Meeting/Event Information

Resiliency: One Man’s Story of Determination & Purpose

Rodney “Rocky” Sickmann is known as a United States Marine Corps Sergeant and P.O.W. and the author of Iranian Hostage: A Personal Diary of 444 Days in Captivity.  He retired from Anheuser-Busch InBev as the U.S. Director, Military and Industry Affairs and is a Senior VP for Folds of Honor.  

In 1979, just 15 days into his tour of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps at the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Rodney Rocky became a player in one of the most terrifying events in U.S. history. After months of turmoil, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun by militants, and its employees were taken captive.  

At the age of 22, Sergeant Rocky Sickmann was one of 65 Americans taken hostage. Sickmann remained a hostage for 444 days before being released on Jan. 21, 1981, following 14 months of diplomacy by President Jimmy Carter. While the events were dramatized by the movie Argo, Rocky’s book, Iranian Hostage, A Personal Diary, is considered the only first-person, real-time account of the ordeal.  

Three months later, Sickmann was Honorably Discharged after six years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Soon thereafter, Rocky began working in advertising for KMOX before transitioning to Anheuser-Busch (A-B). Rocky retired from A-B in 2016 after 34 years.  Sickmann served the company in Draught Operations, Wholesaler Training and Development, field-based retail sales, and training. 

He retired as the Director for Military and Industry Affairs at Anheuser-Busch InBev, where he oversaw all Military Special Events, Military and Industry Trade Media Publications, and National Industry Trade Shows. Throughout his career at Anheuser-Busch, Sickmann also played a key role in increasing Anheuser-Busch’s market penetration among the Military by training wholesalers, coordinating marketing and publicity, executing national sales promotions, and planning special military events. Sickmann helped coordinate the “Here’s to the Heroes Tour,” which salutes the men and women of the armed forces, allowing Americans to show their support for the troops via recorded messages filmed on location at community events, celebrations, and festivals nationwide and shared with U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In August 2016, Sickmann’s military and professional experience and passion for our armed forces led him to pursue an opportunity with his favorite non-profit organization, Folds of Honor (FoH). In his role, Sickmann will help advance the Folds mission: To stand in the financial gap of the more than one million dependents adversely affected by war, providing educational scholarships to the children and spouses of those killed or disabled while serving our nation. FoH has raised more than $250m and provided 54,000+ scholarships. 

Rocky will discuss unique insights and share stories from his military, private sector, and non-profit career in this unique, powerful, and purposeful keynote. 

Schedule
8:00 am Breakfast & Networking
8:30 am - 9:45 am Keynote Presentation

Fees
SHRM St. Louis Chapter Member - Included in Dues
Non-Chapter Member - $50

Thank You to Our Meeting Sponsor!