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The Unstoppable Jeff Brucculeri

By Elissa K. Harvill

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Click Photo to Enlarge Quick plug for GEBC: If you're going to be in Tulsa on the first Tuesday of the month, consider joining ORU alumni and business types at this always-inspiring networking luncheon. RSVP and get details by calling the Alumni Office at 918.495.6610. You too can get motivated by successful alumni and friends of ORU--like Jeff Brucculeri.

Click Photo to Enlarge A modern-day Renaissance man, Brucculeri actually designed this "Yippee" costume, which he donned (for 11 years!) to cheer on the Expos.

Click Photo to Enlarge "We need a relationship with God to be whole," Brucculeri told his audience.

Jeff Brucculeri is what some might call an enabler. He's been a mascot for minor league baseball and basketball, served as a chapel leader with Baseball Chapel, educated and informed as a radio and TV talk show host, and been a motivational speaker. In fact, he was the special guest speaker at the ORU Alumni Association's April 4 Golden Eagle Business Connection luncheon.

Perhaps it was growing up in Lucille Ball's hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., that caused Brucculeri to turn comic. The boy who was entertained by watching garbage get picked up and crushed turns out to be a man who entertains easily, whether the job requires him to motivate a crowd, address a radio audience, or animate a giant furry costume.

"I thought a guy dancing around in some stupid costume making people laugh--now, that was an awesome job!" Brucculeri said. So, to the Jamestown Expos he went, determined to be their mascot. After a lot of convincing, fundraising, and collaborating with a seamstress, "Yippee" was born. Brucculeri worked for the Expos for 11 years. "Montreal thought I was hilarious...I didn't take no for an answer."

Determination was the second of the "5 D's of Dynamic Living" which Brucculeri elucidated for GEBC attendees. The first was desire. "The first step toward obtaining anything is to have a desire for it," he said. "If we never had a desire to do anything, we would never do or be anything."

It's interesting to think about how many of the fun jobs in existence today were created by people who made them happen because they couldn't imagine doing anything else. But wanting to do something is not enough. As Brucculeri explained, you've got to have dedication and discipline.

"If you want to be great at whatever you do, you have to be committed to that certain thing. And the sooner you commit, the quicker you're going to achieve that goal, and the greater the chance is that you're going to be very successful."

As for discipline, Brucculeri shared, "We actually started the [ORU] soccer team in '84-- just getting out of aerobics points and doing the three-mile run was huge! All I heard was practice, practice, PRACTICE! I also play trumpet. That's what discipline is."

In addition to practicing what he preaches, Brucculeri is a fan of teaching tapes. "Never stop learning," he implored. "I learn so much just by listening to my own show."

"To me personally, the first four D's are great, but leave a hole without deity," he shared. Having had the opportunity to meet with several very successful celebrities, Brucculeri has observed a common void in the lives of those who don't know God. "There's an emptiness there, and they don't even know why they're doing what they're doing or how they got there," he said. "We need a relationship with God to be whole and to see us through the bad times and the failures as well as our successes."

Brucculeri's show, Tuned-In to Success, can be heard live on the Internet at www.1300kakc.com weekdays from 9 to 11 a.m. Central time. He can also be seen and heard providing traffic reports on several radio and TV stations in Tulsa.

To view a list of Brucculeri's upcoming guests on Tuned-in to Success, visit http://tunedintosuccess.com. To book him for a speaking engagement, e-mail him at pronounce@go.com.

Brucculeri is a member of the Class of 1986.