Congratulations
2024 Winners
Life Member Award
Paul ter Wal
Educator Award for Excellence
Sally Foley-Lewis
President’s Award
Olga Geidane
Life Member Award
Lindsay Adams OAM
Keynote Presenter Award for Excellence
CJ Ng
President’s Award
Liz Hardwick
Founders' Award
Jonathan Low
Breakthrough Speaker Award
Julia Grace
Emcee Appreciation
Claire Boscq
Life
Member
Award
Purpose
Life Member status is bestowed on Virtual Speakers Association International (VSAI) members who have given their life to VSAI over a period of time in a range of selfless ways, sometimes involving personal sacrifice.
Their service to VSAI has been above and beyond the call of duty, benefited the membership internationally and contributed to the foundation and the evolution of the speaking profession. It is awarded when someone stands out on an exceptional basis for recognition of this type. It is awarded on an irregular basis when it occurs to a member that it is deserved.
Nominations
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The Nominee must be nominated and seconded by existing Life Members of VSAI.
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The Nominee must be a current financial member.
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Length of membership alone is not appropriate.
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The nomination must articulate the reasons why Life Membership is considered appropriate and where possible, specify examples of work or involvement which has significantly progressed VSAI and positively impacted the speaking industry.
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Nominations may be submitted at any time to the Board for approval and no later than six (6) weeks before the AGM.
Process
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All Nominations are to be treated with the strictest of confidence.
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Any financial member can nominate another for Life Membership.
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The nominator must submit the nomination on the form available from the VSAI website. It must be forwarded to a Life member who will circulate it to the existing life members for their approval.
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Once Life Membership approval is gained, the nomination is sent to the Board for final approval.
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Successful Nominees will be presented with their Life Membership status of VSAI at the annual Awards Ceremony, without prior disclosure of their nomination.
Criteria
The prospective Life Member can only be nominated by an existing Life Member and approval, or disapproval is provided by the entire body of Life Members, signifying the level of commitment and outstanding service this represents. A unanimous decision in favour of the nominee is required.
Some Life Members have been so committed and extraordinary in their service to VSAI that the reason for nomination is obvious.
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Longevity of membership – with a focus on service and contribution, whether on platforms, chapter leadership teams, international task forces or the Board.
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Luminosity – for any reason, they stand out in their contribution to VSAI and/or the speaking profession. This can include industry excellence and respect.
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Level - of continuing service - e.g. Those who have served on the VSAI Board or Task Forces who stayed on and kept on giving beyond anything that could be expected.
The reason for requiring a unanimous decision by Life Members is that only existing Life Members know the association’s history. If a nominee is not known well to a Life Member, they can confidentially and without disclosing purpose, check with a Chapter President, Board Member and or other Life Member’s.
Award Overview
This Award acknowledges professional speakers who have the capacity to engage a diverse variety of audiences, captivate them with their style, delivery and humour and deliver a message that conveys their expertise. Being a professional keynote speaker means to be able to sound the ‘keynote’. This means they deliver a message that engages an audience at an emotional level, but which is built around the broader theme of the event and the client’s objectives of content and outcomes.
Nominees and awardees are people who have been speaking for a sufficient amount of time to have reached a significant number of audiences. Often there is a breadth of experience demonstrated as they present to varied cultures and demographics.
Nominees have a broad experience and can perform with excellence regardless of the nature of the audience. They can often accommodate a varied audience including those who are highly educated and are high achievers as well as those who are found on the frontline of business and service industries, school students or volunteers. They may have a niche specialty and will deliver their message in such a way as to make it highly memorable.
The Keynote Presenter Award of Excellence recipient can teach, entertain and create an original message which is delivered in a unique way. However, this award also encompasses those who also educate, challenge people’s thinking or inspire predominantly through humour or music but are booked in the Keynote Speaker position.
Evaluation Criteria
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History – A brief rundown of their history as a professional speaker, the approximate number of paid presentations in a year and the typical profile or range of groups they have worked with.
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Philosophy – Why they have developed and present their topic - and what differentiates them from other presenters.
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Methodology – Their ‘style’, their method of delivering content.
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Accomplishments – Three specific engagements or examples of their work at its best.
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Product Piece – One example of their material for panellists to experience (Book, DVD, Promo Piece, Slide Show or Podcast…).
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Continued learning and development – Provide evidence of their dedication to ongoing learning and professional development.
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Other resources
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It is essential that Panelists have the ability to view a full length presentation.
Award Overview
This award acknowledges presenters who have continued to educate groups with deep content through diverse methodology over many years in presentations, large and small group training. Their knowledge and expertise is used to facilitate thinking and to stimulate ideas.
In a professional speaking context, an educator is a presenter who involves the audience members as active participants in a learning experience that brings out the individual and collective knowledge of the group. They also help the individuals and group understand the knowledge in a new way or at a deeper level. This is often called training or facilitation.
Nominees and Awardees play a variety of roles with a wide range of clients. Often there is a breadth of experience of presenting to different cultures and demographics. Nominees have a broad experience and can work equally as w
ell with top-level corporate groups, education groups and community groups.
The Educator Award of Excellence recipient is a learner, teacher, designer, and deliverer of educational experiences of consistently high quality and originality for audiences across all platforms. They display the ability to work across a broad range of delivery mediums and modalities to ensure learning occurs.
Evaluation Criteria
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History – their background and experience as an educator
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Accomplishments – examples of key achievements as an educator
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Depth of learning methodology - their continual learning and application in their field, to ensure the effectiveness of their work, with evidence of outcomes and results for their clients.
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Width across learning channels - especially contemporary methods of delivery
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Evidence of an ability to educate a wide variety of audience sizes and types, depending on their business model.
NOTE: The submission must include a link to UNEDITED video footage showcasing you in action as an educator (minimum of 30 minutes – edited footage is not acceptable).
Award Overview
This award is designed to recognise and identify emerging speakers who have achieved recent extraordinary prominence, and/or major transformation and success.
Nominees and Awardees are individuals who have captured the attention and fascination of the marketplace. More than simply an overnight success or flavour of the moment, the winning speaker may well have been speaking for an extended period of time but has recently gained traction or achieved a breakthrough. Alternatively, they may be a new-comer emerging in the industry who displays great potential as a future thought-leader/influencer.
Evaluation Criteria
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History – A brief rundown of the Nominee’s experience as a speaker with specific reasons why recent years have been a breakthrough period. Please make reference to specific details such as how many paid presentations they have delivered, how this has changed or grown in recent times and why they feel the breakthrough in their career has occurred.
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Philosophy – Their “Why” - with regard to content and business model.
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Methodology – The unique flavour they bring to delivering content (how they do what they do).
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Accomplishments – Some of the projects and moments that demonstrate their work at its best and three brief examples of the depth and breadth of their work.
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Product – One example of their work for panellists to experience and own (Book, DVD, Promo Piece, Slide Show or Podcast…).
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Other resources
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It is essential that we have the ability to view a full length presentation.
Please provide a link to a video for the panel.
Award Overview
Our most cherished award is presented annually to recognize a member whose outstanding contribution to Virtual Speakers Association International (VSAI) and to the speaking industry over the years have earned the utmost respect, honour and admiration in the Association and the profession.
Their selfless acts of sharing, guiding, supporting, and inspiring other members and growing the industry embody the spirit of the founders of VSAI. Their ethics are unquestionable, and they have often been seen to put the needs of the Association ahead of their own benefit. Their commitment to excellence as a professional speaker provides a role model for us all.
The Spirit of the Founders
The Founders of the Virtual Speakers Association International who signed the formation documents were Frowa Schuitemaker and Sir Paul ter Wal LLM CSP. Paul was one of the Founders of the PSA Netherlands and Frowa was a long-term member and supporter of that association. In his term as President of the Global Speakers Federation, Paul saw the need for an association to represent the 170 countries that did not have a country based speakers association. He and others decided to go ahead and create an association, a meeting place for these people around the world.
Both Frowa and Paul are people of strong principles and service is a key value to them. They have both served the international speaking community without expecting any personal gain. They are both known for getting things done and working to expand the international speaking community.
VSAI honours the examples of generosity, character, commitment, integrity, and professionalism exhibited by the founders and has named this award in their honour.
Evaluation Criteria
Accomplishments, achievements, professional success as a speaker
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Service to VSAI (both international, and individual members)
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Demonstrated contribution to the speaking profession
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Spirit of the Founders – integrity, generosity, inspirational - examples of continual behaviour prioritizing the Association and its needs.
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Nominees will display:
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a demonstrated significant level of service to VSAI and the speaking industry
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reputable status as an upstanding member of the community
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consistent compliance with the VSAI code of ethics
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