The Power of Community: A Night of Redemption

It was a night of redemption. Two former speakers, Merav Richter and Armin Shafee, came back to the Lula Lounge stage on September 25th, 2018 and powerfully captured first and second place. The room was buzzing with people embodying the theme, and with so many former speakers and Speaker Slam® regulars in the audience, it felt like a reunion.

1st Place: Merav Richter

2nd Place: Armin Shafee

3rd Place: Lilian Maricela Motta

4th Place: Adil Dhalla earned an honourable mention.

Special awards: Amy Tepperman won Carl Richards' Be Bold From the Stage award, and Joe-Sam Stetter won Elvira V. Hopper's Love Your Vibe award.

Meet the Judges Who Made It All Happen

• Unstoppable Tracy Schmitt
• Marlon Shaw
• Alexis Dean
• Roger Caesar

These judges were all heart, and that set the tone for the whole evening.

Unforgettable Moments

A Speaker Slam® first: a proposal. Competitor Joe-Sam Stetter asked, and she said yes.

With the season's qualifiers complete, the road led to the 2018 Grand Slam that November.

Watch Every Speech from Power of Community 2018

1st Place

Merav Richter

Be a Community Builder

2nd Place

Armin Shafee

A New Way To Look at The Grieving Process: Coping with Death

3rd Place

Lilian Motta

Finding Belonging: Overcoming Struggles and Embracing Self-Love

Adil Dhalla

Building Community Starts with Washing the Dishes

Akash Sidhu

The Power of Community: Inspiring We Are One Moments

Amy Tepperman

Unlocking the Power of Unity and Individuality for Positive Communities

Josef Stetter

Surprise Marriage Proposal at Speaker Slam!

Lalita Dixit

Finding Strength and Community: My Journey with Crohn's Disease