Three Amigos

Charities and non-profit organizations here and everywhere depend on events, dinners, photo ops, campaign launches and auctions to publicize their efforts and raise money for their causes. And while the best events need flawless work from countless volunteers leading up to the big gig, organizers need people to lead the event itself, to make announcements or introduce members of the head table–someone who speaks well in front of an audience of one or 1000.

Here, the best-known charitable public speakers come from the media and local business–professional talkers and sellers who use a rare skill set to do their good deeds. Winnipeg Men talked to three well-known local MCs to find out what it takes to freely do something that terrifies many of us.

Bill Knight
“Talking’s never been a problem for me–I’m a chatterbox, and I’m comfortable in front of people,” says Bill Knight, who when he’s not selling carpet spends much of his time calling bids at charity auctions.

Knight started his public speaking side-career about 35 years ago, giving opening addresses and introducing guests at charity dinners and industry meetings. Ten years into that, Knight jumped at the chance to move from MC to auctioneer.

“I had this old eight-track tape–a Hank Snow album,” he says, “and I played until self-destructed. One song especially, The Auctioneer, had an auctioneer-style chorus and I always sang along to it. Then, one night at a dinner and auction event I was MCing, the auctioneer didn’t show up.” So Knight took a chance like the boy from Arkansas that Snow sang about in his old-time country song. (“He said oh my it’s do or die ... gotta make my mark and be an auctioneer.”) “I knew the song by heart,” Knight says. “And it was an industry function–in those days it was always a stag event, real piss ups–so I said ‘I’ll call the auction’.”

Now his auction-calling skill garners an ever-growing pile of thank-you letters and cards on a table beside his desk–about 25 of them over the last few months from Fort White Alive, The Humane Society, CancerCare Manitoba, Manitoba Opera, Riverview Health Centre and more. When the pile gets too big, he transfers them to the box where he collects them all. A Macdonald Youth Services award displayed at the front of Knight’s carpet and flooring showroom notes his continued work for half a dozen local charities, and another award as “Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year” from the Association of Professional Fundraisers Manitoba Chapter sits on his desk. Last month, Variety Manitoba named him the 2009 Humanitarian of the Year.

“The more you do it, the more you get asked,” says Knight, who still MCs once in a while, but values his niche as a charity auctioneer. “I could be sitting at home watching TV, or helping make money for a good cause and having fun doing it,” he says. “It’s my way to give back. I raise a lot of money, people have a good time and I’m free. That’s not a bad deal.”

Laurie Mustard
“Go in expecting to have a good time and do your best to make it happen,” says Laurie Mustard, echoing Knight’s ethic of charitable public speaking. Mustard started as an MC shortly after he started as a radio personality at CJOB in 1978. With a known name and a theatre degree from the University of Winnipeg, he appreciated the chance to put his voice and presence to good use.

“I’ve always enjoyed helping to achieve a goal,” he says. “Now it’s part of the fabric of my life; one of the things I do.” The day before he sat to talk about his volunteer work, Mustard spent the afternoon with Sylvia Kuzyk and Don Percy, launching the yearly United Way Koats for Kids campaign. “We’ve been doing that for about 20 years now. I’ve grown old with people doing this.”

Mustard says his MCing work–25 to 35 events a year–reflects his past work on radio and live television, as well as his current work writing as Mr. Winnipeg in The Winnipeg Sun. “I like good news,” he says, “and volunteering, you get to work with such positive, upbeat and proactive people. They’re nice to be around–entertaining and interactive.”

Asked for advice on working a room, Mustard says “first, you find the bar,” only half-joking. Whether with a soda or a scotch, he says the successful MC mingles before the show. “You have to pick out what the room’s all about–a subject or event that binds them, even beyond the limits of the function. “And you have to be ready to improvise,” he adds. “I remember one time introducing the guests at a dinner for then-Lieutenant Governor Pearl McGonigal, and nobody was sitting where they were supposed to be sitting. I said ‘You know who you are, just stand up when you hear your name’.”

Despite his general advice, Mustard sees the role of MC as a personal one. “Giving advice for this is like giving advice on dating. There are always specifics to address in the introduction, but I play it by ear. If you show up with something carved in stone, the stone may not fit.”

Jim Ingebritsen
Jim Ingebritsen, too, has a hard time defining the role of MC. “So much of it I do by rote,” says the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation senior manager of entertainment venues and Great Tastes of Manitoba television host. “All I can think of is the boring stuff. Pronounce the names right, list the names right–royalty first, then heads of state, then government officials.

“A good MC makes everybody feel comfortable,” he says. “The ceiling tiles could be falling and the kitchen could be on fire, but you have to make the audience think everything is OK. The goal is to make the audience feel whole.” Again, like the others, Ingebritsen gets to know the room before he plays to it. “I like to read the room, to walk around first and smell them out–I look for common denominators and find a thread that pulls all the pieces together.”

No stranger to crowds now, Ingebritsen remembers MCing his first event, reluctantly, in the ninth grade. “I was the class clown,” he says. “To make up for a lack of scholastic ability, I was told I had to introduce the band at a sock hop fundraiser the school was having. I was terrified.” But long after grade school, Ingebritsen’s experience on television (live and taped) added to his MCing skills and opportunities. One volunteer gig led to another and now he MCs between 20 and 30 events a year. “It’s hard to say how many I do,” he says. “Sometimes it’s one in a few months, but I remember a two week period when I did six. That’s where the
blur comes from.”

For corporate-sponsored events, Ingebritsen says he will charge a fee; for charity, he at least appreciates a thankful gesture. “I do it for the free T-shirts,” he says. “Not that I ever wear them, but there is a value to what a volunteer MC does. Whether it’s a couple of drink tickets or dinner, it’s nice to have recognition of the value,” he says.

Though Ingebritsen approaches MCing with much less reluctance than in Grade 9, he admits to still feeling a little fear in front of an audience. “Most people list public speaking as their greatest fear, but a little fear up there helps you maintain energy; it keeps you sharp.”

Key advice for the would-be MC

Bill Knight: “Don’t keep track of the money you’re bringing in. Pay attention to the lot at hand, and do your best to keep the energy up.”
 
Laurie Mustard: “Respect the audience; make the event work for them and not for you. Sometimes the hosts want you to be a star, but most times, it’s their event and you’re just there to make it better.”

Jim Ingebritsen: “Wear a tux if it’s a formal affair, make sure your fly is up, and always shine your shoes. My grandmother said you can always judge a man by his shoes.”