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Samuel Bracken  

Sam Bracken grew up in a family best described as a whacked-out version of The Brady Bunch on an episode of Cops, living in rundown apartments and trailers on the fringes of Las Vegas.

Sam Bracken grew up in a family best described as a whacked-out version of The Brady Bunch on an episode of Cops, living in rundown apartments and trailers on the fringes of Las Vegas. Mobsters and motorcycle gang members were his role models. Horrifically abused by his wannabe mobster stepfather Leroy and his sadistic older stepbrother, Sam started drinking and doing drugs by age 9.

Sam’s love of sports - track and especially football - became his salvation. His dream of being a professional football player led him to a radical decisionas a 13-year-old: to quit doing drugs and drinking and find a path out of the dark life he was living. He languished in special education classes until an eighth grade teacher discovered he just needed glasses. When Sam was 15, his mom, who’d often worked three jobs to support the family, suffered a mental breakdown and abandoned him to become the den mother of the notorious Hessian motorcycle gang.

Miraculously, Sam was awarded a full-ride football scholarship to The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). He came back from what doctors said were career-ending injuries and was a critical part of a Georgia Tech team with one of the best records in the school’s history. Sam graduated from Georgia Tech in 1986 with honors and a degree in Industrial Management. In 1993 Sam received an MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from BYU’s Marriott School of Management.

Sam is a member of the National Speakers Association. Today the abused, homeless teen in special education classes has grown into a man who lives the American dream with a beautiful family of his own. He serves as the global director of FranklinCovey Media Publishing, a division of the world’s leading training and leadership development organization with services in more than 145 countries.

He is the co-founder of The Orange Duffel Bag Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission of helping homeless teens and those aging out of foster care connect with hope.

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