November 29, 2016 - Theme: Distinguished Club Program (DCP)

Distinguished Club Program (DCP)

Our Meeting Minutes/Blog for November 29, 2016

Jean was our Toastmaster for the day.

Nancy C. presented her speech, "The Difference Between an 

Heart Attack and Cardiac Arrest."

Jim did an interpretive reading, "My Face".

Warren presented his speech, "Are We in a Cloud?"

Nidhi was our Topics Master and created questions and scenarios around "Thanksgiving". Uliana participates above.

Word of the day - Sagacious
Evaluators: Barb, Amritha, Julie
Best Speaker - Nancy C.
Best Evaluator - Barb
Table Topics Speakers - Anisha & Uliana
Gate Team - Nidhi, Hilary, Janet & Randy

Attendance

Amritha, Anisha, Anton, Barb, Becky, Janet, Jean, Jim, Julie, Hilary, Lynne, Nancy C., Nancy L., Nidhi, Randy, Robert, Uliana, Warren. (18) Guest: Tim (1)

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy LaJambe, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest

#9406E

November 15, 2016 - Theme: A Tower of Giraffes

A Tower of Giraffes

Lynn 

Have you ever wondered where the phrase "a murder of crows" or a "tower of giraffes" came from? Lynn was our Toastmaster for the day and gave us the history of the naming of groups of animals as well as a number of other humorous and interesting other examples!

Our first speaker of the day was Uliana, delivering her Ice Breaker Speech. Her speech was entitled, "My Unforeseen Countries," and was a fascinating story of all of the different countries she has lived in and the languages she learned before coming to the United States. 

Uliana

Nancy C. was our second speaker and shared her life-long story of discovering who she is and her happenstance entry into radio. From all of this developed her love of teaching and speaking. Her speech was entitled,"Finding My Voice, A Continuing Education." 

Nancy C.

Our third and final speaker was Amritha with "The Million Dollar Question. Her story was literally one "out of the mouths of babes" when her son asked her, "Are you giving up, Mom?" A cascade of soul searching questions and reflections emerged from this one innocent question. Amritha won best speaker of the day.

Amritha

As usual, our Table Topics segment was high energy and had many hilarious moments. Kathy led with giving participants highly unusual and not often heard of names of things and asked them to speak about each. Randy, Barb, Becky and Julie did a valiant job of describing things they weren't really sure about. Becky won for best speaker!

Jim, Jean, Barb and Lynn

Barb

The big news of the day was the announcement that Barb had won the 2016 District 2 Division Director of the Year! Barb was presented this distinguished award at the 2016 Winter Conference. Congratulations, Barb! You bring a whole new level of Toastmasters accomplishment and dedication to our club. ♥

Our evaluators for the day were Robert, Anisha and Warren.

Our G.A.T.E. team was Jung as Grammarian, Janet as Ah Counter, and Jean as General Evaluator. The word of the day was winsome.
 

Public Speaking Northwest Club Members & Barb!

In attendance were: Amritha, Anisha, Barb, Becky, Janet, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Lynne, Nancy C, Nancy L, Randy, Robert, Uliana and Warren (17). Our guests were Anna and Sean. (2) 

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy LaJambe, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest

#9406E

November 8, 2016 - Theme: Efficiency and Productivity

Efficiency & Productivity

Warren

Warren led us as the Toastmaster  for the day and engaged us in the methods and spirit of efficiency and productivity. It was also election day, and what better topic to choose! 

Our first speaker of the day was Julie. Her speech was entitled, "Defining Moments in Your Life," and was an incredibly moving, engaging and masterfully delivered speech on moments in her life that altered its course. Julie won the best speaker award for the day.

Julie

Anisha was our second speaker and shared her speech, "What are you waiting for? Step outside your cocoon." Using stories and relatable examples, Anisha demonstrated how we all can hold ourselves back in life and have only to step out of our comfort zones to have a very different experience. 

Anisha

Janet

Wrapping up the speeches was Janet, who drew us into the world of ballroom dancing with her icebreaker speech, "Shall We Dance." She encouraged us to try it and not be intimidated because perfection isn't the focus of the best ballroom dancers. It's the joy of the movement that can enhance the experience. 

Uliana polled the group for questions to use as Table Topics, a creative approach!  The Table Topics speakers were: Nancy C, Jim (winner), Dan and Hilary (a guest).  Our GATE team was Nancy C (Grammarian), Anton (Ah Counter), Mercedes (Timer), and Robert as General Evaluator. Our evaluators were Kathy, Nancy L and Jean. Nancy L won the best evaluator award for the day.
Nidhi was our humorist and had us chuckling with word play jokes involving monks. 

Nidhi

The word of the day was cogent. 
In attendance were: Jean, Warren, Robert, Barb, Jim, Uliana, Dan, Janet, Anisha, Mercedes, Nancy L, Nidhi, Nancy C, Anton, Julie and Lynn (16). We had four guests (4).

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy LaJambe, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest

#9406E

November 1, 2016 - Theme: After Halloween Fun

After Halloween Fun

Amritha

We had a full house!  Amritha was the Toastmaster for the day and the theme was "After Halloween Fun". Amritha regaled us on her first time trick or treating with her kids and what that was like for them as a fun, new adventure. 

Since this was a special party format, the focus was on Table Topics: "Come to Your Senses."  There were four Table Topics Masters who challenged us to speak to a topic that related to one of the five senses.
 
We had a delicious assortment of food and treats and fun decorations brought by club members. Several guests came to see what Toastmasters was all about and experience the unique personality of Public Speaking Northwest!

Nidhi

Nancy C. had participants identify a mystery smell or aroma and to weave a tale or impression of it into a speech. Her speakers were: Nancy L, Anisha, Tobias, Anton and Nidhi.

Mercedes

Lynne

Anton chose pictures of animated and fictional characters and invited the speakers to speak off the cuff about each. His participants were: Jim, Uliana, Mercedes and Nancy C. 

Julie

Uliana selected a variety of famous spoken lines from movies and asked the Table Topics volunteers to share their thoughts or memories upon hearing them. Her speakers were Robert, Tobias, Dave (guest) and Lynne.

Nancy C. and Barb

Barb blindfolded the lucky participants and asked them to talk about the unseen item they chose while trying to discern what it was! 

Her intrepid participants were: Nancy L., Nancy C., Kyoko (guest) and Becky (guest).

The GATE team: The Grammarian was Kathy and the word of the day was "Astound." Warren was the Timer. Nancy L. was the General Evaluator.
In attendance were: Amritha, Anisha, Anton, Barb, Becky, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Lynne, Mercedes, Nancy C, Nancy L, Nidhi, Robert, Tobias and Warren (17). Our guests were: Dave, Kyoko, Liqaa, and Midori (4).

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy LaJambe, Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest

#9406

October 25, 2016 - Theme: Urban Adventures

Urban Adventures

Barb was the Toastmaster for the day and the theme was Urban Adventures. Barb and her husband, Robert, have gone on many urban explorations and she showed us how you can create interesting adventures anywhere and any time.     

Barb

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We started off the meeting with Amritha calling on our newest members and inviting their mentors to be part of a welcoming ceremony!

New members and mentors

Anton

Our first speaker was Anton who gave his Ice Breaker speech. Anton shared his experience as a child in Romania and his love of the libraries there. We also learned why he loves math. Even those of us who don't love math gained a new appreciation for it!
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Our second speaker was Jung. Her speech was entitled "National Park," and she began it by singing, "America the Beautiful." She had everyone's full attention! She continued by sharing her deep love of our national parks and her work as a park volunteer. Jung provided a snapshot of where the national parks are located, their historical beginnings and more. Jung won best speaker. 

Jung

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Our third speaker was Warren. His speech was entitled, "Birds of a Feather Flock Together." Using the unique approach of acting out a scenario, Warren showed us how to invite others to explore Toastmasters in a natural and effective way. Julie assisted in the scenario as the invitee. 

Warren and Julie

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Our evaluators for the day were: Randy, Anisha and Amritha.  
Our Table Topics theme was "Reacting to Things We See," led by Robert and the participants were: Amritha, Janet and Lynne. 

The General Evaluator for this meeting was Kathy. The Timer was Jean, the Ah Counter was Julie and the Grammarian was Nancy.

In attendance were Attendance: Amritha, Anisha, Anton, Barb, Grace,  Janet, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Lynne, Mercedes, Nancy C, Nancy L,  Randy, Robert,  and Warren. We had one guest.

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy LaJambe, Secretary
Public Speaking Northwest #9406

October 18, 2016 - Theme: Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather

Jim was the Toastmaster for the day and the topic was quite timely following a regional scare about typhoon-like weather! 
  

Jim

Jim was especially focused on keeping the meeting flowing and on time in order to create as much time as possible for Table Topics. No surprise from this master Toastmaster. He was successful!
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Our first speaker was Randy. His speech was entitled "The Elephant in the Room," and he engaged us with an descriptive and instructional talk on "white elephant" parties. His use of props added humor and fun!

Randy

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Our second speaker was Nidhi, one of our newest members, with her Ice Breaker speech, "Finding My Voice". Nidhi shared her childhood perspective and memories with us and why she was drawn to Toastmasters. Her warm and personal style drew us all in. Nidhi won best speaker!

Nidhi

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Our third speaker was Amritha and her speech was titled, "Me, My Children and Potatoes." Amritha charmed us with her humorous speech on how she came to dislike potatoes and the day her children discovered and reveled in French fries, much to her dismay. 

Amritha

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Our evaluators for the day were: Tobias, Julie and Barb.

Our Table Topics theme was "Your Bucket List" and participants were: Warren, Nancy C., Uliana, Anton, Dan and Tobias. Nancy C. won Table Topics!

The General Evaluator for this meeting was Jean. 

In attendance were Amritha, Anton, Barb, Dan, Grace, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Lynne, Nancy C., Nancy L., Nidha, Randy, Robert, Tobias, Uliana and Warren.

Respectfully Submitted,

Nancy LaJambe, Secretary
Public Speaking Northwest #9406

October 11, 2016 Theme - Fun & Games

Fun and Games! 

Nancy was the Toastmaster for the day and she started our meeting with music and funky glasses and hat. During the meeting we tossed spongy balls and danced to the Twist by Chubby Checker in the spirit of having fun, being playful and stepping outside our comfort zones. 


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Our first speaker was Jim. His speech was entitled "Faith, Doubt, Mystery: A Catholic Journey," and he read us the prologue from his own, published book. He drew us into this monodrama with the thoughtful topic and vocal variety.

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Our second speaker was Tobias. His humorous speech was entitled, "Merging in Traffic: Just Make a Decision," and he regaled us with stories of driving and his indecisive nemeses on the road. Tobias won Best Speaker of the day.
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Randy got into the spirit of fun by standing on his chair to introduce himself as the Timer for the day and what his role meant for the meeting.

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Jean and Amritha were our evaluators, Warren was our Master of Table Topics and Julie was our Humorist.

In attendance were Amritha, Anton, Barb, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Lynne, Nancy L., Nidhi, Pauline, Randy, Robert, Tobias, Uliana and Warren. We had five honored guests!

Respectfully submitted,
Nancy LaJambe, Secretary
Public Speaking Northwest #9406

September 20, 2016 - Theme "September Song"

Lynne

"Oh, it's a long, long while
From May to December
But the days grow short,
When you reach September.
When the autumn weather
Turn leaves to flame
One hasn't got time
For the waiting game."
"September Song" - Songwriters: Kurt Weill / Maxwell AndersonSeptember Song lyrics © T.R.O. Inc.


Lynne was the Toastmaster for the day and gets us started with our September Song themed meeting!
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Randy

Our first speaker was Randy. His speech was entitled, "Dear Younger Me," and he drew us into a heartfelt letter to his younger self with all its wisdom and experience to share.  
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Our second speaker was Jung. Her speech was entitled, "This Summer," and she told the story of her summer experience of visiting friends and relatives and how her efforts to provide a wonderful time for them resulted in her gratitude for the simple gift of her hands. Jung won Best Speaker of the day.

Jung

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Our final speaker was Julie. Her speech was entitled, "How to Get Over Most Any Fear," and using the analogy of a spider web, Julie shared information and ideas on how we can all move through things that scare us.

Julie

Table Topics is always a favorite activity of our club! Jean led us in a fun challenge of answering humorous questions. Grace, Warren, Jim, Uliana, Janet and Nancy participated. The winner was Jim.

Jean

Our Evaluators for the day were: Warren, Amritha and Nancy. Nancy won as Best Evaluator.
Robert was our Humorist and Jim was our General Evaluator. 

In attendance were Amritha, Barb, Grace, Janet, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Lynne, Nancy, Pauline, Randy, Robert, Uliana and Warren.

Respectfully submitted,
Nancy LaJambe, Secretary
Public Speaking Northwest #9406

August 9,2016 Theme - Demagogues

“Better the rule of One, whom all obey, than to let clamorous demagogues betray our freedom with the kiss of anarchy.”~~ Oscar Wilde

Welcome to our second meeting in August!

Barb was the toastmaster of the day. Her GAT(e) team comprised of the Grammarian – Robert (pithy); Ah-Counter - Pauline; and Timer - Diana.

 

 Jung was the first speaker of the day, speaking from the CC Manual – Your Body Speaks. The title of her talk was “Perspective” which she completed within 7 minutes.

Through her talk, Jung shed light on the fact that a person's perspective makes a huge difference in his/her life. While one may view a circumstance as disempowering or feel that they are being taken advantage of, another with a positive perspective views the bright side of the same situation. Jung reinforced her point by enacting 2 stories in a very engaging manner. For her inspiring talk, Jung was voted the best speaker!

Evaluating Jung's speech was Tobias. He was especially impressed by Jung's speech delivery style and the ease with which she presented herself being a non-native English speaker. With excellent body gestures teamed up with humor and props, Tobias felt inspired by Jung's speech and her message. 

Our second speaker of the day was Jim. He spoke from the Advanced Communication Manual "Humorously Speaking" Project 1 - Warm up the Audience. Through his talk entitled "Aging is Funny", Jim walked us through the 3 different dictionary meanings of the word funny and how it relates to aging in his opinion. His talk was continuously woven with humor also taking into account how the world views aging today.

Evaluating Jim's speech was Warren. With effective organization, Warren thought Jim’s speech was humorous and entertaining throughout. His great body gestures and especially excellent facial expressions added an additional pizzaz to the speech. Warren was voted the best evaluator.

Our Table Topics master was our Linda. This was her last meeting before she moves to California where she will be taking up her new job. OUR BEST WISHES TO YOU LINDA!

As the topics master, she brought some items very dear to her in a box. She had the topics speaker pick up one item and sell it to the audience. Speakers included Tobias, Warren, Dan and Jean. Each of them had a unique way of selling which filled the room with laughter. For his funny and interactive selling campaign, Tobias was voted the best in this category.

As the humorist, Diana shared with us few humorous 

instances from her life revolving around her family.

After the meeting was officially dismissed, members and guests sat down to listen to Amritha’s 9-year-old daughter, Shreya present her prepared speech. She was given this opportunity since she was inspired by members of our club and expressed interest to speak. Since technically she cannot be a member (due to age restrictions), the club officers came up with a work-around – they listened to her talk after the meeting concluded.

Shreya spoke for about 3 minutes about all the fun she has been having this summer vacation. From her narration, we could make out that the neighborhood she lives in is a really fun place to be with lots of kids to play. In addition, all families come together to celebrate Independence Day and have special movie nights every once in a while. It was a delight to hear her speak!

If you are looking for a safe and supportive place to allow your children to explore the world of public speaking, please know that there are Gavel clubs. They are a part of Toastmasters Youth program. These clubs follow a similar structure as Toastmaster club and is specifically for young children below 17 years of age. For those of you interested, you can find more details here: http://d2.toastmastersdistricts.org/Youth_Programs___Gavel_Clubs_.html. Shreya has plans to visit one with her mom soon!

There were ­­14 members in attendance, including Amritha, Barb, Dan, Diana, Jean, Jim, Julie, Jung, Kathy, Linda, Pauline, Robert, Tobias and Warren.

Our 4 guests of the day were: Elijah, Frances Ann, Shreya K. and Yash K.

Respectfully Submitted,

Amritha Imandi, Acting Secretary

Public Speaking Northwest #9406