teacher’s conference 2011 ceo keynote · teacher’s conference 2011 ceo keynote jeffrey skouson...

Teacher’s Conference 2011

CEO Keynote

Jeffrey Skouson

CEO & Director of Education

Speech Level Singing International

To each of you here tonight.… our Speech Level Singing Family ‐‐‐ I extend a warm welcome.

Welcome to Teacher’s Conference 2011.

I stand here today as the new CEO and Director of Education for Speech Level Singing International. It

is truly a privilege to be able to serve Seth and Speech Level Singing in this new capacity. I’m honored

that Seth trusts me with such an important part of who he is. I will do my best to carry forward a

torch that has shone so brilliantly for so long for so many.

I’d like to start by saying THANK YOU.

So many of you have flown in from outside the United States!

Teacher’s Conference 2011 has brought a total of 116 teachers. A total of 15 countries are

represented here in this room. The United States is a major key market and we have a total of 18

states represented here at conference.

SLS CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE THE SLS ORGANIZATION 1

Dr A R Bernard is one of New York’s most influential leaders. He sits on the New York Economic

Development Corporation Board and the New York City School Chancellor’s Advisory Cabinet. Dr

Bernard also served on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2001 Transition Team.

He shared some important insights in the understanding of crisis, transition and change…

• “if change is necessary, then not to change is destructive”

• (and we must remember that…) “change is the only constant in life!”

• (the truth my friends is that…) “all growth comes by way of crisis”

When crisis and challenges come, we can get lost if we lose sight of the bigger picture.

Challenges can present great opportunities!

I’d like to take you on a journey. The journey of how steel is made

(VIDEO)

There is much to be learned by understanding the process of steel making. As we saw in the video,

only under tremendous pressure and heat can steel be created. Likewise, any individual or

organization can truly grow only after the effects of both heat and pressure are applied.

Most organizations struggle because they consider this necessary process something that has been

done to them, and sadly they fail to see what these challenges can do for them. Through this process,

we are refined, molded, and forged into powerful entities.

In essence, the finest steel comes only after the hottest fire. But we must position ourselves to take

advantage of that “heat” in order to benefit from its purifying power.


Speaking of pressure, some of you here have experienced this just yesterday in panel testing! Let’s have

those who panel tested stand up and let’s give them a big hand!

• Heather Baker — England

• Michele Fischeitti — Italy

• Gene Raymond — Austin

• Kimberly Kanitz — Las Vegas

• Brandon Brophy — Toronto Canada

• Keleen Miskin — Atlanta Georgia

• Tricia Grey — Atlanta Georgia

• Claire Yarrington — Ferndale California

• Noreen Smith — Newbury Park California

Each of these amazing teachers has continuously placed themselves in the “refiner’s fire”, willing to be

pushed, willing to be molded, and willing to be subjected to great amounts of heat and pressure. I

stand in front of you all today to say that I’ve had opportunities work with each of these teachers—in

some cases over a span of several years. I’m very proud of their diligence and willingness…and as you

can see there is an enormous amount of pride in a job well done. Congratulations to each of you.

Rest assured, you deserve this. You have earned this.

The video says it so well – “the end product is a far cry from the chunky raw material”.

This past year has truly refined us. Each of you have stayed dedicated, committed and passionate

about being the very best voice teachers you can be. There are those who could not join us at

conference for various reasons who have demonstrated this same level of commitment. SLS is

stronger than ever before!


Throughout this journey, let us never forget that the one who has taken the most heat has been none

other than Seth Riggs.

Seth has never once lost the passion and faith in Speech Level Singing – the technique or the company!

For nearly 60 years, and through adversity that none of us will ever encounter, he has continuously

challenged the status quo of the vocal world. Relentless and unforgiving and always aiming higher, Seth

has truly set the bar. One of my favorite quotes of Seth, from a lesson long ago, happened when I was

playing with vocal fire. He leaned forward into the camera and said, “Jeffrey, you must avoid vocal

iniquity at all cost.”

Seth has truly become a refined instrument that serves as a model for each of us. I see Seth as a

precision instrument, made of the finest steel that has withstood the challenges and tests through the

years by always keeping the singular focus of building singers one voice at a time.

Seth, may I get you to stand for a moment and I’d like for everyone to join me as we say from the

bottom of our hearts – THANK YOU SETH FOR YOUR RELENTLESS PASSION AND

DEDICATION!

So what have been our challenges?

We really have had TWO main challenges:

1. Communication

2. Education

These are the TWO main areas on which we have focused as we step into 2011.


1) COMMUNICATION

A truly great international organization such as Speech Level Singing depends heavily on effective

means of communication. We’ve gone back to the drawing board and have refined our organization.

Today I’d like to present the new organization structure…

The SLS Organization is now represented by 3 ARMS –

1) Executive Team (in RED)

2) Events (in ORANGE)

3) Education (in GREEN)


Let’s take a closer look at each of these in detail.

The Executive Team works for Speech Level Singing International. They set the vision, and

direction of the company. In addition, this team is responsible for the administration and creative

branding of the SLS Organization.


SETH RIGGS is the head of the Executive Team as Founder and Chairman of the Board.

He will play a key role as mentor and leader and ensure that we remain focused on and true to the

SLS mission.

As the CEO of SLS, I will be responsible for the day to day operations of SLS International. I will

oversee the company and drive the vision, direction and process. Please be aware that I am in constant

contact with Seth Riggs. We speak nearly daily. As founder, Seth will be instrumental to me as a guide.

No significant changes will occur without communicating first with Seth. In effect, I will carry out

Seth’s wishes. In addition, I will also maintain my current position as Director of Education.

ELLYN CARLSON is our CFO. As a CPA, Ellyn has served Seth personally for many years. She is

highly qualified and will ensure we maintain the highest financial integrity.

COREY WARDLE is our new Administrative Director of SLS. She has already done a

tremendous job in heading the administrative side since she took over as Admin Director. She will also

handle payment related matters and all certificates. I know many of you have already shown an

appreciation for her efficient use of time. Please give her a hand. She has stepped into some pretty big

shoes, and has proven she is up to these challenges.

DANIEL SINGH from Singapore has been officially given the title of Creative Director of SLS.

Daniel is highly experienced in creative direction and worked for Microsoft before joining the SLS

Family. He is focused on the marketing and branding of both the Speech Level Singing and Seth Riggs

brands. Daniel will set creative direction for our web and print materials.


The Events arm is a subset of the Executive Team and takes care of our TWO major

Speech Level Singing events – the Summer Vocal Program and Teacher’s Conference.

LINDA TOMKINSON is our SVP and TC Director. She is amazing at creating and managing

events. She has been totally dedicated to making this year’s conference a huge success so we’d like to

take a moment to thank Linda for all she and her incredible team have done to prepare for Teachers

Conference 2011!


The Education arm represents SLS Certification and Education.

As noted earlier, I will continue to head the education arm as Director of Education.

The current members of the IMT are:

• Jeffrey Skouson

• Greg Enriquez

• Linda Tomkinson

• Kathy Kennedy

• Spencer Welch


As most of you know, the IMT are divided into two groups. The Instructor Developers and the

Instructor Evaluators.

The teams are divided as follows:

• Jeffrey, Linda and Greg are IE, with myself as the IE Director.

• Spencer and Kathy are ID, with Greg being the ID Director.

The Point EAG is the head of our Educational Advisory Group body. Our new Point EAG is

Heather Baker from England. Heather has done an amazing amount of work in the past 2

months since she was assigned to this position. The Point EAG reports directly to Spencer Welch who

is the IMT overseeing all EAG activities.

The EAG body is made of members who serve as communication links between our worldwide

instructors and the SLS organization.

I would like to make mention that we are in the process of reworking the educational titles such as

IMT and EAG. We will make an announcement soon. This will help to make our structure clearer. In

addition, we are considering the addition of new IMT as needs arise. We will keep you posted on this

as well.

This organizational structure clearly outlines our chain of command and authority, as well as our lines

of communication. For any concerns or questions that may arise, we hope our instructors will

communicate directly with their respective regional EAGs. Should questions regarding specific

administration or payment related matters arise, we suggest you send them directly to Corey. For

specific enquiries on creative branding and marketing (such as logo usage guidelines on your personal

websites) you should contact Daniel Singh.

We will be sending out an email detailing all important email addresses as well as the lines of

communication together with these organizational charts.


If there comes a point where you feel you’ve exhausted all of your communication options, and your

concern has still not been solved adequately, please feel free to call me or email me direct. The

number and email I will show you next are not ancillary ways to communicate with me. This is my

ONLY email address, and my ONLY cell phone.

Please be warned, however, that the first thing I will ask you is have you consulted first with your

appropriate authority directly above you.


2) EDUCATION

is a major aspect of our organization and we strive to bring you the highest level of education

possible. Teachers Conference 2011 reflects this and represents our commitment as an organization,

dedicated to the education of our instructors. We want to maximize your time here to help you

become equipped to be the best teacher possible out there!

Over the next few months, we will be announcing more educational modules and opportunities. Our

worldwide IMT events are being organized and will begin in May. IMT visits this year will include

London, Manchester, Ireland, France, Austria, Germany, Poland and Italy. In addition, we are in the

process of putting together an Australian and Asian tour. Also, US tours are being organized.

As we step into this new decade, we’re going back to the basics! We are more dedicated than ever to

ensuring the most efficient communication and the highest level of education in the history of SLS.


Lastly, I would like to graphically outline our global presence.

Since we’re all here in North America today, let’s begin here. North America has been a key market for

Speech Level Singing. Let’s take a look at our presence in this part of the world.

This represents only a portion of our presence in North America. We have more teachers than the

dots represent. Currently there are 121 certified teachers in North America.


While its true that Speech Level Singing has a strong presence in North America, we really have

become a global company. As I scanned each of the names and locations of all of our teachers this

afternoon on our website I was surprised to see that we currently have 161 certified teachers

outside the United States.

Speech Level Singing has truly grown in size and global market presence. Let’s take a look at our global

market as of April 2011.

We’re truly making a significant impact in the world and it is all because of each and every one of you!

Let’s give everyone a hand for the tremendous job you’re all doing training singers all around the

world! … with ONE METHOD – THE TECHNIQUE OF LEGENDS.


What can I say in closing? As we begin Teacher’s Conference 2011 this marks a major milestone in the

history of Speech Level Singing. This is the new SLS for the decade! Be proud of who you are. Be

humble enough to change that which is deficient in your teaching by allowing yourself access to the

“fire” that will refine and mold each of you into the teachers you can become. The torch is lit. The

message is clear. The pathway is laid.

We’re truly raising the bar and I’d like all of us to remember from where we have come and I hope

you will join me as we begin A NEW CHAPTER!

THANK YOU!


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