Youth speaker • The South • Based in Boise
The top youth speaker in the South is a nonstop flight from Boise to Atlanta or Dallas, and the travel is already in the price.
Chad Kempel is a youth keynote speaker with 4 Guinness World Records titles, an MA in Experimental Psychology, and three talks built for high school assemblies. He lives in Boise, Idaho. Atlanta and Dallas are nonstop flights, Orlando is a nonstop in winter, and the rest of the South is one connection away. He comes in the day before, and the airfare, rental car and hotel are already in one number.
Southern States Rate: from $4,000 per assembly, travel included · See what’s included ↓Other regions have their own pages: Idaho · California · Western states · Midwest · East Coast · Hawaii · Alaska
Why a speaker based in Boise works for a school in the South
Most out-of-state speakers quote a fee and then a travel line: airfare, hotel, mileage, meals, and a total nobody can confirm until the receipts show up. Chad quotes one number. For the 2026–27 school year an assembly anywhere in the South is $4,000, and that includes the flight, the rental car and the hotel. No deposit. He invoices after the talk.
He also flies in the day before, every time. A first-period assembly in Marietta or Plano doesn’t depend on a 6 a.m. departure out of Boise going right. If the weather turns, that’s his problem, not yours. The talk is the same one he gives in Idaho. The distance is the only thing that changes.
The South has already seen the story. FOX 5 Atlanta ran it twice, in 2018 when the quintuplets came home and in 2022 when he set the half marathon record. FOX 13 in Tampa and FOX 26 in Houston ran it too, and Pickler & Ben, the Nashville talk show, had him on live from his own kitchen. Chad and his wife, Amy, have done the Disney World trip like everyone else, so Orlando is a road he knows. And in January 2013 he and his dad flew into New Orleans to chase down his grandfather’s Navy history, a trip that ended on the deck of the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge. More on that under Louisiana.
How Chad gets to your school
Nonstop flights from Boise Airport, then a rental car. Everything else is one connection, usually through Dallas, Denver or Atlanta. Either way he arrives the day before.
| City | Flight from Boise | About |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA | Nonstop | 4 hours in the air |
| Dallas, TX | Nonstop to DFW or Love Field | 3 hours in the air |
| Orlando, FL | Nonstop in the winter months, one stop the rest of the year | 4 hours 45 minutes in the air |
| Houston, TX | One stop, or Dallas plus a 4-hour drive | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Austin, TX | One stop, or Dallas plus a 3-hour drive | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| San Antonio, TX | One stop | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Oklahoma City, OK | One stop, or Dallas plus a 3-hour drive | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Nashville, TN | One stop | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Charlotte, NC | One stop | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Raleigh, NC | One stop | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Birmingham, AL | Atlanta plus a 2-hour drive, or one stop | Half a day, door to door |
| Chattanooga, TN | Atlanta plus a 2-hour drive | Half a day, door to door |
| Greenville, SC | Atlanta plus a 2½-hour drive, or one stop | Half a day, door to door |
| Tampa, FL | Orlando plus 90 minutes, or one stop | Half a day, door to door |
| Jacksonville, FL | One stop | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Miami or Fort Lauderdale, FL | One stop | 7 to 9 hours, door to door |
| New Orleans, LA | One stop | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Little Rock, AR | One stop, usually through Dallas | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Louisville, KY | One stop | 6 to 8 hours, door to door |
| Albuquerque, NM | One stop, usually through Denver or Phoenix | 5 to 7 hours, door to door |
| Charleston, WV | One stop | 7 to 9 hours, door to door |
Rounded from the Boise Airport route list and the airlines’ timetables. Flight schedules change by season (the Orlando nonstop runs in winter), so Chad checks the real one before he quotes your date. Because he comes in the day before, the connection is his problem, not yours. Not on the list? Ask. If there’s a runway within a few hours of your school, he’ll figure it out.
What booking a school in the South school looks like
- Send your city and dates. Use the contact page or call (208) 391-2959. You’ll hear back within 48 hours with one number that already has the travel in it. No surprise line items later.
- A short survey, then a planning call. A few quick questions for whoever knows your students best, then a call with you and your counseling team about a week before the talk: what you want students walking out with, and anything going on at your school the talk should know about. Your counselors get the full outline before the day, and anything they want left out stays out.
- He flies in the day before. Nonstop into Atlanta or Dallas, one connection to everywhere else, then a rental car and a hotel near your school. He’s in your building before the first bell, not texting from a gate in Denver.
- The talk, then the part that matters. The assembly fits your block. Student Q&A after, then time for students to come up and talk one on one. Your teachers get discussion questions and a worksheet for the next morning. Your students get the tools from the talk on a page of their own, and the paperwork is on the documents page.
- Two schools, one trip. Each additional school on the same trip pays $2,000 for one assembly, with no added travel. If the school across town or down the highway might want him the same week, tell them.
- Short notice is fine. If there’s a seat on a flight, he’ll be there. Ask before you assume a date’s gone.
State by state: where he goes and what ties him there
Every tie below is real. He’d rather tell you he’s done the Disney World trip than pretend he’s a local.
Texas
Dallas is a nonstop from Boise into DFW or Love Field, about three hours in the air, so the Metroplex, from Plano and Frisco to Arlington and Fort Worth, is the easiest trip he makes in the South. FOX 26 Houston ran the story when the quintuplets were born. Houston is a one-stop flight or a four-hour drive down I-45, Austin and Waco are a drive, and San Antonio, El Paso, Lubbock and Amarillo are one-stop flights. Texas is big, he knows, and he comes the day before either way. For a top youth speaker in Texas, start with the one who lands at DFW by dinner.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is about three hours north of Dallas on I-35, Tulsa about four, and both are also one-stop flights. Norman, Edmond, Stillwater and Lawton are drives from one of them. For a top youth speaker in Oklahoma, the nonstop to Dallas is usually the answer.
Arkansas
Little Rock is a one-stop flight, usually through Dallas. Northwest Arkansas, from Fayetteville to Bentonville, has its own airport and is also a one-stop. Fort Smith, Jonesboro and Hot Springs are drives from one of them. He’s there the night before, same as everywhere else.
Louisiana
Chad and his dad spent two days here in January 2013. They flew into New Orleans to meet a shipmate of Chad’s grandfather, who had served on the destroyer USS Foote in the Pacific. The shipmate got sick before they arrived, so he sent them up I-10 to Baton Rouge instead, where a volunteer walked them through the USS Kidd, a Fletcher-class destroyer like the Foote, and a display case held a piece of the kamikaze plane that attacked his grandfather’s ship. They also walked beside a Carnival float throwing beads, because it was New Orleans in January. New Orleans and Baton Rouge are one-stop flights, usually through Dallas or Atlanta, and Shreveport is about three hours east of Dallas. Lafayette and Lake Charles are a drive from either end. He lands the day before and drives the rest.
Mississippi
Jackson is a one-stop flight through Dallas or Atlanta. The Gulf Coast is about 90 minutes from New Orleans, and the northern end of the state, from Tupelo to Oxford, is about two hours from Memphis. He picks the closer airport and arrives the night before.
Alabama
Birmingham is about two hours west of Atlanta on I-20, Montgomery about two and a half, and Huntsville about three and a half. All three are also one-stop flights. Mobile and the Gulf are a one-stop or a drive from New Orleans. A top youth speaker in Alabama who lives in Idaho is usually just an Atlanta nonstop and a rental car.
Tennessee
Pickler & Ben, the Nashville talk show, had Chad on live from his kitchen with the hosts in the studio. Nashville is a one-stop flight, and so are Memphis and Knoxville. Chattanooga is about two hours from Atlanta, and Knoxville about three and a half. Murfreesboro, Clarksville and Franklin are close to Nashville. For a top youth speaker in Tennessee, the story has already been on Nashville television.
Kentucky
Louisville and Lexington are one-stop flights. Bowling Green is about an hour north of Nashville, Northern Kentucky is on the Cincinnati side of the river, and Eastern Kentucky is a longer drive from Lexington, which he’ll make. Wherever the airport is, he lands the day before.
West Virginia
Charleston and Huntington are one-stop flights, usually through Charlotte, Chicago or Atlanta. The Eastern Panhandle is about 90 minutes from Washington’s airports, and Morgantown about 90 minutes from Pittsburgh. Mountain roads don’t scare a guy from Idaho. A top youth speaker in West Virginia gets there the night before.
North Carolina
Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham are one-stop flights, usually through Dallas or Chicago. Asheville is about three and a half hours from Atlanta, Greensboro and Winston-Salem sit between Charlotte and Raleigh, and Wilmington and the coast are a drive from Raleigh. For a top youth speaker in North Carolina, he picks the closer airport and arrives the day before.
South Carolina
Greenville and Spartanburg are about two and a half hours from Atlanta on I-85. Columbia and Charleston are one-stop flights, or three and a half and five hours from Atlanta. Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand are a drive from either. A top youth speaker in South Carolina usually arrives on the Atlanta nonstop.
Georgia
Atlanta is a nonstop from Boise, about four hours in the air, and FOX 5 Atlanta ran the story twice: in 2018 when the quintuplets came home and in 2022 when he set the half marathon record. The metro, from Marietta and Alpharetta to Decatur and Peachtree City, is a morning drive from Hartsfield-Jackson. Athens, Macon, Columbus, Augusta and Savannah are all drives he’ll make. For a top youth speaker in Georgia, the flight lands the night before.
Florida
FOX 13 in Tampa ran the story when he set the half marathon record. Orlando is a nonstop from Boise in the winter months and a one-stop the rest of the year. Chad and Amy have done the Disney World trip, so he knows the drive out of the airport. Tampa is about 90 minutes from Orlando, Jacksonville about two and a half hours, and Miami and Fort Lauderdale are one-stop flights of their own, as are Tallahassee and Pensacola. A top youth speaker in Florida who lives in Idaho sounds odd until you check the flight board in January.
New Mexico
Albuquerque is a one-stop flight, usually a short hop through Denver or Phoenix, both nonstops from Boise. Santa Fe is an hour from the airport, Las Cruces about three and a half, or a drive from El Paso. Farmington and the Four Corners are a longer drive. New Mexico isn’t on the Western States page, so it lives here, and the rate is the same. He gets there the day before.
Credentials that hold up when a student Googles him
Because every student in every one of these states has a phone.
4
Guinness World Records titles
MA
Experimental Psychology, San Jose State
5 yrs
University Lecturer, San Jose State
20 yrs
Same San Mateo County Health department
Chad set all four records pushing his five kids, quintuplets born at 27 weeks, in a stroller: marathon 4:42:49 in Modesto, California; half marathon 2:19:55 in Oakland, California; 10K 1:04:52.9 in Garden City, Idaho; 1K 5:34 in Eagle, Idaho. Each time links to the official Guinness World Records listing, and every race he has run since 2002 is on the race log with its chip time. He is trained in QPR suicide prevention and completed psychological first aid training through San Mateo County Behavioral Health & Recovery Services. So your students get a guy with receipts who can also explain why their brain does what it does.
Chad’s full story → · The stories and the psychology behind them → · The full resume, what’s on LinkedIn → · Every news feature in one place → · Photos →
Four certificates. The times are in public race databases, and the records are on the Guinness World Records website, so a student can check him before the bell.
Three talks built for high schools, in any state
Anything Is Possible
The all-school assembly. Resilience, failure, and proof you can look up.
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The Weight You're Carrying
The mental health assembly your counselors have probably been asking for.
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I Walked the Hallways Alone
The anti-bullying and belonging talk that doesn’t wag a finger.
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Also available for: new-semester goal-setting assemblies · graduation and commencement · student leadership events · educator conferences
Southern States Rate
2026–27 School Year
$4,000
One assembly, travel included
$2,000
Each additional school, same trip
One number. The airfare, rental car and hotel from Boise are in it, and there are no other charges. No deposit. Chad flies in the day before, and you’re invoiced after the assembly, net 30. Each additional school on the same trip pays $2,000 for one assembly, with no added travel.
Booking several schools in one district? Ask for the district rate.
Check Your Date →Idaho schools: see the Local Introductory Rate. California: the California Introductory Rate. Oregon through Arizona: the Western States rate. The Midwest, the East Coast, Hawaii and Alaska have their own pages.
Questions schools in the South ask
Who is the top youth speaker in the South?
Biased answer, obviously. But here’s the case: Chad Kempel set four Guinness World Records pushing his quintuplets in a stroller, holds an MA in Experimental Psychology from San Jose State University, taught there for five years, and taught math inside San Quentin State Prison for another five. His three talks were built for high school students, every claim in them is public record, and FOX 5 Atlanta, FOX 13 Tampa, FOX 26 Houston and a Nashville talk show have already told the story.
Which states does this page cover?
Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, plus New Mexico, which isn’t on the Western States page. Idaho, California, the western states, the Midwest, the East Coast, Hawaii and Alaska have their own pages. Anywhere else, ask. He speaks nationwide.
How much does it cost to book a youth speaker in the South?
For the 2026–27 school year, one assembly at a high school anywhere in the South is $4,000, all-inclusive. That covers the talk and the travel from Boise: airfare, rental car and hotel. There are no other charges and no deposit. Chad invoices after the assembly, net 30. A second school on the same trip pays $1,000 for one assembly, with no added travel. Send your school, city and dates through the contact page and you’ll hear back within 48 hours.
Does the price change if we’re far from Atlanta or Dallas?
No. Tupelo gets the same number as Atlanta, and Lubbock the same as Dallas. The rental car is already in it.
Does he fly in the day before?
Every time. A morning assembly shouldn’t depend on an early flight out of Boise going right. He lands the day before, so a delay or a storm is his problem, not yours. If a hurricane, an ice day or an emergency closes your school, the date just moves. No charge.
Can two schools share one trip?
Yes, and it’s the best deal on this page. Each additional school on the same trip pays $2,000 for one assembly, with no added travel. If the school across town or down the highway might want him the same week, tell them.
Can we book several schools in our district at once?
Yes. Booking several schools in one district? Ask for the district rate. Send the schools, the dates you have in mind, and whether you want them the same day or the same week, and you’ll have one quote for all of them within 48 hours.
Is there a mental health speaker for high schools in the South?
Yes. The Weight You’re Carrying is Chad’s mental health assembly. Students get four plain terms for what they’re feeling and a tool for each one. Chad is trained in QPR suicide prevention, follows safe-messaging guidelines for talking about suicide, and meets with your counseling team before he walks into the gym.
Do you have an anti-bullying speaker for schools in Texas, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee?
I Walked the Hallways Alone is the anti-bullying and belonging talk. No lecture, no finger-wagging. It ends with one ask students can act on the next morning: sit down next to someone who looks like they’re alone.
Do you customize the talk for our school?
Every time. There’s a short survey first, then a call with you and your counseling team about a week out: your students, what you want them to walk out with, and anything going on at your school the talk should account for. Your counselors get the full outline and the take-home sheets and teacher guide before the day. The message stays the same. The delivery fits your room.
Our building is grades 7 to 12. Does that work?
The talks are built for grades 9 to 12. For a combined 7-12 or 6-12 building, ask. A shorter session for the younger grades is an option, and it’s part of the planning call.
Which day of the week works best?
Monday through Thursday, and not the last day before a break. Your teachers get discussion questions and a worksheet for the next morning, and those only work if there is a next morning.
Does Chad give keynotes for educator conferences in the South?
Yes. He’s a keynote speaker based in Boise and opens or closes educator and association conferences anywhere in the South.
How far out should we book?
As early as you can, especially for spring and graduation season. Five weeks or more is ideal: it keeps the airfare down, and since the airfare is in his price and not on your invoice, that’s his problem to manage. Still, ask before you assume a date’s gone.
Bring Chad to your school, wherever in the South it is.
Discovery calls available · Replies within 48 hours · Based in Boise, one flight from the South
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