Coach Dungy Delivers 'Elevating' Keynote at GPUG Summit 2013

Dynamic Communities, Inc. (DCI) was thrilled to welcome former NFL coach and author, Tony Dungy, as our Keynote Speaker for the 2013 Summit and Forum User Group conferences in Tampa, FL. This year’s events focus on elevating your team, knowledge, and strength, and who better to talk about reaching your peak than Coach Dungy – one of only three men to win a Super Bowl as both a player and coach.

During his speech, Coach Dungy focused on the key themes that have led him to success: hard work, accountability, and team work. As a community of members coming together to learn and share knowledge and best practices, our user groups know firsthand the importance of team work in achieving their goals.

One of the greatest team players Coach Dungy had the privilege of working with during his coaching tenure was Peyton Manning, the three time MVP who played as quarterback for Dungy during his time with the Indianapolis Colts. Dungy cited Manning’s great talent plus his great dedication as key factors that have elevated him to the top of his career. Dungy shared the story of Wide Receiver Anthony Gonzalez – then an Ohio State student – who signed to play with the Colts in 2007. As a college student, Gonzalez was ineligible to practice with the team so Manning would make the three hour drive to Columbus, Ohio, twice a week to train and mentor Gonzalez. Manning’s willingness to share his knowledge and best practices with any member of his team – even a rookie – helped elevate the Colts to one of the top teams in the league.

As Coach Dungy explained, “Our duty is not to just make our team better, but also to make our community better.” Our user groups function as a community, and without members contributing outside of their organizations, we wouldn’t be seeing the growth that we are today. With over 11,000 user companies participating across the four User Groups – AXUG, CRMUG, GPUG and NAVUG – and more joining every day, it’s easy to see the impact of community involvement on the success of our members.

Coach Dungy has given back to the community in a number of ways, but specifically introduced Family First as one of the charities he supports. Family First’s mission is very straightforward: to serve the family. Coach Dungy credited his former colleague, Coach Noll, for instilling the importance of placing family above all else often telling his staff ‘Our jobs are not the most important things in our lives,’ and designating Saturdays as ‘bring your kids to work’ day. For more information about or to contribute to Family First, visit http://familyfirst.net.

In one of his books, Dungy writes “You can have an impact anywhere you are.” With members spread across the country and around the globe, this sentiment couldn’t be more fitting for our user communities. As attendees elevate their skills throughout this week in Tampa – and throughout the year in the user groups’ other activities - remember that no matter where you travelled from, no matter your industry or years in the field, by sharing your stories you can impact your user group community and help ELEVATE your own success and the success of your peers.

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