The American Dream Factory

08/29/2026

Above and "Beyond Ready": With 17 years full of twists and turns, and hundreds of meetings and classes along the way to choose from, I'm not sure if there was a better day for the sake of momentum and pure validation for ALL that we are seeking to do yet than what took place yesterday. As what we have been alluding to for weeks now is all but official as we are simply waiting for our formal application to be recorded as newly minted sponsors and/or directors of our very own 4-H Chartered Special Interest (SPIN) Club for Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs which will be forever powered by The American Dream Factory Inc.!

This powerful collaboration and partnership with St. Lucie County 4-H puts us in a position to gain full 4-H Club status and connections within the oldest and largest youth-led organization on the planet on a local level to start, with the ultimate hope of expanding to every 4-H Club across the country and beyond in due time. And while 4-H will always be known for their roots in farming and agricultural activities that became nationalized in 1914, there is a huge workforce readiness campaign by National 4-H to better prepare their 6 million Club members for a 21st Century workplace. And that particular niche market is what we are BEYOND READY to help with. https://4-h.org/beyond-ready/

And while we have already earned the validation for our pipeline of products and the youth-led and community-based process by which we want to develop and bring them to market in from the likes of our champion teacher, Brian Tygesson, who just happens to be a former U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard member, marine science teacher, and and holder of a business degree which means more than most can imagine considering that many products we have to develop are explicitly designed with marine safety and the environment in-mind. Coupling that with my personal design for a business model that could literally change the current pathway that inventions and creative business ideas are brought to market that passed Brian's test on the business side of the equation has meant the world to me over our last 5 or 6 years working together now.

Add that to the type of validation that has come from our recent connection with John Ferguson of St. Lucie County 4-H who has gone "above and beyond" anything that we could have asked for in his help to form our very own Chartered 4-H Club (and official Corporate Partnership once that open application is finished) based on his belief in what we are developing as a perfect fit for the local and national Beyond Ready initiative and you can start to see why we fully believe we are onto something very special.

And then there is the continued support and belief in what we are doing that has also been judged by hundreds of students and parents who have joined us over the past 5 years, such as Darby Browning who joined us as well for yesterday's monumental class as a parent of not just one, but two genius-level and very gifted daughters who have taken part in our pilot program which is another reason to believe that we are on the right track.

But then came a very real and highly important test for what we are developing that was just administered by Nancy Ruzycki, PhD. who is an Instructional Associate Professor within the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering at the University of Florida. As the link to just some of Dr. Ruzycki's accolades next to her picture will show, "Dr. R" as UF students call her has raised over $12 million dollars for her own working projects as an engineer, physics modeler, and K-12 Curriculum developer for both STEM-based studies and AI Data Research to name a few of Dr. Ruzycki's accomplishments. So, when yours truly was put on the hot seat to explain ALL that we are trying to do to use our pipeline of inventions as a mechanism to mentor and teach on the front-end of our process with the ultimate hope to create JOBS, taxes, and philanthropy on the back-end of our business model is such ideas are brought to market, you have to know that our paper was about to get graded by someone who could mark it up with plenty of red ink if there was something wrong with our concept and theories.

What came from what I expected to be a very tough and to the point interview with a highly intelligent professor quickly turned into a conversation that was filled with comments such as "I see where you are going and I can help you get there" along with multiple comments and valid points about our need for structure which we are in desperate need of. From there it led to a number of connections that were offered to be made and even the incredibly generous offer to get UF Engineering students involved at some point in the product development AND mentoring process of our current students who would be paid an hourly rate through the help of the good Doctor in Physics and Engineering herself!!!

Our second week of year 6 closed out with an after-class call with Dr. Ruzycki, Brian, John Ferguson, and myself where the beginnings of a year-long action plan were laid out as a means to get our current pilot program more formalized and to the point of having a customized working model specific to our vision and program. The goal is to create a formal White Paper and introduction video that can be presented to any other educational institute and/or corporation across the country and beyond who will need to see some type of standardized and written curriculum to go along with our creative products and innovative process to bring them to life and market in the fashion that we prefer!

Not too shabby if I don't say so myself as an 11th grade dropout who has spent the last 17 years and 7 months trying to solve everyday problems through creative inventions to begin with which led to the biggest product of them all which is the actual process to process such ideas in a fashion that solves much bigger problems in 'OUR' community like poverty which comes from a lack of positive activities and opportunities for 'OUR' youth as well as a lack of well-paying and meaningful JOBS, JOBS, JOBS for the greater community at-large.

I'll end this particularly good chapter in our future documentary and book by saying what I always say, which is that there are no guarantees in anything that we are trying to do, BUT no one in their right mind can dispute that the type of validation and now help that is clearly on the way has to increase our odds of success exponentially. And that's ALL that we could ever hope for in our ultimate journey to change the current pathway that great ideas are brought to market in the youth-led and community-based fashion that we prefer across America and beyond:) J

08/22/2026

And so it begins, all over again: With Week 1 of Year 6 in the books, part of me would say that it feels like deja vu all over again, while the other part says there's been nothing like the beginning of this movie (or movement) seen yet! I say that because the normal Week 1 walk through of who we are, what we are doing, and most importantly, WHY we are doing this is very similar to years past. The difference this time around is that we've never started a year off with so many new opportunities and connections in place that have all the potential in the world to make this our ultimate breakout year.

Like always, we started with a brief history lesson for the newbies to show how all of this began in January of 2009 when yours truly and Founder of this crazy Dream heard a story of a diver off of our coast that was struck by a passing boat causing the partial amputation of both legs that can be seen in our pinned FB post. From there, Mr. Tygesson and I made the point that that one story and one prototype made to solve a problem for divers being seen better by passing boaters, led to everything else that has followed over the past 17 years since.

And like years past, I always breakout one of my favorite eco-friendly prototypes in the bag to show what other problem-solving ideas that first story and first idea led to which always gets a huge approval from the vast majority of Marine Oceanographic Academy (MOA) prep students that Mr. Tygesson recruits to join our pilot after-school program.

From there, we went straight into the rhyme and reasoning for wanting to process such problem-solving ideas in a fashion that solves much bigger issues within communities in our own backyard and around the world that struggle with crime and poverty related issues. We do our best to make the case that poverty as a whole stems from many factors which include a lack of positive activities and opportunities for our youth, and much needed JOBS for the greater community at-large which we wholeheartedly believe that we can provide some help with on both fronts once the gears and wheels within our very own "Dream Factory" are fully turning.

Once we laid down the initial tracks necessary to know about a pipeline of products that we want to process in a youth-led and community-based fashion that we've been beta testing over the last 5 years at Forest Grove Middle School, we explained how the early proof of such concepts have been enough to earn the interest and approval of major leaders and youth-led organizations across the Treasure Coast and far beyond who want us to duplicate our template within their programs and schools as well!

As the pictures below will show, there's no better example to show just how big this opportunity is for us than breaking the imminent and formal news that will be coming in just days that we will be transforming our current pilot program for Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs into our very own vision and collaboration with St. Lucie County 4-H! Thanks to the help and open-mindedness of SLC 4-H Director, John Ferguson, our hard work, persistence, and pipeline of truly great ideas will soon be operated under the umbrella of our very own 4-H Chartered SPIN (SPecial INterest) Club that will of course be powered by our newly minted non-profit arm of The American Dream Factory Inc.!!!

The formation of the Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs 4-H SPIN Club will not only give us full standing and total access to everything that the largest youth-led organization in the country has to offer, it clearly puts us in a position to showcase our program to over 6 million youth who participate in 4-H Clubs around the world who are all part of National and International 4-H Clubs "Beyond Ready" workforce readiness campaign and initiative to "build a ready generation in a world of change" seen here (https://4-h.org/beyond-ready/)!!! This fantastic news coupled with other imminent news of our expansion into Treasure Coast High School's lineup of after-school Clubs is only further evidence that we are doing something right and important after all of these years!

We ended the first week's presentation by bringing the story behind our history and future opportunities within our reach back to today's work and next steps ahead as we prepare for participation in next month's International Cleanup Day with our newfound "Eco-Friends" out of Cameroon Africa and other "Eco-Heroes" from We Save The World in California which came to us through our new Banking and Credit Union membership with Marine-ELGA Credit Union which is a story of opportunities to make a major impact together within itself!

Add that to another huge opportunity to leave our mark and legacy within our local community that will be seen for generations to come who visit the Fort Pierce Manatee Center which will soon display up to 7 life sized Manatees and an 8ft Mangrove tree that our Champion Teacher Brian Tygesson has been asked to have our students submit their own ideas and plans on how to develop, sculpt, and 3D print portions of each figure as part of their upcoming renovations:))) As alluded to in recent posts, we even have the chance to design and sell any number of 3D printed keychains and other handmade manatee themed trinkets at their tourist gift shop. And if that's not cool enough, we also have the amazing opportunity to submit plans to place and sell our very own custom designed Manatee coffee bags and blend of coffee that of course will be sold under the umbrella and Brand of The American Dream Cafe!!!

Needless to say, that's a lot of ground to cover for a group of normal middle schoolers, but these aren't your normal kids, and this isn't your normal after-school program as you might be able to tell by now. So, buckle up and get ready for what is clearly shaping up to be an incredible new year of growth and opportunity and stay tuned for even more and extra amazing good news that we will be breaking soon as we are about to get HELP and STRUCTURE we desperately need for such ideas and expansion already in-motion from one of the most prominent Engineering Professors and K-12 Curriculum designers within the University of Florida who is personally offering help and crazy good connections based on her own ability to see ALL of the promise that can come from what 17 plus years of problem-solving thoughts and ideas have to offer students and communities across America (and beyond:) J

08/14/2026

We are SUPER EXCITED to be taking part in the Treasure Coast Center for Economic and Educational Development's 1st Annual Beach Ball being held at the Square Grouper's spectacular Fort Pierce Inlet location!!! As mentioned in our last update, we had a fantastic conversation with both Anita Fischer and Sarah Dwyer who operate the non-profit arm of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, regarding our inherent synergy and endless potential for collaboration that's possible between us based on our common goals and mission.

As you can see from links below, the goal of the inaugural Beach Ball and TCCEED as a whole, is to bridge the gap between Business, Education, and Workforce Success which couldn't be a more perfect fit with our own passion and mission to create a brand new and alternative pathway to bring JOB creating inventions and creative business ideas to market in the youth-led and community-based fashion that we not only prefer, but truly believe that every community around the world would want for and prefer if such a process existed...

Plenty more to share as we get closer to what is surely going to be "THE" Networking Event of the Year as major players from every sector of the community are coming together to exchange ideas, create new partnerships, and strengthen existing ones in a fashion that benefits the Education and Workforce Readiness of 'OUR' Youth and 'OUR' Community! Until then, be well and grab your tickets as an investment and opportunity to connect your own Business and/or "Dream" with like-minded people who just might be able to help make those Dreams come true:) J

https://tcceed.org/

https://youredc.com/

https://tcceed.zohobackstage.com/BeachBall #/?lang=en

🌊🎟️ WE’RE ONLY 2 WEEKS AWAY! 🎟️🌊

The TCCEED Beach Ball is almost here — DON’T WAIT to get your tickets! 💗

We still have a few VIP tickets with Beach Ball swag bags available, but once they’re gone, they’re GONE! 👀🔥

🎟️ Get your tickets TODAY TCCEED.org/beach-ball
🎉 Raffles & Silent Auction
🌴 August 27 | Square Grouper
🌊 Where Workforce Meets the Waterfront!

This is going to be THE event of the year! Don’t miss it! 🚀

08/08/2026

Congratulations to "The "A" Team"! I've been waiting for confirmation on something very special going on behind the scenes before sharing the "A"mazing news regarding Forest Grove Middle School's first ever "A" rating for a reason that will forever tie this historic news for the entire Bulldog Nation Staff and Executive Team to our own bit of history in the making. But I'll start by saying how awesome it has been to witness the gradual changes for the better over the last 5 years that we've been blessed to develop and soon expand our pilot after-school program for Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs at Forest Grove.

While I'm sure there are a ton of factors that all add up to make such positive changes, I would say that leadership and decisions made over an extended period of time are the most likely contributors to the outcome. That said, I would surely give Mrs. Bobo and the "A" Team that she has put together all of the credit in the world for Forest Grove's upward movement in student grades and even behavior which was not always known for being great either. Having sat through numerous S.A.C. (Student Advisory Council) meetings, I can easily say that there is a constant effort by Mrs. Bobo and her staff to acknowledge issues that need to be addressed, make necessary changes, and monitor outcomes. As small as it sounds, even the flow of student traffic and coordinating different class dismissal times can lower the odds of conflict or foolish activity from happening in the first place. Throw in all of the other pressures that come from teacher retention, migration, and budgeting to name just a few issues that are discussed, and it's a real pressure cooker from the outside looking in.

With that said, I look forward to even greater things to come for Forest Grove and the legacy that Mrs. Bobo's tenure as Principal will leave over time which really does tie into some of our own very, very cool news that would not be possible if she didn't give us the permission or time necessary to work through and beta test our own historic work going on under the radar. For those who don't know, there has been a direct correlation and working relationship between our pilot program and Forest Grove's esteemed Marine Oceanographic Academy (MOA) prep program which Brian Tygesson has been a lead and champion teacher for both since our partnership in this project and now Startup business began.

That unique blend between environmental-minded students that Brian continues to recruit from the MOA prep program as well as the general population who sign up to learn any number of 21st Century workplace readiness skills that are inherent in our educational and inventive process, will soon be on full display for the world to see as Elyse Geraghty, who is the Education Coordinator for the Fort Pierce Manatee Center, has personally commissioned Brian and our students to design and place multiple life sized Manatees throughout the newly renovated Center as well as an 8ft. Mangrove Tree centerpiece that will also be designed and in large part 3D printed by our kids as well!!!

And if that isn't a cool enough project and legacy to leave an impression on local residents and a world full of tourists who visit our famous tourist attraction each year to see, how about the fact that we will also begin designing any number of 3D printed key chains and Manatee themed trinkets that our very own Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs will begin selling at the Manatee Centers Gift Shop too... But wait there's more! How about the fact that we also get to custom design and place for sale the first ever bags of COFFEE that will be produced by The American Dream Cafe which of course will have their very own Manatee themed packaging and blend when ready!!!

Throw in our continued conversations and work with St. Lucie County 4-H Director John Ferguson on the start of our very own Brand of 4-H SPIN (SPecial INterest) Clubs that will be powered by The American Dream Factory and Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club AND the brand new news that we have just been accepted into the fold of Treasure Coast High School thanks to Natasha Banton who is a former Staff member of Forest Grove Middle School and now in charge of all after-school programs as Vice Principal of T.C. High School and I'd say that's a pretty good start to the 2026-2027 school year if I don't say so myself!

As always there's more to share about what's going on behind the scenes including FANTASTIC conversations and new connections being made with the awesome Executive team from the Treasure Coast Center for Economic and Education Development that seems to be a perfect fit for future collaboration between us as well as a number of International connections to our newfound "Eco-Frends" out of Cameroon Africa and California that we cannot wait to begin working with for International Cleanup Day and other collaborative projects being discussed between their own students and ours right here on the Treasure Coast.

With ALL of that said, I hope you can see why we are so thankful and proud of the great things going on at Forest Grove Middle School and why we are eternally grateful for the opportunity to thrive, grow, and even leave our own bit of legacy and positive mark on the world in just a few short years together:) J

BULLDOG NATION WE ARE AN ‘A’ RATED SCHOOL🎉🐾🎉
FGMS HISTORICAL ‘A’ DISTINCTION!!!

07/24/2026

HELP is on the way: In a world that is increasingly becoming a place where 'help' is becoming the type of four-letter word that it was never meant to be, we couldn't be more thankful for the generous donation made to The American Dream Factory Inc. by an old friend and longtime supporter of our youth-led and community-based project and cause! This is the second check in the amount of $250 received, with another on the way, that our gracious donor who asked to remain anonymous has directed to us through an employee program that FP&L and NextEra Energy's own non-profit arm are designed to match volunteer hours with cash donations that can be made to their employees chosen non-profit or charity of choice.

The hope and goal from here will be to spread the word to even more of his cohorts within FP&L and the nuclear power plant where he works to join us in future beach and community cleanups that will be organizing with the 'help' of our newfound friends at Marine Bank and ELGA Credit Union. Needless to say, this type of exponential 'help' will only compound the number of charitable hours and donations that can be poured into pilot after-school program for Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs and upcoming Special Interest (SPIN) 4-H Clubs that we are in a fantastic position to begin developing on the Treasure Coast soon.

Speaking of exponential 'help', we are only days away from the final stages of transformation between Marine Bank and ELGA Credit Union's merger which we are proud to be new members of. And if only a fraction of the ideas and endless collaborative connections being discussed so far with our Branch Manager (and community outreach leader - Tenaya Moulton) come to fruition, we will be in a completely different place and space to grow and thrive from.

Add that to our upcoming conversations with the Director of ELGA Credit Union's Community Foundation for Impact (https://www.elgacu.com/foundation/) and we just might be getting all the 'help' we could ask for in the areas of philanthropy, financial education, and entrepreneurial support which is all the 'HELP' that any Startup like ours could ever ask for and more:) J https://4-h.org/support/corporate-foundation-support/

07/17/2026

Follow the (4-H) Leader(s): While it's been nice to take a quick break from social media over the last few weeks, I couldn't be happier to get back to work and documenting our journey to change the way that great ideas are brought to market in the youth-led and community-based fashion that we prefer. And while there's much work left to be done, last night's invitation to take part in St. Lucie County 4-H's Leadership training session was a great step forward in our potential partnership and collaboration with America's oldest and largest youth-based organization!

As mentioned in a number of previous posts, we have been truly blessed to have the full support and backing of SLC's Director of 4-H, John Ferguson, who is proactively working with us through an open application to become a trusted Corporate Partner of 4-H (https://4-h.org/support/corporate-foundation-support/) and to see that our pilot program for Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs can become a registered STEM/STEAM-based Club within SLC 4-H to begin with, with much larger goals of getting our Project Based Learning and 21st Century work readiness program in front of all 6 million 4-H kids across the country and beyond in due time.

Speaking of "beyond", there was a lot of time spent in last night's Leadership meeting highlighting National 4-H's "Beyond Ready" campaign which is completely designed to not just prepare their 6 million youth for work but to give them as many real-world and hands-on experiences as possible to "Dream, Achieve, and Thrive in a Changing World" as seen here (https://4-h.org/beyond-ready/). As I'll say until the whole flock 4-H raised chickens. pigs, and cows come home, there are no guarantees. BUT the facts of the matter are very clear that we are onto something truly special that could be a template for SLC 4-H and/or any other youth-led organization and school across the country (or world for that matter) which is a fantastic position to be in.

I'll close out for now by saying that such opportunities don't happen by working alone or in a vacuum as there have been numerous people and organizations that I've spent time with over the last 17 years that have helped to make the odds of this amazing chance more than possible, and dare I say, probable from here. And for the sake of properly recognizing such help, there has been no greater ally or catalyst in our growth over the last 5 years to be specific than that of our very own Champion Teacher and now business partner, Brian Tygesson, who has invested his own time, money, and energy into growing our pilot program from a great concept with a pipeline of even greater ideas into something far more tangible. Thanks to Brian's unrelenting support and belief in our vision, we have been able grow and beta test our concepts each year to a point where people like John Ferguson and many others we are literally speaking to around the world are excited to collaborate with and take part in the next phase of our journey from here.

And I would be negligent in not giving one more shout out to Mrs. Keonisha Bobo who not only allowed us the opportunity to build upon our pilot program each and every year BUT just turned Forest Grove Middle School into an "A" Rated school for the first time in their school's history under the direction and "leadership" during her short time as Principal of Forest Grove and never better Bulldog Nation!!!

As always, stay tuned for more great news as we expect to meet within the next 2 weeks with our newest banking partners from Marine Bank and ELGA Credit Union now that their historic merger is almost complete. As recent posts of this new opportunity have also mentioned, we will soon see how their slogan of "Members Helping Members" will apply to all that we have going on, and more importantly, how we will be able to collaborate within ELGA's very own Foundation for Impact (https://www.elgacu.com/foundation/) whose own mission is to "Change lives and help people through the three pillars of Philanthropy, Financial Education, and Entrepreneurial Support! Call me crazy once again but that almost sounds like a perfect fit for the unconventional type of youth-led and community-based Startup like OURS:) J =ECO

06/20/2026

Eco-Friends Unite: Having been around the block a few times during this crazy journey of ours to change the current pathway that inventions and creative business ideas are brought to market, I think it's fair to say that I've met a lot of different people along the way. But few have impressed me right out of the gates more than the young man I've been speaking with from Cameroon who is making the world a better place through an environmental non-profit that he is the co-founder of (https://ecofriendscmr.org/) and his work with young people in the coastal region of Central Africa who are helping to remove mountains of toxic trash and recyclable debris from their polluted waterways and bordering Atlantic Ocean.

His name is Awiyii Blaise, and I can honestly say that he is one of the happiest eco-warriors I've ever met when it comes to exchanging ideas and open collaboration between like-minded people and community-based organizations like ours. As briefly mentioned in our last post, this connection came through a recent discovery from our new bank/credit union (Marine Bank/ELGA Credit Union) who have partnered with Plastic Oceans International (https://www.plasticoceans.org/) and Parley (https://parley.tv/) to issue their own Brand of bank cards made with recycled plastics that numerous environmental organizations like Eco Friends are collaborative partners with as well.

Not knowing a thing more than the fact that I loved the name and pictures associated with the link provided to Eco-Friends, I reached out to see if it could be possible to collaborate between our respective projects and causes as well. And in that one week that's passed so far, I think there's been at least a dozen messages sent between us and an hour plus call with Awiyii yesterday that sealed the deal on future work and partnerships between us that range from coordinated activities and cleanups associated with World Cleanup Day in September, to the very real possibility of his help in developing The Cameroon Dream Factory (and Cafe')!!!

Add that to a lengthy list of connections that he has already made progress on that will soon connect us with Administration from the University of Buea where Awiyii attends classes related to his field of Botany (plant science) to talk about creating a Capstone Program similar to those we work with here in the States to develop a number of "eco-friendly" inventions within our pipeline that students in Cameroon can take part in, coffee farmers from Cameroon who we would LOVE to work with and sell their beans through The American (& International) Dream Cafe, as well as number of Founders to other eco-friendly non-profits that Awiyyi is connected to also.

Plenty more to share regarding our budding partnership and collaboration, but I'll leave it here for now and let the pictures below of Awiyii's work with local students and current partnerships with We Save The World (https://www.wesavetheworld.org/), MBRC The Ocean (https://www.mbrctheocean.com/) tell the story behind his passion and why I am truly amazed and inspired by how much work is being done with such little resources.

Needless to say, we can only hope to become a helping hand for the moment and a major funding partner in the near future once our own wheels begin to turn and products within the pipeline begin to be seen and sold out around the world. Until then, we'll keep pushing and connecting with like-minded warriors such as Awiyii and others within his ecosphere who are as committed as we are to leaving this world in a better place than where it was when we were born into it:) J =ECO