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In this edition:
Giving Back to Those Who Served
I was denied military service 3 times for the same reason. Each time I applied, I hoped that, by going from a different angle, the reason for denial wouldn’t exist again. After highschool I wanted to go via the ROTC. After college I tried to go as an officer. After law school I wanted to join the JAG corps.
I tried to serve and become a veteran, but "they" wouldn't let me. I even had a Member of Congress, my boss at the time, try and get a waiver.and every time, I got the same response:
"Keratoconus is a non-waivable condition." It is a corneal disease that makes my cornea look like a mountain range where yours' look like a marble. While I have scleral contacs to address the problem, giving me 20/20 vision, the one thing they don't cure is that feeling that the thing I wanted to do I cannot. It is non-waivable.
But let me tell you what I CAN do, and am pursuing as I type.
The Speakers Collaborative will, sometime in 2025, host a cohort that is specific for veterans, and will cover topics from veterans mental health and suicide prevention, to veterans exit and transition strategies. And - it will be no charge to the veterans.
Here's where you come in:
1. Please forward this email to any veteran or veteran family that you think would be interested or could share with their network.
2. Send me veterans who have stories that need to be shared. They can email me here.
3. Consider sponsorships. I will not charge the veterans, but I cannot do it alone. Our sponsor package is here.
There is no greater healing power than community, and no better way to get into community than the stories we share.
Thankful November
As we enter the month of Thanksgiving, I celebrate 2 years of my business(es) Cody Hand, LLC and The Speakers Collaborative. I am truly thankful for the chance to live in to the work I am called to do. Providing a platform, either through my legal practice, lobbying with Capital Resources, or The Speakers Collaborative, has been nothing short of amazing. Thanks to all who have been with us on this journey, especially my wife and daughters.
Sponsor a Collaborative in 2025
We have two ways to sponsor and bring The Speakers Collaborative to your community:
Traditional Sponsorships
Traditional Sponsorships are where you write this into your marketing budget and receive endorsements and airtime. These help underwrite the cost of the production, and reduce the amount of tuition paid by each speaker.
Employee Sponsorships
Your company probably has a Learning and Development (L&D) budget. The Speakers Collaborative is an option for those who want to work on their speaking and presentation style. We can work with one of your team and we offer a buy out, where you enroll 5-6 of your leaders in the program and we do all the training and production on site.
Sign Up For Your Collaborative!
What are you waiting for? We built the stage, now sign up! This is how it works:
You sign up for the location nearest you, or where you want to travel.
Once we have 5 sign ups for a location, we start the cohort.
for two months, we meet weekly via zoom (or on site if there are 5 speakers from one company)
During that two months we have as many one-on-one conversations as you’d like.
At the end of the two months, we go live on stage, with a live audience and universal live-stream.
You receive all of your professionally produced collateral and lifetime support.