Jim Slade
Have Speeches, Will Travel
Editor: Being a modest guy, I have always hesitated to toot my own horn on this website since I feel you are more interested in reading stories about Aviation and Space than about me. But since my afterdinner or middle-of-the-conference speeches tell those same kinds of stories, I felt more or less compelled to make you aware of them. Besides, my speech agent really, really wanted me to. And since you have come this far, I assume you may have an interest.
So..
I've spent more than 50 years in radio and television, most of them at the network level. My specialty has always been aviation and space. I watched the American space program grow from those very first Mercury flights on through today's Space Shuttle and Station. I can tell you how it happened, where it's going from here..and I can tell you why.
In aviation, I reported the advent of the Jumbos and was on the very first delivery run of the 747. I'm an active pilot, having such a love for the old classics of the forties that I fly one of my own.
I'm a historian of sorts, too. I've been recognized as a "minor authority" on the Wright Brothers and I love to tell their story to anyone who'll listen. 
But it goes beyond just them; I get a kick out of all the interesting characters who built aviation and space. More than any other endeavor, it took some rugged, independent and sometimes ornery individuals to pull it along. I can talk about most of them, making the audience laugh a little, think a bit and maybe feel proud to see what's been accomplished.
Every show is digitally illustrated throughout by a video production system we used to build news stories at ABC TV. I work with still shots so I can pause easily to point out details while they're on the screen. I take pride in doing a good bit of my own photography, but many of the pictures come from sources that only a journalist could access.
Here's a sampling of the illustrated programs I can offer your next big meeting:
The Wright Brother's Twentieth Century. This show shows how the 'boys from Dayton' did it, and then shows where their accomplishment led, pointing out that we went from Kitty Hawk, NC to the moon in just 66 years. Surely, the Twentieth Century will be considered a turning point in human history.
Apollo. In this program, I take the audience on the flight to the moon and back, using photographs taken by the astronauts themselves.
Air To Ground. A review of how radio and, later, computers grew to meet the needs of the aviation and space industries, with a preview of how they'll grow as we move on to the Moon and Mars.
Rascals and Their Flying Machines. This one is new and has gotten good "reviews." In it, I look at the wonderful characters whose interest, enthusiasm and drive built aviation and, to some degree, the space program.
It reflects on the fact that, on the one hand there are everyday people who get along in life and then there are the oddballs who really make things happen. The everyday folks usually think the oddballs are "some kinda nuts" until the oddballs pull it off and turn into "some kinda heroes." Great stories, fabulous characters. My shows usually last 30 to 45 minutes, but this one can go on as long as the audience likes. Well, almost..
If you'd like to know how to schedule me for an upcoming event, just click on: The Aviation Speakers Bureau. Diane Titterington, your host over there, will have a full bio on me along with all the details on doing the booking. She's a nice kid and you'll like her.
Jim Slade
10/30/2006
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