Melvin Carver was born July 14, 1959 in Pensacola, Florida. The stepson of a Navy man, he and his family relocated to the San Francisco/Oakland area of California in 1971. He attended high school in Alameda, California and Laney Junior College in Oakland, California. After having a successful football career at Laney Junior College, Melvin received a football scholarship to attend University of Las Vegas/Nevada where he again enjoyed great success in his football career. Considered a prominent candidate for the 1982 NFL draft, Melvin, along with the athletic department and local football fans, were shocked when he failed to secure a position in the NFL. Determined to play in the NFL, Melvin came to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization in 1982 as a free agent running back. He enjoyed a career with the Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts from 1982 until his retirement from football in 1988.
After retiring from football, Melvin spent a brief period of time working with at-risk youth at W.T. Edwards (HRS) and the Hillsborough and Polk County School systems as a Chapter 1 Migrant Program Counselor. In 1989, Melvin accepted his first sales position with Danka Industries as a Government Marketing Representative. For eleven years, Melvin was responsible for securing new customers for copier and fax products and maintaining an existing customer base that covered an expanse of eight counties. In 1998, Melvin was solicited by IKON Document Services and offered a position as a sales account representative, which he accepted. His main responsibility was to identify and establish new accounts for business and litigation copying services.
Having grown weary of the politics of corporate America, Melvin parted company with IKON after only a year. He had found a certain enjoyment in the many aspects of litigation copying and became convinced that he could start his own copying service that would be different from his competitors. So, armed with a dream and one Canon 6650 copier, Melvin and his wife, Caterial, launched into the document copying arena as M.C. Enterprises, Inc. Melvin spent long, tiring days and nights soliciting and securing clients, preparing proposals, and producing copy projects while Caterial maintained the accounting and administrative aspects of the company. Business opportunities expanded quickly, thus allowing Melvin to hire employees, purchase more copiers, secure a larger office location, and acquire a vehicle fleet. The company grossed over $322,000 in sales revenues in its first year of operation and is quickly approaching its first target of $1 million in annual sales revenues. The company now employs a staff of eleven, including Melvin and his wife.
In addition to his athletic and professional achievements, Melvin has been actively involved in innumerable community and charitable organizations, and has gained recognition as a keynote speaker among them. He has been the featured speaker at numerous business and professional conferences and seminars. He is a supporter of the United States Attorney's Office's "Weed and Seed Program" and has been a featured speaker at its state conference. He has been involved with the Derrick Brooks "Brooks Bunch"/Boys and Girls Club mentoring program, numerous events and charities with the NFL Player's Association for at-risk and underprivileged youth, Prison Crusade/Abe Brown Ministries, and the Power Team to name a few. Melvin is also a licensed and ordained minister and has supported and spoken at numerous Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Athletes For Christ (AFC) rallies, as well as many churches around the Bay area.
