YourFinestHour.com - The Churchill Connection

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Larry Kryske
The Churchill Connection

On Sunday, January 24, 1965, a fifteen-year-old high school student sat in his father’s chair in their suburban Los Angeles home reading the newspaper. He was also listening to the radio. The 1:00 PM news opened with the announcement of the passing of Sir Winston Churchill. As he listened to the news story, the boy experienced a sense of sadness. This confused him since he did not really know much about the great man. A question formed in the boy’s mind: “Who was Winston Churchill?” As the boy discovered, Churchill had lived a long life, and so the boy’s interest occupied him longer than he expected.

Where did this curiosity about Churchill lead? The student who “discovered” Churchill later served as a career naval officer, a private school administrator, and a professional speaker. He published articles about Winston Churchill, took up oil painting largely because of Churchill’s example, gave hundreds of speeches about Churchill nationwide, and served a term on the Board of Directors of the International Churchill Society.

Phyllis A. Wang, President, New York State Health Care Providers, said, “Creating YOUR Finest Hour was one of the most creative approaches to a presentation that I have ever experienced. I connected extremely well with your ties to Winston Churchill’s wisdom. Our members were exceedingly receptive and thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace. Here are some of the comments we received: ‘Fantastic—a great way to start the day!’ ‘Excellent keynote that reaffirms the nurse I am.’ ‘Awesome presentation with motivating information we can use immediately.’ ‘Delightful and fun!’”

In addition he met (and later married) the woman of his dreams at a Churchill Society convention. They became in Churchill’s words, another “English-speaking union”!

January 24, 1965, may have been Sir Winston Churchill’s final hour, but for me—the student—it was the birth of a life-long study of Churchill and of ways to share his leadership wisdom to help others attain their finest hour. (Larry Kryske, June 18, 2000, The Churchill Factors: Creating Your Finest Hour.)

Sir Martin Gilbert, Official Biographer of Sir Winston S. Churchill, said, “I greatly enjoyed your talk. Very entertaining! I was totally absorbed and drawn forward by the painting. Wonderfully done!”

With Lady Soames (Mary Churchill), Churchill’s surviving daughter

With Sir Martin Gilbert, Official Biographer of Churchill

Micheal Hodges, Executive Director, Texas Press Association, said, “As Sir Winston would say, you certainly gave us one of your finest hours during our annual convention in El Paso.”

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