Nido Qubein (Needo Coo-bane) came to the United States as a teenager with little knowledge of English, no contacts and only $50 in his pocket. His life has been an amazing success story.

As an educator, he is president of High Point University, an undergraduate and graduate institution with 3,200 students from over 50 countries. He has authored two-dozen books and audio programs distributed worldwide and he is a columnist for several magazines. His foundation provides scholarships to 48 deserving young people each year. To-date the Qubein Foundation has granted more than 600 scholarships, worth over four million dollars.

As a business leader, he is chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 220 stores in 41 states and serves on the boards of several national organizations including BB&T, a Fortune 500 company with 125 billion-dollars in assets, and the La-Z-Boy Corporation, one of the largest and most recognized furniture brands worldwide.

As a professional speaker, Dr. Qubein has received many distinctions. Toastmasters International named him Top Business and Commerce Speaker and awarded him the Golden Gavel Medal. He is the youngest person ever inducted in the International Hall of Fame and is the founder of the prestigious National Speakers Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona. He is in great demand to speak to business and professional groups around the world each year.

He has been the recipient of many honors including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine (North Carolina's highest civic award), Sales and Marketing International's Ambassador of Free Enterprise, Citizen of the Year and Philanthropist of the Year in his home city of High Point, North Carolina, induction into the Global Society for Outstanding Business Leadership, and dozens more.

It's my pleasure to introduce to you the featured speaker for our meeting...ladies and gentlemen...please help me welcome Needo Coobane...