Attendees of VGM’s Heartland Conference will hear Kevin Lacz, former U.S. Navy SEAL and author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, The Last Punisher, give the keynote address. The VGM Group is holding its 16th annual HME industry conference from June 12 to 15 in Waterloo, IA.
The keynote address, “A Morning with Kevin Lacz: Risk vs Reward,” will take place at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, June 13. Lacz tell the story of his personal journey from struggling student to decorated Navy SEAL and successful master’s degree student. His story will serve as an example of the importance of identifying, mitigating and overcoming risk to achieve success.
Lacz was a failing undergraduate student when he left school to join the U.S. Navy SEALs in 2002. During his military career, he served as a sniper and combat medic and received multiple awards, including a Bronze Star with combat “V” (indicating acts of valor or meritorious services in combat) and the Navy and Marine Commendation Awards with combat “V.” He was also a key member of Task Unit Bruiser, one of the most highly decorated special operations units of the Iraq war.
Following his military career, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2011. He then earned his master’s degree in medical sciences from Wake Forest University in 2014.
Lacz also served as SEAL technical advisor on the 2014 movie American Sniper, the story of Chris Kyle, and played himself in the film.
Lacz is now a certified physician assistant in Florida and co-owner of Lifestyle and Performance Medicine-powered by Regenesis, a concierge-based, functional medicine practice. He is also the spokesperson for his charity, Hunting for Healing, a Florida non-profit organization that takes serviced-disabled veterans and their spouses on hunting, fishing and other outdoor expeditions.
Lacz’s book, The Last Punisher, a memoir about his 2006 deployment to Ramadi, Iraq, was published in July 2016. Following his keynote address, copies of the book will be available for sale at a book-signing event.
“Heartland Conference is all about creating impactful experiences that our members can utilize to improve their business,” said Sara Laures, vice president of special projects and conference chairperson for VGM. “Kevin’s presentation is delivered with passion and, coupled with his wry humor, will inspire and motivate our attendees to overcome their fears and achieve at a high level.”
Further information about VGM’s Heartland Conference and Lacz’s keynote address are available on the conference website.
