The American Dream Factory

06/13/2026

Better Together: As always, time will tell the final outcome of certain decisions we choose to make in our journey to change the way that genius inventions and creative business ideas are brought to market in the youth-led and community-based fashion that we prefer. But here's a pic for the future documentary and hopeful record books that will show how some decisions are more impactful than others.

It comes from a fantastic series of meetings with Tenaya Moulton who is the Branch Manager of Marine Bank & ELGA Credit Union's Fort Pierce branch location which we have intentionally chosen to switch to and become the Official Bank of The American Dream Factory Inc. and all of the Startup subsidiaries that will soon be spun off and launched through it
Generally speaking, banks don't offer much to businesses (especially Startups) other than a place to park hard earned money from others' work which of course they leverage in a fashion that creates multiple streams of services using other people's money (OPM) to profit from themselves. And while I have no personal grudges against that particular business model, or those who create it, I do find it hard to believe that any financial institution wouldn't want to help to increase the odds of a customer's success, especially if such success benefited their own success and profit margins...

Hence, our decision to switch to Marine Bank which was recently acquired by Electric (EL) and Gas (GA) Employees of Michigan who formed their own not-for-profit cooperative, now known as ELGA Credit Union, 75 years ago seen here (https://www.elgacu.com/bank/). Their motto of "Better Together" comes from another simple concept of people helping people or in our new case, Members helping Members, which we are more than happy to receive (and give) as much HELP as possible in our new financial home!

That might sound bland or irrelevant out of the gates but here's just a few cool things that we fully expect to take advantage of and become a proud participating partner in the circular movement to not only remove toxic plastics from our oceans, but to reuse the recycled plastic in a fashion that creates new products that all of us seem to use such as credit cards, bank cards, etc. etc.. Which is why ELGA Credit Union has partnered with Parley (https://parley.tv/) and Plastic Oceans International (https://www.plasticoceans.org/) who have developed a global recycling initiative that provides ELGA C.U. and other eco-friendly companies with recycled plastic cards for Members like us to use! https://www.elgacu.com/made-with-ocean-plastic/

And if that's not cool enough, we've already made new "EcoFriends" (https://www.plasticoceans.org/members/centro-ecolgico-akumal-xcl42-4fpft-ez8er) all the way out of Africa who are a part of numerous Blue Communities (https://www.plasticoceans.org/bluecommunities) around the world which we would like nothing more than to be a part of and represent on the Treasure Coast of Florida!

While our connection to their Founder, Awiyii Blaise, is brand spanking new, it is our highest hope to incorporate our own Brand of eco-friendly products and educational programs into Plastic Oceans International's circular loop that could also be made of recycled plastics AND help in the removal of toxic trash and recyclable debris from making it into 'OUR' Oceans to begin with is a HUGE component of our mission to Curb Urban Runoff!!!

Plenty more to openly share about our latest (and hopefully greatest) decision to make the switch to Marine Bank & ELGA Credit Union that should have us "Cooking with Electric and Gas" soon enough as we seem to be a perfect fit and match for the type of help that is designed to make a meaningful impact from the 3 pillars of their/our Charitable Foundation which are "Philanthropy, Financial Literacy, and Business Startup" linked here (https://www.elgacu.com/foundation/).

Until then, we'll keep pushing and preparing for our upcoming events and new school year which should lead to an incredible round of expansion into new schools, youth-led organizations, and other collaborative partnerships who are all looking for the same thing, which is to create as many positive activities and opportunities for our youth and greater community at-large as humanly possible which WE are ALL-IN on and more confident than ever than we can produce with just a little HELP:) J =ECO

06/06/2026

When Worlds Collide: I could have come up with a hundred different titles for this particular chapter in our journey, but the pictures and concepts described in the latest and greatest idea to enter our pipeline of inventions and creative business ideas that we have the incredible opportunity to help bring to life in the youth-led and community-based fashion that we prefer, should make the case for what was chosen.

As always, I'll try to tie as many things together as quickly as possible and save the details for the book and documentary later, but for now I'll throw a few pictures and cards on the table that speaks to an idea already in the earliest stages of motion that is going to be a custom-built and creatively designed youth program that combines "2 Sports and One Passion" as the draft flyer created by Paco Munoz begins with as seen below.

Those 2 sports are Golf and Tennis and the one shared passion that exists between both Teaching Pro's involved in their respective fields, Paco Munoz and Bobby P. (Petelinkar), is fueled by the ultimate need to provide as many positive activities, life skills, and future opportunities as possible to our next generation of kids and young adults in our own backyard and around the world who are struggling more than ever to stay on, or even find, the right pathway in life.

And while a video that we'll soon be storyboarding and filming for the project is going to be the best way for us to describe all of the details we're working through, let's just say that it's meant to include the standard instructions and lessons that both Paco and Bobby P. have been giving to students both young and old across the Treasure Coast, Cozumel, and Benin Africa for decades between them. Click here to see some of Paco's collaborative work across Cozumel and Benin with Tennis Coach Yannick Tohouessou and legendary Tennis Pro and 8-time Major Championship winner Ivan Lendl who supports the cause by raising awareness and much needed equipment for the international program! https://stonesoupfoundation.org/athlos-parakou/

The creative twist that we, The American Dream Factory Inc. and our ever expanding Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club would like to make in all of this, is to get students that are involved the hybrid golf and tennis program to also take part in a creative and STEAM-based aspect of this brand new Grand Slam (think 4 Major Championships in each sport) and V.I.P. (Very Important Principles) Club that will try to bring both golf and tennis balls to animated life in the same way that the National Hockey League did to introduce and grow their game in the 1970's through an animated intermission show called Peter Puck.

Needless to say, there's a lot of moving parts and work left to be done to bring such ideas to life, but like everything, it all starts with a conversation. And based on the conversations, and more importantly, the actions taken by those mentioned and others involved that will be shown when our video presentation is complete, I have high hopes that connections that are already being made with prominent youth programs that already exist in each sport and local Universities who offer athletic programs and degrees for both tennis and golf as well as courses in animation and gaming (hint, hint) could lead to the same type of collaborative work we have been doing with senior engineering students from Florida Polytech University's Capstone program to bring our pipeline of inventions to life in due time...

Hopefully these few paragraphs along with the pics and links attached will be enough for the moment to see the rhyme, reason, and method behind the madness that exists at the heart of it all which always comes down to increasing the odds of our next generations success through positive activities and opportunities which both of these great sports, and amazing people involved, can surely deliver on:) J

06/05/2026

Finally getting a chance to catch up on a number of things that are more than worth sharing after a slight hiatus to recharge the batteries after a long and winding 5th year of our pilot after-school program. And one of the coolest things to look forward to as we begin to plan for the next school year and upcoming special events, are the number of high quality collaborations that are being discussed and worked through with legendary organizations like our local 4-H and Founders of other non-profits like Carter Viss and the Carter Viss Foundation (https://cartervissfoundation.org/) that we'll be sharing more news of soon.

As mentioned in recent posts, there are huge opportunities ahead to work with Carter and his Team on a number of projects and causes in our pipeline that are completely in-line with his clear passion to prevent boating accidents like the one that almost took his own life from ever happening to anyone else AND to protect and preserve our fragile ecosystem on the Indian River Lagoon which Carter also has a personal interest in as a graduate student of Florida Atlantic University & Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute's Marine Science and Oceanography program linked here. https://www.fau.edu/hboi/education-and-outreach/graduate-programs/ms-marine-science-and-oceanography/

And if it isn't going to be cool enough to get Carter's expert thoughts and opinions on a number of marine safety and eco-friendly products that we will be developing through the expansion of our Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club, we have the incredible opportunity and personal offer to incorporate Carter's amazing artwork into our upcoming Brand of clothing, Eco-Bags, and other cool projects like our Safe and Green Marina Initiative! You don't have to be a visionary to see the added value in safety and beautification to any Marina in the world if customized pieces of metal artwork like those seen below were incorporated into our planned "Safe and Green Stations" and information boards that will be strategically placed throughout any participating Marina in our planned global network!

You also don't have to wait to see such beautiful work come to life through our upcoming collaboration as you can order your own custom piece of metal art today which will immediately go towards the funding of Carter's mission to educate and protect boaters on the water AND advocacy for clean water and the ever stressed environment that we all depend on being clean to enjoy along with all of the amazing marine and wildlife creatures who depend on it even more than we do...:) J

Premium metal prints of Carter's original artwork.
Each of these metal prints were created by Carter Viss and inspired by the incredible marine life that makes our waters so special.

What makes these prints even more meaningful is that every purchase helps support the Carter Viss Foundation's mission of promoting boating safety, water safety awareness, and protecting lives on the water.
Whether you're a boater, diver, fisherman, ocean lover, or simply someone who appreciates unique artwork, these pieces bring a little piece of the ocean into your home.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support our mission. Your support helps us educate, advocate, and make a difference in our boating and diving communities.
Send us a DM to purchase or learn more about available designs.
Support our mission: www.cartervissfoundation.org https://bit.ly/4958Hn5

06/01/2026

Had to share a great graduation post from Forest Grove Middle School to show some of the smiling faces that we've been blessed to work with over the last 3 years who will be moving on to High School next year. It's always amazing to witness the amount of growth that happens in that short span of time that shows up in physical growth spurts of height and weight as well as maturity and book smarts. While those levels of change are completely different for every student that comes through those doors, they are most definitely given the best opportunity to succeed and continue to grow throughout life based on the level of care and education that they have received during that 3 year stretch of time from the AWESOME group of Teachers, Admin, and Staff that Forest Grove's ALL-STAR Principal, Keonisha Bobo, has put together over the 5 years that I've been fortunate enough to witness such progress as a mentor and after-school Club provider. As we say at the end of almost every post, "It takes a village", which aren't meant to be mere words, but actual actions taken from an African proverb that can clearly be seen below! Congratulations once again to all of those moving forward in life and to those who helped them get there:) J ItTakesAVillage

05/31/2026

I couldn't have woken up to a better message than this one that seriously speaks to where we are in our 17+ yr journey to change the way that great ideas are brought to market in the youth-led and community-based fashion that we prefer. And to prove just how close our results are to catching up to our vision, just look at the last post that our pilot program's Champion Teacher and Co-Founder of all that we are creating under the umbrella of The American Dream Factory Inc., Brian Tygesson, is literally bringing to life for 2 visions we have in-mind for our own Brand of self-funding and cause-related Coffee (https://www.theamericandreamcafe.com/), as well as a super cool concept we're working through for "Coffee with Bert (and Spud)" that could lead to group meetups for veterans and service dogs anywhere around the country and beyond...

Just as the point of the shared post say's, our results won't show up immediately because we've only just begun to develop and implement what started as a vision worth sharing and moving forward on. Which is the exact same position that every product and project that we are working on is in the state of, and why so many things moving at once can look so messy for those who can't see the vision until the results are in and proven. Thankfully, there are more and more like-minded people, schools and youth-led organizations who see the vision like Brian and I do, which is only going to create an exponential rate of increased speed for each idea moving in its own space and time to catch up to its initial vision. Needless to say, that's when the back-end of our custom-designed process to process our own pipeline of ideas will finally and fully begin to produce much needed JOBS, increased tax bases, philanthropy, and far more that will already go on top of the creative mentorship process and JOB READINESS program on the front-end of our Non-Profit and Startup business model that we are in a position to expand our after-school Clubs into other schools on the Treasure Coast and our local 4-H. And if that's not good enough for those with the eyesight of an eagle and vision of a clam to see, that's on them and will wait to see them at the finish line when "our reality" catches up to "our vision"!

Plenty more pictures and proof of such amazing people and connections coming in the year-end post that I've yet to find proper time to put together in a way that will try show just how far we've come in the last 5 years of our Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club as well as how close our results are to catching up to our vision thanks to the hard work and very messy time spent by more and more Dreamers like us who can easily see the incalculable value of our current and future results that are invisible to others:) J !AndTennis -LedCulinaryAndArtContest ???

Big visions rarely make sense to people who cannot see what you see.

That is why so many dreamers get laughed at in the beginning.

The results are invisible.

The proof does not exist yet.

All people can judge is your current reality.

So they call it unrealistic.

Risky.

Delusional.

Keep going anyway.

Every successful entrepreneur has spent time looking foolish before looking successful.

The difference is they believed long enough for reality to catch up to the vision.🏆✨️

05/25/2026

https://www.theamericandreamcafe.com/

05/19/2026

While we're running slightly behind on another year-end post that will highlight all of the super cool and amazing activities, growth, and connections that year 5 of our pilot Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club produced, there is no doubt that this incredibly talented and dedicated young man will be a huge part of that update! For those not familiar with Carter Viss or the very personal reasons behind the creation of the Carter Viss Foundation https://cartervissfoundation.org/, I highly recommend checking out the links provided (especially if you spend any amount of time on the open water and/or care about the environment) and to take a look at the youtube page that Carter just launched to see just how much talent he has to offer the world in that dominant left hand of his!!!

Plenty more to come about our recent connection and upcoming collaborations that will no doubt include the creative smash-up between our very own pipeline of marine safety and eco-friendly inventions that Carter has graciously offered his own expert help and endless connections necessary in the type of highly successful global product launch we are looking for. And if having the dual input of a boating strike survivor AND graduate student on track to earn a Master's degree in Marine Science and Oceanography from FAU/Harbor Branch https://www.fau.edu/hboi/education-and-outreach/graduate-programs/ms-marine-science-and-oceanography/ isn't awesome enough to have working with our next crop of students, how cool is it going to be when Carter's own marine life artwork is seen on our Brand of clothing and Eco-Bags that will not only help fund the growth and expansion of our pilot program to new schools and Clubs (think 4-H) but to help fund all of the amazing things that Carter is doing with his own Foundation to help ensure that what happened to him doesn't happen to anyone else. Now that's the type of win-win-win scenarios that WE are looking to create in our own backyard and around the world in due time:) J

P.S. Here's a link to Carter's YouTube page as well as one of my favorite timeline videos that show the same artistic skills used to transform Carter's daughters bathroom that our champion teacher and 8th grade MOA Prep teacher, Brian Tygesson, is advocating school officials to allow Carter and MOA prep students to duplicate as a life-sized marine life mural to cover the outside walls of Forest Grove Middle School's MOA prep building!

https://www.youtube.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPDX_3HUSHA

05/03/2026

Well, there couldn't be a better way to end another wild week on the journey to truly change the way that great ideas are brought to life (and market) than to spend time working through those plans with local legends like these two. For those who have followed us long enough would know, Buzz Smyth has been a long-time supporter and activist for our project and cause for too many years to count. As the actual builder and manager of Causeway Cove from its inception, Buzz has always seen the enormous value in our concept to transform Causeway Cove into a Flagship Marina in our larger vision to create a global network of Safe and Green Marina's in its likeness.

And a great as it is to have someone of Buzz's expertise in the marine and marina industry not only love but support such a "solid plan" as Buzz likes to call it, there couldn't be a much better person to grade our pipeline of marine safety and eco-friendly products than Carter Viss of the Carter Viss Foundation (https://cartervissfoundation.org/)! As we've shared news of our recent connection in earlier posts, it was super nice to finally meet Carter in person so he could see the spectacular location we've had to work from for the last few years and to hear his thoughts on how we can ramp this project up with his own help and highly powerful connections in the marine industry.

As someone who is a huge fan of validation from experts in the field of our endeavors, Carter comes to the table with the type of bona fide credentials that few can match as an amputee survivor of a tragic boat strike that he's lucky to be alive from in 2019 and a Grad student working on his Master's degree in Marine Biology at Florida Atlantic University/Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. Needless to say, Carter's thoughts and ability to clearly see the value in what we are developing through this project and everything else we have to launch in our pipeline matters to me and everyone else involved with this project greatly.

Add that to the valued opinion of Brian Tygesson, who is not just a champion teacher for our pilot after-school program for Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs who are helping to design and implement this project as well, Brian is a former U.S. Coast Guard member who knows a few things about marine safety. Brian also happens to hold a Business degree and be the 8th grade science teacher for Forest Grove Middle School's Marine Oceanographic Academy (MOA) prep program which qualifies his expertise in all things related to the environment and real economic business that will surely come from our planned expansion to marina's around the country and world in due time especially if we receive a well-deserved insurance break for marina's who adopt such upgrades and policies as ours.

With those facts pointed out, it should be fair to believe that we're building quite a team of experts who see value in everything we are creating as a whole which isn't just designed to make a marina safer and greener but meant to add value throughout entire communities. While that goal might sound like mere talk or highly unlikely to some, we believe that such goals and dreams are more than achievable by having our youth involved with leaders and mentors such as these three mentioned as well as far more currently involved, and yet to be met, who will help our students to transform not only this marina but other marina's and communities around the world who will surely choose to collaborate once they see the total value we are creating for 'our' kids and 'our' community right here on the Treasure Coast:) J

05/02/2026

Who knew: If there was ever an idea in our pipeline that would be a prime example of how one thing can lead to an explosion of others it would have to be the very first iteration of an original idea to save lives on the water that was personally filed for patent in 2010, officially patented in 2012, and morphed into something beyond my wildest dreams in 2026 by over a dozen genius engineering students who used the products initial concept to showcase their own skills learned during their time spent at Florida Polytech.

Not to mention the fact that simple idea was the entire reason and ultimate catalyst behind the creation of Open Water Products, The American Dream Factory, The American Dream Cafe, The Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club, and everything else that we hope to launch as a means to benefit our own community, and world for that matter, from that initial spark.

Needless to say, we couldn't have been prouder as Capstone Sponsors to see the 4th and final Team of senior engineering students that Brian Tygesson and I worked with over the past two semesters get to display an entirely new set of creative ideas and broader market pe*******on that's now possible during this week's Capstone Showcase event in Lakeland. And while we were blessed to work with dozens of Florida Poly students and assigned Professors over the entire school year, I would have to say that this particular Team, led by Sahil Talwalkar and Dr. Apurva Patel, could not have been more helpful and proactive in their own product designs and customer approach and can only hope that we are fortunate enough to hire each and every one of these graduates once the wheels are fully turning in our own Dream Factory.

Until then, we'll keep pushing and putting pieces of the big picture in place that all came from the same original thought and prepare ourselves for next year's Capstone submission which as you can see by the pictures attached are in a crowded field of literally out of this world ideas that range from lunar rovers sponsored by NASA to automated boats used for warfare, life-saving medical devices, and far more super cool ideas that we hope to compete against once again. While we don't know what the next idea submitted will be, we do know for an absolute fact that it will definitely be a byproduct of our very first idea born which just happened to turn Sweet 16:) J

04/25/2026

Legacy Building 101: While we are nearing the end of the school year, we were incredibly blessed to have another round of very special guests join us for the day that not only spoke to the type of groundbreaking work we are doing today, but the type of long-term impact and legacy that this group of students and project as a whole will leave for future generations to come.

Those comments were part of a deeper conversation that also covered resume building and even grant writing opportunities that our good friend and very proactive Director of St. Lucie County 4-H, John Ferguson, gave with Dr. Vincent Encomino who has spent the last 8 years with University of Florida's IFAS (Institute of Food and Agricultural Services) and Florida Sea Grant as an Extension Agent for both Martin and St. Lucie Counties seen here. https://www.flseagrant.org/fsg-directory/dr-vincent-encomio/

As mentioned in a February post about Dr. Encomino's upcoming visit titled Coming Attractions, Vincent is also an accomplished author who co-wrote Living Shorelines of Florida (https://ifasbooks.ifas.ufl.edu/p-1844-living-shorelines-for-florida.aspx) as well as the perfect Ambassador for Florida Sea Grant's mission to use research, education, and community outreach to conserve coastal resources and enhance economic power for the people of Florida as highlighted here. https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/martin/sea-grant-martinst-lucie---water-ambassador/

The larger reason for the visit which Mr. Ferguson put together was to connect Dr. Encomino's ongoing environmental work and hands-on projects with his local 4-H, with the incredible work that Brian Tygesson is doing with Forest Grove Middle School's Marine Oceanographic Academy (MOA) prep program and the great things that our very own pilot program for Young Inventors and Entrepreneurs are developing on the Treasure Coast.

This type of networking with like-minded individuals and collaborative groups like ours were also spoke about during the visit as a means to teach our students how to become effective leaders in whatever field or endeavor they choose in life, and if all goes well, will be a shining example of how our very own pilot program will have expanded its long and humble beginnings into a full blown Corporate Partnership with 4-H which is the largest youth-led organization in the country!

And while there are no guarantees as I say at the end of every documented post, there is no doubt that another wave of opportunities and highly important connections are going to come from this incredible introduction which increase the odds of our success even higher to become a valuable partner and asset for any school or youth-led organization like 4-H who are seeking real-time and real-world STEM/STEAM-based activities that help to prepare our youth for the 21st Century workplace as seen here too (https://4-h.org/support/corporate-foundation-support/).

On a closing note, it also helps to increase the odds of success for the 1st Annual Seafood Festival that we are planning for the end of summer at Causeway Cove Marina as we are putting ourselves in a fantastic position to not only showcase our own work and ongoing projects like our Safe and Green Marina initiative, but all of the great work that organizations like SLC 4-H and Florida Sea Grant are doing in the community as well.

Add that to upcoming meetings next week with Carter Viss of the https://cartervissfoundation.org/ who will be lending his expertise to our event and development of our marine safety and eco-friendly products/projects as a boating accident survivor and Grad student of FAU/Harbor Branch Institute of Oceanography and hopefully you can see why the odds makers should be calling the race in our favor soon as "chance favors those who persist" (and network like they've got something special to offer the world too:) J -H -LedCulinaryCompetition