those who inspire | issue 1

INSPIRETHOSE WHO FEBRUARY 2015 | ISSUE 1

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF MISSION10ELEVEN

DUMAINEREID

Q&A With CEO of Mission10eleven RESPECT

THE Mission10eleven’s 5 Year Anniversary

LUPUS AWARENESSA Recap of the

Friday Night LightsEvent & Weekend

MEETThe Faces BehindMission10eleven

PREVIEWA Brief Look

At 2015

2 Those Who Inspire | January 2015

OfficersDumaine Reid

Chief Executive OfficerChristopher Thompson

PresidentJineen Williams Vice President

Alex Clarke Chief Financial Officer

Jade HatchettChief Operating Officer

© 2015 Mission10Eleven

January 2015 | Those Who Inspire 3

CONTENTS

8 PresidentMeet President of Mission10eleven Christopher Thompson

10 Vice PresidentMeet Vice President of Mission10eleven Jineen Williams

12 Chief Operating Officer

Meet Chief Operating Officer of Mission10eleven Jade Hatchett

14 Chief Financial Officer

Meet Chief Financial Officer of Mission10eleven Alex Clarke

18 Lupus AwarenessA Recap of the Friday Night Lights Event and WeekendFEATURES

Respect the FiveAn Introspection of Mission10eleven’s 5 Year Anniversary and its Importance

Dumaine ReidQ&A with CEO of Mission10eleven, Dumaine Reid answering questions about the organization and its future

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The beginning always humbles me, because we’ve come so far these past 5 years. When I graduated high school I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life; I was stuck on playing college basketball. Basketball really changed everything and after I met Alex we just clicked on and off court. He’s been a big brother and mentor to me since we met. Everyone knows that the original mission really just a pact between us to play college basketball but the more momentum we gained, the more we realized that this could be something more than just two friends playing basketball.

We weren’t thinking of becoming a non profit organization until one day we met a YMCA employee that saw our tee shirts as we were leaving the gym. He then began to ask questions. I simply told him we were a group of young people that had goals for the years of 2010-2011 and beyond. That conversation with him sparked my mind and from there we knew we had work to do. Our growth was astonishing from the very start. We had a lot of support and I was just starting to understand what it meant to be a leader. We carefully recruited the right group of people that managed to stick around for the long run.

When I look back I’m happy at the resume we have. Not a lot of

young people at the time were ready to take a stand for themselves like we did. I’m just blessed and appreciative of everybody that worked behind the scenes and the support we got to help us get this far. One aspect that we’ll always be known for is our basketball showcases. We wanted to create a platform for players that weren’t receiving their deserved recognition in the city to showcase their skills.

Basketball has always been a big thing here in Milwaukee and we’ve always had overlooked talent, so getting players to play wasn’t hard. It was planning the actual events that got difficult. We’ve hosted 7 showcases, a few of them we donated can goods and toys to the Salvation Army, school supplies to Siloah Lutheran, and raised funds for Lupus awareness. Overall people love our showcases; every year the bleachers are packed. We call them family BBQ’s in the 10Eleven family. Our supporters have meant everything to us and without them there is no Mission10Eleven.

The love they have shown us over these 5 years has meant the world to me and everyone involved. When we hosted our 5 year anniversary celebration it hit me that we’ve really made a name for ourselves in this city. Let’s be

honest, Milwaukee doesn’t have a big market but we found a way to thrive consistently for 5 years and we have our supporters to thank.

Going forward we knew we had to find a way to get people to truly understand what we as an organization wanted to do. Simply put, our purpose is to create a platform for entrepreneurs, student athletes, designers, journalists and just about anyone that has the focus to be something to build their career portfolio. With this career portfolio, they will be able to take this into the real world. We want to provide this platform because everyone can’t afford college or just don’t think it’s worth it. We offer a family oriented organization that won’t allow you to slack off. It’s hard to find that in this day in age, especially in college. I don’t knock anyone that attends college but it’s not for everyone.

Overall, 2014 was a solid year for us. We knew what we wanted to do and we got it done. We relaunched our website, had a couple of clothing releases, raised awareness to Lupus along with a showcase and capped it off with our 5 year celebration. 2014 set the tone for what we are preparing to do next. The world will remember us and I can guarantee that.

RESPECT THEAn introspection of Mission10eleven’s 5 Year Anniversary and it’s importance

BY DUMAINE REID • PHOTOGRAPH BY PHEANDRO WELSH

ISSUE 1 - JANUARY 2011


Who We AreMission10Eleven is a non-profit organization that serves the community through networking, developmental programs and community outreach. We are dedicated to bringing positive change to the city of Milwaukee and will do this by helping to develop its young people to make sound choices in a career field that may be of interest before they step into the real world. We are an apprenticeship organization that offers the ability to allow students to create career portfolios before they attend college or during college. We also promote an individual’s hard work and dedication. 10Eleven stands for the years of 2010-2011 and the goals we set out for ourselves is the mission. Even after these years have passed, we will always remember how hard we worked to become successful.

This organization started as a simple pact between two young men Dumaine and Alex. All they wanted to do was get back in school for the school year of 2010-2011 and play college basketball. As time went along Dumaine and Alex began to work out and play basketball more intensely. This mission had them more motivated than ever. Little by little, Dumaine began to think of additional ideas for their mission. One of those ideas was shirts. Thinking nothing of it, they found that people actually wanted to buy the shirts, so Dumaine began to think of more designs and colors for the shirts. Don’t mistake, Dumaine is not in this alone. He has put together a team of people that he knows can change a lot of things in the world. With Mission10Eleven’s positive nature, this will keep everyone motivated, dedicated, and ready to show the world what they can do.


My name is Christopher Thompson friend, partner, and brother of Dumaine Reid. I got my start with the Mission just being good friends with Dumaine after having an encounter at another program I was heavily involved in as a teenager in high school. During that time, Dumaine and myself had really just met and we later on had an encounter/run-in that connected as us brothers,

we were both going to school downtown at Milwaukee Area Technical College. The year was 2010 and I saw him one day in the Café area. We exchanged a handshake and started chopping it up. Following that, we started hanging in the Café in between classes together. During this time, we exchanged ideas and interests. He told me about this youth movement he was trying to get going which was Mission10eleven and in my mind I was thinking, “yo man that’s a great idea,” but I had no real interest in it for myself because I was focused on school. As we got closer as friends, I shared with Dumaine my most precious and meaningful gift which is my writing. He decided to make me a branch specifically based around writing.

Nonetheless, that’s what kicked off my involvement with the Mission early on. As things progressed I wanted to be apart of the Mission because not only did it lead to positive things but I started becoming apart of the tightly nit group of friends that Dumaine already had. This lead to us growing as a collective and as individuals sharing our lives and everyday struggles along with our wants of doing better. This made me look at everybody involved in a different light. I was comfortable around them. They took me in as one of the family but there was a long time period in which I had to earn that respect and trust of everyone involved. No matter how much Dumaine backed me, they wanted to see what I had to offer which pushed me to do the most I could and bring my best efforts to the table which also was a very big part of me wanting to be a part of this movement Dumaine had going.

I don’t really like saying I have a specific role within the Mission or what my title is even though Dumaine may place me with one. I feel like I’m the adhesive to it all. I’m kind of like Dumaine’s backbone, and I provide the support of it all and tackle whatever he asks of me. I may be titled President but me and Dumaine have an unspoken code of brotherhood which blends the working atmosphere with our friendship so well, he knows I’ll deliver on my tasks and that I have his back no matter the choices he makes for himself or the Mission. I’m not second in command nor third, I’m just Chris, the cool fat guy who knows good people and Dumaine has been nothing short of that so my role has always been to be a friend first then the Mission came secondary to that.

I think we overall have the personal goal of the Mission brand growing and touching kids throughout the Midwest region of America and then to share more of this with the entire country. We also want to visit other countries and to engage youth from all around who deserve better, that aren’t fortunate enough to be apart of something special or a group of people who care about them. I’m Christopher Thompson, President of Mission10eleven and it’s been my pleasure to share these thoughts with whomever may read this. We thank you I thank you from the bottom of my heart and from the bottom of my family’s hearts as well. Thank you all.

Peace & Love,

CT

The Unseen Leadership

MEET: The Faces Behind Mission10eleven


Christopher ThompsonPresident of Mission10eleven


Jineen Williams Vice President of Mission10eleven


Mission10eleven is an organization that has gained a lot of momentum in the city of Milwaukee, but in most cases, our supporters don’t really get to see who is at the backbone of the organization. We call ourselves a “board”, but in reality we are really just a group of friends with one common goal of giving back to youth and young adults in Milwaukee.

My name is Jineen Williams and I am the 25 year old, Vice President of Mission10eleven. Like the rest of us, I don’t really believe in having a “role” because ultimately my impact on the Mission and on Dumaine is way bigger than that. I met Dumaine when I was attending the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee back in my freshman and sophomore years. We would always play basketball in the Klotske center. He and Alex later on came up with the idea behind Mission10eleven, but it was focused on their goals of playing college basketball.

I always supported from the background and occasionally, Dumaine and I would talk about his goals and his desire to play basketball. I definitely thought he could do it. I left for school in Minnesota for a short while, but after I graduated and came back home in 2011, that’s when we really developed a strong relationship and became close. I told Dumaine how I wanted to be a part of the Mission and this was at a time where we started to readjust our focus a bit as an organization by now wanting to give back more than just focus on basketball. We have grown so much as a group and the support from people within Milwaukee and other areas as well is pretty mind boggling.

For Dumaine and I, our relationship is unique because we bounces ideas of one another all the time. Sometimes I feel like I am the match that lights a fire under his butt sometimes because of my personal desire to always want to succeed and grow. I’m always thinking of a way to innovate personally and also within the organization. The dynamic of our relationship is different, but also the same as everyone else’s because we are all ultimately here to see one another grow. I tell Dumaine all the time how proud I am of him for trying to take a city like Milwaukee and really put the weight of this place on his shoulders to try and make change. There are not a lot of people his age willing to do something like that. This is why it is important that he has us as his backbone to alleviate some of that weight and to also tell him when he’s in over his head.

As far as future goals for Mission10eleven, I just want to see us continue to be successful in making an impact in the lives of people around the world, not just in Milwaukee. Our story can be representational of a movement similar to those in the early 90s of really just empowering each other to strive for success regardless of what people want their future to look like. We want to help provide an outlet for young people, but also be a support system for those in need of that help. Mission10eleven is really big on networking and I personally want to see our community outreach strive to reach new heights. We have the ability to make a huge impact in this area and I hope this year we can do so. In the end, we just want to bring people closer together and help promote success.

With love,

Jineen

Ambassador For Success



My name is Jade Hatchett. I am 25 years old and I current hold the title of COO (Chief Operations Officer). I also handle the community service coordinator title. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science

with a concentration in youth development. I am currently working on my MBA in Nonprofit management. I have been working with youth since I was 13 years old and I’ve been with the Mission for a little under 5 years now.

I started working with the Mission about 4 months after Dumaine and Alex decided to turn it into an organization. I’ve known Dumaine for about 10 years, so when I heard he was doing something positive for the youth I knew I had to be a part of the organization. I inboxed Dumaine on Facebook, asked him how I could get involved, and he invited me to a meeting. The rest is just history.

It wasn’t a want that made me join the Mission, it was a need. At the time they started the organization I was at a place where everything was going wrong in my

life. I was 20 years old and I wasn’t working at all. I dropped out of college and I was hanging around the wrong people. I literally had hit rock bottom and was in a dark place in life but the Mission was my light at the end of the tunnel. Being around them made me aspire for better and pushed me to accomplish my goals that I had put on hold. The Mission saved my life.

My role in the Mission is to help with youth involvement and community connections, but I honestly I’m an all-purpose board member. I do any and everything I can do to make sure the Mission is a success. I believe my impact is my constituency and loyalty to the organization. In the beginning we started off with close to 50 members who said they wanted to be down with the organization but as time passed and work needed to be done, people started to die off but I never did. Even at moments when I had a lot going on and needed to take steps back, whenever called upon or needed I made a way to come through as much as I could.

My future goals for the Mission are simple; I want us to become a nationally recognized organization that impacts and changes the life of millions of young people around the world.

Signed,

Jade

All-Around Leadership



Jade HatchettChief Operating Officer of Mission10eleven


Alex Clarke Chief Financial Officer of Mission10eleven


My name is Alex Clarke and I am a board member of the Mission10eleven family and head trainer and program director of “Get It Done” training. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I’ve been with Mission10eleven for all 5 years. I attended college at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee studying Psychology. I enjoy basketball training, meditation, and hanging with friends.

I started with Mission10eleven when I first met Dumaine Reid. We both enjoyed the game of basketball and wanted to play on the college level for the 2010-11 season. Making this our goal for the summer, we went through series of training, playing tough competition and learning more about the game as well as ourselves which developed a friendship and bond between us. After realizing the impact and support we had, we looked past our goals and made new ones that would change the way we looked at our city and the people we encounter every day.

Being with Mission10eleven for 5 years, the one thing I loved the most is the support we get. I enjoy seeing the smiles on kids faces, gaining respect from the older generation and just doing things for the city overall. It’s a great feeling.

My goal for the Mission is the same as every year and its progression. I always look for us to top what we did in the past, create new avenues for people to succeed, and to continue to give back. We have a few new branches to introduce and I hope they make a strong presence for people to notice and be a part of.

One of my goals in life growing up was to do something that would give back to the city I grew up in. Mission10eleven is it. I love everything we do and I hope we can continue to give back.

Sincerely,

Alex

The Original



Q&Awith

Dumaine Reid CEO Dumaine Reid answers questions about Mission10eleven and it’s new direction.


Q: Mission10eleven has come a long way from what it used to be a few years ago. With the new influences of added Mission10eleven members and a broader focus on helping the community, what types of changes do you see happening in 2015 for the organization and its vision? How do you plan on committing yourself to making these changes?

A: First, it’s a blessing to have come this far. I’ve talked to a lot of people since we’ve celebrated our 5 year anniversary and it still just feels surreal. In the beginning this entire “movement” was completely focused on basketball so for it to grow into what it is today is just mind blowing. As far as 2015, we as an organization and family always find a way to take ourselves to a different level when a new year is on the horizon. However, this year will be different because of the direction our new campaign is heading in. It touches on different aspects of life that people can relate to, which allows people to grow with us. Myself, my fellow board members and new recruits coming into the Mission are all excited about what the future holds. Lately I’ve been preaching simplicity and making strategic moves that will position us to be successful. My commitment level is at an all-time high, I haven’t felt like this since 2009-2010 and everyone knows how I was back then.

A: There a lot of social issues that concern me in this so called “land of the free.” College students are paying overpriced tuitions while college sports continue to throw money around like grows on trees. The “justice system” is basically getting lazy and letting these cops get away with murder, literally but what hurts the most is that my people, black people continue to hurt and kill one another. It just doesn’t make sense and I could go on and on about these topics. In the beginning when the Mission first started we kept a filter on certain topics and issues that were going on but now we need to be a voice. With us having a great resume of raising awareness I do feel like we are obligated to speak up and attempt to bring awareness to what’s important in this day in age.

I believe I felt so overwhelmed between the years of 2011-2012 because I was still embracing the thought of being a “leader.” Slowly but surely I began to realize that I had to man up and do what I had to do to ensure things ran smoothly. I can’t take all the credit though, there’s a lot of great people that helped me get to this point in my life and career. I have more of a balance when it comes to my workload and that’s where the teamwork comes in, we all understand what needs to be done so I’m less overwhelmed these days.

Q: There are a lot of social issues being addressed in America right now. Are there any that hit home pretty hard and if so, how do you feel about them? Do you feel obligated for Mission10eleven to have something to do with the resolution and awareness of these issues?

Q: Do you ever feel overwhelmed with running Mission10eleven and finding supporters for your movement and the things you want to accomplish?

A: I feel like I reflect on the start of Mission10Eleven but it’s important because in the beginning it was simple for us to gain supporters because to some people it was something to be a part of and it felt cool to say you had a shirt or were a part of the family. Then when it came down to business you knew who just supported the organization and who was really down to work, which was when things began to get stressful. I began to get overwhelmed back in 2011 when we were VERY close to canceling a showcase. We had already hosted 2 earlier that spring/summer and we wanted to cap the summer off with one more, things weren’t going as planned but we found a way in the end.


FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Showcase 3


WHAT IS LUPUS?

Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years.

In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body’s healthy tissues (“auto” means “self ”) and creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

Lupus is also a disease of flares (the symptoms worsen and you feel ill) and remissions (the symptoms improve and you feel better).

Showcase 3Information found via www.lupus.org


After we realized we hosted FNL Showcase 2 on national Lupus Awareness Day, it was only right that we did the same the very next year. One of my good friends (who wants to remain anonymous) has Lupus. That was the primary reason that we directed our focus on raising awareness to this disease. I literally saw the pain that it caused and I just felt like something, anything needed to be done.

The previous two FNL showcases had been a success. The men’s game series was tied at 1-1 and this would be a great way to end the Friday Night Lights showcase series. I wanted people to understand this was now bigger than basketball. As our board meetings began, we knew this Lupus event couldn’t just consist of a basketball game. This had to truly be about Lupus from start to finish. We decided to plan a media day that would allow all the participants to come together and talk about their excitement for the event. Next would be the lupus awareness dinner and finally the basketball games. So much planning went into the planning of these events, down to the last details. With the strong commitment of board members I had faith in everything we had planned and discussed.

Prior to the kick off of our Lupus awareness showcase week, I decided to pay a visit to the Lupus awareness foundation office to discuss our upcoming event and to let them know they had our support. It was a brief talk but it was made clear that our support would be forever. Lupus awareness showcase week was upon us and it was time to kick off the festivities.

(Clockwise from top) Regina Boston-Dixon speaking during the dinner. Steph Crosley posing for Media Day. Dumaine with Kenny Burns speaking at the dinner.

A Recap of the Friday Night Lights Event and Weekend

BY DUMAINE REID • PHOTOGRAPHY BY PHEANDRO WELSH

LUPUS AWARENESS

For more insight and photos from the event, please visit www.mission10eleven.com


(Clockwise from top) One of the team during a huddle before the start of the Showcase.

A view of the Lupus Awareness dinner hosted at Siloah Middle School.

First up was our media day event. This consisted of photo and video shoots featuring the women’s and men’s basketball players that would participate in Friday’s game. P. Welsh Photography handled the still shots while Tone B. Visuals and VF Productions took care of the video duties. We wanted to create an environment for these players to show them that when you work hard things like this can happen. In the city of Milwaukee, these type of events don’t come around often so we were glad that they appreciated every moment.

The next day was the most important day of the three-day event that we had planned. The Lupus awareness formal dinner was a special event to me. It featured three keynote speakers who were in fact living with Lupus. Bree Lucas, Kenny Burns and Regina Boston-Dixon rounded out the group of keynote speakers. Regina was

actually a board member of the Lupus awareness foundation here in Wisconsin. It was an honor to have her come speak. From start to finish it was a learning experience that everyone enjoyed. As an organization we were honored and humbled to have organized this event.

Finally, we capped off the week with our basketball showcase. Basketball showcases for us are like family gatherings, because basketball is what brought us together so to tie in Lupus awareness with this event was special. Each player received a purple/white Midwestballers.com warm up and a their game shirt also included purple in honor of Lupus. The crowd was excited for the women’s game so I knew it was going to be just as packed for the men’s game.

It was an amazing vibe running onto the court for warm ups, as for myself and Alex,


this was our final showcase. We were just taking in the moments. It was a tough and intense game all the way to the end. We lost and I was pretty upset because I’m a competitive guy, but in the end we all knew it was about Lupus.

The end of the showcase was really what mattered to me the most. Usually everyone comes out of the crowd, talks, shoots around. etc but this time I just wanted to make sure everyone understood why we hosted this event. It wasn’t just for basketball, it was for Lupus.

Only a few people understood the statement because others felt that I was mad at the fact that my team lost the game. Lupus is not something you should take lightly and a lot of people don’t know what it is so I wanted to be a voice for it. After I got off of the microphone, Alex was like “that’s what I’m talking about CEO.”

Everyone was excited because it takes a lot for people our age to speak up like I did. I let out tears of joy because I felt that was one of those moments that God took control and I thought about my friend that we organized the event for. She has fought for a long time and she’s going to continue to fight. Make sure you do your research on Lupus awareness people, please.

LUPUS AWARENESS

For more insight and photos from the event, please visit www.mission10eleven.com

Continued...

Bree Lucas after receiving a gift at the Lupus Awareness Dinner.


February 26, 2015


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