Rick Goldman:  

High School: I decided to become a pole vaulter because it looked a lot like flying so I thought it would be fun. First to build up endurance I joined the cross country team and we would run around the golf course across the street from the school. I didn't really like running so I'd cut across the golf course diagonally. At the end of cross country season we had a ceremony in which the coach had to say something about each runner. When he got to me he said, "In the beginning Goldman couldn't run the entire 2.5 miles but by the end he could". Really he said the best thing he could have about my running abilities. My friend David Ramsey was the only pole vaulter the school had. I was to learn from David. The school couldn't or wouldn't buy a foam pit for us to fall into so David and I went to upholstery shops to beg for scraps of foam they didn't need. One day we determined that we had enough sofa cushion scraps so David wanted to show me how to clear 11 feet. David went over the bar beautifully and we discovered that there wasn't enough foam as he missed the small collection of foam we had gathered and he broke his arm. I had nobody else to watch and learn from and I'd only seen that one jump. So I represented the Miramar Patriots in track meets clearing heights of 8 feet which was pretty embarrassing. High jumpers could almost jump as high as i was pole vaulting. I went to BCC where I graduated with high honors and got an Associate in Science degree. This would surprise most who knew me from high school because I was a goof off. In fact, one time just to see if anyone would notice I intentionally got a B one semester then an A and then a D in one class. I wanted to see if anyone would notice that i spelled "BAD" on my report card with these three grades. Nobody noticed. I went to U. of Miami where my major was Chemistry and I had a minor in Biology. Then I dropped out after one year. I sold real estate and managed real estate offices for 11 years. Then I started working in the family business; a linen supply company for doctors. We changed the company to a garment dye company which became well known to clothing manufacturers. After I left the company I worked at a t-shirt printing place and got the owner to start an ad agency since I knew how to make websites and we had artists on staff. That business closed due to the owners divorce and in 2000 I was on my own making websites full time with my own company RBIweb.com. I liked the idea of having a full service ad agency and met someone (Elizabeth) in 2002 that I thought would be a good partner in an ad agency. So I spoke with her about the idea and we started a new company Ad Excellence in Hollywood Florida. However, I bought her out in 2007 which means I got promoted to President of Ad Excellence. My daughter graduated from Nova Southeastern University School in Davie FL. This of course makes me realize that I'm getting old. What makes me feel older is that now she attends Georgetown University in Washington DC. I got a private pilots license shortly after graduation but don't fly much any more with the fuel costing about $95.00 per hour. Now my favorite hobbies are scuba diving and mountain bike riding. I go mountain bike riding 8:00am almost every Saturday at Oleta River Park in North Miami Beach. In high school I didn't tr...Expand for more