Recap of the Tied to Greatness™ Tour

By Richard Cox

For Tied to greatness tour dates click here

Alex Ellis, custom clothier and image consultant, is the founder of the Tied to Greatness national outreach program. The program is geared to target male teens in inner city high schools. It has become known as a growing positive image movement that has impacted the lives of male youth from city to city. The theme of the Tied to Greatness tour is “Change what they are… Influence how they think… Impact what they do!”

Tied to Greatness has provided a plan that has helped young men see their greatness and potential. As a result, many of the young men have been motivated to achieve their hopes and dreams in life.

On February 29, 2008, the Tied to Greatness tour stopped by Charles Flowers High School, in Springdale, Maryland. The tour consisted of a two-hour life changing experience that impacted two-hundred male teens as well as fifty adult male volunteers.

As the two hundred young guys walked in the auditorium Ellis asked the men to stand and applaud them. There were expressions of surprise on the faces of the teens. The principle, Mrs. Helena Jones welcomed everyone to the program. Mrs. Jones told the youth to get ready to experience a treat. She said “you’re going to learn something different this morning from your normal classes of math, and English. You’re going to learn about character skills that you will take with you to your careers or wherever you go in life.”

Ellis started off by telling the group that the men volunteered their time today because “they love you and are concerned about you.” He told them that the special speakers were going to tell them how image is important in their lives. Ellis explained how he wanted them to have dignity and pride. He expressed to them how the adult male role models believe that greatness lies in them….that purpose and destiny lies in them. Ellis pointed out how the exterior can be reflective of the interior. He offered the example of shopping in a store, dressed down and not receiving the same respect from the salesperson a person dressed in a suit and tie would most likely receive. Ellis explained how sometimes the salesperson’s perspective would be different based on a person’s outer image. He stated that the image projected can effect how others respond. Ellis ended by saying, “image is power and you can command attention.”

The motivating guest speakers for the event were Paul Brown, an award-winning television producer and member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Grayling Williams, president of the Washington DC chapter of NOBLE, Brent Jones, USA Today reader’s editor, Keion Carpenter, former NFL football player, businessman and community advocate, and Dr. Ron Watson, school board member from Prince Georges County.

After the speakers, there was an insightful video presentation called Gallery of Greatness that portrayed some of the negative images of African Americans in mass media as well as some of the positive images of role models like Dr. Charles Drew, Dr. Martin Luther King, etc. Ellis explained how the video was shown so the teens could see our African American journey through both negative and positive images.

Oprah Winfrey’s scholarship winner, Messiah gave a motivating and intense spoken word performance, which centered on the tied to greatness theme. He said to the teens “the power is in you … the only limitation on you is yourself.”

Ellis had the men to stand around the front and sides of the auditorium for the highlight of the tour, the tie-tying ceremony. He had four teens stand in front of each man. Ellis told the men to speak affirmations into the lives of their four teens. He asked the young men first to watch how the men demonstrated tie tying and then they were given a chance to tie their own ties. It was a moving experience to look around the auditorium and witness this rite of passage. After everyone finished tying their ties the guys proudly walked back to their seats with their new ties and a sense of accomplishment. Ellis said to the young men, “we believe you are going somewhere to wear a tie.”

There was the Tied to Greatness pledge led by Ellis and recited by the teens to seal the purpose of the event. Ellis told the teens that each of them would get a copy of his book, Restoring the Male Image: a Look from the Inside Out. He told the group to read his book and submit an essay about how the book impacted their lives. The selected winner of the essay contest would win a custom suit along with a shirt, cufflinks, a tie and a pair of shoes.

Alex Ellis sent this special message to the Gospelcity.com family:
“This tour is about a call to men across this nation to sense the urgency impacting the lives of the next generation. It begins with us feeling the need to be an indelible mark. And often times we are in such a hurry…with work… or going to church that we miss the opportunity to simply tell another young brother I believe in you …there’s purpose… there’s destiny in your life… I support you and they need that type of support… that type of affirmation. Those are ministry opportunities. Often times we don’t take advantage of them so here at Tied to Greatness we provide an opportunity for men to come together, join forces to say first of all we care... we are not coming to bash you… we are not going to fuss at you… but we are coming to support you… and let you know there is greatness inside of you. I’m asking men to meet me all across the nation to go to the Web site and find out when we are in a city near you and come out and support this awesome initiative as we touch the lives of young men across the nation. We ask men to come out for two hours and that’s not a lot of time but out of that you can touch lives in ways that you wouldn’t think was possible and teens will never forget.”

Male mentors in attendance offered these remarks:
Kenneth Tucker - “I’m from Baltimore, MD.I came here to volunteer today to have this same sort of program in Baltimore City. We are in dire need for a program of this nature to help our younger generation.”

Jamal Carter - “I believe this is a great vision that Alex Ellis had in restoring the black male image. As black men we never had a true rite of passage to show men… because there are grown men to this day who don’t know how to tie ties in order to be presentable so therefore how can our youth be presentable. I believe in what Alex is doing, I believe in this vision… I believe that it’s time for black men to take their rightful place where they are supposed to be. And if you’re not the father of a child, be a mentor. Be an example for the future … because our future is at hand. We need to take care of our own because no one else will.”

Here are comments from two of the students who attended the event:
Kenny Simons, 12th grader - “I thought the program today was very impacting. It talked about a crucial subject about image. I wish more students could have come to hear about it. A lot of the young people don’t know that the way you present yourself is the way people view you and act toward you. You can be the perfect student and not have the perfect image. “

Shawn Lewis, 12th grader - “It was very influential, powerful speeches by all the guys. It impacted my life very much because actually I didn’t know how to tie a tie…my dad wasn’t even around so my mom instilled in me that image was everything. I really wanted to learn how to tie a tie and I went to seminars to learn and still didn’t get it. I got it today. It was great for me and I really loved it. I love meeting powerful influential people. It was a great experience for me.”

You may visit www.TiedtoGreatness.org or call (973) 926-1744 to find out about their next tour date coming to a city near you. You can also register online to be a participant, or be a sponsor of the tour in your city.