Keynote Speakers
T. Boone Pickens
Burns Hargis
Bruce Flessner
Jim Stovall
T. Boone Pickens
 |
Pickens is the founder and chairman of
BP Capital Management. Throughout his
professional life, Pickens has been a
generous philanthropist, giving away
more than $600 million. During the span
of his career, Pickens has made hundreds
of millions of dollars— for others as
well as himself — and he isn’t timid
about spreading it around. “I like
making money. I like giving it
away,” he has often said. The
breadth of his |
philanthropy includes medical research, athletics,
and academic projects. In 2006, his charitable activities, which included $175 million and the establishment of the
T. Boone Pickens Foundation, placed him on the Chronicle of
Philanthropy’s list of top
U.S.
philanthropists for the second straight year. His Foundation is
focused on improving lives through grants supporting educational
programs, health and medical research and services, athletics and
corporate wellness, the entrepreneurial process, at-risk youth, and
conservation and wildlife initiatives. In July 2008, he launched the
Pickens Plan; an energy policy proposal aimed at reducing American
dependency on imported oil.
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Burns Hargis
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Burns Hargis was named the 18th President of
Oklahoma State University in December 2007. Hargis, who holds
degrees in accounting from
Oklahoma State University and in law from the University of Oklahoma, is the second OSU graduate to
lead the university as president. Before
being named OSU President, Hargis had a
long and distinguished legal and
business career, with active civic and
philanthropic leadership across many
fronts. A firm believer in the power of
imagination and collaboration, |
Hargis was the first chair of the Oklahoma Creativity Project.
He has served and chaired many boards and has made many notable
philanthropic contributions to Oklahoma charities.
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Bruce W. Flessner
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Bruce Flessner is a principal at Bentz
Whaley Flessner and has served hundreds of clients in his
more than 25 years of consulting. Flessner is a
Minneapolis-based fundraising consultant who works with many
of the country's largest charities.
|
Prior to founding the firm, he served as vice
president of the
University of
Minnesota Foundation.
Previous to that he was the annual fund director at Kalamazoo College, Michigan.
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Jim Stovall
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Jim Stovall has built a life and a
career based upon good business and good
works. He holds the distinction of
being recognized by the President’s
Committee as the Entrepreneur of the
Year, and at the same time joined Jimmy
Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Mother Teresa
as the International Humanitarian of the
Year. His company, Narrative Television
Network, has been recognized as a model
of business success and profitability
while carrying out NTN’s mission of
making movies, television, and
educational programming accessible to
our nation’s 13 million blind and
visually impaired people and their
families. |
His book, The Ultimate Gift, has sold over 3
million copies worldwide, delivering the message that we are all
building our legacy every day and, as important as it is, money is
the least significant thing we will leave behind; but what we do
with our money can change the world. The Ultimate Gift has
been made into a major motion picture starring James Garner, Lee
Meriwether, and Brian Dennehy.
Jim Stovall is a highly sought-after
platform speaker who motivates people to be their best and give
their best in their personal and professional lives.”
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