Mark Scharenbroich ( ; born 1953) is an American motivational speaker, humorist, and author.
Early life
In the 1970s Scharenbroich attended St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota where he earned a degree in mass communications. While there he toured high schools and colleges with a comedy troupe called Mom’s Apple Pie.
Career
In 1979, Scharenbroich was hired by Jostens to speak at high schools throughout North America. He was featured in the film The Greatest Days of Your Life …So Far, for which Scharenbroich won the Golden Apple and Silver Screen film awards for writing and performing. He won an Emmy Award as writer/producer for an ABC TV special and is the recipient of several international film awards.
In 1984, he established Scharenbroich & Associates, a communications and production company. Certified by the National Speaker’s Association as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), in 2003, Scharenbroich was inducted into the National Speaker’s Association Hall of Fame, receiving the CPAE award — NSA’s Council of Peers Award of Excellence.
Scharenbroich published "Nice Bike: Making Meaningful Connections on the Road of Life" in 2010. In his book he teaches how to “Nice Bike” someone by acknowledging, honoring, and connecting with them.
Since 2013 Scharenbroich has co-hosted a yearly "Keynote Kamp" with Eric Chester where they instruct other speakers on how to better write and deliver a keynote address.
Publications
Books
Scharenbroich, Mark (2010). Nice Bike: Making Meaningful Connections on the Road of Life. Minneapolis: Echo Bay Publishing. pp 168 pages.
Films/DVD programs
The Greatest Days of Your Life . . . So Far. Minneapolis: Jostens, 1981. T is for Teacher. Minneapolis: Jostens, 1983. One of a Kind. Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 1984. Pathways to Performance. Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 1986. Choose to Lead. Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 1987. Is this your first? Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 1995. Building Connections to Improve School Climate. Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 2000. Building Connections: 100+ Ideas to Improve School Climate. Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 2004. What’s It About?. Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 2005. Building Connections to Improve Student Achievement. Minneapolis: Scharenbroich & Associates, 2010.
Awards and honors
Gold Medal (2011) for Nice Bike, Axiom Business Book Awards
National Speaker’s Association (2003) Hall of Fame, CPAE
National Speaker’s Association (2003) Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) Silver Screen Award (1982) for The Greatest Days of Your Life…So Far National Council on Family Relations (1985), 1st Place for One of A Kind Golden Apple Award (1989) for The Greatest Days of Your Life…So Far Telly Award (2004) for Building Connections Telly Award (2005) for What’s it About? (Writer/Producer) Aurora Awards (2004, Gold Award) for What’s it About? International Health and Medical Film award (2005) for What’s it About?, and Building Connections (finalist) International Davey Award (2005, Gold Winner – Education) for What’s it About?