I love sharing positive stories about our state, and along with writing them, I also do a speaking tour telling of such. This year, I’ve already been guest speaker at seven venues and am scheduled for four more within the next few months. I expect even more will come.
My topic, “Shining Light on Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes,” is based mainly on selections from some 120 profiles of Kentucky individuals I’ve interviewed as part of my book series. I start talks by sharing my own background and the forces that led me to writing the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes books, then share selected stories.
I usually focus on about six or seven and have the flexibility to choose ones that connect to the geography of the particular audience. That helps create extra interest, along with keeping my mind “fresh” with new material. Audiences come from a mixed bag of venues and locations, including women’s clubs, seniors’ church groups, service organizations, chambers of commerce, and county extension groups. And there are occasionally requests to speak in elementary schools where I share selections from my Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes for Kids book.
Here’s a look at my seven speaking engagements since the start of the year, and I’ll share some special “Kentucky by Heart” moments.
On January 8, I met with the senior citizens’ group from the Tates Creek Christian Church, in Lexington. They were a warm, inviting bunch and on that day, the group also included residents from the local Sayre Christian Village (SCV) assisted living community. I like to arrive early at my venues to “stake out the territory” and meet folks I’ll be addressing. This would be no different. To me, it’s part of the whole process of connecting to one’s audience. It allowed me to reconnect with a few old friends, one of whom I knew at a church we both attended three decades ago. The talk, about 30 minutes long, seemed well-received, and a representative from SCV asked me to speak at their venue on March 4.
I spoke next to a sizeable and appreciative audience on February 17 at the Retired State Employees monthly meeting in downtown Frankfort. A well-respected local circuit court judge, Phillip Shepherd, attended, and I had a chance to chat with him for a few minutes. He seemed like a genuinely good guy as people say he is. I sold several books and one audience member asked me to tell a story I left out on this day—one that person heard me tell previously. I appreciated the gesture.
Then it was onto the engagement at Sayre on March 4. I would guess most in the audience were in their eighties, and only about a dozen were there when I started the talk. They seemed to listen carefully and sometimes would politely interrupt to share a personal connection with something I said. About halfway through the talk, other residents appeared, with some arriving in wheelchairs or other ambulatory help devices. I was pleasantly surprised when as I closed the talk, a person asked if I could tell even more stories. “We have nothing else to do,” the individual said. I happily obliged.
The talk at Wilmore on Sunday afternoon, March 22, left me with mixed feelings. In what I now know as a mistake, my contact and I scheduled the date without considering the fact that the UK Wildcats basketball team might be playing in the NCAA Tournament. The two events did, in fact, conflict, and a hoped-for crowd of 75 turned out to be 13, including my wife and me. I could sense that even those who attended had the game on their mind, though they were kind and gracious. Wilmore is a great town, and I hope to get another chance to speak there.
I looked forward to speaking in Cynthiana on March 31, and after doing so, I was not disappointed. The event was the annual Breakout Leadership Conference, and I served as the morning keynote speaker. After arriving at the renovated Rohs Opera House, I discovered that the audience of about 130 would include almost half of them teenagers from the local high school! Having prepped long and hard and expecting an older group, I delivered the talk I planned, especially praising Cynthiana folks of the past who showed remarkable servant leadership.
The message seemed to resonate — even with the several dozen youngsters seated there listening to a baby boomer — and a few even told me so afterward. Hopefully a person or two were inspired by local examples I presented to lead effectively in the future.
I traveled to Northern Kentucky, where I grew up, on May 6, speaking to the “New Friends of Northern Kentucky” group. I’m estimating there were about 80 or 90 in attendance at the Receptions Event Center on Donaldson Road. The positivity I observed with their membership was amazing, and one, Karen Martin, made a wonderful gesture. She created decorative bookmarks with individual names of over a hundred individuals included in my book series and handed them out to group members. That was a bona fide Kentucky by Heart moment. I won’t forget it.
Most recently, on May 11, I shared with the Woman’s Club of Frankfort, a group in existence since its incorporation in 1899. Besides the nice ambience of the old but well-kept building, the audience was also special. It consisted of about 20 women very involved with making their community better. They were friendly and reacted especially warmly to my remarks about a couple of everyday heroes from Frankfort, Mary Lynn Collins and Ramonde Jacques.
At this time, I’m scheduled for engagements in Cold Spring at the Campbell County Retired Teachers’ meeting, the Cedarhurst Assisted Living Community, in Lexington, the Colonial Daughters, in Paris, and in September, will speak at Alice Lloyd College on September 8. The variety of audiences and locations should bring plenty more memorable moments!
If you’re interested in having me share at YOUR group meeting, contact sflairty2001@yahoo.com.