Ferris alumnus Ira Childress will present at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in BUS 111 as part of the Fall 2013 Sports Speakers series.
Childress, who graduated from Ferris in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in applied speech communication and later earned a master’s degree in education, will open the series for the third consecutive year. In his time at Ferris, Childress also played football for the Bulldogs.
Sponsored by the Sports Careers RSO and the Sports Leadership Institute, the “motivational pep talk” event is free and open to the public.
“Anybody who aspires to be a leader in their career field should come to this event,” sports communication champion Dr. Sandy Alspach said. “It’s not sports specific. It’s sponsored by someone who came through the sports business and is in the sports business, but leadership happens in any corporate or community setting. It can apply to anyone.”
The presentation, which is titled “Adding ‘Leader’ to Your Brand,” will include anecdotes from Childress’ expansive career. His past positions include TV producer and show host, radio sports commentator, events planner for Ferris alumni activities, motivational speaker for the NCAA and sports consulting entrepreneur. Starting in September, he will be Okemos High School’s athletic director.
Later this fall, the Sports Speakers series will feature Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Jeff Blahshill. Under Blahshill’s guidance this season, the Griffins, a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League, won the Calder Cup for the first time in franchise history by defeating the Syracuse Crunch in six games.
For more information regarding this event or the Sports Speakers series, contact Alspach at aslpachs@nullferris.edu.