ngs that is important for me is that my d.c. staff understands the district. to get out there and see it. the first time my chief of staff was driving, we got pulled over. host: what did you tell the officer? rep. hurd: he said slow it down. it was late at night. they were just saying be careful. great folks throughout the district. i do not know if he recognized me or not. but they were making sure we were being safe. host: you are the first african-american republican since reconstruction to be elected. how did that come about? rep. hurd: it was funny getting appeared to washington dc. the first question i was asked was how the black dude won in a hispanic district. my dad is originally from east texas. my mom grew up in indiana.

they met in los angeles and moved to san antonio in 1971. my father is african-american, my mother is white. they were an interracial couple in south texas in the 70's. now their youngest son is a member of congress. when they first went to san antonio, they had difficulty buying a home. now i am representing my hometown. part of that is because people are no longer voting on the color of your skin. people knew what was going to work hard and get things done. that i was going to work across the aisle. that i have the experience you need. no one here has that. for me, it is about working hard. whether you are black, brown, or anything, people care about a couple of things. they want food on the table, a roof over their head, and the people that they love to be healthy and happy.

when you address those issues, it is going to resonate with people. host: you are different from the president in terms of parties. if you have a sense of his background and what it was like him to grow up in a similar situation? rep. hurd: i am aware. there are a number of people who have had this experience. it is great using it. you learn to be empathetic, to excel in places where you are the only person looks like you. i learned the skill that was helpful in the cia. it is an honor to represent my hometown. i think it is a great example of how texas has evolved. they are putting people in office because of who they are. host: and a graduate of texas and -- a&m. what does that mean for you? rep. hurd: we have a code of

honor. we do not lie, cheat, or steel. more of that in d.c. would make it a better place. i am proud to be an aggie. i learned about representing people. i was student -- vice president of the student body during the bonfire collapse. it killed 12 kids. in 1999, it was the worst accident on the college campus. to help lead the family through what was the darkest time in our history was an honor. i would give thee experience of if those kids were still alive. but to me, it solidified what it means to be part of the aggie family. i was able to leverage that in my run for congress. it is a great school. it is awesome representing my alma mater.

and the system has a school in san antonio in the district. it is cool to represent part of my alma mater. host: explain the circumstances that led to the collapse and how you responded. rep. hurd: this was what we did to show our desire to be rival university of texas. it is a multi tiered bonfire. it is gigantic. it is all student run and built. when it collapsed, there was a lot of rain. it caused the ground to shift. the center poles that held up the thing cracked. it caused spinning and stress and the thing collapsed. when it collapsed, i was asleep. it happened about 2:00 in the

morning. one of my friends call me and said, you should probably get up here. about 11 minutes after the collapse i was on campus and involved in all aspects of it. helping to rescue the kids and dealing with press. also making sure loved ones knew where they could go to get information about their sons and daughters, brothers. host: how did the tradition change after the incident? rep. hurd: it does not happen anymore. the year before that was the last time the bonfire burned. host: why student leadership? why did you decide to become president? rep. hurd: i was not going to go to texas a& m. i wanted to go to stanford. i got accepted to stanford. i got a scholarship to go. i went to texas because i had a

counselor at my high school, big aggie, who kept badgering me to go for a visit. i had some friends who lived there. i said if i go for a visit, will you leave me alone? he said yes. so i went to watch a football game. and i fell in love with the opportunities to get involved. there is something special at texas. i'm excited to run for president because i had been in bold on campus -- involved on campus. so i decided to run. my buddies decided to help me. host: how did the experience train you for running for congress? rep. hurd: at the time, it was 45,000 student. that is undergraduate. when you add graduates and professors and administrators

you're talking 80,000 people. it taught me how to work with diverse people, ideologically. it taught me the importance of sticking to your principles. and committed individuals can change the world. and so it was a good test run. i never would have thought i would run for congress after that. but it showed how to get a message out. host: how do you approach the job of being a member of congress? what is your routine in congress and at your district? rep. hurd: iran -- i ran to be a leader on national security. the district is huge. 50% of the vote comes from san antonio. some of the other counties

because they are so far away they do not get represented. my title is representative. the way we spend a good deal of my time, we are here monday through thursday, then i am back in the district every weekend. i try to fly in and out of san antonio two weekends a month. and deal with that part of the district there. we focus our legislative efforts on the things that resonate in the district. and are key in my background. the fact that i am a chairman of the subcommittee on information technology is a great opportunity to leverage my experience and background with a degree in computer science. i did offense of cyber operations in the cia. when i left the cia and ran for

congress, i was part of a consulting firm and started a cyber security company. to be able to use that to focus on privacy i.t. procurement, cyber security, and information sharing, and emerging technology. that is where we spend a good deal of time. host: why is will heard a republican? rep. hurd: i believe in freedom, government, having a strong national defense. i believe in equal opportunity. these are things that always resonated with me. my dad likes to say he was the first like republican in san antonio. i have not been able to fact check that. my dad was a salesman for 30 years. when he retired, he and my mother started a beauty supply school. and i saw what it meant to build something from scratch and be rewarded for your efforts.

these were the experiences i had growing up. host: brothers or sisters? rep. hurd: i am the baby of three. my sister is four years older my brother is five years older. we are really close. host: when you took the old of office, what was your mom and dad thinking? rep. hurd: my mom was crying and my dad was proud. my dad was 82 years old. he showed up to the capital. he usually walks with a cane. he did not have his cane. i said, do i need to get your cane? he straightens up real stiff and says, i am in the capital. i do not need a cane today. he walked without his cane for the entire day. i know they were super proud. my parents have always believed in me and have always been my biggest supporters. it really hit home when i stood

up and raise my hand and was able to see them in the gallery. host: what was your biggest setback growing up or early in your career? rep. hurd: i think the biggest setback was probably losing the run for congress in 2010. i left the cia to run. i was frustrated with the caliber of our elected leaders. my job was to collect intelligence and brief members of congress. i briefed hundreds of members and was shocked by their lack of understanding of basic issues they were on committees for. i try to run for congress and did not have a plan b. we ran. won the first round and everybody was excited. everybody thought we were she wins to win. the other side was re: sending out resumes for further jobs.

we lost by 700 votes. i felt like i let everyone down. i knew in my head that was not the case. but in my heart, i thought all these people who were never involved in the political process, i felt like i did not pull it out. i did not leave my house for a while. i had to figure out a plan b. i had coffee with about 75 people, all walks of life. and i asked them, if you are 32 what would you do? and their responses were there was no great idea generated from that, but the father of one of my closest friends, a guy i have known since i was 13 said do something meaningful and hard. so simple, but that is kind of how i have lived my life.

and i realize most of my life, i was trying to do things meaningful and heart. so i am a better person. host: why did you decide to run again? rep. hurd: the opportunity was there. coming that close, realizing that i had significant disagreements with the person in office and thought that person should be representing the district differently, i love my country. i had the honor to serve my country for almost a decade in the cia. i look at this as serving my country in a different way. the opportunity was there. the folks who were part of the team said they were in for one more. so we decided to do it. host: let's talk about the cia. you graduate from texas, get a job at the agency. what was your first position?

what was the biggest challenge? what did you learn from your tenure there? rep. hurd: my first job, i was 22, driving my toyota 4 runner. i stopped at a gas station. the uss cole had just blown up. by al qaeda. and i remember thinking, i wonder if i will know anything that is going on there. after we go through initial orientation, i was the desk officer for yemen. i was at the headquarters in langley supporting the men and women in our station, the headquarters in yemen. that was my first job. one of the biggest challenges was fighting bureaucracy. when i was in afghanistan i managed undercover operations

and felt there were rules and regulations that we were having to to do our jobs that were preventing us from protecting ourselves and doing the job we were trying to do. fighting bureaucracy in kabul back in langley, was an incredible challenge. in the end, we won. because i had the experience and background and support to get that done. it was a great experience. that is what i'm doing here. most of my responsibility as a representative is to fight bureaucracy for oaks who need your rocker c -- bureaucracy fou ght. it was a great lesson and challenge. what i learned in the cia is it is filled with red-blooded patriotic men and women who are trying to do the right thing to make sure you and i can sleep

well at night and our families are safe. that commitment to saying, we have a tasking. we never said, we cannot do that. the can-do attitude is something that permeated everything we did. it is something that i learned that texas. refined further in the cia. and something that i always use now. host: if a future president says they want you to be the cia director, is it a job he would undertake? how would you approach the position? rep. hurd: good question. it would be an honor to serve. and how i would approach the position is go back to the basics. the cia are the collectors of last resort.

if you cannot get a piece of information, you call on the cia to do that. and, you have to have very clear goals on what you are trying to collect and how you have a perspective. right now, as the number of threats to our country are increasing, we have to have more intelligence. one of the problems with the fight against isis in syria and iraq, we do not have enough on the ground human intelligence. part of that is because we do not have enough people in the region. that is something where my good friends, ambassador ryan crocker , i think he is one of the test things the foreign service has produced. now he is running the bush school. he says you need wingtips on the ground to prevent boots on the ground.

i would be aggressive, in hard places. we would have clear collection priorities. host: having spent time in yemen, afghanistan langley what worries you the most as a member of congress? what should americans be concerned about? rep. hurd: the micro actors having macro impact. this is where one person can have a huge impact. who would have thought 11 people would have had the impact it did on 9/11? those are what we have to worry about. if you look at isis right now isis is -- the talent they are attracting from around the world is significant. higher levels in afghanistan than the original war in iraq ever were.

their ability to leverage social media to get their message out is unprecedented. when i was in afghanistan and pakistan chasing taliban, they would do night letters. they would write a letter and leave it on doorsteps. you can only hit a couple hundred people in one night that way. what isis is doing is hitting tens of millions of people every day. they are getting their message out in a way that is unprecedented. their ability to grow is pretty scary. when you look at the cyber threats we are facing around the world, it is just unbelievable. it is no longer about preventing someone from getting in. did you give me enough time, i am getting into your digital network. the question becomes, how do you detect it? how can you kick people out? the number of people able to get into our sophisticated digital

infrastructure is increasing exponentially as well. the great thing is we have smart , hard-working americans at our intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies, military and civilian agencies, keeping us from these threats. host: i have to ask you about the ki -- knife. where did that come from? rep. hurd: pakistan. it was kind of the award for good service. it is an adaptation of a gurka knife. gurkas were fierce warriors. the saying goes, if you pulled your knife, you cannot pull it back in the sheath without drawing blood. this is a variant of that knife. host: as all your career and

work made it difficult to have a relationship? [laughter] rep. hurd: it has. i was engaged to a girl from north texas. when you come home and say guess what? i work for the cia and we are moving to pakistan, that has a chilling effect on the relationship. but it was the right choice for her. and i just have not found the right person just yet. i do travel a lot, move around a lot. i am young enough. my parents have grandkids. host: the members of congress you used to brief, do they view you differently as a colleague? rep. hurd: some of the ones i had -- caused me to run, no longer exist. i will say that i have been shocked at how warm member to

member relationships are. and the fact that people who have been here and have experience have sought me out for my perspective. host: what is the biggest learning curve for a freshman member of congress? rep. hurd: the biggest learning curve is how you manage your legislative team. your district team, and your political team. those are three separate organizations that have to be managed that way. for me, i realize a lot of my work up here is about responding to constituents. if one person is having a problem in the district, i guarantee you hundreds of people across the country are. how do you take those ones and twos and fix the problem on a macro scale?

that is how i think we can be more effective in representing our district and making sure we are fighting bureaucracy. host: finally our you where you expected to be at your age of 37? rep. hurd: i do not know. like i said before i have learned through doing things that are meaningful and hard. it is about having a positive mental attitude. being honest people. treating people with respect. i was taught that at a young age and continue to do that now. it is an exciting place to be in order to represent my country. people that need to be fought for. host: anything else that would interest you politically? rep. hurd: i am interested in running a business again. for me, the next objective is getting reelected.

there are a lot of folks that are doubting i'm ready to do that. they have doubted me plenty already. we know what we are doing. we will prove everyone wrong once again. host: >> all his week we have been bringing you conversation with members of congress. tomorrow, a conversation with norma torres, who represents the 35th congressional district. >> it is incredibly hard to get here. the money involved in politics it makes it almost impossible for someone like me.

i am a 911 dispatcher by trade. it is incredible that i made it this far, but here i am. >> and why did you decide to seek elective office. >> i answered a call as a 911 dispatcher of a little girl, an 11-year-old girl, who died at the hands of her uncle. it really pushed me into a political world that i, frankly, didn't know it existed. >> you can watch this entire profile tomorrow at 9 p.m. eastern time here on c-span. next, a former venture capitalist talks about an entrepreneurial program she created for convicted felons. she founded the nonprofit, defined --defy ventures will stop the event was held at the computer history knees in

-- computer history museum in mountain view, california. >> in 2010, she founded the group to do the work. it is challenging work but the concept is simple. men and women who have been incarcerated do not lack talent or skill. simply because they have been in prison. to the contrary, given the right help, coaching and investment, , they can succeed as entrepreneurs as well as anyone who has the entrepreneurial spirit. defy ventures seems aptly named. catherine is going to be joined tonight by two very important people. one is jaime florez, and entrepreneur in training. the other is npr's laura sydell. she is a great friend to the museum. this is laura's sixth appearance here. we're delighted to have her back. i should add that in 2015, we

will be launching an app, a audio guide to the revolution experience downstairs. if you come and download the app, you will hear laura sydell's voice because she is the official voice of the app. i hope you will come and take advantage of that. she is npr's digital culture correspondent. she is adding a little digital culture to the museum and we can use all that we can get. please join me welcoming our guests. [applause] laura: great to be here on this rainy night. i think we got a little bit from the videos. what if you could just start out what is defy doing right now? -- how do you define this

amazing venture? catherine: there are 100 million americans with criminal histories. many of them developed amazing hustling skills in their former drug dealing and gang leadership days. we recruit formerly incarcerated people and transform their hustle from illegal ventures into legal entrepreneurship. we recruit people after they are released from prison. we recruit people like yourselves, business people, as mentors and coaches. we have online training courses. we bring them together for events where we teach them entrepreneurship training. we host shark tank style business plan competitions. they compete for $100,000 in startup funding. laura: they watch it in prison. catherine: exactly.

laura: you have a background in finance, in venture capital. you are 37. that meant you started -- catherine: thank you for putting my age out there. i don't mind. i used to work for a venture firm, summit partners, here in palo alto. and then worked for a private equity firm. laura: you were in texas when first -- when you first took a visit to a prison. this was a defining moment? catherine: i was living in new york. catherine: i was living in new york. i was invited on a texas prison visit. i was like, no thanks. i had rotten opinions of people

who were incarcerated. she convinced me some of the greatest underdogs in america and best redemption stories come from behind prison walls. i accepted her invitation, flew to texas. i was 26 years old. i thought i was going on some kind of zoos tour to see wild, caged animals. what i saw instead was human beings who had screwed up. not all of them but many of them take ownership for what have done. i could see they were hungry for another chance at life but they did not necessarily know where to go. how to apply those skills. the only thing they had seen modeled in their neighborhoods the only successful men they had seen were drug dealers and gang leaders. speaking with them, i realized i

was not speaking with aspiring entrepreneurs but proven entrepreneurs. realizing for the first time many of the drug dealers and gangs, their organizations are run by bylaws. they have boards of directors. they have serious management skills and understand distribution, sales, and marketing. the one thing they sucked at was risk management strategies because they got busted. i asked myself, what would happen if these guys were equipped to go legit? i never in one million years thought i would work in the sector of all places. i was so captivated by this overlooked and discarded talent pool. i ended up leaving my job in new york city at a private equity firm and moving to texas.

laura: it sounds like you were able to have real conversations with the prisoners that got you hooked. did you tell your family, i am going to texas? catherine: everybody thought i had lost my mind. i packed up all my stuff in a minivan and moved out. all my stuff was stolen. my family members said, see that is what you get. i said, the guys i am working with are still locked up. i had gone all in. as a 26-year-old, i had $50,000 in my savings account. a padded 401(k). i gave it to starting my work because no one believed people in prison could write business plans. i went broke and then became a

professional beggar. laura: public radio, i understand professional begging. you started this program within the prison. how did this work? how did you get the prison to say yes to this? catherine: the program, similar to defy, we worked with men within the texas prison system. 80% had committed violent crimes. we would teach them entrepreneurship. conduct business plan competitions. people would fly out from around the world to serve as judges. after they were released, we had an employment program. the employment rate was 98% for guys getting out.

we created 7500 executives who would employ them. 60 of them started companies. we had a family reunification program. i am very proud of what we accomplished. laura: it is amazing. when you call up executives, and were asking them to participate, you got so many who it sounds like said yes enthusiastically. why did they say yes? catherine: i was not calling them and saying, i have this idea for you to plant a tree. i said roll up your sleeves and serve in a capacity that is your core capacity. teach america's biggest underdogs. is america really the land of second chances? i said i know this is a little off the beaten path, but maybe it will give you street cred and bragging rights at your next cocktail party.

a laura: what is it like when executives walk into the room with people who are felons and they meet? catherine: i would describe it as a junior high dance. they separate. people with criminal histories are scared of the executives. they aren't related. the executives are afraid of the stereotypes of people with criminal histories. we are intentional about making the ice to make it not feel like a junior high dance. at the beginning of an event the first thing we do is saying, welcome to defy. i say, we are going to hug it out. i want big bear hugs. 14 bear hugs.

they get to take a seat. they have hugged 14 people. and then we do business. laura: the vision of seeing these executives, hugging felons. i want to ask you. you had success in texas. you had personal disasters in texas. you ended up having to leave that program, although it still exist. you are still pretty young. what happened? catherine: along the lines, i was building this up, i got married at the age of 22. i was married until i was 31. six years ago, i was divorced. that came unexpectedly to me at

the time, although looking back in hindsight, i saw how many opportunities i missed in being a white. i had tunnel vision, building up my organization. being a divorced woman is something i never imagined for myself. in the wake of my divorce, i made bad decisions which i regret to this day. i ended up having relationships with people who had been released from the texas program. my own graduates. i knew that, i knew better. one thing i did well in my crisis when asked about this, i was honest about my shortcomings and mistakes. i was devastated when the news showed great interest in my mistakes. i used to speak about my work

and say, what would it be like if you are known for the worst thing you ever did? i was so ashamed of myself, not just for being divorced but for making these mistakes. i try to kill myself. this was five years ago. i lived for the work i did. having that taken away from me i was forced by the texas prison system to resign. we had 7500 supporters. i sent them a full disclosure letter with my mistakes. two people i respected the most. saying, look how i screwed up. and then having the news jump on that, i did not know how i would ever get act on my feet from that. laura: in an interesting way, i

was reading this. being in the news, i know the news loves to jump on the worst things people do. here you were, telling people you were not the worst thing you have ever done. i wondered how you came out of that? you have restarted. you learn something from that that you have brought from it. you have gone back to doing this work you are so passionate about. what do you think you learned from having that whole experience? has it made it more empathetic? catherine: that could be a long answer. i used to think that people cared about me and maybe celebrated the result i was able to generate because they cared about what i was doing. i did not know that people love me for who i was. after the news went out, after i sent my e-mail, 1000 sent me news of love and support.

i realized i had nothing more to offer. i realized at 31, i was lovable as a human and person, not just a leader generating results. that love has been transformative and healing in my life. i hate talking about the mistakes i have made, but at the same time, it is liberating to not hide. i think many leaders, almost all leaders, have done something at some point in their career that if it came to light would make them lose their leadership. most people don't get that liberty, the freedom of getting to speak about it. i have realized the hard way and talking about this that we as humans bond and our humanity usually more than we do in

successes and accomplishments. not many people talk about their failures. we all have some. you want to talk about them? laura: my job is to put the heat on. catherine: in terms of working with the men and women that we serve at defy, i have always had a passion for it. now that i can relate to having a thick wall of shame, having no money, not wanted to be on the street, i understand what it is like for them to work through the stigma. as a leader, when i started when i was 27, i was ignorant career

that ignorance really was bliss. i had no idea how hard it was. when i started defy, i knew things that were hard about leadership. i was more cautious, i was insecure about announcing i was going to go for this again. but i have come at it with the more tempered energy. a deeper love for the mission i have. i got an offer to go back into venture capital. i thought no one would believe in me again. but people gave me a second chance. i am extremely passionate about extending second chances to america's biggest underdogs. laura: we are in silicon valley. this is a community that

believes failure is ok. the whole mindset here is you can fail and pick up and go on. how did you restart this? you were no longer allowed to work in the texas prison system. you were in new york at this point and decided, i am going to restart this? catherine: i got a year of intensive therapy and then moved out of texas to new york city, where i had been working before, to get energy back into my life. i was studying best practices and other models across the country. not sure i want to do start something again. road business plans. people for them up. i did not want to start something ineffective. after a year of doing this, i announced the defy concept. it was with the support of people who had my back. my mentor said, if you are going

to do this, go big or go home. build something that will be nationally scalable. make sure you are building infrastructure, something that can bring healing and redemption opportunities nationally. i spent the first year after my resignation raising money. hiring staff. hitting a methodology and curriculum and staff in place that could lead us to success. laura: how big is the program now? you are using technology to do remote things. catherine: i made the decision to work outside the system because there are 2 million people incarcerated inside, but 100 million outside with criminal histories.

i know silicon valley is more accepting of risk, but many will not hire someone with a felony. there is a huge need on the outside. new yorker said, just because you can do it in texas does not mean you can do it in new york. we had to prove our model. entrepreneurs and training would come to our classroom and they would learn about entrepreneurship. character development including everything from how to be a great father, manners, employment skills. our model has worked out fabulously. the employment rate is 95%. we have incubated and started 71 companies.

everything worked well. they are a simple service business model. somebody said, it is great we are doing it in new york. he said, do something scalable. i did not know how. seth godin, who in the video is one of our instructors, we have five professors from harvard business school who teach online courses. we film them. we served 174 this calendar year. we are hoping to serve a thousand a year. they learn in online training and then come together to apply information they are learning. laura: i wonder with online training, part of what works is

bringing people together in a physical space to get that in person training. catherine: we have events every month in silicon valley. we have a mentoring program that is one on one. we have here groups. i don't think people transform just by watching something online. it is through relationships we heal. laura: to me, the idea that people who have been in prison gangs, drugs makes sense to me. it dawned on me but i did not do anything about it and you did. yet i wonder, how do you decide which people are going to work in this program? it is probably not something for everyone. catherine: the number one thing we look for is, do they take ownership of their past and want to transform their future? if they want a handout, they are not suited for us. that used to be a harder task to triage that.

this year, along with to a blended model, we switched to a tuition-based model. we charge a modest tuition to mantra and training. the rest is subsidized ride donors. we have seen when they have skin clean game, the ones who want to move forward in their lives, they are willing to pay. the guys were not serious, they opt out. that is a fabulous weeding mechanism. laura: how much do you charge? catherine: it is about $100 a month. every month, we give them an opportunity where they are earning and paying for their tuition. they also are in financial prizes. it can end up costing them nothing, but we want to make sure they are willing to put

money in. laura: tell us about the businesses? catherine: they are simple but they work. a catering company. there is a guy who introduced himself to me as a third-generation felony. 70% of people and up following their parents footsteps to prison. he loved food. he started a catering business. he exclusively hires young dads. he has hired more than 10 of them. he got to leave his job to run this country full-time. we even have a couple apps although we don't think that is the best model for profitability. we have carpet cleaning. a whole broad range, dog walking and pet care. companies in almost every sector.

71 of them. laura: which is amazing. you said, there is money behind the program. are they able to get seed money, advice? catherine: when they are competing for the money -- the next one is coming up. google is hosting it at their headquarters. tim draper is hosting the finals at his office. they compete for a small amount of seed capital. every competition we have, the capital increases. we provide them with micro loans. the more money their businesses need, we introduce them to angel investors. our network is full of them. laura: how did you get tim draper into it? catherine: a cold e-mail. set godin, too.

laura: when he first showed up had he had any extremes with people in prison? catherine: i don't think so. he is a classic story of a investor who loves an underdog proposition. that is why he is good at his job. laura: we saw in the video moments of asking people questions you would ask them. how many of you heard gunshots? what is it like when you have people who are successful business people and people who are felons and you ask these questions? is there any point where they start to find things in common or are there surprising moments

where they have things in common? catherine: we create a safe place where people can be vulnerable. a lot of the premise is there is so much in common on both sides of the line. many of the executives are driven to their success because of daddy issues. they never heard, i love you son. they go out and defy the odds. they are influencers. they use their influence to get results. they are bottom-line oriented. there was often a strong mutual respect. when he tell executives, no pity. no sugar coating. and if their idea stinks, tell them.

they like that because they get -- there is this tough guy thing in the room. tough guys can also be soft and vulnerable. our eitâs coming out of prison have put on a faãade. they can be exactly who they are. they can be known and loved even though they have done these things. they get to let their guard down. our executives, who are sometimes gazillionaires, are keeping up their faãade. they have issues. at defy, you get rewarded for being who you are. the executors and friends. laura: i don't know whether it is a great thing that felons and successful business have something in common or not.

catherine: what does it take to be a successful business person? i do wonder about that. i was going to ask you about women. you start at this before orange is the new black. -- you started this before "orange is the new black." hyper is an advocate for prison reform -- piper is an advocate for prison reform. i remember an antidote about a woman in prison with martha stewart. she started a business because martha stewart encouraged her. catherine: we are working with a woman who serves time with martha stewart as well. laura: there are not as many women as men. i do wonder to what degree work with women. a lot of women in prison, they are single moms. they have challenging circumstances. being able to be a good business person can help them.

catherine: the fewer men we have, we are trying to attract more. they are a small percentage of the criminal population. the women we do have are awesome. they hold their own with the guys. laura: is it different dealing with women? in terms of background stories and bonding with executives? catherine: yes and no. they are there as entrepreneurs create is not like they cry all the time and the guys do not. they are very competitive. one of our women in new york consistently wins every challenge. takes first or second or third. she has a softness that gives her a competitive advantage. her daughter is also a part of our family. we have a family legacy program. her daughter is in it. her daughter is starting her own company.

her daughter is 21 and starting her company now, alongside her mom. they are on the legal entrepreneurial journey together. laura: that is amazing. a wonderful thing. i wonder. i have heard people often criticize programs within prisons that help prisoners. i have heard people say, basically, these are thugs. awful people. do you get that at all? any criticism with people saying, why should they get this advantage? they have committed a crime. catherine: i will start off by saying, having worked in the system, not everyone wants to transform. with that said, so many of them do.

i get a lot of criticism. but when people say, why do these guys get the special privilege, my first thing is, we do not get public funding. it is not like we are taking funding away from kids or whatever. when you look at the communities we serve, some of the poorest communities in america. we are serving people in nine different states already. in the communities we serve, the underserved poor communities, the number one missing factor in my opinion, from what i have seen, is positive male role models. if there is a fatherhood problem in america, and you want to move america forward, you need to serve the kids, too.

so many people are already focused on education and kids. if you give all the assistance to the kids and they go home to dysfunctional families and missing fathers, they are not moving forward as much as much. our solution, some people think it is backward. we are a quipping predominantly men to become not just entrepreneurs, but 50% of what we do is working on their character as well so they can become engaged parents who love their kids. who teach them a new legacy of legal entrepreneurship. we have a events with their kids. the kids come to the sales expos and say, i am going to become an much of a word. this is a family business. laura: when you say you help them become better fathers fatherhood is about more than bringing home money. and what ways do you work with them around that? catherine: we have incredible curriculum and online courses that teach this stuff. everything from, we teach the

five love languages. laura: explain what that is. kathryn: ideas we all have. words of affirmation, physical touch. acts of service. gifts. quality time. i nailed all five. if my love language is physical touch, which it is, my most likely way of loving you is through physical touch. yours might be words of affirmation. if i do not realize that, we are going to get in trouble. if i realize that, i can stroke you all-day with words. to love you in the language that is most important to you. they are learning this about their children as well and spouses. even loving your employees in your company. we have a course on how to make a meaningful apology. the language of apology.

not just saying i am sorry, but offering restitution. saying i am sorry and i was wrong are different. etiquette, how to be a gentleman. we have a two hour dining course. it was taught by an emily post etiquette instructor. laura: fell in get instruction from an emily post instructor, that is good. catherine: they are getting these soft skill courses on what is the definition of integrity. many courses that are working on them as people. one of reits just told me a week ago, he said i sit there at the computer watching these courses and my 11 euros son is watching.

laura: what do you think the differences between the people in prison who discover you and say, i want to do this. and the ones who, as you said yourself, not everyone wants to be redeemed. anytime you have been doing this work did you have any sense of the difference? catherine: that is a good question. i always wonder why would you not want to change if you can. one person set it to me while i was at pep, he said when you have been put in the trashcan can at your entire life, thrown away or the people who are supposed to love you the most. most of reits came from dysfunctional families where family members neglected and abused them, you start to believe these lies about yourself. you are not worth anything. you're never going to amount to anything.

yes, you are going to keep putting yourself in the trashcan. laura: you said some of these guys can't get past that. catherine: one of the biggest issues is that they had not had a different vision painted for them. they do not believe it. it is more comfortable to not change. it is more comfortable for us to stay the same. if you have been marked by failure whole life, you are used to it, it feels normal. laura: how many are violent felons? how many are there for drug crimes? does it make a difference? catherine: it doesn't make a big difference to us. whether they were busted on this or that, almost all of them are engaged in the same lifestyle. we intentionally seek out leaders who were good at selling drugs or leading gangs.

someone who sucked at selling crack has a less good chance of being a good entrepreneur. someone who is a leader usually doesn't get busted for having an ounce of weed. the usually get busted on organized crime or violent crime. about 80% of our guys have committed violent crimes. nearly all of them, 100%, are incarcerated on some sort of drug dealing, organized crime, something related to rehab that -- related to that. that is what we look for is a qualifying factor. how entrepreneurial were you? laura: it is great. in so many ways, they were trying to live the american dream. that was what was in front of them. how do you make a buck? catherine: in my home, i learned take my sats and go to college. in the neighborhoods they grew up, prison was a rite of passage. you go to prison, you get smarter.

prison is a college of how to get smarter and make better connections. you get out and hope you don't get caught again. they do not have a different vision. laura: you are giving them the opportunity. catherine: we dust them off, we look them in the eye and say i believe in you area i see something different for you. i can't tell you the confidence it instills. it transforms lives. it is what they need. laura: what is the most challenging part of this work? when you have been coming out of an environment like that, the amount of emotional baggage, what is the most challenging part? catherine: everything about it is so hard. i can make it sound so good. people tell me it sounds easy. it is not. our guys have more challenges than anyone i have met.

yesterday, i was talking to a mentor. she said, what do i do? the woman i am mentoring, i am worried about her physical safety. she is in a relationship with a guy who is being abusive. the hardest part for us is walking through the tough stuff. a lot of times since our guys have not achieved great success before, right before they are about to incorporate their business, right before their feet are about to be held to the fire, they want to quit. not letting them quit when they see success right in front of them, that is tough. that's why we have incurable -- incredible mentors. who say, i believe you. let's walk to the other side. laura: when you are used to doing something one way, the moment must be scary.

to make that leap. you are going to expand. you are going to create a greater presence here. i think you got some good news, maybe you want to share. you got help from silicon valley. catherine: i love it here. i have always wanted to come to this coast and it is my dream to build a national program. a couple of months ago, we started our first pilot class. we started serving 20 eit's here. many live in oakland. we started planting some seeds out here. this company called google was in the audience, some of the people were in the audience at one of the talks. it was just a few months ago. it is amazing how these people grabbed onto this mission. we want to make this big in the

bay area in 2015. this is my first time i have permission to publicly announce this. we have obtained a $500,000 grant from google.org. [applause] this is so we can serve in 2015 our aspiration. it is to serve up to 500 eit's plus their family members. for the time next year, we will raise a staff. we are looking to hire an executive director and a team here that can lead this important work. there is such a huge need out here. google has come to us, not just with funding, but they are hosting our competition. it is amazing what a corporation can do. i am shocked we are here in the bay area.

laura: i think this is a great place to do it. there are a lot of entrepreneurs here who have been through the ringer, who probably would love to give back. catherine: california, you have a serious prison problem, and a serious entrepreneurial spirit. there's not a better place for defy. laura: there is a stat i want to get out about the number of people in prison. catherine: we are the world leaders. laura: it seems like, what is it? 100 million people -- catherine: 100 million with criminal histories. but are not currently incarcerated. we have the highest capital incarceration rate. there are about 2 million in prison, but also 10 million cycle in and out of jail. a revolving door.

the recidivism rate is 76%. laura: that is amazing. catherine: and it is often because people get out of prison and they want to transform their lives but employers are not willing to let them flip a burger and mcdonald's because they have a rap sheet. laura: i have a number of questions from the audience. let's add a few. somebody asked, how do you measure the success of your investments? how are you doing that? can anybody take the online training? catherine: that is a good question. we hope to offer online training. open it and up and license it to others. that is may be coming soon. in terms of measuring the success of our investments, we look at the revenue of the businesses. we look at the profit, and how

many other people they are hiring. especially when they hire defy grads. we look at their traction and growth rate. we have an entrepreneur in residence that helps build up companies. our companies are very young they are in inception. some are generating around $100,000 in their first year which for us is pretty good. we had one business that generated north of $30,000 in its first three months. so that is like pretty awesome for us. almost all of them because they are service businesses become profitable right away. of the 71 companies, the generated 84 employment opportunities for people besides the founders. it is getting other hard to employ people in jobs. laura: it is amazing to me and great to see you turn these people around.

it seems like a great opportunity to have somebody come to the stage to you helped. catherine: i would love that. his name is jaime. he is here. this might be shocking. he has a criminal history and he is nervous about getting on a stage. he was i think throwing up in the bathroom. i am joking, sort of, but if you would please warmly welcome him up. make him feel loved. he will share his story. [applause] laura: we will put him in the middle here. hi.

jaime: hello. catherine: how are you doing? catherine: let's get the hard part out of the way. introduce yourself. people want to know where you came from. will you share a summary of your rap sheet? jaime: i am 32 years old. i served nearly three years in prison for drug dealing. catherine: what i like to say is nobody comes out of the womb , saying, one day i want to become a criminal. can you talk about the circumstances that led to your arrest? jaime: i grew up poor. my parents worked 2-3 jobs at a time. they worked so much they needed our help, me and my two brothers.

we ended up helping them at the age of 12. i remember mowing lawns. the apartment complex had six or eight lawns in front of a busy street. i remember mowing the lawns and looking up and seeing some of my friends from school. to me, it was embarrassing. i grew angry with resentment and wondered, why do i have to do this? why do they get to play? i started thinking, there has to be the different way to make money. unfortunately, i made the mistake of turning to the criminal lifestyle. catherine: you got busted on the drug dealing charge. we are not here to talk people into change. we work with people who want that transformation. why did you go to prison to become a better drug dealer? laura: it is graduate school for better drug dealers. catherine what caused that : transformation? jaime: for me, god save my life.

ever since i have been walking with him. i have been talking to him. i remember being in prison reading a magazine. there was an article about defy. it motivated me. i wrote you a letter. when i got out, i did a google search. i found out defy was coming to the west coast. immediately i signed up. and now i am here talking in front of you beautiful people. it is amazing. [applause] catherine: the first day i met him, three or four months ago. he came up to me. you were trembling. you had a letter. you had saved a copy of the letter you wrote me to read we were not even here on the coast. i could not believe it. now that you are in defy, you

r own legal business. why don't you give them a 15 second elevator pitch. jaime: i started an apparel company. targeted for the fans of baseball. we have a social component where we give that to an underprivileged kid. we give them a sports bag and a jersey. catherine: who is going to win in the shark tank? jaime: i'm going to win. right here [applause] catherine: last night, we had amazing vcs and ceos. talk about how it feels to interact with these people who believe in you. jaime: it is wonderful. every day i tell myself, yes you can. being around the volunteers reinforces the belief that yes i can. it feels great.

catherine: when are you incorporating your company. jaime: i did it last week. catherine: last week? you are already the founder and ceo of your own business. along the journey of starting your business, it takes a while for them to become profitable enough to live their full life on it. what are you doing for a living right now? jaime: right now, i am working at a warehouse for $12 an hour. for a toy manufacturing company. catherine: you are working in a temp job. i'm making a shameless plug. if anybody has an employment opportunity for him, please flood us afterwards and let him know. what skills do you have to offer a company? how could you add value? jaime: i am a great team player, a great leader. catherine: you've got good

hustling skills. final question for you, from me. here tonight, you have family members here to support you. you gave me big news last night about it. you want to share that? jaime: my baby girl is going to be coming to the world. my wife is due any day. catherine: where is your family? tell them how it feels to have them supporting you. jaime: i want to say i am sorry for all the things i have put you through. my wife, my dad. the whole family. i put them through a lot of stuff. it feels so good that you guys are here supporting me. i love you guys. [applause]

laura: i'm curious about, one of the things you talked about was you learned entrepreneurial skills on the street dealing drugs. something you can transform into a more positive way. do you think that is true? did you learn some things about running a business? jaime: yes. i paid attention. i said, you are selling a product. that one is illegal, and this one is legal. it is similar, the marketing the management. laura: the profit margins are different. but you don't get thrown in jail. jaime: now i can make money be -- the right way and help people. it is great. laura: how has it been meeting people who are successful

business people? looking at them as models? having them talk to you in a positive way. how does it feel? jaime: gives me an courage , motivation. i have a personal mentor. he speaks to me from his heart. you can tell that he wants to help me. that feedback gives me more motivation to keep going. catherine: tell them about what happened on the subway. jaime: we had a lot of volunteers last night. i came out of there on fire. i am on the bart station going home and there were two guys in comcast jackets. i was trying to muster up the courage to talk to them and tell my story. after coming from the night of coaching, i said i would do it. i made a contact. the guy told me, once i am up in

-- and running, it back to him and he will try to publish it. catherine: you said you shared your whole story. you went to prison and everything. jaime: they have encouraged me to be vulnerable. it is ok. once you are not afraid to share, it opens up doors.-- pretty cool. laura: i asked you this question, there are people in prison who do not want to change. why do you think some of them aren't less open to it? jaime: maybe because you are not open-minded. if you don't want to change, things like this will not help you. if you want to change, that is

the first step. opening. it is pretty cool. laura: there are a lot of people in prison who do not want to change. you explained why. why do you think some of the people you met there would be less open to change. jaime: maybe because you are not open-minded. if you don't want to change things like this will not help you. if you want to change, that is the first step. laura: could you say anything to those people? do you think you'll go back and try to convince people to change? jaime: that is why i am blessed to be here on stage. to let people know, yes you can. i can do it. you can do it. laura: do you want to stay up with us? i want to make sure you are having a good time up here. jaime: i am loving it. laura: a question from the audience, do you think classes like the entrepreneur classes would benefit children or young

teenagers as a way to prevent them from going to prison? catherine: absolutely. that is part of the reason why we have developed the family legacy program. teenagers can participate. eventually we will develop a young kid friendly curriculum where we can teach even kindergartners. transformation entrepreneurship, dreams and goals. yes. laura: what do you think of that idea? if these things had been available in school, when you are thinking how are you going to make extra money and you are mowing lawns, and someone came to you and said you could be an , entrepreneur? would it make a difference? jaime: totally. sometimes the school education system can be boring and a dry. this can spark something. catherine: kids love money. laura: me too. catherine: i don't know why

entrepreneurship is not taught more often in schools. especially children raised in poverty would have a greater affinity toward entrepreneurship training. you should see these kiddos. they are about hustling on behalf of their parents. laura: that is great. someone had said, what are the main reasons you have a small percentage to fail, what are the reasons for those people who cannot quite get it together? why do they fail? catherine: i would say generally it is because they do not have the resilience to failure. we tell jaime and others, you will fail. it is not about if you fail, it is about when you fail, it is ok. we will keep moving along. you have to want to get backup. some people drown in their failure.

they are maybe so covered in shame they are not willing to get backup. either that, or a lack of a real desire to change. they try and little bit but they do not have the stamina. i think jaime is somebody who could face any obstacle in the world and he is so committed. but transformation change is hard. going back to what they know is so easy and comfortable. a fast money alternative. that is the main reason people fail. they cannot withstand the pressure. laura: what do they do? do they just drop out? catherine: sometimes they drop out. sometimes we encourage them to drop out. if this is not the right opportunity for time. we don't want to fake serving

someone if it is not going to be right for them. if they really want more of a handout, we will tell them it is not the right fit. come back to us another time. we have a lot of strict policies. we drug test. billing only things they really come up for our weed -- are weed. we separate them but we tell them clean up and come back to us. we can also refer to them other partners. laura: someone asked, getting back to the education system, something as the system as it exists is there something they could do differently? catherine: teach entrepreneurship. laura: what would be a way? catherine: there is an organization called, the network

for teaching entrepreneurship. i was inspired by their leader who has been a mentor to me read -- mentor to me. they are an amazing organization. there is one in the bay area called build. they are nonprofits. the education system could make it a part of their curriculum, just like math or science. laura: it makes sense. the bay area could be one of the first places to do it. another person asked how to become a mentor westmark --? i have one slide, there is my e-mail address.

catherine: send an e-mail and say, i am in. we will lock you down. if you want to become a mentor we have events in january. you can join us that google. we have an awards ceremony where jaime's family will get to see him get promoted. we have online faculty donors, people who want to work for do five -- work for defy. we take all good things. we are a pure startup. we would be honored, and we would love to have you involved. we have an online mentoring company as well. people can edit resumes, and provide feedback. laura: that is great. certainly this is an area that

loves a good auditorium. we are supposed to bring our wonderful host. the director. >> thank you. please join me in thanking laura, catherine and jaime. catherine: thank you so much. >> have a great holiday and we will see you in january.

>> we will have live coverage on c-span2. joe biden will discuss u.s. policy in iraq and the threat of isis. that will be live at 1230 eastern. each night this week at 9 p.m. eastern, conversations with members of congress. >> as results i try to stay disciplined. i understand i represent everyone in montana. montana is one congress. i represent not only the republican side, but also the democrat side. i represent everyone in montana.

i think if we take that value set forward congress presents america. we articulate the values and needs of your district. the purpose is to make america better. >> five newest members of congress talk about their careers and personal lives, and share insight on how things work in capitol hill. join us for all of their conversations each night at 9:00 eastern on c-span. >> retired professional golfer jack nickless received the professional medal of honor. the ceremony was held at the u.s. capitol rotunda. >> [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, mr. john boehner. john: a special thank you to the marching band for being here area. speaking to the buckeyes, pursuant to the congressional gold medal to jack nickless for

his sevice to the nation in promoting excellence, good sportsmanship, and philanthropy. the tradition of the gold-medal goes back to 1776. the first recipient was then-general george washington. what makes this award so american is that anyone can win it, whether you are in architect, an innovator, a humanitarian, or even someone who played golf. the golden bear is all of those things. and today we thank him with the highest honor we can bestow. we are honored to be joined by so many representatives of the world of golf. the king, arnold palmer, is here with his wife. [applause] kim fenton the commissioner of , the pga tour. the voice of golf, mr. jim nantz, and many members of the jack nicholas family.

that includes the first lady of the golf. please join me in recognizing mrs. barb nicklaus. [applause] announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of our colors, the performance, and the retiring of the colors. >> forward. hut. hut. hut.

halt. present. ♪ [national anthem]

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announcer: ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the invocation. reverend: let us pray. our heavenly father, as our founding father george washington declared, we are to always acknowledge the providence and the blessing and favor of the almighty god over our nation. we thank you for your blessing that has been with us throughout all of these years. father, we honor those who have sacrificed to preserve our sacred freedom, and we pray for

your protection over our men and women who are battling in preserving that freedom around the world today. we thank you for the honor to be here to honor a man, a true champion, a man of character and courage, a man who has made a commitment of his life to excellent in all that he does. a man who has great compassion and has brought everyone along with him on this journey and at a great value to their lives. may your blessing be on jack nicklaus. today we pray. may he continue to serve as a great inspiration to all of us and a role model for our nation. father, we continue to play that -- pray pray that we will be one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. we ask for your blessing on this ceremony in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit we pray. amen. announcer: please be seated.

ladies and gentlemen, cbs sports commentator mr. jim nantz. [applause] jim: thank you. that is the first time i have ever been applauded in the capital. that felt pretty good. hello friends and distinguished guests. what a special day this is. i am not going to hold back because i know i speak on behalf of millions of americans. millions of people around the world, and i get the chance to say i love jack nicklas and i love jack's family. i first met jack nicklaus when i was a local sports commentator. i was asked to be his caddy for

a day. that day, under my stewardship [laughter] jack nicholas is something that -- did something that he probably never did any other time in his career, he had a birdie-free round. 17 pars of a three putt bogey, 73 thanks to his caddy. for the record, this was a man who birdied the first hole of his championship career. 19 57 toledo, ohio, birdied first time. 48 years later, fittingly his last appearance at a major championship, he birdied the final hole in competition in a major. but he did not, that day at port

-- park meadows country club make a single birdie -- [laughter] i have been around jack a lot these past 30 years and i have always wanted to apologize for that one round. it never felt like the right time to do that. plus i kind of figured that somewhere down the road on a beautiful spring day we would meet up in the capitol rotunda and that would be the right time. so jack, i want you to know, i am so sorry. so sorry. [laughter] just 10 months after that first day i met jack, we would meet at again. somehow, i had been called up to cbs sports, and it was that epic masters of 1986, and on sunday april the 13th of 1986 seemingly out of nowhere, jack was making this remarkable run. and sure enough, the bear came

out of hibernation and won the green jacket for the sixth time and his 18th major title. i think that is fair to say it would rank right up there if not the single stand-alone greatest triumph in golf history. there he was, arm in arm, father and son, with jack. a sight as sweet as anything i have had the honor of watching. a win when no one thought it was possible. as i made my way back to the compound that day ken venturi pulled up a side in a golf cart and he said, young man how old are you? and i said, i am 26. and he said, i am going to tell you something right now, you may be fortunate enough to say one day you broadcast 50 masters tournaments, but i can tell you you will never live to see a greater day than this at augusta

national. folks, i thought a lot about what i'm going to say in my short time up here. i think it is fair to say in the next 50 years we will never see another champion golfer like jack nicholas again, if ever. if ever. most people have defined him by that number 18. the 18 major titles. the most in history. but i look at the man for far more than just that. that is not the only reason why we are gathered here today. we in sports broadcasting use the word great far too often. all of us do in society. but true greatness is when you are the best at something and you have done it better than anyone else has before you, and then you do something powerful with your platform.

that is greatness. jack realized he had an audience a long time ago, and he did something with it. his philanthropic victories are more spectacular in my book than his golf conquests. it is a long list. just to touch on a few, helping men and women of our military. raising money for cancer. spinal cord research. national cochair and trustee of the first tee. these are just a few of jack's birdies and eagles on his scorecard of life. he has been an american treasure. and our gift to the world. as well known on main street americana as he is on any street in europe, asia, or south america. he has spread the virtues of the sport to millions around the globe. who else but jack could find his picture printed in the united kingdom on a five pound note? the first living person outside

the royal family to be featured on british currency. who else but jack could take a teenage boy fighting terminal cancer, bring him to the village, give him hope for more years than doctors ever expected. i saw that loving touch firsthand. there are many others. in 2004, jack and barbara emphasized their true calling. that was to help children, children's health care. they have raised, over the last 10 years, $35 million for the nicklaus children's health care foundation. [applause] just five days ago, they made a $60 million pledge to the miami

children's health system. so now, as of friday, the flagship hospital and the eight outpatient centers are newly named nicklaus children's hospital. that is greatness. [applause] i have always thought at a time like this, when you reach the pinnacle, those who shaped the recipient really need to be remembered. so in closing, it is a privilege to be the first man appeared today the son of charlie and , helen, the brother of marilyn, the husband of an amazing living angel named barbara, the father of jackie, man, gary, and michael. the proud devoted grandfather of

22 grand children. if i may, i am not sure if this is protocol, i would like to have the nicklaus family stand because they are so special. [applause] >> thank you, jack, for being the most prolific winner in the history of the greatest sport of all time. and for showing us what it looks like when one dedicates a lifetime of service to others and a lifetime of devotion to family. you have let us all see it up close. may god bless jack nicklaus and his family, and may god bless the united states of america. [applause]

announcer: ladies and gentlemen, the united states representative from the 12 district of ohio the honorable patrick t berry. [applause] patrick: a tough act to follow. jack, ohio is proud of our native son. growing up in columbus in the 1970's and early 1980's, we did not have a professional sports team. but we had our hometown hero. all-star, all-pro, all world golfer jack nicklaus. i can still remember those sunday afternoons playing in the driveway, football, basketball but coming in when the golf tournament started. this is pre-espn on network tv. watching jack make that great run or holding on to that great lead.

the 1986 masters was -- wow. i can remember it like yesterday. jumping off the couch as a young adult acting like 12-year-old schoolboy's cheering you on. it was a great, great experience. but as jim said, jack parlayed that success. not every successful athlete performer, business person does that. he parlayed that to success. he helped others through the health care foundation that jim nantz talked about. out of that total, $5.5 million raised for nationwide children's hospital in columbus, ohio. in fact today, we are lucky to have one of those nicklaus spirit award winners with us. i would like to ask her to stand and be recognized.

addie mcgeary. will you stand up? eight-year-old addie mcgeary. [applause] that is what this is all about. it has been an honor and privilege to sponsor the house resolution, not because of jack's greatness on the course, but what he has done for young people like addie mcgeary. jack, thank you for being a role model for those inside and outside athletics. you and barbara have done it right. one final note, i want to thank my friend and colleague speaker john boehner. we would not be here today if it were not for his extraordinary efforts. thank you, sir. god bless you, jack. god blessed, barbara. [applause] announcer: ladies and gentlemen, united states senator from ohio,

the honorable rob portman. [applause] rob: thank you all. it is a proud moment to be here to pay tribute to my friend jack nicklaus as he excepts the -- accepts the highest honor we can bestow on anyone here in the united states capitol. first, let me congratulate pat on his leadership in making this work in the house. and also, sherry brown. thank you for your help. pat is right. a little nudge from leadership help the white of it. thanks to john boehner. no duffer himself, by the way. people say that playing golf with jack nicklaus and me is pretty much the same, it is a religious experience. for jack, it is like being in heaven, and for me you see your life flash before your eyes every time you get in the way of

we do not share much in common there. i am so proud of him. i think about what has made him the most celebrated golfer ever. jim talked about the record 18 majors. he also has a closet full of six green jackets from the masters. 73 pga tour wins. unbelievable. some people say he just had god-given ability. that is true. when he was 10 years old, he went to a country club to play his first nine. it was on the front nine. he shot a 51. i cannot shoot a 51 today. people said, wow. let us watch this sky. -- this guy. others talk about his work ethic. his focus, his intensity. he is an intense guy.

they talk about his nerves of steel on the green. all true. but i think what people miss sometimes is that self-confidence and competitive edge that sets him apart comes from something else. i think it comes from a remarkably strong partner who gave him strength and nurtured a wonderful family that provided him the support and love that gave him that unseen advantage that we all saw play out on the course. to this day, barbara nicklaus is jack's inspiration and strength. she has been with him every step of the way on the course and off the course and shares the honor with jack today. [applause] she was with him at all those tournaments. my favorite is the stories about grandkids running out on the green with them and some of you

have seen, even in today's program on the ticket there is a photo of jack with i think gary. she has been with him at his side as they pursued their passion for children's health. jim mentioned the nicklaus children's health care foundation. the memorial tournament in columbus ohio is something we are proud of in central ohio. they have now contributed over $20 million to central ohio charities, with the children's hospital being the top recipient. this is making a difference in people's lives. and now of course the nicklaus children's hospital. let me tell you a little story about the jack nicklaus i know. not long ago, my wife and i were at barbara's and jack's home. as you can imagine, there is some interesting memorability -- memorabilia there. amazing trophies, wonderful photographs with presidents, royalty, celebrities of all kind.

but the photos he was most proud of and most excited to show me were the ones on the refrigerator of his kids and his grandkids. his eyes lit up when he showed me those and when he talked about their successes. that might be one reason, jack that every single one of your kids and every single one of your 22 grandchildren from all over the country are here with us today. that is the jack nicklaus i know. a man who understands he is been with a remarkable career and amazing talent, but the blessings he counts first are his family, his deep faith, his ability to help others, and, yes, his abiding love for this great country. so, i feel blessed to know you jack. i'm very proud to be with you, to honor you today. congratulations as you celebrate this very high honor with your wonderful family and your many friends. [applause]

announcer: ladies and gentlemen, mr. jack nicklaus the second. [applause] jack: i would like to start by thinking my family and our many friends who have traveled here to support my father. i would also like to thank the honorable john boehner and other distinguished members of the u.s. house of representatives and the senate. it was june 15th, 1980, i had just completed my second round at a local junior golf tournament. the phone rings as i am signing my scorecard. it is dad. he asked me how i played. i proceed to tell him my entire

round, hole by hole, shot by shot, i must've gone on for 20 minutes. as i finish, there is a short silence. i am about to thank dad for calling me and say goodbye, and he says, would you like to know how your dad did today? a little embarrassed, i quickly say, yes, how did you do today? and dad says, well, i just won the u.s. open. [laughter] that was dad. [applause] no name is more synonymous with greatness in the sport of golf then the name jack nicklaus. his competitive career spanned five decades. his legend has been built with 120 professional tournament

victories worldwide as well, a record 18 major championships. six masters, five pga championships. four u.s. opens and three british opens. jack nicklaus is the man. his records speak for themselves. putting those records aside, i believe he has truly transcended the game of golf and perhaps sports in general. he is most admired by his fellow competitors and sports fans worldwide by the way he has carried himself. he has simply worked hard and let others shout his accolades. he has always taken responsibility for his actions and his results. he is gracious in both victory and defeat. his father, charlie nicklaus

taught him early on that when someone has done better than you, you give them credit and you mean it. while he is fair, he has remained a fierce competitor. i remember several years ago sitting in the car with my dad. i was a struggling young golfer and i asked him, how is it you never seem to choke? dad's answer was simple, i am not afraid to win. i responded, don't you mean you are not afraid to lose? dad quickly corrected me, he said no, i am not afraid to win. anyone can lose. it takes courage to win. he went on to say, in winning it in winning, you separate yourself from your competitors. with success comes great responsibility. people will expect more from you. it takes courage to win.

dad's championship victories occurred when preparation met opportunity. in his words, there is no excuse not to be prepared. his idol, bob jones, remarked, after watching dad dominate the 1965 masters, nicklaus plays a game with which i am not familiar. a friend and fellow competitor tom watson, was quoted, anybody who played in jack's era knew that he was a name on the leaderboard to watch. we knew we had to beat that man. he commanded that respect. records may fade and people may forget them. however, we will always remember the man, his character, how he carried himself, and mostly, the lives that he has touched.

behind every great man there is a great woman. it was 1957, dad's first week as a freshman at ohio state university, on the steps in front of the hall he was touched by an angel, and his life will be forever blessed. he met my mom. she has been, and continues to be, the guiding light to her husband for the past 55 years. she is truly the wind beneath his wings. we would not a here today -- we would not be here today honoring this great and american had it not been for barbara nicklaus. [applause] giving back is at the core of mom and dad. it is a little repetitive