Oct. 21st Theme: Inventions

Lynne was our toastmaster today. She chose “inventions” as the theme. Lynne brought us stories about inventions that we see and use in daily life. We learned the flexible straw was invented by a father who used a screw and dental floss to bend the paper tube. This made drinking milkshakes easier for his small daughter. Other inventions such as the pop can’s tab opener, the paper bag, and the potato chip not only brought us convenience but significantly improved our enjoyment. Many people with such ingenious ideas have made great fortunes in their businesses.

Alice was our first speaker. She gave her forth speech from the Competent Communication Manual. Her title was “The Adventurous Mom.” Inspired by her friend Yolanda, Alice decided to go skydiving. She chose a day when she could get away from her busy schedule, including work and kids. In the 30 second free fall, she opened her arms and felt the freedom to reveal her true self. Alice felt this adventure helped her release pressure. With renewed energy she was able to embrace her kids with a fresh new feeling when she went back home. 

Thanks to Jean we did a “round robin” evaluation for the speech, "I See Something." It was given by Toastmasters’ world champion, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi. From his speech we learned that techniques such as repetition, groups of three, props, and humor can effectively hold the audience's attention and build a powerful message.

Next week we will have a special Impromptu Halloween Party. Friends and guests are very welcome to join our celebration. Feel free to dress up. The person with the best costume will win a prize. We're looking forward to seeing everyone at our event!

Oct. 14th Theme: Joy

Barb was our toastmaster today and she chose "Joy" as the theme. Throughout the meeting Barb shared quotes that defined joy into different meanings from different countries. River, kissing, and beauty have been compared to joy by many authors.

Robert was our first speaker. He finished his second speech from the Advanced Interpretive Manual. He read an excerpt from the Line, a New York City long-running play. Robert used his voice to interpret five different characters in this drama who were trying to lie and manipulate each other in order to be first in a line. Robert made us laugh and we enjoyed his role playing. 

Pauline was our second speaker. This was her very first Ice Breaker Speech from the Competent Communication Manual. Pauline told us about her dream to ride a horse when she was a little girl. This became true when she took a trip to a horse farm in the fourth grade. She earned money by delivering newspapers to lease her first horse and later to visit her grandmother who owned a 102 acre horse farm in England. 

We had one guest, Roger. He thought our club was very welcoming and well structured. He commented that watching the Ice Breaker speech and advanced speech helped him learn the speaking skill progression at toastmasters. We were very glad to have him and hope he will come back again! 

Oct. 7th Theme: Water

Linda was our toastmaster today. She chose "water" as the theme. From her research Linda shared the facts that water is an essential element of our body and a major constituent of the earth. Despite the fact that water is plentiful on our planet, clean drinkable water is remarkably scarce. Many people are suffering from clean water deficiency due to pollution and waste. 

Barb was our first speaker. She spoke about a new leadership project she is working on. Her title was "Sharing Your Vision". Barb compared leadership in toastmasters to helping a baby learn to walk. As our area governor, Barb used her role to successfully run our Area Contest last month. This month her goal is to find 14 volunteers to help out at the District Contest.

Jim was our second speaker. He completed his forth talk from the Competent Communication Manual. His title was "Take Back Your Mind.” Jim realized his friend, Bill, was suffering from frustrations in life. Jim knew from his own research in psychology and neuro-psychology that people are always thinking but are unaware of all the thinking that goes on in their heads. He told how Bill learned to focus on the present. Jim then showed us how to direct our attention to the present moment through breathing and observing, which he referred to as mindfulness. 

We had one guest, Jewel, She was looking for a place to practice her public speaking and to build up her confidence. She decided to join us after the meeting. We are very happy to have her and to help her achieve her goals!

Sept. 30th Theme: Flower

Today Pauline was our toastmaster ­and she picked "Flower" as the theme. She told us the meaning of different flowers, for example, white roses stand for reverence and perfection and yellow roses mean friendship and welcome, etc. 

Jean was our first speaker. She completed her 7th talk from the Competent Communication Manual. As Vice President of Education, Jean created a group discussion describing the Toastmaster’s role.

Every meeting is led by a toastmaster who has specific duties for running an efficient and fun meeting. Jean also shared a famous quote from Theodore Roosevelt and encouraged us to overcome our hesitance and worry by stepping into the Toastmaster Role.

She also shared that there are currently 314,000 toastmasters around the world. This means many people are stepping out of their fears and thriving at as the toastmaster of their meetings. 

Alice was the second speaker. She accomplished the 3rd speech from the Competent Communication Manual. Her topic was "Dare to Dream". Alice shared stories about people who have created successful companies and earned great wealth. They are using their money to help the public. Some examples include giving millions of dollars for public education, driverless cars, and high-speed transportation systems.

We had one guest, Nestor Makora. She commented that we were a well-organized club where everyone took on roles with ease while developing important skills. We appreciate her attendance and hope to see her in the future!

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! 

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. 

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.