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Plane Crash Survivor Brings Life Experiences to PEARL Annual Spring Conference September 2009 Also available in PDF format.
On an ordinary day in July of 1989, Schemmel boarded a flight from Denver to Chicago. As the plane neared Sioux City, IA, one of the plane’s engines exploded. Only 112 of the 296 onboard lived to see their families. Schemmel was one of the 112, surviving catastrophe while those seated around him did not.
“The main message of my talk is that people can respond to tragedies without letting them dictate their lives,” says Schemmel. “An experience like this helps you redefine success. People tend to have the same definition of success: set goals, strive to get there, reach the plateau…but life is a little different after you survive a plane crash when everyone around you didn’t make it. This tragedy taught me that the real meaning of life is to take very day and make the very best we can with it.” Schemmel’s message has particular resonance with audiences these days as people strive to survive difficult economic times and a world in turmoil.
When asked what is the most common question people ask him, Schemmel said it isn’t particulars about the crash, or probing for philosophical meaning. They ask a simple question: How can you ever get on another plane?
“Most people that survive a crash never fly again, but I’ve flown around 420 times since the accident,” Schemmel explains. “For me it’s a personal thing: It’s my faith. If I felt like He’s going to crash the plane again, there’s probably not much I can do to talk him out of it.”
PEARL’s conference begins on Saturday, April 24 with a golf tournament and local PEARL facilities tour. The next two days are filled with technical and business presentations and hands-on training that cover the latest electrical designs, reconditioning practices, and testing methods.
Interested attendees and exhibitors should contact the PEARL office at (877) 287-3275, send an email to pearl@pearl1.org or visit www.Pearl1.org to save $100 through early registration. Corporations that join PEARL within 30 days of the conference will have their conference registration fee applied to their membership dues. PEARL’s 2010 conference is scheduled for the Westin Tabor Center in Denver, April 24-26.
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AURORA, CO – Jerry Schemmel – survivor of United Flight 232, author, and voice of the Denver Nuggets – will bring his unique perspective on surviving difficult times and the meaning of success to PEARL’s 13th annual Electrical Safety and Reliability Conference & Exhibition to be held at the Westin Tabor Center in Denver, CO, April 24-26, 2010.
