Dan Ramsey is the face of Treasures, a multi-purpose social venue at 5549 Germantown Avenue.
Treasures offers a venue for local residents to hold events, and also holds many events of their own. Among the regular events are oldies parties on Thursday and Sunday evenings, First Friday events, White Parties, and New Year’s celebrations.
Ramsey also attends events hosted by his “regulars,” as he calls them.
The crowd at Treasures tends to be older. That’s fine with Ramsey, as he considers himself an “old head” who believes in leading by example.
“Everybody knows when you come to Treasures, it’s an older crowd and they are dressed nice. So, it’s like Easter every Sunday when they come here.”
But Treasures is only one part of Ramsey’s life. He’s licensed electrician with a variety of business interests. He sells the shoes that he loves to wear and is a published author. He’s written a faith-based book for men titled “For Men Only: Having a Loving Relationship with God and Your Woman.” Dan has written and published nine children’s books. He did the illustrations, of course.
In other words, he is a Renaissance man.
He has also had a variety of lived experiences throughout his life.
Ramsey spent 12 years in federal prison. He straddled the fence as a young man and said he “fell over the fence hard.”
What sustained him and formed the basis for his humanity? “Well, I was raised in the church.” He now attends different services and speaks to men’s groups about his experiences.
He continued to learn and study his craft while incarcerated and his highly developed electrician’s skills enabled him to get a job a few days after his release from prison. Ramsey said that “with contracting and skills, (employers) don’t worry about (a criminal record). If you know what you’re doing, somebody’ll hire you.”
Ramsey is heavily involved with young kids and the community. He has sponsored a toy drive and coat drive to benefit the children. Ramsey has collected self-care products for abused women living in shelters and is developing an after-school program for children who are victims of bullying.
“We try to do something to give back to the community,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey’s not afraid or ashamed of his story. “I appreciate where God has taken me and I’m always looking for something to do.”
