News Room

  • Pro Bono Speakers Bureau Partners With Rotary District 7620

    April 16, 2019

    Rotary PartnershipFree Speakers, a pro bono speaker’s bureau in the Washington D.C. metro area has formed a partnership with Rotary District 7620 which covers Central Maryland and Washington D.C.

    FreeSpeakers.org, currently in five United States cities, is a community service project that provides speakers to groups. The bureau is 100 percent free to groups that need speakers. There is no charge to any group. Ever. Not from the speaker and not from the bureau.

    “Rotary clubs are the leaders for requests from FreeSpeakers.org which is a community service project,” said Andy Richardson, director of FreeSpeakers.org. “We’ve received amazing feedback from grateful Rotaries and happy speakers.”

    Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and act to create lasting change – across the globe and as part of local communities. Most Rotary clubs have a need for weekly speakers which can become a challenge for program chairpersons. (more…)

  • Initiative offers pro-bono public speakers to local groups – Inside NOVA

    November 24, 2018

    Inside NOVAA new region-wide effort is deigned to provide speakers for community groups while allowing those speakers to burnish their skills in front of the public.

    FreeSpeakers.org has launched with 20 local speakers available to discuss more than 30 local topics, said Andy Richardson, the organization’s director.

    “This is a community-service project that is 100-percent free to groups that need speakers – there is no charge to any group, ever,” Richardson said. (more…)

  • Pro Bono Speaker’s Bureau Launched to Serve Groups – Prince William Living

    November 13, 2018

    Prince William LivingA new resource for groups and organizations that need speakers is now available in Washington, D.C. and Prince William County. It’s called FreeSpeakers.org – A Pro Bono Speakers Bureau.

    The new bureau has more than 20 local speakers with more than 30 different topics available. The bureau can be found at washington-dc.freespeakers.org/

    “All speakers present programs at no cost,” said Andy Richardson, director of FreeSpeakers.org. “This is a community service project that is 100 percent free to groups that need speakers. There is no charge to any group. Ever. Not from the speaker and not from the bureau.” (more…)

  • After some 250 gigs, Larry Bergnach retiring from the free speech circuit – Daily Southtown

    October 18, 2018

    Larry BergnachLarry Bergnach was giving a presentation about Riverview Park, the old Chicago amusement destination that closed in the 1960s, when an elderly man in the audience chimed in with his own memories of Riverview.

    The talk was at an elder care facility, and Bergnach later learned the man was in an advanced stage of Alzheimer’s disease and had not spoken at that length “on any topic for four years,” Bergnach said.

    Those kinds of experiences were why Bergnach, of Oak Lawn, worked the pro bono speakers circuit.

    “After I would do a speech, the people were so appreciative,” he said. (more…)

  • Free Speakers Bureau Matches Speakers to Groups

    October 13, 2018

    Speaking Opportunities in IndyWhat started with a single telephone call 15 years ago has grown into something that Free Speech Speakers Bureau founder Ginny Richardson of Burr Ridge could never have imagined.

    Richardson, founder and president of Ginny Richardson Public Relations in Hinsdale, received a phone call one day from a local Rotary Club. The club wanted a speaker for an upcoming meeting, and turned to Richardson and her connections in the community for help.

    “I made a few phone calls,” she said, and found a local banker willing to take on the job, free of charge. (more…)