Sam Mitchell »
Marc C. Upshaw »
DJ Jones »
Close friends, Sam Mitchell and Marc Upshaw both dared to dream, and most importantly put in the effort it took to make their dreams come true. Born in Columbus, Georgia, both overcame poverty, changes in fortune, and numerous personal and professional challenges to become leaders in their respective fields.
“We were discussing our childhoods and all the obstacles we had overcome to get to where we are today,” explains Marc, “when we decided we wanted to teach young people in our communities the lessons we learned along the way. The SaMarc Dream and Achieve Foundation is a dream for our community that we are setting out to achieve.”
Marc Upshaw loved basketball and was a great player. His prowess on the court was known throughout the state. He saw basketball as his ticket out of his poverty stricken East Highland community and attended the University of Rhode Island as a student athlete. He graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Communications. Many felt he was destined for professional basketball, but a serious knee injury in his senior year forced him to dream big in a new direction, and he went on to build Global Diagnostics Services and excel in the medical services field.
In contrast, Sam Mitchell was struggling to get his basketball coach’s attention throughout highschool. If it wasn’t for his best friend Marc constantly encouraging him to keep playing and making the efforts to become a better player, Sam would have probably walked away from basketball decades ago.
Every person has in them the discipline, determination and passion necessary to excel in whatever they want to do.
Despite all his setbacks, Sam graduated from Columbus High School and attended Mercer University on a basketball scholarship. Overcoming many hurdles, he eventually played in the NBA and is today the Head Coach of the Toronto Raptors.
“Those of us who have achieved any amount of success recognize that that achievement began as a challenge we wished and worked hard to overcome,” shares Sam. “The name of our non-profit organization speaks to this very process. At the core of the Foundation is our belief that if you dare to dream, you are already on the path to that achievement.”
This is the belief that Marc, Sam, DJ Jones and those involved with the Foundation strive to instill in the many girls and boys who participate in The SaMarc Foundation basketball camps, learning centre and educational tours.