Successful Meetings - December 2008 - (Page 31)

DAVID MILN SMITH Fee: $5,000 The “athlete-as-motivator” may seem a touch cliche, but when that athlete is the first man to swim from Africa to Europe (which he did not once, but twice), has kayaked 2,000 miles down the Nile River, trekked through the Sahara Desert alone, and run 25 miles over the Khyber Pass linking Afghanistan and Pakistan, perhaps he’s worth listening to for his advice on overcoming the seemingly impossible. “I have hired David Miln Smith numerous times over the last 10 years and I am amazed at his remarkable ability to connect his life experiences with a broad range of my boomer clients. His message is timeless and method of communicating is inspiring,” says Steven Hoffman, of Steven Hoffman Consulting in Mill Valley, CA. As Smith has explained: “I realized that just because everyone thought something to be true, I didn’t have to buy into his or her beliefs. I had a dream, turned the dream into a goal, and wrote down the list of what needed to be done.” Smith has for some time used his fortitude to encourage and inspire others. In addition to speaking to corporate and association groups, he also works with ex-convicts through the Northern California Service League Life Skills Program, which teaches conflict resolution, teambuilding, and other skills to help participants find and keep jobs. Contact: Speak Inc., (858) 228-3771* BOB ASH Fee: $4,000 Ash, as a former teacher, principal, and superintendent, is adept at keeping the attention of restless and rambunctious groups, and he estimates that he has spoken to over 1,200 organizations and 320,000 individuals since founding his company, Life Lessons, in 1995. Through Life Lessons, he aims to provide actionable, useful, and memorable information to attendees. Ash’s presentations cover Personal Growth (e.g. Priorities and Possibilities: A Lifetime of Choices), Organizational Culture (e.g. Creating and Maintaining a Dynamic Workplace), Managing Change and Promoting Creativity (e.g. Managing Difficult People and Issues), and Leadership (e.g. Becoming an Ethical Leader). In an effort to keep his fees low, Ash prefers to book multiple engagements per plane ticket, and he can adapt all topics to half-day or full-day seminars. “He is one of the most wonderful people to work with that you could ever ask for,” says Beth Hastings, planner for the North Carolina Association of CPAs, who had Ash speak at her 2008 Fall John Chappelear delivers a great presentation for a great price Past clients have included the Society for Human Resource Management, Amtrak, Meeting Professionals International, and Hyatt Hotels. Says David G. Speck, managing director with Wachovia Securities, “Any business or organization that values its bottom line, but not at the sacrifice of the quality of its work environment or the core values of its employees, should set aside an hour and invite him to share his thoughts and insights. It will be time and money well spent.” Contact: Gold Stars Speakers Bureau, (800) 844-4384* SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS DECEMBER 2008 successfulmeetings.com 31 http://www.successfulmeetings.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - December 2008

Successful Meetings - December 2008 Contents Editor's Note Corporate Events On the Record Calendar Research Planner Spotlight Personal Success Technology Talk Food & Beverage Professional Development Quick Tip Tools of the Trade On Site: Retire Those Tired Power-Point Slides On Site: 12 Tips for Thriving on a South African Safari Deep Impact Recession-Friendly Speakers Showing Off Hawaii Insert Places & Spaces Mississippi Gulf Coast Fort Worth South Florida Beijing Gurus

Successful Meetings - December 2008

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