School presentations page

North-to-South Tour
September 2015
Ohio - West Virginia - Pennsylvania - Maryland - Virginia - North Carolina

When people think of school, their thoughts often turn to days of learning the '3 Rs', gaining the knowledge that will propel them through life. However, many students today are also discovering that the three 'I's can change their lives - and of the community in which they live.

Around the country, students are using IMAGINATION to identify problems at their school, or dream of things from which their city could benefit. When INSPIRATION strikes them, they work individually or as a group to derive a solution. When they then IMPLEMENT those solutions, the result is often a fourth I: a positive IMPACT on their communities.

Glen Hanket - author, publisher, adventurer, engineer - has both received and delivered inspiration. In 1992, shortly after his wedding, a talk delivered by the first man to walk around the world inspired him and his wife to leave their jobs and spend a year walking from Maine to Oregon, picking up four tons of roadside litter.

Glen told the story of his cross-country 'honeymoon' walk in his first book, Underwear by the Roadside. (The title refers to the unusual trash he picked up in every state except Kansas.) As the LA Times said, "The author's straightforward prose and heartfelt appreciation of life's simple joys separate this tome from the weaker examples of this genre that litter bookshelves." (Read an excerpt from the book here.)

Glen reprised his walk in 1998, taking a week to walk from Ft. Collins CO to Denver to celebrate Earth Day. In every town he stopped at a school, helping children clean up their school grounds and regaling them with tales of his trip, or talking to them on subjects ranging from science, computers, writing, speaking, and business.

Ten years after his big walk, Glen returned to the road. In three consecutive springs he bicycled from Oregon to Denver to Chicago to Rhode Island. On the ride, he began each day speaking at a school, inspiring those students - and the students at one school showed him the power of the three 'I's. That journey - along with others, including a run with the Olympic torch - provided the basis for the book, WOW! What a Ride!.

Glen began a meandering trek back across the continent in 2006, biking from Baltimore to Detroit via Williamsburg VA, then to Chicago via Michigan's Upper Peninsula, followed by pedaling to Denver via Minnesota. As before, he talked at schools and libraries along the way to inspire students and adults alike. His talks focus on the great country we live in, and the fragile environment of which we are caretakers.

On this year's trip, he will again stop at schools most mornings to present a personalized program, tailored to the needs and desires of the school. [For any schools that wish to publicize a project inspired by Glen's visit, he can host a web page.] Following are suggestions of programs Glen has delivered in the past, from school-wide assemblies to individual classes:

Lead the students in a litter cleanup around the school campus. Whether with a single class or a number of classes, he can start with an interactive session on "Litter: Why?"

A short slide show about the coast-to-coast LitterWalk, followed by a short discussion and question-and-answer session. This is usually works well when given to an assembly.

Speaking to English classes about writing, publishing, and editing. Besides Underwear by the Roadside and WOW! What a Ride!, Glen has written over twenty-five books on bicycling in Colorado, and has ghost-written two books on financial investing.

Speaking to business or marketing classes or Junior Achievement groups. He owns his own publishing company that has grown in revenues and profits every year. Additionally, he has written an accounting program designed to help small businesses balance their books.

Presentation to engineering, science, computer, and math classes. Glen has worked in the software profession for 25 years, both on government (aerospace) contracts and in the commercial sector. As a class project, students can create a web page about Glen's visit to link to his web page documenting the trip.

Talk to leadership groups on careers, goal-setting, and the importance of education. He has seen the workplace change in the past quarter-century, and has adapted with it.

Glen also will talk at libraries or with book clubs in the evenings.

One possibility for a unique introduction to this special guest is to let the audience play a simulated game show. Glen was a featured visitor on the TV game show To Tell The Truth in 2001, and he can provide a video of the episode. See if your audience can pick out the real LitterWalker before he walks on stage!

COST: To simplify matters, I am suspending my normal fees for the school visits. However, I accept donations to defray the costs of the tour. For every school that donates $80 or more, I will provide two autographed copies of Underwear for the school library. Individual copies of the book can also be ordered here.

Since the tour's biggest cost is lodging, many schools and libraries have had a staff member or volunteer host me the night I spend in town, or provided a spot where I could camp overnight. Such offers are gladly accepted - traveling can be achingly lonely at times.

Glen has spoken at schools in twenty-one states and two countries. References are available on request.

SPECIAL OFFER: the story of his long bike ride, WOW! What a Ride!, is available for free download as a .pdf file. Click here.

For more information, email

Glen Hanket

at glen@bikepaths.com .

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