Curlie Burns
Topic: The power of prayer

Curlie Burns' life is a testament to the power of prayer. Curlie grew up poor with six siblings in the segregated, rural South. Both of her parents were alcoholics. Her dad's drinking binges often resulted in him beating her mother. A family member accidentally shot and killed her 18-year-old brother. As an adult, she underwent surgery for fibroid tumors and doctors diagnosed her with Lupus. The Lupus treatments caused her to gain weight and lose most of her hair. The doctors didn't know what to do. Frustrated, she ended her treatments, but she never stopped praying. Eventually her hair grew back and the disease went into remission. Years later when her marriage ended, she again turned to prayer. Today, she's happy, healthy and speaks to the masses about the power of prayer.

For excerpts from the Power of Prayer speech, click here.

Marion Burns
Topic: The power of persistence

Marion Burns' life is a testament to the power of persistence. Raised by his grandparents in the poor, rural, segregated South, Marion had always dreamed of a better life. It was persistence that kept him going when he had to drop out of college because he ran out of tuition money. While fighting in Vietnam, it was persistence that kept Marion together when a bullet hit a food can he was carrying in his Army fatigue pocket, just missing his thigh. It was persistence that kept him focused when he sued and ultimately prevailed in a lawsuit against a builder who refused to sell Marion a home because he was black. It was persistence that enabled him to climb the corporate ladder. And it's persistence that kept him going when his marriage ended.