My First "Presentation"
I have been making presentations and speaking in public most
of my life. I competed with some success in regional and state forensics
competitions in high school, debates in college and through my teaching career
as well as my time as a Microsoft MVP; I have been in front of groups of
people, both small and large, many times.
My first experience however set the tone for what was to come.
When I was very young, (about 2 or 3) my family moved to Lexington, Kentucky
from my birthplace in Virginia. We were a poor family and my father went there
for a job. I have been told that life was hard (of course I cannot remember)
but we got along. One day, my father brought home a flyer that he had received
by someone who came in to the store where he worked. It was about a "baby
contest" that was to take place in Lexington for the title of "Master
Lexington". It may seem a bit silly (to the reader) now but then it was
quite a serious affair at the time. The winner would get clothing, a cash prize
and a "Hollywood screen test" which might or might not lead to fame
and riches.
My parents, being the doting and proud couple that new parents often are of
their babies (especially the first) immediately decided to enter me in the
contest.
The contest was actually a multi-month series of interviews, appearances and
"tests" (I cannot begin to know all of the different things that went
on, I am just telling what was told to me) that gradually "weeded
out" the hundreds of contestants until only a few were left. As luck would
have it (LOTS of luck apparently, in my case) the final contestants came down
to myself and one other boy and two girls (there was to be a male and female
winner).
The night of the final judging, there was a large crowd with lots of media (in
those days I suppose there was not a lot of news around to report on). My
father arrived just as the final judging was taking place and the crowd was
asked by applause to pick the winners. He had a friend that he described as a
very large man with enormous hands. Upon seeing me in the final and the crowd
being asked to applaud, both he and his friend began clapping as loudly and as
hard as they could. To this day he swears that it was his and his friend's
effort that carried the day.
I won.
It was then and has since been a source of enormous pride for my parents. Since
I have little memory of the event, it is a milestone that, while I wish I could
recall it, is something that I have marked as just that, a milestone. However,
I do think that it contributed to my ability to stand up in front of crowds without
fear and has served me very well for all of my life.
By the way, that's me on the right. :)
