prevention and empowerment speaker

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Mr. Cunningham is a well-respected member of our community due to his work with hundreds of our youth in mental and emotional health. I consulted with him in 2016 with respect to our Second Chance Program which eliminates arrest records for juveniles who commit low level crimes and volunteer their enrollment. Thanks to his input, we have seen a major reduction in the recidivism (reoffend) rate in St. Petersburg. 

We had the pleasure of having Rod Cunningham speak during our convention’s morning plenary. With approximately 500 local stakeholders and concerned citizens in attendance, Rod engaged the crowd with charm and humor, making topics such as opioid abuse and mental health approachable. From the perspective of the event’s coordinators, Rod was easy to work with and was very responsive. 

He stayed after his speaking engagement without having to be asked to further engage participants during the lunch session whom had questions. Our participants were thankful for his information, insights and for the opportunity to speak with him further afterwards. We are happy to endorse Rod as a capable and engaging speaker. 

“I had the honor of hearing Mr. Cunningham speak at an event, and his story inspired me. I also knew that he would inspire the youth that I serve through a local non-profit. When he presented, he had the full attention of the room, and I could tell that the kids were really connecting to the ideas and applying them to their own lives. They continued talking about his points into the bus ride back to school, and a few of them came up to me commenting that this was their favorite speaker out of 2 years’ worth of presenters! One student even asked me for information to purchase Mr. Cunningham’s book! 

If you have a group of youth (or adults) that you care about, hiring Mr. Cunningham would be a very wise choice. He won’t just entertain, but will plant truths that will move the hearer forward in their lives for the better.”

Our coordinator brought in some amazing guest speakers who taught me and the other littles important life skills.  I don’t remember all of the guests but I remember most of the lessons. My favorite speaker had to have been the last one, Mr. Cunningham.  He was funny and let us make our jokes and was very up to date with our teenage culture and slang.  

He told us stories and had us close our eyes and imagine ourselves in 20 years.  He made me imagine my house, my family, my cars, my job, everything.  He inspired me to push for that dream and everything I imagined.  He then answered my question of “why I am working so hard now?”  I realized it is just to get to that dream.”

We have been fortunate to have many guest speakers throughout the year to present to the youth, including the Pinellas County Schools Administrative Training Specialist and the Assistant Chief of the St. Petersburg Police Department. The students have indicated you were their favorite speaker by outstanding margins. They remarked to our staff that you were able to emotionally connect with them on their level, and suggest real life solutions applicable to their day to day lives in a way that other speakers have not yet been able to.  

Your message of “Getting out of the hole” resonated with our students and we are looking forward to an encore visit!

"You said what everyone was thinking".

"You definitely made a connection with all of us".

"Mr. Cunningham was able to relate to my situation".