Skip Navigation Links

Motivtional speaker gives talk at Fieldcrest South

Friday, January 30, 2015 - Posted 12:39:38 PM by Dave Uphoff
Motivational speaker Eric Elliott spoke at Fieldcrest South Friday morning about his experiences in overcoming a brain tumor. The talk was especially poignant to the students as their fellow classmates, Bryce and Alex McKay, are suffering from a brain tumor.

Mr. Elliott told how he suffered from double vision and headaches before he was diagnosed with an orange sized brain tumor. He went on to describe his recovery and achieving his life long goal of playing college basketball.

He now lives in Normal, IL and gives motivational talks. A movie of his battle to recover from a brain tumor has been made into a movie called "Hoovey" which is his nick name given to him as a child when his little sister ran over his arm with a Hoover vacuum cleaner and had to be taken to the hospital.

The movie "Hoovey" is produced by Disney and will be showing starting this weekend at the Normal Theatre in Normal and will run for one week. The movie will be shown at various schools and churches until April when it will be released to the general public.

Eric is the son of Jeff and Ruth Elliott who are former Minonk residents. His grandfather, Rev. James Elliott, was pastor at St. Paul's United Church of Christ in the 1960's.


To see a video of Eric's talk, click here.



Children gather to listen to Eric Elliott in the Fieldcrest South gym.



Eric Elliott poses next to a banner for Bryce and Alex McKay who are being treated for brain tumors at St. Jude's.