January 25th, 2022
We are so excited to announce our keynote speaker for the 2nd Annual Board of Trustees Scholarship Banquet, Mike Durant.
Durant is best known for his military service, especially his role in the 1993 Black Hawk Down battle. Durant was the lone survivor after 2 Army Black Hawk helicopters were shot down in Somalia. Mike Durant was held captive and tortured for 11 days by Somali General Mohamed Farrah Aidid. During this time, Mike Durant never gave up or gave in to the enemy.
Mike Durant was released from captivity in Somalia after 11 days. He would later write a book titled In the Company of Heroes, about his experience on that mission in Somalia and the many other missions he participated in during his career. He also wrote The Night Stalkers, about the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) in which he served.
After retiring from the Army with 22 years of active-duty service, Durant moved to Alabama and started a new chapter. He started and grew a highly-successful company, Pinnacle Solutions, an engineering and services company based in Huntsville. In thirteen years, Pinnacle has grown from a home office-based startup to over 500 employees and more than 175 subcontractor personnel operating in sixteen US and international locations with major prime and subcontract efforts supporting the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, NASA and the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Mike has a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics and a Master of Business Administration in Aviation degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Mike’s military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star with Valor device, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals, one with Valor device, the POW/MIA ribbon, the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and numerous other awards.
He and his wife Lisa (also an Army Aviator) reside in Huntsville and have a family of six children, four boys and two girls, and four grandchildren.
His story of survival teaches us all a lesson in resilience and selflessness. Join us on April 22, 2022 to hear more from Mike Durant.
Source: Mike Durant – About – https://mikedurant.com/about/
