Columbus Copeland Speaker & Booking Information

Columbus Copeland, author of "'The Art Of Overcoming' Workplace and Life Strategies," knows a lot about overcoming. He travels throughout the country delivering electrifying keynote speeches to companies, businesses, organizations, colleges, and faith based programs.

In Copeland, you will find someone who has lived what he teaches, and has practiced what he preaches. Having weathered tumultuous storms of his own, he does not merely offer his audience and readers yet another fleeting feel good moment in his speaking and writing but genuine strategies and solutions for the real challenges they face in all aspects of their lives.

Columbus has devoted over half of his life serving, empowering, inspiring and encouraging people. He did not have far to look for guidance and role models regarding the importance of serving. He grew up in a household where his parents placed emphasis on doing for self and helping others.

After graduating from college in 1984, he began working with the South Carolina Employment Security Commission where he received valuable experience working with the J.T.P.A. (Job Training Partnership Act) Program. He was able to assist hundreds of individuals with employment along with enrolling them into college and job training.

In 1988 Columbus accepted employment in Charlotte, North Carolina. Just six months on his new job he was fired and found himself in the same line earlier where he was helping others find employment. For several months after receiving rejection after rejection with employment, he decided to create his own job. He started an employment recruitment and placement consulting firm. Amazingly many of the same places that rejected him for employment became his clients. For nearly five years, thousands of individuals benefited from his services through employment, job training and college placement assistance.

In 1995, he transitioned into the arena of inspirational speaking and personal development training by designing programs to empower the disenfranchised individuals that were receiving welfare, living in public housing, etc. Many of these individuals who received training through Copeland's program are currently home owners, G.E.D. recipients, high school graduates, and business owners. Even though he frequently delivers keynote speeches and provides staff development training to large, medium and small corporations, businesses, agencies, colleges and faith based programs throughout the country, his heart is forever with empowering the least of these. When he speaks at conferences there is an overflow of people trying to attend his workshops. On many occasions people have come as early as two hours to get a seat. Columbus has the ability to connect with his audience.

As a child, his goal was clear, to play college basketball. Despite receiving numerous honors and awards for his athletic ability, college coaches did not recruit him because of poor grades and low SAT scores. He did not allow that to stop him from pursuing his dream. He assumed personal responsibility by writing and calling college coaches to give him an opportunity.

With the assistance of his High School basketball coach, three days before graduation, Columbus received a full basketball scholarship from Emmanuel Jr. College in Franklin Springs, Ga. He later transferred to Evangel College in Springfield, Mo., on a full basketball scholarship where he received his B.S. Degree.

In 2011, Columbus started a foundation in his native hometown in honor of his high school basketball coach. The foundation is geared to mentoring, uplifting and exposing local youth to opportunities outside of their environment. In a recent interview regarding his foundation, "I was very fortunate, first to have great parents, all that I am and aspire to be I owe to my parents and I had family and members in my community that genuinely cared about me succeeding. Knowing someone cares about you means so much.

As I travel throughout the country speaking, it saddens me to see so many people that stopped dreaming and living way below their potential, especially our youth. My goal was to create and build something that will have a positive impact on peoples lives, more importantly continue to impact them long after I have left the face of this earth, to build something that would outlive me."

Columbus is a member of Emmanuel College Alumni Board of Directors; he resides in Charlotte, NC.