Tony March - Paying It Backward

Copyright 2020 by Tony March

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless indicated otherwise, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked WEB are taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.

Cover design, jacket, and book interior design by Ray Kuik & Todd Krostewitz.

Jacket photography by Octavio Jones and Boyzell Hosey

A special Thank you! to the never-ending patience of the creative team at Q-Power Communications. Their God-is-in-the-detail approach and unflinching support ensured this endeavor would result in a treat for all readers.

To Gail, my best friend and partner for most of my life. You reached into my darkness and taught me how to love. If my life has meant anything to anyone over the past four decades, its only because you showed me how to open my heart.

To Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Aumiller, Mrs. West, and Mrs. Keyes my HAWKs who took me under their wings and taught me to fly. You gave a poor, hungry, abused, and neglected boy the two tools he needed to not only survive but thrive: encouragement and education. I will never stop working to make you proud.

To Paul Laffin, my friend and mentor at Hartfords Mercy shelter. I will never forget what you taught me about serving and loving the least of these. I think of you every time I give to charity or walk through the doors of a homeless shelter. Your life on earth was cut too short, but I pray your life of service lives on in me.

There are some stories that can kick-start a morning, give perspective to a day, or provide hope in a challenging season of life. And there are other stories that can take us away to an imaginary place in our minds.

Every now and again, however, there is a story that takes our breath away and makes us think about what its all about in the first place.

This is that story.

I first had the privilege of meeting Tony March in 2019, although I had heard a lot about him earlier from a good friend of mine and was curious to learn more.

Some of my interest was derived from the fact that, as the President of FranklinCovey Education, I am always excited to meet people whose lives were changed through education. And some of it simply was, Im an unabashed fan of a great mission impossible story.

Growing up as a kid in the kind of poverty that would make most completely rethink the idea of being poor, Tony found a way to dig deep within himself and outlast a dozen years of daily dumpster diving on the road to making a commitment to himself to never being poor again.

All this, while being faced with the daily challenges of a being a young black man in the 60s and 70s in an America that was not yet ready to consider equality a thing for every citizen.

What Tony credited as the ultimate catalyst in his rising above poverty, abuse, racism, and a dysfunctional family life, on the road to becoming a leading engineer with General Motors (three U.S. patents to his credit) and the eventual owner of 21 car dealerships in seven U.S. states, didnt surprise me.

Education, he shared simply.

In Tonys own words, If it were not for the love, attention, and dedication of four key and influential teachers from grade school through high school, whom he refers to as The HAWKs, my career path and life would have taken a dramatically different turn from that which I was blessed to have lived. It certainly wasnt a typical all-American white- or even blue-collar reality for me. I was so used to working harder, longer, and more intently than many of my fellow classmates and peers, that my loveless upbringing, in some sense, actually helped me, fueled me. I was so desperate to be loved, appreciated, and respected that all I was looking for was to be accepted.

What so many of us take for granted, Tony had to focus on as a daily mission, simply to survive.

I am often asked to speak on the power of education and its role in helping to provide opportunity for all. Tonys story will be one I enthusiastically reference often. Not only because he overcame impossible obstacles and odds on his road to extraordinary achievement, but more so, because as a fragile and vulnerable young boy, he believed that education could be his way out. His way out of the black box, as he shares, and a life that was destined to repeat an old family cycle.

Tony March is a living example of channeling a burning desire to leave an old world behind, while proactively forging a new paradigm and reality for himself, one that would see him becoming a leader on the world stage and making a difference in the lives of thousands.

Tonys story is ultimately not one of becoming extraordinarily wealthy and overcoming the odds, however. Rather, its a much more intimate story and journey of humanity, humility, grace, and gratitude, and a passion to contribute to others.

By giving back, and going back to the very communities and worlds he had once come from, back to the streets and those he knew needed help most, Tony was determined to live out a life of paying it backwarda life of charity and philanthropy that would anchor his days. Amazingly, Tonys personal pledge to himself to a life of giving back began with his earliest days in college and continued on without pause.

Throughout his professional and business career, Tony has led and championed many causes, but especially those within the underprivileged and education communities. From serving for over 10 years as State Chairman of the United Negro College Fund Telethon (Connecticut), to gifting cars annually to families of students with a perfect attendance record, to donating millions of dollars to homeless shelters and rescue missions across America and throughout the world, giving back has been his life.

Paying It Backward represents a spirit of philanthropy and charity that speaks to each and every one of us. Almost all of us are in some way connected to hurt and loss, pain and suffering. Following in Tonys footsteps can give you the courage to pay it backward in your world, whatever and wherever that may be.

It has been a special privilege for me to get to know the man the Tampa Bay Times referred to as the Undercover Volunteer. In 2017, a Times reporter happened upon a homeless shelter kitchen in Tampa Bay, Florida, where a rather quiet and nondescript older black man had reportedly been serving, incognito, up to 20 hours a week for the past seven years. No one actually knew who that man really was. It was Tony March, the successful car dealership owner.

At a time when our nation and world could use a little inspiration to care more for one another and get back to the values that have always anchored strong communities, Tonys story of paying it backward will lift you in so many ways.

~ SEAN COVEY ~

President, Franklin Covey Education

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.