Here's a picture of me, presenting the recommendations from our Case Study working group to the group at the District Training on December 13.I copied this picture from Dave Wheeler's District 53 blog, http://areaa4.blogspot.com/
Monday, December 29, 2008
District Training: Case Study
Here's a picture of me, presenting the recommendations from our Case Study working group to the group at the District Training on December 13.I copied this picture from Dave Wheeler's District 53 blog, http://areaa4.blogspot.com/
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Report from District Training event
Cheryl and I attended the District Training event at the Russell Library last Saturday, Dec. 13.
This training was put on by our District 53 leadership. We heard presentations on promoting our club on the internet, the Competent Leader manual, and the Speechcraft program.
We participated in a Case Study about a struggling TM club. Volunteers from the Springfield club gave us information about the challenges that they have been facing. We then broke into 2 groups to come up with some recommendations. The exercise became an unexpected speaking opportunity for me, as I was chosen to present our recommendations to the whole group.
The District team announced plans for a 2009 Kickoff event on January 17 in Hartford, 2-4 PM. This event will feature 3 speeches from some of the best speakers in the District, followed by evaluations, plus presentations by the leadership team. They are also planning a Pecha Kucha segment. Pecha Kucha is a highly structured, PowerPoint-based speech, requiring 20 slides. Each slide is shown for 20 seconds, for a total speech time of 6:40. This kickoff is open to all Toastmasters, and it should be a lot of fun!
This training was put on by our District 53 leadership. We heard presentations on promoting our club on the internet, the Competent Leader manual, and the Speechcraft program.
We participated in a Case Study about a struggling TM club. Volunteers from the Springfield club gave us information about the challenges that they have been facing. We then broke into 2 groups to come up with some recommendations. The exercise became an unexpected speaking opportunity for me, as I was chosen to present our recommendations to the whole group.
The District team announced plans for a 2009 Kickoff event on January 17 in Hartford, 2-4 PM. This event will feature 3 speeches from some of the best speakers in the District, followed by evaluations, plus presentations by the leadership team. They are also planning a Pecha Kucha segment. Pecha Kucha is a highly structured, PowerPoint-based speech, requiring 20 slides. Each slide is shown for 20 seconds, for a total speech time of 6:40. This kickoff is open to all Toastmasters, and it should be a lot of fun!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Meeting notes, December 11, 2008
We had a wonderful year-end meeting last night, with 16 participants. Our festivities included 3 guests: first time visitor Charnaie Gordon and old friends Ute Brinkmann and Rose Rota Riccitellii.
Nancy Green was Toastmaster for the evening. She organized the meeting around the theme of Giving, and the theme was reflected in the Word of the Day, the Table Topics, the prepared speeches, and in the Toys for Tots collection that accompanied the meeting. Great job, Nancy!
We heard 5 prepared speeches: A reading of "The Gift of the Magi" from Rob, an original fairy tale from Rose Rita, persuasive speeches from Tom and from Anne Marie, and an excellent Ice-breaker from Marc. Arun was the General Evaluator, and he managed to squeeze in the 5 evaluations and still end the meeting almost on time.
Thanks to everyone who brought refreshments. This was a great way to close out the year.
Our next meeting is January 8, 2009. Happy New Year!
Nancy Green was Toastmaster for the evening. She organized the meeting around the theme of Giving, and the theme was reflected in the Word of the Day, the Table Topics, the prepared speeches, and in the Toys for Tots collection that accompanied the meeting. Great job, Nancy!
We heard 5 prepared speeches: A reading of "The Gift of the Magi" from Rob, an original fairy tale from Rose Rita, persuasive speeches from Tom and from Anne Marie, and an excellent Ice-breaker from Marc. Arun was the General Evaluator, and he managed to squeeze in the 5 evaluations and still end the meeting almost on time.
Thanks to everyone who brought refreshments. This was a great way to close out the year.
Our next meeting is January 8, 2009. Happy New Year!
Friday, November 14, 2008
Meeting notes, November 13, 2008
We had 14 members at our meeting last night.
Cheryl gave us an update on our Distinguished Club Program progress, and let the club know that we have already achieved "Distinguished" status. Congratulations, everyone. We will keeping working to attain "President's Distinguished", as we have for the past three years.
Dianne Olsen served as Toastmaster for the evening, and she did a great job - and she gave us candy! Beth Legnani was our Table-Topics master, providing scenarios for members to improvise on, two at a time.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Kay Jeyapalan, Ramesh Padavala, Rob Schaff, and Kim Price. Tom Alvord worked on perfecting his approach as General Evaluator, and our evaluators provided lots of constructive feedback.
Our next meeting is December 11, 2008. This will be our last meeting of the year, so don't miss it!
Cheryl gave us an update on our Distinguished Club Program progress, and let the club know that we have already achieved "Distinguished" status. Congratulations, everyone. We will keeping working to attain "President's Distinguished", as we have for the past three years.
Dianne Olsen served as Toastmaster for the evening, and she did a great job - and she gave us candy! Beth Legnani was our Table-Topics master, providing scenarios for members to improvise on, two at a time.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Kay Jeyapalan, Ramesh Padavala, Rob Schaff, and Kim Price. Tom Alvord worked on perfecting his approach as General Evaluator, and our evaluators provided lots of constructive feedback.
Our next meeting is December 11, 2008. This will be our last meeting of the year, so don't miss it!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Meeting November 6, 2008
We had 11 participants at our special meeting last night, November 6, at the Village at South Farms.
Jeff Lagasse took his first turn in the "big chair" as Toastmaster, and he did a great job. Pete provided fortune cookies for the table topics, and we learned that many of our members are happy as clams at high tide.
Once again, we had 4 prepared speeches, from Cheryl, Dianne, Jeff, and John. Cheryl presented the "Keeping the Commitment" program from the Toastmasters Successful Club Series. With this speech, Cheryl completed the requirements for the Advanced Leader Bronze award. Congratulations, Cheryl!
Marin Sung has joined our club, and last night she introduced herself to the club with a short prepared speech. Marin (pronounced "marine") is the 8th new member to join this year.
Jeff Lagasse took his first turn in the "big chair" as Toastmaster, and he did a great job. Pete provided fortune cookies for the table topics, and we learned that many of our members are happy as clams at high tide.
Once again, we had 4 prepared speeches, from Cheryl, Dianne, Jeff, and John. Cheryl presented the "Keeping the Commitment" program from the Toastmasters Successful Club Series. With this speech, Cheryl completed the requirements for the Advanced Leader Bronze award. Congratulations, Cheryl!
Marin Sung has joined our club, and last night she introduced herself to the club with a short prepared speech. Marin (pronounced "marine") is the 8th new member to join this year.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Meeting October 23, 2008
We had 13 participants at our October 23 meeting - 12 members and 1 guest.
Arun Sodani did a great job as the Toastmaster, as usual. Ramesh Padavala was the Table-Topics Master, and he challenged us all with some typical job-interview questions. We heard 4 excellent prepared speeches, from Brian, Erik, Beth, and Anne-Marie.
Our guest was Marin Sung, a student at Middlesex Community College. Marin participated in Table Topics, and expressed her interest in coming to another meeting in November.
Please note that our next meeting, November 6, is at The Village at South Farms, in the 3rd-floor Pub Room.
Arun Sodani did a great job as the Toastmaster, as usual. Ramesh Padavala was the Table-Topics Master, and he challenged us all with some typical job-interview questions. We heard 4 excellent prepared speeches, from Brian, Erik, Beth, and Anne-Marie.
Our guest was Marin Sung, a student at Middlesex Community College. Marin participated in Table Topics, and expressed her interest in coming to another meeting in November.
Please note that our next meeting, November 6, is at The Village at South Farms, in the 3rd-floor Pub Room.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Meeting October 9, 2008
We had 12 participants at our October 9 meeting - 11 members and 1 guest.
John Keppler stepped up as the Toastmaster, and did a great job. We conducted our table-topics "pot-luck" style. Everyone prepared one question, and then when each person finished their turn at Table-Topics, they asked a question to the next person. This was a lot of fun - a good back-up plan for meetings without a Table-topics Master. We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Kay, Rob, Pete, and John.
Our guest was Marc Cammarata, a prospective member who found our club through the website. Marc expressed interest in joining the club.
Please note that we have added a meeting on November 6, at The Village at South Farms.
John Keppler stepped up as the Toastmaster, and did a great job. We conducted our table-topics "pot-luck" style. Everyone prepared one question, and then when each person finished their turn at Table-Topics, they asked a question to the next person. This was a lot of fun - a good back-up plan for meetings without a Table-topics Master. We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Kay, Rob, Pete, and John.
Our guest was Marc Cammarata, a prospective member who found our club through the website. Marc expressed interest in joining the club.
Please note that we have added a meeting on November 6, at The Village at South Farms.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Meeting, September 25
We had 14 at our 9/25 meeting - 13 members and 1 guest.
Our guest, Victoria Schaff, provided the Word of the Day. We were all able to participate in Table Topics, with a Halloween theme served up by Table Topics master Tom Alvord. We heard 4 prepared speeches, including 2 Ice-breakers (from Dianne and Brian).
Please note that we are considering adding a meeting on November 6, to make up for the meetings we will miss around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Details to be announced.
Our guest, Victoria Schaff, provided the Word of the Day. We were all able to participate in Table Topics, with a Halloween theme served up by Table Topics master Tom Alvord. We heard 4 prepared speeches, including 2 Ice-breakers (from Dianne and Brian).
Please note that we are considering adding a meeting on November 6, to make up for the meetings we will miss around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Details to be announced.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Record-setting meeting, another gavel departs
Our September 11 meeting was a record breaker. We had 26 people at the meeting - 18 club members and 8 guests!
Among our 8 guests were 5 members of Stag Toastmasters, who were there to capture the gavel Enis. We still have one gavel left, so we can expect at least one more visit as part of the district Traveling Gavel program.
Among our 8 guests were 5 members of Stag Toastmasters, who were there to capture the gavel Enis. We still have one gavel left, so we can expect at least one more visit as part of the district Traveling Gavel program.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Kim Price wins Area C5 Humorous Contest
Sep 4, 2008
Congratulations to our own Kim Price, who won the Area C5 Humorous
Speech Contest! Kim did a great job with his speech about a fashion faux
pas.
Kim will be representing our Area at the Division C Contest on
September 23. Here are the details:
Div C Humorous and Evaluation Speech Contests
When: Tue, Sep 23, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Where: New London Public Library, 63 Huntington St, New London, CT
Congratulations to our own Kim Price, who won the Area C5 Humorous
Speech Contest! Kim did a great job with his speech about a fashion faux
pas.
Kim will be representing our Area at the Division C Contest on
September 23. Here are the details:
Div C Humorous and Evaluation Speech Contests
When: Tue, Sep 23, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Where: New London Public Library, 63 Huntington St, New London, CT
Monday, September 1, 2008
Gavel Bo Departs
Aug. 28, 2008
Greater Hartford Toastmasters visited to capture Bo, the traveling gavel. Our visitors were: Michael Wagner, Carol Gray, Christina Lumbreras, and Yvonne Duncan.
From Yvonne:
"We all enjoyed, immensely, the visit to your club. It was not only great fun meeting everyone and participating in the meeting, but we learned a few things that we can adopt to make our meetings run as efficiently as possible. 3 of the 4 of us are fairly new Toastmaster members and seeing another club in action was a very valuable experience. Thanks to you and the club members for the very warm welcome extended to us. It was fun!"
Monday, August 18, 2008
Contest Results
Middlesex Toastmasters #8340 held their club Evaluation & Humorous Contest this past Thursday, August 14th. Thanks to everyone that participated and helped to make the evening a success. It was a lot of fun, and our Contest Master, Tom and all of our Contestants are to be congratulated on their excellent speaking skills! It was very a very entertaining and inspiring evening!
Here are the results:
Evaluation Contest
1st Place: John Keppler
2nd Place: Kim Price
3rd Place: Arun Sodani
Humorous Contest
1st Place: Kim Price
2nd Place: Rose Rita Riccitelli
Roles
Contest Chair - Cheryl Mason
Contest Master - Tom Alvord
Chief Judge - Rob Schaff
Judges (Anonymous)
Timers: Kay & Anne-Marie
Sargeant at Arms: Jeff
Ballot Counters: Pete, Kay & Dianne
Left to right, Jeffrey Lagasse, Cheryl Mason, Kim Price, Tom Alvord, Arun Sodani, John Keppler, Rose Rita Riccitelli
Here are the results:
Evaluation Contest
1st Place: John Keppler
2nd Place: Kim Price
3rd Place: Arun Sodani
Humorous Contest
1st Place: Kim Price
2nd Place: Rose Rita Riccitelli
Roles
Contest Chair - Cheryl Mason
Contest Master - Tom Alvord
Chief Judge - Rob Schaff
Judges (Anonymous)
Timers: Kay & Anne-Marie
Sargeant at Arms: Jeff
Ballot Counters: Pete, Kay & Dianne
Left to right, Jeffrey Lagasse, Cheryl Mason, Kim Price, Tom Alvord, Arun Sodani, John Keppler, Rose Rita Riccitelli
Monday, July 7, 2008
Middlesex Captures Third Gavel
The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club attended a
recent meeting of the Nutmeg Toastmasters and
captured the Division D Gavel, "Drew" on July 1, 2008.
The following three members made the trip to Woodbridge
(New Haven) CT: Rose Rita Riccitelli, Cheryl Mason,
and Rob Schaff.
The Nutmeg Toastmasters graciously surrendered Drew
and we all had lots of fun participating in the meeting!
The Middlesex County Toastmasters are happy to have
captured Drew, the Division D Traveling Gavel, as it
joins Bo and Ennis at the Club lecturn. The members of
Middlesex County TM look forward to welcoming any
gavel-seeking visitors!
recent meeting of the Nutmeg Toastmasters and
captured the Division D Gavel, "Drew" on July 1, 2008.
The following three members made the trip to Woodbridge
(New Haven) CT: Rose Rita Riccitelli, Cheryl Mason,
and Rob Schaff.
The Nutmeg Toastmasters graciously surrendered Drew
and we all had lots of fun participating in the meeting!
The Middlesex County Toastmasters are happy to have
captured Drew, the Division D Traveling Gavel, as it
joins Bo and Ennis at the Club lecturn. The members of
Middlesex County TM look forward to welcoming any
gavel-seeking visitors!
Friday, June 27, 2008
End-of-the-year Meeting
From Cheryl:
Great end-of-the-year meeting last night!
Attendance by outgoing and incoming Area C5 Governors, Fred & Tom
Induction of new officers, and release of current officers
Special awards to Chris & Rob
Fun table topics by Minyan - duos with theme of conflict
Chris's 10th speech for an AC award, which will get our club to President's Distinguished
Rose Rita's completion of 10th speech for CC award
Meshva's speech # 2 in CC manual
Lots of firsts -- first-time evaluators Jeff & Kay, toastmaster Erik, humorist Kay, table topics master Minyan
Plans announced for invading Nutmeg Club TM in Woodbridge this Tuesday to capture "Drew"
Butterfly cake sent in by Ute -- very beautiful and yummy, reminding us to "Be the Change You want to See"
Great end-of-the-year meeting last night!
Attendance by outgoing and incoming Area C5 Governors, Fred & Tom
Induction of new officers, and release of current officers
Special awards to Chris & Rob
Fun table topics by Minyan - duos with theme of conflict
Chris's 10th speech for an AC award, which will get our club to President's Distinguished
Rose Rita's completion of 10th speech for CC award
Meshva's speech # 2 in CC manual
Lots of firsts -- first-time evaluators Jeff & Kay, toastmaster Erik, humorist Kay, table topics master Minyan
Plans announced for invading Nutmeg Club TM in Woodbridge this Tuesday to capture "Drew"
Butterfly cake sent in by Ute -- very beautiful and yummy, reminding us to "Be the Change You want to See"
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Middlesex Captures Another Gavel
From: Roger H Brown
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:33:40 PM
Subject: Traveling Gavel Bo moves into Division C
Middlesex County Toastmasters from Middletown CT invades the West
Hartford Toastmasters and captures Bo!
The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club invaded a regular meeting of
the WHTM and captured the Division B Gavel, "Bo," from West Hartford
Toastmasters on June 17, 2008. The following five members made the
trip to West Hartford Toastmasters: Tom Alvord, Erik Jarboe, Jamie
Jarboe, Cheryl Mason, and Rob Schaff. Cheryl Mason took on the role
of General Evaluator and Rob Schaff gave an advanced manual speech.
The WHTM Toastmasters graciously surrendered Bo at the very end of the
meeting and wished it "bon voyage" for the journey south into the
realm of Area C5 of Division C.
The Middlesex County Toastmasters are happy to have captured Bo, a
Traveling Gavel, and look forward to welcoming any gavel-seeking
visitors! The Middlesex County Toastmasters meet every 2nd and 4th
Thursday, 7-9 PM, in Middletown, CT.
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:33:40 PM
Subject: Traveling Gavel Bo moves into Division C
Middlesex County Toastmasters from Middletown CT invades the West
Hartford Toastmasters and captures Bo!
The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club invaded a regular meeting of
the WHTM and captured the Division B Gavel, "Bo," from West Hartford
Toastmasters on June 17, 2008. The following five members made the
trip to West Hartford Toastmasters: Tom Alvord, Erik Jarboe, Jamie
Jarboe, Cheryl Mason, and Rob Schaff. Cheryl Mason took on the role
of General Evaluator and Rob Schaff gave an advanced manual speech.
The WHTM Toastmasters graciously surrendered Bo at the very end of the
meeting and wished it "bon voyage" for the journey south into the
realm of Area C5 of Division C.
The Middlesex County Toastmasters are happy to have captured Bo, a
Traveling Gavel, and look forward to welcoming any gavel-seeking
visitors! The Middlesex County Toastmasters meet every 2nd and 4th
Thursday, 7-9 PM, in Middletown, CT.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Record-setting meeting!
At our May 8 meeting, we had a record-setting 21 people. There were 14 club members, plus an impressive 7 guests:
* Former member Eliot L.
* Frankie, who came because he saw our signs
* Rob's daughter, Victoria
* Jamie's mother, Beth
* Minyan, who joined the club at the end of the meeting
* Dawn, a prospective member
* Saravanan, a Middletown resident and Toastmaster at the the Stanley Club
* Former member Eliot L.
* Frankie, who came because he saw our signs
* Rob's daughter, Victoria
* Jamie's mother, Beth
* Minyan, who joined the club at the end of the meeting
* Dawn, a prospective member
* Saravanan, a Middletown resident and Toastmaster at the the Stanley Club
Monday, April 28, 2008
Cheryl Mason earns Triple Crown
From Karin Von Kaenel, District 53 Lt. Governor Education & Training ...
Subject: [d53toastmasters] Cheryl Mason earns Triple Crown
Congratulations!
Cheryl Mason has earned her Triple Crown !
Cheryl is a member of 2 clubs:
- The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
- The Stanley Works Toastmasters Club
Way to go Cheryl!
Triple Crown in District 53 for 2007-2008
A District 53 'Toastmasters Triple Crown Winner' is any Toastmaster member who has attained any three of the following educational or leadership awards, between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008:
* Competent Communicator (CC),
* Advanced Communicator Bronze, Silver or Gold (ACB, ACS, ACG),
* Competent Leader (CL),
* Advanced Leader Bronze or Silver (ALB, ALS), or
* Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
Subject: [d53toastmasters] Cheryl Mason earns Triple Crown
Congratulations!
Cheryl Mason has earned her Triple Crown !
Cheryl is a member of 2 clubs:
- The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
- The Stanley Works Toastmasters Club
Way to go Cheryl!
Triple Crown in District 53 for 2007-2008
A District 53 'Toastmasters Triple Crown Winner' is any Toastmaster member who has attained any three of the following educational or leadership awards, between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008:
* Competent Communicator (CC),
* Advanced Communicator Bronze, Silver or Gold (ACB, ACS, ACG),
* Competent Leader (CL),
* Advanced Leader Bronze or Silver (ALB, ALS), or
* Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
Meeting, April 24
From Tom Alvord, Club President:
What a meeting!
Last night was such a thrill to be part of Middlesex County Toastmasters!
It was "just a regular meeting", but full of pleasant surprises and excellent speakers!
Two days ago, we had just one speaker and few other meeting roles spoken for. This was due in part to the fact the our VPE Rob Schaff had been inactive for two weeks due to family matters. Rob has been the driving force behind full rosters at meetings since last summer.
But then things started to roll…
- Arun signed on as Toastmaster.
- Rob signed up to speak
- At the same moment Tom signed up to give a last minute speech because he felt guilty for not having "minded the gap" in Rob's absence.
- The roster began to fill up, but we still had no Table Topics Master nor General Evaluator.
Then at the meeting itself …
- Nancy volunteered for Table Topics Master and gave us all a big lift by having each speaker talk to Mrs. Smith - CEO on an elevator ride.
- John, our 20-year member, volunteered to be the 4th speaker and delivered a wonderful speech he'd thought about for only one day – and convinced us that politics isn't such a dirty word after all (well, some of us anyway).
- New member Eric read to us the Club Mission,
- Sreeni delivered a last-minute invocation
- New member Kay served as our excellent Ah Counter
- Still fairly new member Jeff introduced us to the word "voluble" and kept our grammar on track.
- Erik’s wife Jamie attended as a guest, and joined our Club on the spot!
Minyan, a walk-in guest, enjoyed the meeting so much he agreed to be Ah- Counter at our next meeting May 8th.
- Meshva's speech showed how important it was to move back here all the way from Houston to be with our Club. She even said she'd visited three other clubs and decided she preferred Middlesex!
- Cheryl had a rare night off from speaking but served in her typical elegant style as Evaluator
- Rob announced that Cheryl has earned the Triple Crown by completing her CC, OCL, and ACB. Congratulations Cheryl!
- Toastmaster Arun stepped in to double as GE, capping off this exciting meeting.
It was hard to get to sleep but it was worth every second spent at MIDDLESEX TOASTMASTERS CLUB 8340 Middletown Connecticut!
See you May 8th!
What a meeting!
Last night was such a thrill to be part of Middlesex County Toastmasters!
It was "just a regular meeting", but full of pleasant surprises and excellent speakers!
Two days ago, we had just one speaker and few other meeting roles spoken for. This was due in part to the fact the our VPE Rob Schaff had been inactive for two weeks due to family matters. Rob has been the driving force behind full rosters at meetings since last summer.
But then things started to roll…
- Arun signed on as Toastmaster.
- Rob signed up to speak
- At the same moment Tom signed up to give a last minute speech because he felt guilty for not having "minded the gap" in Rob's absence.
- The roster began to fill up, but we still had no Table Topics Master nor General Evaluator.
Then at the meeting itself …
- Nancy volunteered for Table Topics Master and gave us all a big lift by having each speaker talk to Mrs. Smith - CEO on an elevator ride.
- John, our 20-year member, volunteered to be the 4th speaker and delivered a wonderful speech he'd thought about for only one day – and convinced us that politics isn't such a dirty word after all (well, some of us anyway).
- New member Eric read to us the Club Mission,
- Sreeni delivered a last-minute invocation
- New member Kay served as our excellent Ah Counter
- Still fairly new member Jeff introduced us to the word "voluble" and kept our grammar on track.
- Erik’s wife Jamie attended as a guest, and joined our Club on the spot!
Minyan, a walk-in guest, enjoyed the meeting so much he agreed to be Ah- Counter at our next meeting May 8th.
- Meshva's speech showed how important it was to move back here all the way from Houston to be with our Club. She even said she'd visited three other clubs and decided she preferred Middlesex!
- Cheryl had a rare night off from speaking but served in her typical elegant style as Evaluator
- Rob announced that Cheryl has earned the Triple Crown by completing her CC, OCL, and ACB. Congratulations Cheryl!
- Toastmaster Arun stepped in to double as GE, capping off this exciting meeting.
It was hard to get to sleep but it was worth every second spent at MIDDLESEX TOASTMASTERS CLUB 8340 Middletown Connecticut!
See you May 8th!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Meeting, March 27, 2008
March 27, 2008
We had 9 attendees at our meeting on Thursday, including a guest who joined our club – now that’s exciting! We welcome Kalyani Jeyapalan, she lives in Middletown and goes by the name "Kay." We look forward to her attending future meetings. We also heard TWO excellent Icebreaker speeches, congratulations to Jeffrey & Ann-Marie for completing their first speeches, and we look forward to hearing many more!
Our club meeting was held the same night as the Area C5 International & Tall Tales contests, therefore a number of our members were at Holy Apostles for the competition. Here’s a contest report from Nancy:
Hi fellow Middlesex members!
I’m just home from the C-5 contest, and I’m happy to say that Tom, Kim and I had a fun time representing the club tonight and, while we didn’t take first place in either contest, we did quite well!
Tom came in second out of six contestants in the International Contest, and Kim came in third! They had coached each other in advance to improve their speeches and Tom joked that Kim must have done a better job coaching than Tom did. (Remember Kim placed first at out club level and Tom was second). They both were outstanding.
In Tall Tales, I came in second (out of only two contestants but never mind!)
Arun was great as Chief Judge and Fred excelled as chair for the contest and provided the refreshments. Oh – our “rivals” the Eagles of Wallingford won both contests – Donna won Tall Tales and Claudine won International. Well there’s always next year!
Hope the meeting went well tonight, sorry we couldn’t be both places at once!
Cheers! Nancy
For anyone who has not yet renewed membership and intends to continue, please submit your dues as soon as possible, so there is no lapse in your membership. We have 15 confirmed renewals to date.
Dues: Please submit $33 no later than March 15 to John KepplerPayment can be via cash or check made out to "Middlesex County Toastmasters"
Club Meeting Attendance:
Name: Meeting Roles, Comments
1) Bob Briski: Timer, Humorist
2) Ann-Marie Cannata: Speaker # 1, Invocation, Word of the Day, Grammarian
3) Jeffrey Lagasse: Speaker # 3
4) Pat Loulakis: Evaluator # 4, Table-Topics Master
5) Cheryl Mason: Speaker # 2, Evaluator # 3
6) Rob Schaff: Toastmaster, Speaker # 4, Evaluator # 1, General Evaluator
7) Srinivas Voleti: Evaluator # 2
Guests:
8) Kalyani Jeyapalan: First-time guest, joined the club
9) Ashley Mason: Cheryl’s 10-year-old daughter
Business / News
The District 53 Conference is not far away -- sign up to attend this truly worthwhile event!
May 17, 2008 - District 53 Spring Conference
Pioneering Leadership Spirit – Explore New Possibilities
The Delaney House, 3 Country Club Rd. Holyoke, MA 01040, Phone: (413) 532-1800
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html
Invocation – Given by Ann-Marie, uplifting thoughts of Spring, rejoicing, and being patient
Humorist: Bob told a fun story about golf and "it's the least I could do after being married for 27 years!"
Word of the Day: occidental - adj. Of or relating to western peoples or cultures
Ann-Marie provided this interesting word, and several speakers used it throughout the evening.
Table Topics
Pat provided thought provoking Table Topics. Cheryl talked about what's important in making a first impression, Rob talked about the biggest crisis in the U.S. today, Ann-Marie told us how she would share her wealth if she had wealth like Warren Buffet, Jeffrey tackled the subject of heart disease, Sreeni spoke on behalf of the FAA, and then on behalf of the airlines addressing the recent airplane groundings, Bob shared his thoughts about what to do for an inexpensive outing, and Ashley told us what she is most proud of (her family).
Speeches
# 1 – Ann-Marie completed speech # 1 Ice Breaker from the CC Manual, "Leave the Timing to the Universe." She intertwined stories about her family, her trip to Hawaii, how things change in a year, and how everything will be perfectly in its place! There was even a surprise ending (or new beginning?)
# 2 – Cheryl completed speech # 5 from The Speaking to Inform Manual, The Abstract Concept; title "Service No More." This speech addressed the changing face of customer service into self-service, and referenced Time Magazine's recent article "Top 10 Ideas that are Changing Our World." What are your thoughts about "hospitals using check-in kiosks for emergency room visits, simply touch the image of the human body where it hurts?" and no, it's not a joke!
# 3 – Jeff Lagasse completed speech # 1 Ice Breaker from the CC Manual, Three Simple Rules. We learned how Jeff became interested in Tai Chi Chaun, and the impact one of his teachers made by encouraging these three simple rules: Do Your Best, Don't Overdo, and Make a Little Progress Every day. And always with a smile!
# 4 – Rob Schaff completed speech # 2 Organize Your Speech from the CC Manual, "Selecting a Topic." Rob talked about his VPE role in encouraging speakers to sign up to give speeches toward their goals. Whether an "Eager," "Willing," or "Reluctant" speaker, remember, we're here to practice, don't worry about being perfect. Rob suggested keeping a journal of ideas provides a good way to keep topics readily available. Every day we each learn something that could be a good topic.
Evaluation portion of the meeting included feedback from each speech evaluator, the timer's report, ah counter report, grammarian report, and the overall general evaluation. Thanks to all our evaluators for all the valuable input!
Worth mentioning – Ann-Marie provided great feedback regarding awkward phrases and sentence structures she picked up on during the meeting. A suggestion was made that perhaps if everyone participated in providing round-robin feedback on grammar usage, it would help all of us improve our awareness in this area.
Our guest, Kay, said it was an enjoyable meeting (she completed the application and joined!)
Rob presented Ice Breaker Mints to our two Ice Breaker Speakers!
Closing - Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
We had 9 attendees at our meeting on Thursday, including a guest who joined our club – now that’s exciting! We welcome Kalyani Jeyapalan, she lives in Middletown and goes by the name "Kay." We look forward to her attending future meetings. We also heard TWO excellent Icebreaker speeches, congratulations to Jeffrey & Ann-Marie for completing their first speeches, and we look forward to hearing many more!
Our club meeting was held the same night as the Area C5 International & Tall Tales contests, therefore a number of our members were at Holy Apostles for the competition. Here’s a contest report from Nancy:
Hi fellow Middlesex members!
I’m just home from the C-5 contest, and I’m happy to say that Tom, Kim and I had a fun time representing the club tonight and, while we didn’t take first place in either contest, we did quite well!
Tom came in second out of six contestants in the International Contest, and Kim came in third! They had coached each other in advance to improve their speeches and Tom joked that Kim must have done a better job coaching than Tom did. (Remember Kim placed first at out club level and Tom was second). They both were outstanding.
In Tall Tales, I came in second (out of only two contestants but never mind!)
Arun was great as Chief Judge and Fred excelled as chair for the contest and provided the refreshments. Oh – our “rivals” the Eagles of Wallingford won both contests – Donna won Tall Tales and Claudine won International. Well there’s always next year!
Hope the meeting went well tonight, sorry we couldn’t be both places at once!
Cheers! Nancy
For anyone who has not yet renewed membership and intends to continue, please submit your dues as soon as possible, so there is no lapse in your membership. We have 15 confirmed renewals to date.
Dues: Please submit $33 no later than March 15 to John KepplerPayment can be via cash or check made out to "Middlesex County Toastmasters"
Club Meeting Attendance:
Name: Meeting Roles, Comments
1) Bob Briski: Timer, Humorist
2) Ann-Marie Cannata: Speaker # 1, Invocation, Word of the Day, Grammarian
3) Jeffrey Lagasse: Speaker # 3
4) Pat Loulakis: Evaluator # 4, Table-Topics Master
5) Cheryl Mason: Speaker # 2, Evaluator # 3
6) Rob Schaff: Toastmaster, Speaker # 4, Evaluator # 1, General Evaluator
7) Srinivas Voleti: Evaluator # 2
Guests:
8) Kalyani Jeyapalan: First-time guest, joined the club
9) Ashley Mason: Cheryl’s 10-year-old daughter
Business / News
The District 53 Conference is not far away -- sign up to attend this truly worthwhile event!
May 17, 2008 - District 53 Spring Conference
Pioneering Leadership Spirit – Explore New Possibilities
The Delaney House, 3 Country Club Rd. Holyoke, MA 01040, Phone: (413) 532-1800
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html
Invocation – Given by Ann-Marie, uplifting thoughts of Spring, rejoicing, and being patient
Humorist: Bob told a fun story about golf and "it's the least I could do after being married for 27 years!"
Word of the Day: occidental - adj. Of or relating to western peoples or cultures
Ann-Marie provided this interesting word, and several speakers used it throughout the evening.
Table Topics
Pat provided thought provoking Table Topics. Cheryl talked about what's important in making a first impression, Rob talked about the biggest crisis in the U.S. today, Ann-Marie told us how she would share her wealth if she had wealth like Warren Buffet, Jeffrey tackled the subject of heart disease, Sreeni spoke on behalf of the FAA, and then on behalf of the airlines addressing the recent airplane groundings, Bob shared his thoughts about what to do for an inexpensive outing, and Ashley told us what she is most proud of (her family).
Speeches
# 1 – Ann-Marie completed speech # 1 Ice Breaker from the CC Manual, "Leave the Timing to the Universe." She intertwined stories about her family, her trip to Hawaii, how things change in a year, and how everything will be perfectly in its place! There was even a surprise ending (or new beginning?)
# 2 – Cheryl completed speech # 5 from The Speaking to Inform Manual, The Abstract Concept; title "Service No More." This speech addressed the changing face of customer service into self-service, and referenced Time Magazine's recent article "Top 10 Ideas that are Changing Our World." What are your thoughts about "hospitals using check-in kiosks for emergency room visits, simply touch the image of the human body where it hurts?" and no, it's not a joke!
# 3 – Jeff Lagasse completed speech # 1 Ice Breaker from the CC Manual, Three Simple Rules. We learned how Jeff became interested in Tai Chi Chaun, and the impact one of his teachers made by encouraging these three simple rules: Do Your Best, Don't Overdo, and Make a Little Progress Every day. And always with a smile!
# 4 – Rob Schaff completed speech # 2 Organize Your Speech from the CC Manual, "Selecting a Topic." Rob talked about his VPE role in encouraging speakers to sign up to give speeches toward their goals. Whether an "Eager," "Willing," or "Reluctant" speaker, remember, we're here to practice, don't worry about being perfect. Rob suggested keeping a journal of ideas provides a good way to keep topics readily available. Every day we each learn something that could be a good topic.
Evaluation portion of the meeting included feedback from each speech evaluator, the timer's report, ah counter report, grammarian report, and the overall general evaluation. Thanks to all our evaluators for all the valuable input!
Worth mentioning – Ann-Marie provided great feedback regarding awkward phrases and sentence structures she picked up on during the meeting. A suggestion was made that perhaps if everyone participated in providing round-robin feedback on grammar usage, it would help all of us improve our awareness in this area.
Our guest, Kay, said it was an enjoyable meeting (she completed the application and joined!)
Rob presented Ice Breaker Mints to our two Ice Breaker Speakers!
Closing - Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Contest Winners
Congratulations to the winners of our Spring Speech Contest!
International Speech
First: Kim Price
Second: Tom Alvord
Tall Tales
First: Nancy Green
The winners will represent our club at the Area C5 contest on March 27.
International Speech
First: Kim Price
Second: Tom Alvord
Tall Tales
First: Nancy Green
The winners will represent our club at the Area C5 contest on March 27.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Middlesex Captures Traveling Gavel
Middlesex County TM Club 8340 Invades Cigna Lunchtime Club 9617 for Gavel Capture!
On March 4, four members from the Middlesex County Toastmasters Club traveled to Bloomfield to capture the Division E Gavel from Cigna Lunchtime Toastmasters: Tom Alvord, Cheryl Mason, Rob Schaff, and Nancy Green.
The Cigna Toastmasters are a warm and welcoming group, with a lot of spirit! While we were there, we got to participate in their Tall Tales contest, serving as judges and timers.
We are very happy to have captured a Traveling Gavel, and we look forward to welcoming any gavel-seeking visitors!
On March 4, four members from the Middlesex County Toastmasters Club traveled to Bloomfield to capture the Division E Gavel from Cigna Lunchtime Toastmasters: Tom Alvord, Cheryl Mason, Rob Schaff, and Nancy Green.
The Cigna Toastmasters are a warm and welcoming group, with a lot of spirit! While we were there, we got to participate in their Tall Tales contest, serving as judges and timers.
We are very happy to have captured a Traveling Gavel, and we look forward to welcoming any gavel-seeking visitors!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Meeting February 28, 2008
We had 12 attendees at our meeting this past Thursday. The meeting was very well organized, and our environment was warm and friendly -- that's exactly what our guests told us! We were happy to have FOUR guests at our meeting. Thanks to all that helped make the meeting such a success.
Dues: Please submit $33 no later than March 15 to John KepplerPayment can be via cash or check made out to "Middlesex County Toastmasters"
$27.00 goes to International for dues April 1 through September 30th. The other $6.00 is used for club activities. You may forward $66.00 and that will pay for the period April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009.For further information, contact John via e-mail: John.Keppler@milfordhospital.org or phone: (860) 841-9323 Mail payment to: John Keppler, 194 Avery Avenue, Meriden, CT 06460
Club Attendance:
1) Tom Alvord - Toastmaster
2) Nancy Green - Table Topics Master
3) Chris Lewis - Speaker #3, Timer
4) Cheryl Mason - Speaker #1, Word Master
5) Kim Price - Ah Counter, Evaluator #2
6) Rob Schaff - Speaker #2, Sergeant at Arms
7) Fred Swiderski - Humorist
8) Srinivas Voleti - Evaluator #1, General Evaluator
Guests:
9) Bob Brisky - Grammarian, Bob is a returning visitor
10) Mark - Mark works with Bob
11) Shelby Smith - Shelby is from Wallingford, she relocated from Kentucky
12) Erik Jarboe - Erik is from Haddam
News
March 13 – Tall Tales & International Speech Club Contest (MCC regular meeting location)
Volunteers are needed to bring snacks – please let Rob know what you are able to bring.
March 27 - Area Contest at Holy Apostles, Cromwell, doors open at 6:45 p.m.
May 17, 2008 - District 53 Spring Conference
Pioneering Leadership Spirit – Explore New Possibilities
The Delaney House, 3 Country Club Rd. Holyoke, MA 01040, Phone: (413) 532-1800
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html
Tom reminded us that it's everyone's responsibility to keep our club healthy, and to ensure we continue to have plenty of members. Visualize 20! We need a minimum of 20 members in the club – and need to anticipate members that might not renew, so we all need to do what we can to help increase membership!
Fred Swiderski, our Area C5 Governor, updated us on the upcoming contests and conferences. He also conducted a club progress meeting, which is required twice a year.
Humorist: Fred shared a couple of jokes that had us all laughing (or groaning!)
Word of the Day: Vice versa
Definition: in reverse order, the other way around (ex. dogs often chase cats, but not usually vice versa). Cheryl mentioned that she has seen these words misspelled.
Table Topics
Nancy challenged us with a very creative theme for Table Topics. We practiced introductions by providing background information as we introduced our table topic, each was selected from the bottom of a large shopping bag.
Kim did a fine job introducing Madam Flashlight, Chris gave a warm welcome to Mr. Static Guard, Tom had some friendly comments about Mr. Plastic Bottle, Fred talked up a "storm" about Mr. (squishy blue) Sponge, Bob introduced "Mr. Book," Sreeni had the "honor" of introducing President Bulb, Cheryl introduced a young Miss Nature Made, and Rob was happy to welcome Mr. Paper Clip, who we don't get to hear speak very often!
Speeches
# 1 – Cheryl completed speech # 8 from the CC manual, Get Comfortable with Visual Aids, title "Toastmasters and the Family Tree." She shared information she learned about the organizational hierarchy within Toastmasters. She provided a handout she put together regarding the TM organization and some interesting trivia that she learned from researching the websites as well as information she received from Karin Von Känel, ACB,ALS, Lt. Governor Education & Training.
# 2 – Rob completed speech # 2 from The Entertaining Speaker manual, Resources for Entertainment; title "Cold Storage." This was an interesting speech that touched on the War in Iraq along with themes about patterns and correlations. We also heard the anecdotal story about Uncle Toby and the story about Awakenings.
# 3 – Chris conducted the presentation, "How to Conduct Productive Meetings," from the Success Leadership program. Chris shared some of her own experiences and kept the material interesting, involving members from the audience as she spoke. This was a formal presentation that had a lot of useful information that we all could relate to!
Evaluation portion of the meeting included round robin feedback from the audience for Chris, feedback from each speech evaluator, the timer's report, ah counter report, grammarian report, and the overall general evaluation. Thanks to all our evaluators for all the valuable input!
Tom presented Rob with his CC certificate, for completion of 10 speeches in the CC manual. Way to go, Rob!
We had some great feedback from Fred, Area C5 Governor, regarding our meeting and our club.
Closing - Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Meeting Feb. 14, 2008
February 14, 2008
Lucky 13! We had 13 members in attendance (again). It was a great meeting, and thanks to all that participated, and for those that couldn't make it, we look forward to seeing you next time!
Dues: Please submit $33 no later than March 15 to John KepplerPayment can be via cash or check made out to "Middlesex County Toastmasters"
$27.00 goes to International for dues April 1 through September 30th. The other $6.00 is used for club activities. You may forward $66.00 and that will pay for the period April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009.For further information, contact John via e-mail: John.Keppler@milfordhospital.org or phone: (860) 841-9323 Mail payment to: John Keppler, 194 Avery Avenue, Meriden, CT 06460
Club Attendance:
Tom Alvord: Grammarian, Humorist, Evaluator
Nancy Green: Invocation, Work of the Day, Evaluator
John Keppler: Speaker # 1
Cheryl Mason: Speaker # 3
Kim Price: Evaluator
Rose Rita Riccitelli: Speaker # 2
Rob Schaff: Toastmaster, Speaker #4
Arun Sodani: General Evaluator, Sergeant at Arms,
Fred Swiderski: Ah Counter
Brenda Violette: Timer
Srinivas Voleti: Table Topics, Evaluator
Guests:
Cliff Straub - Works in Middletown, found us via the Internet
Ashley Mason
News
March 13 - Club Contest (same meeting location) - Tall Tales and International Speech. If you haven't signed up already, consider participating as a contestant or in any of the open roles.
March 27 - Area Contest at Holy Apostles, Cromwell, check District 53 website for more info.
May 17, 2008 - District 53 Spring Conference
Pioneering Leadership Spirit – Explore New Possibilities
The Delaney House, Holyoke, MA
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html
Fred shared his thoughts with us on what a terrific opportunity the conference is to see some great speakers.
February 28th – Chris Lewis will be giving a 45-minute presentation to meet the goals of one of her projects. This is planned for the second half of the meeting.
Practice makes perfect! Words of encouragement from Tom, who reminded us about the great opportunity we have to practice speaking at each Toastmaster meeting – in any of the meeting roles we fill.
Invocation: Nancy talked about a favorite author, Corrie ten Boom, who wrote "The Hiding Place."
Information found on-line: Corrie ten Boom was a leader in the Dutch Underground during WWII. With the aid of her family, she hid scores of Jews from the Nazi invaders. She was arrested along with every member of her family, spending the remaining war years in concentration camps.
Nancy shared these favorite inspirational quotes by Corrie ten Boom:
"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer."
"Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear."
These quotes are especially relevant when we think about our journey with Toastmasters, which tied right into the word-of-the-day from Nancy.
Word of the Day: TRUST
Humorist: Tom sang (yes he sang!) a wonderfully funny story about a man who married a woman 30 years older, and how everything was perfect until the wedding night! There was something about the wife removing teeth and hair, and something about a dainty glass eye, and something about sleeping in a chair, "Side by Side" !!!
Everyone was chuckling during Tom's rendition of this very humorous song!
Table Topics
Sreeni led the table topics and provided us with very interesting questions! We enjoyed stories about bumper stickers, "a dark and stormy night," the most important question to be answered, who you would want to meet (that is deceased), what you would do if you didn't have to work for a living, whether you would rather be without television or the internet, and which country you would visit and why.
Timbuktu – YES it really is a place! And Sreeni knew just where it was, too!
From Wikipedia:
Timbuktu is a city in Tombouctou Region, in the West African nation of Mali. Timbuktu is populated by Songhay, Tuareg, Fulani, and Mandé people, and is about 15 km north of the Niger River. It is also at the intersection of an east–west and a north–south Trans-Saharan trade across the Sahara to Araouane. It was important historically (and still is today) as an entrepot for rock-salt from Taoudenni.
Speeches
# 1 - John gave a speech (without a whole lot of preparation!) with a Valentine's Day theme. John talked about calling someone who doesn't get very many calls, and getting in touch with someone you haven't been in touch with in awhile. He also shared a couple of very humorous stories about some "expensive" Valentine's Day gifts (or so it seemed), and buying some kisses (which turned out to be chocolate). Very entertaining!
# 2 - Rose Rita completed speech # 5 from the CC manual, Your Body Speaks, title "Take a Bow." We heard about an ancient Indian greeting, deep respect, and the spirit in each and every one of us. She shared an interesting message about becoming flexible in mind, body, and spirit. Great speech!
# 3 - Cheryl completed speech # 7 from the CC manual, Research Your Topic. The topic of this speech was "50 Years Ago," and she shared memories of a recent cruise as well as some family history related to the Andrea Doria.
# 4 – Rob completed speech # 1 from the CC manual, the Ice Breaker, title "Something Personal." Rob shared a heartwarming story about how he was able to connect with others, share memories, and put his Toastmasters experiences to good use at an important family gathering. Very inspirational!
Evaluation portion of the meeting included feedback from each speech evaluator, the timer's report, ah counter report, grammarian report, and the overall general evaluation. Thanks to all our evaluators for all the valuable input!
Input from our guest, Cliff, was that he was pleased with the meeting and enjoyed himself.
Kim reported that his presentation in Florida went well; it was great to hear how the preparation and practice for this formal speech helped to make it a success!
Closing - Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Lucky 13! We had 13 members in attendance (again). It was a great meeting, and thanks to all that participated, and for those that couldn't make it, we look forward to seeing you next time!
Dues: Please submit $33 no later than March 15 to John KepplerPayment can be via cash or check made out to "Middlesex County Toastmasters"
$27.00 goes to International for dues April 1 through September 30th. The other $6.00 is used for club activities. You may forward $66.00 and that will pay for the period April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009.For further information, contact John via e-mail: John.Keppler@milfordhospital.org or phone: (860) 841-9323 Mail payment to: John Keppler, 194 Avery Avenue, Meriden, CT 06460
Club Attendance:
Tom Alvord: Grammarian, Humorist, Evaluator
Nancy Green: Invocation, Work of the Day, Evaluator
John Keppler: Speaker # 1
Cheryl Mason: Speaker # 3
Kim Price: Evaluator
Rose Rita Riccitelli: Speaker # 2
Rob Schaff: Toastmaster, Speaker #4
Arun Sodani: General Evaluator, Sergeant at Arms,
Fred Swiderski: Ah Counter
Brenda Violette: Timer
Srinivas Voleti: Table Topics, Evaluator
Guests:
Cliff Straub - Works in Middletown, found us via the Internet
Ashley Mason
News
March 13 - Club Contest (same meeting location) - Tall Tales and International Speech. If you haven't signed up already, consider participating as a contestant or in any of the open roles.
March 27 - Area Contest at Holy Apostles, Cromwell, check District 53 website for more info.
May 17, 2008 - District 53 Spring Conference
Pioneering Leadership Spirit – Explore New Possibilities
The Delaney House, Holyoke, MA
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html
Fred shared his thoughts with us on what a terrific opportunity the conference is to see some great speakers.
February 28th – Chris Lewis will be giving a 45-minute presentation to meet the goals of one of her projects. This is planned for the second half of the meeting.
Practice makes perfect! Words of encouragement from Tom, who reminded us about the great opportunity we have to practice speaking at each Toastmaster meeting – in any of the meeting roles we fill.
Invocation: Nancy talked about a favorite author, Corrie ten Boom, who wrote "The Hiding Place."
Information found on-line: Corrie ten Boom was a leader in the Dutch Underground during WWII. With the aid of her family, she hid scores of Jews from the Nazi invaders. She was arrested along with every member of her family, spending the remaining war years in concentration camps.
Nancy shared these favorite inspirational quotes by Corrie ten Boom:
"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer."
"Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear."
These quotes are especially relevant when we think about our journey with Toastmasters, which tied right into the word-of-the-day from Nancy.
Word of the Day: TRUST
Humorist: Tom sang (yes he sang!) a wonderfully funny story about a man who married a woman 30 years older, and how everything was perfect until the wedding night! There was something about the wife removing teeth and hair, and something about a dainty glass eye, and something about sleeping in a chair, "Side by Side" !!!
Everyone was chuckling during Tom's rendition of this very humorous song!
Table Topics
Sreeni led the table topics and provided us with very interesting questions! We enjoyed stories about bumper stickers, "a dark and stormy night," the most important question to be answered, who you would want to meet (that is deceased), what you would do if you didn't have to work for a living, whether you would rather be without television or the internet, and which country you would visit and why.
Timbuktu – YES it really is a place! And Sreeni knew just where it was, too!
From Wikipedia:
Timbuktu is a city in Tombouctou Region, in the West African nation of Mali. Timbuktu is populated by Songhay, Tuareg, Fulani, and Mandé people, and is about 15 km north of the Niger River. It is also at the intersection of an east–west and a north–south Trans-Saharan trade across the Sahara to Araouane. It was important historically (and still is today) as an entrepot for rock-salt from Taoudenni.
Speeches
# 1 - John gave a speech (without a whole lot of preparation!) with a Valentine's Day theme. John talked about calling someone who doesn't get very many calls, and getting in touch with someone you haven't been in touch with in awhile. He also shared a couple of very humorous stories about some "expensive" Valentine's Day gifts (or so it seemed), and buying some kisses (which turned out to be chocolate). Very entertaining!
# 2 - Rose Rita completed speech # 5 from the CC manual, Your Body Speaks, title "Take a Bow." We heard about an ancient Indian greeting, deep respect, and the spirit in each and every one of us. She shared an interesting message about becoming flexible in mind, body, and spirit. Great speech!
# 3 - Cheryl completed speech # 7 from the CC manual, Research Your Topic. The topic of this speech was "50 Years Ago," and she shared memories of a recent cruise as well as some family history related to the Andrea Doria.
# 4 – Rob completed speech # 1 from the CC manual, the Ice Breaker, title "Something Personal." Rob shared a heartwarming story about how he was able to connect with others, share memories, and put his Toastmasters experiences to good use at an important family gathering. Very inspirational!
Evaluation portion of the meeting included feedback from each speech evaluator, the timer's report, ah counter report, grammarian report, and the overall general evaluation. Thanks to all our evaluators for all the valuable input!
Input from our guest, Cliff, was that he was pleased with the meeting and enjoyed himself.
Kim reported that his presentation in Florida went well; it was great to hear how the preparation and practice for this formal speech helped to make it a success!
Closing - Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Meeting Notes: January 24, 2008
Lucky 13! We had 13 members in attendance. It was a great meeting, and thanks to all that participated, and for those that couldn't make it, we look forward to seeing you next time!
Brenda Violette is the newest member of the Middlesex Club, welcome, Brenda!
Club Attendance:
1) Anne Marie Cannata, Word Master & Grammarian
2) John Keppler
3) Jeff Lagasse, Timer
4) Eliot Lofman
5) Pat Loulakis, Table Topics Master
6) Cheryl Mason, Speaker # 1
7) Kim Price, Speaker # 3, Humorist
8) Rose Rita Riccitelli, Speaker # 2, Evaluator # 1
9) Rob Schaff, General Evaluator, Backup Speaker
10) Arun Sodani, Toastmaster, Sergeant at Arms,
11) Brenda Violette
12) Srinivas Voleti, Evaluator # 2
Guests:
Bob Brisky - Bob is from the Middletown area and expressed interest in joining. We provided him with an application, website info, and some TM promo materials, as well as John's contact info for collecting dues / activating membership.
News
District 53 Spring Conference
Pioneering Leadership Spirit – Explore New Possibilities
May 17, 2008 – The Delaney House, Holyoke, MA
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html
Rob noted that Meshva Patel has relocated to Houston, TX, having taken a new job.
Our membership is currently at exactly 20 members. We need to add new members in order to be sure we don’t dip below 20 should any existing members not renew. It is important to maintain at least 20 members; It is part of the criteria used for the distinguished club program.
Dues: please submit $33 no later than March 15, by cash or check to John Keppler. The cost covers $27 for international dues, $6 for local club dues which are used for educational materials, etc. John will submit the dues to International by April 1.
February 28th – Chris Lewis will be giving a 45-minute presentation to meet the goals of one of her projects. This is planned for the second half of the meeting.
Humorist: Kim shared a funny story with us about being in VT at a house that was being remodeled and didn’t have a working bathroom, and the nearby bucket. Luckily the bucket wasn’t used the way his wife thought it was going to be!
Word of the Day: Coalesce
co·a·lesce
verb (used without object)
1. to grow together or into one body: The two lakes coalesced into one.
2. to unite so as to form one mass, community, etc.: The various groups coalesced into a crowd.
3. to blend or come together: Their ideas coalesced into one theory.
—Synonyms 1, 2. unite, combine, join. 2. amalgamate, fuse, blend, merge.
Table Topics
Pat led the table topics and provided us thought provoking questions from a variety of sources including Reader’s Digest. We enjoyed stories about speeding tickets, spirituality, having an entire movie theater to yourself, among others.
Speeches
Cheryl completed her 6th speech from the CC manual, Vocal Variety. The topic of this speech was "Relax," and she shared a picture of a beautiful relaxing beach scene which is hard to imagine in this cold January climate!
Rose Rita completed her 3rd speech from the CC manual, Get to the Point. The topic of this speech was “Living with JOY!” She shared adorable pictures of her new puppy and talked about the excitement and joy her new pet is giving her.
Kim gave an in-depth presentation regarding paper products, in preparation for a speech he will be giving next week. Kim shared some in-depth knowledge of the industry and the importance of many of the current product offerings.
Rob facilitated a round-robin, open feedback session for Kim, with lots of input from the audience. Good luck with the upcoming speech, Kim – you’ll do great!
Closing - Meeting was adjourned by at approx. 8:55 p.m.
Brenda Violette is the newest member of the Middlesex Club, welcome, Brenda!
Club Attendance:
1) Anne Marie Cannata, Word Master & Grammarian
2) John Keppler
3) Jeff Lagasse, Timer
4) Eliot Lofman
5) Pat Loulakis, Table Topics Master
6) Cheryl Mason, Speaker # 1
7) Kim Price, Speaker # 3, Humorist
8) Rose Rita Riccitelli, Speaker # 2, Evaluator # 1
9) Rob Schaff, General Evaluator, Backup Speaker
10) Arun Sodani, Toastmaster, Sergeant at Arms,
11) Brenda Violette
12) Srinivas Voleti, Evaluator # 2
Guests:
Bob Brisky - Bob is from the Middletown area and expressed interest in joining. We provided him with an application, website info, and some TM promo materials, as well as John's contact info for collecting dues / activating membership.
News
District 53 Spring Conference
Pioneering Leadership Spirit – Explore New Possibilities
May 17, 2008 – The Delaney House, Holyoke, MA
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html
Rob noted that Meshva Patel has relocated to Houston, TX, having taken a new job.
Our membership is currently at exactly 20 members. We need to add new members in order to be sure we don’t dip below 20 should any existing members not renew. It is important to maintain at least 20 members; It is part of the criteria used for the distinguished club program.
Dues: please submit $33 no later than March 15, by cash or check to John Keppler. The cost covers $27 for international dues, $6 for local club dues which are used for educational materials, etc. John will submit the dues to International by April 1.
February 28th – Chris Lewis will be giving a 45-minute presentation to meet the goals of one of her projects. This is planned for the second half of the meeting.
Humorist: Kim shared a funny story with us about being in VT at a house that was being remodeled and didn’t have a working bathroom, and the nearby bucket. Luckily the bucket wasn’t used the way his wife thought it was going to be!
Word of the Day: Coalesce
co·a·lesce
verb (used without object)
1. to grow together or into one body: The two lakes coalesced into one.
2. to unite so as to form one mass, community, etc.: The various groups coalesced into a crowd.
3. to blend or come together: Their ideas coalesced into one theory.
—Synonyms 1, 2. unite, combine, join. 2. amalgamate, fuse, blend, merge.
Table Topics
Pat led the table topics and provided us thought provoking questions from a variety of sources including Reader’s Digest. We enjoyed stories about speeding tickets, spirituality, having an entire movie theater to yourself, among others.
Speeches
Cheryl completed her 6th speech from the CC manual, Vocal Variety. The topic of this speech was "Relax," and she shared a picture of a beautiful relaxing beach scene which is hard to imagine in this cold January climate!
Rose Rita completed her 3rd speech from the CC manual, Get to the Point. The topic of this speech was “Living with JOY!” She shared adorable pictures of her new puppy and talked about the excitement and joy her new pet is giving her.
Kim gave an in-depth presentation regarding paper products, in preparation for a speech he will be giving next week. Kim shared some in-depth knowledge of the industry and the importance of many of the current product offerings.
Rob facilitated a round-robin, open feedback session for Kim, with lots of input from the audience. Good luck with the upcoming speech, Kim – you’ll do great!
Closing - Meeting was adjourned by at approx. 8:55 p.m.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
