Personal Power: The Last Chance for the Grand Slam
Personal Power, held online on October 20, 2021, was the last chance to qualify for the 2021 Grand Slam on December 1st. Co-founder Rina Rovinelli had invited anyone with a story about Personal Power to "take the plunge," and ten finalists did.
The top three speeches took the audience from a hospital room to a strip mall washroom to a dark back alley, each about finding strength in a moment that felt powerless.
1st Place: Marjorie Aunos
Speaker, Author, Coach
Marjorie took the audience to a cold hospital room in Montreal, where her cousin, a mother of two with a zest for life, learned she had six weeks to live. Marjorie had placed second at Forgiveness 2021 two months earlier, and in December she went on to win the 2021 Grand Slam.
2nd Place: Catherine Clark
Educator, Counsellor, Author, Speaker
Catherine opened seven months pregnant with a broken leg, a toddler and a bulky stroller, stuck between two washroom doors in an old strip mall. In that moment, she said, she felt emotionally paralyzed and powerless. Catherine is a Mental Health Resiliency Expert and Certified Trauma Counsellor with 25 years of experience.
3rd Place: Yvette Raposo
Professional Ring Announcer & Mindset Coach.
Yvette argued that having personal power is not enough, and that knowing how to use it in the moment is what matters. She made the point with the night she chased a purse thief down a dark back alley in a foreign city. A former competitive boxer, Yvette is the first and only female professional ring announcer in Canada.
Meet the Judges Who Made It All Happen
- Brian Olds, President, Black Speakers Network
- Dr. Cheryl Wood, 2x TEDx Speaker, 15x Best-Selling Author and Executive Speaker Development Coach
- Ian Tyson, Speaker, Author, Facilitator, Silver Lining Prospector
- Laura Slinn, Entrepreneur, Trainer, Author
Prizes donated:
- Brian Olds: Black Speakers Network premium memberships and a one-year license to the BSN Global Speakers Summit
- Dr. Cheryl Wood: a featured speaker spot at SpeakerCon2021, 90 days of academy access and her "Maximize My Voice" masterclass
- Ian Tyson: coaching, a spot on Get Your Pep Talk and copies of "Hooray For Everything! The Optimist Manifesto"
- Laura Slinn: a triple coaching certification training and two VIP coaching packages with a signed copy of "Evolved NLP"
Meet the full lineup in Meet the Speakers for Personal Power 2021 and the panel in Meet Your Judges for Personal Power 2021.