Scott Rudder assisted in ridding the exterior of the former YMCA in East Liverpool of debris and weeds. (Photo by Jo Ann Bobby-Gilbert)

EAST LIVERPOOL — A Lisbon-based security firm specializing in training has purchased several vacant downtown buildings with plans of making a positive presence in the city.

Navy SEAL Adam Newbold is president and CEO of Advanced Training Group (ATG) Worldwide, founded in 2009 before he went into the active Reserves.

With a staff that includes current and former SEALS and other special forces, law enforcement and intelligence professional, ATG provides specialized security and advance tactics training to elite military units, law enforcement and other government agencies.

Now, with the purchase of the former Elks Lodge, YMCA and Crooks Furniture buildings, ATG plans to bring not only some of the same types of training opportunities to the city but other programs aimed at bettering the community, including its young people.

In 2014, the company landed a five-year government contract worth up to $100 million through a joint venture with Raptor Training Services to train special forces, and Newbold said, “Our community has been the world stage until now. Now we are interested in being involved in the community and the people around us.”

He said ATG has “started a club, of sorts,” composed of “lots of patriotic Americans coming in off the streets,” saying the group is not political or a militia but is doing “fun things, good things.”

Some of the ideas being mulled over for the downtown buildings are programs revolving around health, nutrition, community outreach, drug rehabilitation and athletics such as basketball and wrestling utilizing the former YMCA facility.

While admitting ATG’s expertise “doesn’t necessarily lie in (drug) rehabilitation,” Newbold said the agency has more than 800 members from a “great cross section of America who all want to be part of something exceptional,” some of whom do have expertise in drug rehab.

He said the group is “very interested” in anti-drug education and said, “We think starting at a younger age is extremely important,” saying drugs and the lifestyle that comes with them are often glamorized in the movies.

“We hope to de-glamorize it,” Newbold said, saying having kids talk with those who have “had everything and lost it all” due to drug use will be highlighted instead of the glamour and money the drug culture often portrays.

Asked if ATG, then, will be working with the local school district in providing anti-drug programs to students, Newbold said, “We’re not going to wait on anyone else. People talk about doing things and then don’t do them.”

In Lisbon, ATG has acquired 13 buildings and now operates a 24-hour gym in one of them.

He said plans for the downtown buildings are “moving very quickly,” with cleaning and assessment for repairs and renovation already started.

Recently, crews composed of ATG members were cleaning years’ worth of debris, broken glass and chipped paint from the YMCA, where Newbold said he expects the pool and basketball court to be reopened for use by members and possibly the public.

With 800 members now involved with ATG, Newbold said he just puts social media posts out and 20 to 30 people show up to help work on projects, “bringing trailers, tools, gloves and a gleam in their eyes.”

A wrestling program for kids, as well as martial arts and fitness programs are being planned, with Newbold saying, “In SEAL terms, we get things done; we’re relentless.”

A Future Leaders of America program for kids is also in the works in which young people will learn to be respectful, involved and aware, with Newbold saying, “A lot of parents are worried about bullying. We know that kids with high self-esteem are less worried about being bullied or about being a bully. They will be able to deal with whatever life throws at them.”

Saying he is not familiar with the existing YMCA downtown, Newbold said he is interested in working with the agency in providing programs, saying, “We believe business breeds business. Whatever the YMCA is doing, it’s obviously not enough. I applaud their efforts, but I want to add to it.”

In addition to programs for young people, Newbold said the downtown locations can be used for housing Navy SEALs and Green Beret members who come in for training and said he hopes to speak with city officials about transforming the Elks Lodge into a restaurant/dinner theater venue with lodging for students and patrons.

Newbold said he would like to see the multi-story Crooks building used to host an annual wrestling event during which wrestlers have to work their way up to the top floor.

Other ideas he has for the building include a fitness facility, art studio, dance studio or a coffee shop on the ground floor.

“They’re just thoughts,” he mused.

The Elks building has actually already been utilized by ATG as a haunted house and for movie nights for members as well as a training venue for area K-9 teams.

Membership in ATG is $21 per month, and Newbold said, “We’re trying to surround ourselves with good and powerful people. Members can be as active or inactive as they want to be.”

He emphasized, “We’re not political; we’re not military. We’re doing fun things; we’re doing good things.”

Last year, Newbold pointed out, ATG employed more than 130 people, the majority of whom were from the local area.

He invited people to contact ATG at 330-271-7194 or check out its website: www.myATGworldwide.com for more information.