All posts in Heroes

Channing Moss

Channing Moss

SPC Channing Moss should be dead by all accounts and those who saved his life did so knowing that they might have died with him.

Channing J. Moss joined the United States Army in June of 2005 to not only support his family but to protect his country. On March 16, 2006 while deployed in southeastern Afghanistan, his life was changed forever and he survived to tell his story. SPC Moss received the Purple Heart, the oldest award still awarded to soldiers wounded in combat, and the Medal of Valor in June, 2006 for the injury he sustained during combat. Read more…

Greg Gadson

Greg Gadson

Decorated Army Commander and New York Giants Honorary Captain

Lieutenant Colonel Greg Gadson has survived the very worst of war, but this highly decorated American soldier has not been defeated by unfortunate circumstance; instead, his life is a portrait of courage in the face of great adversity. Gadson understands that hard work and determination are key factors in overcoming life-altering setbacks. His biggest challenge happened in Iraq when an IED attack led to both of his legs being amputated above the knees. Read more…

Scott O’Grady

Scott O'Grady

In his own true story of being stranded in war-torn Bosnia, Captain Scott O’Grady shares the six-day, life-or-death ordeal that made headlines, inspired millions and taught us about preparation, teamwork and leadership. An Air Force fighter pilot, Captain O’Grady was shot down over Bosnia while helping to enforce the NATO no-fly zone in an F-16. Alone and facing death, capture and the elements he discovered within himself the spirit to go on, and relied on the skills learned during a lifetime of preparing for the unthinkable. From O’Grady’s compelling life-and-death story, audiences learn how to adapt, change and succeed even under the most daunting and trying of circumstances. Even while isolated behind enemy lines, Captain O’Grady remained a member of a carefully drilled team. He details the preparation, teamwork and leadership responsible for his survival and for his dramatic rescue by the U.S. Marines — qualities that are crucial to success in every facet of business and of life. The ingenuity and fortitude that kept him alive in hostile territory for six days now inspires audiences to their own groundbreaking achievements. Read more…

Charlie Plumb

Charlie Plumb

A testament to the strength of the human spirit, Charles Plumb endured the most extreme hardship and used the experience to transform his life in a profound way. In an emotional and inspiring presentation, Plumb tells the story of his survival as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for nearly six years—locked in solitary confinement and routinely tortured in an 8′ x 8′ dirt floor cell. Having overcome loneliness, fear, pain and depression, he puts audiences’ difficulties into perspective and inspires them to meet their own obstacles head-on, no matter how tough they appear. Plumb is a living testimony to how overcoming adversity can propel us beyond self-imposed limits, making us stronger and more confident. He motivates audiences to see the opportunities in the challenges they face and to tap into their inner strength to live life to the fullest. Read more…

Gerald Coffee

Gerald Coffee

In February of 1966, while flying combat missions over North Vietnam, Gerald Coffee’s RA5-C reconnaissance jet was downed by enemy fire. He parachuted safely but was captured immediately. For the next seven years he was held as a POW in the Communist prisons of North Vietnam. After his repatriation in February, 1973, Jerry returned to operation duties. He retired from active duty in the Navy after 28 years of service. In his message of going Beyond Survival, Jerry draws not only from insights derived from the prison experience, but also from the perspective of his unique experiences since then: Read more…

Denny Fitch

dennyfitch

On July 19, 1989, Captain Denny Fitch was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 232, simply returning home after a week at his job as a pilot trainer in Denver, enjoying the ride at 37,000 feet. That was until a catastrophic failure in one of the engines cut all hydraulic controls in the plane – a problem so unthinkable that there was no procedure for dealing with it. Fitch volunteered his assistance to the cockpit, and with Capt. Al Haynes and the rest of the flight crew, guided the plane to Sioux City, Iowa without the use of any of the systems required to control the plane. Although one-hundred-twelve perished in the terrifying crash landing, one-hundred-eighty-four people survived because of the incredible teamwork and leadership of the flight crew and the control tower team. Fitch was commended by President George Bush and in Senate Resolution 174 of the 101st Congress for his outstanding effort, poise and courage in assisting the crew in a difficult emergency landing at Sioux City. Captain Fitch is now a safety consultant to NASA as a member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and has also been inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Read more…

Alan Bean

Alan Bean

Captain Alan Bean, the fourth man in history to set foot on the moon, knows about reaching for the stars, both organizationally and individually. In 1973, he was the Commander of Skylab Mission II (SL III), where he lived 59 days in space, orbiting 270 miles above Earth, leading his crew to accomplish 150% of their pre-mission goals – a record unsurpassed before or since. Captain Bean shows why human beings are the most extraordinary creatures in the universe. We are unique because as far as we know we are the only beings in the universe whose only limits are those we place on ourselves. As a NASA Astronaut, Bean learned that people do not have to be especially gifted or talented to do something great, and that no matter the level of past achievement, with extra effort and dedication they can be great in the future. Organizations and individuals are almost always significantly better than they know or believe. In his presentation, Alan will take each person in the audience along with him on the flight of Apollo 12 and along the way present some thoughts and ideas that will help each individual reach for his or her own professional and personal stars. By talking with and listening to the client prior to an event, Alan custom tailors each speech around the theme and specific goals of the event; the emphasis can focus on a broad variety of subjects from teamwork, high achievement, risk taking, goal setting, attitude control, achieving maximum potential, creative thinking, leadership, and effective followership, to showing how a company and an individual can find ways to accomplish specific goals. Captain Bean is also an extraordinary artist, creating paintings that artistically record for future generations mankind’s first exploration of another world, and illustrates his personal journey to the moon through a visual extravaganza of pictures and paintings of outer space. Read more…