A note about the dates on this site: Most of the videos, news stories, and testimonies you will see and hear here were recorded before 2008 — and they are shown with their dates on purpose. There is misleading information out there saying this program was started by Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks in 2008. In fact, this program was started by Larry D. Veal and Be More Positive Enterprises. That is why the videos are dated — the work came first. The reason this matters: this work led to the creation of a community-based mentoring department in Georgia's largest school district — and one of the largest in the nation. The work is still needed today. And this record — and the work itself — cannot be as effective if the message is not heard, or if it is not authentic.
1989 · Augusta, Georgia — While attending HBCU Paine College, Larry Veal created his first community-based mentoring initiative, taking the program into the community.
In Message to Mission, comedian Larry D. Veal tells how one school assembly became a mentoring movement that changed thousands of young lives — and sets the record straight on who built it.
It didn’t start in a boardroom. It started with the counselors — the ladies at the beginning — who saw a need in their school and encouraged him to do something about it. He came in with comedy. A school assembly. Then that assembly became a focus group. The focus group became weekly mentoring. And the weekly mentoring became a department in the school system that is still there today.
This new edition carries the receipts: the closing chapter that tells how the community-based mentoring program was created, the original memorandum of understanding, the district’s own executive summaries, and letters from the students themselves.
His motto then is his motto now: “Before you kick them out, let us help them out.”
“Mr. Larry Veal is filling a gap that we had here and we hope that he can continue to do that for a long time.”
— Karen Robinson, Principal, Shiloh Middle School — 2006
Opening Quote and Dedication
The late Rev. John Stewart, president of the Gwinnett County NAACP, and his wife
“There are people in this life who can make a difference. There are some who you are surprised to see make a difference. A lot of times, it’s not the churches, the schools, the politics, or the government. Sometimes, it’s just a person who has the heart to change and the spirit to make a difference. In this case, we want to recognize that person with this award, and that person is Larry Veal.”
[This letter was hand-delivered to Larry by Rev. Stewart's wife, Jujuan, over ten years after his death.]
The 2006 Making A Difference Award, NAACP Gwinnett Branch.
Alex Haley wrote other books. But the world knows him for one: Roots. That was his book — the one that carried his name and his story to everybody.
Message to Mission is mine.
Roots introduced us to the past. Message to Mission can introduce us to a brighter future.
Roots looked back — at where we came from, and what it cost to get here. This book looks forward — at where our children can go, if the adults around them decide to help instead of punish. It tells how a mentoring program was built in Gwinnett County, Georgia — one of the largest school systems in America — out of assemblies, small groups, and one man’s promise to save youth through comedy.
Every author has the one book that says who he is. This is that book for me.
— Larry D. Veal
The Vision
It started with a mother’s passion — a mother wanting her child to live. She had lost one child, and she caught on to Mr. Veal to help inspire — and he used comedy to do it.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 17, 2005 — “Laughs are not what comic is focused on,” by Lateef Mungin. The article that told it as it happened.
Now imagine it somewhere else.
Imagine other school systems creating community-based mentoring programs of their own. Imagine the I Have Willpower curriculum in their classrooms — teaching young people to stop, think, and choose. Imagine what it does to a school when the students everybody had given up on start passing, start graduating, start staying out of the system.
And there is proof the I Have Willpower curriculum works. From 2023 to 2026, under contract with Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson, Mr. Veal ran four cohorts of the New Directions diversion program, teaching his I Have Willpower curriculum to court-involved youth. Upon completion, the Achievers were able to get their charges dropped. The program was a huge success — every young person who enrolled completed it to the end and got their charges dropped.
In this program they are not called students — they are called Achievers, and the whole program is run through Achievers. They learn nuggets like the I Effect — “There’s no I in team, but there is an I in life”; FOP — Focus on the Positive; and BOW — Better Or Worse: before you make a decision, ask yourself whether it will make things better or worse.
The program is built on three foundational principles: decisions are made by being impulsive, emotional, or through peer pressure. The Achievers were able to identify which one was most likely driving their own attitude, and then address it through various concepts and theories — many of them fun to learn, easy to learn, and engaging.
These are lessons taught for years. The mission is not over. Mr. Veal’s hope is that the I Have Willpower curriculum will make not just Achievers in the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, but Achievers all across America — young Achievers all across America.
Mr. Veal’s account, as he states it — presented here as his account. And the records are on file to prove it: pre- and post-test assessments, video footage of graduations, and student comments — all available in the records.
From the book’s closing chapter:
“I created it so it could be franchised — carried into school systems all across this country, and maybe beyond — for hurting kids and hurting families who need inspiration, humor, and encouragement.”
“This book was never a message to mission for Gwinnett. It’s a message to mission for the world.”
Wouldn’t it be great? One school system proved it can be done. The book shows how. The next system just has to pick it up.
Imagine a country full of young Achievers.
Testimonials
Don’t take his word for it. Take theirs.
The Counselors and the Schools
GCPS 7th-grade counselor shares the program’s impact — 2007
Ms. Toi Beavers — Gwinnett County middle school counselor, speaking on the program’s impact: helping students transfer from eighth grade to ninth grade — 2007
Ms. Dana Booker — GCPS middle-school testimony, 2007
“Mr. Larry Veal has been counseling several males at Shiloh Middle School for the past three years on a voluntary basis… In seventh grade this year, 33 students have participated in his sessions. 31 students or 94% of the participants reduced negative behaviors… The services he has provided at no cost have been an effective intervention.”
31 of 33students reduced negative behaviors — 94%
Teresa HargrettAssistant Principal, Shiloh Middle School — letter, May 14, 2007
“He has worked with our students here at Lanier Middle School for several years… The students respected him and learned valuable life lessons while working with him.”
Sandra HudsonCounselor, Lanier Middle School — letter, May 21, 2007
“We have documented a noticeable reduction in the number of discipline referrals… Mr. Veal is a role model who presents a positive message that is both powerful and valuable.”
George AllenAssistant Principal, Shiloh Middle School — letter
“Thanks for coming today! The students really enjoyed you!!”Five Forks Middle School
The Parents
Janet Klos — mother of two — speaks about Larry Veal and the Be More Positive Company’s impact.
“Over that period of time the behavior change was immense and phenomenal. I could not believe it, and his teachers could not believe it… This curriculum belongs in every home and school everywhere.”
K. OwensParent of three, supporter of the I Have Willpower Curriculum — on using the curriculum at home with her son
“I was wondering why my son started doing his chores.”
A parentAt a Be More Positive session, on her son
The Students
A Duluth High School student, interviewing Larry Veal for her research project — Gwinnett County, 2008.
Gwinnett County Public Schools student was first reluctant to enter the program.
This young Achiever explains Success Mountain — a student showing his understanding of the I Have Willpower curriculum.
Atlanta Public School student demonstrates the Triple A Theory.
Atlanta Teen benefits from B-Moe Positive Company
“You helped me a lot when you talked about not taking drugs. That same week I was going to try Marijuana on a Saturday… I decided not to take Marijuana with those kids. On Monday I heard those kids were arrested. I could have been in juvenile, but because of you I’m not.”
Alexis MartinezStudent
“Mr. Veal the first time I just thought you were here for the money, but then I got to realize you wanted to help us. You were giving real life stuff that made sense.”
Tosin A.Student
“At first I would just go to get out of class… But you showed me that you have to care for your grades and family and yourself… You can’t waste it by going to jail or going to join a gang.”
Giovanni RodriguezStudent
“Some of the things you’ve taught us we would have never known. I hope you come back next year.”
Exon RomirezStudent, Sweetwater Middle School
“I havent been arrested again or kicked out of school again. I have improved my grades & have shown more respect to my teachers.”
Brian BoydStudent
The remaining student letters — from Shane Huckleby, Javier Lunez, Justin Rumbery, and William Hernandez — are printed in full in the book’s appendix, “Letters from Students.” Read all nine letters in the book.
Otis Russell, 8th grade, Shiloh Middle School — recognized the day he realized he was passing all his classes.
Television coverage of Be More Positive — the work, in the news.
IN THE NEWS WITH REV. CHARLES — ABC News. Larry Veal discusses how Rev. Charles and Be More Positive work to save kids’ lives.
Be More Positive Hope House — WISH-TV Channel 8, Indianapolis: the home where four murders took place, turned into a house of hope.
Man with a Message
Larry Veal Morning News — Stop blaming the kids, it’s us adults w/ the problem too — Comedian Larry D. Veal discusses his movie “Rule 12” and the mentoring program he founded — the school-to-prison pipeline, community-based mentoring, and Gwinnett County schools.
Winner of the Week — James Cockerham’s Copro Music, May 2021. “Larry Veal is a community activist with a heart for young people. His hard work to reach troubled youth has literally saved lives.” Watch on Facebook
School assemblyGym assemblyRed Ribbon Week assemblySchool assemblyHealth Jam ’99Acknowledge · Accept · ActI Have Willpower workbooks and bookPress coverageBe More PositiveClassroom small-group sessionBe More Positive shirtsAcknowledge · Accept · Act · ConsequencesThumbs up — student group photo2010 Best Minority Non-Profit Award (Gwinnett Unity Group) — Recipient: Larry D. Veal. Presented by Nicole Love Hendrickson and Mr. Herman Pennamon. Also on the committee: Mr. James Rayford.Eyewitness NewsGang Awareness — The Gwinnett ForceI Have Willpower Instructor’s Manual
About the Author
Larry D. Veal — comedian, speaker, author — has spent his life doing two things that turned out to be one thing: making people laugh, and keeping young people out of prison.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Sociology from HBCU Paine College in Augusta, Georgia (1989), and served as a Georgia correctional officer, a Fulton County juvenile probation officer, and a juvenile boot camp instructor in Indianapolis before founding Be More Positive Enterprises in Metro Atlanta. In the early 1990s he began taking comedy into schools — auditorium assemblies that became small-group mentoring, and mentoring that became Gwinnett County’s community-based mentoring work in the county’s secondary schools. From October 2023 to August 2026 he led the New Directions diversion program for the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, delivering his I Have Willpower curriculum to court-involved youth.
His honors include Best Minority Non-Profit in Gwinnett County (2010), the Home Depot Foundation Charity of the Year (2015), and the NAACP Making a Difference Award (2006). His services led to the creation of the community-based mentoring department as currently in use by the Gwinnett County Public School System.
2010Best Minority Non-Profit in Gwinnett County
2015Home Depot Foundation Charity of the Year
2006NAACP Making a Difference Award
On stage he is Coop D. Veal — clean, country, original comedy, thirty years and counting. In print, he is the author of Message to Mission, Troubled Kids Need Jesus Too, and Funny Jokes & Stories to Take Your Mind Off Serious Stuff.
His words for all of it:“Before you kick them out, let us help them out.”
Partner With Me
School systems, district attorneys’ offices, juvenile justice agencies, and other organizations are invited to partner with Larry D. Veal in this mission — focus groups, professional development, town hall meetings, book clubs, and keynote speaking.
Focus group intro sessions and curriculum information breakouts from Be More Positive Enterprises — offered free of charge. These are life-changing services, and saving young lives is more important than financial gain. Book a session in person in Metro Atlanta, in person where Mr. Veal is, or on Zoom. The only charge is for materials, if books or workbooks are needed.
Your gift supports Be More Positive Enterprises and its I Have Willpower work — the mentoring and curriculum that help young people and families choose a better path.
Letter from Principal Karen Robinson, Shiloh Middle School — February 6, 2006Gwinnett County Public Schools — Final Student Discipline Report, 2009–2010Gwinnett County Community-Based Mentoring Program — Annual Report, 2010–2011The Indianapolis Recorder — October 17, 1987HBCU Paine College — Outstanding Alumni
“We’re here to talk about the program you started in Gwinnett County.”
Fox 5 Atlanta — January 2, 2008Brandon B. — a student from the 2006 Shiloh video, met again at LA FitnessTeaching the curriculum — New Directions Program, Gwinnett County District Attorney’s OfficeNew Directions Program — Gwinnett County District Attorney’s OfficeSTAR graduation, Shiloh Middle School — Board Chairman Louise Radloff (center) and Pastor Jesse Curney (right), 2008The late Rev. Dr. Andrew J. Brown, Indianapolis — the mentor who got him started
School systems, district attorneys’ offices, juvenile justice agencies, and other organizations are invited to partner with Larry D. Veal in this mission. Here’s how:
Focus Groups
45 minutes to an hour. You pick the topic or subject matter, based on your situation and your school’s concerns.
Professional Development
For your counselors, teachers, mentors, and other staff.
Town Hall Meeting
Questions and answers: ask me questions, and I’ll answer questions about the book.
Book Club
Your organization reads Message to Mission together: your students, staff, community leaders, mentors, and peers.
Keynote Speaker
And always, invite me in as your keynote speaker.
Four Phase Curriculum Training
Utilized successfully for the Gwinnett District Attorney’s Office from 2023-2026 in which one hundred percent of the students were able to avoid further legal issues by completing the courses.
Thirty years of working with young people in trouble — in schools, in courts, and in the community — and the program that grew out of it, told in Message to Mission. Now you can sit down with him directly.
Private consultations
For Parents
A conversation about your child.
School trouble, suspensions, court involvement, or a child you can see heading the wrong way. Larry has spent his life in that exact moment with families — first as a juvenile probation officer, then building the mentoring program Gwinnett County schools asked him to bring in. Bring your questions; leave with a plan and a straighter read on what your child needs next.
Public consultations
For Educators & Administrators
How the program worked, and what it takes to build one.
The community-based mentoring model that began in Gwinnett County in 2005 — how it started, how it ran school to school, and what your district or agency should know before starting its own. A working conversation for superintendents’ staff, principals, counselors, DA’s offices, and juvenile justice leaders. (For speaking engagements, see Partner With Me.)
Mentor Training — at your facility
Larry trains your mentors.
A full-day or two-day training for the mentors who will work with your young people — the same approach Larry used building community-based mentoring in Gwinnett County, taught to your team at your facility.
Please contact the office to arrange a training.
The sessions
$50
30 minutes — $50
$100
60 minutes — $100
By phone or video call, scheduled at a confirmed time.
How it works
Send the request form below — who you are, what it’s about, and the times that work for you.
Your time is confirmed by email.
You receive the payment link; payment holds your session.
Larry calls you at the confirmed time.
Submitting this form sends your request to Larry D. Veal. Your time is then confirmed by email.
The Message to Mission Student Handbook and Trainer’s Manual — coming soon. Consultation is the fastest way to hear how they will work in your school or home.
Having fun with Big C — November 4, 2018. “Please help me spread the word of school safety, anti bullying and positive thinking through humor and fun. #bemorepositive” Watch on Instagram
Support Project B.I.G.-C. on GoFundMe
Project B.I.G.-C. — “Believing In Georgia’s Children” — help bring the mission to more of Georgia’s children. Every gift to the fundraiser goes through GoFundMe.
These are life-changing services — and saving young lives is more important than financial gain. That is why Be More Positive Enterprises offers them free.
The only charge would be for materials, if books or workbooks are needed. Other than that, feel free — book a session.
Donations are welcome — they help keep these services free for the young people who need them. Be More Positive Enterprises is a nonprofit, and you can give through Cash App: $savekidsBMP.
Attending a session is free. Using this information for grants or programs is different — that use must be licensed. See Licensing just below.
Special Note
The Exact Material — Taught Week After Week for 13 Weeks
These are the exact programs and services that were offered to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office New Directions Program — the program where over 90% of the kids got their charges dropped. They were taught this exact information week after week for 13 weeks.
These are also some of the material that laid the foundation for what is now the Gwinnett County Community-Based Mentoring Department — before that department even started.
These are Mr. Veal’s original concepts and theories, developed during his lifetime as a probation officer and a prison guard, and as a college student studying criminology and sociology — as well as from his lived experience.
Licensing — Using This Information for Grants & Programs
The free services above are free to attend and learn from. But if you want to use the I Have Willpower curriculum information for grants, grant applications, programs, or other organizational use, that use must be licensed through Be More Positive USA (Be More Positive Enterprises Inc).
Inquire about license training for your staff, organization, or company. License training equips your team to use the information the right way, under license.
You can also choose “Licensing Inquiry — License Training for Staff / Organization / Company” in the booking form below.
Schools, churches, youth programs, and community organizations can book a free session with Larry D. Veal — focus group intro sessions and curriculum information breakouts built on his I Have Willpower curriculum.
Sessions are held in person in Metro Atlanta, in person wherever Mr. Veal is, or on Zoom.
At the center is a PowerPoint presentation that teaches young people how to look at things — because a lot of our kids can’t see success if they’re not focused. It gets them focused, and gets everybody on the same page, aimed at success. The work is geared toward intervention and prevention — keeping young people out of the criminal justice system and away from substance abuse.
Focus groups — small-group sessions where the curriculum comes to life.Mr. Veal teaching the curriculum — New Directions Program, Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.School assemblies — the message that starts the mission.
The Nuggets — What They Learn
Every session is built from the nuggets of the I Have Willpower curriculum — lessons young people carry with them long after the session ends. These are the twelve at the heart of it:
1The I Effect
“There’s no I in team, but there is an I in life.” Focus on your individual responsibilities — and learn to avoid peer pressure.
2COFO — Control of Future Outcome
The choices you make today control the outcome of your future. Learn to take hold of where your life is headed.
3B-O-W — Better Or Worse
Before you make a decision, stop and ask yourself: will this make it better or worse?
4FOP — Focus on the Positive
Train your focus on the positive — on what builds you up and moves you forward.
5GB — Get Better
Peer-to-peer relationships and team building — how young people help each other get better, together.
6Success Mountain
Learn your role and your position in life, learn how to set goals, and learn how to avoid negativity on the climb. Success Mountain also focuses on avoiding negative labeling and the importance of a name — “what you call yourself is how you identify and how you live.” So it focuses on positive labeling and positive positioning — life positioning.
7Backyard / Front Yard
One of Mr. Veal’s signature I Have Willpower lessons — he teaches it in the room, the way he has taught it for years.
8Gang Banging Will Leave You Hanging
The street promises loyalty. This lesson tells the truth about where gang life actually leaves you.
9A Criminal’s Main Goal
A criminal’s main goal is to get away with the crime — not to be your friend. Know the difference before it costs you.
10The Story of Ernest Lee
How one mistake can change the trajectory of a life — regardless of how talented you are.
11The Rule of Rules
“Rules will always be rules — so you either follow them or be forced to follow.”
12S-I-N-A — Success Is No Accident
Success doesn’t happen by chance — it is built, choice by choice, on purpose.
Book a Free Session — Sessions to Choose From
Pick the session that fits your group — or pick two or three nuggets and let Mr. Veal build the session around your young people. Every session below is free.
Focus Group Intro Session
A first look at the I Have Willpower curriculum — what it is, how it works, and what it can do for your group.
Seeing Success
The PowerPoint presentation: learning how you look at things, so young people can get focused and see success for themselves.
The I Effect
“There’s no I in team, but there is an I in life” — individual responsibility and standing up to peer pressure.
Success Mountain
Learn your role and your position in life, set goals, and avoid negativity. Also: avoiding negative labeling and the importance of a name — “what you call yourself is how you identify and how you live” — with a focus on positive labeling and positive positioning: life positioning.
COFO — Control of Future Outcome
Your choices today control where you land tomorrow.
B-O-W — Better Or Worse
A decision tool young people can use in the moment: will this make it better or worse?
FOP — Focus on the Positive
Training your focus on the positive — in school, at home, and on the street.
GB — Get Better
Peer-to-peer relationships and team building.
Backyard / Front Yard
A signature I Have Willpower lesson, taught by Mr. Veal in the session.
Gang Banging Will Leave You Hanging
The truth about where gang life leaves the young people who choose it.
A Criminal’s Main Goal
His goal is to get away with the crime — not to be your friend.
The Story of Ernest Lee
One mistake can change the trajectory of a life, no matter the talent.
The Rule of Rules
“Rules will always be rules — so you either follow them or be forced to follow.”
S-I-N-A — Success Is No Accident
Success doesn’t happen by chance — it is built, choice by choice, on purpose.
Understanding the Big Three
Decisions are made impulsively, emotionally, and by peer pressure — learn to identify which one is driving you, and how to stop it.
Know Your Strengths
Assessing individual strengths with Mr. Veal’s own assessment — and building on what each young person already has.
Breakout Game: To Tell the Truth
An interactive breakout game from the curriculum that gets a group honest with itself.
Breakout Game: Focus on the Positive
The FOP lesson as a hands-on group game.
Intervention & Prevention
Geared toward keeping young people out of the criminal justice system and away from substance abuse.
Getting on the Same Page
Students, staff, and mentors focused on the same goal — success — and pulling in the same direction.
Curriculum Information Breakout — For Staff & Leaders
For educators, counselors, mentors, and youth leaders: how the curriculum works, and how to bring it to your young people.
Build Your Own Session
Pick two or three nuggets and let Mr. Veal build a session around your group’s situation.
The Faith-Based Connection to the Big Three
How this program — and Mr. Veal’s message to young people — relates to faith: the faith-based connection to the Big Three, and the origin of the Big Three as it relates to Be More Positive.
The Faith-Based Connection to the Big Three
How this program and Mr. Veal’s message to young people relate to faith — the faith-based connection to the Big Three (impulsive, emotional, and peer pressure), and the origin of the Big Three as it relates to Be More Positive.
History, the Pipeline & a Brother’s Story
Three sessions that go deeper — where the system came from, where it stands today, and what it costs one family.
Just Like Hamburgers
The history behind the criminal justice system — and the school-to-prison pipeline.
The School-to-Prison Pipeline — A Contemporary Look
As it relates to the school-to-prison pipeline today — a contemporary look at where the pipeline runs now and what it means for young people right now.
My Little Brother Kenny
Hear his story: Kenny was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hear his reasoning, what happened after he was released after 25 years, the impact of it all — and the lessons you can learn from his lessons. Attendees will also learn more about the First Step Act and its impact.
For Mentors — Training & the Bigger Picture
Two sessions for the adults doing the mentoring — practical tools for the work, and the bigger picture that keeps mentors going.
The Dinner Plate Theory — Mentor Training
A mentor training session that gives mentors tools to use to help relate, on a day-to-day basis, with their mentee.
Generation Nation
A tool used to encourage people to be mentors — the bigger picture, the overview: why mentors matter and what a generation of mentors can change.
Keynote Speaking Topics
Mr. Veal’s keynote topics — personal testimony and hard-won lessons, for conferences, schools, churches, and organizations. Book a keynote through the same form below.
I Am Better Than That
His personal testimony — the moment he first realized “I am better than that,” and decided to be better and help others be better.
Turn Your Mess Into a Message
How to turn pain — turn your mess into a message.
From Message to a Multi-Million Dollar Contract — Health Jam ’99
How I used my message to gain a multi-million dollar contract in the state of Florida — Health Jam ’99. That’s what I created.
Fatherhood
Raising boys in this generation to be successful — even though you didn’t have a father.
From F to Honor Roll
What it takes to go from F to honor roll — a personal testimony, as it relates to today.
How Booking Works
Send the form below — pick your session, and choose in person (Metro Atlanta), in person (where Mr. Veal is), or Zoom.
Your date is checked, and your free session is confirmed by reply.
Mr. Veal brings the session to your group. The only possible charge is for materials — books or workbooks — if your group needs them.
Submitting this form sends your request to Larry D. Veal. Sessions are free of charge; the only possible charge is for materials such as books or workbooks, if needed. Using the curriculum information for grants, grant applications, or programs must be licensed through Be More Positive USA — choose the Licensing Inquiry option above to ask about license training for your staff, organization, or company.
Actual footage — Shiloh Middle School, Gwinnett County — 2006 — Laying the Foundation
Larry Veal speaking with the kids in the conference room next to Principal Karen Robinson’s office at Shiloh Middle School, Gwinnett County, in 2006 — the only video of him actually teaching the students, laying the foundation for what came next.
Also by Larry D. Veal
Troubled Kids Need Jesus Too
His memoir of growing up in Indianapolis in the late 1970s and early ’80s — gang culture, violence, and judgment all around him — and the faith that turned his life around.
