“Now We Can Deliver the American Dream to Even More People”

FORMAT: Speech

CLIENT: John McKenzie, president, Winsupply Inc.

INDUSTRY: Wholesale distribution

OPPORTUNITY: To frame the opening of a new building not as brick and mortar, but as the moment Winsupply could speed up innovation and extend the American Dream of local company ownership to many more people

EVENT: Grand Opening and Dedication of the Richard W. Schwartz Center for Innovation and the Grand Reopening of Winsupply of Dayton on Aug. 25, 2022, at the Winsupply Support Services Campus in Moraine, Ohio

CHALLENGE: To show how Winsupply could honor its entrepreneur-building business model while transforming a new, co-located innovation center and operating supply house into a living laboratory that accelerates real-world innovations for the benefit of local owners, customers and communities.

SERVICES: Speech strategy/alignment to company strategy, planning, interviewing, research, message and framework development, speechwriting and line editing; coordination with two other speeches being delivered that day

APPROACH: Build the remarks as a simple, forward-moving story:

• Start with a vivid drone-delivery example
• Zoom out to Winsupply’s purpose of building entrepreneurs
• Reveal the new center as the next chapter in that story

Storytelling is central to the speech, which contrasts the “old, clunky” way of innovating with the new, side‑by‑side model.

The speaker mentions specific people (Rick, Jeff, local owners) to make the idea feel real.

Techniques that stand out include clear contrast (past vs. future), repetition with rhythm (“tweak … test … improve”), direct audience cues (“Think about it!”) and concrete, everyday language instead of jargon.

SAMPLE: Request a copy of the speech, which won a 2023 Cicero Speechwriting Award (Honorable Mention)

“The more I read the speech, the more I like the messaging and tone. Thank you!”

THE SPEAKER
John McKenzie, Winsupply