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Don't Just Book a Speaker, Create a Revolution I went to my monthly EO meeting last night. People were telling me I looked great, asking if I had lost weight. My good friend, Sam Lam, the plastic surgeon, lingered and said, “You look really good.” That is always a great feeling! The truth? My weight is up and I have not had time for any plastic surgery. It hit me what they were seeing was me radiating after giving back. Sure it was exhausting, but I was on a high from what I knew had been an incredible week. When Andre arrived in town, I thought he was going to give nine speeches. He did so much more! I want to give you a run down of what Andre did during this week. However, before I do, let me plant a seed for all you event planners and organizers out there. “Social Responsibility” is a big deal today. Some say the younger generation will determine where they work based on the company’s commitment to social responsibility. More and more events are becoming experiential. So when you read this run down, I encourage you to think about how your group could create similar impact by giving back. Okay, here is the recap. Andre arrived on Wednesday, March 2 at DFW. As scheduled, we drove to Manitou, Oklahoma where he spoke for two hours to the juveniles at the Oklahoma State Juvenile Detention Center. On Thursday, March 3 we drove from Altus to Hollis where he conducted a school assembly for grades 6-12. They are saying it was the best assembly ever! Then we added in a full hour presentation to the inmates at the correctional facility participating in the work release program. That evening he spoke at a community event in Altus open to the public. There was incredible energy in the community regarding ways to work together to help their youth. On Friday, March 4, we drove from Altus to Granite where he spoke to more than 125 inmates at Granite State Reformatory. We did not leave after the presentation. Rather, we stayed and visited one of the cell blocks. We then drove back to Dallas where he met with kids in the gang prevention program of the Boys and Girls Club. On Saturday, March 5, we added in two things. He gave a presentation at El Centro College in Dallas to thirty Upward Bound teens and twenty from the C.O.R.E program. He returned to Colleyville and attended mass with me to announce his presentation to my home church the following evening. Later, via very serendipitous set of circumstances, he found himself helping a family for more than four hours. On Sunday March 6, we attended mass again to make another announcement. He met with contributors for lunch and that evening he spoke to a large crowd at Good Shepherd Catholic Community. After the presentation to Good Shepherd, he was invited by the Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School to visit. He agreed on the spot and arranged to be picked up at 7:30 the next morning. This was not scheduled. He also agreed to spend time with a young man that evening that had served 10 years and wanted support. Still with me? Keep reading … Monday, March 7 he spent the day at a school in Fort Worth and returned to Tarrant County Juvenile Detention Center – where he recently spoke and promised to come back – where he spent two hours. He added another unscheduled event at Boys and Girls Club in Arlington. Then he visited another family in Colleyville who wanted to have family time with him. Fast forward to the hotel around 11:30 where he had a follow up meeting with the guy he met at the church Sunday night. On Tuesday Andre spent some time in our office with the team. We had a blast. Speakers are dynamic people and I wish that everyone could have an opportunity to also see them enjoy “down time.” We all enjoyed getting to hang with Andre. In the afternoon, he gave a presentation at Colleyville Heritage High School for a group of kids. He later had dinner with someone he has decided to mentor and did a family visit. During the visit, the family requested support the following day, so he changed his flight to be of service. In case you have not been following the blogs this week, Andre donated his fee to charity. If I had not seen it myself I would say this guy's not for real. I’m convinced that you can create this kind of transformation in your own communities. Don’t just book a speaker, plan to create a revolution!
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