11/19/2013 Theme: Thanksgiving

NO MEETING NEXT WEEK NOVEMBER 26TH

 

Lynne was our Toastmaster today. She chose Thanksgiving as our theme. The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621.  The first settlers added their Christian beliefs to the Native American celebration.  In 1939  President Roosevelt was pressured into making the 3rd Thursday of November Thanksgiving so people could start their Christmas shopping earlier. However in 1941 Congress declared Thanksgiving a national holiday and set it as the 4th Thursday in November.

 

Karen was our 1st speaker today.  She completed project six from the Competent Communication manual.  The title of her talk was Learn to Live with It.  Karen spoke of how she has lived with chronic pain since she was twelve years old.  Chronic pain is considered the silent epidemic.  Seventy-six million Americans live with chronic pain. Thirty million of those have lived with chronic pain for a year or longer. Karen, being the remarkable individual that she is, has learned to live well with her pain. Karen now leads workshops to help others live well with their chronic pain. Thank you Karen.  You are an inspiration!

 

Kate was our 2nd speaker today.  The title of her talk was Gifts with Taste.  This was Kate's eight presentation from the CC manual.  Kate shared three simple tasty gifts that you can make for holiday giving. Kate emphasized that all homemade gifts should pass the KISS test.  Keep It Simple and Stress Free. Everyone enjoyed the samples of tasty treats that Kate shared.

 

Jim Nosh was our only guest today.  We always welcome guests to our meetings.  We hope you will be joining us soon.

 

No Meeting Next Week.  Our next meeting will be December 3rd.  Happy Hanukkah and Happy Thanksgiving!



November 12, 2013 Theme:Black Friday

Today was extra special because several of our new members accomplished their "firsts".  It was Sravanthi's first time as Toastmaster.  Linda's first as Grammarian. Maria gave her Icebreaker; her 1st presentation from the CL manual. Lastly, but still her first, Sophia was our Humorist.

As TM Sravanthi chose Black Friday as our theme. This is the biggest shopping day of the year. This year Sravanrhi will not only be shopping for herself and her husband, but also for their baby due to arrive in Spring.  Sravanthi used humor and trivia to make this theme fun for all of us.

Kimberly was our first speaker today.  She gave her third presentation from the CC manual.  The title of her talk was Mindfulness.  Kimberly gave us a brief history of the practice, its benefits to our health and well being and suggestions on how we can use it in our daily lives.

Our second speaker Maria completed her Icebreaker titled The King's Descendants.  Through this talk Maria traced her ancestry back to King Reygodos of Spain. Maria gave a royal presentation without using notes!

Though it was a meeting full of firsts for many, everyone learned something new.  The beauty of our meetings is that we learn and grow together.  Come grow with us next week.

Special Note:  There will be no meeting November 26th.

11/5/2013 Theme: Voting

Kathy was our Toastmaster today. Since it was Election Day,   "Voting" was our theme.  Kathy explained that the first Tuesday of November was chosen as Election Day for several reasons.  November was selected because harvest work was done.  Tuesday was picked because many people had to travel a day to reach the polls.  Since many people would not travel on Sunday because of religious beliefs, Monday was not an option. 

We just had one speaker today. Ash gave her third presentation from the CL manual. The title of her talk was " The Journey of 4000 miles".  Ash spoke her journey to Washington so she and her fiance could legally marry and raise a family.  Growing up gay in the south was not easy.  Yet Ash had lived in the same area for 13 years so she had to leave behind friends and family, professional and volunteer work that she loved.  Her fiance moved here in April to start working for the Seattle Police Department.  However Ash had a job contract to fulfill so she could not move until June.  Ash drove the 4000 miles by herself.  She stopped to see a few sights along the way, but she took the journey by herself.  It wasn't easy, but it led to her new life of freedom with her fiance.  We also so glad that Ash's journey led her to our club! 

We had a little extra time today so Jean our President shared notes from the Area Governor's visit.  Most comments were quite favorable.  However it was suggested that the Toastmaster doesn't speak while members are writing notes and to put a little more constructive critiques in our evaluations.

We didn't have any guests today, but hopefully next week  you will  join us. Guests are always welcome.  We look forward to seeing you.

Please Note:  There will be no meeting on November 26th due to the unavailability of our meeting space.

10/29/2013 Halloween Celebration

Today we vered away slightly from our standard meeting format to have a little Halloween party. Our meeting space was decorated and treats  were shared.  Kate was our Toastmaster and she shared some Halloween trivia.  Celtics used Halloween as a time to celebrate harvest. Around 1000 A.D. the church designated November 1st as All Souls day.  In England the poor would visit the wealthy and recieve pastries called soul cakes in exchange for a promise to pray for the souls of dead relatives.

Ash was our only speaker today.  She presented her second talk from the CC manual.  The title of her speech was "Growing Up Isn't Easy".  Ash spoke of how the movie The Worst Witch impacted her life at ages 9, 19, and 29.  Ash learned that any obstacle could be overcome when you are able to trust family, friends and yourself.

After Ash's talk, the rest of the meeting focused on Table Topics.  Kathy was our Topic Master.  Kathy started a little story about how she visited the house where her mother was raised as a child.  Kathy then had the rest of complete the story.  Each of us had 45 seconds to add to the story before it was passed to the next person

10/22/2013 Theme; Harvest

Excuse the brevity of the minutes.  The secretary is fighting a headache.

Great meeting today. Barb was our Toastmaster. Our theme was Harvest.   Farmers work all year tending their crops and then reaping their harvest. Toastmasters work diligently developing their leadership skills and share their bounty/harvest with the club and beyond.

Juliet was our 1st speaker.  She spoke about authenticity. Don't puff up to make to make yourself known or shrink to hide. Just stand your sacred ground to be your authentic self.

Karen was our 2nd speaker. She gave an impromptu humorous talk about grocery shopping with her siblings and mother when she was a child. We all look forward to more of Karen's stories.

Jean, our president, gave us a brief lesson on how to add humor to our presentations. Simply start with a funny antidote, make it connect to your message and refer to it in your conclusion. Humor will enrich your presentation by connecting with your audience.



Linda and Sophia were our guests today. We hope you will be joining us next week.  Guests are always welcome because they add bounty to our harvest.

October 15, 2013 Theme: Autumn Leaves

We had another beneficial meeting today. Jean was our Toastmaster and shared many famous quotes about Autumn. Jean also gave us a mini refresher course on how to be an effective evaluator.  A simple method for giving useful evaluations include saying something positive followed by a suggestion for improvement and concluding with something positive.  It is important  "to own" your suggestions by starting the statements with: " I suggest", " I think ", or " In my opinion ".  All of put our evaluation skills to use because we gave group evaluations to our second and third speakers.

Our first speaker was Kate. The tittle of her talk was " Survive and Thrive".  Kate shared three skills that will help everyone survive thrive from any crisis.  They are: trust your instincts, know your surroundings and live in the moment.

Our second speaker was Sravanthi.  The tittle of her talk was " Count 0 to 10 Everyday".  Sravanthi spoke of the importance of drinking 8 - 10 glasses of water everyday.  She listed the many benefits of water consumption and gave us suggestions for incorporating the habit into our daily routine.

Jerry was our third speaker.  The tittle of his talk was " One Two Three Foot It Out."  Jerry spoke of the need for cultural diversity.  The 1,2,3 foot it out was a technique his kindergarten teacher used to make sure everyone got a fair chance. Jerry pointed out that cultural diversity at its best ensures everyone getting a fair chance.

Our meeting today was also enriched by our guests; Jordan, Dallas and Sophia. Jordan and Dallas were invited by members and Sophia found us via our web page.  Now we extend an invitation to you.  Please join us.  Guests are always welcome.