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NSA Carolinas Member Retreat: A Weekend Dedicated to Growing Your Expertise in Professional Speaking
April 17 and 18 | Embassy Suites by Hilton Winston Salem
Don't miss this two-day immersive retreat.
Speaker announcements will be shared soon — but mark your calendar to save the date, or register today to reserve your spot!
Event Details:
Embassy Suites by Hilton Winston Salem
460 North Cherry Street Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101 USA
April 17-18, 2026
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
2:00 p.m. Welcome - Acknowledgements
2:30 p.m. SESSION #1 Applause Doesn’t Pay the Bills: Designing an Audience Experience That Turns
Attention into Revenue (Ryan Vet)
3:30 p.m. Break
4:00 p.m. SESSION #2 Brand YOU: Leverage Your Personal Style to Stand Out on Stage - Mary Michele Nidiffer
5:00 p.m. Day 1 Program Concludes
5:00 p.m. Break
5:30 p.m. Evening Reception
6:30 p.m. Dinner (included w/ registration)
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
8:30 a.m. Breakfast (included)
10:00 a.m. Welcome Back and Recap
10:30 a.m. SESSION #3 – Power Up Your Speech and Story - Kelly Swanson, CSP, CPAE
11:15 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m. SESSION #3 (continued)
12:15 p.m. Lunch
1:15 p.m. SESSION #4 – How to Be Funny(er) - Andrew Tarvin, CSP
2:00 p.m. Break
2:15 p.m. SESSION #4 (continued)
3:00 p.m. SESSION #5 Using Humor in Speaking Panel
Andrew Tarvin (moderator)
Kelly Swanson
Craig Collin
Kim Coleman
Lauren Ansley
3:45 p.m. Action Items, Wrap Up and Closing
Registration & Cost
- Registration includes access to all sessions over two days, dinner on day one, breakfast on day two, and lunch on day two.
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NSA Carolinas MEMBER RATE — Registration – $225.00
Registration includes the cost of attending and meals during the event (dinner on Day 1 - Friday, breakfast and lunch on Day 2 - Saturday).
The fee does not include lodging, but information on special hotel room rates will be emailed to all attendees after registration.
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NSA MEMBER (Any Chapter) RATE — Registration – $225.00
**If you are a member of another NSA chapter, or of NSA National, we invite you to attend at our chapter member rate. Please note that you will be contacted to confirm your chapter registration.
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GUESTS - Bundle (Retreat + Membership) – $375.00
Registration includes the cost of attending and meals during the event (dinner on day #1, breakfast on day #2, and lunch on day #2).
The fee does not include lodging, but information on special hotel room rates will be emailed to all attendees after registration.
Guest registration ALSO includes an Annual Membership to NSA Carolinas (good for one year)
*If you are an NSA Carolinas member, please log in before registering and select the NSA Carolinas member ticket.
Registration includes the cost of attending and meals during the event (dinner on Friday, breakfast and lunch on Saturday).
The fee does not include lodging.
** Important note on the hotel accommodation **
The block for the host hotel has expired and the rates are higher than average.
We recommend checking with the Fairfield Inn or Hawthorne Inn (both in downtown Winston Salem) to see if they have availability or hotels near the Hanes Mall area, which is about 10-15 minutes away from the event.
Seats are limited, so secure your spot today and be part of this impactful retreat that will shape the future of professional speaking!
