The Ridgewood News April 23, 2010 MONEY MATTERS Teach your children well In early April, I had the honor of receiving walked down the street to the West Side YMCA and observed some the Larry Holmes Business Leadership Award older guys sparring in the boxing room. After watching for a while, they from an organization with the acronym invited me to come in and I did. A few months later, I found my way up C.O.M.B.A.T.T. Who is Larry Holmes and to Gleason's gym and fell in love with the sport. what is C.O.M.B.A.T.T.? Larry Holmes was Over 10 years, I had 38 fights in five countries. My record was 31 one of the longest reigning heavyweight box- wins, 7 losses. I was rated number nine in the world, six in the United ing champions in history. He defended his States and was the New Jersey heavyweight champion. I fought some title 20 times; second only to Joe Louis who big names: Jimmy Young, Jerry Quarry, Chuck Wepner, Duane Bobick, defended his 25 times. The boxers whom and Boone Kirkman. I beat some: I lost to some, but I loved every min- Larry Holmes defeated include, Muhammad ute of it. That's the boxing side. Ali, Ken Norton, Tim Witherspoon, Gerry On the learning side, I graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University Cooney and Trevor Berbick. in 1975, the same year I was ranked as the number nine-heavyweight RANDY NEUMANN C.O.M.B.A.T.T., which stands for Commu- boxer in the world. In 1978, I became the branch manager of a bank in nity Organization Making Better Alternatives Today For Tomorrow, my hometown of Cliffside Park. In 1979, I left the bank and joined the was started by Newark native, Larry Hazzard, in 1998. new industry of financial planning. I became a Certified Financial Plan- The mission of this organization is, “To provide a variety of life ner in 1983and began helping people achieve their goals and dreams. skills to middle and high school students including workshops on drug Enough about me -- listen carefully because I'm going to tell you how and alcohol abuse prevention, gang prevention, anger management, you can achieve the same success as the champ, Larry Holmes. conflict resolution, improved decision-making, computer literacy and Not only did Larry Holmes win the most coveted title on earth, healthful living.” Their progress in school is monitored, and, not sur- heavyweight champion of the world, he is a very successful business- prisingly, self-defense through boxing and martial arts is taught in man, hence the Larry Holmes Business Leadership Award sponsored by their gyms after school. C.O.M.B.A.T.T. Larry is one of the few boxers in history who wisely C.O.M.B.A.T.T. strongly believes that exposure to positive role invested the money he earned in the fight game. models serves as a great incentive for these youngsters to do well and What I suggest you do is save $10 a week. Now, this is both easy and reach their highest potential, so each year they have a fund-raising difficult to do. How can something be easy and difficult at the same banquet to which many celebrities are invited. This year, four heavy- time? You should know. You do it everyday. Boxing is easy when you weight champions were on hand at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark. consider that all you have to do is beat someone up. If you have a bum I was seated next to James "Buster" Douglas on the dais. Also in in front of you, it's easy. It becomes difficult when your opponent, like attendance was Michael Spinks and, of course, Larry Holmes in whose you, has a lot of skills. name the award is given annually. However, the showstopper was Joe If you save $10 a week for two years, how much money will you Frazier who arrived late, but was surrounded by fans the entire eve- have? Right, $1,040. Once you have accumulated $1,000, I want you to ning. call an investment advisor. You can call Charles Schwab, Fidelity In- The emcee for the night was Wayne Smith, the mayor of Irvington. vestments, Randy Neumann or someone in the business you know and After he introduced me, I said, "Thank you. It is an honor to be here. respect. Explain your situation and ask them how you can best ac- I’d like to begin by saying that I believe C.O.M.B.A.T.T. is a terrific complish your goals and dreams. Then do it! program. I’ve been a strong supporter of the organization for many That's all it takes to get started. Good luck and keep punching!” years. It combines boxing and learning, two terms that define my life. I am one of a few people in the world who can say that former The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not heavyweight champion Larry Holmes described me on one occasion intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for the individual. by saying, ‘Randy Neumann used to kick the tar out of me.’ And, on Randy Neumann is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM practitioner with another, ‘Randy Neumann taught me how to fight at Gleason's gym.’ offices in Paramus. Write to him c/o The Ridgewood News, 41 Oak St., I don't quite remember it that way. What I do remember is a big Ridgewood, NJ 07450. strong kid coming all the way from Easton, PA on Saturday mornings with his trainer, Ernie Butler. My trainer, Freddie Brown, would be- Securities Offered Exclusively Through gin the sparring by taking a cigar out of his mouth and shouting, ‘Hey LPL Financial/Member NASD/SIPC Butler, get your guy in heeeere!’ I remember the pole-like jab Gil Randy Neumann & Associates, Inc. Clancy described as follows, ‘like getting hit with a 2 x 4 through a A Registered Investment Advisor basement window.’ I guess I learned enough tricks to avoid being hit 12 Route 17 North, Suite 115 by a few of them. Paramus, NJ 07652 It was 1967 and I was attending college in Manhattan when I Phone: 201-291-9000 Website: www.randyneumann.com .