Youth Leadership Keynote Speaker Tanner Clark at Tennessee Teen Institute Summer Camp
BLOWN AWAY! I didn’t know what to expect when the Tennessee Teen Institute hired me to keynote one of their sessions. I walked in for the sound check and the youth advisors were already bringing it — full energy, camp songs, changes, did I say full energy? Before a single student had even found their seat, I remember thinking, “What is happening here? This is going to be an event!”
That was Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at the Tennessee Teen Institute on the University of Tennessee–Martin campus. TTI is a five-day summer for Tennessee Youth camp built around prevention and leadership — teens and advisors from all over the state, working through everything from substance abuse prevention to mental health to making good decisions, then taking action plans back to their own schools. The Tennessee Teen Institute was especially meaningful to me because we lived in Chattanooga Tennessee for four year. In fact, my youngest son was born in Tennessee. Iwas the morning keynote that day, in front of about 600 teens and advisors, with workshops to follow that afternoon.
The Energy at Tennessee Teen Institute was a Keynote Speakers Dream
As a youth leadership keynote speaker, I've spoken at a lot of summer camps, conventions, and school assemblies but nothing (so far) has matched the energy of the Teen Institute. You can usually tell within the first few minutes backstage what the vibe will be and whether a room is going to show up for you. At TTI, I didn't even need the first few minutes — the advisors told me everything I needed to know before I ever picked up a microphone. That kind of energy from the youth advisors and adults set the tone for everyone else.
Why the Tennessee Teen Institute Booked Tanner Clark as their Keynote Speaker
Wednesday's theme was making good decisions — in driving and in life. TTI runs a different focus each day of the camp, and this one was built around the choices that actually shape a life, the split-second kind and the slow-building kind both. I didn’t lecture the youth on driving. I talked about choices. I shared with them the power they have in One Second of Strength to make the right choices in their life.
Teaching 600 Teens the Difference Between a Good Choice and a Great Choice
Remember the movie Toy Story? Right at the end of the first movie when Woody and Buzz are on the back of ‘RC’ the remote control car and trying to catch up to the moving truck. Not only is that about driving but it’s about distraction and what happens when we lose sight of what matters most. Right at the end, Woody says, "Hey Buzz, we missed the truck." And Buzz says, "We're not aiming for the truck."
That's the whole lesson. It's not really about a truck, and for this crowd, it wasn't really about a car either, even though the RC car made it feel like it fit the day's theme perfectly. Woody got distracted by the truck instead of what mattered most - getting back to Andy. I wanted teens to really think about their choices and how the wrong choice is the difference between good and great or worse, a huge mistake or moving forward.
What Tennessee Teens Learned from Summer Camp Speaker Tanner Clark
The One Second of Strength Mindset to make the shifts in life they need to make
The difference between a good choice and a great choice, and permission to aim higher than "back to normal"
A reminder that their uniqueness isn't a weakness, it's their strength
A framework they can actually take back to their own schools, since that's the whole point of TTI's action-plan model
How Tennessee Teens Reacted to the One Second of Strength Mindset
One student came up to me afterward and quoted a line straight back to me: "Your uniqueness isn't a weakness, it's your strength. That's an incredible quote. I wrote it down." That's always the moment that tells me something actually landed, when a kid hands you your own words back like they've already made them theirs.
The room backed that up in a different way too — over 60 teens and advisors filled out a form afterward asking me to come speak at their own school.
Kristi Townes, who brought me out to TTI, put it simply afterward: "I will definitely have him come back. He was wonderful. He was very approachable and his information was very on target. "
Thank You, Tennessee Teen Institute!
A huge thank you to Kristi Townes for bringing me into this year's institute, and to every advisor who showed up with that much energy before I'd even said a word. And to the 600 teens in that room on Wednesday: You are always one second of strength away from a completely different life. You’ll never regret making the right choice.
Invite Top Youth Leadership Keynote Speaker Tanner Clark to Your Teen Institute, Summer Camp, or Youth Conference
If you're running a youth leadership camp, teen Institute, or youth conference and want a keynote that gives your students something they'll actually carry home, I'd love to be considered. Call (877) 528-9061, Monday–Friday 8 AM–5 PM CT, or fill out the form at onesecondofstrength.com/booktanner.
One Second Can Change Everything.
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