Comments:
It never ceases to amaze me...time passes so quickly that I never have time to update my profile with the latest things in my life. Outside of buying a new boat to go fishing, I have managed to start a few more businesses: a medical recruiting company that is in its infancy (www.AmericanMedStaff.com) and no less than 50 statewide Urgent Care Associations. You may visit one of them at www.ucaofl.org. It is Florida's official association. Or, you can key in your state abbreviation and dot org to see what your state has to offer.
The recruiting company has started to generate interest and income as it is now the official recruiting company for all 50 statewide Urgent Care Associations. It makes a nice marriage of businesses.
Recently, I have had a lot of media inquiries about the rapid growth of Urgent Care in the US. From my vantage point, I am seeing about a 20% growth rate in most states with Texas and Florida having even higher rates of growth.
Ok, I know what you are thinking now...what about the boat? When are you going to have time to go fishing? I'm working on it. !
August 24 marked another milestone in my life. My mom, Clara Geneva Yates, passed away at home in Fort Pierce. She had requested to pass at home, with the help of Hospice, I honored that request. It was a very sad and trying time as I saw her make the final journey. The last few days were especially painful for me but a relief for her.
My special thanks to Rick Haisley and his staff for the wonderful support they gave for her funeral. We kept it a family event but I do appreciate all the calls and e mails I received about her passing.
Should you wish to make a donation in her name, please to do to Pink Tie Friends, Inc., P.O. Box 209, Stuart, FL 34994. Pink Tie Friends, Inc., provides financial help to breast cancer patiens who are either uninsured or under insured. You may also contribute to Hospice of the Treasure Coast.
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Attended IRCC for two years with an AA. Enrolled at FSU then dropped out before first day of classes to take a job as News Director for a radio station in Stuart. Harvey Glasscock was the GM and he sent me to Chicago to study with Bill Rust, a famous "voice" who helped me lose my Ft. Pierce drall and become very Midwestern sounding to this day.
Married...lasted for seven years and one child. Was working for WTVX CH 34 Ft. Pierce/Miami tv at the time. Then took a job as News Director/Anchor in Fayetteville, NC.
Fayetteville was great. Got to jump out of good airplanes with the 82nd Airborne and play war games in Combat City as a reporter showing them I could do everything a Green Beret could do, yea right...but was fun.
Then moved to Dayton, Ohio where I took another anchor/reporter position with caveat that I had to be the aviation/aerospace reporter and had to get my pilot license. Got chill bumps flying over Huffman Prairie where the Wright brothers taught the world to fly.
That job was also great because I got to fly in and with every aircraft in the Air Force inventory up through the B-1B. And, was assigned all the technology stories at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and the Air Force Institute of Technolgy. Remind me to tell you about the "sick chair" testing to prepare today's warfighter for high performance aircraft.
I won a lot of Emmys for aviation/aerospace reporting and feature stories too. In the process, moved from the CBS affiliate to the ABC station as their morning anchor (2:00 a.m - 9:00 a.m.). It was always embarrassing when my wife and I would be out for dinner and we would be spotted. The lady would come across the room and bend over to us, "Just wanted you to know I woke up with your husband this morning." Sometimes my wife would say, "Yes, he said you were horrible). That usually made them laugh..but go away.
Dayton is where I met my current (and last) wife Marie. Her father was an attorney, she is Sicilian...yep, had to be the last wife or else. And, as you can tell from her comment above, she has a great sense of humor.
She has to...she puts up with me and my ridiculous attempt to be an entrepreneur. Ever since representing The Iams Company (and its founder Clayton Mathile) I have been bitten by the entrepreneur bug. Mathile bought The Iams Company for 100,000 and built it (with a little help from me) into a 4 billion cash sale deal to Proctor & Gamble.
Marie is a super consumate financial professional and has worked with National City Bank, National City Mortgage, 5/3 Bank, Huntington National Bank, and now Bank of America. Good thing she is as my business ventures have not always worked.
Right now, I own Yates & Associates Public Relations & Marketing. Have a handful of long term clients only now (American Red Cross, Twin Vee Catamarans, Physicians Immediate Care, Alpine Mechanical Services, Women's Health Specialists, and a local political campaign that was very successful. At one point had ALL the Simon Malls in Florida with offices in Miami and Orlando. Yes, lot of income and lots of expenses...sort of worth it that we split ways over a double homicide (mother/daughter) publicity...I cant talk about that one.
Have you ever heard abut the Coquimba Gourmet Bananna? My invention for a client who owned a plantation in Nicaragua. If you search the internet for gourmet bananna recipes there are thousands...but no gourmet bananna. So we created it from the graphic to the theory that it was "gourmet" because it was left on the tree longer to be harvested only in time to ship to market...sweeter, firmer, ah...gourmet. Today, it doesnt exist because an international bananna company bought the plantation's banannas with the stipulation the Coquimbas had to go away.
Ever hear of Viesel Fuel? Yep...Yates & Associates there too. V for victory over foreign oil (We're Kickin Terrorists Gas) and the rest of the name for a diesel replacement. Website to graphics to marketing theme...it was fun. Still counsel them.
Lately, I have been concentrating on Urgent Care Centers through www.UrgentCareMarketing.com. With more than 9.000 centers nationwide, I only have to get a small percentage to have a nice business. Also, dipping into produce with www.WorldwideProduceMarketers.com. Havent done a lot with that one so if you have thoughts, share them with me. Always open for ideas and partnerships.
When I was at DMHS I wanted to write the great American novel. Never have but easy to say I have written millions of pages of words to support myself and my family over the years. Dont' think I will ever retire, I like what I am doing too much.
All of this has been about what has gone on since 1970. My greatest joy has been my wife Marie, my children, grandchildren, four cats (Bootsie Girl, Spyder, Lucy Ricarrdo, and Lily Pulitzer..the latter two are solid orange...did you know real orangies have black spots in their mouth?).
As my wife tells me, your stories are too long, get to the point. Point is life has been fun. I still feel there is more I can and need to do (like helping a breast cancer treatment group go statewide and then nationwide in the next two years).
I greatly regret not getting in touch with my classmates as I am sure all of you would have been great friends over these many years. That is my loss for sure. However, maybe now we can get to know a bit more about one another.
Funny story...many years ago, I heard that my old friend John Williams was a train engineer. Know how many times while sitting at a rail crossing I looked to see if it was him?
Have thought about all of you in many ways like that too and been drawn back to the memories of DMHS. Those are good memories.
Promise I will post some photos in the near future. Wow, almost used up all my characters...I wonder if this has spellche
