Every year, leading ladies in our community send in nominations for the Kate Voth Award, which is presented at SOS Leadership’s Annual Evening for Leading Ladies. The award recognizes one exceptional leader whose strength and passion greatly impacts the community and lives of those around her.
This year, Lee Moczygemba, who is in her nineties and serves as President of Amazing Speakers and Trainers International, took the spotlight as the recipient of the award. The minute she began talking, the audience fell in love with Lee. Her energy, humor, and excitement was contagious.
With so many years under her belt, Lee had a lot to insight on life and leadership, and left everyone wanting to know more. It’s truly an honor for us to expand on her story today.
Lee began her career in the corporate world for security and stability. After 16 years at EXXON in Houston, Lee began to feel burned out.
It was at this point that she pursued her dream of becoming a professional trainer and speaker. The fact that she was 50, inexperienced as an entrepreneur, and unsure of her subject matter did not deter her. Lee began working with the Association for Talent Development and, with perseverance and grit, learned to master both training and speaking.
Her training career began with courses she designed on “Speaking with Confidence,” and a relatively new topic, “Assertiveness.” She once gave a Community College workshop called “How to Have Confidence,” and had to move it to a hotel to accommodate the hundreds that signed up!
Lee’s training career eventually branched out to speaking, which led her to attend the second annual convention of the National Speakers Association. She instantly became a member and was instrumental in creating the first Chapter so speakers could support one another during the year.
For 18 years, Lee had the time of her life presenting programs on Professionalism, Communication and Motivation. Her work impacted big-name corporations in Houston, and many companies in Europe, Mexico and Canada.
After a short stint in retirement, Lee reinvented herself again, creating Amazing Speakers & Trainers International—a speakers bureau and coaching program for emerging speakers. She currently represents hundreds of professionals and mentors and coaches many aspiring speakers. She finds joy in finding the perfect match between the speaker and the meeting planner’s needs.
When one of her protégés “hits a home run,” she feels the same thrill she has experienced as a speaker herself. Lee has a gift for seeing real talent in others and helping them nurture it.
A testament to her success and the passion that fueled it, Lee is also a recipient of the National Speakers Association’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lee is still motivating and inspiring others through Amazing Speakers & Trainers. She is the definition of a lifelong leader.
We loved listening to her insight and being inspired by her leadership at our event last month.
More About the Kate Voth Award ~ In 2013 at the 1st Annual Evening for Austin Leading Ladies, SOS Leadership presented the Leading Lady of Inspiration Award to Kate Voth. Kate was an incredible leader in every sense of the word, most recognized for her optimism, strength, and courage. June 1, 2013, less than three months after we honored her and were moved by her speech, Kate passed away at age 27 after a valiant battle with cancer. Her powerful leadership legacy lives on through what is now called the Kate Voth Award in honor of one of the most inspiring leaders we’ve known.