Orrin “Checkmate” Hudson to host free workshop for youths

Motivational speaker, youth mentor and anti-violence activist Orrin “Checkmate” Hudson is setting up a life-size chessboard at the Holiday Inn Express, 7846 Stonecrest Square, Stonecrest to bring life lessons to students in metro Atlanta and break the cycle of poverty, crime and violence.

Hudson will host the “winners’ seminar” on Saturday, June 17, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participation in the program is free. The session, “Get in the Game,” will outline specific strategies that help students put “brains before bullets” and to choose peace instead of violence.

“By learning to out-think the competition, these young people will learn to respect others, think before they make dangerous moves, and give more than they take,” Hudson said.

At the workshop, which will be emceed by Stonecrest City Councilwoman Diane Daniels Adoma, Hudson will teach a new currency to young people called KASH (Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Habits), and show them how it can change their lives for the better.

Hudson, founder of Be Someone Inc., is an Air Force veteran and former law enforcement officer. He has been awarded the prestigious FBI Director’s Community Leader Award. Since 2000, his program has brought 50,000 students the life-affirming message of “Peace, Positivity and Purpose.”

Orrin states he won’t stop until he has reached at least one million students with his life-changing messages. Hudson was dubbed the “pied piper of positivity” by CNN for coaching his students to a statewide chess championship and three citywide chess championships.

Hudson says he was “in a lot of trouble” as a teen and owes his life to a Birmingham, Ala., teacher who introduced him to chess and mentored him in the game for four years.

For more information, visit www.besomeone.org or 770-465-6445/Fax 1-866-204-0490.