Award-winning author Jack Sacco to speak at July 20 chamber luncheon
Los Angeles-area author and Birmingham native Jack Sacco will be the featured speaker at the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon Thursday, July 20. The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the TrussvilleCivic Center.
“I have the opportunity to go and speak all over the country, and it’s always especially heart-warming to be invited to speak in Alabama,” Sacco said. “It’s a great opportunity for me to meet people. I’m grateful to [chamber board member] Johnny [Amari] and [Executive Director] Diane [Poole] for the opportunity to get to know some of the business people in Trussville. I’m looking forward to speaking to them and sharing my story.”
Sacco plans to share the story behind writing his first book, “Where the Birds Never Sing,” and how he went from being a University of Notre Dame alum with an engineering degree to freelance television producer and screenwriter, before landing his book deal with Harper Collins Publishers.
The 2003 book tells the story of his father, Joe Sacco, growing up in Birmingham and receiving his draft letter during World War II, which sent him on a journey through France and Germany to be among the first to liberate the Dachau concentration camp with the 92nd Signal Battalion. Former Sen. Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican presidential nominee and WWII veteran, wrote the book’s forward.
“There’s some really interesting stories about connections through history that were made because of the book,” said Sacco, who said his father was able to reunite with Dachau survivors 60 years after their liberation.
In 2012, Sacco published another biographical book, “Above the Treetops,” about Southern author William Faulkner. Sacco is working on his first novel, “The Resurrection Sequence,” a fictional account of documentary filmmakers who uncover a murder while researching the Shroud of Turin. He said the novel is inspired by his own personal scientific research conducted on the Shroud of Turin, which is also the subject of a documentary screen play he is writing.
This month’s chamber luncheon will begin with a 30-minute network development time during which members and guests can network and exchange business cards with the estimated 80-100 individuals expected to attend. Prior to lunch, the chamber will honor its monthly Custom Service Award winners. Door prizes will also be given away.
To register, visit trussvillechamber.com, call June Mathews at 665-7535 or email june.mathews@trussvillechamber.com.
Cost is $17 (cash or check) or $17.34 if paying by credit or debit card (2 percent processing fee). Online registration closes at midnight Monday, July 17, but the chamber office will accept registration by phone until noon Tuesday, July 18. All non-members must pay in advance.
The address for the Trussville Civic Center is 5381Trussville-Clay Road.