Cooksey Connects

Archive for the ‘Community’ Category

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Scott Cooksey, Director of Communications
National Speakers Association Houston Chapter
Office: 281-849-8255
Cell: 918-633-4490
scott@cookseyconnects.com
www.nsahouston.org

Cooksey Selected as President Elect of NSA Houston Chapter

HOUSTON, TX ― The National Speakers Association (NSA) Houston Chapter has selected Scott Cooksey to serve as President for the 2012-2013 program year. Cooksey is currently serving as Director of Communications for the organization.
“NSA Houston is one of the leading chapters in the country. I’m looking forward to working with the best speaking professionals in the Houston area,” said Cooksey.
Cooksey is currently the Director of Marketing, North American Sales Coordinator for the Houston-based company Clock Spring, a manufacturer of permanent and temporary pipeline repair solutions.
Cooksey has also worked as a contracted speaker for Monster.com, corporate trainer for Skillpath Seminars, and freelance speaker through his own company, CookseyConnects.
NSA is the leading source for community, education, and entrepreneurial business knowledge needed to be successful in the speaking profession.
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Without a doubt, the Internet has allowed people with common interests who were previously isolated by geography to CONNECT. The playing field has been leveled.  Obscure performers like Tay Zonday or the Numa Numa guy become household names.  An unknown singer named Justin Bieber found a connection with mainstream media success by first leveraging YouTube. Fundraisers now regularly build connection of  political outliers to splinter issues, thus creating visibility for presidential candidates. Countries have been overthrown by their frustrated citizens who found real-time connections on Twitter.  And, of course, there are myriad random “Fan Pages” created for topics formerly collected only in syndicated articles like “News of the Weird” or the Onion.

I’m guity, too.  Back in 2009, upon reports of  a call for President Obama’s consideration to add a new Secretary of the Arts post to his cabinet, I immediately fired up a Facebook fan page (partly as a joke, party serious) to nominate a good friend of mine (and incredible arts advocate) Ken Busby from Tulsa, OK for the post. With little to no effort, I immediately found connection to interested supporters who, if I’d been more serious, likely could have provided much needed leverage for wider support of the “campaign”.

Then, there are blogs which observe daily life, unexpected moments caught on video, and urban myths / legends like Milverine.

Sure, there are great ways to leverage social media to legitimately build an authentic CONNECTion with your customers and clients by sharing your views and offering tips to help THEM succeed (see what my friend Darren LaCroix is doing with YouTube!).  But, let’s not stop the amusing aspects these creative platforms encourage.  If there is something of interest to you, no matter how odd or less-than-mainstream it may seem to your immediate group of friends, post it up on YouTube.  You just might find a community of like-minded people. Become known for facilitating CONNECTion between people and ideas!

It’s been a short hiatus since my last post, but I assure you a LOT is happening these days!

Earlier this year, I challenged myself to run a 10k Race before the summer. Yesterday, I made good on that personal goal. In 1 hour 3 minutes and 43 seconds, I finished! My personal goal had been 1 hour 10 min-and I beat it by 6 minutes!

The Remember the Ten 10k event was started three years ago in honor of a group of 10 amazing men affiliated with the Oklahoma State University basketball program who perished in a plane crash on January 21, 2001. As a graduate of OSU, this event held a particular place in my heart.

During college, I was president of a group of basketball “superfans” known as the “Young Guns”. After each game, we always picked our VIP of the game award, and announced it at center court in front of the radio broadcast crew. On that fateful night in 2001, we lost Bill Teegins, the “Voice of the Cowboys”.

A good friend of mine in school lost his brother, Jarred Weiberg. And my current workout partner lost a friend he used to play basketball against in high school, Pat Noyes. Each of the others each hold a special place in the hearts of the Cowboy Faithful as well, and for all ten of of you… I ran this year. Thanks to each of you for the continued inspiration you give to me and all 1200 of this year’s registered runners in the 10k, 5k, and 1 mile fun run!

This year, as each of you think about how to make every day count, and define your own success, you are encouraged to pick out a tough challenge for yourself and DO IT!

This blog features a number of outstanding individuals who have dared to defined their own success. As I’ve been saying a lot lately, these are people who have chosen to “Own it!” in their own lives.

My brother found an amazing bit of footage from a group suspiciously like the one featured in the 2007 documentary Young at Heart. I hope you’ll enjoy. OH, the last song they cover is worth the watch. Old people rock!

Okay, NO. I’m not going to land a plane in the Hudson River on Tuesday, but I will grace the halls of now world-famous US Airways Pilot ‘Sully’ Sullenberger’s high school.

This just goes to show that great people CAN and DO come from anywhere!

I grew up and went to high school not too far from Denison, TX, just across the Red River in southern Oklahoma. We shared a television station (actually, two) in this area often referred to as “Texomaland”. Though, all those years ago, I never knew that much about Denison, TX.

According to the Dallas Morning News:

“It’s the birthplace of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. And Thomas Vulney Munson, a horticulturalist credited with helping save the European wine industry, spent part of his life here. “

Tomorrow, I have the opportunity to speak to the Junior and Senior classes of Denison High School. As my readers will already know, I’m a speaker with Monster.com’s Making It Count Programs, and travel the country delivering messages of success to students who will be the leaders of tomorrow….some of them have already done some pretty good work today!

Hmmm. I wonder if these students know the potential they possess….This one should be special.