Dear Ben,
I wanted to personally thank you for your
heartfelt talk at Sheridan College on Monday night. I went
to the discussion with some preconceived ideas and I was
prepared to take notes, as if in a lecture. But instead, I
enjoyed a friendly conversation with a friend! You created a
warm and safe environment in which to share and ask
questions. Your sense of humor had all of us chuckling and
smiling.
I especially felt connected to your
life-story, as I am the parent of a child with a disability
who scored low on an I.Q. test when he was a small child.
My son spoke in gibberish and his answers were marked
incorrect when he did not enunciate clearly. His answers
were also marked incorrect when he answered the question
based on his life-experiences rather than the expected
answer. He knew that we put “e-sel” (diesel) in our
automobiles rather than gasoline.
My son is graduating from college with a
bachelor’s degree in May of this year. You helped me to
reminisce and to appreciate how far we, as a family, have
traveled. But the real success story for my son is the same
as yours. Neither one of you let a number define who you
are, nor did it define what you are capable of doing. “IQ
of 63, So What!” is so true!!
Throughout your talk, your positive attitude
and your confidence were evident. You are a gracious,
mature advocate for yourself and for others. Your belief in
looking for and in finding the goodness of others is
inspirational. You are a true mentor to students of all
ages.
Thank you so much for being an inspiration to
me as a parent of a child with a disability, and as an
educator who has first-hand experience with discrimination
and bullying in the school system.
Keep up the great work! You are making a
difference! --Lezlie Cantrell, RDH, PhD
**********************
Lutheran Outdoors in South
Dakota
( copy here)
June 4, 2013
Dear Mr. Anderson,--
"Thank you for
leading the Diversity, Disabilities, and Bullying session
for Outlaw and Atlantic Mountain Ranch staff training. The
staff were engaged with the entire presentation and several
staff told me that your session was the most inspiring of
all staff training. I really appreciated that your
presentation was grounded in who we are as God's children
and how we can be "little Christ's" to one another. Your
years of camp experience added credibility to all your
stories and the impact the counselors and staff can have on
the lives of their campers and one another. We look forward
to working with you in the future. Please keep our staff and
campers in your prayers as we strive to care for them in
thought, word and deed." --
In Peace - Pastor Molly Sasser-Goehner- Director
( thanks so much!)
***************************************************************
Flash video of Panel Discussion with Ben D. Anderson at
Pathfinder's Parent Conference,
Minot, North Dakota
May 6-8th 2010
Read Break Through Inc. reviews
March 26, 2013
"I am pleased to be writing this letter of recommendation
for Ben Anderson. I have known Mr. Anderson for several
years and have enjoyed reading his books and hearing him
speak.
During 2012, Mr. Anderson received two grants from the SD
Council on Developmental Disabilities to provide disability
awareness and bullying sessions to schools across the state.
In addition, he presented at several places of worship.
Mr. Anderson traveled across South Dakota during April and
October 2012. He spoke to thousands of students, teachers,
coaches and community members – sharing his life story and
providing information on bullying and why it needs to stop.
Mr. Anderson has presented many times at conferences in
South Dakota. His sessions are always educational and
enjoyable as he uses humor to get his message across to
everyone. Evaluations always show that people enjoy the
sessions and feel they learn more about people with
disabilities as a result of Mr. Anderson sharing his story.
If you have any questions, please contact me at
605-773-6369. "
Sincerely,--Arlene Poncelet-Executive
Director
***********************
"A homecoming of sort, Ben D. Anderson grew up in Kenmare,
North Dakota and delivered a great message to the students
of Kenmare High School. ( Oct. 6th 2010) His talk
centered on acceptance of those with disabilities and also
touched on bullying, two topics very important in schools.
His talk was interactive and our groups responded well to
Ben. Great job Ben and keep up the good work."--Scott
Faul, High School Principal, Kenmare, North Dakota
SDAEYC Conference -
read
testimonials from
attendees at April 14-16 2011in Sioux Falls, SD
ECE Conference
- UW-Stout, Menomonie, WI
April 23-24 2010
May 11,
2010
"Thank you for presenting at the 2010 Early
Childhood Education Conference in Menomonie.
This was an exciting event in bringing together many
individuals to provide an outstanding educational
opportunity. Comments by participants were
exceptional. Your contribution to this program
helped to make this conference a great success. Thank
you again for your involvement." --
Ann Zieleke
**************************************************************
WyPec -Wyoming Para-Educators
Consortium, Gillette, WY
Sept. 15, 2009
Dear Ben,
Thank you for presenting at WyPEC's Sixth Annual
Paraeducator Conference. Your contribution was very helpful
in making the 2009 conference a success. Enclosed ( below)
is the evaluation scores and comments in reference to your
session.
Sincerely,
Ellen Nelson , President Wyoming Paraeducators Consortium
**********
Ben
Anderson- 61 surveys
Enthusiastic, dynamic & stimulating-Outstanding 56%,
Excellent 31%, Good 13%
Able to communicate points-
Outstanding 41 %, Excellent 43%, Good 16%
Appropriate for session's objectives-Outstanding 61%,
Excellent 31%, Good 5%
Well organized-
Outstanding 56%, Excellent 33%, Good 10%
Overall rating of presentation-
Outstanding 51%, Excellent 24%, Good 10%
**********
November 6, 2009
Ben,
I was in one of the Diversity Management classes that you
spoke to at UW-Stout on Tuesday, November 3. You are a very
influential man and told a wonderful story. I now believe
that every person has a disability, after your
presentation I thought about it and I recognized mine.
Thank you for coming to our class and speaking to
us!--Sincerely,
Jennifer S.
************
October 6,
2004
"We thoroughly enjoyed your presentation, Ben, here at Lockheed
Martin this afternoon. The Diversity Council of Lockheed Martin
Tactical Systems in Eagan, MN, of which I am the Chairman, really
wanted a dynamic and interesting keynote speaker to help us kick-off
October Disability Awareness Month, and you certainly filled
the bill. Your ability to lighten the audience with your self-deprecating
humor and insights on seeing the workplace from the eyes of someone
with a disability allowed the audience to really grasp some of
the main issues people with disabilities deal with on a daily
basis and to empathize with them. I feel it was very worthwhile
for our employees to be able to ask questions of you directly
and to appreciate your perspective of living in a world and workplace
of varying levels of accommodations. Your discussions opened
many eyes and I m sure will go far in changing the attitudes
of many of our employees toward those co-workers with disabilities.
Thanks so much for adding so positively to our working environment!
You re doing a great service for all of us."
--Gary Moore
Chairman, Lockheed Martin Tactical Systems Diversity Council
Eagan, MN
Dear Mr. Anderson,
I applaud your efforts and passion for advocating in favor
of persons with
disabilities! Thank you for lecturing in our Inclusion class at the
University of Wisconsin Stout. I respect everything you are accomplishing
and admire your strength and perseverance in fulfilling your goals.
Thank you once again
for visiting Seattle Pacific University and sharing with us about your
journey of faith. I especially appreciated your advice for parents of
children with disabilities. I visited the Beach Center website, and it
looks like that will be a valuable resources as we learn more about our
son’s disability as well as support available to us as parents.
