God Uses a Smokey the Bear Hat
On the Emerald Coast of Florida, there is the silhouette of a man wearing black boots, black SWAT style utility uniform, black sunglasses and a drill instructor ‘smokey’ hat. In spite of that profile, he has a heart of gold. His job is to provide a significant emotional event to his clients. That’s a nice way of saying he will get in your face in an effort to change behavior. When his clients first meet him, the image of Senior Master Sergeant (retired) Jeff Crider is enough to send terror into their heart.
Crider is the CEO of Project Pyramid Juvenile Intervention. And, although he looks the part of a drill instructor he is not there to teach people to march, salute and climb through obstacle courses. Jeff Crider is a retired Air Force First Sergeant which honed his passion to mentor people towards greatness. While Project Pyramid is not a boot camp, it is a boot camp approach.
As a Christian, one of the tenets of his mentoring style emanates from his knowledge of biblical principles of parenting. Jeff Crider says, “Approximately two dozen times in the book of Proverbs we find an exhortation to listen to your parents. For it to be repeated that many times, God must think it’s important.” Crider is quick to point out that while kids have a responsibility to listen to their parents, parents have a responsibility to do more than shake their heads and throw their hands up in despair.
His primary approach in dealing with the parents of his clients is to help them understand what’s going on in their child’s life so they can relate to the root of the problems. He was at a clients house once and was in the boys room talking with him and Crider pointedly asked the young man if he was smoking marijuana. The young man replied that he had smoke a joint just that morning. Suddenly, the father exploded in the other room and was ranting about his son having lied to him. Jeff went into to the living room to try and calm the father and try to understand what had just happened.
It came down to terminology. The father had asked the son if he was smoking dope. The son denied it to the father in an earlier conversation. Yet, he had just affirmed smoking marijuana to his new mentor. The father had grown up in the 1970s when marijuana had been called dope. But, in the vernacular of today’s youth dope refers to harder drugs such as crack cocaine. So, when the father had asked the son if he smoked dope the young man had denied it because he knew he was not imbibing harder drugs.
Jeff Crider operates from a contract. There is a dollar cost to his program which he works out with the parents. Once he gains a client, he meets with the teenager three times a week and the entire family once a week. He firmly believes the entire family has to be involved in order for his program to be a successful intervention experience. He also will interact with teachers, principals, bus drivers, guidance counselors and anyone else that is involved in the young person’s life. He monitors grades and works with the parents to remove television and other privileges depending on the situation and attitude of his client. This is a crucial area where the program rises or falls based upon parental support.
Parents Kenny and Lee Glaser were on the brink of despair. They said, “Project Pyramid provided support at a time when we were exhausted. Teenagers have so many issues to deal with these days that consistency, positive reinforcement and clear boundaries are critical to staying on the right track. No teenager is perfect or ever will be, but for those that struggle with low self esteem, anger management and defiance, Sergeant Crider works wonders. Our daughter still calls him when she needs help, and we consider him family. We recommend Project Pyramid without hesitation but caution that program only works if parents are committed to doing their jobs and not being their child’s best friend.”
It’s not just the parents who show their appreciation. Crider gets feedback from students from time to time. Twenty one year old Dane expressed how Project Pyramid changed his life, “When I was 16 I found myself making many bad choices and decisions. Then I met Mr. C and he helped me to become a better person. I’m truly thankful I met him at the end of the day.” Crider would be quick to add that he merely helped the young man discover the path to make him a better person.
Another young client named Matt said, “I joined Mr. C a year ago! I was failing school and having family issues. He helped me get on the right track! I graduate this year and start attending college classes this spring with high school classes”.
Jeff Crider’s clients have succeeded and discovered each other in some unlikely places. Try picturing two military members talking to each other in a remote middle eastern location. They are delighted to discover they are both from the panhandle of Florida. Though they didn’t go to the same high school, they soon begin talking about how they both had troubled times with their parents. And, then to their amazement they both know of an old crusty retired First Sergeant named Jeff Crider. They had both been clients of Project Pyramid who helped to turn their lives around and now they meet each other while deployed to a combat hot spot.
There’s an old story of a boy on a beach surrounded by starfish that had washed ashore. As he started throwing them back into the ocean, an old man walked up behind him and said, “You can’t make a difference. There are too many of them.” The boy picked up another one and threw into the ocean. He said, “It made a difference to that one.” Jeff Crider may not be able to help all the troubled youth in the Emerald Coast. But, he can make a difference one at a time. Project Pyramid may be just what your family needs.
For more information call: (850) 543-8203
