News and Features
Olympic Gold Medallist Billy Mills to Speak November 20
Olympic gold medallist Billy Mills will speak in the Calvin and Janet High Fine Arts Center Saturday, November 20, 2010, at 11:30 a.m. His speaking engagement on the Lancaster Campus coincides with the school's Iron Bridge Run (5K) for which he will serve as the official starter at 9:30 a.m.
Mr. Mills has been selected as the top motivational/inspirational speaker by Toasters International as he tells his story of how he overcame prejudice and impossible odds to achieve his stunning victory in the 1964 summer Olympics. Running in the 10,000 meter race, he pulled one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history and set a world record, one of two he was to hold. His presentation includes video highlights of his amazing race. His life story was made into the 1984 motion picture, Running Brave.
In 1990 he wrote Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding with with Nicholas Sparks. His Lessons of a Lakota was published in 2005.
Billy Mills was inducted into the United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1976, and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984. He is also in the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, the Kansas Hall of Fame, the South Dakota Hall of Fame, the San Diego Hall of Fame, and the National High School Hall of Fame.
Mills serves as the spokesperson for Running Strong for American Indian Youth, an organization that helps support projects that benefit the American Indian people, especially the youth. He is also the national spokesperson for Christian Relief Services.
In addition to the November 20 presentation, a VIP reception will be held Friday, November 19, from 7-9 p.m. on the Lancaster Campus. Personalized signed posters of Billy Mills will be available.
Reserved seats for his talk are available for $15 each. Group discounts as low as $10 per seat are available. A special VIP pass entitles persons to special seating for the talk, a personally autographed poster, and admission to the VIP reception.
To order tickets, please click the Billy Mills Ticket Order Form. For more information about the event, call Lancaster Mennonite Cross County Coach Mark Gallagher at (717) 823-2027 or send an e-mail to coachgallagher16@gmail.com.