About Leon Clemons

Artistic achievements

1. A diploma/certificate in Oil Painting from the ICS School of Arts London with 4 distinctions.
2. An address from the Administrator of Natal in 1981 for designing, photographing, coordinating and organising defense force tanks, ships, aeroplanes, troops etc. for the photos demonstrating the greatest achievements of the South African Defense Force. The then State President P W Botha was so impressed with this exhibition that he gave orders that it should be also exhibited in all the large centres in South Africa.
3. One of the military paintings of Leon Clemons was selected and used for the front cover of the Militaria magazine.
4. In 1999 more than 200 artists submitted paintings for a prestige exhibition in Sandton organised by the international art material manufacturer Windsor and Newton and sponsored by First National Bank. Forty paintings were selected for the exhibition. The painting of Leon Clemons "Old and New" was selected. First National Bank then selected twelve paintings for their millennium calendar from those forty paintings. "Old and New" painted by Leon Clemons was selected again for the millennium calendar.
5. Leon Clemons has 25 art exhibitions to his credit.

Other noteworthy achievements

1. Leon Clemons is a stutterer and in spite of that he became the first person in the world to have achieved a CTM Competent Toastmaster Certificate in 2 months with distinction. At the time the average time to achieve this qualification was approximately 2 years. (Toastmasters International do not usually rate assignment speeches, but Leon Clemons specifically organised it.)
2. In 1989 Leon Clemons organised the first ever speech marathon for Toastmasters International in South Africa. He single-handedly organised, marketed and ran this marathon while at the same time successfully delivered 10 advanced speeches on 10 totally different subjects without notes and achieved distinctions with four of them. (Toastmasters International do not usually rate assignment speeches, but Leon Clemons specifically organised it.)
3. Advanced Toastmasters Gold achieved with 20 distinctions. (Toastmasters International do not usually rate assignment speeches, but Leon Clemons specifically organised it.)
4. Project Management Diploma with distinction at Damelin School of Business.
5. Leon Clemons has deformed feet to such an extent that in 1994 he could barely walk and was rationalised from the Art Section of Shows and Exhibition of the South African Defense force in 1995. In 2001 he designed orthopedic innersoles for his shoes. The Podiatrist at 1 Military Hospital said that Leon's design went against everything he has learned in his profession but he still made the innersoles and they worked so well that it gave Leon a second lease on life.
6. Leon Clemons was the first person in South Africa to complete Quest One of Virgin Active Gym, with every reading on every excercise machine taken and verified by an instructor of Virgin Active.
7. Achieved the highest score for Quest 2 of all the clubs in South Africa.
8. He was a Toastmasters International Club President 1994/95.
9. Author and producer of the audio book Optimum Achievement Techniques and a series of other commercial training manuals.
10. On 8 May 2009 Leon Clemons received Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) the highest award in Toastmasters International.

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