For nearly four decades, the celebrated motion picture, stage and television star Hugh O'Brian has been rounding up and motivating a new generation of leaders across the nation.

In 1955, Hugh O'Brian won the role of television "Wyatt Earp." Soon after, he was invited to visit Nobel Peace Prize recipient and humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer at his clinic in Africa. Schweitzer was convinced that the United States was the only country in the world with the ability to bring about peace. He challenged O'Brian to prepare our youth to be compassionate and effective leaders for our future, "teaching them how to think, not what to think," and empowering them to make a difference. After spending nine days with Dr. Schweitzer, O'Brian founded the nonprofit organization Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) to conduct annual state leadership development seminars for high school sophomores and provide lifelong leadership development opportunities that empower individuals to achieve their highest potential. Each year, over 70 HOBY Youth Leadership Seminars are conducted throughout the United States, directly serving approximately 8,000 students a year. In the past 25 years, over 4,000 students have attended seminars in Oregon, and have been empowered to make a positive difference in their communities!

Over the time frame of June 16 -18, 2005 Oregon HOBY is celebrated its 25th year of service to the state. 106 Oregon high school sophomores represented their schools at the Annual Oregon Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) Seminar at the University of Portland. At the HOBY seminar, the young leaders selected by their schools interacted with Oregon’s decision-makers and role models in question-and-answer sessions. The panelists included distinguished leaders in business, education, government, media and other professions. In addition, students also engaged in a community service project where they learned how to use their new leadership skills to make a difference for their local communities.

Volunteers for the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) lead by HOBY Oregon Board Members PDG David Rich, PID Dennis Tichenor and PID Bill Rollins, in partnership with local businesses and service organizations including the Lions Clubs of Oregon provided this annual seminar at no cost to the students or their families. HOBY continues to welcome financial support from Oregon businesses and interested individuals, and also provides opportunities for individuals to serve on the Corporate Board and Seminar Planning Committee, or as panel speakers and group facilitators.

"One of the things Schweitzer said to me was that the most important thing in education was to teach young people to think for themselves," O'Brian said. "From that inspiration, and with the support of others who believe in youth and the American dream, I started HOBY to seek out, recognize, and develop outstanding leadership potential among our nation's youth." We want to thank all of our sponsors for helping us celebrate HOBY and its impact on Oregon's youth and future leaders.

Contact Name: PDG David Rich, Corporate Board President
(503) 577-8315 (cell) or (503) 649-1751 (home) or (503) 603-0205 (work)
Email: davidcrich@comcast.net