"David Mahan is truly a gifted communicator. Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of observing him speak on several occasions to various audiences ranging from politicians to students in support of abstinence. David never fails to amaze me as I've watched him win over even the toughest of crowds. The students just seem to gravitate to him and the adults that he encounters always wish there were "a thousand more just like him". I would highly recommend David to anyone."
– Catherine Wood, ATM Education
"I observed David Mahan’s presentation at Dunbar Community Middle School in Baltimore, MD. I was thoroughly impressed by his ability to inform, engage and maintain control of the entire student body for over an hour. David is truly a gifted speaker and I would highly recommend him to anyone interested in helping youth overcome the challenges facing them in society."
– Patricia Jones
State Abstinence Education Coordinator
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Center for Maternal and Child Health
"Hey david my name is Chelsea and you came to my school on 4/15/08. i go to the highland local schools a.k.a. the school out in the corn field. i just want you to know that you gave me something to think about, because all you hear at that school or even in this world is who i had sex with or who i'm going to have sex with or how someone is pregnant now. i was actually thinking about having sex for the first time until you came in and now i think i'm going to hold off until i'm married now, so i just want to
say THANK YOU!"
– High School Student
"There are not many speakers that can catch and maintain the attention of youth. David was dynamic and explosive in how he could relate to our kids. When a person can gain the attention of 923 high school students…that says a lot about the character and passion David brings when working with at-risk youth. Through his message, the youth gained hope, encouragement, confidence, and self worth. His message speaks truth and that defines him as genuine!"
– Victoria Holmes, Program Coordinator
Longview, Texas
"I think you did an excellent job... I've had lots of people come
into my class rooms and I've watched movies about how sex is bad for
you, but honestly, I never really listened. I didn't think it could
happen to me. You really had my attention while you were speaking. I
really appreciate you coming in and speaking to us, and I hope you keep
doing whatever it is you do to make people listen?"
– High School Student
"...I learned a lot of new things. ...The way that you got to
everyone is amazing. You were able to get everyone's attention and get
them to realize the facts. Thanks for coming in. It was fun."
– High School Student
"This is without a doubt, one of the best presentations I have had in 28 years of teaching... I believe he had a tremendous impact on my students."
– Dave Starling, High School Teacher
"It is with great pleasure that I write a recommendation for David and his youth outreach. I am the project director for a program that works with youth that are truly disadvantaged with high rates of poverty, food insecurity, low literacy, high rates of teen pregnancy (#18 out of 33 counties in a state that is #3 in the nation) and absent fathers (62% of births are to single women). He was able to captivate and inspire students who are typically skeptical of most adults. In a very short period of time he established their trust and I know many of these students continue to reach out to David. Without reservation David is one of the great speakers when it comes to youth and believe me I know after 12 years of contracting with motivational speakers. I look forward towards the next time we work together."
– Elizabeth Brewer- Beers, RN
Socorro General Hospital’s Health Family Initiative
Socorro, New Mexico
"David, today you visited Knox County Alternative Center in Mount Vernon Ohio. I have to say that everything that you spoke about really hit home for me, my sister Bethany is a teenage mother. I've watched her struggle trying to make ends meet for my nephew Braxton, as tough as it was though she stuck it out and finished school while being a single teenage mother.
Recently I really haven't been making the best decisions for my life, some of them do involve alcohol consumption, but after everything that you spoke about today it was like i was looking from the outside in so to speak. I've been thinking a lot about the freestyling that was done today and that was some of the deepest realist stuff i have heard in a while!
Basically I just wanted to thank you for visiting our school and talking to us. I really think that your presentation hit home for quite a few people, most of our adults don't really take the time to talk to us they only punish and move on to the next "problem child". Maybe they're not sure how to approach the situation, or maybe they made the same mistakes and didn't really learn from them, they just grew out of it. Whatever the cause though our adults don't really help us through it, and the ones that want to help we don't really take the time to listen and appreciate the knowledge they've given us. So to shorten this up thank you for taking the time to inform us on this knowledge to help us not become a statistic. Thank you for not just reading lines off of cards that you have memorized and for being able to actually relate to some situations, and thank you so much for opening my eyes and realizing that what I was doing was wrong and childish. Thank you so much."
– High School Student
"To be honest, before Dave came in, I didn't find anything wrong with premarital sex. But after he talked to us about STD's, my friends and I decided to practice abstinence until marriage. Dave made a strong impact on our lives..."
– High School Student
"David was a really good speaker and he caught everyone's attention. He related to the teenagers and we felt like he knew what it was like."
– High School Student
