Key Note Speaker

With the recent completion of my Master's degree, I may have accidently happened upon a new career. What career? That of a public speaker. Here's how it happened.

Last year I designed a career unit for my 8th grade students. A parent of one of the male students in my class works as an administrative assistant for a professor in the Financial and Consumer Science department at the University of Illinois. This parent talked to her boss about my unit. Her boss was so impressed that she wanted me to present this unit at financial and consumer education conference put on for high school teachers across the state of Illinois.
The phone conversation went like this.
Dr. Cline: Tell me a little about this career simulation you do.
Brittney: (I proceeded to tell him - I won't go into the gruesome details)
Dr. Cline: Are you afraid of speaking in front of people?
Brittney: I am a classroom teacher, so no...
Dr. Cline: What if it was a group of teachers?
BrittneY: Well that doesn't really bother me much either?
Dr Cline: What if it is a room full of about 60 high school teachers from across the state?
Brittney: You got me there, I can't do it! :) (Just kidding)
He proceded to ask me if I would be willing to present my unit at this conference. The teachers at this conference are looking for new ideas to use and teach in thier classes. So I agreed!

One week before the conference (conference was September 25), the schedule came out. As I glanced through it I noticed this:

10:00-10:45 - Building your career: A Life skills presentation
Key note speaker: Brittney Richards, Prairieview Ogden Jr. High School.

Although I agreed to speak at this conference, I didn't agree to be the key note speaker.
As I started to introduce myself to the audience, I had a difficult time getting their attention. I was the only jr high teacher, and the only Language Arts and Reading teacher. All other participants were high school business and economics teachers. What could I say that would be important? When I started I wanted to stop and yell at the audience to make sure that I had their attention. However, after I started I soon had them captivated. They were impressed with my presentation, and awed by how much I was able to get my 8th grade students to do. I had many recommendations and invitiations to speak at other conferences later in the year. One participant, who recently got her type 75 (administrative) certificate, even offered to hire me at her school. I wasn't expecting to be such a popular speaker. Afterwards, I was told that I was the best speaker of the entire event. That is quite the compliment. So I guess I lived up to the key note speaker status.