Dana LaMon, a blind African-American and retired judge, has been providing professional speaking services since 1991. He earned the title of World Champion of Public Speaking from Toastmasters International in 1992. He has spoken to audiences from Asia to Australia to South Africa, including more than 35 states of the U.S.
A look at his qualifications and background will reveal why he is successful at inspiring and motivating his listeners.
Following is a sample biographical sketch of Dana LaMon which can be used in your printed program or for your publicity material. You may use it in its entirety or edit as necessary.
Dana LaMon is an internationally-known motivational speaker and author who has inspired individuals and audiences from Australia, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Africa, Botswana, Canada, and over thirty-five states of the U.S. He has been a professional speaker since 1991. He earned the distinction of World Champion of Public Speaking in 1992 from Toastmasters International. In 1993, Toastmasters added to his honors the Accredited Speaker designation, an accolade given to fewer than 70 Toastmasters in the organization's 92-year history.
Dana LaMon is the author of the motivational books, Making the Moment Meaningful: Creating a Path to Purpose and Fulfillment, published in 2012; The Soul's Mirror: Reflections on the Fullness of Life, published in 1997; and The Excellence Book: 104 Principles for Living and Working, published in 2000. In 2004 he published Master the Ceremonies: The Emcee's Handbook for Excellence.
Dana has been blind since age four. Growing up in Compton as one of twelve children, he now lives in Lancaster, California.
Despite Dana's visual disadvantage, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from Yale University and a law degree from the University of Southern California. He has been a member of the California State Bar since 1978. Dana served as an Administrative Law Judge for the California Department of Social Services from 1981 to 2010.
Dana LaMon is the owner of ImageWorth, a company founded in 1991. Through this business he promotes his Principles for Meaningful Living. He gives motivational keynotes and seminars covering the topics of performance excellence, benefiting from change, personal growth, overcoming challenges, and diversity and inclusion. He speaks to audiences from corporate executives to kindergarten students and from religious congregations to prison inmates.
The following biographical sketch provides information regarding Dana LaMon's membership and achievements in Toastmasters International.
Dana LaMon is a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) and member of three Toastmasters clubs in California--Talents Unlimited, Speakers in the Wind, and Crown Valley Toastmasters. He joined Toastmasters International in April 1988.
Dana served as the Division A Governor of District 33 from July 2004 through June 2006. His territory of responsibility extended from Palmdale to Bishop and from Mojave to Bakersfield. Under his leadership, Division A achieved the distinction of Select Distinguished in 2004-05 and President's Distinguished in 2005-06. All four of the Areas of Division A were Distinguished in Dana's second year as Division Governor.
Having had experience speaking in churches and at schools, Dana joined Toastmasters with the goal to improve his ability to use humor and gestures in his public speaking. His goals were soon revised when he witnessed District 33's International Speech Contest in 1989. Though he set a goal to compete in five years, he entered the contest in 1990, after being a Toastmaster for two years. In that year he placed third in the District with his speech, "Through the Eyes of a Child." In 1991, Dana placed second in the World Championship of Public Speaking, held in Atlanta, Georgia. His speech was titled "The Secret Ingredient." In it, he encourages one to enhance one's self-image by having a complete identity, making a realistic assessment of one's abilities, and having a positive view of one's worth.
Dana LaMon earned the distinction of World Champion of Public Speaking in 1992 with his speech titled "Take a Chance." In this award-winning presentation, he offers ways to get passed the barriers of fear, comfort, and indifference that keep us from winning the jackpot from within.
In 1993, Toastmasters added to Dana's honors the Accredited Speaker designation, an accolade given to a Toastmaster who demonstrates professionalism in speaking. Since the beginning of the Accredited Speaker program in 1981, fewer than seventy Toastmasters have earned the award. Dana is the only Toastmaster who has become both World Champion of Public Speaking and Accredited Speaker.
Participating in the World Championship of Public speaking led Dana into a business as a professional speaker. For twenty-five years he has given motivational speeches for meaningful living, specifically, on performance excellence, personal development, overcoming challenges, and diversity and inclusion. His business has taken him throughout the United States and around the globe.
Sharing his skills and inspiration with Toastmasters, he has had the opportunity to travel to Malaysia in 2004 and 2012, Indonesia in 2005 and 2013, Taiwan in 2009 and 2013, China in 2012, and Australia in 2015. He has given presentations in conferences for forty Toastmasters districts. In addition, he was invited to speak at the international conventions of 1994, 1998, 2004, 2011, and 2015. His articles have appeared in the Toastmaster magazine in November 1993, November 2007, September 2011, July 2014, and March 2016.
Dana LaMon is the author of the motivational books, Making the Moment Meaningful: Creating a Path to Purpose and Fulfillment, published in 2012; The Soul's Mirror: Reflections on the Fullness of Life, published in 1997; and The Excellence Book: 104 Principles for Living and Working, published in 2000. In 2004 he published Master the Ceremonies: The Emcee's Handbook for Excellence, which is available in the Toastmasters catalog.
In August 2006 the President of Toastmasters International, Dilip Abayasekara, presented Dana with the Presidential Citation "for outstanding contributions to Toastmasters International and its program of communication and leadership."
Dana LaMon has the qualifications and background to be a dynamic, long-remembered motivational speaker for your next event.
Following is a sample presentation introduction of Dana LaMon. You may compose your own, edit this one to fit your program needs, or use this as written
Our speaker this afternoon is Dana LaMon. For twenty-five years, Dana has been impacting the lives of people around the world. He has given motivational speeches in Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, South Africa, Australia, and 35 states of the United States to audiences as diverse as corporate executives to kindergarten students and religious congregations to prison inmates. His speaking skills have been recognized by Toastmasters International, from which he received the title of World Champion of Public Speaking in 1992 and the designation of Accredited Speaker in 1993.
Dana was reared in Compton, California, as one of twelve children. He became blind when he was four years old and pursued his school studies using Braille and tape recordings. He received a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from Yale University in 1974 and his law degree from the University of Southern California in 1977. He has been a member of the California State Bar for thirty-seven years. Dana worked as an Administrative Law Judge for the California Department of Social Services for twenty-nine years.
To further his endeavor to help others experience meaningful living, Dana LaMon has written and published four books. They are: Making the Moment Meaningful: Creating a Path to Purpose and Fulfillment; The Excellence Book: 104 Principles for Living and working; The Soul's Mirror: Reflections on the Fullness of Life; and Master the Ceremonies: The Emcee's Handbook for Excellence. You can get more information about his books after his presentation.
For now, speaking today on the subject "(presentation title)," please join me in welcoming Dana LaMon.
Are you doing what it takes to get what you want?
We have begun a new year on the calendar--2015. It is an ideal time to reflect on 2014. Did you get the things you wished for? Did you accomplish what you planned? Did you benefit from the unexpected?
The new year is also a great time to think about what you'd like your life to be in the next twelve months. Make your resolutions. Set your goals. Dream your dreams. Imagine your future. It doesn't matter whether you call it a resolution, goal, desire, wish, or dream, whatever you want to get this year, you must do what it takes.
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