Posts Tagged ‘church speakers’

Met with Memphis City Council

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Kevin presents Joe Brown a plaque10:00 a.m. CST – The morning was spent running miscellaneous errands and getting ready to leave tomorrow.

2:30 p.m. CST – We departed the Baymont hotel and headed towards the Memphis City Hall. We arrived at City Hall just before our 3:30 p.m. meeting. However, after we arrived, we found out that the City Council meeting was running late so we had to wait a bit for the meeting to begin.

Several council members, including Chairman Joe Brown, apologized for the delay. Chairman Brown called me to the podium where I presented my plan for the Tour and challenged the City Council to work to start lasting health and fitness initiatives for all citizens. During the presentation, I covered all of the points for why I was doing this Tour. I told them that people could find out more information www.kevinsaunders.com.
I presented Chairman Brown with a plaque and he thanked me for my efforts on the Big Push. The citizens in attendance gave me a round of applause and Chairman Brown presented me with a proclamation, a key to the city, and a pair of cuff links on behalf of the council and the City of Memphis. He also presented Dora with a pendant with the city emblem on it.

I thanked the City Council for their time and great Southern hospitality and told them that I looked forward to coming back and presenting them with an award for making Memphis one of the healthiest cities in America.

6:30 p.m. CST – We stopped for a quick, healthy dinner downtown and then headed back to the hotel. Some people may be wondering how I can still eat healthy foods while on the road. It is not as difficult as you might think. It is all about making smart decisions and taking personal responsibility for your health. You’ve got to push away from the  junk foods and empty calories. If you must eat fast food be selective about what you choose and don’t make fast food your lifestyle. Healthy alternatives are out there and you owe it to yourself to find them!  Providing this knowledge is one of the goals I hope to achieve with this tour.

8:00 p.m. CST – Andy uploaded the pictures from today from his camera and resized them for email. We printed out the itinerary for the next day and caught up with the log.

10:00 p.m. CST – We did some pre-packing for the trip to Stuttgart, AR tomorrow. We wrapped it up around midnight and went to bed.

Kevin Saunders is a noted author, champion wheelchair athlete, and motivational speaker.

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Began pushing again in the heat and met with some city officials.

Friday, July 10th, 2009
Kevin_holding_his_own_in_freeway_traffic

I pushed approximately 24 miles total from Columbia, IL to just past Waterloo, IL. The sun pounded on me from above and the pavement baked me from below.
A police escort from the Columbia, IL police department escorted me to their jurisdiction line where the Waterloo Police took over and escorted me to the Waterloo city hall to meet the city leaders.
I met with Mayor Terry Kipping of Waterloo at city hall. Shawn Kennedy the city collector was also at the meeting. The Chief of Police, Joseph “Joe” Brauer was also present. The media present included Danny Kelley reporter from the Republic-Times the Herald and the Shopper from Waterloo, IL. Monroe County Independent Newspaper editor and reporter Ed Wienhoff was also there.

It was a hot and humid day of pushing. I was very hot and soaking with sweat when I showed up to city hall in Waterloo. It was in the 90’s and one of the most humid days this year. I’ll be facing incredible heat, pounding rain, dangerous traffic, and all sorts of unforeseen obstacles on this trip. Even small differences in the terrain, like a five mile uphill haul – makes an enormous difference in effort to a guy in a wheelchair. Whatever happens I’m ready to overcome any adversity I might face. I’ll experience blisters, sunburn, sore muscles and more and it’s all worth it if I can inspire more Americans to get healthy and fit. The fatigue and stress I feel from my effort is comparable in a way to the stresses and fatigue too many Americans get from living unhealthy lifestyles. My trip will take a toll on me physically. The unhealthy choices many Americans make take a huge toll on their lives and when combined it takes a toll on American fitness and health as a whole. It leads to higher healthcare costs, lower productivity at work and general unhappiness and stress at a personal level. I encourage and hope to inspire all Americans to find healthy alternatives to greasy, expensive, fast food and learn to enjoy the benefits in life exercise has to offer. The people I meet on this Revolutions tour give me hope. They are interested in what I am doing and while maybe unsure of how to get started are ready to live healthier lives. I’m going to do all I can to help them every step of the way and with every revolution of my wheels.

Never Give Up!

Kevin

 

Kevin Saunders appears as an educational speaker, motivational coach, church speaker, safety speaker, business speaker, wheelchair speaker, health and fitness speaker, school speaker, Paralympian, and noted author.

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Today I was an educational speaker at a couple of local schools

Thursday, July 9th, 2009
 ral_hundred_students_at_LBJ_High_about_the_importance_of_getting_a_fitness

9:00 a.m. CST – Roosevelt High School was my first stop today.  My goal was to inspire and motive all 700 students listening to my speech.  There were four important points I wanted leave them with. They were:
1)         To NEVER give up.
2)         It’s not what happens to you that matters, it’s how you choose to respond   to what happens that is important.  Make good decisions!
3)         The only failures are the ones who don’t learn from their mistakes.
4)         Greatness is all around you.  Do not be afraid to ask for help from someone who is successful at something that you want to do.

 
  I encouraged the students to improve a little each day and keep a journal to track their challenges and improvements. By keeping a daily journal they can identify areas they need to improve and have accountability to make the necessary changes. When they look back at the journal they can see that even small improvements each day when added all up can move mountains. When I’ve followed up with students at other schools that took this advice to heart I’ve always found it was a strategy that really worked to improve their success in school.  At the end of my talk, I presented an autographed copy of my book, “There’s Always a Way”, to the school’s library.  I really enjoyed my experience at the school.  The students were great and were very interested in hearing about the Tour and what I had to say.  I believe my education is the foundation to all my accomplishments and I encourage everyone to keep learning throughout their lives. Learning new things helps keep a sense of wonder and discovery within us and keeps us young.  I’m passionate about learning and strive to pass that excitement on to students whenever I present as an educational and school speaker.

10:15 a.m. CST – We head to Beaumont High School, where I spoke to a much smaller group of about 70 students.  I really enjoy interacting so closely with students. I like getting a chance to hear what they have to say, getting to know their concerns and being able to give them the tools to overcome any challenges they might face. Many students and teachers have told me I really made a difference in their lives and their quest for an education and nothing makes me feel better. The school principal gave Dora, Andy, and I a “Not at Beaumont” t-shirt.  This was the principal’s most popular quote.  I also presented this school with a signed copy of my book, There’s Always a Way, as well as a copy of my comic book. Once my book Revolutions is done (the story of my journey across the country pushing my wheelchair) I’ll be sure to get them a copy of that as well.

All my best,

Kevin

 Kevin Saunders appears as an educational speaker, motivational speaker, Safety speaker, business and corporate speaker, health and fitness speaker and noted author.

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