AFTER-DINNER SPEAKERS

Running any function regardless of whether it is for a large corporate or social audience is typically to convey a message or achieve a specific objective. There are a number of factors that will influence the success of any function including location, quality of cuisine, efficient organisation, accessibility etc. These are all tangible factors that can be controlled by the event organiser relative to the audience and budget. The difference between running an adequate function and one that is both memorable and successful is dependent upon generating the right environment and the ability to communicate and empathise well with your audience. These key intangible factors require special skills and will typically need to be obtained from an outside personality.

Having arranged many corporate and social hospitality events, we at Sporting Certainty recognise the importance of this key ingredient to make functions successful and memorable. Through our hospitality contacts we have access to many personalities who possess this critical ingredient and we can match the right personality to the function objectives. We can likewise arrange for their availability and ensure they are suitably briefed to participate as if one of your own!

Call us on 0800 2 118 818 to tells us about your event and its objectives, we will then source a short list of suitable and available personalities to ensure your  function includes the critical ingredient to be memorable and successful.  Below is a list of personalities we use on a regular basis: -

Roger Dakin - England Hockey Goalkeeper (31 Caps)

Maintaining control of any event is essential to its smooth and efficient running. As well as being an excellent and very humorous speaker, Roger is one of the best Master of Ceremonies, if not the best and a fantastic auctioneer. Regardless of whether he is at a formal dinner, a sports event or a fete, Roger is extremely versatile and has the unique ability of putting an audience at ease to create that all important relaxed and convivial environment. With 30 years experience as raconteur Roger either working alone or alongside other speakers has entertained audiences in pretty much every sort of event from Stringfellows to sportsman's benefit diners to the Mansion House.

Profile: Roger Dakin was born in 1943 in East Grinstead. Roger was the England hockey goalkeeper from 1973 to 1978 and is proud of his 31 England caps. Roger continued his association with the national side when he went on to coach the England Indoor hockey team for 4 years. He played his club hockey for East Grinstead (for over 30 years) and Tulse Hill and coached the East Grinstead club side to success in the National Championships. Roger was the Public Relations Director of the World Hockey Cup that was held in London in 1986, and he became Chairman of the National Hockey Tournament Organising Committee from 1986 to 1990. He was awarded the National Award of Merit for services to hockey.

Roger has played club cricket at East Grinstead for 46 years as a hard hitting no 6 bat and "non-turning" off spinner. He captained the 1st XI for 4 years and played for over 25 years in the Sussex League. He has been on the committee of East Grinstead CC in most capacities for over 35 years. Roger plays golf off a handicap of 26 where he tries hard to ignore shouts of "el bandito"!!

David "Teddy" Thomas - 1st Class Cricketer for Surrey, Gloucestershire, Natal & Northern Transvaal

In his playing days, David was renowned for his optimism and seeing the humorous side of any set of circumstances, regardless of how desperate they were! An extremely talented cricketer who played in three one-day finals for Surrey at Lords winning the Man of the Match in the 1982 Nat West Final and was selected in the England XII for the 1983 Trent Bridge Test Match against New Zealand. David by his own admission should probably have achieved more from his professional career than he actually did, but remains typically philosophical having had tremendous fun playing cricket all over the world. With his infectious and charismatic personality David is a highly entertaining speaker at cricket related functions regaling amusing anecdotes about his encounters with some of the cricket greats of his era like Vivian Richards, Ian Botham, Sylvester Clarke, Inram Khan and Dickie Bird. David has a tremendous ability to empathise with and relate to cricket related audiences.

Profile: David Thomas was born in 1959 in Solihull and had 12 seasons in first class cricket as a medium fast left arm bowler and left-hand batsman. Playing for Surrey and latterly Gloucestershire David took 476 wickets and scored 4575 runs. Also representing Natal and Northern Tranvaal, in 1982 David won a Whitbread scholarship to play in Australia and was formally placed on stand-by for the England Ashes Tour that year. In 1983 David was selected for the England XII for the Trent Bridge Test Match against New Zealand. David played in three one-day finals at Lords for Surrey winning the Man of the Match award in the 1982 Nat West Final against Warwickshire.

Apart from after dinner speaking, David is very involved in the corporate hospitality business and is a member of the Surrey CC Committee. David also does extensive charity work for the MSRC (Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre).

Geoff "Dusty" Miller - 1st Class Cricketer for England (34 Caps), Derbyshire, Essex and Natal and current England selector

Although not unique, Geoff possesses that very unusual skill of being able to hold the attention of just about any audience. A modest and unassuming man yet undoubtedly intelligent with an uncanny talent for making people laugh, the best way of illustrating Dusty's skills in summary is by saying he has been worked for many household names such as AXA, Boots, BT, Royal Bank of Scotland, Shell, Nat West and many prestigious sports clubs throughout the UK. Dusty has the uncanny knack of knowing what is required to meet the objectives of any function and make a significant contribution.

Profile: Geoff Miller was born in 1952 in Chesterfield Derbyshire, playing professional 1st Class cricket for England, Derbyshire, Essex and Natal over a twenty year period. A right arm offbreak spin bowler and right hand batsman, Geoff played 34 test matches for England and 25 One Day Internationals including seven overseas tours in which he scored 1349 runs and took 85 wickets in total. During his playing career he captained Derbyshire for three years and was also vice-captain of England and scored over 14,000 runs, took over 1,000 wickets and held more than 300 catches.

As well as being in popular demand up and down the country and overseas as a speaker, Geoff is also a current England cricket selector.