Mitch Albom – best selling author and Detroit Free Press sports columnist – will be the keynote speaker at the 2009 National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS) Youth Sports Congress on Dec. 4 in Orlando, Fla., which is held in conjunction with the Athletic Business Conference & Expo.
Albom will also be presenting the 2009 Excellence in Youth Sports awards, sponsored by Athletic Business and NAYS, America’s leading advocate for positive and healthy sports for kids.
The Congress – the preferred venue for all professionals involved in youth sports – is a three-day comprehensive educational training discussing cutting edge topics in the field of youth sports.
Albom is an author, playwright, journalist and screenwriter who has written seven books, including the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time. His first two novels, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day, were instant number-one New York Times bestsellers. All three books were made into acclaimed TV films.
Albom moved to Detroit in 1985, where he became a nationally acclaimed sports journalist at the Detroit Free Press and one of the best-known media figures in that city’s history, working in newspapers, radio and television. He currently hosts a daily talk show on WJR radio and appears regularly on ESPN’s Sports Reporters and SportsCenter. He also oversees three charities in Detroit.
Albom’s newest book, “Have a Little Faith” chronicles his eight-year journey moving between a dying clergyman in the suburbs of the East Coast, and an ex-con turned pastor trying to keep his church afloat in downtrodden Detroit. Albom was asked to deliver the eulogy for the dying man – and to help fund the church’s homeless program – which plunged him into two hugely different worlds of faith. What he learned about life, belief, ritual and forgiveness convinced him that even though the world is sharply divided on issues such as race, religion, culture and economic status, when it comes to the important moments in life, we are much more alike than different. He will share how that applies to our everyday hopes and dreams in his talk.
Following his talk, Congress attendees will have a chance to meet Mitch Albom at the Athletic Business booth (Booth 1551) on the trade show floor, where he will autograph his books.
This year’s Congress will take place on Dec. 2-5. In addition to all the traditional benefits of being a Congress delegate, attendees will also have access to several of the great Athletic Business Conference events, including the keynote sessions, welcome reception and the Expo.
