Author Jon Gordon ready to motivate Sheldon | New

SHELDON – Levi Letsche was invited to Dream Big by Sheldon School District Superintendent Cory Myer when it came to lining up a speaker for the inaugural dinner of the Sheldon High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The name of former National Football League head coach Tony Dungy was thrown at the start, along with Dan Britton, who is the FCA ground chief.

Letsche worked with someone from Columbia, MO who lined up the speakers and he cast the name Jon Gordon.

Letsche was more than familiar with the bestselling author and thought it would be “great” to have Gordon for the FCA dinner on Wednesday May 12th.

After finding out how much it would cost to bring Gordon to Sheldon, Letsche contacted local businesses to raise funds.

It didn’t take long for Letsche to raise the necessary funds and on May 12 Gordon will be in Sheldon.

“The event was fully funded in eight days which was pretty awesome,” said Letsche, who is the FCA advisor and high school math teacher. “We reached out to a group of different community businesses and explained to them how we wanted to make this an awareness event.

“The companies bought into the mission and supported us throughout the process.”

Letsche isn’t just bringing Gordon to Sheldon for the FCA event.

Gordon will also deliver remarks at the Sheldon Chamber and Development Corporation luncheon at noon that day at the Crossroads Pavilion Event Center and then speak to staff at Sheldon High School in the afternoon before the FCA event at 6.30 p.m. at the pavilion.

“We found a dollar amount to bring him here and looked to see if he could speak more than once to get the most out of him,” Letsche said. “One of the reasons it was so appealing to bring him in is that many companies will take advantage of it because he will be speaking over lunch. His speech will energize small businesses and show what leadership can look like.

“Everything fell into place.”

Gordon is the author of 23 books including 10 bestsellers. “The Energy Bus” sold over two million copies and “The Carpenter” was one of the top five commercial books of the year.

Some of his other popular books include “Boot Camp”, “The Power of Positive Leadership”, “The Power of a Positive Team”, “The Coffee Bean”, “Stay Positive” and “The Garden”.

Gordon has been featured on numerous TV shows and some of his clients include the Los Angeles Dodgers, Campbell’s Soup, Southwest Airlines, Snapchat, Truist Bank, West Point Academy, Northwestern Mutual, and the Clemson University football program.

He’s been to Iowa before, including a trip to Spirit Lake.

“I am excited about this trip and can’t wait to meet everyone. The people of Iowa are amazing, ”Gordon said in an email to the Mail-Sun. “The FCA is a special and very relevant organization in my life. I love that we share the mission to make an impact on coaches and athletes and ultimately the world.

Tickets for the Sheldon FCA event cost $ 25 and 400 have been made available. On Monday, 250 tickets were still available for dinner on Wednesday, May 12. Tickets for the dinner are available by contacting the Sheldon High School office at 712-324-2501.

To attend the SCDC lunch, RSVP by emailing Brandi Fuerstenberg at [email protected] by Wednesday May 5th.

The room punch card will cover the cost of the meal. The cost of additional meals will be $ 9 each.

Gordon will deliver a different message to each group on May 12th.

“Each conference will be different depending on the audience and will be personalized for each group,” said Gordon. “I can’t wait to talk about ‘The Power of Positive Leadership’ and how we overcome challenges, negativity and change to lead our schools, businesses and organizations.”

Although Letsche did not hear Gordon speak in person, he was first introduced to Gordon’s work by Matt McCarty, Northwestern College’s football coach in Orange City.

Letsche took part in a program on “The Energy Bus” and was addicted to Gordon’s work after this experience.

“What Jon has to say is great, super powerful,” Letsche said. “It was great to have someone come over to talk about leadership to our community. If you can make it to both talks it would be great to fill the pavilion at noon and then full in the evening. “