Windy

Jodi and I went to a banquet tonight thrown by her employer honoring years of service of various employees including her. One particular retiree was honored for 44 years of service, but here was the catch. The department head who introduced her and gave the "recognition speech", went on and on...and on...and on...and on. I seriously thought the elderly lady had a good chance of dying prior to being finally asked to come up to the podium and accept her award. The speech introducing her was delivered in a scatter-brained, seat of the pants fashion that ended up casting a shadow on her wonderful career because it was so fricking long. I was embarrassed for her to have to listen to such a painful retelling of her ENTIRE life story in such a numbnutz fashion.

People...if you are ever asked to perform such a function, please keep in mind a couple of things:

Not everyone in the audience gets inside jokes.
Too much detail is just that...too much.
Keep the physical comfort of your audience in mind.
10-15 "funny stories" in an introduction ends up being anything but.

Last but not least, if your honoree is above the age of 70, do not make them wait for 42 minutes to accept an award while you display your lack of organization and public speaking skills. Can I get an Amen brother!