I am a professional speaker who helps individuals find their story, and I facilitate the brilliance in the room.

How did you get into professional speaking?

When I was a youngster, my father directed me to speak in front of the church congregation.  I also performed for rooms full of people at cello recitals.  These and more experiences in my youth helped to shape my passion for public speaking.

When I got older, I joined the US Army as a sports specialist in Morale, Welfare and Recreation.  I also became an athlete in the Army’s World-Class Athlete Program.  However, after my amputation, I retired from service and continued to work for the same organization.

One of my responsibilities was to encourage soldier is to participate in the Troops and Boots 5k runs. At that time, the Army had initiated an aggressive recruitment campaign requiring access to high schools.  What better way to get in the door but through athletics? These world-class athletes would accompany me to the various high schools where I spoke to the students about my story and my positive experience in the military.

My presentations became so popular with students at a high school in Virginia, a recruiter contacted me and requested that I return for a 45-minute presentation.  When I eagerly accepted the request, he asked, “How much do you charge for that?”  And that’s how my professional speaking career began.