SPEAKER HIGHLIGHT
STEVE
UZZELL:
GETTING
THE PICTURE
TOM GREER
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
When he’s not speaking around the world about creative problem-solving,
Uzzell still works as a photographer for a select group of clients.
Photo courtesy of Steve Uzzell
S
teve Uzzell has seen what
thousands of people do for a living
and makes it a point to understand
his clients’ businesses, so he can
best utilize his skill as a photographer to help them succeed. And for
the 1st General Session at TASBO’s
69th Annual Conference in Houston,
Uzzell will show you how to overcome
obstacles at work using the creative
process.
Uzzell has traveled the world, logging
over two million miles on United
Airlines. He’s spoken to a half-million
people in all 50 states. He’s been on
expeditions with National Geographic. He’s done photo shoots with supermodels. He’s risked life and limb
for a few fleeting moments when he
first sees the finished product – “It’s
like Christmas morning every day.”
As you might have guessed, Uzzell is
a big believer in doing what you love
for a living.
Military Maneuvers
Both Uzzell’s Mother and Father were
World War II veterans. A commanding general invited Uzzell’s family to
settle on his countryside estate – a
dairy farm nine miles from the center of Philadelphia. As a boy Uzzell
thrived in this rural environment,
which was also conveniently located
near the greater Philadelphia area.
18
It provided him a unique experience
and access to one of the ten best
school systems in the country. Out
of high school, he enrolled at West
Point to study engineering.
Sensing that he wanted to do something more free-form and creative,
Uzzell resigned his commission
half-way through his second year at
West Point. With no plan set, Uzzell
decided to study photojournalism at
the University of Missouri at Colombia, the only place where the degree
was offered at the time. Uzzell then
set his sights on working for National
Geographic.
Uzzell’s transfer to Missouri would
be the first of a long-line of opportunities where Uzzell was in the right
place at the right time with the right
skillset. During Christmas break
after resigning as a West Point Cadet, Uzzell went to the high school to
research his options – which included taking a semester off from college
and perhaps re-applying the following fall. While there he met with his
high school principal, Mary Carter,
who proceeded to lead Uzzell to her
office where she made a phone call
and began speaking.
“She recited my grade point average,
all the activities in high school, my
grade point average at West Point,
all the activities at West Point, then
handed me the phone,” Uzzell recalled.
“I asked her, ‘Who is this?’”
TASBO REPORT | FEBRUARY 2015