Professional Speaker / Gary McKechnie

(More than you expected to know...)
ABOUT GARY

By trusting my instincts and pursuing my passions, I’ve created a life filled with multiple careers, from stand-up comedian to award-winning travel writer; from two-time National Geographic author to writing the nation’s best-selling motorcycle guidebook; from running for office to owning and operating a bed and breakfast.

I’ve also embarked on countless adventures and pursuits including backpacking across Europe, motorcycling across America, cruising the world, founding non-profits, commissioning a sculpture of a very courageous woman, teaching students history and civics in Washington, D.C., writing and producing training videos, taking the stage at conferences and conventions, and addressing international audiences as a speaker with the Cunard Lines’ prestigious Insights Series.

As a lifelong learner driven by an insatiable curiosity, I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Liberal Studies. 

Author: Great American Motorcycle Tours • USA 101 • Ten Best of Everything: National Parks • Million Dollar Frauds • A Brief History of Mount Dora

Interests: Music • Motorcycling • Travel • Reading • History • Learning

FAVORITES

BOOKS

Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes

The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck

The Innocents Abroad
Mark Twain

Truman
David McCullough

The Iliad
Homer

The Cat in the Hat
Dr. Seuss

Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck

FILMS

A Hard Day's Night
(1964)

Casablanca
(1941)

It's a Wonderful Life
(1946)

The Thin Man
(1934)

Rashomon
(1950)

La Strada
(1954)

All Quiet on the Western Front
(1931)

MUSICIANS

The Beatles

Buddy Holly

Elvis Costello

Elvis Presley

Nana Mouskouri

Devo

Aterciopelados

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Los Lobos

Chuck Berry

Johnny Cash

TELEVISION

The Andy Griffith Show

Leave it to Beaver

Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Office

Frasier

I Love Lucy

The Twilight Zone

Championship Wrestling from Florida

MOTORCYCLE TOURS

Western Michigan

Kansas-Nebraska

Montana

Pacific Coast Highway

Arizona-Utah

Northern Italy/Switzerland

Vermont/New Hampshire

The Desi Arnaz Historic Marker Project

To recognize Desi Arnaz’s contributions to America, I led the effort to place a Florida Historic Marker in Miami Beach; the city where the penniless teenage refugee arrived from Cuba in 1935. Weeks after the marker’s dedication, the mayor and city council recognized my three-year quest by proclaiming November 4th ‘Gary McKechnie Day’ in the City of Miami Beach.

Desi Marker-690x800
Proclamation 2
Proclamation 1