I called my old friend and former high school teammate George Stoudemire back in the mid-eighties to tell him I had just been appointed chairman of the Lexington High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee. Naturally, George asked me who appointed me and I had to confess… it was me!

For some time I had felt that someone needed to spearhead an effort to recognize people who had made substantial contributions to the success of Lexington High School athletics over their storied history in South Carolina. Instead of complaining, I figured I'd just do it myself.

Today, there are scores of well deserving athletes and other contributors that are members of the Lexington, SC High School Athletic Hall of Fame including the aforementioned George Stoudemire, who was a pretty fair running back himself.

I recently received an invitation to be the guest speaker for the relatively new St. Cloud High School Athletic Hall of Fame in my newly adopted hometown of St. Cloud, Florida, now in its second year of existence. In addition to speaking to them, I plan to give each family there a complimentary copy of my new book "It's the Customer, Stupid!"

My son, Cory, is one of the athletic coaches at St. Cloud High School so I have a bit more than a passing interest in the Bulldog program. I've done play-by-play for Bulldogs football and baseball in the past and I currently get the privilege of being the ball boy for the freshman and varsity football program.

Nothing is more exciting to me than being down on the sidelines with my son and his teams watching a game unfold. The proudest honor in my own trophy case is the "ball boy award" the school gave me in absentia in December (I was off getting my hip replaced).

In addition to my twice weekly ball boy responsibilities in the fall, the head coaches occasionally call on me for a pre-game pep talk to get the troops motivated, a tribute I also take quite seriously.

Over the years I've had the privilege of speaking to colleges and high schools in similar settings from USC's Gamecocks to Georgia's Bulldogs as well as scores of high schools in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. I always consider these speaking engagements as some of the most important that I'll ever do in my life. I get the opportunity to shape the way kids think about winning and losing and competition.

Hall of Fame recognition probably says more about the group doing the honoring than the persons receiving the honor. In the speaking business, we often say a standing ovation says more about the audience than it does the speech. I feel we have an obligation to remember our heritage and to honor those who preceded us.

I've had the pleasure of receiving the Toastmasters International Hall of Fame award, which actually came with the trophy when I won the World Championship of Speaking for the organization way back in 1978 (before most of my readers were even born). Hate to be competing today… don't think I could win my club contest.

The National Speakers Association accorded me the CPAE Speakers Hall of Fame honor in 2000. You can't go out and win that one. Only past winners can nominate you and you are selected after an arduous process than goes through an anonymous committee. It took 18 nominations by people like Robert Henry, Al Walker, George Morrisey, Nido Qubein, Rosita Perez, Jerry Coffee, Phil Steffen and many others who kept putting my name in the pot.

I also had the joy of receiving another honor when the Veteran Speakers Retreat selected me along with Zig Ziglar and four others to their "Legends of the Speaking Profession" award. You have to be sixty years old to be considered for that one. Fortunately for me, I turned 60 the week before they gave me the award, making me the youngest to ever receive it.

All of these awards say a lot more about the people giving them than those of us who have been blessed to receive them. In May, the St. Cloud High School Athletic Hall of Fame honors its second class of inductees.

Bully for you St. Cloud High School. I look forward to addressing your group and honoring those who deserve the recognition. As the prayer to St. Francis says… "It is in giving that we receive…" Give them the recognition they deserve and you honor your heritage.