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Group of motivated young men emphasizes the importance of discipline and focus

SAVANNAH, Ga. (May 24, 2010)—The sounds of laughter and learning rang through the halls at Savannah’s very own JCB facility on Wednesday, May 18. The heavy equipment manufacturer hosted 48 young men from Hubert Middle School’s Risers Academy for a day filled with education, inspiration and fun. 

Savannah Riser Visit JCB

The Risers Academy is a special initiative of Savannah’s Hubert Middle School that mentors boys from the Hubert neighborhood, helping them both meet and exceed their potential. Young men in the Risers Academy wear a uniform of white shirts with red ties and take special classes with tougher assignments and higher behavioral standards. The program’s name comes from a statement made by Richard Wright, a young African American man who attended school in a converted railroad box car in the mid-1800s. When a Union Army general visited the makeshift classroom, he asked what message he should take back about his experience. Wright stood up and said, “Sir, tell them we are rising.” Wright eventually became the founder and president of Georgia State College (now Savannah State University) and the founder of two Philadelphia banks.

Mike Werner, JCB’s vice president of operations, learned of the Risers Academy through his association with the Savannah School Board’s Educational Fund Committee. This particular committee provides monetary grants to worthy school projects, and Hubert Middle School submitted the Risers Academy as a project for consideration. “Our committee was intrigued by the Risers Academy’s mission, and as a result, I got the chance to visit the school and see what the program is all about,” Werner said. “I left very impressed by the Risers Academy and how it teaches these young men that with hard work and discipline, there’s no limit to what they can achieve.”

Werner invited the Risers Academy to JCB’s North American Headquarters, giving the group an insider’s view into the heavy equipment manufacturer’s daily operations. The boys toured the facility, enjoyed lunch on site, participated in product demonstrations and learned about the importance of branding—not just for businesses and their products, but also on a personal level.

“We discussed how companies like Nike, BMW and McDonald’s, for example, all have logos that evoke certain perceptions from us when we see them,” Werner explained. “Because the Risers Academy has its own logo, I asked the group what that logo meant to them.”

The boys responded with the words “brotherhood,” “focus” and “discipline.” From there, Werner was able to help them understand how the members of the Risers Academy have in essence created their own brand. “I told them that your logo is part of your brand, as is your uniform,” Werner said. “But most importantly, we talked about how the behavior of each and every one of the boys is a part of the Risers Academy’s brand as well. In that way, they came to understand our actions have a profound impact on how we’re perceived.”

Following the branding presentation, the group met JCB employees who have taken distinct paths to their own personal definitions of success, coming from disadvantaged backgrounds or other hardships to achieve high levels of education and career achievement.

“I hope that the time these young men spent at JCB reinforced their dedication to staying the course,” Werner said. “The day’s message was that the process of learning and growing as a person never stops, but it’s up to each of us to keep pushing ourselves and make the most of our opportunities.”