Abilene nonprofit Global Samaritan Resources will bring one of the most famous women in America to Abilene in the fall.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will speak at the Abilene Civic Center Nov. 18 at an event sponsored by Global Samaritan and all three local private universities.

“A couple of months ago we reached out to her representatives,” said Danny Sims, executive director of Global Samaritan Resources. “After that I wrote her a hand-written letter describing what we do at Global Samaritan Resources and within 24 hours I had a response from Dr. Rice agreeing to come and speak for us.”

Rice was the second African-American to be the Secretary of State, but the first black woman to hold the office.

Rice will address “How Ordinary People can make an Extraordinary Difference.” Rice is the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

“We thought Dr. Rice was a great fit for a lecture about people helping people, which is what we do at Global Samaritan Resources,” Sims said. “The title of the lecture is a play off of her best-selling memoirs titled ‘Extraordinary Ordinary People.’ We will have a lecture with a discussion and question-and-answer session for 30 minutes after Dr. Rice is finished with her lecture.”

Global Samaritan Resources is hoping to sell out the 2,000 available spots in the lecture this fall and raise awareness about what Global Samaritan Resources does for the Abilene community and around the world.

Global Samaritan Resources focuses on four platforms: Humanitarian aid, water, food and disaster services. It is an interdenominational non-profit organization based in Abilene that collects surplus supplies and distributes these supplies around Abilene and the world. The organization is also involved in purifying water around the world.

“With the lecture, we are hoping to engage as many people as possible,” Sims said. “We are also looking to raise friends and funds through the event.”