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Buick Human Highlight Reel of Ohonme & Samaritan's Feet
Emmanuel "Manny" Ohonme, inspiring speaker and storyteller and the founder of Samaritan's Feet International, will deliver the keynote kickoff presentation at the upcoming 2015 CoSIDA Convention, taking place in conjunction with NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week.
A dynamic speaker, Ohonme will provide his presentation at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 14 at the World Center Marriott in Orlando, site of the annual CoSIDA Convention. Ohonme is Founder, President and CEO of Samaritan's Feet, one of the world's largest footwear humanitarian organizations. He also is Founder and President of Barefoot Legacies Group and the acclaimed author of Soul Purpose.
Ohonme founded the Samaritan's Feet organization in 2003 in an effort to help the nearly 300 million people who go without shoes each day and the more than one million who die each year as a result of disease, injury and illness resulting from having no footwear. The Samitarian's Feet organization has grown to a network of 70,000 volunteers; those global ambassadors have helped over five million impoverished children and adults by having their feet washed, receiving a new pair of shoes, and hearing a message of hope and compassion.
Professional, collegiate and high school sports teams and coaches have embraced the Samaritan Feet organization. For example, college men's and women's basketball coaches take part in Samaritan Feet's Barefoot Coaching movement, coaching without shoes, collecting new shoe donations at games and building awareness for this worldwide outreach.
“We are excited to announce that Manny Ohonme will be our kickoff speaker in Orlando," noted Andy Seeley of UCF, CoSIDA's second vice president who serves as the 2015 convention programming coordinator. "He is a former basketball student-athlete and has an absolutely wonderful story to tell. In 2003, Manny left the comfort and security of his executive position to start his vision for Samaritan’s Feet. Along with CoSIDA’s Volunteer 15 initiative, and our annual community service outreach in our convention city, we feel there’s a great synergy with Manny’s message about giving back to the community.
"Manny has shared his message of leadership, team dynamics, personal growth and winning to thousands in the corporate, political, university and non-profit worlds," Seeley concluded. "We are fortunate to have Manny Ohonme serve as our inspirational opening keynote speaker.”
Ohonme was inspired to start Samaritan’s Feet International after his difficult childhood in Lagos, Nigeria. Growing up, he didn’t even have shoes. At the age of nine he received his first pair of tennis/basketball shoes from a "Good Samaritan." This volunteer gave a life-changing gift and a message of hope to Manny. That was the catalyst for his love and commitment to the sport of basketball and his recognition of the power of community outreach.
Ohonme went on to get a full basketball scholarship in the U.S., attending the University of North Dakota (Lake Region) where he studied agri-business management. He received his undergraduate degree in 1992 from Concordia College and earned a master's degree in applied and agricultural economics from North Dakota State University. He later excelled in executive positions in leading technology and management companies in New York, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
As a successful businessman, he never forgot the needs in his home country and has been "giving back" on the international scene since the founding of his nonprofit Samaritan's Feet in 2003. His expertise in technology, logistics, social entrepreneurship, marketing and philanthrophy have helped grow Samaritan's Feet into the global ambassadorship and goodwill organization it is today.
Manny and his wife Tracie, who met while attending the University of North Dakota, are working to make the vision of Samaritan’s Feet a reality - to put 10 million pairs of shoes on the feet of impoverished children in this country and around the world.
They reside in Charlotte, North Carolina with their four children Nike, Dele, Yemi, and Wale.
For the third consecutive year, the annual CoSIDA Convention (June 14-17) will be held in association with the NACDA and Affiliates Convention.
As CoSIDA holds its convention activities in conjunction with NACDA and shares programming, an Exhibit Hall social event and a 5k fun run/walk for charity witth all NACDA and Affiliate groups, the CoSIDA leadership continutes to run its convention - and its other social activities and award luncheons - independently.
Find more information on the 2015 CoSIDA Convention HERE.