Founders
Click a Founder’s Name to Visit Their Website.
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Danny Cox
Record breaking sales manager. Speaker: NSA Hall of Fame member. Author of: Leadership When the Heat’s On and There Are No Limits. Military: Flew all weather fighters F-86D, F-102 and over 1000 hours in 1200 MPH F-101B Voodoo and F-16. Assigned to Chinese Air Force in Taiwan and Royal Australian Air Force in Southern Philippine jungle.
Clint Greenleaf, CPA, is the founder and CEO of Greenleaf Book Group. GBG, an Inc 500 Company, is a publisher and distributor with several NY Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. Clint blogs for Inc.com, and is a regular guest host on Fox Business Network. He sits on the AOL Small Business Board of Directors and has been featured in the WSJ, CNN, MSBNC, and Forbes. Trained with US Marines – various aircraft
Scott Gross
T. Scott Gross is the guy who wrote Positively Outrageous Service. Have you ever had a service experience that was so much fun you just had to talk about it? Chances are they learned it from Scott. Southwest Airlines is just one of his high profile clients who have made surprising and delighting customers a key part of their corporate culture. More than just an author… now working on book number 14, Scott is a thought leader in the area of corporate training who says training doesn’t work….. mastery does! You can read about that and more in Scott’s weekly blog on Forbes.com or catch him atwww.tscottgross.com. When he is not on the road working as a keynote presenter, Scott works hard as a third term city council member in beautiful Kerrville, TX.
Don Hutson
NSA Founding Board, Past-President, Board Member, CPAE Speakers Hall of Fame, CSP; 6,000 programs in 22 countries; Author of THE SALE, THE ONE MINUTE ENTREPRENEUR, & THE ONE MINUTE NEGOTIATOR; 6,500 hr. pilot; private, commercial, instrument; previous Citation I-SP owner; now on third Bonanza, a 1981 A-36-TC;
Rick Jakle
Owns and operates three radio stations in Chicago and Las Vegas markets. President of six corporations. Bank director and longtime chairman of the board of Chicago area hospital. Speaker, past president of National Speakers Association Holds commercial, multi-engine license with instrument rating
Randall Larsen
Former commander of America’s fleet of VIP aircraft at Andrews AFB MD 1996-98; Flew 400 combat missions in Cobra gunships in Vietnam 1968-69; USAF flight examiner/instructor pilot and FAA certified fli
ght instructor single & multi-engine land; Aircraft flown: T-38, C-5A/B, KC-135, DC-9, C-12, Gulfstream III/IV, AH-1G, UH-1H/C/N and numerous single & multi-engine civilian airplanes; Author of OUR OWN WORST ENEMY (Warner Books, 2007)
Terri Murphy
As a top producing sales person in the Chicago area for over 24 years, Terri understands the unmatchable power of strategic alliances that truly create a strong differentiation in the market today. Terri is the Chief Information Officer of U. S. Learning in Memphis and president of Terri Murphy Communications, Inc. Her expertise is consulting with companies, executives and associations on ways to create new relationships through cutting edge marketing and online communication strategies.
W Mitchell
Mitchell’s first taste of aviation was serving with the Marines legendary, Black Sheep Squadron. This two-term mayor, congressional nominee, national business and environmental leader, TV & radio broadcaster, author and Hall of Fame international keynoter also served as president of the Global Speakers Federation. He delivers a wake-up call to worldwide organizations facing uncertainty, turmoil and the realities of a rapidly changing business climate. Commercial, Instrument, Single & Multi engine – land, Commercial sailplane. Aircraft owned include; MU-2, 601 Aerostar and most recently aCessna T210.
Charlie Plumb
Farm kid from Kansas becomes Top Gun navy fighter pilot. Shot down on his 75th mission over North Vietnam. Captured, Tortured, and spent nearly six years in Communist prison camps. He has returned to share his message to 4500 audiences from Fortune 500 companies to small town high schools. National Speakers Association “Hall of Fame” speaker, he continues to speak several times each month in this country and around the world. Recipient of NSA’s CPAE award; Commercial Instrument rated Pilot , Single and Multi-engine land. Military aircraft flown include F/A-18, F-16, F-11, F-9, F-4, A-7, A-4. Civilian aircraft include C-172, C-210, Beachcraft V-35, A36TC. He currently owns and flys an antique Fairchild PT-19 and an experimental Long EZ.
Carl Potter
Carl Potter works with organizations that want to put safety first in the minds of their employees, so that everyone can go home every day without injuries. After working in the electric utility industry for over 17 years, he started Potter and Associates International in 1993. Through his presentations and consulting, he now spends his time bringing his frontline, hands-on experience of personal responsibility and safety to companies all over the country. Carl is a certified safety professional, certified management consultant, and certified speaking professional. He is the author of Who Is Responsible for Safety and several other books. As a commercial rated pilot who flies his own plane (see his plane at www.cessnaskylane182.com), he brings different perspectives to workplace safety. He is involved in a number of humanitarian efforts that involve safety and aviation including: Board Member for Angel Flight of Oklahoma, Advocate for Mission Aviation Fellowship, and Member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Aviation – a division of the US Homeland Security. Carl is the past President of the National Speakers Association of Oklahoma and Tulsa Chapter of ASTD. Carl’s airplane is a 1999 C-182, tail number N4196D. He and his wife Dr. Deb Potter PhD. fly to many of their speaking and consulting engagements.
Dan Poynter
Private Pilot, SEL and Gliders. FAA Master Parachute Rigger. Past president , Parachute Industry Association. Past chairman of the board, U.S. Parachute Association. Past president, hang gliding commission (CIVL) of the Fèdèration Aèronautique Internationale. Trustee and curator of the National Skydiving Museum, 1,208 jumps with all the licenses and ratings. Author of 127 books; 12 on aviation. Founder, NSA Writing-Publishing PEG newsletter. Founder/editor Global Speakers Federation NewsBrief. GSF International Ambassador 2008-2010.
Howard Putnam
Former CEO Southwest Airlines; Chairman and CEO Braniff International Airways. Speaker, member of The National Speakers Association, and Speakers Hall of Fame. Author: The Winds of Turbulence
David Rohlander The CEO’s Coach, is a former USAF fighter pilot with 208 combat missions in SEA flying the Phantom II, RF-4C and F-4D. David earned an MBA in Finance and spent a decade with Merrill Lynch. He is the founder and CEO of two companies, as well as a real estate developer and college professor. As a business speaker and coach David’s focus is communication and leadership in the real world. David is a commercial pilot and flew a Piper Saratoga for several years.
Mark Sanborn
Mark Sanborn is a past president of the NSA, CSP, CPAE and Cavett Award winner. He got his private license while a student at The Ohio State University. These days he leaves the flying to the professionals as he travels to speaking engagements but continues to be interested and involved in aviation. He has spoken to ICAS, loves attending the Reno Air Races and hopes to return to EAA at Osh Kosh soon.
Mike Summey
Investor/Speaker: Owner/operator for 30 years in the outdoor advertising industry. Invented and patented the single pole billboard construction that is currently used throughout the world. Over 40 years as a real estate investor. Co-author of the Weekend Millionaire Book Series; 4 titles published by McGraw-Hill. Member of National speakers Association since 1989. Past President NSA/Carolinas. Private pilot since mid 1970s. Currently own and pilot a Beechcraft King Air.
Phil Trenary
Head of Phil Trenary & Associates, Aviation/Business Consulting. Corp. Member, Regional Airline Association Board of Directors, Federal Reserve Bank’s Transportation Industry Council. Past member, FAA Management Advisory Council. Former President, Lonestar Airlines and corporate pilot. Certified flight and advanced ground instructor. Flight experience in single and multi-engine turboprop and jet aircraft, international flights and low-altitude aerobatics.
Rob Waldman
Professional leadership speaker and peak performance coach; Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and past President of the National Speaker’s Association, GA Chapter; Author of the national bestseller Never Fly Solo; Former decorated F-16 fighter pilot with 65 combat missions in Iraq and Serbia.
2012 Speaking Eagles Co-Founders
Soaring to success from beat-cop to combat pilot in three years, Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour became America’s first African-American female combat pilot. Now she’s an inspiration to thousands of individuals and corporations and has been featured twice on Oprah, as well as CNN, Tyra Banks, NPR and others. Her extraordinary story and principles are in her book, Zero to Breakthrough.
Speaking Eagles Co-Founder, 2012, Carl “Chevy” Chevallard is a private pilot and the President of ConductYourLife, LLC, a corporate training company that focuses on leadership from a professional orchestral conductor’s perspective. In October, Lt. Col. Chevallard retired from the USAF as the Commander/Conductor of the prestigious United States Air Force Academy Band.
A love of flying comes easily to Eileen. Her mother was one of the 1,074 Women Air Force Service Pilots WWII (WASP) and a Congressional Gold Medal winner for that service. Eileen recalls going to air fields as a toddler to watch the planes while her mother spoke about the different aircraft, the technical terms and that a wind sock was not something you put on your foot. Along with her sister, they took their mother to almost every WASP bi-annual conference and became friends with some of the great aviators, including Major Nicole Malachowski, the first female Thunderbird pilot.
Today Eileen helps organizations fly through the turbulence of change and soar as resilient leaders. Since founding McDargh Communications in 1980, her goal is to transform the life of their business and the business of their life through conversations that matter and connections that count.
Ed is the Chairman and CEO of Enlightened Leadership Solutions, Inc., a training and consulting company, where he has had the opportunity to put his leadership concepts to work.
Ed spent 15 years in the computer industry and has been on a quest for over 25 years to understand how to bring out the very best in people.
Ed founded the firm now called Enlightened Leadership Solutions, Inc. in 1987. He is co-author of the best selling business book “Enlightened Leadership: Getting To The Heart Of Change” (Simon & Schuster), now in its 30th printing, and his latest book “Giveaway.”
Ed has consulted in Europe , Australia and Asia for organizations challenged with major change, including those involved with quality initiatives, re-engineering, “right-sizing”, etc. He specializes in turning around challenging project and change efforts.






