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What World Leaders Say About HOBY

Education plays an essential role in helping students develop into future leaders.  The skills and ideas young people acquire will help them make wise decisions in the coming years.  Through these seminars, held annually in each of our United States, Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) provides excellent opportunities for students to better understand the workings of democracy and the free enterprise system.

George W. Bush

43rd President of the United States

The work of HOBY is an important factor in motivating future leaders to become full participants in our democratic process.  The challenges we as a people will face in the years ahead will be more intelligently and skillfully addressed because of the investment we now make in our youth… It is the children who give Nancy and me such hope.  They truly are saying no to the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and are standing up for what they know is right.  HOBY also gives hope – hope for the future of our youth and our nation.  Our deep appreciation goes to Hugh for his efforts.

Ronald Reagan

40th President of the United States, and First Lady Nancy Reagan

You know, we business people like to say we’re driven by the bottom line.  The real bottom line is the future, and we owe it to our youth to prepare them for that.  Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) does just that.  By promoting leadership, HOBY is building a corps of young people who will be prepared to meet the challenges facing future generations.

Ted Turner

Chairman, Turner Broadcasting Systems

The mission of America’s Promise is to equip the next generation of Americans with the character and competence they need to be successful adults.  Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) is one of our staunch allies in this crusade…  HOBY is encouraging each of the thousands of high school sophomores who attend these leadership seminars to volunteer at least a hundred hours a year to a community service project.  The HOBY commitment to America’s Promise will produce at least 1,400,000 volunteer service hours a year.

Colin L. Powell

Former United States Secretary of State

Perhaps all of us – politicians, scholars and public opinion makers – have not yet fully realized one simple fact.  It is that we are not just standing on the threshold of a new century but are present at, and participating in, a change of epochs.  Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) is helping facilitate that change.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Former President of the Soviet Union

In this world, success comes to those with confidence and faith in themselves.  Hugh O’Brian’s youth organization is the GREATEST in developing that confidence in outstanding 10th graders selected annually to represent over 13,500 public and private high schools at one of HOBY’s leadership seminars.  What an outstanding role model for our future!

Muhammad Ali

Olympic Gold Medalist and Heavyweight Boxing Champion

One of the best things that Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) does is it labels every student who attends the conference a leader, whether they’ve ever considered themselves one before or not.  Second thing it does is it allows sophomores, possibly for the first time in their lives, a chance to leave behind everyone’s ideas of who they are.  For that weekend… they’re completely free to come up with their own definition of self…

James Van Der Beek

Actor, 1993 HOBY Alumnus

Perhaps most importantly Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) has created a vehicle by which tomorrow’s leaders can interact with one another and with today’s leaders in learning more about themselves and the institutions which they will shape in future years.

Walter Cronkite

Award-Winning Journalist, CBS News

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Developing New Hampshire leaders since 1981.

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