September 15, 2026 Meeting Minutes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Meeting Minutes

September 15, 2026

Bill Hinrichs, President, opened the meeting and welcomed members. We had no guests today.

Bill replaced Nancy Carpenter today. He filled roles and shared the following article during the education minute:

 Joel Schwartzberg: Most Contentious Contentions.

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2026/september/my-most-contentious-contentions

Jeff Makita, Sergeant at Arms, led us through the Club Mission statement and Flag Salute.

Our Toastmaster was Katie Munoz, with the theme “Popcorn”.

Gate team:

Our grammarian was Dhwani Maheshwari with the WORD of the Day “Kernel” 

Our Ah Counter was Theresa Haynes

Our Timer was Maria Shneerson

Our General Evaluator was Alex Konicke

Our first speaker was TK Kasnick with the speech “Where’s The Prompt” from the Better Speaking Series Project, Level 4.

Our Evaluator for TK’s speech was Bill Hinrichs, President

Our second speaker was Kelly Falluca, VPPR, with the speech “Three Things I Did Not Expect to Learn About Humor” from the Engaging Humor Path, Level 5 Elective

 Our Evaluator for Kelly’s speech was Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer

Our Table Topics Master was Jeff Makita, Sergeant at Arms

Table Topics participants – Jessica, Deanna

Members in attendance were Alex, Bill, Deanna, Dhwani, Jeff, Jessica, Katie, Kelly, Maria S, Raxit, Theresa, TK.

No Guests today.

Motion to Adjourn: Katie, seconded by TK.

September 8th, 2026 Meeting Minutes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Meeting Minutes

September 8, 2026

Bill Hinrichs, President, opened the meeting and welcomed members and guests. Our special guest today was Anu Jokinen, Immediate Past District Director

Nancy Carpenter, VP Education, continued with the education minute, where she shared how to find the meeting roles document in the revised website (last link under Pages and Links):

Also, Nancy shared the following awards and recognitions:

• Theresa Haynes completed Level 1 Presentation Mastery
• Katie Munoz completed Level 3 Engaging Humor
• Marcus Birchercompleted Level 2 Innovative Planning
• Bill Hinrichs completed Level 4 Presentation Mastery
• TK Kasnick completed Levels 1 & 2 in Persuasive Influence
• Nancy Carpenter completed Levels 1 and 2 in Presentation Mastery
• Maria Cubacha completed Level 4 Motivational Strategies, and Levels 1 and 2 in Engaging Humor
• Deanna Schroeder completed Levels 4 & 5 and Path Completion- Leadership Development
• Kelly Falluca completed Level 1 and 2 - Engaging Humor Levels 1 – 5 and Path Completion- Persuasive Influence
• Kelly Falluca has been awarded DTM Distinguished Toastmaster!

Jeff Makita, Sergeant at Arms, led us through the Club Mission statement and Flag Salute.

Our Toastmaster was Kelly Falluca, VPPR, with the theme “Sparkle & Shine Celebration Party #2 ”

Gate team:

Our grammarian was Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer, with the WORD of the Day “Victory” 

Our Ah Counter was Katie Munoz

Our Timer was Dhwani Maheshwari

Our General Evaluator was Theresa Haynes

Our speaker was Jeff Makita with a speech titled“Never Stop Being a Beginner”

Our Evaluator for Jeff’s speech was Maria Cubacha, VPM

Our Table Topics Master was Nancy Carpenter, VPE

Table Topics participants – Bill Hinrichs, Deanna Schroeder, Deepa Sondagar, Sherri Liston, Anu Jokinen, Theresa Haynes

Our raffle winner today was Chirag!

Members in attendance were Bill, Jeff, Deanna, Dhwani, Chirag, Katie, Kelly, Maria C, Maria S, Nancy, Theresa

Guests in Attendance: Deepa Sondagar, Sherri Liston, Anu Jokinen

Motion to Adjourn - Deanna, Second: Katie

September 8th, 2026 Officers' Meeting Minutes - Pending Final Approval

Public Speaking Northwest

Officer’s Meeting Notes

September 8th, 2026

 Decisions made:

• Meeting Minutes for August 11, 2026, have been approved
• Holiday Party Budget: Approved a budget of $150 for meeting refreshments and potential entertainment. (Deanna made a motion; approved unanimously)
• Holiday Party Format: The event will be a potluck with the club funding beverages.
• Halloween Party: Scheduled for October 27th and will be held virtually.
• Speech Competition: Confirmed for November 10th as a virtual meeting.

Notes:

• Mentor Reassignment: Bill volunteered to be the mentor for Kerry following Lynn's leave of absence.
• Dues Status: Approximately 8 or 9 members had paid early bird registration as of last month; notifications for remaining dues will be sent by September 10^th.

Action Items

• Bill: Draft a letter to Area 35 Director Mary Redmond letting her choose the day she prefers and mentioning the November 10th competition.
• Bill: Follow up with Kerry regarding mentorship, if she would like Bill to be her mentor.
• Deanna: Send out membership dues notifications on September 10^th.

I Opening:

• Approve August 11, 2026, Meeting Minutes – approved.
• September Anniversary: Theresa Haynes, 2 years
• Kelly to fill in for me as president 9/29; need someone to fill in for Nancy on 9/22 and 9/29 (Bill to cover for her on 9/15). Update: Kelly volunteered to fill in.
• Congrats again, Kelly, DTM/ video/Web jiggering and World Series of Public Speaking video share, good for club contest

1. Ongoing/Old Business

• Holiday Party. Entertainment/ Budget Dec. 1 Kelly
•  Halloween party online: confirm date. October 27^th.
• Speech Competition. Confirm date Nov. 10 and let the members know. (e-mail). Invite Area 35 director Mary Redman DTM Bill

III. New Business:

•  Mentors: Lynne is taking a break, so Kerry Needs support. Bill
• Bank Balance 1203.61, members renewal reminders to go out on 9/10. Deanna
• FTH Who has used it? Finding things, especially the meeting role schedule Bill/Nancy

IV Officers' Reports: Any additional information?

1. Adjourn Motion to adjourn made by Nancy. Second – Maria S.

Officers' reports compiled:

Kelly Falluca, VPPR

All is good in VPPR land.

A BIG thank you to Bill for putting the in-person celebration party together and to Nancy for providing all the education highlights. Well, done. Afte our second party I will put together a highlight video.

 Social Media

• Facebook: 556 followers • 2 following
• YouTube: 61 subscribers•508 videos

Website

• I started updating the website. Nancy is leaving for vacation so there will be more updates over the next month or two.

December Holiday Party

• I know…if feels too early but the end of the year is flying by and I would like to secure some type of entertainment.
• Katie, will you please confirm the time we have the room.
• Budget.
• Entertainment. Since we are in the big room, I would like to try to get someone to call line dancing or maybe a DJ. Theresa’s son may or may not be interested in the line dancing. I will look into if anyone knows a local DJ that would give us a discount. And we need to tip the day of the event.
• Food. If we have access funds the club can cover the food or we can make it a potluck and focus on entertainment and prize drawings. Thoughts?

Nancy Carpenter, VPE

I will be traveling from Sept 10 to Sept 30th or so, missing the last 3 meetings of September. 

Maria Cubacha will take over my portion of onboarding new members (welcoming/mentoring, mentor matchmaking, pledge creation and distribution). Thank you, Maria!

I asked our membership if anyone would be interested in recruiting for roles and doing an Ed Min at the 3 meetings. I had no takers from members, but Maria Cubacha inquired. Would you officers like to perform these tasks on either Sept 15, 22, or 29? 

I appreciate your support.

Webmaster:

Updated website is up. Everyone's logins/passwords are the same, except the admin one. 

I love what Kelly did with your front page. There are other pages to populate, but I will not be much help, being gone so soon and for so long.

You ask, who has access to what. Without signing in as an admin, the following officers have access to the following below. Deanna and Maria C, please test this to make sure it works for you before Thursday.

VPE:

We are a Distinguished club for the 2026/27 Toastmaster year. Education Awards needed: 1 level 1 and 2 level 2s. Other goals: 2 new members, then 4 new members, and 4 officers trained in January/Feb 2027. 

Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer

Renewal dues notice will go out to current members on 9/10

Bank balance is $1203.61 as of 9/7/2

Maria Cubacha, VPM

September Club Anniversaries: Theresa @ 2 years 

August stats: 

New Members	0
Inquiries Jedabelle, Rebecca, Sherri	3*
Mtg Visitors Jedabelle, Rebecca, Nadine (former member), Tatiana (1 time visitor)	4
Member removals	0

*Linda did inquiry for 9/1 mtg invite only and not included in count

Jeff Makita, Sergeant at Arms

Nothing to report

Maria Shneerson, Secretary

Nothing to report 

September 1, 2026 Meeting Notes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Meeting Minutes

September 1, 2026

Bill Hinrichs, President, started our meeting and welcomed our members and guests. Our special guests included today

• Jean Tracy, DTM, Founder of Public Speaking Northwest
• Joanna Tavera, DTM, Program Quality Director
•  Roxanne Spring, DTM, Distinguished Club Chair

Jeff Makita, Sergeant at Arms, led us through the Club Mission statement and Flag Salute.

Our Toastmaster was Bill Hinrichs, President, with the theme “Champions”

Gate team:

Our grammarian was Theresa Haynes with the WORD of the Day “Invest” 

Our Ah Counter was Jeff Makita

Our Timer was Maria Shneerson

Our General Evaluator was Joanna Tavera

Our speaker was Alex Konicke, with a speech titled“Say It Anyway”

Presentation Mastery Path, level 4.

Our Evaluator for Raxit’s speech was Katie Munoz

Awards:

Jean Tracy, club founder received an award for 30 years of being a Toastmaster.

Katie Munoz also received an award for 30 years of being a Toastmaster

Alex Konicke completed Level 1 and Level 2 of the Presentation Mastery Pathway

Chirag Patni completed Level 1 of the Presentation Mastery Pathway

Maria Shneerson completed Level 1 of the Presentation Mastery Pathway

KellyFalluca, VPPR, completed Level 3 of the Engaging Humor Pathway.

Alex Konicke received the Triple Crown Award for completing three Pathways certifications of level completion within a single Toastmasters year. 

Joanna Tavera, DTM, Program Quality Director, presented Kelly Falluca, VPPR, with the DTM plaque. Bill Hinrichs, President, presented Kelly Falluca, VPPR, with the DTM pin.

We had a party with a cake and a raffle! Theresa Haynes and Alex Konicke were the winners!

Our Table Topics Master was Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer,

Table Topics participants – Lynn, Jean Tracy, Kelly Falluca, Roxanne Spring

Members in attendance were Alex, Bill, Jeff, Deanna, Katie, Kelly, Maria S, Theresa

Guests in Attendance: Jean Tracy, DTM, Joanna Tavera, DTM, Lynne Dauenhauer, Tyrona Schroeder, Roxanne Spring, DTM, Jane Gissi.

Motion to Adjourn - Deanna, Second: Katie

August 25th, 2026 Meeting Minutes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Meeting Minutes

August 25, 2026

Bill Hinrichs, President kicked off our meeting with the following announcements:

• Please attend our party at the next in-person meeting on September 1^st.
• Please watch the videos of past Toastmasters International competition winners shared by Kelly and consider participating in this year's competition.

Bill Hinrichs, President, led us through the Club Mission statement and Flag Salute.

Nancy Carpenter, VP of Education, shared a new article https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2026/august/before-you-write-a-word

Our Toastmaster was Alex Konicke with the theme “Entrepreneurial”

Gate team:

Our grammarian was Maria Shneerson with the WORD of the Day “Pivot” 

Our Ah Counter was Katie Muniz

Our Timer was Chirag Patni

Our General Evaluator was TK Kasnick

Our first speaker was Raxit Jani, with a speech titled“The Distance between Two Chairs”

Persuasive Influence Path, level 1.

Our Evaluator for Raxit’s speech was Maria Chubacha, VPM

Our second speaker was Kelly Falluca, VPPR with a speech titled Dominique the Delivery Diva Presents “The Art of the Entrance” from Engaging Humor Pathway.

Our Evaluator for Kelly’s speech was Nancy Carpenter, VP Education

Our Table Topics Master was Kelly Falluca, VPPR

Table Topics participants – Maria S, TK, Katie

Members in attendance were Alex, Bill, Chirag, Deanna, Katie, Kelly, Maria C, Maria S, Nancy, Raxit, Theresa, TK

Guests in Attendance: Tatiana Khabibulina

Jedabelle Cortez

Motion to Adjourn: TK Kasnick, Second: Alex Konicke

August 18th, 2026 Meeting Minutes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Meeting Minutes

August 18, 2026

Bill Hinrichs,President kicked off our meeting with the following announcements and awards:

• Kelly Faluca has been awarded DTM!
• Maria Shneerson and Chirag Patni completed level 1! Alex Konicke completed level 1 and 2!

Jeff Makita,Sergeant at Arms,led us through the Club Mission statement and Flag Salute.

Nancy Carpenter,VP of Education, shared details about where to find evaluation forms on the Toastmasters International site (hint: in the beginning of the unit).

Our Toastmasterwas TK Kasnick with the theme “Washington Geography”

Gate team:

Our grammarian was Jessica with the WORD of the Day “Diverse”

Ah Counter was Jeff Makita,Sergeant at Arms

Our Timerwas Alex Konicke

OurGeneral EvaluatorwasNancy Carpenter,VP Education

Our firstspeaker was Maria Cubacha,VPM,with a speech titled“Be the Better Bob”

From Successful Club Series, Evaluate to Motivate

Our Evaluator for Maria’s speech was Bill Hinrichs,President

Our second speaker wasChirag Patniwith a speech titled “Take a role!” from Presentation Mastery, Level 2

Our Evaluator for Chirag’s speech was Kelly Falluca,VPPR,

Our Table Topics Master was Maria Shneerson, Secretary

Members in attendance were Alex, Bill, Chirag , Deanna, Jeff, Jessica, Kelly, Maria C , Maria S, Nancy, TK

Guests in Attendance:Rebecca Rice

Motion to Adjourn: Nancy Carpenter,Second : TK Kasnick

August 11th, 2026, Officer's Meeting Minutes

Public Speaking Northwest

Officer’s Meeting Notes

 August 11, 2026

 

Decisions made:

July 14, 2026 Meeting Minutes have been approved

$75 approved for September events: $50 for in-person refreshments/dessert + $25 Amazon gift card raffle for the following online meeting. (Deanna made the motion, Kelly – second)

Officer reports will continue as individual emails to all officers (current format retained; proposal to consolidate was voted down).

Meeting agenda for officers' meeting email will be shortened, since officers’ reports will no longer be attached to the email.

Club speech competition: We will do the International Speech Contest only (no district contest), online November 10th; winner presents live at the December 1st Christmas party.

 

Action Items:

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Kelly will produce a video recap of club achievements to play at the September in-person meeting and repeat the following week.

Deanna will follow up on tags for new officers and DTM tag for Kelly (within next 3 days)

Club Success Plan due end of September — Kelly to initiate and share the link and others to fill in.

Need to confirm the number of speakers allowed to advance from club competition (1 or 2) — Kelly to verify district rules.

Officers’ training: we should verify whether the District 2 "Super 7" award has been renamed/restructured and if an incentive still exists for all officers completing training. Nancy or Deanna.

Jeff: Check Zoom meeting time expiration and renew if needed

Motion to adjourn: Deanna, second: Nancy

Agenda:

 I Opening:

• Approve July 14, 2026 Meeting Minutes
•  August Anniversary Kelly Fallucca DTM 5-year membership in Toastmasters. She also earned her DTM this year.
• Kelly to recap some of our club achievements at the Sept. 1 meeting.

1. Ongoing/Old Business

Plaques/ Awards: Bill

Plaques for Katie and Jean have arrived, as well as a DTM pin for Kelly. These will be presented at our in-person meeting Sept. 1 at Brightwater

Kelly also advised that Joanna Tavera, D2 Program Quality Director, will present the plaque. Linda Vorthman, past District Director, will also attend our meeting.

Name Tags: Deanna

Update on tags for new officers and DTM tag for Kelly – pending in 3 days.

Officer Training: Nancy update numbers

III. New Business:

Update on Proxy /  Bill for August 19, 2026 Toastmasters Intl. meeting

Officer Reports Update/ Simplified Agenda. Bill

IV Officers' Reports: Any additional information? These have been provided and will be available on the blog

1. Adjourn Motion to adjourn

Bill Hinrichs, President

I have delegated the club's votes to our proxy-- D2 Director, Roberta Craig, and will discuss details at our officer's meeting.

A possible meeting attendee Jedabelle Cortez may join us on Tues. the 11th. We have added several new members lately. Great work team,

Especially Maria C and Kelly with the website. Jeff M. and Maria S continue to do a great job as our newly elected club officers. I will be sending out

the minutes from our last Officer's meeting tomorrow. Please advise Maria S. If changes need to be made. Thanks for all you do! Bill

Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer

1. 9 PSNW members have paid renewal fees to TI as of 8/10/26. (Bill, Deanna, Dhwani, Jessica, Katie, Kelly, Maria C., Maria S., Nancy)
2. I will send out notices for renewal and PSNW dues in early Sept for the Oct – April term.
3. The PSNW bank account balance is $1239.12 on 8/10/26.

Kelly Faluca, VPPR

Social Media/PR

• YouTube - 61 subscribers•497 videos
• Facebook - 555 followers • 2following
• Club welcome video updated with new officers.

 September Awards Parties.

• Bill has graciously taken over planning our in-person awards party. Did we vote for budget? I mentioned having a ‘cake’ party instead of food. We could do a sugar and sugar-free dessert option. For the online party, I propose another raffle prize or two, and I am happy to be Toastmaster unless Bill or Nancy would like to?

 Speech Competition Question

• Did we officially decide to hold the speech competition at the online meeting in November because we usually have more members at online meetings to vote? I have the date tentatively as November 10^th.

Nancy Carpenter, VPE

Webmaster:

We are awaiting the implementation of the latest upgrade of FreeToast Host. Most of the changes have to do with their online agenda, which we do not use.

VPE July/Aug

July 6: Theresa completed level 2 of Presentation Mastery

Aug 5: Alex completed level 1 & level 2 in Presentation Mastery

Aug 6: Maria S completed level 1 of Presentation Mastery

Online Meeting Mastery is not a path, but an exploration. Cannot be used toward a DTM. Online Meeting Mastery Exploration $15

https://www.toastmasters.org/EducationFAQ?utm_campaign=&utm_content=Education%20Programs%20FAQ&utm_term=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

1. Attend an online meeting. After the meeting, give a 5- to 7-minute speech.
2. Deliver a 5- to 7-minute presentation on any topic in an online meeting.
3. Lead an online meeting that lasts at least 20 minutes.
4. Culminating Assignment: Give a 7- to 10-minute speech in a hybrid meeting. After the speech, lead a 10- to 15-minute Q&A session.

DPR: 

We have 2 points on our DPR. (attached and appended)

When TI digests Alex's level 2, we will have another point.

We have DPR credit from our officer training. It shows that 5 have completed. We may all have done it, and may be waiting for D2 to push the info to TI. There are TONS of officer trainings listed in the D2 Starburst Newsletter and website.

Maria Cubacha, VPM

August Club Anniversaries: Kelly celebrating 5 years 

July Stats: 

New Members (Dhwani, Raxit)	2
Inquiries	2
Mtg Visitors (Dhwani, Eli, Priyanka)	3
Member removals	0

Jeff Makita, Sergeant at Arms

No updates

Maria Shneerson, Secretary

No updates; clarifications needed regarding officers’ training. (Received during meeting).