Commemorative Speech

INTRODUCTION

I. Who is the man that decides to put away dishes as loudly as he can at 7 in the morning? Who is the man who throws every important paper out on "accident"? And who is the man who moans and groans every time he walks up the stairs? This man is my role model.

II. My role models real job comes with many different titles. He has been a son and brother for 52 years; he has been a devoted husband for 28 years and for 18 years and counting he has always and will be my role model. Today I would like to talk about my dad, and explain to you how and why he is my role model. Standing at an average height, with gray balding hair, my dad tends to be loud, obnoxious and extremely confident. These are just a few traits that make him the best dad ever. One of his best traits is being a hard worker. He worked very hard to get to where he is today, and has gone through many ups and downs but is still strong as ever. My dad has the ability to make me feel as if anything is possible due to his hard work and perseverance.

BODY

I. My dad never lets an opportunity pass to teach me some kind of lesson. The biggest lesson that my dad never fails to show me is to never give up no matter how difficult things get.

A. At age 19 my dad lived in his car for 3 months, and didn't get his own apartment until he got a job as a shoe salesman. My dad is one of the smartest people I know; with the chaos of 7 siblings in one house he kept very good grades in high school. After high school my dad didn't have the opportunity to go to college because his family couldn't afford it.

B. Through all the setbacks that he went through at such a young age he never stopped trying and worked hard until he was at the top. He worked his butt off as a shoe salesman at Kinney's and soon became a salesman in the shoe department of Nordstrom.

C. Without any college experience under his belt my dad worked his way up from being a salesman to being a regional manager for Nordstrom. Because I continually see him thrive and succeed it makes me hopeful that I can do the same thing with my life, because of him I have learned to cherish the moments in everyday life and to not take things for granted.

CONNECTIVE STATEMENT

II. What doesn't kill a man only makes him stronger.

A. In the past year my dad's years of smoking cigarettes took a big toll on him. He was admitted into Sherman Hospital for multiple blood clots in each leg. Not only was it a rough time knowing that my dad had to go into surgery but it was also very rough for my family financially due to him being recently laid off from his job.

B. My dad kept a positive attitude during the whole process, and somehow he knew that everything was going to work out. Seeing my dad stay so optimistic while