Hunter Brown spoke on the stage at his high school alma mater, before an audience of none, except the camera team – but hopes this video available below can inspire young people the world over.
Brown is an executive in the restaurant industry and has done keynote motivational speaking for large Fortune 500 companies. Earlier this year he was asked by Shane Jones, the principal of Southaven High School in Mississippi, to encourage this year’s senior class at a breakfast set for April. Then the virus pandemic hit, closed down schools, and torpedoed graduations.
But that wasn’t the end of the motivational idea! Brown, a 1995 graduate of the school, explains, “When it was obvious that the breakfast wouldn’t gather, I tabled it and told Shane I’d do it next year.” But then something in Brown’s spirit rivetted his attention. “I heard clear as day one morning: ‘They need it now more than ever.’ I couldn’t get it out of my head. A couple days later (as we all are slow to listen to God sometimes) I opened my presentation and went through the slides with ‘the new normal.’ It flowed so much better. It was like God built it, through me, in January KNOWING I would be presenting it to a virtual audience that needed it in a different perspective. I asked Shane what he thought about me borrowing the stage and address Seniors (from all over the World) on the date of the original breakfast. He loved the idea. I teamed up with a local AV team and we shot that in 1 take.”
On the YouTube video, below, Brown notes: “To the class of 2020...the whole world is rooting for you! We are very proud of you and want you to know, that through this unique time, you will prevail … I will end up learning A LOT more from you, than I could ever coach you on. You WILL BE the next best generation! Go conquer the World!!! We are absolutely counting on you! Your friend, Hunter Brown Southaven High School C/O '95”
