funding for locksmith educational pro- grams and assistance to individuals who wish to pursue a career in locksmithing. While ASF shares a headquarters and staff resources with ALOA SPAI, ASF is an entirely independent entity. I had never been to an ALOA conven- My ASF Journey Vernon Kelley, CMIL, CFDI, CPL, ICML, IFDI, talks about his first ALOA Convention — and the scholarship that helped him get there. I 42 n the fall of 1989, an aimless, jobless, wary 23-year-old punk kid an- swered a help wanted ad that simply said “Locksmith wanted. Will train.” That kid was me. Frankly, I just thought it was the “next” job, because I sure did need one. Little did I know then that it would become my full-time, lifetime occupation. Fast forward to 1992. The ALOA convention was in Baltimore that summer. At the time, I was working for a man named Rich Hess. Rich was all about education and recognized what a great opportunity it would be for me to apply for a scholarship because the convention would be so close to my South Jersey homestead. So, I applied for an ALOA Scholarship Foundation scholarship — and, thankfully, I was awarded one. I wasn’t even a member of ALOA! For the uninitiated, the ALOA Scholarship Foundation (ASF) is a non-profit 501(c) (3), tax-exempt educational organization. The purpose of this foundation is to provide KEYNOTES MARCH 2017 tion before — or any other locksmith convention, for that matter — and what a spectacle I found it to be! The scholarship included admission to the show floor, four full-day and three half-day classes, a banquet ticket and a check to help cover travel. The classes were packed, as was the show floor. It was the first time that I attended any locksmith class. It was also the first time that I was ever out of town for an extended period leſt to my own de- vices. There were a lot of firsts in my life and career associated with my Baltimore excursion, all thanks to ASF. I thought the package was very gener- ous, surely. But to me, the convention had a higher worth than the face value of the scholarship. It was really the first time that I had a chance to meet locksmiths from all over the country. And I got to see ALOA in motion working to provide services to its members in its most direct, tangible fash- ion. I was a little awestruck, to be honest. Ironically, almost all my classes in- volved either automotive or safe work, neither of which I’m very involved in to- day as an institutional locksmith. But lasting impressions were very definitely made on me, not the least of which was spending four days with the legendary instructor Ray D’Adamo. How legendary was Ray, you ask? The ALOA Continuing Education Instructor of the Year award is now named aſter him. I found Ray to be highly skilled, congenial and humor- ous; he was a master of ceremonies in his classroom. I like to think that just a little bit of that rubbed off on me when I start- ed teaching my own classes years later. While at that convention, I developed WWW.ALOA.ORG
