More than two dozen heroes took the stage to share stories, lessons and inspire at a two-day conference in Hartland Township.

The Hero Round Table is a series of short speeches dedicated to speaking on heroic acts, what it means to be a hero, and/or inspiring people to become a hero for others in their everyday lives. Held worldwide in Europe, Australia, and in large cities stateside, Monday and Tuesday’s conference at Venture Church in Hartland Township was the 5th time it’s come to Livingston County. Founder Matt Langdon said they had such a strong turnout this year that they ran out of the 300 lanyards and programs they printed for attendees.

In all, 29 speakers took to the stage, including Joe Gatto from the television show Impractical Jokers and Super Bowl champion Greg Jones. Langdon said he particularly impressed by 10-year-old Lucas Vetter of Rose Township who is known locally for raising money for CPR machines to be used by fire departments. Authors, non-profit organization founders, and many more also spoke.

Hero Round Table Board Member Kristy Ellis said that while they typically see a lot of businesses bring out employees to hear the inspirational speeches, there’s another demographic that she thinks could really benefit- the kids. Ellis encouraged high school students to attend future Hero Round Tables, expressing a desire to teach them to be the ones to help and to be the ones to react- not just to video tape incidents.

Courtney Reineck attended last year’s event and left feeling so inspired that she bought 70 tickets to this year’s. She said she was blown away that such an amazing event is being locally and wanted to get more people here to experience it.

With demand for the program continuing to rise, Langdon announced that the Hero Round Table will be returning again to Hartland Township next year, on October 19th and 20th. Tickets are already on sale. For information, visit www.heroroundtable.com. (MK)