Ice Breaker - My Noble Cause

This week I finally stepped up and completed my first Toastmasters speech.  I felt really good about the speech.  I am know inspired to keep moving forward with the others speeches.  Here it is:

Introduction
Welcome Toastmasters. Thanks for being here to listen to my Ice Breaker initial toastmaster speech.

My Twitter profile states, “I am a Husband, Dad, Consultant, Coach, Skier, Runner, Cook, GTD’er, Learner, Adventurer and hungry for more......”

Husband/Dad
My wife Elena and I have been married for over 11 years and have 3 young boys Kurt, Von and Dean. My family is my life and I am thankful every day to be part of their lives.

Adventure
I love going on adventures. In the early 90’s I had an opportunity to travel to Asia for a month. At one point I was in Chiang Mai Thailand riding a motorcycle around the mountains of Northern Thailand, "Easy Rider". The experience of eating sushi in Tokyo Japan with a high school friend and when I took a bit of the shrimp and the tail moved. The adventure to see “The Great Wall” and eating “Peking Duck” in Beijing. The most important thing I learned from the trip is that “There is ‘America’ and the rest of the “The World”. My vision is to experience the world with my family.

Last year I was able to take my 3 boys to see one of the last 3 lift offs of the space shuttle endeavor. What an experience that they will never forget.

Skier
By answer the questions “What do I want” I had a goal to teach my 3 boys “the freedom and joy of being on the ski slopes”. I couple of years ago I was at the slopes and saw the Ski Patrol sign while skiing with my boys. I had an opportunity to sign up for the training and 2 years ago I was certified as a National Ski Patrol. Every winter I ski weekly with my family at Nashoba Valley Ski Area and we all love being on the ski slopes.

Cook
I love to cook. Food makes people happy. Being Italian and German food was part of growing up. I remember well going over to my grandmother’s house in Long Island for Sunday dinner. As we would walk up the driveway you could smell the sauces simmer on the stove. These days I enjoy passing on my passion for food to my boys.

Consultant
I’ve been a consult with Keane for over 21 years working primarily in the Boston Area. This is my second assignment at Tufts Health Plan, my first was assignment was Project Manager for the HIPAA Program. My current role is onsite delivery manager working directly with our near shore delivery manager to bring strategic business value to Tufts Health Plan.

Coaching/Mentoring
I am extremely passionate about coaching and mentoring my colleagues by sharing my experiences so they can achieve their best. Utilizing David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” productivity approach I coach individuals with techniques that I have been utilizing for the past 6 years, so they can “take control of their lives in order to achieving what is most important to them”. Think about this – “If you are having the same thought more that once you are having it to many times”.

My Core Values & Noble Cause
As an avid learning, I am currently involved in a very exciting leadership training class based on the book "Tribal Leadership" which has truly empowered me. A recent class exercise was to define my individual core values and noble cause. I would like to share mine with you.

“My core values are integrity, passion, listening and learning to server my noble cause in helping others reach their best and that is who I am.”