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LUMBERTON

The tree came out of nowhere.

Rick Lovette crashed into it sideways. He nearly killed himself and destroyed the 1966 yellow Corvette he had bought 18 months earlier just out of high school.

Lovette was angry. Angry at the tree, his car, the world. Angry at his parents, who divorced when he was 10. Angry at himself. Angry at God.

It took years for Lovette to get his life back on track. And after finding religion, he discovered a spark to reach out to young people, to help them avoid the mistakes he made when he was a young man in Robeson County.

Now 50, he's mentoring them through motor sports. His nonprofit organization, Greater Works Inc., teaches troubled teens how to repair and restore race cars and motorcycles. He also teaches two levels of motor sports classes at the Robeson County Career Center, which is part of the Robeson County school system.

"If I can get them to see, just for a second, there's life beyond sex, drugs and violence, then maybe I've made a difference," Lovette said. "I feel like what we're doing here changes lives."

Lovette wants to foster an environment where his students learn how to drop their guards while picking up a wrench.

"If you let them have fun for a minute and learn something they're interested in, they'll open up," he said. "You can see that moment where they're not these tough guys, but just kids dealing with a bunch of junk. I'd just like to see some of them get a shot."

But that can be easier said than done. Lovette's students come from Robeson County's six high schools. They often bring in pre-existing school grudges in addition to their own problems: broken families, poverty, gangs, drugs and violence.

He started Greater Works in 2001 to help hard-to-reach students realize the importance of finishing school. Greater Works received its nonprofit status in 2004 and operates mainly during the summer months and occasional weekends when school is out - a key time for Lovette to reinforce his pro-education message.

The center provides Lovette with a garage and classroom, where he has given young people a viable set of mechanical trade skills, as well as social skills, since October 2005.

"Mr. Lovette has given me confidence to believe in myself and taught me about teamwork," said Maurice Townsend, a Greater Works participant and a student in Lovette's advanced class.

Townsend, who is 17, lives in Fairmont and is a senior at Fairmont High School. Through Greater Works, he is restoring an old '66 Chevelle that had done little more than provide shade and growing space for small trees at his father's house.

"I've taken what I've learned from Mr. Lovette and applied it to the Chevelle," Townsend said. "I would never have believed it was possible to get that car running. Now I do."

Townsend said he has been working on it with his dad, too. He didn't think that would have happened before the class. The work has brought them closer together, Townsend said, and it's also kept him out of trouble.

"In Lumberton there's not much to do," Townsend said. "It's real easy to make some bad decisions and get in trouble quick."

Before he began working with Lovette, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. Now he plans on majoring in mechanical engineering at North Carolina A&T State University.

For Lovette, Townsend is proof that the Career Center and Greater Works are reaching their goals of helping young people become productive members of society. Further proof also comes when representatives from community colleges and trade schools call Lovette to inquire about the students for admissions purposes.

Lovette knows how quickly a troubled life can spiral out of control. He knows because he should have been dead half a lifetime ago.

At the time of Lovette's accident, his car was careening out of control at 80 mph. The speed could have symbolized his life at the time.

"Back then, you started doing drugs, fighting, chasing girls, and then one night you crash your car drunk, and then you're fighting and hating and pulling knives and guns," Lovette said. "And then, you're in over your head with no idea how you got there - and your life is in pieces."

It took time for Lovette to overcome his anger and his failings.

Lovette isn't afraid to face his past, but he speaks little of it. But there is one moment he talks about that changed everything.

On Dec. 13, 2000, Lovette said he found God and became a new man. While volunteering at South View High School, where his son attended, Lovette met some men who also were volunteers. They shared their faith with Lovette, which had a profound effect on him.

"I just found myself reading my stepfather's old Bible one day," Lovette said. "And then, Jesus became as real as you are."

Today, Lovette jokes with God. He jokes about his students' humorous antics. He jokes about how he's glad that tree was there. His car could have rolled and flipped a dozen times to his own demise.

After he became saved, Lovette said he had a new purpose.

"I had always wished there was someone there to tell me about the dangers of things," Lovette said. "The funny thing is, there always was. I just didn't listen. I don't want that to happen for these kids."

Sparks fly as Chakota Hunt - "Chuck" to his seven classmates - welds a rearview mirror to the interior of "Rocket Roy," a '37 Chevy Coupe.

It's just after 1 p.m. on a Wednesday, and the old racer needs the mirror to pass muster for the weekend races at the Hammer Down Speedway in Red Springs.

Hunt, an 18-year-old senior at Purnell Swett, is proud of his handiwork. He has been welding since he was 12 at his father's Lumberton welding business.

"I want to show my dad this one," he said, pointing to the mirror.

"Yeah, that looks good, Chuck," Lovette said upon initial inspection. Further examination reveals some room for improvement.

"Now, just hit it here, here and here," Lovette said, indicating a few points to Hunt.

With an infectious smile, Hunt takes it in stride and does the work. His personal motto, learned from his father, is, "When in doubt, just weld it."

He's here to learn and has hopes of taking over the family business.

"I love the work, to see what I can do," Hunt said. "But Mr. Lovette's also teaching me how to be a better man."

Justin Hunt, who is not related to Chakota, said he respects Lovette and looks up to him.

"He's helped me a lot," said Justin Hunt, a 17-year-old junior at Purnell Swett High. "I've used his lessons to stay out of trouble."

Justin Hunt plans on majoring in business when he goes to college; he wants to open his own body shop and follow Lovette's example.

"We all came in here with our own problems, and it was a little tense at first," Justin Hunt said. "But Mr. Lovette talks with us, and we all get along. We're a big family in the shop."

Chuck is done with the mirror, and some of his classmates poke fun at his welding skills. Put-downs are exchanged, but there's no heat to them. Everyone knows Chuck is by far the best welder of the bunch.

"What are we gonna do now?" a student asks.

Lovette pauses, surveying the eager students surrounding him.

"Let's fix the tailpipe on the dirt bike," another suggests, thumbing in the direction of a 500cc Yamaha dirt bike whose tailpipe rattles.

"OK, sounds good," Lovette says.

In a flash, the students move like a well-oiled machine, scattering to grab parts and tools. Their outside lives and troubles are momentarily forgotten.

"Ya'll are so fire," Lovette praises. "Just fire."