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BACKGROUND NARRATIVE

Mr. Harvey enrolled at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina in 1973, graduating in 1977, with a BA degree in Criminal Justice. Upon completion of his Undergraduate degree, Mr. Harvey was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Many of his accommodations include the Navy Commendation Medal for meritorious service while serving as Facilities Maintenance Officer, and numerous Certificates of Commendation. In 1982 he attended postgraduate school at George Washington University Law School. 

Anticipating retirement from the Marine Corps, Mr. Harvey began to map out the strategy that would open the door to his many successes. On September 8, 1988, prior to his departure from the Marine Corps, Mr. Harvey used his savings to open his first Subway® Sandwiches and Salads franchise in Riverside, California. In 1990, after leaving active duty from the Marine Reserves, he continued to operate the store for three additional years. In 1993 he opened his second Subway® Sandwiches and Salads franchise on the military installation in 29 Palms. Subsequently he owned and operated a Taco Bell and Baskin Robbins, also located on the military installation in 29 Palms.

Mr. Harvey approached the Minority Business Development Center in October 1994, to plan the opening of other franchising opportunities. That same year he competed with Entrepreneurs all over the State of California and became the Small Business Administration's "Entrepreneur of the Year." In 2007, Mr. Harvey was awarded the California State San Bernardino's Spirit of the Entrepreneur Award in the General Category. Mr. Harvey was chosen from a pool of more than 100 nominees and among 29 finalists. 

Mr. Harvey was part of the Subway® system for almost 20 years. In October 2004, Mr. Harvey purchased the local development office which encompassed San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial Counties. When he purchased the development office, there were a total of 128 Subway® franchise restaurants opened in these territories. It had taken over 17 years to develop and open these 128 restaurants.  Within five years, after Mr. Harvey purchased and took over the development office, he had grown the number of opened restaurants to 232 while also operating several of his own Subway® restaurants in the Inland Empire and desert regions. When the remaining five-year term of the development contract Mr. Harvey purchased ended in August 2009, he decided to look for new opportunities to test and challenge his abilities.

In June 2011, Mr. Harvey undertook the development of the franchise restaurant concept known as Costa Vida. After partnering with other individuals and spending much of his time and resources, the first Costa Vida franchise restaurant in the Southern California market was opened in Irvine California on January 20th, 2014. Unfortunately, despite this restaurant’s promising growth potential, it closed shortly after opening. 

Since Costa Vida, Mr. Harvey continues to be actively involved in the restaurant industry providing consulting services to both franchisees and franchisors of other chains including Wing Stop and Subway. Mr. Harvey also works as an Operations Consultant for Franchise Marketing Systems specializing in developing franchisees and creating effective and efficient ways to expand business concepts.

John heads the day-to-day marketing of the company. John’s involvement in the Real Estate Industry goes back thirty two years and includes sales, marketing, finance, and development of residential, commercial and multifamily real estate in California, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. He has been directly involved in the development of residential, commercial, multi-family and the renewal of over Six Hundred (600) single family homes over the past Ten (10) years in the Inland Empire area of Southern California. His experience includes everything from total teardown, new construction, to minimum cosmetic improvements. John is a graduate of Southern Utah University and currently holds a CCIM designation. His designation places him in an elite class of only 13,000 real estate professionals worldwide who hold the CCIM designation. A CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) is a recognized expert in the commercial and investment real estate industry, of which, the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute recognizes the designation as being the equivalent to a “PHD” in commercial investment real estate. John has been an expert witness in real estate related matters and currently holds a “Life Time Credential” from the State of California Community Colleges that enables him to teach all subject matters related to Real Estate, including, but not limited to, Real Estate Law, Real Estate Practices, Real Estate Principles, and Real Estate Ethics and John has also taught Real Estate Finance at University of California at Riverside (UCR). In addition, he currently holds a California Real Estate Brokers License and is active in the IMRMLS multiple listing service that services both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. John also holds his National Mortgage License Service License, a BI General Contractors License and is currently the RMO for J.A. Russo Enterprises, Inc. Construction Division. John has owned and operated five (5) real estate franchises, four (4) mortgage companies, an escrow company and developed several commercial, single family and multifamily projects. John’s experience and expertise has allowed his companies to become a leader in the field of Investment Real Estate.