MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga. -- Sgt. Phellep A. Snow can envision himself doing stand-up comedy on The Tonight Show.
“I could see that, definitely,” said Snow, career retention specialist, Installation Personnel Administrative Center, Manpower Division, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Ga.
“The Tonight Show, and, if I could have it my way, even go and do a skit on Saturday Night Live.”
His Marine career includes a stint as a boxer, now the mild-mannered Snow is honing his speaking skills as a member of the local Toastmasters club. He has excelled as a member of the local club, winning the local, region and District 14 speaking competitions.
“If I got a call with an offer to do a gig at an Atlanta comedy club, I could have some material ready in about one day,” Snow said.
“I can see Snow as a professional comedian,” said Benita Kitchen, a LOGCOM contract specialist who is also president of the Artesian Toastmasters Club, Local 3379. “He has an innocent face about him so you don’t expect anything other than pure innocence to come out of him, and then, he takes it to a whole new level, but what he is saying is so weird.”
“I like his dedication and determination. And, he has a little humor, that, as a Marine, you wouldn’t think he would have,” Kitchen added.
She said his humor is what got him to the district competition in Atlanta.
“His speech there was called ‘American Hostage. It’s a pun about him being a hostage in the Marine Corps, however, he has fallen in love with his captors,” she said, laughing.
Toastmasters is designed to allow individuals to develop their communications skills in a controlled environment, and stand-up comedy isn’t required, unless you’re like Snow and choose that as your preferred style.
“When I joined Toastmasters, I felt comfortable speaking in front of people, but I felt that I could be better and there were some things I needed to work on,” said Snow, who has considered a career in politics or as a politician’s staff member when he leaves the Marine Corps.
That is, if he isn’t busy on the comedy club circuit.
For additional information on the local Toastmasters club, call (229) 776-4729 or visit www.artesiantoastmaster@yolasite.com.