Yesterday Hall of Fame Shortstop and Humanitarian Award Winner Ozzie Smith’s provided the opening keynote speech at the Prepaid Expo. Attendees arrived with anticipation for his presentation. Keith Kirkpatrick, the conference director for the Prepaid Expo delivered the introductory reception to the keynote presentation.Ozzie Smith entered to thunderous applause as many take to their feet to welcome a living baseball legend. He began by telling us a bit about the emotinal impact and power of being nominated and inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He pointed out the difficulty of being able to express the sheer force of being told of his nomination, and went on to describe the remarkable journey he undertook over 20 years to achieve such an achievement. He described his childhood experiences, of how unlike many kids who had people to play catch with, he had no one, but despite this challenge it didn’t stop his dream of becoming a Major League baseball player. Ozzie also recalled and credits his success to those who helped motivate and pushed him throughout his career; including his mother, his highschool coach, his college coach, and so many others.
Courage in times of adversity, as he pointed out, is what keeps people getting back up when they are knocked down, to keep pushing forward when all else seems impossible. He gives through a litanty of examples of renowned individuals who during the early career were often told no including Jim Hensen, the creator of the Muppets, who pitched his idea for the show to network producers and executives for 20 years before given the opportunity. Ozzie humbly mentioned that he did not have the best athletic ability but had the courage to persevere and the heart to believe his “glove” allowed him the chance to give back to the supporters and fans who were always with him.
After a great presentation Ozzie took many questions from the attendees. Questions ranged from what is your greatest achievement to a variety of baseball questions such as his thoughts on the Chicago Cub's chances of winning this year.
Here are just a few minutes of that remarkable opening keynote:
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