Sunday, September 28, 2014

Sept 25th Theme: DCP Celebration


Today our club held a celebration for achieving the President’s Distinguished Club Award. We enjoyed a delicious pot luck lunch.

Kathy was our toastmaster. Jean was the Table Topics Master. She explained how we earned this honor and how our individual achievements contributed toward receiving this highest of club awards. This is our third year in a row.



Throughout the meeting, we had a serious of table topics and each member participated. Division governor, Pat Sultan, and Area Governor, Barbara Katz, also shared their experiences serving as leaders in our District. Pat commented that "Toastmasters is a safe place to succeed and to fail, like a pillow catching you when you fall.”  



At the end of the meeting we had a drawing to reward the members who have renewed their dues for the next 6 months. Let’s congratulate Robert on winning the $15 Starbucks Card! 

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Sept 9th Theme: The World of Toastmasters

Barb was our toastmaster. She picked "The World of Toastmasters" as her theme. Barb prepared handouts with a map of Toastmasters Regions and Service Levels in Toastmasters International.


One of our members, Pat, who just came back from the Toastmasters International Convention in Kuala Lumpur, shared her excitement about the event. 

Linda was the first and the only speaker. This was her 9th speech from the Competent Communication Manual and her topic was "Food Labeling - Customers’ Right to Know Their Food". Linda did research about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and shared facts about GMOs having fewer nutrients and being more likely to cause disease in humans. She encouraged us to eat more organic food and be aware of what we eat, which sometimes is not what we expect. 


Kathy was our Table Topics Master today; she prepared a serious of questions about Toastmasters. She asked us to talk about “Of The Year Awards.” We spoke about the best club, best website, and new, creative, and fun awards.  Everyone at the meeting got a chance to practice their impromptu speaking. 


 
Next Wednesday we will have our Area's Humorist and Table Topics Speech Contest. Jim, who won our club Table Topics Contest, will represent us at the area competition. Let's wish him good luck! We welcome people to come and see what our toastmaster contests are like.

We know that wherever we go, Toastmasters will always offer us a supportive environment. 

Friday, September 5, 2014

Sept 2, 2014 Theme: Labor Day

Pauline took on Jean's challenge to be today’s toastmaster and she did a great job! The theme was "Labor Day.” Jean brought cupcakes with little American flags. Yummy! :)


Jim was our first speaker. He gave a speech from the third project of Competent Communication Manual. His title was "Elephants, Anxiety, and Public Speaking.” In his speech, Jim shared his favorite African proverb which uses an elephant as a metaphor to refer to obstacles in life. Anxiety can be like an elephant for many when it comes to public speaking. Jim showed us how to use our mental powers to deal with anxiety in a positive way. 
 

Barb was the second speaker.  She accomplished her second project in the Interpretive Reading Manual. She picked the poem The Highway Man by Alfred Noyes. Barb's great vocal variety and different character voices really kept our attention throughout the poem’s story. 


Today we were honored to have Jean's old friend, Ralph. He is the founder of Toastmaster's Advanced Club, Extraordinares. Ralph joined our meeting as a guest. He volunteered to be the evaluator for Barb. Ralph believes Toastmasters is a life changing event. We could see his spirit by his dedication to Toastmasters throughout his career. His example is a big encouragement for all of us.