Pilot recalls heroic story at next Profiles and Perspectives

NEWS RELEASE
Issued - January 4, 2010

ARDMORE, Okla. — Air Force fighter pilot Capt. Scott O'Grady can speak on heroism, survival and the importance of teamwork because he's lived it.

O'Grady will be the third speaker in The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation's Profiles and Perspectives 2009-2010 season when he presents "Return with Honor" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, at the Charles B. Goddard Center. The Profiles and Perspectives series is offered at no cost, courtesy of the Noble Foundation.

During his presentation, O'Grady will detail how he was shot down over war-torn Bosnia while helping enforce the NATO no-fly zone in an F-16. O'Grady faced death, capture and harsh environmental conditions as he survived for six days behind enemy lines. Despite his grueling circumstances, O'Grady remained part of a highly skilled and dedicated team that had prepared for this exact situation.

In this program, O'Grady will detail the preparation, teamwork and leadership responsible for his survival and his dramatic rescue by the Marines, and he will discuss how these qualities are crucial to success in business and life.

"From O'Grady's compelling life-and-death story, audiences learn how to adapt, change and succeed even under the most daunting and trying of circumstances," said Mary Kate Wilson, Noble Foundation director of granting and chair of the Profiles and Perspectives Committee. "The ingenuity and fortitude that kept him alive in hostile territory for six days now inspires audiences to their own groundbreaking achievements."

The 2009-2010 Profiles and Perspectives season will close with Dave Gallo's amazing trip to the depths of the ocean. Gallo, a researcher with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, will present "Neptune's Garden: Exploring the Secrets of the Deep Undersea" at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 30, at the Ardmore Convention Center.

Additional information can be obtained by calling the Noble Foundation at 580.224.6246 or visiting www.noble.org/profiles. The Ardmore Convention Center is located at 2401 N. Rockford Road, Ardmore, Okla. The Charles B. Goddard Center is located at 401 1st Street, S.W., Ardmore, Okla.

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Photo:: Capt. Scott O'Grady

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For media inquiries concerning the Noble Foundation, please contact:

J. Adam Calaway

jacalaway@noble.org

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. (www.noble.org), headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a nonprofit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement and plant biology research; assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs; and providing grants to nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations.