About This Year's Speaker

John O'Leary is proof of the power of the human spirit. As a nine-year-old boy, he was burned on 100% of his body and given less than one percent chance to survive. He endured months in the hospital, years in therapy, dozens of surgeries, and lost all of his fingers to amputation. Despite the odds, he overcame those challenges to become a college graduate, business owner, hospital chaplain, the Ambassador for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, international speaker, husband and father.

John powerfully reveals our greatest challenges can be transformed into outstanding growth. Through emotional story-telling and great humor, John empowers audiences to move past their comfort zone, dream again, re-ignite their passion and take positive action. His presentations have been described as "captivating, amazing and life-changing." Audiences around the world are re-ignited with a life full of possibility and passion not yet imagined.

Because of the release and poignant response from his parents' book, Overwhelming Odds, John began his professional focus as an international speaker. Every year, John consistently shares his message with over 160 organizations. This tremendous growth is the result of the commitment to truly partner with clients to ensure their meetings and conferences are life-changing experiences. John is a heavily sought-after speaker in the arenas of healthcare, sales, marketing, financial services, education and safety. John provides keynote presentations, break-out sessions, half and full-day workshops and weekend retreats.

In 2011, John was honored to receive the "Members Choice" Speaker Award from Vistage International. John was chosen as one of the Top Ten "Most Interesting People" in Saint Louis, Missouri in 2009 and was selected the St. Louis University Young Alumni of the Year in 2007. John was also the first inductee into the Energizer "Keep Going" Hall of Fame in 2006.

For more information about John, visit www.rising-above.com

What Is Impact Alexandria?

In 2003, Tastefully Simple® created "Impact Alexandria" to bring inspirational speakers, renowned business leaders and best-selling authors to Alexandria, Minnesota. Thanks to partnership with local business sponsors, this annual event has become a powerful opportunity to inspire, unite and educate people of all ages and backgrounds - and create a bigger and brighter future for our entire community.

Our Sponsors

Are you ready to impact our community and your organization? Become one of our valued sponsors! This year's sponsors include:

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