By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
An entrepreneur with a heart
TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie at GSU on Feb. 1
W Blake
Blake Mycoskie will speak Feb. 1 at Georgia Southern. - photo by Special
      Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes and former Amazing Race contestant, will speak Monday, Feb. 1 at Georgia Southern University's Performing Arts Center. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m.
      Mycoskie's presentation, "The New Rules for Tomorrow's Business: A Student's Guide to Making a Difference in the World," is designed to show students how businesses and their leaders can embrace social responsibility in a way that has far-reaching benefits well beyond the company's financial bottom line.
      Mycoskie traces his own journey from a young entrepreneur focused mainly on money to a businessman with a global commitment to children in poverty.
      TOMS is just one of six businesses that Mycoskie started while still in his 20s. From a dry cleaning pick-up and delivery service he began in college, to an outdoor media company aimed at the country music industry in Nashville, Mycoskie has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to turn an idea into a successful business. But, it is the business model he created for TOMS, where one pair of shoes is donated to a child in need for every pair that is sold, that has garnered the most attention and is making a global difference. To date, TOMS has donated more than a half-million pairs of shoes to children in need around the world.
      Mycoskie's visit is part of the speaker series sponsored by the vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. The speaker series is designed to give students the opportunity to hear first-hand from people in a variety of positions about the rewards and challenges of leadership.

Sign up for the Herald's free e-newsletter