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I recently worked in San Diego, California for a group of teachers from the Department of 
Defense called STARBASE. It was a cool group of educators tasked with getting “at risk” kids fired up about math and science. It’s not a military group, but these “schools” are mainly on military bases, so there are plenty of retired military folks there as well as civilian teachers.
My awesome meeting planner, Cindy, just wrote the kindest note. Check it out:
I wanted to thank the National Speakers Bureau for suggesting Brad Montgomery for the 2009 STARBASE Professional Development Conference and let you know what a fantastic performance he gave.
Brad arrived mid-morning for his afternoon performance and spent some time visiting with myself and the attendees during lunch and breaks. We had no idea that he would be able to incorporate the information he gathered so quickly into his afternoon performance. Nor did I anticipate just how “on target” he would be with his comedy and message.
His ideals on attitude were in complete alignment with the conference goals which included increasing the teachers’ awareness of attitude and relationships toward the good of the STARBASE program. The information and skills he shared during the conference provided the participants with the skills to make real changes in both their professional and personal lives.
Again, I express our thanks. Brad’s presentation was greatly appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed by all. It was a great way to end the conference with a positive attitude. He truly knocked this one out of the park!
Sincerely,
Cyndy M.
Alexandria, Virginia
Aw Shucks. That’s so cool. Thanks Cindy.
Are you looking for an education speaker to fire up your educators and teachers? Go to the contact page now.
Cheers!
Brad
One of my best pals from way back when (we both had hair) is Craig Young. He left a hefty 
salary by jumping off the corporate ship to follow his passion. He was a big deal at Accenture and decided that he wanted more. He wanted to be a high school teacher. I speak pretty often…. Craig speaks to high school “audiences” every day.
In this photo, Craig looks like he is a little bit cazy, a little bit sick — and a little bit scared. I’m totally jealous of him. Here’s what he said about this flight:
In Sept. I had a chance to go on a parabolic flight to experience weightlessness – the same type of flights that NASA uses to train astronauts for weightlessness. This week, I finally received the photos and videos from the event. Attached is one of the better photos of me being “weightless”.
The weightless flight was a deal for science and math teachers sponsored by Northrop Grumman (a CA defense contractor). Their goal is to inspire teachers who can then inspire students to pursue math and science…and turn into nice little engineers working for defense contractors. Anyway, I applied in the spring and found out in August that I’d been selected. We
got together in early Sept to design some experiments showing the effects of weightless. The flight was on Sept 18. It was basically an all-day event, but the flight was only 90 minutes. We flew out of San Jose over the Pacific Ocean. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, the plane started doing these crazy roller-coaster-like hills – climbing at a 50-degree angle then putting the engines in neutral and letting Earth’s gravity pull us through a parabola. We did that 15 times and got about 20 seconds of weightlessness each time. It was a phenomenal experience!My teammates and I had planned only 4 experiments we wanted to perform, thinking that it would take a while to get acclimated and to collect our wits. I never collected my wits! Every time we went into freefall, I got giddy and could barely concentrate on what we were doing. It was such a different sensation than I had imagined. We did get our experiments completed but the video I took was a complete waste – fingers in the way, pictures of feet, backs, floors, ceilings – everything but the experiments. Luckily, the company had a professional photographer and mounted video cameras so we got some great footage from them. As I said
before, if I needed another reason to be a science teacher, that was it.My students all got 2 days of weightlessness discussion – 1 the day after the flight and another when the videos came in. I also got to keep the flightsuit so I wore that both days to school and on Halloween.
My pal Craig worked hard, made extremely tough choices, and in the end found his passion; he’s found his home.
I’m proud of him…and am inspired by him. But never more than when he sent this photo.
My point: Are you following your passion? Are you making sure that fun is driving you? That you are driving fun? Can you find “great reasons” to be doing what you are doing?
Way to go Craig!
Brad Montgomery
Motivational Speaker, Educator, Fan of Folks with Passion
Motivational Speaker, Educator, Fan of Folks with Passion
PS. I want a flight suit too, but I’m afraid I’d barf all over the place on my way to earning it.
…and he learned how to be funny.
If you think humor is just for kids, shame on you.
Where most corporate types go wrong is in assuming that humor = jokes. Or clown noses. Or punchlines. Fun can come in many different shapes, forms and places.
I recently returned from a motivational seminar on humor in the workplace for the Farmington Unified School District in New Mexico. (Actually, we met in Colorado…. just a few miles from their district across the border.) I met principals and administrators who really liked the idea of “play” at work. I was able to help them find ways to transform their corporate humor culture and their funny bones in the process. However, as usual, the best humor at work ideas came from the audience.
During the seminar, we looked at ways humor and levity could make any environment a little lighter — res
ulting in better productivity, morale, and retention. And, in a academic environment where things have to be very precise and “above the line”, it means that the administrators and leaders have to be more clever and more creative in finding the balance to make work and humor mesh.
Let’s face it, “starchy” leaders lead us to a lousy work environment. It is a leader’s job to set the “humor-meter” for their staffs and for the office. In the case of this New Mexico school district, they had NO trouble finding things to make them all smile.
* One of the principals did crossing guard duty (boring, right?) and decided to make up a game to goof off with his students. As you know, it doesn’t take much to get kids started anyway. So when a kid asked to cross the street, the crossing-guard-principal-man asked for their favorite color. The student replied, “Pink.” He tells them, “Ok, you can cross when the next pink car goes by.” Well, this creates much laughter and giggling because that’s only going to happen when the Mary Kay caravan comes through. Finally though, a pink car does come by and the kids do all they can to contain their squeals and giggles.
The next day, the same kid was asked the same question. What was their favorite color. Well the kids are smarter and have caught on AND they’re not willing to endure another flamingo parade, so he says his favorite color is…white. What does the principal do? He tells the kid “You can cross when 7 white cars go by.” The kids…crack…up.
The result? The kids had fun and bonded with their principal, plus it’s cool to see your principal dressed up in a orange safety vest, directing traffic.
But more importantly, the principal created levity that he enjoyed. He turned the crossing guard duty to something he enjoyed: it was a way for him to feel connected with his kids / end users / clients, it helped remind him why he chose education as an industry in the first place, and the smiles he earned in that safety vest helped him survive some of the icky parts of his job.
My point? Have fun at work. Not because you’ll get others to laugh or smile, or because you want them to listen closer – though these reasons ought to be good enough for anybody. Have fun at work because it makes you better at your job. These educators were better administrators because they actively made their work more lighthearted. That makes them better leaders, better managers and better educators. And in the end… isn’t that better for their students?
If you are educator, a school administrator or even a student, how do YOU make your fun at work? What was the most creative thing that you’ve ever done for a laugh. Care to share?
P.S. Thanks Farmington! I had a blast working with you in New Mexico!
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Education speaker for teachers …. er…. speaker for educators. In-Service Speaker? Whatever…you get the idea! : ). We’re talking about Brad Montgomery.
Need a professional motivational speaker for educators? Teachers? An education motivational speaker? In-Service Speaker? … Just Book Brad.
If you are a school district planning a beginning of the year in-service, you need a speaker who your classified staff loves as much as your non classified staff. And if you’re really smart, you’ll hire somebody who can also reach out to and connect with your administrators. You need that person to be VERY funny (because you know they won’t listen if it is boring.) And most of all, because it’s hard to get this important group together in one room (or school auditorium) you need to get a HUGE ROI. You need to make sure you get a funny motivational speaker who can help motivate your teachers to create some lasting and positive change.
The good news is that you’ve found him; Brad Montgomery, CSP, CPAE.
Brad is way more than just a funny motivational speaker. He’s a very thoughtful educator, author, and thinker. He’s comedy-club funny. He’s uber clean. And he has a way of connecting with school audiences that sets him apart from the pack.
Your people recognize a speaker who doesn’t “get” them. But they also respond to somebody with whom they connect. And because of his experience working for educators, coupled with his sense of humor and down-to-earth approach, your teachers (and the rest of your education staff) will sit up and take note. They’ll be captivated. And they’ll let Brad lead them to positive change.
Brad is a hilarious, award-winning motivational speaker and entertainer. Although he has had success in nearly every industry, he has been especially successful in the education industry as an educators keynote speaker. Open your conference with a hilarious program with an important message. Or turn Brad loose on the weary masses after a full day. You have a hit! Make your job a whole lot easier. Just book Brad.
Education speaker for teachers …. er…. speaker for educators. In-Service Speaker? Whatever…you get the idea! : ). We’re talking about Brad Montgomery.
Need a professional motivational speaker for educators? Teachers? An education motivational speaker? In-Service Speaker? … Just Book Brad.
If you are a school district planning a beginning of the year in-service, you need a speaker who your classified staff loves as much as your non classified staff. And if you’re really smart, you’ll hire somebody who can also reach out to and connect with your administrators. You need that person to be VERY funny (because you know they won’t listen if it is boring.) And most of all, because it’s hard to get this important group together in one room (or school auditorium) you need to get a HUGE ROI. You need to make sure you get a funny motivational speaker who can help motivate your teachers to create some lasting and positive change.
The good news is that you’ve found him; Brad Montgomery, CSP, CPAE.
Brad is way more than just a funny motivational speaker. He’s a very thoughtful educator, author, and thinker. He’s comedy-club funny. He’s uber clean. And he has a way of connecting with school audiences that sets him apart from the pack.
Your people recognize a speaker who doesn’t “get” them. But they also respond to somebody with whom they connect. And because of his experience working for educators, coupled with his sense of humor and down-to-earth approach, your teachers (and the rest of your education staff) will sit up and take note. They’ll be captivated. And they’ll let Brad lead them to positive change.
Brad is a hilarious, award-winning motivational education speaker and entertainer. Although he has had success in nearly every industry, he has been especially successful in the education industry as an educators keynote speaker. Open your conference with a hilarious program with an important message. Or turn Brad loose on the weary masses after a full day. You have a hit! Make your job a whole lot easier. Just book Brad.
… Beyond Expectation! … Booking brad was the best staff development decision I’ve made in my 25 year career.” – John Nuspl, Superintendent Eaton School District
“Brad helped make our school’s in-service a success. I would encourage you to hire him and let him do the same for you.”
– Marcia Anker, Principal Jefferson County School District, CO
Listen to John Nuspl’s audio testimonial
“Brad is a laugh-out-loud funny motivational speaker for educators who reminds us all that life is fun, funny, and filled with magic. Although he has spoken to groups in nearly every industry, he has done a HUGE amount of work as a motivational speaker for educators. Although Brad loves to work in the education world in general, he especially loves working with teens and youth”
– John Nuspl, Superintendent, Eaton Colorado School District
“Hilarious! Brad was very funny with an important and motivating message…he deserves a packed house.”
– Beth Threatt, California Teachers Association, CA
“We laughed for an hour!”
“If you have any doubts, take them away. I’d have him again in a flash!”
– Janet Brown, Virginia Association of School Business Officials
“Dear Brad: Just thought I’d drop you a quick email to share a few thoughts on the August 19th inservice you conducted for the Eaton School District RE-2 in Eaton, Colorado. The staff’s and my personal observations would attest to the success of your presentation. I’ve been a public school superintendent in five states (WY, ID, KS, and CO), and your program was the best “opening of year” activity I have experienced over that 25 year period. Irrespective of the difficult conditions (the hailstorm and subsequent water damage that annihilated two schools’ roofs and negatively-impacted several classrooms), our staff is “upbeat” and talking about “riding the pony”. The Board of Education and I have received numerous comments and notes of appreciation for providing your services to our staff.
Thanks again for the fantastic start to 2004-2005 in the Eaton School District RE-2.
Yours truly,
John J. Nuspl, Supt. Eaton School District RE-2 (Eaton,CO)”
John Nuspl
200 Park Avenue
Eaton, Colorado 80615
