Speakers 2010

Harold (Hal) H. Smith, President of the GSP Foundation
Hal retired as President-Emeritus of Pikeville College and its School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2009.  A native of northern Kentucky, he graduated from Centre College and has an MBA from American University in Washington, D.C.  He served for 20 years as an administrator and lecturer at Centre College, 14 years as a vice president at Muskingum College (OH), and 12 years as President of Pikeville. 

Jamie Vollmer, President of Jamie Vollmer, Inc. a public education advocacy firm working to increase student success by raising public support for America’s schools.

Jamie is the author of the highly acclaimed book, Schools Cannot Do It Alone: Building Public Support for America’s Public Schools. He is the 2010 recipient of the Learning and Liberty award presented by the National School Public Relations Association in recognition of his efforts over twenty years to strengthen school/community partnerships. Mr. Vollmer entered the education arena after careers in manufacturing and law. He worked in the Washington D.C. law firm of United States Congressman William Cramer until 1985, when he left to become in-house council of the Great Midwestern Ice Cream Company, in Iowa. The company was proclaimed by People Magazine to make the “Best Ice Cream in America!” He ultimately became the company’s president.

In 1988, Jamie became a founding member of the Iowa Business and Education
Roundtable. He served as a volunteer for two years until becoming the Roundtable’s Executive Director in 1990, a post he held for three years. He has served on the board of the National PTA and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Once a harsh critic, he is now an articulate champion of America’s public schools. Over the last twenty years he has worked with hundreds of school districts, chambers of commerce, and education associations and foundations to improve student success. His presentations have been praised as both practical and energizing. He uses statistics, logic, and humor to deliver a positive message regarding the future of our schools. He has created a simple, inexpensive, step-by-step program called The Great Conversation that
any community can use to help all students unfold their full potential.

In addition to his book, Mr. Vollmer has written and produced the videos, Why Our Schools Need to Change, Teachers are Heroes, and Building Support for America’s Schools. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University, and a Juris Doctor from Catholic University in Washington, DC.