In spring 2005, SHS chose The First Thirty as the year's graduation gift -- getting a copy of the book for every graduate, with the support of MyTownHall.info , a local community website. School officials also booked Greg to be Commencement Speaker.

In June 2005, Greg delivered the Commencement Address at SHS. The event was a lot of fun. More than 1500 people were in attendance. During his speech, Greg made the surprise announcement there would be an essay contest based on The First Thirty, open only to the graduates. The winning essay will be published in an upcoming issue of College News and its author will receive a $1000 scholarship from Rockville Bank.

Since the event, we've some really nice feedback from people who were there. Here's a sample:   "...I think the standing ovation Greg got [after his Commencement speech] says it all about how well received his speech was!  It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and a graduation we'll remember for a while around here." -- Ned Sullivan, SHS Guidance Coordinator

"Before the event starts, Greg is soooo silly, walking around in the Commencement gown with no shoes on, really laid-back and laughing and stuff, but then he goes up to that podium, and it's like a switch sort of goes on, and he becomes really serious at just the right time, and the whole place is listening to every word.  There were thousands of people there, and if a single person would've coughed, you would've heard it. Everybody was listening."  - No name given

"I really enjoyed Greg's speech.  I think the best part about it was that he didn't seem to be reading from a prepared paper.  I really appreciate that.  I'm sure he didn't just go up there and wing it, but it sure had a bit of spontaneity, which was very nice.  I think the whole crowd enjoyed it, it was something new and refreshing...." - Chris, Class of 2005

If you attended the event and want to send in your feedback, we'd love to get it!  Just email it to Events@GregForbes.com Interested in booking Greg for an event in your area, just email us the information at that same address -- Events@GregForbes.com

In the weeks leading up to Commencement and in the days following it, there have been some nice articles about SHS choosing The First Thirty as its Graduation Gift, booking Greg to be the speaker, the actual event itself and the subsequent essay contest  in papers like Journal Inquirer, Hartford Courant, Southwick Suffield News & Springfield Republican..

While Greg was in town, he also had the chance to stop by the local Barnes & Noble and check out the display for The First Thirty -- they had chosen the book as one of their Featured Books for the season.   (Update:  Thanks to your support, the store completely sold out of the book and had to re-stock the display -- but they do have them in stock again, so if you're in that area, tell your friends, family, colleagues to stop by and pick one up!)

Before and after the Commencement and book signing, Greg had the opportunity to hang out with some of the families in the area and attend a number of graduation parties before heading back to the airport. Everybody was really nice (except, for the fact that nobody let him win at Ping Pong).

"...Overall I thought that the graduates walked away with a feeling of excellence as they were inspired to travel the road of life no matter where it leads. The message that was delivered was positive, and unconventional.   Many of the graduates that talked to me were pleased to know about another scholarship, especially one with such an interesting topic....I think that graduates, educators, family, friends and all those sitting in the gym that day stopped to evaluate their slot in life, and whether or not they were using it effectively." - Laura Bryll, Rockville Bank (sponsor of the surprise scholarship announced at the graduation).

As always, Greg's trip was marked by a couple of (mis)adventures.   In this case, he managed to forget his stuff in the cab, check in with the wrong airline, lose his luggage, forget his boarding pass in the terminal and "accidentally" sit in First Class instead of his assigned seat.  Special thanks to the folks at the airline who helped him out, as well as the amazing cab driver Bakri who returned with Greg's stuff when he discovered it in the back of the cab!

In advance of Greg's visit and since Greg's visit, in addition to the copies ordered for all the SHS graduates, a number of local companies ordered copies of the books for other students.  They included: Tosca Restaurant , Wilma's Scoop du Jour , Asnuntuck Community College , Suffield Rotary Club , Rockville Bank and college search engine U101.com

Whether you're an individual, an organization or a company, you can join the list and order some additional copies for other students in the SHS area (or any area, for that matter) Whether it's 300 books, 30 or even just 3, it's a great gesture -- and we'll arrange to get a sticker placed on the inside of the front cover (if you desire) so the readers know who was nice enough to do it for them.  If you're interested in becoming part of it, email Books@IdeaListEnterprises.com and just let us know how many books you'd like to purchase for the kids there.

To see who won the essay contest and to read their winning essay, click here. Primary photos by: Amy M. Mason and Michelle Mason The First Thirty is currently available at Barnes & Noble in Enfield, CT.