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NOVEMBER 4, 2021
Sports 15 Business 19 YOUR NEIGHBORS
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BRENT WORONOFF
STAFF WRITER
As Ron Crowley weaves through the full cafeteria, one student after another stops him.
“I voted for you,” one says.
“I voted for you, 2 Chainz,” says another.
Ron Crowley is the site coordinator for custodial services at Buddy Taylor Middle School. He pushes a dust mop between lunches in the cafeteria. He supervises 10 custodians, but he won’t hesitate to tell you, “I am a working supervisor.”
“There is not a speck of trash on that floor,” said former BTMS principal Bobby Bossardet. “He takes a deep level of pride in what he does and how he does it.”
But taking pride in his job is not why Kenny Seybold, Flagler Schools’ custodial services director, nominated Crowley for the national Rock Star Custodian Award, presented by the Academy of Cleaning Excellence.
It was for going beyond his job.
“The big thing about Ron is his service to others,” Seybold said. “Teachers, administrators, staff members, but more important, to students. He impacts their lives.”
Crowley is one of eight finalists for the award. The winner will be decided in an online vote, which is underway. Crowley and Donald Garner, of Hickory Tree Elementary School in St. Cloud, have been running neck and neck for the lead.
“One day he’s 1% ahead of me. The next day I’m 1% ahead of him,” Crowley said.
Crowley might have an advantage over the other finalists. He is a lifelong resident of Flagler County. He grew up and still lives in Bunnell. He graduated from Flagler Palm Coast High School in 1987. And he has been a custodian at Buddy Taylor for 27 years. So not only are the school’s current students voting for him, their older brothers and sisters, their parents and their stepparents are voting as well.
‘KIDS ARE DRAWN TO HIM’
They all remember him, even if he needs help recalling a name or a face.
“I go to the grocery store, and they’re saying, ‘Hey, Mr. Ron,’ and I turn and look, and I say, ‘I don’t know you.’ And they say, ‘Yes you to do. I went to Buddy Taylor Middle School 10 years ago, or 15 years ago,’” Crowley said.
So, he’ll get their name and the year they graduated, and he’ll look them up in the yearbook.
“I look at their picture, and their name, and I say, ‘Oh yeah, I remember.’ Because they change so much,” he said.
But kids don’t change, Crowley said. They have the same problems they had 27 years ago. They need a word of encouragement, a smile, or they just want him to lend an ear.
“He’s an amazing person,” said BTMS Principal Cara Cronk. “Yes, he’s a Rock Star Custodian, but there’s so much more to him. He’s personally invested in our kids. The kids are drawn to him. He’s quiet, but his smile is so disarming. He laughs with them. He’s so humble. He’s genuine.”
When Bossardet, who is now the district’s assistant superintendent of academic services, was the school’s principal, he asked Crowley to take part in the school’s leadership meetings. At first Crowley was reluctant.
“I said, ‘Ron, you are the eyes and ears of this school. You know the kids who haven’t slept, or are hungry. You’ve built relationships with teachers, staff, administrators. Why wouldn’t I want you at the leadership meetings?’” Bossardet recalled. “He’s much more than a custodian, he’s one of the best mentors we have in Flagler County.”
Cronk said the staff can throw anything at him. They hand him a list, and he makes it happen. “He takes everything in stride. he has such pride in his work,” she said.
“Everyone in the district should spend a day with Ron Crowley,” Seybold said.
FROM MR. RON TO 2 CHAINZ
Two years ago one morning, rain poured down, soaking students as they walked or rode their bikes to school. Crowley and Pat King, the student services secretary, collected their outerwear and dried them in the school’s industrial dryer, Bossardet said.
When BTMS had a program for students in Espanola and Bunnell, providing yard signs that read, “Changing the Game in Flagler Schools,” for students with grades above a 2.0 GPA and a plan for students below that threshold, Crowley knocked on doors asking parents and their students to attend the meeting.
“As we were leaving, we saw close to 40 or 50 signs out in the neighborhood,” Bossardet said. “The next morning, seeing the smile on Ron’s face, to know it would not be possible if we didn’t have someone from that neighborhood representing the school, knocking on doors. Nobody asked him to do it. You don’t have to ask Ron to do something.”
Crowley has a good head for dates. He was hired as a custodian at Buddy Taylor on Aug. 15, 1994. In 2006, he became the school’s site coordinator. Around 2013, the students gave Mr. Ron a new nickname – 2 Chainz – because they thought he looked like the rapper of that name, who, like Crowley, has dreadlocks.
The nickname stuck.
Parents are constantly coming up to him, wanting to meet 2 Chainz. They say, “My kids talk about you all the time.”
“His influence is huge,” King said.
“He has such a good heart,” Cronk said. “He knows the struggles of some of these kids. His passion is to be a positive role model. He tells them, ‘You’re here to get an education. Don’t waste your opportunities.’ He has a lot of wisdom.”
Crowley doesn’t like to talk about himself. He’ll relate stories, like the woman who tapped him on the shoulder in Walmart to tell him that her twin boys used to come home, talking about him.
“She said they live two streets behind me, and her kids are doing good. One is in college and the other is trying to get his life together,” Crowley said. “I said, ‘He’ll get it together. Just tell them I’m still at Buddy Taylor. If they ever need any positive advice, stop by and I’ll help them out as much as I can.’”
Rock Star
More than a custodian, Buddy Taylor Middle School’s Ron Crowley is an icon
Photo by Brent Woronoff Ron Crowley with student John McDermott.
TEAM BTMS
On Oct. 29, when the Observer tagged along with Ron Crowley at Buddy Taylor Middle School, it was Team Up Against Peer Pressure Day, a part of Red Ribbon Week, a drug-abuse awareness program.
Students, staff and administrators wore sports apparel for their favorite teams. Ron Crowley wore an Eagles shirt. A Buddy Taylor Middle School Eagles shirt, that is.
“This is his school, said BTMS Principal Cara Cronk. “He’s invested here.” The city of Palm Coast submitted the following events for November. For a full listing, visit shorturl. at/qtL89
Nov. 9 to Dec. 7 – Intermedi-
ate Painting – Tuesdays, 4-5:30 p.m. at Palm Coast Community Center. Instructor Kristy Craigle. 18 years and older. $65/session. Registration is required at www. parksandrec.fun/adults. More info: 386-986-2323.
November 11 – Veterans Day
Celebration – Thursday, November 11, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join Flagler County at the Government Services Building for a ceremony. Veterans and their families are then welcome to join the city’s barbecue luncheon at Central Park. The event is free, but is ticketed and requires preregistration. Please register at www.parksandrec.fun/events. More info: 386-986-2323.
Nov. 14 – World Diabetes Day
– Saturday, 4-5 p.m. at Central Park, 975 Central Ave. Presented in partnership with AdventHealth and the DiaBEATes Alliance. Wear blue! Register at www.parksandrec.fun/events. More info: 386986-2323.
Nov. 22-24 – Fall Fun Camp
– Monday to Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Palm Coast Community Center. Join us at the Community Center over Thanksgiving Break to enjoy games, activities, and fun! Open to students in grades K-8. $25/day. Registration is required at www. parksandrec.fun/camps. More info: 386-986-2323.
November 25 – Feet to Feast
5k Run/Walk – 7:45-11:30 a.m. at Daytona State College Palm Coast Campus, 3000 Palm Coast Parkway SE. Motivate your entire family to run before they feast! Finisher medals and super soft, long sleeve T-shirts will be awarded while supplies last. From $15 to $40/person depending upon age and date of registration – the earlier you sign up, the more you save! Register at https://runsignup.com/feettofeastpalmcoast. More info: 386-986-2323.
HOW TO VOTE
To vote for the Rock Star Custodian, go to https:// mailchi.mp/ academyofcleaning/rockstarcustodian. Buddy Taylor Middle School’s Ron Crowley is one of eight finalists. He is the seventh finalist on the list. Voting is open until Dec. 15.
CALENDAR
Nov. 27 – Tree Lighting Cer-
emony – 6 p.m. at Central Park.
BOB SNYDER ON THE PANDEMIC
The American Association of University WomenFlagler will host its Robert Snyder, health officer for the Florida Department of Health-Flagler, at its general membership meeting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at Cypress Knoll Golf and Country Club, 53 Easthampton Blvd. He will share data and lessons learned about public health since the onset of the pandemic. Lunch is available for $15 per person. For reservations and menu options, please contact Sally Smeaton by email: AAUWFlagler1984@ gmail.com or phone: 386447-4137 by Nov. 11.
The AACS has grown from 7 members to 354 and continues to preserve and perpetuate heritage of African Americans.
BRENT WORONOFF
STAFF WRITER
Over 30 years, the African American Cultural Society in Flagler County has grown from seven founding members to its current 354 members.
The nonprofit’s mission for the past 30 years has been “to preserve and perpetuate the cultural heritage of African Americans through educational, artistic, intellectual, and social activities and services deemed to be in the best interests of the entire community.”
The AACS held a 30th anniversary celebration Oct. 24, at its Cultural Center, 4422 N. U.S. 1.
Flagler County officials celebrated with club members, and the Board of County Commissioners issued a proclamation declaring Oct. 24 “African American Cultural Society Day.”
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly read the proclamation. U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, of California, was the keynote speaker, addressing the club virtually.
Lee’s mentor was Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to Congress and a former resident of Palm Coast. Chisholm was also the first woman to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 1972.
In addition to celebrating the society’s 30th birthday, the AACS paid tribute to its last active founding member, James Sharpe, who died this year on June 19 — the day, know as Juneteenth, that commemorates the end of slavery.
Sharpe, was among the “Montford Point Marines” who received Congressional Gold Medals in 2012. He served in World War II as one of the first African Americans in the Marine Corps, training at segregated Montford Point in North Carolina.
The AACS sold just 120 tickets to the celebration, due to social distancing, and was sold out in two weeks, said Stephanie Matthews, the 30th anniversary chairperson.
The AACS has programs celebrating Juneteenth and Kwanzaa. The Youth Black History Reality Program celebrates Black History Month each February. Youth dress up as famous African Americans and sing, dance, give speeches and put on plays. Over the years, the AACS has awarded about $100,000 in college scholarships to participants in the program, Matthews said.
The organization has an African studies group and presents cultural films three times a month. The Cultural Center has a selection of African American art and artifacts donated over the years.
Matthews said the AACS purchased five acres of land on U.S. 1 and built the Cultural Center in 2001, paying off its $580,000 mortgage two years early through member donations and fund raisers.
A 30-year retrospective of the art of Bettie Eubanks will be on display and open to the public beginning Nov. 4 at the Cultural Center. The AACS has also been selected as a Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service site and will present its first exhibit in January: A Place for All People.
“We’ve been trying to perpetuate the African American diaspora throughout the community. In other words keep our heritage alive, spread it and keep it going,” AACS President Joseph Matthews said.
Courtesy photos by DeZan Unlimited 30th Anniversary Steering Committee: William Seeney, Richard Barnes, Jean Tanner, Geri Wright, Ralph Lightfoot, AACS President Joseph Matthews, master of ceremonies John Winston, Lynda Baten and board chairman Edmund G. Pinto.
Left: 30th anniversary chairperson Stephanie Matthews speaks to Rep. Barbara Lee virtually. Right: James Sharpe’s children, James Sharpe III, Linda Sharpe Matthews and Mildred Sharpe Scott, attended the celebration, which included a tribute to their father, a founding member of the AACS.
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