Jeremy Blevins, a student in the Millwright Skills Training Program at the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton, pictured at left, desires to be a role model for other victims of substance abuse. Blevins said his instructor, Ronnie White, also pictured, helped him turn his life around by encouraging him to be successful and "all that you can be."
Jeremy Blevins has traveled a road he hopes others will fear to tread. "I mixed with the wrong crowd and got hooked on drugs," he said.
As a result, a promising career in professional baseball came to a screeching halt. "Now, I want to put my life back together and be a role model for others," Blevins said.
In part, his goal will be complete when he graduates from the 12-month Millwright Skills Program at the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton in September.
The rocky road for the 1995 graduate of Sullivan East High School began after he was drafted in the third round by the California Angels baseball team. His athletic prowess as a pitcher in high school impressed recruiters for the major league baseball team.
"In 1995, with four games remaining in the season, I was suspended and ordered by the California Angels to go to rehab for drug abuse." He said he never went.
In 1996, when he reported for spring training, he said he failed the drug test and was suspended by the team until he completed rehab.
He said he was still using drugs after completing rehab, returned to the team, but was sent to the Single A Team. He was later traded to the New York Yankees organization.
In 1997, when he reported to spring training with the Yankees, he said he failed the drug test once again and was ordered to rehab. When he rejoined the team after rehab, he was named Pitcher of the Year and pitched in the Single A Playoffs.
In 1998, Blevins said this was the first season he was drug free "but abused alcohol regularly."
From 1999 through 2001, "I never failed drug tests but used drugs during the off season," he said.
In 2002, after being invited to big league spring training, he had a .314 ERA and was sent to the AAA organization, where he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury...a torn rotator cuff of the right shoulder.
In 2003, following surgery for the shoulder injury, he said he began using drugs once again. Over the next three years, he said he was depressed and undecided about his future.
In 2006, he returned to rehab "on his own" for three-months of medical "detox." Since then, he said he has remained drug-free.
In Sept. 2007, Blevins enrolled in the Millwright Skills Program at TTC-Elizabethton. "Thank God for Ronnie White (millwright instructor) for his encouragement and belief in you to live up to your capabilities. I look forward to graduation, living a model life as an average working citizen and being a good American citizen," Blevins said.
In recognition of outstanding academic performance, Blevins has been named Student of the Month at TTC-Elizabethton, which has a zero tolerance drug use policy.
In addition to White, Blevins also credits his mother and father for their untiring love and support in helping him recover from substance abuse.
What advice would he give others? "Never let up on hope. Don't mix with the wrong crowd. It is easier to do bad things than good," he said.