Speaking / Welch’s background

 
Bob Welch is a seasoned speaker, a prolific author, an adjunct professor of journalism and a national award-winning newspaper columnist. The common denominator? Words, spoken and written. Words that make people laugh, cry and, above all, think. His ability to craft and deliver them with a rare blend of heart, humor and hope has landed him everywhere from ABC’s Good Morning America to the Massachusetts Statehouse to the annual Oklahoma State Council of Perioperative Nurses conference. It was at the latter that Welch enjoyed two “firsts” he’s never forgotten: a post-speech comment from a misty-eyed nurse who said, “Thanks for reminding me why I became a nurse.” And, of course, the chili cheese fries at the world famous Eskimo Joe’s in Stillwater. Welch has spoken before audiences for nearly 20 years. However, what got him behind microphones on a regular basis, in 2004, was the publishing of his book, American Nightingale: The Story of Frances Slanger, Forgotten Heroine of Normandy, by Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books. Since then, he’s spoken hundreds of times to groups that include, among others, nurses, doctors, EMTs, military officers, politicians, historians, 911 operators, college registrars, writers and school kids. However, no audience responds more enthusiastically to his Nightingale-oriented talks than nurses. That’s because the focus of his book, Frances Slanger, was the first nurse to die after the landings at Normandy — the day after she wrote an inspiring letter to GIs that was published in the Stars and Stripes newspaper. “What I’ve learned,” says Welch, “is that, whether you were, like Slanger, a Polish Jewish immigrant working out of a field hospital tent in Word War II or, say, a Catholic nurse working in a state-of-the-art hospital in Boston today, you are absolutely bonded together by this often-gritty service to humanity called nursing.” As a speaker, Welch’s journalistic background makes him a tad different than some speakers. Weeks in advance, he routinely interviews people who are part of the organization to whom he’ll be speaking. “My thinking is: These people are trusting me and paying me to deliver something meaningful,” he said. “It’s a win-win for me to know who this audience is, what their needs are and whether there are unique challenges to this state or region in their profession.” Beyond being featured on Good Morning America, American Nightingale was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award, written about in Los Angeles Times magazine and optioned as a movie. Welch found his four-year journey of researching, writing and promoting Nightingale so profound he wrote a second book on the experience itself. Pebble in the Water, which was published last fall by AO Creative, includes much of the material Welch uses for his presentations to health care organizations. A 1976 graduate of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism, Welch, a native Oregonian, worked at newspapers in Bend and Bellevue, Wash., before joining The Register-Guard in Eugene in 1999. He has spent the last 10 years as the paper’s lone general columnist, building a strong platform in Oregon in general and in Lane County in particular. He has been honored six of the last eight years by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and has been chosen tops in the nation in both humor (2001) and general interest (2006) categories. Welch’s national appeal is on the rise. Between offering speeches and doing interviews for books, Welch has made appearances in 21 states. Fueling his national and local visibility has been his column, which goes out to 65,000 subscribers and tens of thousands more online; book promotions; speeches; and the Beachside Writers Workshop he founded in Yachats Oregon, in 2005. Last spring, St. Martin’s Press in New York published Welch’s book written with Don Malarkey, Easy Company Soldier (St. Martin’s Press, 2008). It’s about Malarkey, one of WWII’s “Band of Brothers” made famous by Stephen Ambrose’s book and the Hanks/Spielberg 10-part HBO series. In January 2009, it was ranked No. 1 in the country on Amazon.com’s list for World War II Books/Western Front. An earlier book, A Father for All Seasons (Harvest House), was the winner of the 1998 national Gold Medallion Award for Family & Parenting. Welch’s forte as a writer is a rare blend of passion and humor that has led to his stories being included in more than a dozen inspirational book collections, including six in the Chicken Soup series. In addition, he has been published in such magazines as Sports Illustrated, Runner’s World and Reader’s Digest. Beyond his NSNC national awards, Welch is the winner of the Seattle Times C.B. Blethen Award for Distinguished Feature Reporting and has won the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association’s “best writing” and “best column” awards. Welch and his wife, Sally, live in Eugene. Books_AmNight.htmlhttp://www.nsnc.comhttp://www.nsnc.comBooks_Easy_Co..htmlhttp://www.amazon.com/Easy-Company-Soldier-Legendary-Sergeant/dp/0312378491shapeimage_3_link_0shapeimage_3_link_1shapeimage_3_link_2shapeimage_3_link_3

Welch’s journalistic background makes him a tad different than some speakers. Weeks in advance, he interviews people who are part of the organization to whom he’ll be speaking. “My thinking is: These people are trusting me and paying me to deliver something meaningful,” he said. “It’s a win-win for me to know who this audience is, what their needs are and whether there are unique challenges to this state or region in their profession.”

Welch with WWII nurse Sallylou Bonzer prior to a presentation at the University of Oregon