November 14, 2007
1st national awareness day
to honor Cavett Robert’s legacy
of sharing and giving
BY LORRI ALLEN AND LINDA SWINDLING, JD, CSP
Want to know why this year’s
theme is NSA Rocks?
“One reason is the giving and mentoring spirit of our members,” says NSA
President Mark LeBlanc. “There is a
real sense of advocacy.” Even newcomers notice that our association is less
competitive and more helpful than
any they’ve experienced. This sense
of community was envisioned from the
start by NSA’s founding members, led
by Cavett Robert. And it all has to do
with pie.
You can’t be around NSA very long
before hearing about “a bigger pie.”
Think back to the first time you heard
that phrase. You may have wondered,
“How do you build a bigger pie?” It’s a
question many of us have asked. The
answer holds the key to our organization’s giving reputation.
The pie analogy is explained in the
book about NSA’s Founder, Cavett
Robert: Leaving a Lasting Legacy:
“Years ago, there was a feeling that only
a certain number of speeches and seminars could be made each year at conventions . . . the pie was just so big.
Anytime a speaker secured an engagement, it cut down the number of
remaining slices for other speakers. But
NSA has increased the size of the pie.
Every time a presenter does a good job,
he or she increases the size of the pie.”
To honor Cavett and continue
NSA’s legacy of sharing and giving,
President LeBlanc and the Board of
Directors have designated Nov. 14,
2007 as the first Spirit of NSA Day, a
national day of advocacy encouraging
NSA members to support one another.
The date has special meaning because
it is the 100th anniversary of
Cavett’s birthday.
This year, and every year, November
14, will serve as a reminder to NSA
members, encouraging them to:
• focus on giving back
• provide genuine support to speaking
colleagues
• take time to connect, help, mentor or
refer business to other members without any expectation of reciprocation
Many members already follow
Cavett’s role model. However, imagine
the strength of spirit and growth of our
profession if all of our members focus
on unconditionally giving of themselves
to our community on this day.
In Leaving a Lasting Legacy, Cavett
wrote about his Mississippi childhood
and celebrating birthdays: “Birthdays
were another big tradition, and you
made a big to-do over someone’s birthday,” he recalled. “Cavett would’ve
loved the fact that we are celebrating
his birthday with advocacy and encouragement. I expect this special day will
grow from year to year, and I’m excited
to see how our members show their
spirit on November 14,” LeBlanc says.
Cavett is known for his encouragement and for eliminating the feeling of
competition among speakers by building a bigger pie for everyone. What better way to keep making a bigger NSA
pie than to focus our members’ attention on introducing colleagues to
clients, referring business or mentoring
emerging speakers?
GET THE SPIRIT
Give Cavett a bigger pie for his birthday
and continue the NSA legacy of community by participating in the first
Spirit of NSA day on Nov. 14, 2007! For
more information about how members
around the country are participating in
this inaugural day of advocacy, please
visit the Spirit of NSA section at
www.mynsa.org.
