Promises Kept
Ernest E. Washington Jr. ’73
It was 1967 and U.S. Marine Corporal Ernie Washington Jr. had just returned to Boston after a combat tour in Vietnam. A neighbor, Henry Workman ’72, told him that Bentley College of Accounting and Finance was inviting veterans to apply.
“And the rest is history,” says Washington, a vocational high school graduate who had planned a career in lithography before deciding to enlist. He enrolled in night courses and worked days at Prudential Insurance. The school was located on Boylston Street then, and his teachers included Harry Bentley.
“I would become the first one in my family to go to college,” says Washington, who was awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded in action and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm. “The fact that Bentley provided that opportunity means something to me.”
Everyone at the Table
When Bentley opened its Waltham campus, he and several classmates formed the Black United Body (BUB) to foster discussion around race issues. The group worked closely with campus police and administration to address incidents of racism.
“Following the ’60s, there was a lot of negativity on college campuses,” explains Washington, whose nephew Taj Washington ’05 would play Falcon football and be active in the BUB years later. “We were blessed because we had folks at Bentley, like President Gregory Adamian, who listened to us; students, faculty and staff all sat down together. Today I use this as an example running my own business. I put everyone at the table.”
His 35-year-old business — Vanguard Parking & General Services Corporation — is New England’s only African-American-owned, inner-city-based parking management organization. And the company mission goes far beyond parking operations and commercial cleaning and reception services.
“Our motto is ‘one team, one goal,’” says Washington, who now serves his company as adviser, Employment and Training. “We train employees in soft skills development, parking and revenue control, janitorial services and fundamental life-planning skills. We strive to lift up local communities where we live and work.”
Washington also advocates for fellow veterans, which includes serving as a founding member, treasurer and president emeritus of the Veterans Benefits Clearinghouse Corporation Board of Directors.
“In combat, you make a lot of promises to yourself,” he says. “Mine was, ‘If I’m lucky enough to get out of here alive, I’ll do whatever I can to help my community.’”