Local entertainer Charles E. Snyder III, a certified Master of Ceremonies, was recently added to the list of presenters with the Lancaster County Speakers Bureau. The ‘Speakers Bureau’ is a non-profit organization that provides public speakers on a wide variety of topics to schools, businesses, churches and even chambers of commerce in the Harrisburg, Lancaster and York, PA region. Charles is currently the only entertainer to complete this notable achievement in the entire greater Harrisburg, PA region.

On July 12, 2010 Charles was screened and auditioned in front of members of the executive board of the Lancaster County Speakers Bureau. His first approved presentation, an inspirational talk about controlling fear and achieving success, was warmly accepted by the panel with very positive reviews. He was immediately welcomed into the organization following his presentation and review. He is currently the newest one of only 25 approved speakers within the organization.

Interestingly enough, the Lancaster County Speakers Bureau was founded in 1959 by a group associated with Toastmasters International. Charles has been a member of Toastmasters International since 2006 where he has won a number of awards and contests focused on honing public speaking skills. However prior to the interview and audition, Charles stated that he had no idea that the two organizations were at all related.

“Each year I am in front of thousands of people, speaking. Sometimes I am speaking to other entrepreneurs and other times I am speaking in front of private audiences at wedding ceremonies and receptions. Toastmasters International has allowed me to practice and improve my craft above and far beyond that of any other local DJ. So when I applied to the Lancaster County Speakers Bureau, I had no idea of their historic connection with Toastmasters; but what a pleasant surprise! The best part is that I attribute this success to all of the additional training that I have been picking up to improve my skills as a Wedding Master of Ceremonies.” – Charles E. Snyder III

Charles is the owner of Extraordinary Weddings; a wedding entertainment company located in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, and he is the author of the forthcoming book ‘Wed Without Regrets – Common Sense for an Extraordinary Wedding!’ Since 2006 he has been an active member of the American Disc Jockey Association as well as Toastmasters International. Charles also has three other books which have already been published and he is often featured as a presenter at conventions throughout the U.S. each year since 2005.

On June 22, 2010 Charles attended the Appalachian Mobile DJ Symposium (ARMDJs) in Greeneville, Tennessee.  ARMDJs featured an impressive presenter lineup of wedding professionals from all across the United States.  ‘The Professional Process’ was conducted on the two days immediately following the conference and in the early evening of June 24, 2010; he was awarded a certificate of achievement by Peter Merry.

In addition to this, Charles is also currently the only entertainer in the Greater Harrisburg, PA region to complete the MarBecca Method MC Workshop.  This workshop was held in conjunction with the Mobile Beat Las Vegas convention in February 2009 and consisted of two days of intensive instruction and practical exercises.  An article about this accomplishment was published in February 2009 titled Certified Professional MC.

“I am often asked by many people including my clients and especially other DJs, why I go to such great lengths to obtain this kind of advanced training.  At first I used to go into this long explanation about honing my skills or learning new ones anywhere I could except at someone’s wedding; now I simply say ‘Because I care!’” – Charles E. Snyder III.

Charles is the owner of Extraordinary Weddings; a wedding entertainment company located in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, and is the author of the forthcoming book ‘Wed Without Regrets – Common Sense for an Extraordinary Wedding!’  He has been a member of the American Disc Jockey Association since 2006 and is an active member of Toastmasters International as well.

Be sure to note that this particular incident involved a DJ company based in Ohio that provides DJ and Videographer services for less than what the American Disc Jockey Association recommends as the standard price for just a DJ performing for four hours at a wedding reception! The following two videos are TV news reports about just one of many so-called DJs companies across the U.S.

One particular thing that I realized is that the Spring 2010 release date may have to be pushed back to the Fall of this year due to a number of delays.  Although nearly 60% of the writing is already completed, getting a manuscript properly proofread and formatted for printing tends to be a pretty time consuming endeavor.  Also of considerable importance is that the cover design work has not been approved yet either.

On the other hand, the good news is that I have also had more time to do more research as well as expand that research with the help of a number of industry friends.  What that means for the bride-to-be is that she will have the benefit of knowledge coming from brides who have recently went through everything involved with wedding planning!  Stay tuned for more details coming soon!!!

The premise of the book is quite simple; what The Knot, Modern Bride and so many other wedding publications DO NOT tell you can fill a book!  That’s exactly what I am doing; writing a book about what most media sources will not tell you.  For example, the latest version of The Knot wedding guide book for 2010 consists of more than 400 pages.  Of those 400+ pages, you will be amazed, shocked and astonished by what they don’t tell you!!!

But it’s not all about conspiracies and misinformation, this book draws upon my experiences from more than 1,000 wedding over the last 25 years.  I offer plenty of practical examples, discuss common wedding planning hurdles and offer the reader real options, sometimes in a humorous manner.  Additionally, the smart Bride-to-be will find several chapters chock full of information that The Knot, Modern Bride and others simply cannot or will not tell you.

The shroud of mystery will be pulled back in 2010 with a targeted release date currently set for the beginning of April.  The estimated cover price will be in the range of $24.95 USD and will be available as softbound print and ebook versions.  Pre-sales will begin mid to late February 2010.

Stay tuned for some teasers excerted from the book, cover art, etc. in the coming weeks!

The working title for the book is “Extraordinary Weddings – Perfection Without Buyer’s Remorse!”

The cover design is currently under development and should be finalized just before Christmas 2009.  The planned release date is in the Spring of 2010, but the book will go on presale at a special price on January 1, 2010.

Stay tuned for more details!