Don Dennison
I was born in the Ghetto. Of course, it was not by choice. Let me tell you some of my story of how I went from the Ghetto to my MBA.
I was born on the eastside of San Jose, California, USA. I hated people for most of my young life. I had a mother who was never home. My father left my mother when I was 6 months old, and I had no contact with him. Because of my sad circumstances, I joined a gang called the Blue Jackets. Later on, I became the president of the gang, staying in it until I was eighteen years old. I was involved in five gang wars by the time I was fourteen years old. In one of the gang fights, I lost my best friend, Hector Lopez. I will never forget his name because he took a knife that was supposed to go into my body. In another fight, I was hit on the head with a bottle that knocked me out cold. There was a lot of pain for me in those days. I was taken to Juvenile Hall for the first time at nine years of age, and I was in and out at least twenty times before I hit eighteen.
At that time in my life, I started to realize that there was something wrong with my life. During this time, I met a girl by the name of Beverly, who was from the other side of the tracks. She helped me to realize that I needed a change in my life, so I decided to go into the U.S. Army. My enlistment really helped me grow up and see things in a different light. During this time, Beverly and I got married and we had a son and daughter. To this day, we have been happily married. When I was in the Army, I did get my GED. I have always been a hard and ambitious worker, so when I left the Army, I immediately got my first job delivering milk to homes. Yes, I was a milkman! As a milkman, I had the time to go back to school and then college. I have endured much in my life, but out of lemons, I chose to make lemonade.
I worked my way up the ladder with a few companies, going from a sales person to the GM/CEO of First Choice Services, a consumer products company. In May 27 of 1996, I got my BBA and in May of 2000, I received my MBA.
In 1980, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior, and my life has never been the same since! The Lord has blessed me, my marriage, and He has provided for me in the lean times. In 1997, my wife and I took a life-changing 6- month mission trip to Australia and The Philippines, working with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).
As a business consultant, I have had the privilege of working with some companies internationally. I have learned so much from friends that we have in Japan, Australia, the U.K., The Philippines, Korea, and Costa Rica, just to mention a few.
My goal as a business consultant has always been to help companies build their sales, management, and marketing teams and/or reorganize their business, so they can make a profit or improve their bottom line. As a team player, I work with management and operations, to get the best results.
| Beverly Dennison
My life began in Kansas City, MO, not in a ghetto, yet we were not rich either. I had a mother and a father, and was the third-born of four children.
My father used to introduce me as "The Third Born", as if to say, "Look out for THIS one!" It seems that I was a little more unmanageable and outspoken than the others. We moved several times, including one time to Florida when I was in 2nd Grade, but we always returned to the Kansas City area. My father always had the dream and desire to move to California. Unfortunately, he never made it, but died of Cirrhosis of the liver, due to Alcoholism in 1960. I was 13 years old then. However, my mother courageously picked up the torch and moved us three younger kids to San Jose in 1962. At first, I balked at the idea, having been a popular 15-year old sophomore, but later on, I came to love the relaxed California lifestyle.
And...if it weren't for our move, I never would have met my loving husband, Don in 1966. We married in December of that year, and our first child, Donny was born in 1967, with Tami following in 1971. We had our ups and downs as a married couple and as a family. All in all, we were happy living life in San Jose, and going to church. In 1977, through a life-changing retreat weekend called Cursillo, I heard that God loved me personally, which was a new concept to me. I had never before thought of God as a personal God, interested in just 'Little Ole Me'. The Lord led me along and began to teach me how much He did love me. Then, in early 1981, I made the best decision of my life, and I came to Christ. I had always been a church-goer, but now my life took on true meaning and purpose. In 1986,The Lord led me to be a leader with a mission organization for teenagers, Teen Missions Int'l. That first mission trip to Sweden changed my life forever. After that first trip, both Don and I have taken several short-term missions trips.
All though the 80's and the 90's, I pursued my college degrees, and graduated from San Jose City College, then San Jose State University in 1996, with a degree in Theatre Arts. Then in 1997, we decided to go go on a 6-month training program and outreach to Australia and to The Philippines. We had believed that we might even stay in Australia as missionaries. However, due to various circumstances, we returned to the States after the 6 months was completed. Soon afterwards, I decided to continue my education by enrolling in a graduate program at San Francisco State University. In 2000, I graduated with a Masters Degree in Theatre Arts. Since then, the years have somehow flown by, and now we are finally ready to step out into the work that the Lord has been preparing for us all of our lives. Recently, we have been thinking that if we don't go now, we may never go. When we get to the end of our lives, we don't want to have THAT regret! I would say to everyone: If you have a passion or a dream, do it now, before it's too late. Amen. |
