Jason Jett
Education Chair
| Keynote Speakers |
| Area Council Keynote – Sallie Spradlin-Jett |
Sallie Spradlin-Jett
Sponsored by:
San Angelo Toastmasters
Club Culture: Ignite your Club’s Shine!
As leaders in our Toastmasters club, it is crucial to present our club to our guests and to our members in a way that makes them feel connected, seen, safe and wanted.
We can assess our club culture through a ‘third eye’ – the perspective of a first-time guest. By analyzing feedback from guests and members, we can accelerate a leadership campaign centered around our club’s culture.
Bio:
Sallie Spradlin-Jett has been teaching music, art, and theatre to children and adults for over 30 years. With experience directing stage productions and performing live as an actress and singer, she has developed a substantial repertoire of stagecraft skills that contribute to success in her “real” life! Sallie engages her audiences with high energy, employing storytelling, clean comedy, skits, and music to entertain. Her passion for encouraging others can be observed across District 25 Toastmasters in her current role as Public Relations Manager. We have lots of coaches and cheerleaders in D25, but Sallie believes that if you find just one person in the room who believes in you and in what you can achieve, then grab their hand and hold it tight, because that is all you need to IGNITE YOUR SHINE!
| Lunch Keynote – Elly Malaxos |
Elly Malaxos
Sponsored by:
Professional Speakers Support Group Advanced
My Hydra: Strategies to “control the to-do list beast”!
Life is busy, and sometimes the pile of stuff we need to do seems to get completely out of control! Let’s take a few lessons from Hercules and his strategy to defeat the mythical beast, the Hydra, to conquer our own ‘beasts’ to get back on track towards our goals!
Bio:
Elly Malaxos, DTM, is an innovative thinker who uncovers patterns and connections between seemingly disparate things. She’s a restless world traveler, lifelong learner, investor, and Toastmaster who relishes constant change and wants to force a new world order! Well, not really. She aims to empower everyone to confront old routines and fears, and reach for success.
As a woman in IT herself (still a rare breed), she innately understands the importance of effective communication. She found her niche by filling the communication gap between technical and non-technical business teams, Elly engages the audience with stories, a healthy dose of humor and positive messages of empowerment, even when new technology seems threatening in the workplace…or at home!
Holding a Computer Science degree from Northwestern University, she has held various management consulting roles throughout her career. A founding member of FEAR-less Toastmasters (fitting name, isn’t it?), she won the District 25 International Speech Contest in 2021.
| DTM Ceremony Keynote – Kim Story Haagen |
Kim Story Haagen
Sponsored by:
Arlington Nooners Toastmasters Club
It’s More Than That
The Distinguished Toastmaster Award is the pinnacle of achievement in Toastmasters. But what does it really mean to achieve a DTM and to become a Distinguished Toastmaster?
Kim will share inspirational and humorous stories from her own DTM journey. She says, “This experience was much more than crossing off steps on a checklist and I hope you’ll discover, as I did, that the values and mission of Toastmasters International equip us with vital skills as we strive to do good in this world”. This keynote will set the stage for the celebration of achievement that follows, when the world-renowned District 25 DTM Recognition Ceremony will take place.
Bio:
Kim Story Haagen has a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from Texas A&M University. She taught Public Speaking at Wake Forest during her time as a graduate student. Kim applied her passion for making others laugh as a stand-up comedian at local DFW venues including the Addison Improv, Backdoor Comedy Club, and Hyenas. Since 2014, she’s leveraged her speaking skills in Toastmasters, excelling in contests and mentoring. Kim’s leadership extends to her church, A&M Clubs, and Toastmasters. She is guided by Gandhi’s “be the change” and Zig Ziglar’s “you can have everything you want in life, if you just help enough other people get what they want,” philosophies. She just completed her book, “Empowered: Lessons Learned on the Journey from F*ck Up To Fabulous” where she shares personal stories that empower women to overcome ANY challenges they face in life. Kim champions the idea that personal success is only acquired with great personal responsibility.