All events will be held at the JW Marriott
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Credit Union Casino, 8:30 p.m., White River Ballroom, A-C (1st Floor)
A great way to end the first full day of Convention, the Las Vegas-style casino will feature casino games, networking, and great door prizes. All attendees will receive at least one door prize entry ticket just for coming.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Chairman’s Awards Banquet, 6:00 p.m., White River Ballroom EF – TICKETED EVENT
Convention will conclude with the Chairman’s Awards Banquet which will feature several award presentations, a plated dinner, cash bar, and entertainment from Comedian Tom Ryan. As in past years, dinner music will be provided by Carl Hines Trio.
Tom Ryan
Since he was about 10 years old, Tom wanted to be a standup comedian. The first standup comedy he ever heard was Bill Cosby’s debut album that contained the famous Noah routine. He has been a full time standup comedian for over twenty years. He has made two appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.
At 26, he left an insurance job in his hometown of Philadelphia to move to Florida where he got a job at a local golf course. The job lasted only 3 weeks. Ryan says, “Losing that job was the best thing that ever happened to me because it forced me to confront exactly what I wanted to do with my life.” He took a job as a doorman at the newly opened Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach. It was the lowest paying but most valuable job he ever had. It provided him with a complete comedy education watching acts such as Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Miller and Bill Hicks.
It was not long before Tom made his stage debut. Within two years he was working full time as a comedian. Since then Tom Ryan has worked steadily at comedy clubs, concert venues, corporate functions and colleges across the U.S. In addition to his Letterman appearances, he has also been featured on Showtime, A&E, Comedy Central and NBC.
Tom believes that the best comedy comes from the most unlikely sources. Here is an example from his act: “I was driving around the other day and my oil light came on. But that little symbol looks nothing like an oil can. When it first came on I thought well, apparently my car is low on gravy.”
