This past weekend has been pretty exciting for me in the public speaking arena. Last Thursday, I won second place in the Area 61 Toastmasters International Speech Contest in the Humorous Speech category, which means that if the first place winner can’t compete in the Division Competition on October 20th, I will step in. I also placed 3rd in the Table Topics category.

I’m grateful for the experience and happy with my performance. I was also proud to represent my club, the Helen Burkett Toastmasters Club in Falls Church, VA. This was a great learning experience, which has only fueled my drive to become a World Champion Public Speaker. Toastmasters Speech contest season resumes in the spring of 2017, and I’ll be back at it even better.

This past Saturday, I attended my first monthly meeting of the Washington, DC Chapter of the National Speakers Association’s Chapter Academy. The morning speaker was former NBA player and world-renowned motivational speaker Walter Bond. What an honor and pleasure it was to meet this man and listen to his words of wisdom and encouragement.