Cedric Crumbley, Albany native and Army man, shares story

ALBANY — Now on the verge of retiring from his career in the Army, an Albany native who had a rough going at first is getting the message out to people in his hometown that there is hope.

Cedric Crumbley, a 1996 Westover High School graduate now based in Kentucky, joined the military shortly after high school — already a father. He served as a medic, was later promoted to sergeant and eventually appointed as an Army recruiter.

He was in recruitment school at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks.

“My unit was sent to Afghanistan and I got sent to Houston, Texas to recruit,” he said.

He spent 14 years as a recruiter, and has since published his first book nearly a year ago titled “Proven Sales and Recruiting Methods: An Army Recruiter’s Guide to Selling Anything to Anyone.”

Recently, he said, the Secretary of the Army tasked Crumbley, and some others, to contact their hometowns to tell their stories. When Crumbley did so, it turned into a means to motivate kindred spirits still in Southwest Georgia.

“There are a lot of things in the Army I never thought I could do,” he said. “I (grew up) not knowing what I wanted to do, and I felt lost. I was not the only one, which is probably why there is so much crime.”

The wake up call for Crumbley came when he became a sergeant. At that point, he said, being put in charge of someone else made him more responsible. It served as a significant milestone in personal development.

“I figured out what to do in life,” he said. “When you go into recruiting, you are selling. When I was forced into it, I found out it was my passion.

“It’s not just about selling, but helping people. I like to be around people. I listen to people, and people love telling their stories … I found out how to add value to other peoples’ life.”

He sold some cookware in his early days in sales. When his wife found some journals he had written, she discovered that he had talent as a writer. Now, a few months away from military retirement, he acts as a self-help coach and sales consultant.

One success story he told The Albany Herald was of an individual who called him recently. When that individual was 17, Crumbley gave him a book when the teenager needed advice on sales. Now, two years later, he is working as a manager at a gym in Houston.

This is a path Crumbley believes he only would have gotten through the Army because of the manner in which it opened his eyes.

He said that, after leaving the Army, he plans to continue publishing books, doing public speaking engagements and working as a consultant.

“I like to see people reach their goals,” Crumbley said.

After becoming a father his senior year in high school, he knew a grocery store job would not produce enough income. He also recognized he needed discipline, and was lost. When he started out as a recruiter, he had to work to improve himself.

“I challenged myself to get better every day … (I found that I) could accomplish anything you could put your mind to within reason,” he said.

While looking to the next phase of his life, and researching the topic for his second book, he reflected on the difference the Army made for him.

“It made me responsible, it taught be leadership and it made me patriotic,” Crumbley said. “I didn’t care about America (before going into the Army). I cared about me. Going to different countries, and seeing how we have it differently in America, it pulls at you.”

This is not to say he did not get anything out of his hometown, in fact, the truth is the opposite. To youngsters in Albany who feel like they don’t have opportunity, he said there is hope that life can get better.

“Being from Albany, Ga. is a benefit. I found out I have a lot of values you might not get in a big city,” he said. “I was grown up to be respectful, and that opened up a lot of doors for me.

Crumbley’s blog can be found at cedriccrumbley.com.His book is on sale at at amazon.com or lulu.com.