Finding the funny in a speaker’s life
Those Were the Days
It was 1975, NSA’s first conven- tion at Phoenix’s Camelback Inn. Sixty-two attendees were making their way out of a cowboy steak- house after a fabulous dinner. I can still see NSA founder Cavett
Robert, CSP, CPAE, running down the
hill waving the restaurant bill in the air
and yelling, “It’s Dutch, it’s Dutch…it’s
supposed to be Dutch!”
Shortly after that, I was hired as
NSA’s first executive vice president to
keep tabs on everything at NSA.
For our second convention, we
doubled the attendance at 150. The
program featured the legendary Dr.
Charles Jarvis, a dentist from San
Marcos, Texas. It took Bob Bale, CPAE,
a full 19 minutes to introduce him.
Some things never change with speakers!
You can listen to Dr. Jarvis’s presentation
at www.speakertools.com/Jarvis.
In 1977, we were 300 strong at NSA’s
third convention at the Arizona Biltmore
Hotel. The master of ceremonies, Robert
Henry, CSP, CPAE, stole the show with
his entertaining southern drawl and
humor. Dick Semann, CPAE, led the
invocation quoting his touching
signature poem, which earned
him a standing ovation.
“I can still see NSa founder
Cavett robert, CSP, CPae,
running down the hill
waving the restaurant bill
in the air and yelling, “It’s
Dutch, it’s Dutch … it’s supposed to be Dutch!”
By the time the featured banquet
speaker was introduced, everyone was
primed for more humor. Unfortunately,
the speaker was not. Although he had
lofty credentials, it was obvious this first-time NSA speaker couldn’t fill the bill.
He quietly checked out of the hotel at
6 a.m. the next day—never to be seen
again at NSA.
The 1978 convention was at the Galt
House Hotel in Louisville, Ky. The first
morning featured
a program
on the
“Belle of
Louisville”
paddle-
wheel. We
checked out
the sound system
in dry dock
beforehand and it
worked perfectly.
But once everyone
boarded the “Belle,”
the sound of
the engine,
paddlewheel
and other
noises almost
drowned
out our
humorous speaker. But even with poor
sound, Roy Hatten, CSP, CPAE, gave a
rousing speech. The bloody Marys may
have helped, too!
