Congress Keynote Speakers - National Recreation and Park Association conference - Brief Article

Parks & Recreation, June, 2000

Tom Whittaker

Opening General Session, Wednesday

On May 27, 1998, an extraordinary event took place on the world's tallest and most treacherous mountain. Tom Whittaker became the first human with a disability to climb to the top of the world.

Nineteen years earlier, his fife was drastically altered when a drunk driver hit his vehicle. He sustained multiple fractures to both legs, loss of a kneecap, and amputation of his right foot. His doctors told him he might never walk again.

His recovery, both physical and emotional, is a most inspirational story. Ever aware of the impact of his message on others, he will address the NRPA delegates about his extraordinary experiences. His achievement and the hard work, discipline, confidence, and faith that led to it, form a compelling and universal story. A story that will remind all of us of the infinite power we all possess as individuals.

Bil Keane

Closing General Session, Saturday,

The National Recreation and Park Association is pleased to have Bil Keane as the Keynote Speaker at the Closing General Session. Delegates are aware of Bil's creative ability to portray typical family life in America, through the cartoon "Family Circus."

"Family Circus" regularly rates number one in newspaper surveys and has won several awards. In 1982, Bil was named "Cartoonist of the Year" by the National Cartoonists Society. Millions of Americans regularly follow the lives of Mommy and Daddy, Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, and PJ. Two dogs, a cat, and grandparents round out the cast. These characters--their ups and downs, trials and laughs, and mischief and merrymaking are based on his own family.

This promises to be a most entertaining, illustrative presentation by the creator of a cartoon panel that appears weekly in more than 1,500 newspapers worldwide.