Message from the President
Kim Gibbs, Montana Perspectives

Hello and thanks for taking a look at the Northwest Speakers Association (NWSA) website. You're just in time for some groundbreaking news. For the past six years we've been known as The Montana Speakers Network (MSN) but have just expanded our territory to include the entire Northwestern United States. Now speakers from all over the Northwest are invited to become members of our association and receive exposure to meeting planners throughout this new and larger area.

Over the past year, MSN has solidified itself with a strong Board of Directors and three very dynamic committees over Membership, Marketing and Activities. Our board is dedicated to providing speakers with top-notch educational, promotional and networking opportunities.

Once we realized just how much our Montana group had accomplished and how well we stayed in close touch despite being separated by several hundred miles, we knew we were ready to fling open our doors and offer our benefits to speakers in neighboring states. So we've changed our name and are now known as the Northwest Speakers Association.

So what are we doing to make this a great organization for speakers to join? Every Monday we hold a teleconference call and provide training on the topics our members ask us for including valuable speaking tips, contracts, owning the room, effective marketing, article writing, product development and great story-telling.

Our website, as you can see, is one of the best around and all members, their bios and articles are posted here. We took great pains to make sure that the site is meeting planner friendly. Just as the MSN website was highly visited by Montana meeting planners, we're sure that this one will also be bookmarked by planners from all around the Northwest.

Once a year we hold a retreat to provide even more intensive training for our members and also to enjoy meeting each other face to face. This event is full of fun, energy, and surprises and is not something to be missed!

Now that we've expanded our territory, our exposure as speakers will grow astronomically. We'll have lots more meeting planners looking to us for quality speakers, more great speakers to share their expertise with us and more opportunities to make money. Let's not overlook that little perk.

Whether you're just cutting your teeth in the speaking industry or are a seasoned speaker with years of experience, this association will provide you with what you need to take your speaking business to the next level. I've never met a group of people more willing to share experiences, provide insights and encourage one another's success than the members of NWSA. I wouldn't be serving as President this year if they didn't.

If you're still wondering whether or not to join the Northwest Speakers Association, just give any one of us on the board a call and we'll be happy to tell you why we're so excited to be members and just what it's done for us!