About

                               Jerry L. Haynes 

OK, where do I start.

I was born…., no that line has already been taken. Call me…, oops so has that one.
Well, I won’t attempt to spout musical prose, and just be myself.
I grew up in the small cotton mill town of Fries, VA.
My parents were hardworking members of the middle class. They never earned more than a little over minimum wage, but I can never remember lacking for anything.

After graduating from Fries High School in 1969, I started to VA Tech. After two years of partying (1st), going to movies (2nd), and studying, well, much further down the list, VA Tech decided I need a two year break to get my priorities straight. With a number 8 in the draft lottery, I knew that even if the Hokies didn’t want me, Uncle Sam did.

I joined the US Navy. I got my priorities straight. I’m proud to be a Viet Nam veteran, but feel guilty I never got deployed. I graduated from Tech in 1977 with a BS in Civil Engineering.
For the next 35 years I would work in both the private and public sectors. My first job took me to Tazewell County, Virginia where I soon joined the Jaycees. This ignited my passion for individual development. This passion still burns today.

For 30 years I researched every book, tape and article I could find. In 2004 I began compiling this information into a self-improvement program. Thus was born, In 2006, after a health scare that led me to write my “bucket list”, I decided to forget about the fear of rejection and started the first of my four novels. Unlike many motivational speakers, I was not, and do not today, consider myself a “Super-achiever”.

I wasn’t the all-state quarterback for my high-school team. I actual never advanced above second-string. I did finish 10th in my high school graduating class, but then again, there was only 48 in my class. I have had accomplishments in my life, such as being chosen as the first Eishenhower-Jennings Randolph

Fellow which funded a trip to study recycling in Japan. I have attended the premier of The Lucky One with Nicholas Sparks. I live a very balanced life, and now that I get the senior citizen discounts wherever I go, I am full of Hope and Happiness.

So full, that I want to Bring Hope and Happiness to you.