2026 NSA Carolinas Annual Banquet (June 12, 2026)

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 21:30:00 GMT

2026 NSA Carolinas Annual Banquet

June 12–13, 2026 · Raleigh, NC

Join us for our biggest event of the year — a weekend celebrating our chapter's success, investing in your craft, and connecting with the speaking community you call home.

Friday, June 12 — Awards Gala & Dinner

Venue: Raleigh Founded - North Street

Address: 509 W. North St., Raleigh, NC 27603

Kick off the weekend with an elegant evening celebrating everything our chapter has accomplished this year. Enjoy a buffet dinner, two complimentary drink tickets, and a night filled with recognition, community, and the kind of conversations that only happen when great speakers get in a room together.

The evening will include:

A real red carpet with professional photos!
Celebration of all we have accomplished this year
Time (and more photos!) with your NSA Carolinas speaker friends
Presentation of this year's chapter awards
Recognition and send-off for our outgoing board members
Welcome to our incoming board and the new chapter year
A delicious dinner ️and celebration drink tickets
Registration does not include hotel accommodations, but hotel recommendations are shared below.

This is a night to dress up, slow down, and celebrate. We hope you'll join us!

Full weekend (Friday and Saturday) pricing:

Member: $200
+1 guest ticket can be added to member ticket for $95
Non-member: $250

Friday-ONLY ticket prices:

Member (individual): $120
Member (couple; member + guest): $170
Additional Guest of Member (additional guest tickets with members’ couple registration): $95

Saturday, June 13 — Professional Development Day

Venue: Raleigh Founded - North Street

Address: 509 W. North St., Raleigh, NC 27603

Our Professional Development Day is built for working speakers. The day is hands-on and interactive — small-group roundtables where you can actually dig into the challenges of running a speaking business.

Pillar	Roundtable 1 @ 10 am	Roundtable 2 @ 11 am
Eloquence	Your signature story Allie Plieter Every speaker has a story that does the heavy lifting — the one that earns trust, shifts perspective, and stays with an audience long after the event ends. Is yours working as hard as it should? We'll explore how to sharpen the structure, deepen the emotional truth, and make sure your signature story still reflects who you are today.	From good to unforgettable Sharon Delaney McCloud. CSP Technical skill gets you booked. Presence gets you rebooked. What separates a competent keynote from one that people talk about on the drive home — and how do you close that gap intentionally? We'll dig into the specific choices that elevate a strong talk into a transformational experience.
Ethics	AI & authenticity Lynn Unsworth, CSP How do you use AI tools in your business — for content, proposals, social media — without losing your voice or misrepresenting your process to clients? Where do you draw the line, and how do you communicate that line to the people who hire you?	Pricing integrity Michelle Edelen Do you charge what you're worth, or do you discount in ways that undercut your peers and signal low value? How do you hold your fee even when a client pushes back, and what does that say about how you value your own work?
Enterprise	Your referral ecosystem Dr. Kevin Snyder, CSP Referrals don't happen by accident. They happen because you've built relationships where the right people think of you first, trust you enough to put their name behind you, and know exactly who to send your way. How do you build and nurture that ecosystem deliberately — and how do you make it easy for people to refer you?	To hire or not to hire? John Edwards, CSP When is it time to stop doing everything yourself? Can you truly outsource the sales process — or is that the one thing you have to own? We'll talk through the real decision behind bringing on help for sales, operations, and marketing: the benefits of hiring, the questions to ask before you do, and what to know ahead of time so your first hire actually moves your business forward.
Expertise	Engagement that earns attention Stan Phelps, CSP, GSF Audiences today are distracted, overstimulated, and quietly skeptical. How do you earn their attention from the first thirty seconds and hold it through to the close? We'll explore specific, practical techniques for creating the kind of engagement that makes a room feel alive — and makes event planners want to bring you back.	The close that converts Kelly Swanson, CSP, CPAE Whether you're selling from the stage, driving attendees to a next step, or simply trying to make sure your message sticks, your call to action is the moment everything either lands or evaporates. What makes a CTA feel natural rather than pushy, and how do you build toward it from the very first line of your talk?

Pillar

Roundtable 1 @ 10 am

Roundtable 2 @ 11 am

Eloquence

Your signature story

Allie Plieter

Every speaker has a story that does the heavy lifting — the one that earns trust, shifts perspective, and stays with an audience long after the event ends. Is yours working as hard as it should? We'll explore how to sharpen the structure, deepen the emotional truth, and make sure your signature story still reflects who you are today.

From good to unforgettable

Sharon Delaney McCloud. CSP

Technical skill gets you booked. Presence gets you rebooked. What separates a competent keynote from one that people talk about on the drive home — and how do you close that gap intentionally? We'll dig into the specific choices that elevate a strong talk into a transformational experience.

Ethics

AI & authenticity

Lynn Unsworth, CSP

How do you use AI tools in your business — for content, proposals, social media — without losing your voice or misrepresenting your process to clients? Where do you draw the line, and how do you communicate that line to the people who hire you?

Pricing integrity

Michelle Edelen

Do you charge what you're worth, or do you discount in ways that undercut your peers and signal low value? How do you hold your fee even when a client pushes back, and what does that say about how you value your own work?

Enterprise

Your referral ecosystem

Dr. Kevin Snyder, CSP

Referrals don't happen by accident. They happen because you've built relationships where the right people think of you first, trust you enough to put their name behind you, and know exactly who to send your way. How do you build and nurture that ecosystem deliberately — and how do you make it easy for people to refer you?

To hire or not to hire?

John Edwards, CSP

When is it time to stop doing everything yourself? Can you truly outsource the sales process — or is that the one thing you have to own? We'll talk through the real decision behind bringing on help for sales, operations, and marketing: the benefits of hiring, the questions to ask before you do, and what to know ahead of time so your first hire actually moves your business forward.

Expertise

Engagement that earns attention

Stan Phelps, CSP, GSF

Audiences today are distracted, overstimulated, and quietly skeptical. How do you earn their attention from the first thirty seconds and hold it through to the close? We'll explore specific, practical techniques for creating the kind of engagement that makes a room feel alive — and makes event planners want to bring you back.

The close that converts

Kelly Swanson, CSP, CPAE

Whether you're selling from the stage, driving attendees to a next step, or simply trying to make sure your message sticks, your call to action is the moment everything either lands or evaporates. What makes a CTA feel natural rather than pushy, and how do you build toward it from the very first line of your talk?

Saturday's roundtables are led by some of the most accomplished speakers in our chapter — CSPs and seasoned pros like Kelly Swanson, CSP, CPAE; Sharon Delaney McCloud, CSP; Stan Phelps, CSP, GSF; Allie Pleiter; Dr. Kevin Snyder, CSP; Michelle Edelen; Lynn Unsworth, CSP; and John Edwards, CSP. Where else can you sit at a small table and talk shop with this caliber of speaker?

These are intimate conversations, not lectures — a rare chance to ask the questions you've been wanting to ask, and to learn directly from the people who've been there.

Lunch is included.

Saturday Schedule

9:00 AM — Registration & morning refreshments
9:30 AM — Welcome address, incoming chapter president
10:00 AM — Roundtable session 1 (45 minutes)
10:45 AM — Short break
11:00 AM — Roundtable session 2 (45 minutes)
11:45 AM — Short Break
12:00 PM — Lunch & Facilitated Lunch Table Discussions
1:00 PM — Panel
Featuring Allie Plieter (author of 60+ books); Stan Phelps, CSP, GSF; and Kelly Swanson, CSP, CPAE
2:00 PM — Adjourn

Saturday ticket prices:

Member: $90
Non-member: $110

We've got you on hotels!

Unfortunately, we weren't able to secure a hotel block this year for our anticipated number of out-of-town guests. But we wanted to help make booking as easy as possible for you anyway, so we've organized a few hotel options near Raleigh Founded — North Street, for anyone who's traveling in from out of town:

Closest to the venue (walkable):

Hampton Inn & Suites Raleigh Downtown — Glenwood South (600 Glenwood Ave, ~0.1 mi from venue / across the street). Average room rates for June 12-13 typically run around $200-$270/night*. (Note: self-parking is $30/night.)
AC Hotel by Marriott Raleigh Downtown (9 Glenwood Ave, ~0.5 mi from venue). Average room rates for June 12-13 typically run around $250-$320/night*. (Note: self-parking is $21/night.)

A more affordable option (slightly further but still downtown):

Holiday Inn Raleigh Downtown (320 Hillsborough St, ~0.7 mi). Average room rates for June 12-13 typically run around $140-$170/night*. Still close enough to walk or grab a quick rideshare to the venue.

A quick note: rates, taxes, and parking fees change often — please verify all four with the hotel directly before booking. Booking directly with the hotel often gets you the most accurate information.

NSA Carolinas aligns with the National Speakers Association policies for Code of Ethics, Civility and Professional Conduct. By registering for any of our events you are also agreeing to adhere to these national standards to uphold the highest standards of professionalism.

If you have questions or any special needs or accommodations that we can support you with, please let us know! We look forward to seeing everyone on June 12th and 13th!

CANCELLED: June 2026 Second Saturday Meetup (June 13, 2026)

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 13:00:00 GMT

NSA Carolinas is committed to serving and building the Professional Speaker Community throughout North Carolina & South Carolina. In that spirit, we host ‘2nd Saturday’ Regional Meetups to foster connection, community, and collaboration.

These Meetups are regionally located, wherever a volunteer member Champion commits to hosting. A remote option (via Zoom) is also available.

GREATER RALEIGH (in-person): 9:00am - 10:00 am @ The Frontier, Blue Ridge Room, 800 Park Office Drive, Durham, NC 27709. (See "Address Note" below.) Area Champion: Alex Dumas (alex@speakeralexdumas.com) and Dr. Holly Sullenger (drhollyspeaks@gmail.com)
GREATER CHARLOTTE (in-person): 10:30am - 11:30am @ Charlotte Mecklenburg Library - SouthPark Regional Branch, 7015 Carnegie Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28211, Area Champion: Allie Pleiter (alliepleiter@gmail.com)
PIEDMONT/TRIAD (in-person) 10:00am - 11:00am @ New Market Plaza, 970 South Main Street, Kernersville, NC 27284 Area Champion: Sherman Transou (srtransou2@gmail.com), Carolyn Bennett-Sullivan (carolyn@carolynbsullivan.com)
REMOTE (virtually): @ 9:00am via Zoom (Zoom link will be included in the registration confirmation and reminder emails). Area Champion: John Edwards john@edwardsgroup.org)

NSA Carolinas is here to help you knock it out of the ballpark, and hit a home run in your Professional Speaker business. See you at our next 2nd Saturday!

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Address Note: Our GREATER RALEIGH event will be held at 800 Park Office Drive, Durham, NC 27703 — inside the Research Triangle Park campus. Some GPS systems mistakenly route to other “Park Office Drive” addresses in the area, so please double-check that your directions lead you to RTP near the Frontier campus.

For best results, try entering: ➡️ “800 Park Office Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27703” or use this direct Google Maps link.

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Want an in-person 2nd Saturday location closer to you? Get in touch with us about being a champion so you can help host and pick the location!

NSA Carolinas upcoming events

2026 NSA Carolinas Annual Banquet (June 12, 2026)

CANCELLED: June 2026 Second Saturday Meetup (June 13, 2026)