Recommendations for Mike Koelzer, Speaker:
"We are grateful to Mike for sharing his story at our Respect Life Fair. He brought out points from his experience regarding contraception that many of us had never considered. Mike gave us much to ponder in our hearts. We are thankful for his charity and courage to speak on this topic and to living it in his life. Mike was pleasant and easy to work with in coordinating our event. We highly recommend him to other groups. Thank you,Mike." Rebecca Pearson, Respect Life Coordinator St. Margaret Catholic Church, Otsego, MI
"Thank you for speaking at our Totus Tuus Family Conference and for sharing your inspirational story of overcoming evil with good. Your witness to truth was powerful and moving in a time when so many compromise truth, especially in the way of contraceptives. Your story is one of faith, conviction, and action – a living example of the Gospel – to follow Christ and His ways, come what may and to put action behind words. May God bless you abundantly for following Him. God bless you and your work." Theresa Schmitz, Director Events, Catholic Familyland, Bloomingdale, OH
"Mike shared from his heart his story in a very effective style that made you think. Even if you didn't agree with his conclusions you were still left the presentation as a friend. New ideas need to be "processed" over time so having a presentation that isn't confrontational is more likely to be more effective in the long run. I enthusiastically recommend Mike as a speaker."
Fred Eckel, R.Ph., Executive Director, Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, West Palm Beach, FL
"Our thanks to Mike for taking time out of his very busy schedule to speak to our group. Everyone, including Bishop John Steinbock, was pleased with his talk and found it to be a very informative subject which led to many questions -- a sign of a good speaker. May God continue to inspire Mike is his good convictions, and his faith-filled mission." Frank (and Mary) Borges, Founder & CEO, National Catholic Professional & Business Clubs, Fresno, CA
"In a time when we are all plain scared about the direction pro-life efforts will take, pharmacist Mike Koelzer offered a bit of Hope.
Reading about Mr. Koelzer on a pro-life pharmacy website, members of Cleveland Lawyers for Life decided he would inspire our members. We contacted him and he agreed to come to CLEVELAND (!) to address us on Wednesday, November 19, 2008.
Something lawmakers could never write, lawyers could never argue, and judges could never enforce is a love and respect for life from the inside; core respect that makes external laws irrelevant.
Mike told us his story and we learned that he began living his respect and love for life the day his cousin’s comment about Life made him go back and re-read the package insert on a box of birth control pills he’d been selling for years.
Now, no matter what man-made law is on the books, he will never sell chemicals to destroy or hinder human life.
Society sells us a lie about human life. Mike saw through it. He shared the story of his own epiphany, a moving conversation with his father (the co-owner of the pharmacy) and his current humble approach to living out the respect for Humanae Vitae that God intended.
Cleveland Lawyers for Life is indebted to Mike Koelzer for sharing his journey, his strength and commitment to Human Life. We hope man-made laws never challenge his business. If they do, though, we know who will win…" Marilyn M. Crisafi, Esq., Vice-President, Cleveland Lawyers for Life, OH
"Mike was a great speaker for our newly established club, because he addressed a very important pro-life issue that all students will have to address sooner or later. In addition to the students, I also received rave reviews from other members of the mixed audience which included faculty, staff, and community members. Mike was able to open their eyes to the truth by telling his very personal story and how his pro-life beliefs have affected him professionally. His story is fascinating, and it reminded everyone how they have to be seekers of this truth and followers of their hearts by listening to that quiet little whisper no matter what the price -- even when it affects your family relationships and your pocketbook. I admire Mike's courage and willingness live out Matthew 5:13-16: You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? ... You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Mike challenges all of us to live out our Baptismal calling no matter where the Lord has planted us or what our vocation! I'm very grateful the Lord gave us the grace to hear the remarkable story of his pro-life journey of faith."
Cathy Bell, Advisor, Students For Life, Clemson University, SC
"Mike Koelzer, is a father, businessman, leader, friend and above all he is a disciple of Christ. He sends a clear and powerful message to his audience that the use and sale of contraceptives is wrong. This message has not been well received in this secular world but, with the faith of Christ, he perseveres on."
Stefan Zollinger, President, Students For Life, Clemson University, SC
"I've heard Mike on the Catholic radio station here in Cincinnati several times promoting his work as a pro-life pharmacist. Certainly, the Church could use more of her lay members taking seriously the call to be a People of Life."
Fr. Kyle Schnippel, Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, OH
“The military recognizes seven core values essential in an effective leader: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Mike Koelzer, has demonstrated all seven virtues in his role as a father, a business-owner and as a man. His loyalty to God and country, in that order, were the seeds of those virtues and we have all benefited from them. He exemplifies the American businessman of recent memory in ethics, morals and character. His has become a life of heroic self-sacrifice in the pursuit of living out his baptismal vows. No one could ask for a better friend. He is my hero.”
Patte Gradwell, formerly of ProLifeSearch.com, PA
“Mike is a very articulate individual who is passionate, while not bombastic, about what he believes is right. Those beliefs serve as the foundation of his life and are clearly manifested in how he conducts his professional life.”
Fr. Dick Thibodeau, Redemptorist Pastor, Chicago, IL
“Mike Koelzer is the rare business owner who 'puts his money where his mouth is'. As a pharmacist-owner of his own business, he has put his own financial future at risk in order to practice pharmacy fully in accordance with his ethical and religious ideals. There are few people, even among religious clergy, who conduct their lives with this degree of self consistency. For this reason alone, it's worth taking the time to hear Mike speak. Mike's conclusions concerning birth control also relate directly to women's heath and quality of life. Therefore, women and those who love them should take time to hear what Mike has to say about these important issues."
Karen Brauer, President, Pharmacists for Life International, OH
"Mike speaks with deep sincerity, with clarity, and with flexibility. As a Pharmacist he knows his subject and as a caring, loving, husband/father and as an American citizen he is very concerned about the evils we face today. I greatly admire Mike for putting his life on the line and for standing up and going public. He not only speaks about this evil he has confronted, but has also taken a firm stand on the importance of family values in our homes, in our communities, and our nation at large.
God Bless You Mike.
Paul Meisner, Knights of Columbus, SC
"Walk the talk" - this is the unmistakable lesson learned from
an hour with Mike. In the struggle to find a relationship
between one's work and one's purpose, his story reveals the
gentle and patient way we are challenged to become a light in
the world.
Ron Baltruweit, Founder "Instruction to John Society" Greenville SC
"My bias is that being pro-life must go beyond matters of the heart and mind; it requires a response. Mike Koelzer believes the same. He is pro-life, not just in word but also in deed. Acting under conviction by God, Mike pulled every birth control pill from the shelves of his pharmacy and refused to sell them any longer.
Mike tells this story with a wonderful mixture of truth and love…as well as great passion. Mike spoke at our Kick-off Rally for the Grand Rapids 40 Days for Life campaign and my only regret was we didn’t give him more time! When you hear Mike, you will be challenged to listen to—and obey—God’s voice, asking, “What would you have me do, Lord?" " Jim Sprague, 40 Days for Life Campaign Director, Executive Director, Pregnancy Resource Center of Grand Rapids