A basketball superstar and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Bill Walton made sports history playing for UCLA when he led the team to two NCAA championships and a record 88-game winning streak. Walton played under the famed tutelage of John Wooden, who coached “character” and “giving your best” first and before winning—lessons that guided Walton throughout his career.

Following a celebrated college basketball career, Walton went on to have a Hall of Fame NBA career, playing on two championship teams—the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics—and earning numerous honors and awards, including citations for his humanitarian and leadership contributors. After basketball, Walton pursued his dream job as a sports broadcaster, but first had to overcome his lifelong stuttering affliction. Then in 2008, Walton endured risky back surgery to repair damage done early in his basketball career—through it all, Walton’s determination carried him through.

Now an Emmy Award-winning basketball analyst, Walton has appeared on a range of television networks including CBS Sports, NBC, ABC, ESPN, FOX and MSNBC, and has contributed to major events including the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games. In 2009 he was named one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Association.

The author of Nothing But Net, Walton’s memoir, Back from the Dead reveals his inspiring story of a sports and cultural icon through devastating injuries and amazing recoveries.

Expertly merging comic narratives with valuable lessons on leadership and practical steps toward defining and achieving one’s own version of success, Walton inspires audiences to reach their goals through dedication, perseverance, flexibility and teamwork.

Gary Elekes is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for helping others become more successful by sharing what he has learned over the past 3 decades working closely with all facets of the contracting industry. During his career, Gary has held senior management positions at Lennox and Service Experts. In 2000, Gary moved into entrepreneurship and started his training and consulting business EPC. Today, EPC continues to support growth oriented businesses aspiring to reach 20% EBIT. He also designed the very first web-based learning platform for the residential contracting industry, which acts as a support system for training and learning in HVAC and plumbing trades, and has over 5,000 subscribers.

In 2003, Gary began acquiring contracting firms with a focus on developing turn-around opportunities. He also opened and operated several start-up businesses. In 2010, he added web design/SEO and online marketing to his company portfolio starting iMarket Solutions as a co-founder. Gary graduated from Ohio State University with a BSBA and also holds a Master’s Degree in Business and Finance.

Weldon Long is a successful entrepreneur, sales expert and author of the NY Times bestseller, The Power of Consistency – Prosperity Mindset Training for Sales and Business Professionals (Wiley). In 2003, he walked out of a homeless shelter and built an Inc. 5000 company generating cumulative sales of over $20,000,000 within just 60 months. In 2009, his company was selected as one of Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.

Today, Weldon Long is one of the nation’s most powerful speakers and a driven motivator who teaches others the Sales and Prosperity Mindset philosophies that catapulted him from desperation and poverty to a life of wealth and prosperity. Weldon has been featured on numerous national and regional television programs, including Fox News Channel, First Business Network and Chicago’s Very Own WGN.

Mr. Long has successfully used his signature program, The Power of Consistency, to help hundreds of companies and thousands of sales professionals radically improve their sales results. Weldon holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in Management. He is honored to have served some of America’s finest companies, including FedEx, The Franklin Covey Organization, Tom Hopkins International, Dex Media, Wells Fargo Bank, Pre-Paid Legal Services, Direct Energy/Clockwork Services, Mitsubishi Electric, Rheem, Goodman Manufacturing and the Carrier/Bryant Corporation.

Russ Horrocks emerged as one of the most successful Comfort Advisors in America in the mid-90’s. Russ quickly took to sharing his unique knowledge of buyer psychology with sales forces across the country. He turned his profession into a passion, educating and coaching in-home sales and service advisors to understand the critical skills necessary to achieve results far exceeding personal mindset limitations and corporate expectations.

Most trainers preach about product and process. Russ teaches and coaches his sales and service protégés not only about what to do in the home and how to do to it, but more importantly, why. Why leads to a purpose allowing the people his students serve to build a strong connection based on a position of trust, confidence, competence and credibility. When matched with the creative execution of a process built to work with human nature and how people want to buy, it yields explosive growth.

Having mastered the sales process, in 2011 Russ joined with business development specialist, Drew Cameron, as Vice President of Flow Odyssey to help clients enhance the performance of their entire business, and transcend growing one person or department at a time. Together they work in the trenches with their clients in every facet of building successful home services businesses.

Clients embrace Russ’ detailed holistic approach to assessing a company’s people, present state and potential. Drawing a blueprint for success, he collaborates with clients onsite, online, and on-the-phone to achieve operational excellence with a hands-on strategic approach to growing people and implementing profit-based processes and systems. Clients benefit from Russ’ 20 years of knowledge and national experience, along with his relentless pursuit of building happy, effective, top-performing professionals and developing a culture of success and achievement.

Steven Shallenberger understands the contractor world. He founded Synergy Companies in 1981, a successful energy services contractor, with offices throughout the State of California and is on the National Association of Energy Service Companies Board of Directors.

Steve has more than 40 years of experience as a successful business owner, trusted senior executive, professional corporate trainer, and best-selling author. He is the founder and president of Becoming Your Best Global Leadership. Steve and his team provide award winning training and keynotes helping teams and leaders tackle some of their greatest leadership challenges around the world.

As a young entrepreneur, Steve successfully built numerous organizations from the ground up. During those years, he continued his education at the Harvard Business School. Steve was also a trusted advisor for Stephen R. Covey. Steve was a key leader in Covey’s organization who helped build the world-renowned Covey Leadership Center. He led a stalwart team and was responsible for the development and distribution of the original Covey planner.

James is a successful entrepreneur and master mechanic whose accomplishments include being the founder of MrHVAC.com, the CEO and founder of Aptora, the President of RA Tax and Accounting and a partner with ProAmerican Investments.

James’ company MrHVAC.com is a website dedicated to improving the lives of contractors. It includes industry articles, specialized HVAC calculators, forms, templates and one of the most extensive operations manuals in the country. As the founder of Aptora corporation, he has created some of the most popular software programs in the service industry including Flat Rate Plus and Total Office Manager.

James is well known for his burning passion to help contractors and it shows in his unique speaking style. He has hosted management workshops all around the United States and has conducted onsite consulting since 1996 with hundreds of contractors.

In her role as CEO, Susan Frew grew her company, Sunshine Home Services, by 535% earning a coveted spot on the Inc5000 list in addition to 43 other awards.

Susan is a former International GM with AT&T Wireless, Instructor for the SBA’s national Emerging Leaders program, radio host of “Coaching Not Just for Sports” on ESPN radio in Denver and Business Coaching Entrepreneur.

After a break to focus on Sunshine’s growth, Susan returned to her “happy place” as a Professional Speaker, Emcee, TEDx speaker and results driven business coach.

Susan encourages her audiences to “Go Out on the Skinny Branches”, the only place that real results occur. Susan is the author of “Compete on Awesome, not on Price” helping other small entrepreneurs build their businesses and maintain healthy profits.

Susan has taken everything that she has learned (the good, the bad and the ugly) about growing her company, and then subsequently bringing her company back from almost going down the drain (plumber humor).

Susan is the Director of Business Growth for Raincatcher, an INC 5000 list Business brokerage firm that helps Entrepreneurs buy and sell amazing companies.