NFPW

Osmond Hears With His Heart

Justin Osmond was born with a 90 percent hearing loss.

Imagine that, especially if you were born the son of Merrill Osmond, the lead singer of the world-renowned Osmonds.

Justin, who spoke to the NFPW 2013 conference, said “Imagine life without sound.” As he continued to “speak” the audience could see his lips moving but could hear nothing but the sound of silence.

“That’s what my life was like without hearing aids,” he said as he raised his voice.

Today one in five teenagers has a documented hearing loss, in part, because of the prevalent use of ear buds and playing music on mp3 players too loudly, Justin said.

His hearing lost presented challenges for him, but he chose to challenge his limits. He recognizes his hearing loss and said, “It’s okay. It’s who I am.”

He added, “I have a hearing loss, but that hearing loss does not have me. “

Justin Osmond learned to keep the beat by watching his brother's bow.

Justin Osmond learned to keep the beat by watching his brother’s bow. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

As he smiled and joked with the audience, he shared other popular sayings that contribute to his positive outlook. For example, “If there are no ups and downs in life, it means you are dead.”

He spoke of becoming more assertive and also of service. “Whatever your profession, always make time to help others, to serve one another.” Because of his hearing loss, he established the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund, in honor of his late grandmother.

A video he shared showed the many faces of the children the fund has helped. Dry eyes were few in the audience as it watched children receive the gift of being able to hear for the first time. Their faces beamed and they laughed as they came to hear sound.

Justin encouraged the audience to never give up. “You may have a challenge but don’t let those challenges have you.”

As a young boy, Justin learned to play the violin. He could feel the vibrations along his jaw line. However, when he performed with his brothers, he wasn’t sure if he was keeping the beat. Then he struck on the idea to watch his brother’s bow – and he kept the beat.

Justin recently wrote a book, Hearing with My Heart, in which he shares his story with the world in order to help everyone understand the struggles of living with a hearing loss and how to overcome it.

NFPW Blooms Late, Gathers No Moss

The NFPW conference is just around the corner, and I can’t wait! In addition to the great workshops, the awards and the networking, it’s an opportunity to catch up with friends. I’m always amazed and humbled by the members.

One member, Marlene Cook, is as excited today as she was 40 years ago, to win an award. She recently posted to Facebook, “Holy cow! Just found out I won a first place in the National Federation of Pres Women’s writing contest for a speech I gave at or 60th class reunion. Not bad for the shy kid at Fenger High School who couldn’t speak up in class. Hey, look at me now!!!! Who’d have believed it?”

Marlene Cook

NFPW is an important part of Marlene Cook’s life.

Those of us who know Marlene would definitely have believed it. That post led me to ask her to share about her career and involvement with NFPW. Of course, before she could do that, she had to do her daily mile walk and finish her deadline for the church newsletter.

NFPW members never gather moss, that’s for sure.

Marlene was a “late bloomer” to journalism starting at age 30 working for the Harvey Tribune as a correspondent and “gossip” columnist. She also joined Illinois Woman’s Press Association and NFPW. In high school, her teacher told her she would never amount to anything. Can you believe that?

But Marlene proved her wrong, in part, because of the support and mentoring of press women. She gathered information from her contacts as PTA president, baseball auxiliary mother, Cub Scout leader, church guild president and anything else involving her children. Her column, “The Tattler,” allowed her to tattle on her children, as well as friends and neighbors.

Her career blossomed and along the way, she wrote about celebrities, presidents and the queen of the Netherlands.

One thing, hasn’t changed – “The rush when I’m recognized as a writer.” Marlene continues to enter the NFPW communications contest and when she wins, she says, “It certainly doesn’t hurt my ego and it has always helped secure jobs.”

NFPW, Marlene says, is a feeling. “It’s a feeling of belonging, of support, of concern, of security and of love.”

“I belong to many organizations and have many friends, but my NFPW friends are special,” she adds. “I’ve traveled to all 50 states and 15 countries, most of them through NFPW or related opportunities. I’ve done things I could never have done on my own. The opportunities are endless.”

“I was a shy, scared, high school educated mom, believing I’d never amount to anything. NFPW gave me confidence enough to fool that teacher and myself,” she says. “I went on to hold every office in IWPA except treasurer, (president for two terms), national conference director, POPPS president and historian. I’ve also written an award-wining book. I guess I was somebody after all!”

4 Reasons to Attend NFPW Conference

Four months until the NFPW conference and I’ve already booked my hotel and flight. Next I’ll register. Why I am so eager? The conference affords me many opportunities, including:

Stretching: At this conference, NFPW members applied to be speakers on various topics. I frequentlsmall_badgey speak on issues related to my profession, including on social media, branding and crisis communications. I agreed to be a panelist on crisis communications.

I also pitched a seminar on “The Brand of You.” I’m interested in coaching and decided that offering a seminar on this topic would force me to review all of my learnings, study some more and then create a presentation. My summer will be busy, and I hope it will be worth it to those who attend my session.

Networking: Our members have lots of knowledge and they’re just plain interesting. They also are always willing to share advice or simply listen. With social media, it’s even easier to stay in touch.

Learning: I’ve increased my knowledge about agriculture thanks to Jenni Latzke, Lori Potter and Barb Batie. The result is that for th2013_conf_logo-300pxe past several years I have grown my own vegetables. This summer I may try canning. I’ve learned about book publishing and video editing. At an NFPW conference I first learned about blogging and thought, “I could never do this” and now I’ve been blogging for four years.

Exploring: One of the added benefits of NFPW conferences are the tours. The affiliates that host know the places to see and often can provide access behind-the-scenes. I’m looking forward to exploring Southern Utah.

Why do you attend conference? Please share as a comment to encourage others to attend.

 

Give Yourself the Gift of NFPW Renewal

It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about the hustle and bustle of trying to find the perfect gift for someone else. I’m talking about the decision to renew your membership to the National Federation of Press Women.

NFPWlogoI asked members on Facebook why they choose to renew. If you’re still in doubt, perhaps their reasons will encourage you to stroke that check and give yourself the best gift for yourself – and maybe your career.

Here’s what they had to say:

Walter Brasch of Pennsylvania: “I joined because two-thirds of my J-students were women, and I thought it important that I (a) learned more of the issues that affected them, and would affect them, and (b) so they would have an organization that had woman as a majority.”

Kim Atchley of South Carolina: “I was invited by a professional friend who reached out to me as a freelancer when I had no connections at all. I’ve stayed all these years for many reasons. It’s about the connections and the strong thread of friendship that is a given within our membership.”

Sandra Latimer of Ohio: “I joined because of the contest (at the urging of my then boss). When I was asked to be the contest chair for my affiliate I went to my first conference. I met a few people and kept going back. I have also been able to travel to places I never dreamed I’d get to. And I’ve made a lot of contacts.”

Nancy Wright Beasley of Virginia: “I’ve asked many, many jounalists to join, describing how friendships run deep, careers are made and encouraged and everyone finds a way to help someone else. The hand of friendship of NFPW extends from every corner of the U. S. around the world, and I’m so thankful I’m a part of this great organization.”

Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas of Illinois: “Fabulous members who I now count as friends.”

Barb Batie of Nebraska: “By the time I switched from full-time work to freelance work so I could stay home with my young family, I appreciated the value of that membership and continued to pay the membership and convention expenses because I got such a return on the investment.”

Constance Huff of Alaska: “Great contacts made in our local chapter, some became close friends. The annual conference and especially pre- and post-tours are a highlight of my year.”

Julie Campbell of Virginia: “I like going to NFPW conferences and visiting with all kinds of interesting women who work in all aspects of communications. Most of the time, we talk less about work and more about other parts of our lives. After those conversations, whether they take place over coffee, wine, or the silent auction, I return home feeling refreshed.”

Laughter Is the Best Medicine

Dancing in the morning was a great way to introduce laughter and play into the day. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

Sometimes I take life a bit too seriously. Don’t we all? So how do we lighten up?

At the recent National Federation of Press Women conference, I learned some great tips thanks to professional speaker Steve Saffron. My day began with a morning yoga class so I already was doing something for me to lighten up and be limber for the day. Little did I know what was to yet to come.

I went to the morning session, and by 9 a.m. I had laughed until I had tears. And I had danced! What a great way to start a day.

Having the good life, is all about having the right attitude. “No one needs a course on human misery,” Steve noted. “You get that for free.”

To survive you have to have laughter and humor, and when you don’t feel like laughing, Steve says to fake it. He asked audience members to giggle for 10 seconds. Most of us hesitated for a second – or two. Then we made a half-hearted attempt. The last five seconds genuine giggles were heard.

To invite more laughter, Steve recommends keeping a collection of one liners, cartoons, puns, stories and photos that can trigger laughter. I love to read the humorous sayings on T-shirts in catalogs. I can’t help but smile when I read, “Don’t Make Me Flip My Witch-Switch.”

And Steve told this one, “What did the baby volcano say to the mother volcano?” Are you ready? “I lava you.”

Yep, you groaned, but I bet a smile started. And if you think about it for even an extra second, you will grin.

Steve also provided practical advice. Most of us have busy calendars. He asked us, “Where are you on the calendar?” It was an eye-opening moment for me. I went through my electronic calendar and noted all my fun engagements and I color-coded them using my favorite color. Now when I see a sea of meetings, I also see my favorite color in the midst and I know that I have something fun to go to. It changes my attitude. Steve recommended yellow for color-coding because it “will help you be mellow.”

As we prepared to leave the session, Steve put on some music to help pep our departure. For a few of us, it was a favorite song, so we stayed and danced. And then others stayed. And then we laughed. We were ready for the day!