Trey was incredible. One of the best speakers we've had and we've heard that from numerous attendees. People are still buzzing about it. It was exactly what we were looking for. And he was so easy to work with.
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Trey Gowdy
Former SC Congressman, Commitment to Victim’s Rights and Award-Winning Prosecutor
Trey Gowdy
Biography
Trey Gowdy was born in Greenville, South Carolina and grew up in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He is the son of Hal and Novalene Gowdy and has three sisters: Laura, Caroline, and Elizabeth.
He graduated Spartanburg High School in 1982, Baylor University in 1986, with a degree in history, and the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1989, where he was a member of the scholastic honor society “Order of the Wig and Robe.”
After law school he clerked for a judge on the South Carolina Court of Appeals and then for a United States District Court trial judge.
From 1994-2000, as a federal prosecutor, Trey prosecuted the full range of federal crimes including narcotics trafficking, bank robbery, car jacking, kidnapping, child pornography cases, and the murder of a federal witness. He was awarded the Postal Inspector’s Award for the successful prosecution of J. Mark Allen, one of “America’s Most Wanted” suspects. He also received the highest performance rating a federal prosecutor can receive – two years in a row.
In 2000, he left the U.S. Attorney's office to run for 7th Circuit Solicitor (District Attorney) in Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties. As 7th Circuit Solicitor, Trey led an office of 25 attorneys and 65 total employees. He started a Violence Against Women Task Force, a Worthless Check Program, enhanced and expanded Drug Court, and implemented a Drug Mother Protocol designed to assist expectant mothers break the cycle of addiction.
He has been recognized statewide for his commitment to victim’s rights and drunken driving enforcement and nationally for excellence in death penalty prosecutions.
In 2010, he ran for congress to represent the 4th Congressional District (Greenville and Spartanburg Counties). While in congress he served on the Judiciary Committee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Intelligence Committee, Education and the Workforce Committee and Ethics Committee. He was also chosen to chair a Select Committee on the events occurring in Libya on September 11-12, 2012.
While in congress he actively participated in numerous congressional investigations, sponsored bills signed into law, and had deep and meaningful relationships with scores of colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
After four terms in congress, he announced he would not seek re-election in 2018 and would leave public service for good; thus ending his career with a flawless record in the courtroom and undefeated in political races. In January of 2019, he returned to his beloved South Carolina to practice law, teach classes with his close friend Senator Tim Scott, and speak on legal issues he considers important to our country. Trey is an author, host of a television show and podcast.
Trey is married to Terri Dillard Gowdy, a former first grade school teacher in Spartanburg, South Carolina. They have two children: Watson, who graduated Clemson University and Washington and Lee School of Law and Abigail, who graduated the University of South Carolina and graduated law school.
Trey Gowdy
Featured Keynote Programs
LEADERSHIP FIRST
Finding the Path Forward
Throughout a rich and productive public service career, Rep Trey Gowdy has honed one skill more than any other - LEADERSHIP. At all levels - 7th Circuit Solicitor, Congressman, federal prosecutor and more - Rep Gowdy has demonstrated the ability to gather, influence and execute an idea with a team. With many individuals, a team is comprised of various points of views. True leaders build within that diversity rather than limiting its impact.
With this keynote, Rep Gowdy shares experiences and encourages attendees to consider various points of view. Known for partnership and an eye towards unity, Gowdy seeks to inspire, challenge and share some laughs during the presentation.
UNITY LEADS TO CHANGE
The Amazing Power of a Common Purpose
Rep Trey Gowdy's public service career exemplified the old adage, “We can go farther…together.” The unity created by a shared idea is a powerful tool to advance an organization, team or movement. Great causes unite individuals of differing backgrounds and views to achieve a goal beyond the grasp of one person.
In this keynote, Rep Gowdy aims to encourage attendees to pursue purpose - together. Fundraising galas, awareness events and benefits will be impacted by this personal challenge from Rep Gowdy.
UNIFIED
Rising Above Division to Lead
Division is easily found in politics. Political parties, ideology, causes, votes - and each has value in their usage. But real, transformative change is found in unity. A unifying common cause will create an impact felt long past the political winds of today.
Rep Trey Gowdy’s conservative approach to political decisions is understood. Yet, his hope is to find sources of common understanding and trust. Throughout his legal and political career, Rep Gowdy was known for seeking common ground. He and Senator Tim Scott shared this approach in their bestselling book, Unified: How Our Unlikely Friendship Gives Us Hope for a Divided Country.
In this keynote, Rep Gowdy challenges attendees to remember the intent of conservatism and continue to lead Americans into greatness.
Program options
Trey Gowdy can speak on:
The Majesty of the Law
Unity
Building a Movement that Lasts
He can also do a moderated Q&A format if a client requests.
Trey Gowdy
Featured Books
Start, Stay, or Leave
by Trey Gowdy
The Fox News host and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Doesn’t Hurt to Ask shares his trusted framework for decision making, a revolutionary method for anyone at a crossroads in life.
In life, moments arise when you have to decide your next move. When choosing whether to accept a new job, purchase a house, attend a school, or start a relationship, how do you settle on which direction to take? Trey Gowdy has found that most consequential decisions boil down to three simple options: start, stay, or leave.
Gowdy first developed this decision-making tool in the courtroom during a federal murder trial, and it has guided his life ever since. The practical framework has helped him decide where to raise his family, when to leave his dream job, whether to run for Congress, and when to step away from political life.
Over the years, Gowdy has made some great decisions and some lousy ones (and he admits to both). In Start, Stay, or Leave, he shares his hard-earned wisdom. Filled with surprising insights and questions, this personal playbook teaches you how to
• craft your unique vision of success
• consult your dreams with wisdom (and know when to revise them)
• assess the price worth paying to achieve your goals
• balance logic, emotion, and fear when facing a new challenge
• take the right advice, from the right people (and block out everyone else)
• chart the course of your life with the end goal in mind
Reading Start, Stay, or Leave is like sitting on the back porch of a farmhouse chatting with a wise friend. Filled with humor, heartbreak, practical advice, and a lifetime’s worth of storytelling, this book will teach you how to approach trajectory-changing decisions with confidence and the knowledge that, whatever happens, you’ve made the best choice you could.
Doesn't Hurt to Ask
by Trey Gowdy
Former congressman and prosecutor Trey Gowdy teaches you how to effectively communicate and persuade on the issues that matter most to you, drawing on his experience in the courtroom and the halls of Congress.
"A must-read for people who want to learn how best to succeed."--Dana Perino, Fox News host and bestselling author of And the Good News Is . . .
You do not need to be in a courtroom to advocate for others. You do not need to be in Congress to champion a cause. From the boardroom to the kitchen table, opportunities to make your case abound, and Doesn't Hurt to Ask shows you how to seize them. By blending gripping case studies from nearly two decades in a courtroom and four terms in national politics with personal stories and practical advice, Trey Gowdy walks you through the tools and the mindset needed to effectively communicate your message.
Along the way, Gowdy reflects on the moments in his life when he learned the most about how to argue and convince. He recounts his missteps during his first murder trial, the conversation that changed his view on criminal justice reform, and what he learned while questioning James Comey and Secretary Hillary Clinton.
Sharing the techniques he perfected advocating in law and politics, Gowdy helps you identify your objective, understand your personal jury, and engage in the art of questioning so you can be heard, be understood, and, ultimately, move others. Whether it's getting a boss to take a chance on your idea, convincing someone to support your cause, or urging a child to invest more effort in an important task, movement requires persuasion. Doesn't Hurt to Ask shows you how to persuade, no matter the jury and no matter the cause.
The Friendship Challenge
by Trey Gowdy
The Friendship Challenge can help you get the conversation started about bridging the racial divide in your community.
The Friendship Challenge is a six-week guide, helping individuals and groups promote racial reconciliation in their communities--one person at a time, one friendship at a time. The first week prepares individuals and groups to reach out to a person on the other side of the racial divide, whether it is a person at work or in a nearby church. The next five weeks take that small group through a study that fosters true reconciliation--the kind of reconciliation Jesus showed in his own life and death.
Take the Friendship Challenge and spend the next six weeks cultivating true reconciliation in your community.
Unified
by Trey Gowdy
New York Times Bestseller
In a divided country desperate for unity, two sons of South Carolina show how different races, life experiences, and pathways can lead to a deep friendship--even in a state that was rocked to its core by the 2015 Charleston church shooting.
Tim Scott, an African-American US senator, and Trey Gowdy, a white US congressman, won't allow racial lines to divide them. They work together, eat meals together, campaign together, and make decisions together. Yet in the fall of 2010--as two brand-new members of the US House of Representatives--they did not even know each other. Their story as politicians and friends began the moment they met and is a model for others seeking true reconciliation.
In Unified, Senator Scott and Congressman Gowdy, through honesty and vulnerability, inspire others to evaluate their own stories, clean the slate, and extend a hand of friendship that can change your churches, communities, and the world.
In a divided country desperate for unity, two sons of South Carolina show how different races, life experiences, and pathways can lead to a deep friendship--even in a state that was rocked to its core by the 2015 Charleston church shooting.
Tim Scott, an African-American US senator, and Trey Gowdy, a white US congressman, won't allow racial lines to divide them. They work together, eat meals together, campaign together, and make decisions together. Yet in the fall of 2010--as two brand-new members of the US House of Representatives--they did not even know each other. Their story as politicians and friends began the moment they met and is a model for others seeking true reconciliation.
In Unified, Senator Scott and Congressman Gowdy, through honesty and vulnerability, inspire others to evaluate their own stories, clean the slate, and extend a hand of friendship that can change your churches, communities, and the world.
Trey Gowdy
Featured Reviews
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