Cody Hand had a vision, create a place for speakers to come together and provide an evening of content for the community. That vision became reality on Wednesday night at the Cary Theater for the first installment of the Cary Speakers Collaborative.
Cody, a long-time resident of Downtown Cary, is the owner of Cody Hand Counsel and Strategy, and a public speaker himself. But, the night wasn’t just about Cody, it was about the community that came together to form the speakers collaborative and the community that came together to support the speakers collaborative.
A full house at the Cary Theater enjoyed five speakers. Cody was joined by Robin Kimball Eisenbeis, Kerra Bolton, Matthew Schwab, and Susan Crews.
“You are going to hear from five very different speakers tonight,” said Cody. “Somethings you’ll like and somethings you might not like or necessarily agree with, but that’s how we build community.”
Cody’s talk was called, “Know Your Worth: Build Your Portfolio and Be Epic.” Yes, they all sort of had a TEDx feel to them, but in an intimate and engaging style as well.
Robin Kimball Eisenbeis kicked the night off with a presentation on building quick relationships (like in a networking setting) and learning how to remember names during a social interaction.
“Remembering names is a magical gift because it helps build real relationships,” said Robin. She had the entire audience work through an exercise with a partner that focuses on a conversation around F.O.R.M., talking to another person and asking questions about their Family, Occupation, what they like to do for Recreation, and finally what Matters to them.
Robin closed with a powerful statement, “you all deserve to enjoy your life and leave a legacy.”
Kerra Bolton won the award for traveling the furthest to speak, all the way in from Mexico, where she currently lives. Kerra is an award-winning writer and filmmaker who is working on a project that is currently in production, a film that traces her epic quest to learn to swim, dive and map sunken slave ships.
Her talk was entitled, “Be a Good Ancestor,” and she delivered a power perspective.
“There is generational trauma is us that is passed through our DNA, and I know I need to make a documentary to share my story and my family’s story,” said Kerra.
More from Kerra is available on her website, https://kerrabolton.com.
Next up was Matthew Schwab, and the historic theater in Downtown Cary could hardly contain Matthew’s energy level. If you’ve been to the new GiGi’s Playhouse location in DTC odds are you’ve met Matthew, a 25-year old who is setting out to take the public speaking world by storm.
Mathew has down syndrome, and he is a huge advocate for raising awareness because, “interacting with people like me with down syndrome shows you are empathetic, patient and understanding.”
He lit up the evening by advocating that companies and people consider hiring members of their community with down syndrome because, as Matthew said, “WE WANT TO WORK!”
Cody was up and then Susan Crews closed out the night with her presentation, “Living the Radiant Life: 4 Keys to Move from Exhausted to Energized.”
“For far too long I put myself on the backburner, but today I am her because of that struggle, and because I was empowered to overcome it,” said Susan.
Susan has some great advice on 4 big R’s for the audience; Rest, Rekindle Relationships, and Reclaim You, and Refocus Your Energy. You can see more from Susan at www.susancrewsco.com/secrets.
It was an incredible evening, and the team at DowntownCaryNC.org has already started putting the pressure on Cody to host another one soon. Maybe you can help us convince him here.