Jalen Ponder: fulfilling a dream and moving on

Jalen Ponder has never wavered from his goal of becoming a successful business owner, a college graduate and, most recently, a career as a financial advisor. In that order.

Jalen and his family moved from Detroit to Rockton when he was 15 years old. His parents decided Detroit was not a safe place to live at the time. While a student at Hononegah Community High School, he elected to take a newly developed entrepreneurial business class, INCubatoredu, taught by Jason Brunke.

While still in his early teens and living in Detroit, Jalen had already created Evendtor, a marketing company promoting food truck businesses.

After arriving at HCHS, he continued to refine and build Evendtor while in the Incubatoredu program.

The purpose of the program is to teach students how to create their own business models, including learning finance, economic and marketing skills. Area business owners volunteer their time as coaches and mentors. Student pitch their ideas to local funders.

Jalen wanted to pay forward the skills that he had learned by volunteering as a coach in the program.

After graduating from HCHS, Jalen enrolled at Beloit College. He completed his studies in quantitative economics on December 24, 2024.

Meanwhile, in 2021, he decided to open a family-oriented drive-in theater while continuing to run the food truck marketing business and attend college. He started Drive 815 at the Rockton Athletic Field on Old River Road. The outdoor theater is open on weekends through the summer and fall. Food, games and interactive activities are part of the family drive-in experience.

When Jalon ran into problems with some of the movie screen and equipment, he came up with his own solutions and developed less expensive and more reliable alternatives that are now available to the public.

This month, Jalen will continue chasing his dream. He is ready to fly. Jalen has sold his businesses and is heading to San Francisco where he has accepted a position as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley and Associates.

Jalen has always had a long-term goal that he is determined to achieve: he wants to eventually go back to Detroit and fix things.

New owners at Drive 815

Drive 815 will continue to bring family entertainment to the Roscoe-Rockton area. Chris and Kemi Busker, who grew up in the Rockford area and are graduates of Auburn High School in Rockford, recently purchased Drive 815 from Jalen Ponder. They plan to integrate the outdoor theater with another business they own, Characters 2 Life, a party and entertainment venue.

In 2023, the couple purchased a Rockford-based princess company and re-branded it as Characters 2 Life. The company provides family entertainment and activities for special events such as birthday parties and community events. They have already been bringing their entertainment activities to movie nights at Drive 815 for the last two years.

They are now they are ready to incorporate Drive 815 into the Characters 2 Life family.

Chris said they hope to grow the business. "Our future goal is to eventually bring Drive 815 and Charters 2 Life to other locations."

The season's re-opening is scheduled for June 8, 2025. So far, 13 family-oriented movie nights are planned. Price of admission is $25 per car full. Movies will begin at dusk on either Friday or Saturday nights through August.

Chris and Kemi invite everyone to come out to Drive 815 for a fun-filled and affordable night of activities and a family-friendly movie. Food is available at the concession stand or bring your own.

A list of scheduled movies and additional information will be available at Characters 2 Life Facebook and their website characters2life.com. And season passes are for sale for a 10-movie season.