Academy Award-winner Lou Gossett, Jr. to give keynote addiction lecture at HGTC

Anyone interested in learning more about addiction and recovery from a celebrity, free of charge, is invited to an annual series put on by a local professor.

Lou Gossett Jr., an academy award-winning actor known for his role in “An Officer and a Gentleman,” will give the keynote address during the 2016 Addiction and Recovery Lecture Series at Horry Georgetown Technical College.

The series – founded by professor Casey King nine years ago – provides a foundation for those looking to fight addiction and substance abuse, King said.

“Inviting famous speakers who have overcome addiction attracts many people to the college campus and provides a starting point for many who dream of fighting alcohol and drug addiction but don’t have the right support to do so,” King said.

Gossett will keynote the event at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 in the Burroughs and Chapin Auditorium on HGTC’s Conway campus.

King, who teaches astronomy, physics and math at HGTC, said he started the series because he’s in long-term recovery and wanted to give others hope.

“I found myself in this position to do something, and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and that’s why I keep doing it,” he said.

Other series speakers include Kevin McCauley, a national specialist in addiction therapy, a news release said. McCauley will present at 7 p.m., March 3 on concepts and practices in addiction recovery management. Topics will include recovery residences, recovery and drug testing coaches, support groups and addiction medicine specialists.

Last year’s talk by Meredith Baxter – of “Family Ties” fame – filled the Burroughs and Chapin Auditorium and two additional classrooms, King said. The series’ popularity stems from the honesty and openness of the lectures about topics that tend to be “shuffled under the rug.”

The honesty of a celebrity’s struggles with addiction is also key, King said.

“What you’ll find is, when you take away all the celebrity status and you take away anything that separates us from them, you’ll see they’re just like everybody else,” he said.

Two more lectures will follow:

• A panel of HGTC students, faculty and staff who are in recovery from addiction; 7 p.m. March 10
• A showing of McCauley’s presentation, “Memo to Self: Protecting Sobriety with the Science of Safety,” followed by a discussion; 7 p.m. March 17

All events are free and open to the public, and all lectures will be preceded by a free dinner at Cafe 1100 at 6 p.m. For more information contact Casey King at 843-349-5378, or casey.king@hgtc.edu.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Academy Award-winner Lou Gossett, Jr. to give keynote addiction lecture at HGTC."