay firsthand encounters I was so blessed to know all of these great people Mr Williams like the others after he finished high school he spent time in the military serving his country guess what in 1957 he was named State teacher of the year so he must have been quite a guy huh in Florida he must have been quite quite a guy the impact that he made uh here in Martin County is uh captured in a documentary book titled A man and his legacy it lays out the spirit the character and the impact that he had on our educational system he was a Trailblazer in the Martin County School System by introducing programs for special education and vocational education he knew good well that a lot of the African-American student would not go on to college but they still needed to get some Education and Training so they can become gainfully employed and folks that's where vocational education and it's big now we call it CTE and all that which is still needed but my point is you need to know the beginning of that came with Felix A Williams that's why the school is named after him it's named for a reason get to know your history he made Martin County a better place because of his positive impact that he had on all students so many of them became leaders and outstanding citizens here at home now next slide please this beloved lady those of you that know me know how near and dear she was to me castella never had any kids I was her godson and she basically adopted me and uh I I actually went to to live with her not because my parents kicked me out but the joke was she told my mom one day my mom name was Alberta and when I got to like Middle School she said Berta you got all these kids give me my boy he needs to come live with me and I was just one street over and I would go spend the night and get up and go to school so I had the best of both worlds delini and I were we were by her bedside when she took her last breath she died at the ripe old age of 97 she retired in 1975 after 46 official years of service with the Department of Education now let me let me just tell you a funny story here she said Tony she said I actually did 48 but they told me they wasn't counting when I did the first two so she only got credit for 46 but here's something I found very startling when I begin to go through a lot of her uh things after she passed away there was a letter there written at upon her retirement from at that time the commissioner of Education his name was Raph Turlington some of your old timers remember that I know Miss tho Miss gy I know y'all remember that that I I'm not saying old time being disrespectful I'm old time too that's with much love and respect but uh and I have that letter to this day and he wrote the letter basically uh uh you know congratulating her for the time that she put in as a teacher and she was also a principal and and whatnot and but she uh was really well let me finish this story first and I'll tell you this so what was really striking in the letter now you got to feig this lady been working for 46 48 years right one line in that letter that always stood out and I still have it till this day and I'm going to turn it over to the one room Schoolhouse Mrs uh yeah I'm I'm going to turn it over to them as well so they can have this uh for for records is that he said I hope that you will really enjoy your retirement because our record show that as of today you have not missed a day in the last 13 years can you believe that coming down to the end of her career and and and got a streak of 13 years when some of these young ones can't go for weaving at that right but that's what she was but she was known as and those of you that have not heard about it Google Mrs Williams one room schoolhouse that's the old building that's been preserved in front of M Middle School very historic very important to the community because doing segregation and you know it wasn't a whole lot of us around but she had at one time grads 1 through six ciry does an excellent job of narrating that you all need to see that it it it's a teaching tool to motivate okay history is there to motivate and I used to show it to my kids and it was so they were so excited about this little one room Schoolhouse and everything and they thought it was the neatest thing in the world well they couldn't do any better but you know what she did more with less much with little and out of that one room Schoolhouse she turned out some of the most productive citizens in Martin County My Brother David was one of them she left an indelible impression and impact upon the lives of black students and we will never forget her contribution go to the next slide please that's my father Reverend Jesse Anderson now you got to understand something everybody knows David but you got to understand something David was the so-called educated one during that time but David come out at a young age 20 years old and started teaching when all of this stuff started going on well guess what David couldn't get involved in that cuz he wanted his job you know what I'm saying he really couldn't get into the polit he didn't do his thing until towards the end so my dad became what we call the black spokesman for the black PTA he was like the Leon between the black uh uh population and the school board former uh City Commissioner Arthur sim said to me at one time and I I worked for Mr Sims when I was in college he was he he and my dad became very very good friends and I think Mr Sims just he was so in love with our family I think he just wanted to help me out well I was happy cuz I was making money going to college right and he was very generous I mean he was just uh it was he said to me one time Tony your dad is probably the most persistent man that I have ever met in my life now there's a lot behind that persistance okay because behind closed doors they had some power out but they didn't show off out in the public like what you see today they had some dignity and class and respect what are we teaching our kids today when we act like fools that did not happen back then he said he was always firm but always polite always firm you can't be that can you huh the truth is the truth and the only way to tell the truth is to tell it and I don't care how much you soften it up if some people don't like it there ain't nothing you can do about it anyway so tell it like it is and he used to always say the only way for me to tell it like it is is to know it as it was Mr sim said your dad and I became the very best friends after the integration period And I my dad had some real conversation with some of these people around here and some of it make you chuckle a lot of it to me it wasn't the mean stuff today it was to me I call it an innocent ignorance innocent I can I can excuse innocent okay innocent ignorance such as one guy said to my dad and he was a he was a leader in the county he was concerned a lot of people were blacks were concerned about you know it was it's Uncharted Territory so that's understandable um one I pull my dad aside he say Jesse you know I don't really have much of problem problem with them integrating the schools Sammy you over there laughing you must know what I'm saying my youself he says but the problem I got if they start going to school together the next thing you know they going to get married my daddy said Mr Sims I've got seven girls and with my oldest grandson I got six boys and and I'm not sending any of them to school to look for a husband or a wife I'm sending them to get an education when I walked in the door somebody greeted me this lady greeted me today and she said I want you to know not only did I know your brother David but I knew your Daddy Jesse he was quite a guy so everything I'm telling you today I am not making it up and I'm not going to hold back because he's my dad sometime I have a problem talking about my relative but I I got to do them justice as well and I saw him firsthand it okay um let me tell you another story so when they begin to do the integration Mr crooked I'm going back to the leadership again now before nisy took over they were very creative they said Okay so this thing's got to happen and my dad behind closed doors he began to really really really let him let him know what was going on okay he said don't you think it would be best if we get ahead of this and go and get it done we don't need the federal government coming out here telling us what to do we we're good enough to do the right thing and by his persistence and leaning leaning on them behind closed doors they develop a plan that said okay since it's going to happen and you could tell by the vote of the school board they make business but when you got when you got the when you got the leaders behind you you ain't got to worry but when you don't have them behind you well that's another story for another day okay but when you have them behind you you don't have to worry so so they went on and what he said was look here's what we going to do the federal government basically said by 1967 it's got to be done so they said coming up on 1966 we're going to do a voluntary test run and we going to go ahead it's not going to be mandatory but we going to experiment and we going to extend this thing to blacks to come over and let's see how this thing now a a few did go but what it did it began to to break the tension and let people know that this thing was real and the few that was really having a heartburn you they figured that after about a year maybe you you you you drank enough mocs you'll get over it so it gave them time to get rid ready for what was so that was real creative that was you know a movie should be mad about this place for what they did if you want to know the truth they did it like nobody else I'm just telling you the truth okay so they went on and they did that but before they did that they begin to make some some Personnel changes so one of the things they did now Murray was an all black high school at the time they had a very capable man there Dr Walter odm and for whatever reason uh Mr Kook decided to appoint Jim nisy as principal now now follow me closely he was new to the area he appointed him as principal what a St one hearing that because nowhere in town was there any blacks going over to White schools at that time why you want to do that to us and they actually had a protest it was a peaceful protest okay and they they they reversed that decision Tom Kook resigned went to work for the federal government and the governor appointed the Mr nisy who they did not want as principal as superintendent but I think God was in the plan because he became a very good superintendent so it worked out any anyway okay but Mr Odin was very capable and uh as a result of that he he ended up uh leaving the county so we had some things that people had to contend with so again everything wasn't squeaky clean but compared to what was happening man we we we we were really uh okay another thing happened so when they integrated the schools voluntarily somebody in their Infinite Wisdom went down and took Mr Murray's picture down and threw it in the dumpster I'm just telling you first hand cuz I know the story well there was a black custodian there by the name of Letha Johnson y'all remember miss Lea okay she retrieved that picture and as a little boy I remember her ringing a Dell coming to my dad Reverend Anderson look at what they've done to Mr odm's picture boy my daddy didn't sleep that night I have to tell you it was it was it was tearing at him first thing that next morning he made his way to Tom Crook's office and he said Mr crook is this the way we going to start doing business now or what now I'm not blaming Mr crook for that but somebody did it and it had to be addressed obviously he addressed it because guess what when you go to m today that picture is hanging up out there right now the first time that dawnn on me I was there visiting that school about 3 years ago and I knew the story but I never really paid attention and when I walked in and saw that picture I started to cry because I'm saying that would have been long gone had that not happened so what I'm telling you tonight are real accounts and you need to know these stories because regardless the what the good the bad the ugly we can learn from that people today are knocking history and saying oh we don't want to talk about it well you know he who you could benefit from doing so much if you were doing crazy things if you sit down and talk about it you're not doing it to make anybody feel bad or to look bad or whatever you're doing it so hopefully people will learn and the worst thing you can do is to disrespect a hurt or injury that anyone has experienced it doesn't matter if you're red or yellow black or white if you've been injured and I try to play that down ain't no big deal that's so disrespectful this is the kind of stuff that we're dealing with today but I'm pleased to be able to do this presentation because it's telling you we did it the way it should be done I could remember as a little boy my mom would cry and tell my dad when it was time for those big meetings cuz he would go out there and speak and you can pull the Articles you can see Jesse Anderson was he was Sant to him in a dignified way they couldn't help but like him even if they didn't like what he was saying okay he had that gift for that time and she would say Jesse please don't go out there tonight they going to kill you she actually told him that he says Alberta I got to go and I'm going take your baby Tony with me and I will go with him to meetings somebody said that he was he was real clever he took me with him in case somebody got in behind him they'll see the little boy and say oh leave him alone he got his little boy whatever it worked one other thing so M when Murray school was be you got to remember old Spectrum was the the the high school at the time when we finally got a new high school it was Murray that that is now out there as a middle school that was the new black high school well we were happy to get that school and they called my dad one day in to say well Jesse we got a problem the school is going to be built but we don't have enough money to finish the gymnas we we we not going to be able to do that we're going to build a school but we can't do the gy so my dad said well what kind of stuff is this he say you just buil a new one over at Martin County High he says the one over at stood training High which is Spectrum you didn't even give us a gym there do you know it was an outdoor basketball court and the blacks got together and poured that and that's how they played their games if it rained the game was cancelled it was an outdoor basketball court so he said what are we going to do go back to that we're not making progress so I think one of the guys response was well Jesse haven't we been good Bo my daddy I I got a little bit of him in me because somebody say you all you you always loaded for somebody and my dad response was good isn't good when better is expected amen okay so my dad said okay I'll tell you what we going to do since we talking you know we're moving from from separate to separate but equal now okay that's where we were in this in this in this phase so we we want to be in compliance so here's what we do let's get together and coordinate our basketball schedules with Martin County High and when Martin County high is playing away the kids from muray high will come over and play in M well they didn't want to hear that some did not want to hear that at that time so what did they do they build the gymnasium can you imagine if it were not for these 12a Trailblazers all of them black and white up here way we would have been today thank God for them you guys need to know these valuable stories next slide so so everybody there there's a young David Anderson with a half afro and Jerry whatever it is a lot of people thought David was my daddy until this day that David ain't my daddy he's one of my brothers okay uh at his funeral former superintendent of schools uh Frank Brogan and former uh education commissioner also he was the former lieutenant governor he said said that David Anderson he never worked with a man that had more common sense in his approach to complex matters than anybody like David Anderson David had a knack for pulling people together he had a gift he really did and uh he was in education a long time now a lot of people are applauding him for his school board service that's commendable okay 32 years is that a long time that's I don't know how how he did it cuz at the time check this out most of those years cuz he had moved on to any River Community College at the time then any River State College David was vice president of student affairs at the college and on the school board as if the school board is not enough to run you crazy okay so for years that's what he did he put in like 46 years in education 32 years on school board he got the nickname the Bo Jackson of Education because he was doing really two real duties there and he did it it was unbelievable while that's commendable that to me is not to me it was not his biggest accomplishment and I want to tell you what it was today because a lot of you don't know this and you need to know that okay now so somebody said to me the other day when I was talking about well what could top 32 years years I'll tell you what can top that so when David got the job at the college he was Dean of instruction up there he wasn't vice president right away David living in Martin County he had that insight and that fortitude to say you know what we're growing in Martin County we we need to expand and have a branch of the college in store for our kids I was in grade okay those of you that's been around Vicky Davis and and and and a lot of you others that are in here Miller you you you remember that old building there on US1 call the rashman site Lee Roberts you know about it it was an old dilapidated building I met Mr rashman I went down to Margate where he lived okay years later to talk to him about something else because I knew if his good works and he donated that building or he let them lease that for I think a penny or whatever and on the weekends David lobit the president of Indian River State College at that time cuz he was working closely with him his name was Herman hey wasn't Dr Massi at that time Herman hey and he leaned on him about bringing that site here Dr hey got so tired of David and said I'mma fix you real good we going to go ahead and open up that site and I'm going point point you as dean of instruction down there you going down there and David is with bringing higher education to Martin County for all the kids all of the kids black white hispanic you name it this is something that a lot of people don't know about that was that was quite that was that was just quite a feet in order to to do that okay so that's one of the things I'm most proud about uh him bringing that here next slide that beloved man there oh yeah oh man Don Wallen he came from Kentucky in 1966 as a young still like a lot of the others uh he he he he had a record here B he took basketball to a unprecedented level uh he had 219 wins and 37 losses during his time he came here at a time when all of this was taking place and again I do believe he was God sent he did not have a problem going over to East Stewart and recruiting those kids and saying listen we're getting ready to have a integrated basketball team and he taught them the values of teamwork okay he was like a father figure to a lot of them all right and with his experience and expertise and this is this is quite an accomplishment do you know how hard it is to win a State basketball championship in in the 70s Don Walden in that Martin County basketball which was the only basketball team in town at that time okay they won a state championship in 1972 Y in 1973 and in 1979 and tonight For Your Entertainment or whatever just to know primary sources I want to introduce three other guys that played on that team I want to say something about them first of all first I want to introduce Lim Johnson stand up Lim Johnson is homegrown he had about three or four other brothers that that played there was Moses and they were oldest the only thing that kept these guys out of the pros is that they just didn't get an opportunity and here's a here's the point that I want to make to young people everybody talking about they running around here saying I want to be I want to be a soccer player I want to be a football player I want to be you know what I don't mean to rain on your dreams but let me tell you something you need to have a backup plan right my brother Charles stand up Charles class of 67 Charles helped to integrate the baseball team he uh took them to the State fineral starting Short Stop highest batting average during that year okay the only thing kept him out of the pros he just didn't get the opportunity that's all and that's the only thing kept a lot of them out of there okay the other Superstar Arthur kitchen stand up arur kitchen and then in 19 79 there's Charles Jones stand up Charles Jones and let me tell you what's really impressive about these guys and it has a lot to do first of all with their home training with their teachers with Mr Walden but also with them they these guys were not hardheaded they were respectful unlike what we see in today I I told Johnson the other day when I talk to him I said man you know I was always amazed by you and your brothers as good as you guys were I never saw you walking around campus thumping your chest and showing off when you made a basket you just got back down there and play I called them all gentle Giants and they all went on to have successful careers knowing that they did not make the pros but they could have had they head out they all went on to successful careers Charles did I think 37 years teaching Arthur did a career with fpnl Lim did a career I think with law enforcement and there still doing wonderful thing Charles did all kind of thing and still doing thing Community involved in this church I mean it's just they added so much and I want to tell you this and this is why we need to talk about it a lot of people never even heard of Martin County until these guys won a state championship let's give honor and respect to who they were they were a credit to this town okay not just the black race as they used to say back in the day but to all of Martin County they represented us well and even today in getting older such respectful law body just great guy I think AR is still uh volunteering with basketball team up in Port St louy you better come back to Martin County boy Len who's talking right yeah but anyway uh we we really do appreciate you and I thought that that would be a nice treat for for you all to see uh these guys today now early on we uh when we were sedated and here here here again is where you can take what seem to be a bad thing and it worked out for a good we were sedated so we needed black teachers so people blacks begin to hear about Martin County it was a nice place to live and as a result a lot of them wanted to come here to work because they knew it was a nice place so we were blessed with so many good teachers now on another night we could talk about some of the teachers so I'm just touching the just the tip of the iceberg but when don't even get into the teachers and we have some of them sitting here Mrs gainy not only a teacher she was an administrator and whatnot we got teachers all in here so I'm not going to get into that tonight cuz we'll be going fever but the point I want to make they heard about Martin County and they wanted to come here and because of that we were so blessed and especially in the early years doing surgy cuz these people did not play somebody said the other day they took the Board of Education which was a paddle and put it to their seat of understanding they tore their behinds up in other words and ain't no parent came out there raising hell about it either we've come so far I don't know where we're headed sometime think I would be better off if I didn't even know how it used to be because I'm grieved when I see so much that's going on and it's bad all across the board y'all let me tell you something rotten people comes in all sizes shapes and colors don't fool yourself in all careers in all professions okay let's not forget that but we were so blessed with these teachers and then when we integrated the school system was really blessed but over the years A lot of them have retired after long-term careers 36 years it's hardly just a handful now and it saddens me but we were rich with black Educators and they were respected across the board and I was privileged to know a lot of them and I know the stories I'm going I'm going to go ahead and nail this thing down now I don't even know how long I've been up here I didn't see nobody telling me to sit down yet but I'm getting ready to what I will tell you is that when I look at the State of Affairs today I I don't even want to go there I don't want to SP T night but we need we we we need to we need to get back to to the center somewhere we need we we need to do something it's uh it's rough what are we teaching our kids when we go out in public and show off at school board meetings what are we teaching our kids when we go down to a City Commissioner meeting and and and and and you're passionate about what and you should be but there's a certain level of decorum that should always remain and and and and and and you know one thing I like about old people like my dad when he when he had to tell somebody off he got you behind closed doors and he did it and you both came out of there smiling you think it was a love f but they knew how to do it these kids don't need to see the behavior that's going and and and quite frankly with regards to the education system I'm so glad I'm out of there not only the classroom but the school board and everything else I'm free at last I like what the poet the English poet John dun said and this is where I look for inspiration in my hours of Despair and even though I have no need to because I'm t with it but I care about the common good yeah I care about my country I care about my fellow brother whether you're black white hispanic somebody once said red or yellow black or white we all are precious in God's sight I grew up on that and I believe that some more people need to believe that too because I don't think they get it but I like what John dun said when he said that no man is an island and no man stands alone each man's grief is my grief and each man's Joy is my own he said we need one another and so I will defend each each man as my brother and each man as my friend I also like what the poet Sam floss had to say he said let me live in a home by the side of the road where the race of men go by the men that are good and the men that are bad as good and as bad as I I would not sit in the scarner seat or Hur the cnic band just let me live in the house by the side of the road and be a friend to man what what this PO is saying is that uh you know it's like a a a a play he says uh in life we we represent it's like a cast in a play We Are merely actors and we share this giant stage called life life sadly we assume that our RADS have been permanently cast we are only actors playing a part y'all as actors we continue to follow yesterday's script no matter how old how outdated or how ridiculous we can change the old script by making the stage a whole lot better where we become more conscious of our Behavior towards someone that may be just a little bit different than us we have not all had the same shared experiences y'all we need to understand we are a Melting Pot we've come from different places but we're still one as I leave you tonight I just hope and pray and it's captured in this poem that I love so well are you going to be a stumbling block or a stepping stone right Lord knows we got enough stumbling blocks we got enough of them okay the PO say said isn't it strange that princes and kings and clowns that Frolic and circus rings and common people like you like me man real Builders For Eternity for each of us are given a shapeless mask a bag of tools and a book of rules and each will f passion as time goes by a stumbling block or a stepping stone I'm pressing on the upward Way New Heights I'm gaining every day still praying as I onward bound Lord plant my feet on higher ground I want to scale the utmost Heights and catch a glimpse of glor's bright but still I I'll pray till Heaven I found Lord lead me on to higher ground for my heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears dismay though some may dwell where these abound my aim and my goal is higher ground thank you and God bless you thank you we're going to have a few questions and I got one other presentation R to make so we're talking about teachers and how there's not that many of us around right well guess what we have a gentleman with us tonight named Josh Perry Josh was named the teacher of the year here's something pretty startling I found and it was really saddens me that only about 1% of the teachers in the United States are black male y'all research it unless I saw that wrong but here is Josh teacher of the year stand up Josh we're proud of you you know that he's Maring carer's grandson yes he's Maran carer's uh uh grandson everybody know long-term educator Maric com right okay so I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to open this up for some questions but before I do I'm going to I'm going to uh uh share something with you because this is what I get asked the most when I'm either out and about in the shopping center or whatever and I have to I have to tell you all something I really appreciate the people in Martin County you as you know I I lost a very close Schoolboard race uh not too long ago like like something like a half a percent okay I'm cool I'm I'm okay with that I don't like the way some things went down but that that ain't here nothing there it it it worked out for the better I think my wife was praying that I lost so anyway she's happy I'm happy right but uh it it's uh so when I retired in in uh from teaching cuz I was teaching in Palm Beach County so I decided in June I was going to and I was so naive I said boy I'm going to retire I'm G to just take it easy and I love my yard got a lot of things to do love my family love my friends uh I'm just going to do all these neat things and do some stuff for Tony start going back to the Bahamas Turks and caos cuz after Co everything kind of shut down I got a whole new family over in the island y'all I a whole new life over there it's a good one too okay but after Co I put the I just put the stopper on it so I was like all these things and I'm going to do I even gave away a a lot of my nice uh shirts and Suits I send them away I'm I'm going to walk around with t-shirts and shorts and that's what I and I really thought that well about a month after I lost the election I got a call from somebody out of out of out of out of County and they said we we want to meet with you a man like you we're heartbroken to see what happened but a man like you you can turn your expertise and your experience now as a consultant you can do great things a lot of people can benefit from your I'm like really I I thought when you did this you retired and I wasn't even thinking about something like that whatever we usually do if you read the pamphlet we we're very charitable family okay never seen such poor people give so much in all your life somehow we do it okay so the call came and it was really amazing I signed a contract to do some things here's what I'll say I'm not going to get into the details but I am doing some Consulting work for for several uh institutions I'm not going to really get into who it's with and all of that I mean there's one organization I probably will talk about because ain't too much you can do to them anyway but my point is I do know that I had some political enemies out there and people these days are nasty amen they'll probably call and say oh you know he believes in critical race Theory which what they said when I ran and he's a racist I'm sorry I don't mean to Spa a night but these things were said okay and people that don't know me might believe that and it could cause me some problems not that I even care cuz I I can't miss what I never but that's just wrong okay and I know I'm a chang man I think even my brother Charles made an observation he said well I'm going tell you something I'm so proud the way you handled this election he said you supposed to be raising hell now as you get older you get wiser and it didn't really matter at that point time I had had enough and I think it was time to move on but the calls kept coming and there were other opportunities so people want to know what I'm doing here's what I'm going to tell you so I'm still involved doing some things but I don't have to get up out of bed every morning and go to work don't have to worry about the pressures of working in a you know a school system and all the stuff that's going on there and and it it it's it's it's really amazing and maybe it's a payback for all the grief I've had I don't know but I'm grateful I'm grateful for it so what I want to do is tell you this find something you love do it well here's the thing take time out for your family and your friends cuz at the end of the day when we lay down to die that job that that that career whatever you had while it it it it kept your light on and it it put food on your table man there's nothing more valuable than your family I remember I read a thing about Jaclyn Kennedy when you know she lost uh her husband at a at a with with with young kids there when when President Kennedy was assassinated and one of the comments dat somebody said you did such a good job raising Caroline and John John and she said this and I it would always stuck with me if you fail raising your kids nothing else really matters that much think about it and so why am I so passionate about what I'm doing is because you know what I was so blessed to have older brothers and sisters that were there for me and then there were older people that just love me and adored me blacks and whites I mean everybody wanted to adopt Tony so so you know I I got I I got a different perspective on life because my experiences are different and so I'm trying now what I'm doing now is trying to create okay opportunities so young kids can be exposed to the whole world of what's out there that's good Lord knows they see enough bad stuff right and so my job is to you know make things happen with these different uh educational institutions uh vocational settings and so the best way I can tell you and and that and then I'm enjoy I'm going to go back to enjoying my family and friends and some of you all are sitting in the audience we've been putting a lot of things on hold but get your bags pack we're going to be headed to the Bahamas or the Turks and Kos Island soon we going to leave all this foolishness behind and we going to go and chill because we're fortunate to have a family over there and it's a wonderful life never seen a poor boy have so much Rich fun in all his life I've been blessed so I want to quickly go through some slides as early as this past week Thursday okay so one of the things when I was getting ready to retire the principal tried to get me to come back for another year in Palm Beach count man I I I can't I said it's time it's time to call in Mr Anderson you need it while I was over program that was uh working with the Civil eler trol there something like the rooc okay and it's a wonderful program and uh they were so attached to me until some of the top brass there they uh said man we can't just let you go like that you may retire from teaching but we you're not getting away from us like that and so I I earlier I had taken the course and I actually became a and you know that's a good thing about that you can be a old person and still join the Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary of the US Air Force okay that's what it is and uh it it even if kids don't go to the military the skills that they will learn the exposure is just it's just so important and being involved with this group have really even opened my eyes up to some things it's been an incredible experience and tonight I have two of the top brass from the Civil Air Patrol we just came back last week from um mcdill Air Force Base in Tampa we were there for two days can you believe this they actually took we took 22 kids over there I think about 16 23 she says okay I stand corrected Colonel we we took I don't know about 15 or they took about 15 16 up in the cargo plane that refueled the fighter jets do you know they to show you the confidence that the military have and what they do do you know they took these kids almost into Washington DC and fuel a fighter jet while they were doing it never touch down and brought them back to MCD McDale Air Force Bas an incredible experience everybody was so nice and I just so what am I doing cuz I get a lot of calls from people that saying we're so sorry what happened to you here's what I want to tell you don't feel sorry for me as the song say don't cry for me I'm good okay and I want to capsulate uh some of what we've been doing quickly let's go through these slides so you can see look at this take them up fly them that's in Palm Beach County we do that on a regular basis these young kids just to get them exposed we need more pilot they don't have to be pil they could be uh mechanics they could be air traffic controllers whatever is getting them out of trouble and getting them into something good okay go to the next slide this was at mcdill e base these are two fighter pilots right here these are the kids coming off that's the plane they went in right there okay uh the the the pilots fell in love with Delina I had to quickly get her back to the car so we can get out matter of fact we all got on the on on the on the Chate bus riding around the base this fell here had Delina riding in his F-150 when we left the BX I say you coming with me now go to the next slide this kid here I was at an event out of town and she said to me aren't you Mr Anderson and we were we were eating and we were at a big big event she said you taught me at Anderson Middle School is that something here I am with some kids at FAU here's the dean of the college not just some little lowlevel person telling them about the possibilities of what could happen and that's what I'm doing I'm I'm connecting kids with all the possibilities out there why because I know the importance of being exposed to things and what it did for me and shame on me if I go home and retire and say I'm going to take my marbles and just play with just my family and friend no I still got something to give and I want to do that go to the next slide this got this gentleman here I took some kids to the Forum Club down in uh Palm Beach they beet there like every two months they it could be anybody speaking from a past president to uh and this was with the Civil L Patrol too top brass there they they were there at least one of them I think but we getting these this gentleman here is the past CEO of Ford Motor Company and boing the man actually took time to sit down and talk to me and thank me for what I was doing he signed an autograph copy of his book he he he thought I was the most amazing person around I'm thinking I think you're the most amazing person around but it's just so hard W it these are a group of let's just say educational professionals and I'm I'm doing some things with them all of them have their phds and higher education and so I'm in good company where I got everything to gain by learning things and they love me and they want to be with me okay and that that that it is when people want to be with you in your life that makes a difference okay but what I I'm thankful for I don't need any of that but I'm grateful and I'm going to stick with it this gentleman here he's St to Kansas City Royals okay and that's another high level educational profession very nice gentleman uh oh just the calls that I get the people that I have in my little humble home for uh for for a lunch a dinner my wife is an excellent cook and I I I'll share this with you real quick so there's this one group that We've been supposed to get together forever since the campaign and uh they said Tony lady text me like quar a we've been waiting over a year now you promised that deline was going to cook and invite us at your home cuz we already heard and we want to come she said I'm giving you four days now you pick which one is good for you and I turned on I said Del look at this and we started laughing so I picked the 25th of February which is a Sunday and it's also her birthday and uh I think like six of them are coming to be with us is it wonderful when people like that want to be with you yeah yeah yeah go to the next slide had the opportunity since I've uh been out of office to meet not only first lady Laura Bush and her daughter but also about 6 months ago was able to meet President George Bush as well wow and one of the things he said that was very striking and I thought man oh man oh man and I think we all could apply I know I apply it to my life he says one of the things that got me through the hard times of my life was my faith and trust in God he see I credit that with everything and tonight I can tell you because of him I'm not close to what I need to be now you catch me on the wrong day it might not be good but what I will tell you he has done a work in me where I just let it roll off of me all right and and as they say in the island no worries you may be worrying and stressing it but not me but that's what God can do this is the Beloved Marin carer we were at an event in uh Fort Lauderdale here I am in the alose now I don't like that that that that that that's some of my relatives over there I would never do something like that but anyway I was going to turn down the boat ride okay this guy is from Martin County I took him over I I take a lot of people over uh high-profile people that I don't get into revealing all of that cuz that's our business cuz I know the area and I know the good times and whatnot and we have some wonderful times fishing this is another event that we were to this guy here is a retired professional baseball player okay go to the next side here again this guy here is a Schoolboard member in Dave County here's deline and I this here was at and I want to say something I want to put a plug in about this event right here one this was at the house of hope uh annual dinner that a lot of our a lot of our uh charitable organizations that's doing good work they have these annual things okay in December it was the crus ball with the uh Cleveland Clinic we were there um then just the other day it was the Boys and Girls Club uh there a couple of we went to all of them here's what I want to tell people and especially some of you all that's been in office especially a long time why don't you support some of these good organizations you know it's kind of a shame some of our elected officials have been in office for years they ain't never even attend a Red Cross ball or School Board Foundation meeting that's sad you own the public payroll you getting public assistance and I and you get prep for the job you're doing but man don't don't be so tight support these wonderful organizations they're for worthy CA I mean they do a whole lot and I applaud our leaders for what they're doing let's make sure that we we we just support these things okay go to the next slide here I am on a Saturday at my house with four College professors that's Delina cuz we're eating lunch I was sitting here we were working on something and I stopped to eat lunch and uh they came from out of town okay they wanted to come to my house ston we need to talk with you I mean it's just amazing that after retiring thinking that was all over with that people see the value in you and so I'm grateful for that and I'm I'm I'm humbled by that there I am speaking to some kids there civil a patrol civil a patrol just amazing program uh that was the uh Council of the Arts they had a big thing not too long ago support all these things it cost too you know next one let's Dr Massie this was another event that's the former president of FAU John Kelly in the presidential suep at a football game again we're exposing kids to different things we split them up in groups that was down in Miami taking them to the different things this is some of my beloved people right here in Martin County at an event this guy here his name is Skip or he's deceased now that's that he we we attended FAU probably like three years apart and and and I got a call one day from them and they said skip or wants to meet you I said well who is Skip or he said well he he was doing some research he saw a picture of you hanging up down the hall and he was pretty impressed with you and uh he said that you all were your time kind of overlap but he wanted to meet you and he was the uh ambassador to Japan in the Obama Administration and there we are at a football game with some other guys and Skip unfortunately passed away but uh he he was also the CEO the CEO of the boing uh uh aircraft European division so so he did somebody he was also at Jun Professor there SK was quite quite a character quite quite a guy go go to the next slide and this is my Recreation these are the island and I got that picture there for a reason okay so it's funny how I knew a long time ago this picture was taken in 1976 we were in the island of uchra where my dad is from I I knew that as fate would probably have it that they would go before me so I wanted to take some so I'm not in the picture cuz I took the pictures so I got good memories that's my dad and David swimming we were all swimming we had so many wonderful times over the years but the point that I'm making I still got memories it saddens me now when I go because the over the years the the family got it shrunk from brother-in-laws to my dad and our brothers and now I I got to you know I'm still hanging on so I'm recruiting and a couple other fine men to fill in so we can go and enjoy the goods you know who you are I've already contacted you we got to keep it going this is a family that owns some cottages on the water in the AOC Co I'm actually sitting on the bed taking a picture you imagine what night seems like when they come out with the lobster and all the refreshments and you're sitting there just having a wonderful time what I'm saying is take time out to enjoy your family and friends know we talked a lot about that and we going to do something about it too okay but that's the good life and so for those of you that's wondering what I've been doing I got more than enough to keep me busy Tony Anderson is doing fine hey I I really forgot my real special guest the top brass from the Civil Air Patrol Lieutenant Colonel Sonia stto and Captain Alex Mado stand up the these people are incredible and we've done so many wonderful things together and we got a slew of other things to do miss SoDo was in Seattle Washington with a group doing this she's all over the place making good things happen and they're in the western Zone in the Palm Beach County School District in the pooki area but they are very valuable not only to the school system but to the community around and they have all the contacts with the hups and and we're making a lot of things that we planning now as we go about other events so I almost forgot you guys thanks for coming over tonight thank you all for joining us tonight we really appreciate you coming in and hearing all these good things and espe the chorus it was a real treat we were honored to have you and we have a few some refreshments in the back some cookies and whatnot please help yourself on your way out thank you good to see you too