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Greetings To Everyone At AdlandPro From John Sanchez and LaNell!
It’s time again for my favorite project of the week and that is the Feature of The Week! It is my favorite project because you folks and the POTW’s of the week make it a very special event. We are all so fortunate to be a part of this community that is made up of so many friendly and talented people. Thank you so much for your support and for making this event so special. Love and Blessings to you all! John R. Sanchez
The reason the Feature of the Week forum was created was to honor people who have a positive influence on this community. To qualify the person has to be an active member and one who contributes to the positive atmosphere here AdlandPro. Here are the criteria for selecting a member for the Feature of the Week (also referred to as the
Person of the Week, POTW). This criterion can be seen at the site below:
Criterion
How Do I Get Selected as Person of the Week?
To be chosen as Person of the week you:
• Are highly visible on the community
• Are always seen as respectful, professional, and helpful.
• Must be
nominated for the program by another member of the Community and voted on by other members.
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Is there a Doctor in the house? Well, we have a Doctor in Business Administration and he happens to be our POTW for this week, his name is Dr. David King. We are fortunate to have a member like Dr. King in our community because he has been a mentor to many of us here as well as an inspiration. Dr. King has had to overcome a lot of adversity in his life and he is now using his experiences to help others to become victorious in their trials of life. We all can learn a lot from this great man who has blessed our community with his presences. Dr. King, it’s truly an honor to present you with this week’s POTW award.
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Dr. King’s bio is long but you will be blessed by it if you take the time to read it. It’s truly an inspirational story.
I would like to thank all of the community and the many friends I have made from the bottom of my heart for their support and for voting me POTW I am humbled by such a great honor where in this community so many are deserving far beyond myself for all they have done to make me and many others feel at home here with their help and friendship.
Who is Dr David King? That is a long story
On July 2nd 1948 a first child was born to a couple that materialized from a military romance, A Baltimore Native son, and a Kentucky farm girl had met during His time at Ft Campbell Ky. I was born at 930 am at Madisonville General Hospital,
As so many of that time had found relationships through being stationed throughout the world during WWII. Thus the War Baby came forth.
In my early years I was moved to Pomona, California where my Dad attended Pomona College. Our family had a huge Thoroughbred Horse farm and owned a huge chicken operation which belonged to my Grandparents on my Fathers side there.
I do not remember much of this time as I was still very young below the age of 5 just small parts and related stories told to me years later, that form those memories of today.
My first vivid memories were of my mother standing and ironing my dad’s shirt in preparation to attend church. We also would go to the racetrack every morning early to attend my Dad’s horses often before daylight, and I could never figure out then why the horses wanted to eat when it was still dark out. Lol it seemed they should like all other animals still be sleeping of course this was including me.
As marriages go to say the least over the next few years the struggles of my Mom and Dad overcame their ability to communicate and they ended in divorce after my Dad caught her being unfaithful though I did not know it at the time and we ended up back in Kentucky at my Moms parents place.
My Mom took a job waiting tables and we would only see her on weekends and my Grandmother cared for us in a town 30 miles or so away through the week. We managed to get a three-room house that was across the street from my Grandmothers that when Mom came in we would stay there until she had to go back to work. At this time I was 8 going on 9. Those were good times, though poor, we learned to live the real country-side of life with gardening and tending stock, hunting and fishing and canning oh how good those peaches were in the winter when none were to be found and our Grandmother would make a homemade cobbler and then have some chilled peaches to cover it. Life was good then and being a kid was fun.
What happened next in my life, no person could have ever anticipated, nor would you think they could endure it let alone, have their life turn out to be anything.
One crisp fall morning, I awakened to find a strange car, a gold ‘58 Chevrolet in the drive at our house across the street it was early just after daybreak and we had spent the night waiting for Mom to come home at my Grandmothers, “I was told that my mother would come to get us in a little while.” It was an hour or so before the car left and Mom waved and came toward us. Those times were great because my Baby sister and I always loved when we could be with her. In the next few weeks after that she came to me and asked me a curious question I remember until this day “David do you want me to marry Ray which it turned out was the owner of the car in the drive so I later found out. I had never met him was my reply to her so how could I say ?
Nonetheless, I was told she had made her mind up to marry this man I did not know and that he was in the Air Force and we would be moving.
First I was still wanting to see my Dad and second I did not know this man and then we met and our first encounter was one of less than comfort as my Mom informed us this was our new Dad.
I was not ready to accept that having been a Dad’s Boy.
We moved to Shreveport Louisiana where he had came from and everything I was soon to find was to be run military style. He was the General and I was the troops which I was to later find out wasn’t always approached in a sober manner through his alcoholic stupor. Next my Mom started drinking which she had never done and soon we were neglected while they spent time at the NCO club or with their friends drinking and being the oldest I was expected to care for by then my Sister and a newborn baby brother that was still in diapers.
He received orders and we toured to Alaska and the nightmare grew truly extreme.
They would drink day and night and fight and of course when he would strike my mom during those times my first instinct was to defend her. I got a lot of beatings for this action until they actually locked us in a room where we kids could not get out.
Hearing the horrific fights bred much anger and hurt in me and all the while I am being told how grateful I should be. Grateful that if they found a little smudge on a plate or glass that I was made to stand and wash and dry 5 cabinets of dishes and if the floor was not waxed just right I had to scrub it with a toothbrush after the beating.
That if my sister or little brother complained that I got beat because I was not right no matter what. Grateful at 11 ½ yrs old I was expected to be caregiver for this alcoholic provided home that had turned my mother into one now and that I must do all the care for my sister and little brother as though I am an adult and judged as one daily.
One day, him and his drunken base buddies got together and worked in the basement at 1556 1/2 Medfra Drive Anchorage to build frame work and cover it with Chicken Wire. What I thought was to be a storage area turned out to be my new room complete for when I did not quite measure up to the Generals views with a padlock to insure I understood resistance was futile and that included no food often more than not.
I finally ran away but where do you go when your in a world at that time which was thousands of miles from where you came from and was considered international calling rates at that time. They drug me back and the treatment was good just until the authorities cooled off and were out of sight and then double as bad and furious, because it might get reported to the base so we were threatened with our life while receiving multiple beatings to assure us they meant it. How we got through that tour I do not know but it finally ended and we were sent back to Mobile, Alabama.
This was his home station at now defunct Brookley Air Force Base.
It was at this time my sister came to me and told me that Ray had touched her in the wrong way and I went to my Mom and she being drunk decided to march me right to Ray and have me tell him what I told her. Needless to say I got just part of it said before he slapped me across the room and it scared my sister so bad she wouldn’t say it was so.
My Mother went into a state of denial and I became the wayward child that nothing I did would be considered good to keep me out of the way, while this was later found to be true that he was ill in this manner.
By this time, the local dog wondering the street had it better than me as a human being and then he got orders to go to Vietnam.
They spent hours at Willies HiFi Club
My Mom got hired as a barmaid by this time and when she was not working she was patronizing the place. After Ray left things got worse and she was never sober and often did not bother to come home every night,
It got so bad that we had to beg her to get us something to eat.
I finally got so desperate I would sneak out and go to a Rebel Service station and beg the owner a Mr. Bill to let me wash windows and pump gas check air and check oil for what he would give me.
I was not yet legal age to work without a work permit which was out of the question.
He took pity on me and I made 20.00 the first pay, I thought I was rich.
This is when I made my first mistake I went home and couldn’t wait to show Mom that I could help her and what happened next was she said “Good give me the money and snatched for it and of course I did as she asked not knowing any better.
We were all excited about the goodies we had asked for and she left saying be right back ,the next time we saw her was 5 days later.
She came home drunk to see if I got paid and called me names because I told her I only had 5.00 because I got us something to eat she took a belt and beat me and left.
We did not see her for another 3 days and when we had just a cup of oatmeal to eat for three of us kids I took measures into my own hand and asked Mr. Bill for a small loan.
I then walked three miles to the bar to find her with the intention to have her come home there in the back bar ballroom I walked in with her on another man's lap kissing and hugging and this was one of Rays friends. This was totally shattering at the time. What followed after I ran out of the place was the expected beating and dragging home and told you are no longer my son. Having borrowed some money from Mr. Bill at the station, I had bought some food which she cast into the yard angered that I had seen her and now had no money either and proceeded to beat me out the door with a piece of 2x4 she came up with somewhere and told me never to come back. I was no longer her son.
I went to the station and that night I slept behind it and cried myself to sleep wondering what I did so wrong I was no longer her son. Mr. Bill awakened me the next morning and he asked me what was going on. Why was I there?
I told him Mom kicked me out and I had not wanted to be late for work.
He told me from then on I could stay in the oil and accessory storage room but he insisted I go to school everyday and he made sure I ate lunch at school every day.
I know now he knew I was buying and sneaking food to my sister and brother through the window with what he gave me each week.
Summer arrived and that meant I had to go everyday and check on the others to make sure they had something to eat. It was not long before that the year had passed and I knew Ray was coming home which I thought he would let me come back.
When I heard he got home I thought now the wrongs will get righted.
I headed to the house and when I approached it was about dusk and he took the liberty of firing a 38 pistol out the window in the air and telling me not to ever come back. To get away from there Boy was his words he yelled.
My mother it seems out of her fear of my saying something about her infidelity ,so I found out later had told him, I had not listened and that I was rebellious and had given her a hard time all the time he was away and then run off causing her great misery. His reaction was one less mouth to feed.
Some time passed and one day he came to talk to me and ask me to come home and was willing to forget everything and I thought the tide had turned as little did I know until later that he had to bring our shots up to date at the base as he had accepted a tour to England? Meaning all dependents had to go to the base to do this.
There was a different calm atmosphere almost eerie when I came back though by no means was it to be accepted as I was worthy of it. For over the next few weeks we were back and forth to the base while at home I was restricted to my room the rest of the time.
Little did I know what lay ahead in those few weeks? I actually got to look forward to the trip as it grew closer.
On the morning we were to leave Ray took me for a ride. I thought we were going to the base and we ended up downtown. He parked and said come with me I went with him into the YMCA and he went to the counter were he rented a room for a week.
He then handed me the key and a 20.00 bill and said have a nice life we will see you if you make it, in 3 years, when we get back.
This was after telling me how I was no good and would never be anything he then left walking out the door.
To say I was totally lost would be an understatement and must admit fearful.
That day set me on a journey to prove to the world just how good I really was and made me an overachiever which took many years before I realized I was good enough.
During late 66 I joined the Army and became a 101st Airborne Green Beret Ranger and went on to serving two tours in Vietnam. I served my country as an angry young lad full of bitterness and little regard at that time for life, though I was to soon have an experience that changed my life forever. When I came Home I was met with hatred and many days of less than favorable times from those that were against the war instead of a Hero’s welcome.
I spent over a year in debriefing as they called it Rehabilitation was what I called it while there I was to meet a man that saw the good in me when I needed it most.
A pastor named Norman Evans came into my life and introduced me back to Jesus Christ.
He then became very active in getting me involved with personal development as part of my life. The first person I can remember was the late great Earl Nightengale and his radio broadcast and I heard the message for the first time that I could be anything I wanted and that was my kind of language. I then was introduced to Napoleon Hills “Think and Grow Rich” from there I went on to learn from the great Zig Ziglar and Dr Denis Waitley and the great mentors of the day. I was blessed to of had the privilege of working directly with these mentors when they were young and teaching and throughout the years have always continued with them and Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Bill Bailey, Jim Cathcart, Willie Jolley and to many more to name here.
I have to say they had a profound and positive effect on my life but none more than the Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings.
Pastor Evans became the true father figure I had lost and saw that I had all the encouragement and help, I needed. He would always remind me saying, “David always remember that God has given you many gifts and that what you give back to God is what you do with those gifts. He often reminded me that God has something very special for me that if I would let God that He would do many great works through me. I did not understand it then though many years have passed and I can see it now.
I have spent the last 35 years serving those people God sends my way trying to fulfill those gifts back to God and helping those he sends to know that they to have all these same gifts.
That God creates us a Winner from the beginning all we have to do is release the Invincible You inside each of us and use those Gifts for the Good of all those we meet as our gift back to God.
I have been lucky enough to be honored 5 times as an outstanding sales leader with Dale Carnegie systems. I have spoken both at home and internationally motivating many to seek the excellence God gave them from inside to love others and most of all to love their selves. I have Counseled troubled youth and helped many Married couples to overcome their darkest hour to a happy and fulfilled life by being the messenger of hope and allowing the awesome Lord Jesus to work the miracles as he guided my work.
I received after 23 years of hard work my Ph.D. in Business Administration with an emphasis on International Business and Law graduating from TSU in Texas, Magna Cum Laude and I hold a Masters Degree in Religious Theology and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Moody Bible College. In my career I have helped many businesses to develop their employees fullest potential and have had the pleasure of many successes.
Some of my life’s accomplishments have been that I became the Director of the N. G Richmond Boys Town in Cleveland Ohio . I was there during the Hough Glenville riots in my early days while ministering to troubled youth and giving them the chance they needed by providing a safe house and environment for those abused youth that were caught in the racial tensions and fighting and a recreational outlet for them that was safe.
I have worked as both a missionary and minister and with the Teen Challenge group of David Wilkerson. I have been very heavily involved with Royal Ambassadors for Christ a Baptist organization for several years and was an Associate Pastor in Midwest City Oklahoma for over 8 years at Crutcho Baptist Church working each year at Falls Creek with the Youth Camp while I was there.
I would like to close by saying if I can do it then anyone can and that God loves each of us and wants us to have and be the best we can be. That my journey in life has been an experience for all the great years now that I have been able to help others through those many valleys and peaks I have been able to endure and later come to understand that God was preparing me for His service that I may be able to understand and serve his people.
Thanks for the great honor of voting me POTW and give the Glory to God for who I am and for all you saw in me. I am deeply humbled and grateful. As you can see the Lord was all I had to believe in for many years and He has never let me down. Him and I made a promise in that darkest hour I was living through and He kept his end and I am keeping mine for Him. I am always there for anyone that needs me and will do anything I can to help all I meet. My Phone number is 910-221-9082 should you ever need a friend to talk to or to share a prayer.
Let me add a finish to this story for all of you that is the greatest part of it all. Through how I lived my life and my journey I was able to see my Mother and Step Father become non drinkers and seek the Lord for the last 15 years of their life. And to see my real Father also become a Christian and spend the last 20 years of his life in the Church as well turning away from all gambling and becoming a deacon of the church.
Therefore, I have had my greatest wish fulfilled by God and they have gone ahead now and they are waiting for me to arrive when my work is done here.
Here was my promise to God that I would do if He would just give me the strength to carry on and to help my parents to go to Heaven
I promised each day to commit to
Walking in The Masters Foot Steps,
Hand in Hand with His People In Praise of His Glory….
Sharing His Love Always ,With All I Meet
Dedicated I Remain,
Dr David King
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We told you it was an inspirational story. As you can see we all can learn something from Dr. King’s experiences. He’s a wealth of knowledge that is waiting to be tap into. Thank you Dr. King for all you bring to AdlandPro. We love and appreciate you! Enjoy your week!
John Sanchez and
LaNell
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