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 - Pending Final Approval

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:

<

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).

August 11th, 2026 Meeting minutes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Meeting Minutes

August 11, 2026

 

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

• Online Meeting Mastery education course is available.
• Congratulations to Kelly Faluca, VPPR, DTM on the 5th Toastmasters anniversary!
• At September 1^st in-person meeting, we are going to have a celebration. Please mark your calendars!

 

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

Nancy Carpenter, VP of Education shared details about Online Meeting Mastery exploration

 

Our Toastmaster was Maria Shneerson, Secretary, with the theme “Habits”

 

Gate team:

Our grammarian was Katie Munoz with the WORD of the Day “Ritual” 

Ah Counter was Raxit Jani

Our Timer was Maria Cubacha, VP of Membership

 Our General Evaluator was Dhwani Maheshwari

 

Our speaker was Alex Konicke with a speech titled “Repetition”

 From Presentation Mastery, Toastmasters Successful Club Series.

Our Evaluator for Alex’s speech was TK Kasnick

 

Our Table Topics Master was Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer

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

Guests in Attendance: Nadine Loken

Motion to Adjourn: Katie, Second: TK

 

August 4th, 2026 Meeting notes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

In-Person Meeting Minutes

August 4, 2026

Theresa Haynes, former president, stepped in to replace Bill Hinrichs, President and kicked off our meeting.

Our Toastmaster was Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer, with the theme “Board Game Blitz”

Deanna passed the roles sign-up sheet and reminded everyone to take on roles.

Deanna Schroeder led us through the Club Mission statement and Flag Salute.

Gate team:

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

Ah Counter was Deanna Schroeder, Treasurer

Our Timer was Alex Konicke

 Timed Round Robin for General Evaluation of the meeting.

Our 1st Speaker was Maria Shneerson with a speech titled“Hiking to Machu Picchu Guided by Angel”. PM, Level 1, Evaluation and Feedback.

Our 2nd Speaker was Theresa Haynes with a speech titled “Joyride: The Surprising Science of Happiness" . PM, Level 3.

Our Evaluator for Maria’s speech was Robert Katz

Our Evaluator for Theresa’s speech was Deanna Schroeder

Our Table Topics Master was Katie Munoz

Our Table Topic Speakers were Alex, Dhwani and Robert

Members in Attendance were Alex, Deanna, Dhwani, Katie, Maria S, Theresa and Robert

Guests in Attendance: no guests

Motion to Adjourn: Katie, Second: Robert

July 28, 2026 Meeting Minutes

Public Speaking Northwest Toastmasters

Meeting Minutes 

July 28, 2026

Announcements:

Bill Hinrichs, President, shared an announcement that Toastmasters' hosting service, FreeToastHost, is going to update their software.

Nancy Carpenter, VP Education talked about keeping time.

Our Toastmaster: Kerry Accola led with the theme. "Road Trip” 

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

Gate team:

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

Ah Counter was Dhwani Maheshwari

Our Timer was Nancy Carpenter, VP Education

General Evaluator was TK Kasnick

Our 1st Speaker was Jeff Makita with an icebreaker speech titled“What Are the Four Things?”

PM1, Evaluation and Feedback (4-6min)

Our 2nd Speaker was Jessica Colby with a speech titled, “All Gass, No Breaks” (7-9 min)

Our Evaluator for Jeff’s speech was Katie Munoz

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

Our Table Topics Master was Theresa Haynes

Our Table Topic Speakers were Kelly, Katie, TK, Alex, and Kerry

Members in Attendance were Bill, Kerry, Dhwani, Jeff, Jessica, Katie, Kelly, Nancy, Theresa, Turtle, and Alex

No Guests in Attendance

Motion to Adjourn: Katie, Second: TK