(November 1, 2007) – Chris Gardner, author and philanthropist, shared his very personal story with hundreds of attendees at his hour-long General Session keynote address Thursday morning. The General Session kicked off the 25th annual International Autobody Congress & Exposition (NACE).

Gardner took listeners through a riveting journey, sharing details of how his marriage fell apart and how he and his toddler son became homeless, all while Gardner pursued his dream of becoming a successful father and stockbroker.

Gardner, whose amazing story was chronicled in his autobiography, “Pursuit of Happyness,” was also the inspiration for the movie “Pursuit of Happyness,” starring Will Smith. The book became a New York Times No. 1 bestseller, and the film – seen by 500 million moviegoers – spent nine weeks at No. 1 at the movie box office.

Before the movie was developed Gardner was approached by numerous people seeking to cash in on his life story. At one point he was presented with the idea of a reality TV show on the homeless. The concept was to have homeless “contestants” vying to win a $500,000 home and $500,000 in cash. The winner would be the homeless person who was most productive each episode. Gardner wouldn’t share details of the verbal exchange that followed, but he wasn’t shy about his displeasure.

“Homelessness is not a game, but if it is, I told him, ‘I already won, so send me my money,’ ” he recalled.

Gardner told attendees that many people ask him how became homeless. He simply replies, “Life happens.” In his case the circumstances that landed him on the street included quitting a job as a medical supply salesman to take a job with a brokerage firm, only to find out the person who had offered him the job was fired. Nobody at the firm knew he was being hired, “and nobody cared.” He found himself with bills to pay, a family to feed, and no job.

A series of odd jobs cutting grass, hauling rubbish, painting and more, put food on the table, but when police discovered he had $1,200 in unpaid parking tickets (accumulated while trying to learn the stockbroker trade) he was arrested and spent 10-day stay in jail.

He and his wife eventually split up, and his wife did not want to care for their son. Gardner found himself as a single parent, homeless, with a 14-month-old son.

Gardner said not knowing his own father, he made a promise to himself that when he became a father, he would always be there for his own children.

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