Appearances
Here is a picture of me leaping at the Rocky Steps, holding a copy of my book. It ran in a local magazine.
Speaking to conventions has been an unexpected - and wonderful - outgrowth of the book. Consider this recent email from Angie McCormick, with the Georgia Association of Educators, here for a convention:
“We had such a blast with you …The presentation was wonderful!! We’ve only heard great feedback from our members. In fact, a lot of our members thought we were crazy to schedule a running of the Rocky steps…until they met you and heard some of the stories. Your stories sparked quite a transformation. Suddenly, people were talking about what it would mean to them (personally) to run the steps. It was quite interesting.”
If you are interested in having me speak to your convention or students, I have something wonderful to offer - a talk and presentation that the audience will love.
In the last year, I have presented to conventions of the American Library Association, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, The Equipment Leasing & Finance Association, The Georgia Assocation of Educators and many others, all to rave reviews.
In short, I combine a flavor of Philadelphia with inspiration and entertainment. In my multi-media presentation, I tell the story of Philadelphia’s Rocky Steps — the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art that Sylvester Stallone runs in the Academy Award-winning classic, Rocky. When I am finished with my presentation, your members will want to run those steps and celebrate their own hopes, dreams and accomplishments in life _ and many often do.
I am a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The Philadelphia Inquirer and author of Rocky Stories: Tales of Love, Hope and Happiness at America’s Most Famous Steps. For the 20 years I’d been in Philadelphia, I had marveled at the people from all over the world who ran those steps just like Rocky at every hour of every day. I was always struck by how happy they were at the top.
I recruited my friend and colleague, Tom Gralish, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer at the Inquirer, and we spent a year at the steps. Our book is a collection of our favorite stories and photos, and Stallone himself wrote the Foreword. I made a great discovery that year at the steps — the movie and the actor bring the masses there, but when they run, they are celebrating their own lives and achievements, loves and friendship. Their stories are simply remarkable.
In our presentation _ which I do alone, or with Tom, depending on the time of the presentation and the wishes of the client _ I share with the audience the incredible and inspirational stories and photos of people we met at the steps. I explain what those steps mean to Philadelphia and to the runners, and why after 30 years that iconic scene still resonates with people. I explain how Stallone, who wrote the screenplay, conceived that famous scene, why he thinks people continue to run those steps so many years later. I will also share my own stories and amusing anecdotes about the hurdles I had to overcome in writing the book — like getting to Sylvester Stallone!
Consider the following reviews:
“Thank you for the knockout presentation you made at our 2007 Annual Meeting in Philly. We always try to look for speakers with local appeal and we were fortunate to find you. The stories and photographs from Rocky Stories were entertaining and inspiring. Several attendees were seen running the steps themselves afterward.” Thanks again for everything. We truly enjoyed it.
– Trish Land, Meeting Planner, National Council of Examiners for Enginnering and Surveying (NCEES) (864) 654-6824, Ext. 205. pland@ncees.org
“Michael Vitez’s presentation on Running Philadelphia’s Rocky Steps should be a must-have at your conference… Using his wonderful sense of humor, he showed our attendees how the Rocky Steps have motivated and inspired people around the world. By the end of his presentation, the majority of the attendees, including myself, were inspired to take our own journey up the Rocky Steps. Our conference was jam-packed with sessions addressing important high-level issues. His presentation provided a mental break for our conference attendees. I wholeheartedly recommend him as a guest speaker. He is an ambassador of Philadelphia!
– Racquel Codling, Director, Business Development Conferences, Equipment Leasing and Finance Association. Tel: (202) 238-3414. Email: rcodling@elfaonline.org
“I first met Michael Vitez early one morning over breakfast in Center City Philadelphia. I immediately liked him and very quickly found myself captivated by his stories and his storytelling. As a result, we hired Michael to speak at our annual thinkAbout event in Philadelphia in 2009. He wowed our participants. What really amazed me was how Michael managed to create the same kind of restaurant-booth intimacy and rapport with a larger audience that he had established with me some months earlier one-on-one. He models the kind of memory-making skills that we encourage all experience-stagers to cultivate.”
–Jim Gilmore, president of strategic horizons, www.strategichorizons.com. Nov. 12, 2009
Here are a few other references:Lori Bower, Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, 484-459-8574, lbower@scte.org
Deidre Irwin Ross, Director Conference Services, American Library Association, 312-280-3219, dross@ala.org
Brian Niles, CEO, TargetX, 877-715-7474, Niles@TargetX.com
I am available at 215-854-5639 or michael.vitez@gmail.com Upon request, I can send you a DVD of one of our talks. To hear an interview with us on NPR Morning Edition, go to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6520665.
To learn still more about the book, including to read reviews and excerpts, go to:
We have also done plenty of speaking to students at every level — from elementary school to college. I have taught as a Ferris Professor at Princeton University, and also for several years teaching narrative nonfiction at the University of Pennsylvania.
We recently spoke to an eighth grade class in South Jersey, and here is the response from Judi Sheridan, the school librarian:
Dear Mike and Tom, Many, many thanks for a wonderful day today. Your presentation to our students was exactly the message they needed to hear. Success takes a lot of hard work and effort, and you just can’t give up hope if you think you have a great idea. You both gave our students a lot to think about as they enter high school. The slides were great and the stories behind each one of them were so interesting. I hadn’t realized that all of Tom’s photographs were taken in real time with nothing posed or restaged — fantastic photos. I’ve heard nothing but great comments all day from everyone who attended your presentation. People were very impressed — and some of those people are not easy to please!
With students, I can tell the story of the Rocky Steps, full of inspiration, or I can modify or expand it. With students, I accomplish three things in particular: sharing my passion for writing and storytelling, leaving them with concrete skills and techniques, and motivating them to follow their dreams. I have overcome much in my career as a journalist as well as in writing this book _ including the rejection of the first nine publishers! Many of the stories in the book are about people who have overcome great setbacks. I can certainly impart a strong message to your students of never giving up.
The ultimate message will be to follow your dreams, whatever they are. Expect life to knock you down, because it will, and always get back up. Nothing worthwhile or meaningful comes to a person without hard work. I can also use the book as a springboard to talk about writing and storytelling. The book really is a collection of short narratives.
I can talk about voice, clarity, and discipline in good writing. I emphasize the value of good quotes and telling details. I can help them understand that good writing only follows from good reporting – doing the research. This is what gives you confidence as a writer. I can talk about fairness, balance, and accuracy. I think many of the points I can cover address core curriculum content standards, skills and concepts you want to teach.
I can also include my friend and colleague Tom Gralish in the presentation, to talk about storytelling through photography. He is simply the best. I am completely flexible and willing to meet the needs and wishes of students and teachers.