Photo by Tevin Stinsoo
Jaylen D. Bledsoe delivers the keynote address during the Branded For
Knowledge Awards Banquet on Monday, Dec. 7. Bledsoe started his own tech
nology consulting business when he was 12 years old.
Student athletes
encouraged to follow
their dreams fi
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Young entrepreneur
and technical prodigy
Jaylen D. Bledsoe was in
Winston-Salem earlier this
week to encourage student
athletes to dream big, and
not let setbacks cause them
to sit back.
Bledsoe delivered the
keynote address at the
2015 Branded For
Knowledge Basketball
Classic Community
Awards Banquet on
Monday, Dec. 7 at the
Hawthorne Inn and
Conference Center.
"I'm a firm believer in
this thing called a dream,"
he said. "The moment you
begin to dream big and
understand your potential,
you can ^_
achieve
big."
At the
young
age of 17,
Bledsoe
has
accom
plished
more
Brown
than most teenagers could
only imagine.
When he was 12 years
old, the teen from St.
Louis, Mo. started his own
information technology
consulting business with a
dream and just $100. In
two short years Bledsoe
had 150 contractors work
ing for him.
Since then Bledsoe's
company has grown, the
scope of services his com
pany provides is vast, and
includes brand develop
ment consulting for a num
ber of well-known stars
such as Steve Harvey and
Jordin Sparks.
Bledsoe said growing
up in a single parent home,
he had no choice but to
dream big.
"In life our dream is
our destination, it's where
we want to end up," he
continued. "Often in the
circumstances I grew up in,
you can adopt a poverty
mentality. That mentality
that says 'I've been here
and I'll be here,' but I was
determined to reach my
dreams."
Branded For
Knowledge Inc. (BFK) is a
local clothing apparel com
pany founded on five'basic
principles: knowledge,
pride, power, strength and
success. The ultimate
desire of BFK is to educate
individuals on the impor
tance of creating their own
"brand" identity while
encouraging them to
become strong, responsible
and productive.
With that in mind, the
Branded For Knowledge
Basketball Classic came to
life, welcoming freshmen
boys from various high
schools to learn the impor
tance of teamwork and
strengthen their individual
levels of confidence while
competing in a positive
atmosphere.
BFK chief executive
officer Bobby Kimbrough
Jr. said he wanted the tour
nament to stand out among
k
the many other tourna
ments that are held in the
area. Kimbrough men
tioned the sportsmanship
shown by
the teams
is what
makes it
| different
Fl from the
'A others.
J k n o w
there are a
lot of has
Kimbrough
k e t b a 11
tournaments held in this
area, such as the Frank
Spencer and Mary Garber,
but my goal was to make
the Branded For
Knowledge Classic bigger
than all of those," he said.
The level of sportsmanship
and dedication from each
team is what makes this
tournament stand out."
During the banquet,
Kimbrough presented a
number of awards to
deserving
members
of the
commu
nity for
their hard
work and
dedica
tion to
improv
ing the
quality of
Lucas
life of others.
Founder and publisher
of The Chronicle, Ernie
Pitt, was presented with a
distinguished service
award during the event..
Kimbrough mentioned
he often stops at The
Chronicle just to get Pitt'p
opinions on a number of
subjects.
"I find myself stopping
by The Chronicle a lot just
to sit and talk to Mr. Pitt,"
he said. "I've known him
for a long time and he has
always been there for me
when I needed him."
Other community lead
ers who received awards
during the banquet include
Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian
Burke, Dr. Larry Little,
Bill McClain, Bishop
Sheldon McCarter, David
Shannon, Rusty LaRue,
Kevin Gates, and Dr.
Angella Hauser.
Moses "Mo Lucas and
Simpson "Skip" Brown
were presented with leg
ends awards during the cer
emony as well.
The Branded For
Knowledge Basketball
Classic is set to tip off on
December 12 at Glenn
High School. Participating
schools include Glenn, Mt.
Tabor, Parkland, East
Forsyth, NW Guilford,
Reagan, RJ Reynolds and
Atkins.
The theme of this
year's tournament is
"Action is the foundation
for future success. Carpe
Diem ... Seize the Day!"
A number of student
athletes said they are excit
ed for the start of the tour
nament because they get
the chance compete against
other local schools while
making new friends at the
same time.
tfiir Habitat
?f 11 for Humanity
of Forsyth County
Want to be a Homeowner
or know someone who does?
Come to an orientation
session to learn more
about the Habitat program.
Space is limited.
No children, please.
i
L Veterans are encouraged
to apply. Monday, December 14
6 p.m.
1023 W. 14th St.
Winston-Salem
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