Bell Winter 2025 Weekly Journals
Welcome to PEP’s weekly journals! We are so glad you are here. There journals are written by men in this current class who are letting you “see” class through their eyes. Please enjoy and stop back weekly to see the next week’s journal. Do not forget to look at our weekly pictures! Lastly enjoy our Bell class newsletter produced monthly. Thank you!
Week 8
Monday December 2, 2024
Today was a wonderful day in class. Frist, we prayed in to get the day started off in the right way. Then, we had some visitors named Joshua and Franklin come to speak with us. They both gave encouraging words of wisdom and brought us up to speed on some new assignments. Seeing all the volunteers who come in to help us gives us motivation to help someone else. Donald Jones spoke to us about accountability and his love for the program and about having a servant-leader mentality, which is another one of our “Ten Driving Values” that we live by and do our best to display in everything we do. We also used some of our time preparing for the upcoming big pitch event that is on January 3rd. We watched some videos of the previous class doing their pitches to help us prepare ourselves and get a better idea of how it is supposed to look. After that, we split up into groups and some of us went to the computer lab to work on our financial spreadsheets for our businesses. The rest of us stayed in the classroom to work on our pitches. Our class is improving in many ways daily, and PEP is helping us be excited about our futures. It is a lot of hard work, and it is challenging, but it feels great to be learning and gaining the valuable experience we receive here in this program. We are all so grateful and doing our best to learn all we can.
David F. (aka “Frozo”)
Tuesday December 3, 2024
Today, we opened class with a great prayer. The tables were set from yesterday for our “Toastmasters” session. We are all learning so much about how to express our ideas and have conversations openly. We can hear the change in our voices and in our speech and even our confidence level has grown. The stories are becoming more detailed, positive, and told with passion. It is challenging to speak clearly and try to remain calm and become able to express thoughts in front of an audience, but we are getting better. We are starting to see the hard work pay off in ourselves, in our actions, and activities. Our whole attitude and mindsets have changed, and we are more focused on goals now and looking forward to using all the new tools we have learned to live a more successful life. This has been such a fantastic opportunity, and this program is giving us a good solid foundation that most of us need. At the same time many of us understand that only we can hold ourselves accountable and that we hold the keys to our own happiness and true freedom. We are being renewed and restored. We are also learning how to add value to ourselves and to our communities. This has been a life changing experience, and we are so thankful to all the executives, volunteers, in prison management, the guards, PEP alumni, and all our families. To everyone who is reading this we love you! Thank you and God Bless.
Elio F. (aka “barbie girl”)
Wednesday December 4, 2024
Today in class we started the day by praying and sharing why we are grateful. This is key for us because everyone gets a chance to say something and give thanks and show gratitude towards others. After that, we heard our PEP brother Hunter Price put on a performance for us in the classroom. He gave us some encouraging words followed up by a Christian rap song that he wrote. He is incredibly talented. Next, we talked about the prayer box where we can write down our prayer requests on a piece of paper and drop them in a box. We pray over the prayer requests on Saturday services when Gateway Church comes to the unit. It is positive and uplifting. Later, we worked on our “Living in the Village” textbooks. Our L.I.T.V books are great, and they are full of extremely useful information that everyone needs to know about it. The curriculum teaches us about taxes, opening a bank account, saving, investing money, financial literacy, how to build credit, how to fix credit, set up a will, and much more. Nicky M., one of the servant-leaders, has helped us with the lessons and he is a great teacher. There are a lot of great guys who were in the previous classes before us who already graduated that are very talented and helpful. Without them, none of this would have been possible, so we were thankful to them and PEP. At the end of class for the day we prayed-out together. We are like a big family.
Dominic F. (aka “chick-o-stick”)
Thursday December 5, 2024
Today in class we had a wonderful time! The energy in the room was high and positive. We received a book, called the “Sacred Pace” by Terry Looper, as a gift from some executives that came to visit us this morning. Dougal, Carl, and Doug were so nice, and they signed our books for us, so we all had the privilege of getting an inscription on the back of our book of something encouraging, words of wisdom, or advice to motivate and inspire us. Then, we learned about the process of buying a franchise, asking the right questions, getting things in writing, about loans, interest rates, using charts, gathering data, and so much more. Later in class, we had a test on the “Ten-Driving Values,” which are love, fun, integrity, excellence, innovation, servant-leader mentality, accountability, fresh-start outlook, execution, and wise stewardship. We do our best to model these values in or daily lives and in our behavior to help us become the better men we strive to be. We also celebrated one of our PEP brother’s birthdays. He danced up the aisle in the middle of the class to the front where he received a card, and we sang him happy birthday all while we clapped and danced. Then, we watched a video of one of our fellow classmates who was recently released to a transition house. He said he was doing very well and for us to stay focused and motivated. We all felt proud to see and hear from him and that he is doing well out there. We are all grateful for everything that PEP is doing for us and all the wonderful blessings we are receiving here in this program.
Dartavius F. (aka “pastor from ubb”)
Friday December 6, 2024
Friday was awesome and exciting! We started the morning with a prayer, and it was powerful! We could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in the room. We pray in at the beginning of every class, and we pray out at the end of each day. We all believe we are blessed to be here, so we are thankful for every day here in PEP. Then, we discussed the “Ten Driving Values.” These values we live by are one of the best things about this class and one of the most important. We also had the privilege to hear God’s word spoken today in class from one of our servant-leader brothers, Ramon V. We took some time to actively listen and absorb what was being said. His message was very uplifting and positive. Our day also consisted of us working on our pitches that we will be presenting to the executives at our next upcoming pitch event. Many of us were practicing in front of the camera to help us prepare for speaking in front of an audience. We are all still a little nervous being in front of a crowd, but we are getting better. Toastmasters is helping with that tremendously. Afterward, before class ended today, we worked out of our “Betterman” books on a lesson focused on learning from our mistakes, finding areas of improvement, and moving on. Today’s focus was on how to always be positive and thankful every day.
Louis G. (aka “money mike”)
Expressions
“Inside every man is a beast that needs to exercised not exorcised “
–Anton Levy-
This quote to me means that there is a driving force inside every one of us that we need to use to push to the next level and not suppress ourselves to be conformed to the bare minimum. Much like our driving values, we use like excellence and execution while we strive to succeed in life and become greater than we were the day before. There are people who share the same values and others who oppose them. I ignore those people and continue to go “beast mode” every day, and while I am leveling up, it is like they are standing still.
Christian H (aka “Cartman from South Park”)
Week 8
Monday November 25, 2024
Today Mr. Donald Jones came and got us from our pod for class first thing in the morning. “You got to be ready to keep from getting ready,” he always says and there is no truer statement. When we get to class we always pray in to start the day off right. After that we started testing on chapter 8 of our entrepreneurship workbooks. We were also shooting videos for our big pitch ideas to get feedback from the amazing PEP executives. Each team has a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. We gave a brief summary of our businesses and how we will operate our company. Everything is done in a very professional and orderly manner.
Theresa Black came to visit us today too. She is the family liaison for PEP and she speaks with our families and helps us in so many ways like letting our families know about our progress, helps us repair broken relationships, and organizing the upcoming graduation. She also enters our visiting lists for the event and makes all the phone calls. She really goes to bat for us and you can tell she genuinely cares. She is amazing! We are so grateful for her. PEP is such a great program and it’s just amazing all the hard work, thought, care and concern that goes in to it from each and every person involved. Thank you so much to all the PEP volunteers, executives, and alumni!
Terrance D. (aka “Nutty Professor”)
Tuesday November 26, 2024
Today was a short day in preparation for Thanksgiving. We tested on the “Ten Driving Values,” which are: Fresh Start Out-look, Servant Leader Mentality, Love, Innovation, Accountability, Integrity, Execution, Fun, Excellence, and Wise Stewardship. These “Ten Driving Values” help us develop our character and better prepare us for the world. We do our best to live by these values every day and it helps us to overcome our fears and gives the courage to accomplish our goals. Here in PEP we are planting seeds of change while nurturing our hopes and dreams and weeding out the negative thoughts and habits.
Everyone’s still talking about and in awe of Teresa Black’s visit yesterday. A lot of us have damaged relationships that need repair and she’s been incredibly helpful with that. Almost everyone here has someone that has lost faith in them due to their past mistakes or someone they’ve hurt emotionally and the pain that comes along with it is difficult to heal. There’s nothing more important than having the love of your family and we would all give anything to have that chance to be loved by our family. It is so important to us. This program is doing so much to help us be deserving of that love and we’re learning so many lessons not only about business, but also about life that we can take back home with us and the things that will help us be successful in the present and the future.
Joshua D. (aka “Will Ferrell”)
Wednesday November 27, 2024
On Wednesday, we started off class by praying in. Some of our PEP brothers put on a Christian rap concert so for us the energy was off the charts! We were all clapping, singing, and encouraging each other. It was a great morning! We sang about being on the front lines for God and that even though we are in prison we are blessed. After the mini-concert we learned about “EOU’s,” which is the “Economics of One Unit.” This part of class was challenging for us because we had not brushed up on math in a long time. It took a while for our brains to start working again, but they did and it felt great to be learning about something useful again.
This is a great opportunity to learn so many new skills and brush up on ones we already had but haven’t used in a while. We focused on income statements, the cost of goods, income taxes, and net/gross profit margins. It’s been exciting to learn more about how to run and operate a business. We are reaching new heights and we are accomplishing more than we ever thought we would towards not only graduating, but becoming entrepreneurs. We are very thankful for PEP that granted us the opportunity to better ourselves and for all of our families for the continued love and support.
Richard F. (aka “JJ from Good Times”)
Expressions
“We vote with our actions.”
-Benjamin Shield
Well today I would like to talk about the importance of our vote. Personally, I’ve never had the chance to vote or even considered voting. I know that it’s important for our country though. I guess I’ve never paid much attention to voting because of the lifestyle I’ve been living in these past 25 years. I’m not even sure if I will ever be able to vote since I’ve been to prison four times. That will be something to look into upon my release. I’m not sure how it works honestly, but I do know you vote for the better candidate that you think will be a better fit for the United States! The vote we submit should be determined by the president that wants to pursue a plan that you would pursue in your own life.
Personally I want my kids to have a brighter future because they are the generation that is coming after us. They will want to see what we want and how we think the United States should be ran. I think it should be ran on integrity, accountability, wise stewardship, servant-leader mentality and excellence because these things are what we need to instill in our kids and grandkids that are coming up.
Eduardo I. (aka “Jackie Chan”)
Week 7
Monday November 18, 2024
Today, we practiced our team pitches for our workshop one videos about the operations and the marketing for our team’s businesses. Participating in these team pitches shows us the importance of working together and collaborating. We have also been exercising the “10 driving values” heavily to ensure we have a solid foundation to stand upon when we are released from here. These values are the basis of change, and we are growing exponentially in character, belief, and servant leader mentality. In the second half of class, we got back to the basics and continued pitching; like they say, practice makes perfect, and we are practicing a lot so that we execute these pitches when it comes time to do it in front of the camera for the executives. PEP holds us to a higher standard. We are no longer living fruitless lives. In this class we are producing much fruit and learning to multiply by sharing our knowledge with brothers around us that are in the situation. We believe in PEP and in each other. This brotherhood is all we could ever ask for. Thank you, PEP!
Anthony C. (aka “Gerber baby”)
Tuesday November 19, 2024
As a brotherhood, we all begin class every morning by praying in by someone volunteering and leading us in prayer. In the first half of class, our fellow PEP brother and servant leader Ramon V. got up in front of the class and gave us all some encouraging words. Ramon was telling us how important it is to not let the penitentiary warp our minds and keep us from becoming better men. He also shared with us that our transformation starts right now, in this program, in PEP! We can all see how much we have transformed already. Our true light is starting to shine, and we are headed for greatness thanks to PEP. Another servant leader then came up and gave a presentation to us on our next assignment, which is our financial summaries for our personal business plans. The financial summary goes over how we figure out how much it would cost monthly and yearly to run our business. Also, how to figure out our depreciable and non-depreciable costs. In the second half of class, we just worked on our pitches and we are all getting more comfortable with our team and being in front of the camera for our workshop videos. We are all so thankful for the opportunity we have been given. It shows every day that passes, and we will not give up!
David D. (aka “Water boy”)
Thursday November 21, 2024
Today we started off by praying in, then moved on to our lesson which came out of our entrepreneurship textbook on chapters 8 & 10. Chapter eight was about “financial analysis.” Chapter 10 covered “human resource management.” Mr. Doogle was our instructor for this lesson today. During this lesson we learned the importance of having financial foundation in the entrepreneurial business. We then had a brief discussion on the technique for measuring performance. Mr. Doogle taught us the four classic analysis techniques which are “ratio analysis,” “deviation analysis,” “sensitivity analysis,” and “short surveys.” “Ratio analysis” is a series of ratios along four areas of company performance that shows the health of a company. A “deviation analysis” is a chart tracking various performance measures of a period of time to the next. “Sensitivity analysis” is a chart using current “cash flow statement,” “income statement,” or a “balance sheet” to create a “pro forma” projection. We then learned that a “short survey” gathers continual information that is subject to interpretation. After all this valuable information we talked about “human resources,” and the steps all entrepreneurs should take in the hiring process. Also, how to retain the employees you hire, along with employee probation and firing. Today was very eventful and informative. We are all so grateful to be taught these things. Thank you, PEP!
Delton D. (aka “Radio”)
Friday November 22, 2024
We started off Friday morning with a pray in. By praying in we bring God into our hearts and minds and that helps us to connect to each other. We like to always start off the day in a good positive way. We have also been trying to remember the names of all our classmates and build relationships with one another. By doing this, we develop better people skills and tools to work with different types of personalities. We are learning how to be accountable for our actions, for each other, our brothers, and how to listen actively and maintain a busy schedule and set goals. Then, during second half of class we set up the classroom for “Toastmasters,” which is helping us all get better at public speaking and speaking to a group of people. It helps us organize our thoughts, have an inspiring topic, with our delivery, and educate an audience. We are all learning so much about how to conduct ourselves in a positive way, about using our words in the professional world, how to search for a job, and lastly how to have a successful interview with a potential employer. It has been a great experience so far and we are all excited about our future now. Thanks to all the PEP family!
Kenneth D. (aka “Madea”)
Week 7
Monday November 18, 2024
Today, we practiced our team pitches for our workshop one videos about the operations and the marketing for our team’s businesses. Participating in these team pitches shows us the importance of working together and collaborating. We have also been exercising the “10 driving values” heavily to ensure we have a solid foundation to stand upon when we are released from here. These values are the basis of change, and we are growing exponentially in character, belief, and servant leader mentality. In the second half of class, we got back to the basics and continued pitching; like they say, practice makes perfect, and we are practicing a lot so that we execute these pitches when it comes time to do it in front of the camera for the executives. PEP holds us to a higher standard. We are no longer living fruitless lives. In this class we are producing much fruit and learning to multiply by sharing our knowledge with brothers around us that are in the situation. We believe in PEP and in each other. This brotherhood is all we could ever ask for. Thank you, PEP!
Anthony C. (aka “Gerber baby”)
Tuesday November 19, 2024
As a brotherhood, we all begin class every morning by praying in by someone volunteering and leading us in prayer. In the first half of class, our fellow PEP brother and servant leader Ramon V. got up in front of the class and gave us all some encouraging words. Ramon was telling us how important it is to not let the penitentiary warp our minds and keep us from becoming better men. He also shared with us that our transformation starts right now, in this program, in PEP! We can all see how much we have transformed already. Our true light is starting to shine, and we are headed for greatness thanks to PEP. Another servant leader then came up and gave a presentation to us on our next assignment, which is our financial summaries for our personal business plans. The financial summary goes over how we figure out how much it would cost monthly and yearly to run our business. Also, how to figure out our depreciable and non-depreciable costs. In the second half of class, we just worked on our pitches and we are all getting more comfortable with our team and being in front of the camera for our workshop videos. We are all so thankful for the opportunity we have been given. It shows every day that passes, and we will not give up!
David D. (aka “Water boy”)
Thursday November 21, 2024
Today we started off by praying in, then moved on to our lesson which came out of our entrepreneurship textbook on chapters 8 & 10. Chapter eight was about “financial analysis.” Chapter 10 covered “human resource management.” Mr. Doogle was our instructor for this lesson today. During this lesson we learned the importance of having financial foundation in the entrepreneurial business. We then had a brief discussion on the technique for measuring performance. Mr. Doogle taught us the four classic analysis techniques which are “ratio analysis,” “deviation analysis,” “sensitivity analysis,” and “short surveys.” “Ratio analysis” is a series of ratios along four areas of company performance that shows the health of a company. A “deviation analysis” is a chart tracking various performance measures of a period of time to the next. “Sensitivity analysis” is a chart using current “cash flow statement,” “income statement,” or a “balance sheet” to create a “pro forma” projection. We then learned that a “short survey” gathers continual information that is subject to interpretation. After all this valuable information we talked about “human resources,” and the steps all entrepreneurs should take in the hiring process. Also, how to retain the employees you hire, along with employee probation and firing. Today was very eventful and informative. We are all so grateful to be taught these things. Thank you, PEP!
Delton D. (aka “Radio”)
Friday November 22, 2024
We started off Friday morning with a pray in. By praying in we bring God into our hearts and minds and that helps us to connect to each other. We like to always start off the day in a good positive way. We have also been trying to remember the names of all our classmates and build relationships with one another. By doing this, we develop better people skills and tools to work with different types of personalities. We are learning how to be accountable for our actions, for each other, our brothers, and how to listen actively and maintain a busy schedule and set goals. Then, during second half of class we set up the classroom for “Toastmasters,” which is helping us all get better at public speaking and speaking to a group of people. It helps us organize our thoughts, have an inspiring topic, with our delivery, and educate an audience. We are all learning so much about how to conduct ourselves in a positive way, about using our words in the professional world, how to search for a job, and lastly how to have a successful interview with a potential employer. It has been a great experience so far and we are all excited about our future now. Thanks to all the PEP family!
Kenneth D. (aka “Madea”)
Week 6
Monday November 11, 2024
Today is Veterans Day, so that’s already an awesome start to our day. As soon as we got to class, we didn’t waste any time in getting to work by watching a family liaison video which informed us on how to fill out our “Family Liaison Packet.” We are all extremely excited about the tools and opportunities we’re gaining here in PEP that are going to add value to our lives, our families’ lives, and help us become more successful in life. In the second half of class, we learned about the “Economics of One Unit,” which consists of overhead, gross profit, income taxes, earnings before income taxes, how to find our break-even point, and much more. We learned a lot in a brief time today and the servant leaders were helpful and explained to us very thoroughly how to do the math correctly. We were given several examples, and we worked through them together as a team to give us all a better idea of how to get the work done properly. Now, we can use this information we have learned to help us start our own businesses. Lastly, before class ended for the day, we took a test on entrepreneurship chapters 9 & 12, which explained the difference between LLC, sole proprietorship, and LLP’s. It was a wonderful day.
Mario C. (aka “none”)
Tuesday November 12, 2024
We started our day by praying in, which brought a sense of calmness and peace to the environment. We then moved on by talking about how to present our business ideas on our workshop videos which will be sent to executives to give us written feedback. Next, we moved on to testing on chapters 9 & 12 out of our Entrepreneurship book. Chapter 9 goes over the legal issues with a new business and chapter 12 goes over establishing operations for a new business. For the second half of class, we came in and got straight to work by practicing our team pitches, which was fun because we were all able to learn more about each other’s businesses. We’ve been gaining a lot of insight on how we can make our presentations better and we are all pushing to be the absolute best we possibly can. Thank you PEP for this amazing second chance at being better men. We will execute and pursue excellence all thanks to PEP!
Deaudrick Clanton. (aka “Rafiki”)
Wednesday November 13, 2024
Today we had two guests: Keith and Diana who gave us the lesson for the day. Keith spoke about the importance of having accurate cash flow and budgeting and also having the correct understanding of why the two are different. Keith also explained how important it is to always have at least six months operating capital in a business bank account as a safety net before beginning any venture. We then learned the correct meaning for cash flow, which happens to be actual funds that flow into the firm minus the cash that flows out. The cash flow must be sufficient for the proposed business to survive its early days and thrive as an established entity. After Keith, we then heard from Diana who is a professor at Rice University, an entrepreneur, and an ex Chief Marketing Officer. Diana spoke about the ins and outs of financing and accounting. She taught us about profit and loss statements, which will help us keep track of our revenues, losses, and profits in our future potential business ventures. We then learned about current assets and fixed assets. It was a busy but particularly good day!
Aaron C (aka “Wayman”)
Thursday November 14, 2024
Today when we walked into class it was like walking into a different world. We could feel the purpose in our lives waiting for us. The energy in the classroom today was great! Today we discussed chapters 3 & 4 out of our “Living in the Village” book. In chapter 3 we went over getting our homes in order and creating/maintaining a household budget. In chapter 4 we learned about obtaining adequate insurance coverage. Both chapters contained valuable information that we can use and apply into our lives once we make it out into the world. Next, Donald Jones came up to the front of the class to say a few words, but before he could say anything, the class erupted into cheers and applause leaving him absolutely speechless and with a smile on his face. It was more of the same with the in-prison manager: Martin. Today in class the vibe was unbelievable for such a short day. We accomplished so much and definitely worked out the ten-driving value “Fun.” We are grateful to have such great in-prison management and look forward to what is to come!
Gregory C. (aka “Elmo”)
Friday November 15, 2024
It was a great Friday! The best day we have had thus far and the days that go by and the experiences just keep getting better and better. We prayed in to get the day started off right and the DJ always knows the right music to play to lift our spirits up. If it’s early in the morning, and we are kind of down and out, the music puts us in a better mood. The vibe in the classroom was warm, welcoming, positive, and full of love. We had a ceremony to honor our brothers who demonstrate the “Ten Driving Values” with praise reports. Then, we celebrated each other’s accomplishments as a group which helps us grow together. During the second half of class, we all sang the song “Neon Moon” and walked around the room shaking hands and exchanging words of encouragement and love. Then, we began with “Toastmasters” in order to continue honing our public speaking skills and we worked on speech organization. One brother’s speech was about “living between the wings,” which is all about leadership, family, and business. PEP is teaching us so many skills and valuable tools that are so vital and helpful to becoming a better leader that we can take with us back to our communities and families. Everyone is very thankful for the opportunity that is given to us here and all the progress we’re making. This program is the best, so thank you PEP!
Expressions
“Tough times don’t last but tough people do.”
-Thomas Edison-
I love this quote because of what it’s saying. It is adversity that is either going to make or break you. It makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker. When tough times come around you face them and never give up or quit. There’s always opportunity in opposition. The opportunity to grow and transform into a better version of yourself. So, level up when adversity comes around and hang in there! Don’t give up! Roll into the person you were meant to be, and you might just find out you’re a lot tougher than you thought.
Paul L. (aka “Little Sweet)
Week 5
Monday November 4, 2024
Today was progressive, fun, and full of adventure. We also found out which 24 men were going to be picked for CEO’S (Chief Executive Officer); then we broke down into teams of four consisting of a COO, CMO, & CFO. We heard multiple times today that we are all winners and kings getting closer and closer to reaching the goal which is graduation and becoming better men for ourselves and our families. In the second half of class, we did two team building exercises with our BPC (Business Plan Competition) teams. The first exercise was done using balloons, each person had an orange balloon with their name written on it and then we threw the balloons over the wall. The object you would think was quite simple: find your balloon without talking to anybody. Only about 15 men found their balloon. So, we did it again, only this time we could talk, and we could help our brothers get their balloon if we saw it. This way was so much better, and everyone got their balloon back in the allotted time. The second exercise consisted of constructing a spaghetti noodle tower that had to hold a marshmallow on top. This one was much harder, but we all got it done. Thank you PEP for this program!
Melcum C. (aka “Caterpillar”)
Tuesday November 5, 2024
Today was an enjoyable day! We are all coming together and really learning to work as a team. Our servant leaders are helping us to prepare for our “workshop” videos that we are going to make for our team business plans. The “workshop” videos consist of each member from every team stepping up, introducing themselves, and their position, then asking for written feedback from the executives. We also took our chapter eleven entrepreneur tests today and we did very well. Not only are we learning about business; but we are also learning about being creative, intentional, and proactive. We are also working on character development and learning the importance of helping one another. We are doing so much and learning so quickly and it has been great so far! Being able to grow with one another on this journey to becoming better men is truly inspiring and gives each of us hope that we did not know we had before PEP. We are grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow in many areas that will help us maintain a healthy lifestyle on the outside. We are all extremely excited about the future and being part of the PEP program!
Marc C. (aka “Ned Flanders”)
Wednesday November 6, 2024
Today November 6, 2024, started off by one of our class members praying the class in. Our servant leaders then had some encouraging words for the class by acknowledging our hard work and dedication to the program so far. We then moved on to turning in our “Living in the Village” (course that teaches us financial literacy) workbooks to be graded. Chapters 1 & 2 covered “The Great Depression” in 1929 and “The Great Recession” in 2007. After we got our workbooks graded, a servant leader came and presented a power point for us going into more detail of chapters 1 & 2. Once we were done with “Living in the Village” we had a conversation on one of the “Ten Driving Values” (PEP has 10 values that all class participants embrace). Execution is the ability to get things done. We as a class have overcome a lot of challenges so far and each day we have been executing the tasks at hand. The last two hours of class we participated in “Better Man.” During the video we learned about the lies that men tell themselves then we learned how to become better leaders, fathers, and sons. We are thankful for the fresh-start outlook PEP has provided us and look forward to what is to come.
Austin C. (aka “Ben Stiller”)
Thursday November 7, 2024
Today we had the honor of welcoming two highly intelligent people to the class. Doug and Diana came in to teach us about our Entrepreneurship course chapters 9 & 12. Diana taught us about legal agreements and to always read legal contracts before signing anything and have a lawyer present to help us with any questions we may have. We then learned about the benefits of having insurance and how important it is to have it for a new small business. Doug then taught us about preparing a critical path chart which is making a schedule for things that need to be done in a certain order. Doug also gave us some advice on location and why a business needs a good location to be successful. He explained to us the importance of knowing our businesses and the crowd we will be selling to so that we can properly place our business in an area where we will be successful. We spent the second half of class taking our test for “Living in the Village” while some of us did our workshop videos for our teams. Today was a successful and fun day and we are grateful for this program.
Martin C. (aka “Daddy Yankee”)
Friday November 8, 2024
Today we started the first half of class by praying in and welcoming some guests to the classroom. We had the honor of welcoming the PEP Re-entry team so they could talk to us about the transitional houses and help us reintegrate back into society in Houston or Dallas. We were given the opportunity to fill out forms if we needed or desired to go to a transitional house. While we were filling out these forms, our servant leaders and in-prison management gave us some encouraging words that uplifted each of us and let us know that we are not alone in this walk. We have brothers in here and out in the free that are willing to fight tooth and nail for us. For the second half of class, we all participated in “Toast Masters.” Some of us had to complete our first speech, which was the “Ice Breaker,” while the rest of us moved on to the second speech that focused on having an opening, body, and conclusion. The second speech really helps us in our speech organization and to give details on what it is we are to talk about. After “Toast Masters,” we talked about our schedule for next week and what we need to study. Overall, today was an incredibly good and eventful day. Winter 25’ cannot be stopped!
Sergio C. (aka “Squirtle”)
Expressions
“Strength has a million faces”
-Desiree-
I have come to realize strength has been of immense importance in my life. The Bible states to let the Holy Spirit dwell within and the strength that is necessary will come by Him. Spiritual, mental, and physical strength are important to me, and I try to do my best to grow and get stronger every day.
Angel T. aka (Donatello T.M.N.T)
Week 4
Monday October 28, 2024
Today the servant leaders (men that have graduated from PEP and are waiting for a release date) taught us how to do a market competition differentiator or an “MCD”. They explained that we need to be specific about our location and how to research our market area. Also, how and where our business would be different and what would set us apart from our competition. They also taught us how to do a “market analysis” in the city we want to start a business. This will help us earn the highest profit margins. After that, a member of the salutations team taught us about filling out “Thank You” cards and “Networking” cards and we talked about the importance of the cards. “Networking” cards help us keep track of all the executives we meet and what we talk about, also we document the advice and feedback they give us during our events. The “Thank You” cards are sent to the executives and volunteers we have met. It means a lot to all of us that they take time out of their busy days to be with us. This program has given us the chance to make something of ourselves and to learn things we might have never gotten the opportunity to do. We are all excited to be in PEP and incredibly grateful for the program and this second chance!
Nathan. A
Tuesday October 29, 2024
Today we took a test from our Entrepreneurship book over chapters 3 & 4. Chapter 3 covered “business idea generation” and “initial evaluation,” which are initial business concepts. Chapter 4 covered “external analysis,” which is a broad examination of certain industries. We spent all weekend studying hard for these tests and we did scored well. We had a great start to class today by praying in and then learning key terms such as, “bench marketing,” “exit barrier,” “competitive map” and “fragmented markets.” We also practiced our pitches without notes so we could pitch without our notes for our “Big Idea Pitch” Event. As a class, we all felt confident about going in front of the executives and pitching our ideas to them. We have been working hard, uplifting one another, working with each other, and holding each other accountable so we are at our absolute best come Friday! We are learning every day how important it is to be a man of integrity. Not only for ourselves, but for our families and friends. We are grateful for our servant leaders and in-prison management for showing us the way when it comes to navigating through this program. Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to better ourselves. Winter 25’ to the moon!
Danis Avalos. (Aka “Dak Prescott)
Wednesday October 30, 2024
Today in class we pitched, pitched, and pitched some more. We have a big event coming up, which is the “Big Idea Pitch” Event, on the 1st of November in front of a lot of executives. We have been working together and uplifting each other as a brotherhood throughout these first few weeks of class, which have been challenging, but together we have overcome the challenges and now we are striving together! We are getting better with public speaking and for a lot of us that was something we never did, but it feels so good to overcome that fear. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to complete this program, walk across that stage, and make something of ourselves. Our families and friends should be proud. The sense of accomplishment we all feel when we leave the class for the day is a surreal feeling knowing that we are doing something positive for our lives, something that is going to change the world. We are taking advantage of everything that this program has to offer. To have all that this program offers right at the tip of our fingers is something that does not come twice so we are working hard, while holding ourselves accountable, and executing the mission. Thank you, PEP! We are ecstatic for what’s coming!
Gayland B. (aka “Chia Pet”)
Thursday October 31, 2024
In PEP we have a topic every day, so today’s topic was Entrepreneurship. We started off the morning with Winter 25’ (the name of this class) turning in our heart checks, which is a written assignment based on how much we desire to be a part of PEP. It was amazing to see all our fellow brothers turning in the finished or unfinished heart checks. The effort is truly what matters. We prayed in to get started. A servant leader asked if we needed any help with anything we could call upon him, or any of the other servant leaders, and they would be glad to assist us. Next, we moved on to the Entrepreneurship discourse. We had a guest come to class and he opened his speech by saying never, never, never, never, give up. Then he shared experiences about how he got fired from a guy he worked for that wanted to burn every bridge he crossed. He then passed out business cards to us for the company he founded in 1994 called “Cameron Management”. We took a five-minute break, and next Diana spoke and gave a summary of herself and life experiences. She is a teacher at Rice University, and she is the Chief Marketing Officer. She also does cyber security. She spoke about marketing then asked us how we plan to price our businesses. We are grateful for this fresh-start outlook PEP is providing us with!
Anthony B. (aka “Sponge Bob”)
Friday November 1, 2024
On Friday November 1st we waited in the classroom and practiced our pitches early in the morning before our “Big Idea Pitch” Event. We have been practicing all week for this event where we will be pitching our businesses to executives who have a lot of knowledge when it comes to starting a business. When we finally made it down to the gym, we motivated each other to do our absolute best and to focus on the task at hand which was executing our pitches. When all the executives showed up it was exciting, and everyone knew it was time for business. Before we started pitching, we did an exercise called the “Ice Breaker,” which allowed us to get to know the executives and people rooting for us a little better. We asked simple questions and saw how similarly we answered the questions while “stepping up to the line,”. We then lined up in rows and waited, filled with excitement, and ready to get up in front of the executives and spill our pitch! After everyone finished their pitches, we each had time to sit with the executives for a one-on-one conversation and talk to them about our businesses and ask them for any advice that would pertain to our businesses. We all got great feedback and had an amazing time! We were able to leave with confidence, and with the knowledge we had never had before, which to all of us is a tremendous way to start off this month. We are ready to see what next month has in store. Winter 25’ on the rise!
Robert B. (aka “McLovin’”)
Expressions
“Rock bottom will teach you lessons that mountain tops never will.”
-Unknown
I am not sure who wrote this, but it rings true to me. Some of us had the pleasure of learning lessons the hard way, and I am one of those people. When you have nothing but yourself to blame, it is your fault when you mess things up. So, when you hit rock bottom, get clean, change your ways, and take that moment to inventory yourself and reevaluate your life, you realize what it is that is causing you so much trouble. The fork in the road for you is your opportunity to change. If you are lucky enough to walk away from these lessons, you will be all the wiser from them. Acknowledge what God is doing in your life and what life is trying to teach you. Be receptive in those hard times because they are the most important lessons in life.
Ernest T. (aka “Chris Stapleton”)
Week 3
Week 3
Monday October 21, 2024
Today we started the day writing down the quote of the day and explained what it meant to us. Then our teacher explained to the class that we should have a pitch (short speech about our business) ready by Thursday and we should be able to deliver it without notes. The pitch log is to help us practice every day by asking different people to listen to us practice our pitch. In-prison management (staff from PEP that comes into the unit daily) explained to us that our first event will be November 1st and that we should be prepared to pitch in front of the executives (men and women who come to the unit to work with our class) and that we must speak loud and clearly. This is exciting! After that the business plan consultants gave us assignments for our leadership statement and our personal fit, they gave us a presentation that explained what we should and should not include. After that we were given the results of our personality tests. By the end of class many of our classmates wanted to give up and walk away because we were overwhelmed with all the things we needed to do; the heart check, pitch log, leadership statement, personal fit, four square, business name assignment. But we know that we will all prevail and do our best. We are so excited for the future and this opportunity provided to us by the Prison Entrepreneurship Program!
Tobias A.
Tuesday October 22, 2024
Hello to all. We want to start off by saying thank you for all the love and support that each of you provide for us. We started our day with a prayer and doing a pray out for one of our brothers who recently made parole and will be getting out soon. We had several brothers who spoke on his behalf to lift him up and offer him words of encouragement and for his successful reentry into society. We had plenty of fun dancing down the aisle and giving each other fun names. We also started on our business plans and worked on our business pitches to get our class used to public speaking and to help us memorize our business pitches. We also had fun having several classmates compete with their business pitches to see who the class favorite was. We heard pitches about everything, from faith-based programs, food trucks, car detail services and everything in-between. We offered words of encouragement and support for all our classmates. As long as we keep lifting each other up and supporting each other, there is no limit to what we can accomplish. We ended our day in a group prayer giving thanks to the Lord for each day and every blessing. We cannot wait to see what He has in store for us!
Daniel A.
Wednesday October 23, 2024
Today was a wonderful day! We learned how to obtain a credit report and what we can do to work on fixing our credit. We also spent time working on our pitches. Our first event is coming up on the first of December where we are going to pitch our ideas in front of several executives. We have been participating in “Toast Masters” to help us with our public speaking skills, and to better prepare us for this upcoming event. We had the opportunity to talk with three executives and listen to their business stories. We are all closer to memorizing our pitches and being 100% ready for our “Big Idea Pitch Event.” We learned about having a fresh start outlook and learning not to let our past mistakes define us or label us as something we are not. We understand that if we accept change and put our minds to it our lives will transform with the help of PEP. We are all grateful for the opportunity that PEP is providing us with, to be in prison and have so many people that are rooting for us all, and waiting for us to be in the world is truly inspiring. We are one step away from being the men we are destined to be! Thank you PEP!
Travis A.
Thursday October 24, 2024
Today in PEP we had a wonderful day! There were a few birthdays among our brothers (classmates) and some positive parole news. We went over chapters 3 and 4 in our Entrepreneurship workbooks and we discussed some important topics like things to look for in new markets and the importance of having 6 months of working capital saved to cover expenses in case of emergencies. Then we talked about synergy (the connection between people, skills, and understanding of an industry). Then we discussed about creating a competitive advantage. During the second half of class, we had an opportunity to practice our “Elevator Pitch” of our business ideas to our class mates, which is a minute business pitch equivalent to an elevator ride with an executive or potential business partner. We have been improving daily and some of us even have our pitches committed to memory and do not even need our notes. We reach new milestones every day. We ended our day with a pray out to thank God for this opportunity and to continue guiding us on our journey to becoming better men.
Jorge A. “sporky”
Friday October 25, 2024
Today we participated in “Toastmasters.” We all delivered our “Icebreakers,” which is an introductory presentation about any appropriate subject which could include our personal stories. It has been said that going to prison, public speaking, and dancing are the three most common fears. In PEP, we have been given the opportunity to eliminate those fears. We all learned about the prior experiences of the speakers. We learned about how our fellow participants. Today we began our journey of becoming brothers as we learn more about each other. We are now united by the common goal of becoming better men, fathers, sons, and better public speakers in the process. We are still learning the formalities of “Toastmasters.” There are aspects of “Toastmasters” that seem strange at first, but as time passes, we are learning how to best recite a speech to an audience of people. If we can effectively deliver a speech to ourselves then we can become comfortable addressing a larger group of people. PEP has helped us to get out of our comfort zone and learn to work under pressure. Today was very educational and influential as we all thank PEP for this opportunity.
Michael A.
Expressions
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility comes from being superior to your former self.”
-Ernest Hemingway
This quote has long been a source of stability for me. There were many points early in my life where I felt as though I was either ahead of my peers for some shallow, superficial reason, or lagging far behind them for similar reasons. Either way this false metric for measuring my own success and self-worth led to untenable highs and lows, periods where I left my identity in the hands of factors beyond my control. Living like this made it difficult for me to maintain healthy relationships with habits, hobbies, competitions, and of course, peers. Learning to live my life with the express purpose of developing myself as a person comes with the challenge of having to live out Mr. Hemingway’s wisdom. It became a goal, at first a difficult one, to stop measuring myself in the standards other people set for themselves. Slowly but surely, I found peace and even fulfillment in learning to accept myself for who I was and working to learn and grow to develop into something more. It reminds me that no matter where I am at in life, if I am moving forward, I am okay.
David M. (aka “Nacho Libre”)
Week 2
Lockdown – No Journals
Week 1
Lockdown – No Journals