News from NSA Virginia

NSA Communicator

A Newsletter for Members of NSA VA

June 2012

In This Issue

Accelerate Your Business!

Look Who Made it to National!

NSA Notables

Tools of the Trade

ProTrack Report

Upcoming Events

Board Members

Quick Links

Register Now for the June Workshop

More About Us

Newsletter Coordinator:

Joan Bowling

We appreciate any comments, article submissions and other ideas.

Unleashing Your Inner Comedian! The Art of Being Funny Without Telling Jokes

Avish Parashar Guess what? You (yes you) are funny! You just may not know it yet...In this interactive program, you will use ideas and exercises from improvisational comedy to remove your "humor blocks," discover and develop your own natural senses of humor, and then learn techniques to weave that humor into your presentations.

Avish Parashar is the Motivational Smart Ass. As a speaker and on his blog, Avish makes people laugh while sharing with them simple ideas to make their lives easier and more successful.

Watch this video for a Message from Motivational Humorist Avish Parashar about the June 15th Meeting!

Click HERE to register for the June 15th Workshop.

And be sure to mark your calendar for "Speaker Idol" following the Workshop!

If you are interested in learning more about ProTrack and possibly participating next year, you need to attend the Virginia Idol Event in Richmond in June at the DoubleTree Hotel at the airport. The program will start at 1:30 and there is no charge. You'll get a chance to see the program in operation and the results of what participants have achieved over the year

Accelerate Your Business! What Patrick Henry, Vernice Armour and Sarah Michel Have in Common

By Mary Foley

As someone who lives in Virginia, the name Patrick Henry conjures up the American forefather whose last statement at the end of a rousing speech changed the tide of colonists' attitude towards the British. You know the line - "Give me liberty, or give me death!"

So, what in the world do Patrick Henry, Vernice Armour and Sarah Michel have in common? The 2012 NSA Annual Convention this July 14-17 in Indianapolis!

2012 NSA Convention Chair Patrick Henry

Seriously. You see the 2012 NSA Convention Chair is none other than speaker Patrick Henry. Take a look at the quick video and you can imagine that this Patrick Henry could say "Give me ways to accelerate my speaking career, or give me a ticket home!" One of the general session keynotes (to over 1200) is Vernice "Fly Girl" Armour who shared to one of our biggest audiences at the February NSA VA chapter meeting. And, if you made our May meeting you heard about meeting trends from meeting planner and speaker Sarah Michel, who is a major part of the convention's new Learning Lounge with 15 - 18 min "power talks" spread across a ballroom. I'd like to think that NSA VA gave the big dogs some practice before they rock it at 2012 NSA Convention!

So, have you decided to attend the convention? Have you even looked into it

You only have a few days until June 20th to get the Advanced Rate so make sure to take a look at the Full Scheduleto see all the topics and presenters. In fact, even if you CAN'T GO to the convention, take a look because the topics covered at convention give you an indication of what's happening in the speaking profession and skills you need to have to stay useful and relevant.

If you can go, register online ASAP or call NSA at (480) 968-2552. And just like at the Indianapolis 500 race event, get a move on!

Look Who Made it to National!

Congratulations!!

to Nancy Giere for earning her way

to National NSA membership.

Congratulations on a job well done.

What's so great about National? She is, of course!

NSA Virginia Notables

Cathy Lewis has been named one of the 75 Most Powerful People in Hampton Roads by Inside Business magazine for the second year. She was also recognized as one of the Influential Women of Virginia by Virginia Lawyer's Weekly.

Tools of the Trade

It's Summertime! Time to get out of the kitchen and onto your deck for grilling season. And, keeping in line with "tools of the trade" here are some tech tools to help keep your grilled foods hot, your guests happy and you, the cool and collected host with the most!

iGrill - $80.00 If you have an iPhone, iPad, the iGrill is the easiest and most affordable high-tech way to get your grill on without missing the party. Paired with a free app, this multiple meat thermometer gives you a dashboard gauge of how the cooking is coming along, from as far away as 200 feet! It sends an alarm when you need to check the grill, and helps you cook like a king, even when you're totally distracted by the poolside cannonball contest.

www.marshmallowstix.com - Ok, it's not a tech tool but a delicious tool to easily handle making s'mores; once all those hamburgers and hotdogs have been eaten. You can make perfect s'mores in just minutes with no mess. Just stack up your classic ingredients - graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows - close the cover and you're all set for a sweet melted treat. Wouldn't you like s'more?

www.TED.com/TEDx - and while you're chatting around the pool, make sure that everyone is tuned into TED. Click on www.TED.com to find free videos on technology, design, business and global issues. For a live experience designed to stimulate dialogue on a local level, you'll want to check out TEDx events, inspired by TED's mission - "ideas worth spreading".

ProTrack Report

By Ron Chapman, CPLP

The May session of ProTrack was started off with great news. David Newman, CSP, has agreed to provide a coaching package worth more than $1,000 as one of the prizes. As I was getting ready to announce that excellent donation to the attendees, Greg Williams, our chapter speaker for May, said that we shouldn't be satisfied with $1,000 and promptly donated $1,100 of products and services.

That means that at our Virginia Idol Competition in June, including the $1,000 cash from the chapter, there will be three prizes of $1,000 or more! And, we are not done collecting prizes! Darren LaCroix, World Speaking Champion, Scott Halford, Avish Parasher and Sarah Michele have committed to donating prizes to our event. There are others who we have not heard back from as yet.