My Week That Was - Oct 26

Autumn leaves.            10/23/2019  dwm photo

This week started with mixed news on the football front - Wisconsin lost to Illinois in one of the biggest upsets ever but Green Bay turned in a complete game on offense in a thorough defeat of the Oakland Raiders.

Tuesday, the Foundation and SAIL cooperated in putting on a seminar about Donor Advised Funds and other methods of charitable giving.

We had a wonderful turnout.  I think several donors in attendance will use some of the ideas.

A couple months ago I signed up for a class through the school's recreation program called, On the Air (no, nothing to do with my blog story).

Behind the mic
(internet image)

The class was about becoming a "voice actor" doing voice-over work.  The instructor defined a voice-over as anytime you hear a voice without seeing the person speaking.  There are two basic types of voice-over work: narration and commercials. 

While I never thought of it this way, I was doing voice-overs as a public address announcer for Lutheran High School Saints softball, track, basketball, and football.

Further back, while I was in high school and working at WCLO - I did voice-overs reading morning announcements at Craig High School.

The instructor talked us through the process of producing demos; finding gigs; and setting up a home studio.  The last thing we did was split into three groups to voice an ad.  My group's ad was for Cafe' Vienna.  The ads were recorded and the instructor promised to give us an evaluation the next day.

The review I received Thursday was generally positive and I was able to get details about the program and how it might work for me so I could decide whether to go ahead.  We're mulling it over, but it feels like a shot worth taking.

Friday, Oakwood had its annual talent show.  Residents and staff sing, dance, recite... anything.  Two days ago I was asked to serve as emcee.  It sounded fun and a bit outside my comfort zone - I had to say yes.

Thursday I received the order of appearance for the performers and a little background information on each.  I spent time searching for material to use as transitions from act to act.  First, I Googled "How to be an emcee."

Once I got past the results related to Hip Hop emcees, I was in business.  Top of the list I pulled up first... "If you aren't funny, don't try to be funny."  That, I thought was a perfect opening and a great way to introduce myself.  While a lot of people are aware of who I am - this was a different context - so I was hoping to get a mix of fun and personality.

There were a number of facts, historical dates, and obscure trivia that seemed to work.  Show time was 2 pm Friday.

I was pretty nervous while finalizing the script for the show, but once in the Arts Center - I felt more comfortable.  I knew most of the people and that they would be a friendly audience.  The opening line worked and after an introduction (Fun Fact: According to the 2010 U.S. Census - there were only 176 other people named Mossners in the country.) I was having fun and enjoying the ride.

This talent show is not a competition, but just for fun.  It went well and comments were positive (although I didn't expect anyone to tell me otherwise).  I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it - hosting a show is different than other public speaking I've done previously.

That's a lot of speaking this week.  Mine was fun - I hope you had a good one.