2008 Annual Convention speakers

Glenn Beck

The Derek Hughes/Foundation Lecture, which takes place Sept. 13  at the 2008 Annual Convention will feature Glenn Beck. Based in Philadelphia, Glenn Beck, 40, is a fixture on talk radio and CNN. 

The former Top 40 DJ entered the talk format in 2001, and his show is broadcast on 160 stations nationwide. Millions of listeners are drawn to this modern-day story teller who is armed with a quick wit, an informed opinion, and a unique ability to inspire others to experience their full potential with an open heart. His on-air presence is both commanding and inviting – a trait he has been refining for the last 26 years. 

Glenn started in radio when he was only 13 years old by winning a local radio contest to be a DJ for an hour. Soon after that day, Glenn had three jobs – one at a Christian station, a Rock station, and a Country station. He was fired from all three jobs – on the same day when he was 14 years old! After high school graduation, Glenn pursued his career as a Top 40 DJ at stations all over the country. Eventually, he landed an opportunity in Corpus Christi, Texas as the youngest morning guy in the U.S. at 18 years old. His career was soaring and took him to Top 40 morning shows in Baltimore, Houston, Phoenix, Washington and New Haven, Conn. 

He rode the  wave  of  professional success into the 1990s when things began to change. Today, Glenn points out, “When you have that kind of success that early in life, it’s easy for you to turn into a monster. And I did! I was not a good guy.” 

      He inherited the 18th placed position at WFLA-AM and took it to the #1 position in his first year, giving the station its highest ratings ever. Within 18 months, Premiere Radio Networks offered Glenn the opportunity to go national.  He also kept his promise to his daughters and moved the national show to Philadelphia. The Glenn Beck Program airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon ET and be heard on more than 170 stations nationwide. 

Jordan Lieberman

      If you think you’ve seen political campaigns get ugly, just wait until this fall. Campaign ads and tactics are bound to hit all the candidates below the belt, and voters will come to understand entirely new definitions of a “tough race.” With both the White House and Congress up for grabs, the stakes are high. Two campaign veterans will tell us why this election is bound to be the most thrilling, bruising campaign in a generation. 

      Jordan Lieberman is the Publisher of Campaigns & Elections magazine, where he  oversees  the  print magazine and its several web properties.  He manages the overall business of the magazine’s parent company, Political World Communications, LLC.  During his tenure, the magazine and its suite of products have grown faster than any time in its 27-year history.  Prior to serving as Publisher, Lieberman consulted on numerous campaigns and advocacy programs in the United States and abroad and managed numerous races throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.  

Fred Davis

      Fred Davis was drawn into the world of politics in 1994 when, after having moved his business to Los Angeles in the mid ‘80s and rechristening it as Strategic Perception Inc., he received a call from his uncle, then Oklahoma Congressman James M. Inhofe, to help rescue his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Three months prior to the election, polls showed Inhofe as a 15-point underdog to Congressman Dave McCurdy, Inhofe won the election by 15 points, a 30-point swing in 90 days. Davis lives in Hollywood and Santa Barbara, CA. He served two years as chairman of the southern California board of JA Worldwide (formerly Junior Achievement) and is a former member of their national board of directors.