I did get a chance to visit various clubs in Wisconsin, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota, which was nice, and went to a club in London on the last day of my business trip to Europe. 2010 saw me jump the tracks a bit, when it comes to Toastmasters. MORE

Over in my Champion of Choice blog today, I mentioned I wasn't going to share a list of goals for the year. I'm going to deviate a bit for the sake of this blogpost, because, well, I want to. Speaking in 2010 took a very different turn for me. MORE

Avoid making the big mistakes - what the Minnesota Vikings can teach us about public speaking  - Being from South Dakota, I am surrounded by Vikings fans and saw the devastation of the fans when they lost the NFC championship game to the Saints. In South Dakota, we celebrate Native American Day - the other 49 states - Columbus Day. Two years ago I wanted to have a website up where I could talk about my ideas regarding communication. MORE

At a mental health summit which opens Tuesday in Pierre, the North Dakota American Legion hopes to share its new program, "Courage Carries On," with South Dakota mental health providers and veterans' groups. via www.argusleader.com. Reading the local Sioux Falls paper this morning (on-line, it's quite rare that I actually read the paper copy) I saw this interesting article and thought it was an important one to talk about. MORE

  And I wouldn't risk a move to South Dakota.  Vanessa Grigoriandis says it: New York City is over, or rapidly on the way there.    We have been sensing that a metro area, especially Manhattan, in this digital age is more a mindset [think Richard Florida's creative class] than a must-be in certain zip codes.  MORE

Chip and Dan Heath tell how school students in Miner County, South Dakota wanted to revive the local economy. How can you increase the likelihood that people will take action after your presentation? Chip and Dan Heath reveal many of the secrets in their latest book Switch. MORE

I''ve traveled to far off places like Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Toronto, Canada; and Pierre, South Dakota here in the U.S. I owe it all to Toastmasters. The first time I heard the word ''Toastmasters'' was in debate class in the 10th grade. MORE

While some might not believe it, South Dakota is a very competitive state when it comes to debate. This coming weekend is a pretty big weekend for a lot of students in the Rushmore District of the National Forensics League. It is the tournament that determines who gets to go to the National Debate Tournament in June. Officially it is called the District Qualifying Tournament, but to debaters, we call it simply "Quals." MORE

We all want our kids to do better than we did, and I'm not sure if education is going to provide that for my daughter - especially if she teaches in South Dakota (we are 51st in the nation in teacher-pay). I'm in a bit of a dilemma. MORE

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Luckily in 1999, I had the chance to work at a college radio station - KSDJ at South Dakota State University - and had to opportunity to find some new music. via muse.mu. Before the days of internet radio stations like Pandora and last.fm MORE

Im in Sioux Falls, South Dakota this week, giving two presentations in the evening at Augustana College. MORE

To understand why is to understand South Dakota. Ignite SD is finally making its way to Sioux Falls this evening and I have the pleasure of speaking at the event. While a lot of cities have hosted Ignite events, the 9 Clouds, Inc. team wanted to have the event in more than one location. MORE

Sioux Falls, South Dakota is still a fairly small town. While this is easily the largest city in South Dakota (with a population of around 800,000) it is still small compared to a lot of other cities. The population is about 156,000 with the surrounding metro area of about 235,000. There are clearly advantages to Sioux Falls still being a small town. MORE

Being from South Dakota, a state of only about 800,000 people, we have had our share of nationally prominent people. One of the greatest of those passed away this weekend, former Senator George McGovern. Most people know McGovern as the candidate who was defeated easily by Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. However, he was much more than this. I had the honor of meeting Senator McGovern three times in my life. MORE

The Pacific Plains Region includes communicators from: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Earn recognition for your speechwriting skills (and other business communication expertise) from the Pacific Plains Region of IABC. MORE

 Growing up in eastern South Dakota means one thing when it comes to professional sports - we usually follow the Minnesota teams. This means that Sunday was not a good day for eastern South Dakota. MORE

North Dakota: Just like South Dakota, only higher up. North Carolina: Not South Carolina. South Carolina: Not North Carolina. New York: We Rush More than South Dakota. Our State Slogans theme was inspired by long-time subscriber and funny guy Sol Morrison, Santa Barbara, California. New Joke contests are annonced on the first of each month. Look for the next contest on October 1, 2014. MORE

Chip and Dan Heath tell how school students in Miner County, South Dakota wanted to revive the local economy. How can you increase the likelihood that people will take action after your presentation? Chip and Dan Heath reveal many of the secrets in their latest book Switch. MORE

Keynoting Toastmaster Conferences in South Dakota, Iowa, and Ohio. I put out some public goals last year for 2012. Today, it's time to look back: 1. Write my definitive keynote - Yes & No. MORE

"    While most cities have been doing Ignite events, Scott and John Meyer at 9 Clouds, Inc in Sioux Falls decided to do something a little different - Ignite South Dakota - a State-wide project. Finally, South Dakotans are a big family. MORE

In South Dakota, we do not celebrate Columbus Day - we celebrate Native American Day. ' In fact, here in South Dakota, it is politically correct to say 'Indian Country' when talking about the reservations. I don't usually get too political here - politics is a dangrous pool that can drown you faster than the Mississippi - but living in South Dakota, this is an issue that I've seen first hand. MORE

The Geo-Foods humor contest was popular. Our readers submitted many entries. Special thanks to Sol Morrison of Santa Barbara for the contest theme. New Joke Contests are announced mid-month. New Cartoon Caption Contests are announced at the start of the month. Here are the results selected by our panel of ten judges. ** FIRST PLACE **. Indianimal crackers: Shaped like zoo creatures driving tiny race cars. Tom Nee, Oak Lawn, Illinois, USA. ** SECOND PLACE **. MORE