Meeting, Thursday, December 10, 2009 - Middlesex Community College, Room 808 D, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Another Great Meeting!!
Middlesex Toastmasters held our final meeting of 2009 last night.
As usual it was full of growth, leadership and inspiration.
Our theme was "THE SPIRIT OF GIVING"!
In spite of the fact that our last meeting was just a week ago and members are busy preparing for the holidays twelve members and one guest attended:
Amy Alvord (guest)
Tom Alvord
Ana Bowman
Anne Marie Cannata
Craig Fresher
Charnaie Gordon
John Keppler
Cheryl Mason
Pam Mulready
Ramesh Padavala
Murali Pemmaraju
Pete Plotica
Arun Sodani
Everyone had a chance to participate:
Our able SAA Pete opened the meeting on time and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance
President Cheryl inspired us with humor, a pep talk and announcements.
VP Ed Charnaie Gordon enlivened us with details of upcoming events and
Toastmaster Arun Sodani introduced everyone, kept the meeting moving in his famous well organized style and shared his friendly smile with all.
As the invocator Arun also got us started with a wonderful message in keeping with the giving theme: that "we are blessed by our history"
Our Wordmaster Cheryl introduced us to the Word of the Day: LACONIC which was used by four people during the meeting.
Table Topics Master Craig had us all talk about giving and receiving
Humorist Tom had us laugh about a goat.
We were treated to outstanding Icebreakers from two of our newest members.
Ana Bowman presented "Sweet Potato Pie" about growing up with her big family and surviving and thriving as the only girl among 9 brothers and Murali Pemmaraju fascinated us with his stories of growing up in India , his thrill at being accepted as a Mechanical Engineering student at Texas A & M, designing meat processing machines at Jarvis in Middltown, and his joy that he doesn't have to see the meat since he is a vegetarian.
Charnaie treated us with her speech about the competition between her two favorite loves: dog and husband. (Which is first? She didn't say)
Cheryl inspired us with her third Ice Breaker about valuable insights she gained from an interview with a young woman who came to her for advice.
As General Evaluator Pam Mulready lead us through reports and evaluations:
Craig evaluated Ana's Icebreaker
Pam evaluated Murali's Icebreaker
Cheryl evaluated Charnaie's speech
Pete evaluated Cheryl's Icebreaker
Pete provided the Grammarian report, Charnaie the Ah counter report and Ramesh was our Timer.
Arun invited our guest Amy to comment on the meeting and she said it was the best one of the four she's attended.
A great time was had by all!
Upcoming events:
· Dec 24 - The 4th Thursday of December - Christmas Eve - no meeting.
· January 7 - Speech-a-thon with Cromwell Community Toastmasters Club.
· February 6th Bowling – Use the duty roster to sign up!
· Club Contest: March 11
· Open House: March 25
Tom Alvord – substitute secretary December 11, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, December 3, 2009 - Luther Ridge, 628 Congdon Street, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Our meeting last night was held at Luther Ridge in Middletown; all were warmly greeted and welcomed by the staff. A hearty thank you to Tom Alvord for making this arrangement possible for our club!
Members in attendance: Ana Bowman, Ron Brunelle, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyaplan, John Keppler, Cheryl Mason (Area B2 Governor), Pam Mulready, Deb Nason, Dianne Olsen, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff (Area 5 Governor), and Arun Sodani. Guests: Paul Randolph (C2 Area Governor and member of the Air Line Club in Colchester), and Paul Rice (a friend of member Ann-Marie Cannata).
President Cheryl Mason began our meeting with the introduction of “Drew” the traveling gavel, which was recaptured Wednesday at the Stag Club Meeting in downtown Hartford by Charnaie, Cheryl, Michael O'Brien, and Arun.
Other announcements by Cheryl:
· Saturday, December 12th will be the Officers’ Training in Manchester
· Take a look at our Middlesex club website, freetoasthost sites have had new formatting changes.
· Take a look at the District 53 website; there have been changes made in the format giving it a new look and feel
Vice President of Education, Charnaie Gordon also mentioned some upcoming announcements:
· Our Club is holding a Speech-A-Thon in conjunction with the Cromwell Club on Thursday, January 7th from 7-9 pm. We currently have 5 speakers from our club signed up. Pizza will be served (a small donation will be asked).
· The Club Speech Contest (International and Tall Tales Contest) will be held March 11th. Speakers, evaluators, judges, etc. will be needed
· Club Open House Event will be Thursday, March 25th at Middlesex Community College. Keynote Speaker will be Jerry Aiyathurai, winner of the District 53 Fall Conference.
Meeting
Kay Jeyaplan was the Toastmaster; her theme was “Unleash Your Potential.” She inspired us with readings and quotes taken from the book, Good to Great, by Jim Collins.
TableTopics Master, Charnaie, led us with the theme, “Maximize Your Potential.” Mini speeches were given by Kim, Arun, Ana, Pam, John and Ramesh. In addition, both of our guests, Paul Randolph and Paul Rice also participated.
Speakers
It was wonderful to listen to the speeches and see the development of all the speakers.
Rob Schaff did an unusual “off the cuff” speech in which he submitted a list of 5 possible speeches he could do and his evaluator randomly chose one of them at the beginning of the meeting. He did one entitled, “Time Management.”
Deborah Nason spoke on “A Day Trip to France”, with a descriptive speech that made you feel like you were there.
Ron Brunelle spoke with authority on “Our Economic System, does it work?”
Cheryl Mason let her body speak out with her speech “Tuesday Afternoon.”
Evaluators
General Evaluator, Arun Sodani
Speech evaluators were as follows:
Dianne Olsen for Rob (her first evaluation)
Cheryl Mason for Deb
John Keppler for Ron
Ana Bowman for Cheryl (her first evaluation)
Arun Sodani gave an exceptional overall evaluation of the meeting. John commented that it was the “most complete general evaluation” ever done at our Club.
Other Roles
Invocator: Charnaie
Humorist: Murali
Word of the Day: Pam, “MNEMONIC”
Grammarian: Pam
Ah Counter: Deb
Timer: Pete
Toastmaster, Kay, made a final comment on an article that was in the December Cromwell/Middletown Chronicle about Cheryl receiving the Triple Crown at the District 53 Conference! If you get a chance, read it!
President Cheryl closed by asking our two guests to give us their impressions of the meeting, and they provided very positive feedback. We hope to see them again! The meeting was closed on time.
Our meeting last night was held at Luther Ridge in Middletown; all were warmly greeted and welcomed by the staff. A hearty thank you to Tom Alvord for making this arrangement possible for our club!
Members in attendance: Ana Bowman, Ron Brunelle, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyaplan, John Keppler, Cheryl Mason (Area B2 Governor), Pam Mulready, Deb Nason, Dianne Olsen, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff (Area 5 Governor), and Arun Sodani. Guests: Paul Randolph (C2 Area Governor and member of the Air Line Club in Colchester), and Paul Rice (a friend of member Ann-Marie Cannata).
President Cheryl Mason began our meeting with the introduction of “Drew” the traveling gavel, which was recaptured Wednesday at the Stag Club Meeting in downtown Hartford by Charnaie, Cheryl, Michael O'Brien, and Arun.
Other announcements by Cheryl:
· Saturday, December 12th will be the Officers’ Training in Manchester
· Take a look at our Middlesex club website, freetoasthost sites have had new formatting changes.
· Take a look at the District 53 website; there have been changes made in the format giving it a new look and feel
Vice President of Education, Charnaie Gordon also mentioned some upcoming announcements:
· Our Club is holding a Speech-A-Thon in conjunction with the Cromwell Club on Thursday, January 7th from 7-9 pm. We currently have 5 speakers from our club signed up. Pizza will be served (a small donation will be asked).
· The Club Speech Contest (International and Tall Tales Contest) will be held March 11th. Speakers, evaluators, judges, etc. will be needed
· Club Open House Event will be Thursday, March 25th at Middlesex Community College. Keynote Speaker will be Jerry Aiyathurai, winner of the District 53 Fall Conference.
Meeting
Kay Jeyaplan was the Toastmaster; her theme was “Unleash Your Potential.” She inspired us with readings and quotes taken from the book, Good to Great, by Jim Collins.
TableTopics Master, Charnaie, led us with the theme, “Maximize Your Potential.” Mini speeches were given by Kim, Arun, Ana, Pam, John and Ramesh. In addition, both of our guests, Paul Randolph and Paul Rice also participated.
Speakers
It was wonderful to listen to the speeches and see the development of all the speakers.
Rob Schaff did an unusual “off the cuff” speech in which he submitted a list of 5 possible speeches he could do and his evaluator randomly chose one of them at the beginning of the meeting. He did one entitled, “Time Management.”
Deborah Nason spoke on “A Day Trip to France”, with a descriptive speech that made you feel like you were there.
Ron Brunelle spoke with authority on “Our Economic System, does it work?”
Cheryl Mason let her body speak out with her speech “Tuesday Afternoon.”
Evaluators
General Evaluator, Arun Sodani
Speech evaluators were as follows:
Dianne Olsen for Rob (her first evaluation)
Cheryl Mason for Deb
John Keppler for Ron
Ana Bowman for Cheryl (her first evaluation)
Arun Sodani gave an exceptional overall evaluation of the meeting. John commented that it was the “most complete general evaluation” ever done at our Club.
Other Roles
Invocator: Charnaie
Humorist: Murali
Word of the Day: Pam, “MNEMONIC”
Grammarian: Pam
Ah Counter: Deb
Timer: Pete
Toastmaster, Kay, made a final comment on an article that was in the December Cromwell/Middletown Chronicle about Cheryl receiving the Triple Crown at the District 53 Conference! If you get a chance, read it!
President Cheryl closed by asking our two guests to give us their impressions of the meeting, and they provided very positive feedback. We hope to see them again! The meeting was closed on time.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Gavel Drew back at Middlesex
Drew, the Division D Traveling Gavel, has been captured from the Stag Toastmasters Club #2908! Four members of the Middlesex County Toastmasters Club participated in the Stag Club Meeting on Wednesday 12/2 at noon in downtown Hartford. The meeting was a lot of fun!Shown here l to r: Charnaie Gordon, Cheryl Mason from Middlesex, Christina Dzenyuy from Stag, Michael O'Brien, and Arun Sodani from Middlesex.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, November 12, 2009 - Middlesex Community College, Room 808 D, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Our next meeting on December 3rd will be at a special location in Middletown (details forthcoming, check website).
Greetings Fellow Toastmasters!
As usual we had a full house at our meeting last night. However, Toastmaster Jennifer Cimilluca led us through an evening that was anything but ordinary. Her theme of “Giving Thanks” resounded throughout the night as people gave testimony of the fellowship, growth and support of the club members. It was a room filled with aficionados (word of the day)!
In attendance: Tom Alvord, Ana Bowman, Ron Brunelle, Ann-Marie Cannata, Jen Cimilluca, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jeff Lagasse, Cheryl Mason, Emily O’Brien, Mike O’Brien, Dianne Olsen, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, and Arun Sodani.
Guests/Visitors: Nadine McKeown (signed up as our newest member tonight!), Louis Nizet, and Dimple Padavala (Ramesh’s wife).
President Cheryl Mason began our meeting by giving Rob Schaff, our Area Governor, the Award of Excellence ribbon for completing another CC manual. Congratulations Rob! DCP – this latest award now puts the club at 7 points, Select Distinguished Club Status! This is something for all of us to be very proud of! Other news:
· Dianne Olsen received a Certificate of Appreciation for singing in the Variety Show held last month.
· The Spring Division Contest will be held in Bloomfield on May 22nd.
· Officer Training will be held on December 12th in Manchester. There will be a make-up training in January.
Vice President of Education, Charnaie Gordon had several announcements to make.
· She presented Kay and Ramesh a “Panice to Power” disc for being “first timers” at the Fall Conference in Saratoga Springs in NY, November 7th. Our club had six members in attendance, the most of any club there!
· Ron Brunelle received his “1/2 Certificate” for completing 5 of his speeches in the CC manual. Congratulations Ron!
· Mike, Cheryl, Arun and Charnaie will be going to Hartford to confiscate the “Traveling Gavel” that their club took from ours. If anyone else would like to attend the meeting at Stag in Hartford, it will be on Wednesday afternoon, December 2nd from noon to 1 pm.
· Our club Speech-A-Thon will be held January 7th, from 7-9 pm. Location to be determined.
· We will have a Club Speech Contest on March 11th. This will be for the International and Tall Tales Contest.
· Due to bad weather the hike tomorrow at Wadsworth Falls has been cancelled.
Toastmaster Jen changed the usual format of the evening. Mike O’Brien gave a speech on “How to Give a Toast” and then brilliantly went right into his role as TableTopics Master. Mike’s theme? How to give a toast! And there were some toasts! The most exciting one was when Ramesh stood up and made a toast to his “beautiful wife.” He then proudly told the audience they were expecting their first baby; a baby girl due on February 12th! Congratulations Ramesh and Dimple!
Dianne gave a thought provoking speech titled, “When Enough is Enough.” Her objective was to Persuade with Power over the controversial Die with Dignity Act.
From there the club enjoyed the rest of the meeting “at the movies.” Mike brought in a DVD of the winning speeches held at the 2009 International Convention, International Speech Contest. There was only time to watch five of the speeches and members had a chance to write their own evaluations, and then see how the judges at the conference actually placed the contestants. But the contests were not all that was enjoyed; snacks, of pop corn, potato chips, a fruit tray, cider, and more were brought in by some of the members to nibble on while everyone watched the “movie.” What fun!
Evaluators:
Arun Sodani and Tom Alvord evaluated Mike and Dianne respectively. Cheryl was the General Evaluator. Our veteran members Arun, Tom and Cheryl were great role models for the club with their expertise in giving evaluations.
Word of the Day: Murugan Pachaiyappan
Ah Counter: Emily O’Brien
Grammarian: Charnaie Gordon
Timer: Jeffrey Lagasse
Sargeant at Arms: A special thanks to Pete Plotica who could not attend our meeting tonight. He still came here ahead of time to secure our room, bring the banner, set up all the equipment for the movie showing and leave some refreshments. Pete went above and beyond the line of duty! Also, a big thank you to Tom for filling in for Pete at the last minute and to Arun for being equipment manager!
The meeting adjourned on time.
Our next meeting on December 3rd will be at a special location in Middletown (details forthcoming, check website).
Greetings Fellow Toastmasters!
As usual we had a full house at our meeting last night. However, Toastmaster Jennifer Cimilluca led us through an evening that was anything but ordinary. Her theme of “Giving Thanks” resounded throughout the night as people gave testimony of the fellowship, growth and support of the club members. It was a room filled with aficionados (word of the day)!
In attendance: Tom Alvord, Ana Bowman, Ron Brunelle, Ann-Marie Cannata, Jen Cimilluca, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jeff Lagasse, Cheryl Mason, Emily O’Brien, Mike O’Brien, Dianne Olsen, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, and Arun Sodani.
Guests/Visitors: Nadine McKeown (signed up as our newest member tonight!), Louis Nizet, and Dimple Padavala (Ramesh’s wife).
President Cheryl Mason began our meeting by giving Rob Schaff, our Area Governor, the Award of Excellence ribbon for completing another CC manual. Congratulations Rob! DCP – this latest award now puts the club at 7 points, Select Distinguished Club Status! This is something for all of us to be very proud of! Other news:
· Dianne Olsen received a Certificate of Appreciation for singing in the Variety Show held last month.
· The Spring Division Contest will be held in Bloomfield on May 22nd.
· Officer Training will be held on December 12th in Manchester. There will be a make-up training in January.
Vice President of Education, Charnaie Gordon had several announcements to make.
· She presented Kay and Ramesh a “Panice to Power” disc for being “first timers” at the Fall Conference in Saratoga Springs in NY, November 7th. Our club had six members in attendance, the most of any club there!
· Ron Brunelle received his “1/2 Certificate” for completing 5 of his speeches in the CC manual. Congratulations Ron!
· Mike, Cheryl, Arun and Charnaie will be going to Hartford to confiscate the “Traveling Gavel” that their club took from ours. If anyone else would like to attend the meeting at Stag in Hartford, it will be on Wednesday afternoon, December 2nd from noon to 1 pm.
· Our club Speech-A-Thon will be held January 7th, from 7-9 pm. Location to be determined.
· We will have a Club Speech Contest on March 11th. This will be for the International and Tall Tales Contest.
· Due to bad weather the hike tomorrow at Wadsworth Falls has been cancelled.
Toastmaster Jen changed the usual format of the evening. Mike O’Brien gave a speech on “How to Give a Toast” and then brilliantly went right into his role as TableTopics Master. Mike’s theme? How to give a toast! And there were some toasts! The most exciting one was when Ramesh stood up and made a toast to his “beautiful wife.” He then proudly told the audience they were expecting their first baby; a baby girl due on February 12th! Congratulations Ramesh and Dimple!
Dianne gave a thought provoking speech titled, “When Enough is Enough.” Her objective was to Persuade with Power over the controversial Die with Dignity Act.
From there the club enjoyed the rest of the meeting “at the movies.” Mike brought in a DVD of the winning speeches held at the 2009 International Convention, International Speech Contest. There was only time to watch five of the speeches and members had a chance to write their own evaluations, and then see how the judges at the conference actually placed the contestants. But the contests were not all that was enjoyed; snacks, of pop corn, potato chips, a fruit tray, cider, and more were brought in by some of the members to nibble on while everyone watched the “movie.” What fun!
Evaluators:
Arun Sodani and Tom Alvord evaluated Mike and Dianne respectively. Cheryl was the General Evaluator. Our veteran members Arun, Tom and Cheryl were great role models for the club with their expertise in giving evaluations.
Word of the Day: Murugan Pachaiyappan
Ah Counter: Emily O’Brien
Grammarian: Charnaie Gordon
Timer: Jeffrey Lagasse
Sargeant at Arms: A special thanks to Pete Plotica who could not attend our meeting tonight. He still came here ahead of time to secure our room, bring the banner, set up all the equipment for the movie showing and leave some refreshments. Pete went above and beyond the line of duty! Also, a big thank you to Tom for filling in for Pete at the last minute and to Arun for being equipment manager!
The meeting adjourned on time.
Meeting, Thursday, November 5, 2009 - Russel Library, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Here are some highlights from the Middlesex Club meeting this past Thursday, 11/5
It was an excellent meeting at the Russell Library, a different location, different start time, and lots of fun. It was great to see some members that haven't been able to attend in awhile. Thanks to everyone that helped to make the meeting such a success!
Attendance -- total of 18
Members: Tom A., Ana B., Ron B., Anne-Marie C., Jennifer C., Craig F., Charnaie G., Kay J., John K., Cheryl M., Pam M., Deborah N., Murugan P., Ramesh P., Murali P., Peter P., Arun S.
Guests: Ira Y. – who joined and is now our newest member!
Meeting Began: 6:30 p.m. promptly started by our SAA, Pete P. who lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance
Business Meeting
We welcomed new member, Murali, to our Middlesex Toastmasters Club by presenting him with a Toastmasters Pin.
Distinguished Club Program: 6 points earned to date, top in the District!
A special thank you and certificates were presented by Cheryl to Ron B. (and to give to his wife Eva) for their performances at the October 15th Variety Show at the Village at South Farms.
Officers Meeting Was Held Tue, Nov. 3rd
Agenda items: Accomplishments to date (1st third of the year), Special Events Planning, Marketing & PR, and Mentoring.
Also brainstormed ideas for improvements, which will be discussed at upcoming meetings.
Suggestions and ideas from all members are always welcome!
Upcoming Events:
Sat., Nov. 7 – District Conference, Saratoga Springs
Thu., Nov 12 7 p.m. Movie Night – Video of the top speakers from the Aug. International Speech Contest
Sat., Nov. 14, 1-3 p.m. Club Outing – Hike at Wadsworth State Park, Middletown, all are welcome
Toastmasters Magazines – any copies you no longer need, please bring them and give to Kay for use as Marketing / PR material
****************************
Meeting
Our toastmaster for the evening was Craig Fresher, who enthusiastically volunteered to fill the role when Arun was delayed.
Invocation: Tom
Humorist: Murugan
Word Master – Murali – ameliorate (to make better, improve)
Ah Counter: Jennifer
Grammarian: Cheryl
Timer: Pete
General Evaluator: Kay
Speaker 1: Murugan (Ice Breaker, Along With an Inspirational Message)
Speaker 2: Deborah (Tweet Tweet, Information About Twitter))
Speaker 3: Ramesh (Topic – Powerful Meditation)
Speaker 4: Ron B. (About Alfred Nobel & The Nobel Prizes)
Table Topics: Ana, Presented Awards that the Table Topics speakers were able to accept or decline. Very creative topics and responses to go along with them!
Speech Evaluators: Charnaie, Pam, Craig, Jennifer
General Evaluator: Kay
Meeting Adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
******************************************************
Here are some highlights from the Middlesex Club meeting this past Thursday, 11/5
It was an excellent meeting at the Russell Library, a different location, different start time, and lots of fun. It was great to see some members that haven't been able to attend in awhile. Thanks to everyone that helped to make the meeting such a success!
Attendance -- total of 18
Members: Tom A., Ana B., Ron B., Anne-Marie C., Jennifer C., Craig F., Charnaie G., Kay J., John K., Cheryl M., Pam M., Deborah N., Murugan P., Ramesh P., Murali P., Peter P., Arun S.
Guests: Ira Y. – who joined and is now our newest member!
Meeting Began: 6:30 p.m. promptly started by our SAA, Pete P. who lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance
Business Meeting
We welcomed new member, Murali, to our Middlesex Toastmasters Club by presenting him with a Toastmasters Pin.
Distinguished Club Program: 6 points earned to date, top in the District!
A special thank you and certificates were presented by Cheryl to Ron B. (and to give to his wife Eva) for their performances at the October 15th Variety Show at the Village at South Farms.
Officers Meeting Was Held Tue, Nov. 3rd
Agenda items: Accomplishments to date (1st third of the year), Special Events Planning, Marketing & PR, and Mentoring.
Also brainstormed ideas for improvements, which will be discussed at upcoming meetings.
Suggestions and ideas from all members are always welcome!
Upcoming Events:
Sat., Nov. 7 – District Conference, Saratoga Springs
Thu., Nov 12 7 p.m. Movie Night – Video of the top speakers from the Aug. International Speech Contest
Sat., Nov. 14, 1-3 p.m. Club Outing – Hike at Wadsworth State Park, Middletown, all are welcome
Toastmasters Magazines – any copies you no longer need, please bring them and give to Kay for use as Marketing / PR material
****************************
Meeting
Our toastmaster for the evening was Craig Fresher, who enthusiastically volunteered to fill the role when Arun was delayed.
Invocation: Tom
Humorist: Murugan
Word Master – Murali – ameliorate (to make better, improve)
Ah Counter: Jennifer
Grammarian: Cheryl
Timer: Pete
General Evaluator: Kay
Speaker 1: Murugan (Ice Breaker, Along With an Inspirational Message)
Speaker 2: Deborah (Tweet Tweet, Information About Twitter))
Speaker 3: Ramesh (Topic – Powerful Meditation)
Speaker 4: Ron B. (About Alfred Nobel & The Nobel Prizes)
Table Topics: Ana, Presented Awards that the Table Topics speakers were able to accept or decline. Very creative topics and responses to go along with them!
Speech Evaluators: Charnaie, Pam, Craig, Jennifer
General Evaluator: Kay
Meeting Adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
******************************************************
Monday, November 2, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, October 22, 2009 - Middlesex Community College, Room 808 D, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Here are some highlights from the Middlesex Club meeting this past Thursday, 10/22.
It was a great meeting, and thanks to everyone that helped to make it a success!
Attendance -- total of 17
Members: Tom A., Ana B., Jennifer C., Charnaie G., Kay J., John K., Cheryl M., Pam M., Emily O., Michael O., Murugan P., Ramesh P., Michael P., Pete P., Rob S.
Guests: Nadine (Ana's friend), Murali (Ramesh's friend) – and Murali is now our newest member!
We started the meeting with sparkling cider and a toast to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of Toastmasters!
Candy corn and costumes also helped to make the meeting festive.
A special thank you and certificates were presented by Cheryl to the performers of the Variety Show held on October 15 at the Village at South Farms: Tom, Charnaie, Ramesh, Kay, (missing – Dianne, Ron)
****************************
Our toastmaster for the evening was Tom Alvord, who led us through a very well planned meeting, with a dual theme: Halloween Ghosts and Goblins, and Toastmasters 85th Anniversary.
Invocation: Ramesh – inspirational quotes
Humorist: Ana – those friends that climbed 75 flights of stairs together were quite funny!
Word Master – Michael P. – disillusioned
Ah Counter: Kay
Grammarian: Pete
Timer: Murugan
General Evaluator: Michael O.
We had four prepared speeches:
Jennifer – CC Speech #5, Believing Without Seeing
Captivating story about some happenings that made her a "believer" !
Charnaie – Entertaining Speech, What I Wish I'd Have Known About The Future
Clever story about some things you just don't know when you're a kid!
Rob – The Leadership Excellence Series, Motivating People
Presented with Toastmasters handouts, and Rob's personal insight
Cheryl – CC Speech #9, Changing the Course
Stories and a message about when to get involved and help someone else
Table Topics were given by Pam, with a fun theme: ZOBMONDO! – Outrageous book of bizarre choices
Speech Evaluators: Kay, John, Pam & Michael O.
GE Comments: Michael O.,
· Great meeting quality – people put a lot of time and energy into the meetings, and it shows
· Favorable that everyone got to speak at the meeting, Table Topics Master (Pam) included others that didn't otherwise have speaking roles
· Suggest calling on guests to provide their comments and introduce themselves at the end of the meeting (rather than at the beginning, so they've had a chance to experience the meeting and get more comfortable)
· Suggest more consistency with applause for various technicians serving in the meeting roles
Business News:
Nov 3 Club Officer’s Meeting 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Location: Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT (Only club officer’s need to attend this meeting, however, anyone can submit ideas for consideration)
Nov 5 Meeting 6:30 - 8:15 pm, Location: Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT
Nov 7 Fall 2009 District 53 Conference, Holiday Inn - Saratoga Springs 232 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY (Note: If you have never been to a Toastmasters conference before, I urge you to go…it’s a wonderful experience. Please visit the website for more information and the registration form: http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html)
Nov 12 Meeting (Movie Night) 7:00 – 9:00pm, Location: Middlesex Community College, Chapman Hall Upper Level, Room #808D (Note: This will be a regular meeting but we will watch the DVD from the Toastmasters International Convention the last part of the meeting. This will be the last meeting we have during the month of November.)
November 14 Hike at Wadsworth State Park, 1:00 – 3:00pm. Note: Please see the attached flyer for details.
*****
Here are some highlights from the Middlesex Club meeting this past Thursday, 10/22.
It was a great meeting, and thanks to everyone that helped to make it a success!
Attendance -- total of 17
Members: Tom A., Ana B., Jennifer C., Charnaie G., Kay J., John K., Cheryl M., Pam M., Emily O., Michael O., Murugan P., Ramesh P., Michael P., Pete P., Rob S.
Guests: Nadine (Ana's friend), Murali (Ramesh's friend) – and Murali is now our newest member!
We started the meeting with sparkling cider and a toast to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of Toastmasters!
Candy corn and costumes also helped to make the meeting festive.
A special thank you and certificates were presented by Cheryl to the performers of the Variety Show held on October 15 at the Village at South Farms: Tom, Charnaie, Ramesh, Kay, (missing – Dianne, Ron)
****************************
Our toastmaster for the evening was Tom Alvord, who led us through a very well planned meeting, with a dual theme: Halloween Ghosts and Goblins, and Toastmasters 85th Anniversary.
Invocation: Ramesh – inspirational quotes
Humorist: Ana – those friends that climbed 75 flights of stairs together were quite funny!
Word Master – Michael P. – disillusioned
Ah Counter: Kay
Grammarian: Pete
Timer: Murugan
General Evaluator: Michael O.
We had four prepared speeches:
Jennifer – CC Speech #5, Believing Without Seeing
Captivating story about some happenings that made her a "believer" !
Charnaie – Entertaining Speech, What I Wish I'd Have Known About The Future
Clever story about some things you just don't know when you're a kid!
Rob – The Leadership Excellence Series, Motivating People
Presented with Toastmasters handouts, and Rob's personal insight
Cheryl – CC Speech #9, Changing the Course
Stories and a message about when to get involved and help someone else
Table Topics were given by Pam, with a fun theme: ZOBMONDO! – Outrageous book of bizarre choices
Speech Evaluators: Kay, John, Pam & Michael O.
GE Comments: Michael O.,
· Great meeting quality – people put a lot of time and energy into the meetings, and it shows
· Favorable that everyone got to speak at the meeting, Table Topics Master (Pam) included others that didn't otherwise have speaking roles
· Suggest calling on guests to provide their comments and introduce themselves at the end of the meeting (rather than at the beginning, so they've had a chance to experience the meeting and get more comfortable)
· Suggest more consistency with applause for various technicians serving in the meeting roles
Business News:
Nov 3 Club Officer’s Meeting 6:30 - 8:00 pm, Location: Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT (Only club officer’s need to attend this meeting, however, anyone can submit ideas for consideration)
Nov 5 Meeting 6:30 - 8:15 pm, Location: Russell Library, 123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT
Nov 7 Fall 2009 District 53 Conference, Holiday Inn - Saratoga Springs 232 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY (Note: If you have never been to a Toastmasters conference before, I urge you to go…it’s a wonderful experience. Please visit the website for more information and the registration form: http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html)
Nov 12 Meeting (Movie Night) 7:00 – 9:00pm, Location: Middlesex Community College, Chapman Hall Upper Level, Room #808D (Note: This will be a regular meeting but we will watch the DVD from the Toastmasters International Convention the last part of the meeting. This will be the last meeting we have during the month of November.)
November 14 Hike at Wadsworth State Park, 1:00 – 3:00pm. Note: Please see the attached flyer for details.
*****
Friday, October 9, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, October 8, 2009 - Middlesex Community College, Room 808 D, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Hello Fellow Toastmasters!
We had quite an exciting meeting last night! Kevin Wortman, of the Danbury WestConn Club delivered an outstanding educational presentation on “Speaking of Speaking for Evaluations.” Last summer our club filled out a survey on what people thought was most needed for our Club development, and most people responded: help with giving evaluations. President Cheryl Mason answered that call and asked Kevin to come and help us with that development. It was obvious to everyone in the room that Kevin was the best of the best!
The room was filled with 20 people. Members present: Tom Alvord, Ana Bowman, Ron Brunelle, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jen Cimilluca, Craig Fresher, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, Cheryl Mason, Emily O’Brien, Mike O’Brien, Dianne Olsen, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Mike Perlman, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, and Rob Schaff. Our Guests were: Bill O’Donnell and Kevin Wortman.
The meeting started off with President Cheryl making announcements:
· Two new members received a pin, Ana Bowman and Mike Perlman. Congratulations and welcome to the Club!
· Tom and Jen were recognized for their achievements in the recent contests. Tom went all the way to the districts competing in the Evaluations Contest. Congratulations Tom! This was Jen’s first time competing in a competition and she went to the Area Contest for her humorous speech. Congratulations Jen!
· Everyone got their dues in on time – putting our Club on record for Distinguished Club. Our next goal is 4 new members. Tonight we welcomed two of them!
· The District 53 Fall Conference will be held on Saturday, November 7th at Saratoga Springs, NY. There are at least 5 people going from our Club to date.
· Tom is putting together a Variety Show to be held at The Village At South Farms on Thursday, October 15th. So far 9 people have volunteered to do a variety of entertaining such as: sing, recite poems, play instruments and/or give a speech. If you haven’t already signed up, contact Tom and join in the fun. There will also be a sing-a-long for audience participation – so we need you!
· Charnaie is organizing the Club Outing.
o She recently took a survey and most people responded that they would like to go on a local walk or hike. Charnaie is looking at 2 Saturday dates, October 17th or November 14th. A vote last night ended in a tie-breaker, so Charnaie will have to get back to us on the actual date.
o There will be a “Movie Night” planned for our November 12th meeting. Mike has a video of the 2009 International Speech Contest and he will share it with us. Please volunteer to bring in refreshments on this evening.
o On November 5th we will hold a special meeting to replace our meeting that falls on Thanksgiving Day. It will be held at the Russell Library.
Our Toastmaster was Area Governor, Rob. His theme of “Improvements: Getting Better” carried throughout the evening. There was plenty there to benefit everyone.
Cheryl was the TableTopics Master. Her topics appropriately carried the theme and we heard a variety of humorous and heartfelt mini speeches; void of any “raffish” remarks. Even our 2 guests, Kevin and Bill participated!
In addition to the presentation that Kevin gave on evaluations, we also had two great speeches given by Dianne and Craig. Dianne’s speech was “Autumn Flashbacks” and she told us about different experiences she did when leaf peeping. Craig gave an informative speech on “Health Care Reform – For or Against, Know the Points.” He gave the audience plenty to think about on this national topic.
It was tough for the Evaluators to come forth after Kevin’s dynamic speech. But they all made us proud! Charnaie did a great job as General Evaluator and the evaluators followed suit. Pete evaluated Dianne and Mike evaluated Craig.
Invocation: Jen, she recited a poem by Mother Theresa
WordMaster: Ana, “raffish” means crudeness or rowdiness
Humorist: Murugan
Ah Counter: Jen
Timer: Kay
Cheryl presented Kevin with a certificate and then closed the meeting on time.
Hello Fellow Toastmasters!
We had quite an exciting meeting last night! Kevin Wortman, of the Danbury WestConn Club delivered an outstanding educational presentation on “Speaking of Speaking for Evaluations.” Last summer our club filled out a survey on what people thought was most needed for our Club development, and most people responded: help with giving evaluations. President Cheryl Mason answered that call and asked Kevin to come and help us with that development. It was obvious to everyone in the room that Kevin was the best of the best!
The room was filled with 20 people. Members present: Tom Alvord, Ana Bowman, Ron Brunelle, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jen Cimilluca, Craig Fresher, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, Cheryl Mason, Emily O’Brien, Mike O’Brien, Dianne Olsen, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Mike Perlman, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, and Rob Schaff. Our Guests were: Bill O’Donnell and Kevin Wortman.
The meeting started off with President Cheryl making announcements:
· Two new members received a pin, Ana Bowman and Mike Perlman. Congratulations and welcome to the Club!
· Tom and Jen were recognized for their achievements in the recent contests. Tom went all the way to the districts competing in the Evaluations Contest. Congratulations Tom! This was Jen’s first time competing in a competition and she went to the Area Contest for her humorous speech. Congratulations Jen!
· Everyone got their dues in on time – putting our Club on record for Distinguished Club. Our next goal is 4 new members. Tonight we welcomed two of them!
· The District 53 Fall Conference will be held on Saturday, November 7th at Saratoga Springs, NY. There are at least 5 people going from our Club to date.
· Tom is putting together a Variety Show to be held at The Village At South Farms on Thursday, October 15th. So far 9 people have volunteered to do a variety of entertaining such as: sing, recite poems, play instruments and/or give a speech. If you haven’t already signed up, contact Tom and join in the fun. There will also be a sing-a-long for audience participation – so we need you!
· Charnaie is organizing the Club Outing.
o She recently took a survey and most people responded that they would like to go on a local walk or hike. Charnaie is looking at 2 Saturday dates, October 17th or November 14th. A vote last night ended in a tie-breaker, so Charnaie will have to get back to us on the actual date.
o There will be a “Movie Night” planned for our November 12th meeting. Mike has a video of the 2009 International Speech Contest and he will share it with us. Please volunteer to bring in refreshments on this evening.
o On November 5th we will hold a special meeting to replace our meeting that falls on Thanksgiving Day. It will be held at the Russell Library.
Our Toastmaster was Area Governor, Rob. His theme of “Improvements: Getting Better” carried throughout the evening. There was plenty there to benefit everyone.
Cheryl was the TableTopics Master. Her topics appropriately carried the theme and we heard a variety of humorous and heartfelt mini speeches; void of any “raffish” remarks. Even our 2 guests, Kevin and Bill participated!
In addition to the presentation that Kevin gave on evaluations, we also had two great speeches given by Dianne and Craig. Dianne’s speech was “Autumn Flashbacks” and she told us about different experiences she did when leaf peeping. Craig gave an informative speech on “Health Care Reform – For or Against, Know the Points.” He gave the audience plenty to think about on this national topic.
It was tough for the Evaluators to come forth after Kevin’s dynamic speech. But they all made us proud! Charnaie did a great job as General Evaluator and the evaluators followed suit. Pete evaluated Dianne and Mike evaluated Craig.
Invocation: Jen, she recited a poem by Mother Theresa
WordMaster: Ana, “raffish” means crudeness or rowdiness
Humorist: Murugan
Ah Counter: Jen
Timer: Kay
Cheryl presented Kevin with a certificate and then closed the meeting on time.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, September 24, 2009 - Middlesex Community College, Room 808 D, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Hello Fellow Toastmasters!
September 24th meeting with the theme (provided by Charnaie Gordon) Back to School was “abundantly” attended by many guests and members.
Members present: Tom Alvord, Ron Brunelle, Jen Cimilluca, Craig Fresher, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Dianne Olsen, Cheryl Mason, Michael O’Brien, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Pete Plotica, and Rob Schaff.
Guests: Anna Bowman, Ashley Mason (Cheryl’s daughter), Maureen McHugh, Hero Man (friend of Charnaie), and Chozhan and Chezhiyan Pachaiyappan (both sons of Murugan).
It was Pete Plotica’s first time as Toastmaster but he lead the meeting like a veteran! It was well-structured and on time. In keeping with the theme, Pete brought a bag of apples to share with everyone!
President Cheryl Mason began her announcements with a warm welcome and pin to our newest member: Murugan Pachaiyappan. Congratulations Murugan! Other announcements:
· In addition to the $50.00 allotted from our budget to Middlesex Community College Foundation, members gave additional donations totaling $200.00. Very nice Toastmasters!
· If anybody has any old Toastmasters magazines lying around, please to bring them in so she can share them with visiting members
· PLEASE send your dues to John ASAP so he can send them into headquarters by the due date!
· At our next meeting, Kevin Wortman from the WestConn Club in Danbury will be speaking on evaluations
· District Conference will be held in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, November 7th at the Holiday Inn
Area Governor Rob Schaff brought us a new ribbon to hang on our banner. This is the first time our Club ever won the “Training Excellence” ribbon for having all seven of our officers present at the training in Manchester! Rob also announced that the Area Club Contest will be held Wednesday, September 30th at the Aetna Club in Middletown. Please come out and show your support for Tom and Jen!
Tom Alvord gave a reminder for the Variety Show which will be held on Thursday, October 15th at the Village at South Farms. Since they allow us to hold our meetings there all summer, this will be a way for our Club to do something for them. So far those participating will be Kay, Tom, Dianne, Charnaie, Ron & his wife, and Ashley (Cheryl’s daughter). If you would like to participate please contact Tom. And if not, please come anyway because we will need people in the audience to “move” the crowd along.
Charnaie Gordon was the Tabletopics Master and she awarded “Superlatives” to different members. It was fun! One of our guests, Maureen McHugh even came up and gave it a try!
We had 4 super speeches! Ron Brunelle, “Made in the USA,” very useful information about what’s made in the USA; Dianne Olsen, “A Vacation of Opportunity” all about her experience at the International Convention; Rob Schaff “Van Halen and the Brown M&M’s” and the cool cat passed m&m’s out to everyone; and Michael O’Brien, “One Bite At A Time” based on the book Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. There was a lot of information and good humor!
Kay Jeyapalan gave her first try at General Evaluator! She was calm and relaxed and was a natural at it! Evaluators for the speakers were as follows: Craig Fresher for Ron; John Keppler for Dianne; Tom Alvord for Rob; and Ron Brunelle for Michael. Great job evaluators!
Other roles:
Ah Counter: Cheryl (and Ashley)
Grammarian: Jen Cimilluca
Timer: Craig
Invocator: Charnaie – she recited a nice poem on education to go with our theme
Humorist: Ramesh told 2 jokes!
Word of the Day: Ramesh: “abundantly”
In keeping with our theme, “Back to School” Ashley went around and gave everyone a fun sticker at the end of the meeting!
Hello Fellow Toastmasters!
September 24th meeting with the theme (provided by Charnaie Gordon) Back to School was “abundantly” attended by many guests and members.
Members present: Tom Alvord, Ron Brunelle, Jen Cimilluca, Craig Fresher, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Dianne Olsen, Cheryl Mason, Michael O’Brien, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Pete Plotica, and Rob Schaff.
Guests: Anna Bowman, Ashley Mason (Cheryl’s daughter), Maureen McHugh, Hero Man (friend of Charnaie), and Chozhan and Chezhiyan Pachaiyappan (both sons of Murugan).
It was Pete Plotica’s first time as Toastmaster but he lead the meeting like a veteran! It was well-structured and on time. In keeping with the theme, Pete brought a bag of apples to share with everyone!
President Cheryl Mason began her announcements with a warm welcome and pin to our newest member: Murugan Pachaiyappan. Congratulations Murugan! Other announcements:
· In addition to the $50.00 allotted from our budget to Middlesex Community College Foundation, members gave additional donations totaling $200.00. Very nice Toastmasters!
· If anybody has any old Toastmasters magazines lying around, please to bring them in so she can share them with visiting members
· PLEASE send your dues to John ASAP so he can send them into headquarters by the due date!
· At our next meeting, Kevin Wortman from the WestConn Club in Danbury will be speaking on evaluations
· District Conference will be held in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, November 7th at the Holiday Inn
Area Governor Rob Schaff brought us a new ribbon to hang on our banner. This is the first time our Club ever won the “Training Excellence” ribbon for having all seven of our officers present at the training in Manchester! Rob also announced that the Area Club Contest will be held Wednesday, September 30th at the Aetna Club in Middletown. Please come out and show your support for Tom and Jen!
Tom Alvord gave a reminder for the Variety Show which will be held on Thursday, October 15th at the Village at South Farms. Since they allow us to hold our meetings there all summer, this will be a way for our Club to do something for them. So far those participating will be Kay, Tom, Dianne, Charnaie, Ron & his wife, and Ashley (Cheryl’s daughter). If you would like to participate please contact Tom. And if not, please come anyway because we will need people in the audience to “move” the crowd along.
Charnaie Gordon was the Tabletopics Master and she awarded “Superlatives” to different members. It was fun! One of our guests, Maureen McHugh even came up and gave it a try!
We had 4 super speeches! Ron Brunelle, “Made in the USA,” very useful information about what’s made in the USA; Dianne Olsen, “A Vacation of Opportunity” all about her experience at the International Convention; Rob Schaff “Van Halen and the Brown M&M’s” and the cool cat passed m&m’s out to everyone; and Michael O’Brien, “One Bite At A Time” based on the book Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink. There was a lot of information and good humor!
Kay Jeyapalan gave her first try at General Evaluator! She was calm and relaxed and was a natural at it! Evaluators for the speakers were as follows: Craig Fresher for Ron; John Keppler for Dianne; Tom Alvord for Rob; and Ron Brunelle for Michael. Great job evaluators!
Other roles:
Ah Counter: Cheryl (and Ashley)
Grammarian: Jen Cimilluca
Timer: Craig
Invocator: Charnaie – she recited a nice poem on education to go with our theme
Humorist: Ramesh told 2 jokes!
Word of the Day: Ramesh: “abundantly”
In keeping with our theme, “Back to School” Ashley went around and gave everyone a fun sticker at the end of the meeting!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, September 10, 2009 - Middlesex Community College, Room 808 D, Middletown, CT Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Our September 10, 2009 meeting was held in our "new room" at Middlesex Community College. Even with the bigger room we still had a full house for our Fall Speech Contest. Charnaie Gordon, Vice President of Education, was the Contest Chair. She did an excellent job organizing the event! Kay Jeyapalan was the Contest Master, for the first time and she did a superb job running a smooth meeting! Arun Sodani was the Chief Judge and he did an excellent job as well!
Members present: Tom Alvord, Ron Brunelle, Jen Cimilluca, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Cheryl Mason, Pam Mulready, Emily O'Brien, Michael O'Brien, Dianne Olsen, Ramesh Padavala, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, and Arun Sodani. Udaya Neelam was visiting from the Wallingford Eagles Club with his two children, Pooja and Sain. Other guests were: Chris Dubey, Alumnus of Middlesex Community College, Mike Perlman, who had previously belonged to the Groton Club, and Murugan Pachaiyappan, first time visitor.
Charnaie started the meeting with an announcement that the theme for our September 24th meeting will be "Back to School." Members are encouraged to bring their children.
October 8th Kevin Wortman of the WestConn Club will be a guest speaker to speak / teach us about improving speaker evaluations. Kevin has been a Toastmaster for 16 years, and is a member of Westconn TM Club 599 in Danbury. On Saturday, June 27th, he lead a training session about "Evaluations, Speaking of Speaking" at the Manchester TLI Officers training. He is also the D53 Spring 2009 Table Topics winner. Big thanks to Cheryl for arranging this speaker as well as this topic of "Improving speaker evaluations." This will be of great benefit to all the members of the club.
On Novemeber 5th an "extra" meeting will be held at the Russell Library.
An "extra" meeting is also being planned for December.
These "extra" meetings are to make up for lost meetings over the holidays.
Visiting guest Udaya Neelam was the Target Speaker for the Evaluation Contest. His speech was "Are you Listening." Competing Evaluators were Michael O'Brien, Tom Alvord, and John Keppler. The two contestants for the Humorous Contest were John Keppler, "Be Careful What You Wish For You Just Might Get It!" and Jen Cimilluca speech was "To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Expected!"
The winners for the Evaluation Contest were 2nd runner-up: John Keppler; 1st runner-up: Michael O'Brien; and 1st Place Winner: Tom Alvord! Congratulations Tom and to the first 2 runner-ups. For the Humorous Contest, John Keppler came in as 1st runner-up and 1st Place went to Jen! Congratulations to both of them! Tom and Jen will be able to compete in the Fall Area Contest! In the event Tom will not be able to go, then Michael would take Tom's place and in case Jen will not be able to take part in the Humorous Contest, John will go.
Area Governor, Rob Schaff informed us that the Fall Area Contest will be held on Wednesday evening, September 30th at the Aetna, Middletown Club. They need judges, ballot counters, and support! Be come and support our Club winners and also give the Middletown Club a hand and volunteer!
Treasurer, John Keppler made the announcement that Club dues are due on October 1st. He is asking all members to get their dues in on time so that we can earn points towards our club goals. The dues are $33.00, $27.00 goes to International Headquarters and $6.00 goes towards our Club expenses. John will send everyone his address so they can mail him a check as soon as possible.
Kay, Vice President of Public Relations, graciously brought in several copies of the Chronicle so members could see the article that was written about our Club. Long time member John Keppler commented that this was "by far the biggest newspaper article ever" written about our Club.
President Cheryl Mason made closing comments. Charnaie was presented with a ribbon for completing her Competant Communication Manual. Charnaie completed all 10 speeches in just 5 months! Congratulation Charnaie, you are a super role model! Cheryl also announced that the Club was making a donation of $50.00 to Middlesex Community College for their years of allowing us to hold our meetings at the college. If any members would like to make an additional tax-free donation please notify Cheryl.
Delicious and refreshing refreshments for the contests were provided by Cheryl, Kay, Pete, Dianne and Charnaie!
Our September 10, 2009 meeting was held in our "new room" at Middlesex Community College. Even with the bigger room we still had a full house for our Fall Speech Contest. Charnaie Gordon, Vice President of Education, was the Contest Chair. She did an excellent job organizing the event! Kay Jeyapalan was the Contest Master, for the first time and she did a superb job running a smooth meeting! Arun Sodani was the Chief Judge and he did an excellent job as well!
Members present: Tom Alvord, Ron Brunelle, Jen Cimilluca, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Cheryl Mason, Pam Mulready, Emily O'Brien, Michael O'Brien, Dianne Olsen, Ramesh Padavala, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, and Arun Sodani. Udaya Neelam was visiting from the Wallingford Eagles Club with his two children, Pooja and Sain. Other guests were: Chris Dubey, Alumnus of Middlesex Community College, Mike Perlman, who had previously belonged to the Groton Club, and Murugan Pachaiyappan, first time visitor.
Charnaie started the meeting with an announcement that the theme for our September 24th meeting will be "Back to School." Members are encouraged to bring their children.
October 8th Kevin Wortman of the WestConn Club will be a guest speaker to speak / teach us about improving speaker evaluations. Kevin has been a Toastmaster for 16 years, and is a member of Westconn TM Club 599 in Danbury. On Saturday, June 27th, he lead a training session about "Evaluations, Speaking of Speaking" at the Manchester TLI Officers training. He is also the D53 Spring 2009 Table Topics winner. Big thanks to Cheryl for arranging this speaker as well as this topic of "Improving speaker evaluations." This will be of great benefit to all the members of the club.
On Novemeber 5th an "extra" meeting will be held at the Russell Library.
An "extra" meeting is also being planned for December.
These "extra" meetings are to make up for lost meetings over the holidays.
Visiting guest Udaya Neelam was the Target Speaker for the Evaluation Contest. His speech was "Are you Listening." Competing Evaluators were Michael O'Brien, Tom Alvord, and John Keppler. The two contestants for the Humorous Contest were John Keppler, "Be Careful What You Wish For You Just Might Get It!" and Jen Cimilluca speech was "To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Expected!"
The winners for the Evaluation Contest were 2nd runner-up: John Keppler; 1st runner-up: Michael O'Brien; and 1st Place Winner: Tom Alvord! Congratulations Tom and to the first 2 runner-ups. For the Humorous Contest, John Keppler came in as 1st runner-up and 1st Place went to Jen! Congratulations to both of them! Tom and Jen will be able to compete in the Fall Area Contest! In the event Tom will not be able to go, then Michael would take Tom's place and in case Jen will not be able to take part in the Humorous Contest, John will go.
Area Governor, Rob Schaff informed us that the Fall Area Contest will be held on Wednesday evening, September 30th at the Aetna, Middletown Club. They need judges, ballot counters, and support! Be come and support our Club winners and also give the Middletown Club a hand and volunteer!
Treasurer, John Keppler made the announcement that Club dues are due on October 1st. He is asking all members to get their dues in on time so that we can earn points towards our club goals. The dues are $33.00, $27.00 goes to International Headquarters and $6.00 goes towards our Club expenses. John will send everyone his address so they can mail him a check as soon as possible.
Kay, Vice President of Public Relations, graciously brought in several copies of the Chronicle so members could see the article that was written about our Club. Long time member John Keppler commented that this was "by far the biggest newspaper article ever" written about our Club.
President Cheryl Mason made closing comments. Charnaie was presented with a ribbon for completing her Competant Communication Manual. Charnaie completed all 10 speeches in just 5 months! Congratulation Charnaie, you are a super role model! Cheryl also announced that the Club was making a donation of $50.00 to Middlesex Community College for their years of allowing us to hold our meetings at the college. If any members would like to make an additional tax-free donation please notify Cheryl.
Delicious and refreshing refreshments for the contests were provided by Cheryl, Kay, Pete, Dianne and Charnaie!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, August 27, 2009 - Village at South FarmsMiddletown, ConnecticutMinutes of the Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Here are some highlights from the Middlesex club meeting Thursday, 8/27.
It was a great meeting, and thanks to everyone that helped to make it a success!
*****
Attendance -- total of 16
Members: Charnaie G., Craig F., Tom A., Cheryl M., Emily O., Jennifer C., Rob S., Pete P., Pam M., Ramesh P., John K., Kay J., Ron B.
Guests: Kristen Chenette (Editor of the Chronicle), Amy (Tom's daughter), Francis (Charnaie's mother-in-law)
We hope our guests will consider joining! A visitor info packet (including a TM application) was provided to each one of the guests (thanks, Michael!)
Special thanks to Kay for arranging for Kristen Chenette to speak at our club!
Our toastmaster for the evening was Craig Fresher, a first-time Toastmaster, who did a superb job and lead us through a very well planned meeting, which included 5 prepared speeches!
Humorist: Ramesh P. (Ramesh told 2 very funny jokes!)
Ah Counter: Tom A.
Grammarian: Emily O.
Timer: Jennifer C.
General Evaluator: Cheryl M.
We had five prepared speakers:
Charnaie - Inspire Your Audience Speech #10: Defining Your Purpose to a "T"
Inspirational speech, included challenges to "design your destiny," "fulfill your purpose; what is it?"
Kristen - After describing her background as both a radio news anchor and editor of the Chronicle,
Kristen talked about the role of community newspapers with a local level focus,
and she included an informative Q&A session with us at the end
Pete - Speech # 4 Deja Vu, The Speech You May Think You've Heard Before
We learned lots of information about Deja Vu experiences!
Pam - Speech # 3 The Benefits and Detriments of Taking the Circutious Route Between Point A and Point B
Pam shared the secrets of getting her father distracted, and how to "not get to the point" !!!
Ron - Speech # 3 Government Foolishness
Ron gave a thought provoking speech; where has all that stimulous money gone?
Table Topics were given by Kay, with a fun theme of giving introductions for the esteemed fruits and vegetables she brought along!
Excellent speech evaluations were given by Rob, Charnaie, John and Tom
Our guest, Kristen Chenette's commented at the end of the meeting that she was impressed that the speech evaluations were such high quality, and that the group was very supportive and respectful of one another. (Guess we made a great first impression) !!!
We also received very positive comments from Amy and from Francis.
We do hope our guests will attend again!
** Congratulations to Charnaie for completing her 10th speech and finishing the CC manual!
She did this in 5 months, and included speaking "outside her comfort zone" by speaking at other clubs in the area.
If anyone else is interested in speaking at other clubs, please let me, Charnaie, Tom, Rob, or Michael know -- we have a number of contacts at other clubs and can help facilitate the process. Rob mentioned that the Aetna club in particular is looking for experienced prepared speakers to visit their meetings! This is a great way to earn credit in the manuals as well as gain valuable experience.
Business News:
* Our Fall meeting location is at MxCC Chapman Hall Room 808D -- starting NEXT MEETING
When you enter the building, proceed up the stairs (either side, left or right). Once at the top of the stairs, proceed through the doors down the hall as far as you can go. The rooms you pass on the left are all meeting rooms that are part of one big open space, or with the floor-to-ceiling partitions in place, create separate rooms (808A, B, C, D). 808D is the last meeting space at the end of the hall on the left.
* Giving Back to Middlesex Community College:
At our Aug. 10th executive committee meeting, we discussed ways of giving back to the college to show our appreciation for having such a great meeting location for our meetings! A $50 donation to the college from our club treasury was approved. Through Kim's contacts and Dianne and John's follow-up, we have been referred to Greg Kline, the Director of Institutional Advancement and Staff Liaison to the MxCC Foundation. Greg provided this information: "The Middlesex Community College Foundation, a non-profit organization, is the vehicle whose mission is to raise support for students and programs at the college. An unrestricted donation sent to the foundation would give the college the most flexibility to assist students, including emergency situations. We appreciate your thoughtful support!"
We are proceeding with a $50 donation to the college, along with any small contributions that any individuals would like to make. We will collect small donations at the next meeting. John K. suggested individuals can write a check to the Foundation, so there is a record of the tax deductible contribution. John will consolidate all our contributions and send them to the Foundation by mid-Sept.
* Our NEXT MEETING is the Sept. 10th club contest, Evaluation & Humorous. Our target speaker will be Udaya Neelam from the Wallingford Eagles Club. Volunteers are needed to help with contest role(s)! Please let Charnaie or me know if you can fill a role or have any questions.
* A Fall Variety Show on Oct. 15 is planned for the Village at South Farms -- please let Tom know if you can help with anything such as coordinating light refreshments, reading a short poem, providing some other entertainment. Looking for volunteers to help!
* Oct. 8 Guest Speaker: Kevin Wortman, Speaking of Evaluations. We are very much looking forward to Kevin's visit!
* Nov 7th - District 53 Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY
* Nov & Dec club meeting schedule will include an extra meeting early in the month, since the holidays will supersede our normal 4th meeting. More info to follow.
Here are some highlights from the Middlesex club meeting Thursday, 8/27.
It was a great meeting, and thanks to everyone that helped to make it a success!
*****
Attendance -- total of 16
Members: Charnaie G., Craig F., Tom A., Cheryl M., Emily O., Jennifer C., Rob S., Pete P., Pam M., Ramesh P., John K., Kay J., Ron B.
Guests: Kristen Chenette (Editor of the Chronicle), Amy (Tom's daughter), Francis (Charnaie's mother-in-law)
We hope our guests will consider joining! A visitor info packet (including a TM application) was provided to each one of the guests (thanks, Michael!)
Special thanks to Kay for arranging for Kristen Chenette to speak at our club!
Our toastmaster for the evening was Craig Fresher, a first-time Toastmaster, who did a superb job and lead us through a very well planned meeting, which included 5 prepared speeches!
Humorist: Ramesh P. (Ramesh told 2 very funny jokes!)
Ah Counter: Tom A.
Grammarian: Emily O.
Timer: Jennifer C.
General Evaluator: Cheryl M.
We had five prepared speakers:
Charnaie - Inspire Your Audience Speech #10: Defining Your Purpose to a "T"
Inspirational speech, included challenges to "design your destiny," "fulfill your purpose; what is it?"
Kristen - After describing her background as both a radio news anchor and editor of the Chronicle,
Kristen talked about the role of community newspapers with a local level focus,
and she included an informative Q&A session with us at the end
Pete - Speech # 4 Deja Vu, The Speech You May Think You've Heard Before
We learned lots of information about Deja Vu experiences!
Pam - Speech # 3 The Benefits and Detriments of Taking the Circutious Route Between Point A and Point B
Pam shared the secrets of getting her father distracted, and how to "not get to the point" !!!
Ron - Speech # 3 Government Foolishness
Ron gave a thought provoking speech; where has all that stimulous money gone?
Table Topics were given by Kay, with a fun theme of giving introductions for the esteemed fruits and vegetables she brought along!
Excellent speech evaluations were given by Rob, Charnaie, John and Tom
Our guest, Kristen Chenette's commented at the end of the meeting that she was impressed that the speech evaluations were such high quality, and that the group was very supportive and respectful of one another. (Guess we made a great first impression) !!!
We also received very positive comments from Amy and from Francis.
We do hope our guests will attend again!
** Congratulations to Charnaie for completing her 10th speech and finishing the CC manual!
She did this in 5 months, and included speaking "outside her comfort zone" by speaking at other clubs in the area.
If anyone else is interested in speaking at other clubs, please let me, Charnaie, Tom, Rob, or Michael know -- we have a number of contacts at other clubs and can help facilitate the process. Rob mentioned that the Aetna club in particular is looking for experienced prepared speakers to visit their meetings! This is a great way to earn credit in the manuals as well as gain valuable experience.
Business News:
* Our Fall meeting location is at MxCC Chapman Hall Room 808D -- starting NEXT MEETING
When you enter the building, proceed up the stairs (either side, left or right). Once at the top of the stairs, proceed through the doors down the hall as far as you can go. The rooms you pass on the left are all meeting rooms that are part of one big open space, or with the floor-to-ceiling partitions in place, create separate rooms (808A, B, C, D). 808D is the last meeting space at the end of the hall on the left.
* Giving Back to Middlesex Community College:
At our Aug. 10th executive committee meeting, we discussed ways of giving back to the college to show our appreciation for having such a great meeting location for our meetings! A $50 donation to the college from our club treasury was approved. Through Kim's contacts and Dianne and John's follow-up, we have been referred to Greg Kline, the Director of Institutional Advancement and Staff Liaison to the MxCC Foundation. Greg provided this information: "The Middlesex Community College Foundation, a non-profit organization, is the vehicle whose mission is to raise support for students and programs at the college. An unrestricted donation sent to the foundation would give the college the most flexibility to assist students, including emergency situations. We appreciate your thoughtful support!"
We are proceeding with a $50 donation to the college, along with any small contributions that any individuals would like to make. We will collect small donations at the next meeting. John K. suggested individuals can write a check to the Foundation, so there is a record of the tax deductible contribution. John will consolidate all our contributions and send them to the Foundation by mid-Sept.
* Our NEXT MEETING is the Sept. 10th club contest, Evaluation & Humorous. Our target speaker will be Udaya Neelam from the Wallingford Eagles Club. Volunteers are needed to help with contest role(s)! Please let Charnaie or me know if you can fill a role or have any questions.
* A Fall Variety Show on Oct. 15 is planned for the Village at South Farms -- please let Tom know if you can help with anything such as coordinating light refreshments, reading a short poem, providing some other entertainment. Looking for volunteers to help!
* Oct. 8 Guest Speaker: Kevin Wortman, Speaking of Evaluations. We are very much looking forward to Kevin's visit!
* Nov 7th - District 53 Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY
* Nov & Dec club meeting schedule will include an extra meeting early in the month, since the holidays will supersede our normal 4th meeting. More info to follow.
Meeting, Thursday, August 13, 2009 - Village at South FarmsMiddletown, ConnecticutMinutes of the Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Highlights the Middlesex club meeting Thursday, 8/13
Attendees: Tom A., Cheryl M., Emily O., Michael O., Craig F., Jennifer C., Ramesh P., Charnaie G., John K., Kay J.
Our toastmaster for the evening was John Keppler, who lead us through a great meeting.
Humorist: Emily O'Brien
Word Master: Jennifer Cimiluca, "kudos"
Ah Counter: Ramesh Padavala
Grammarian: Craig Fresher
Timer: Charnaie Gordon
General Evaluator: John Keppler
We had four prepared speakers:
Kay - Inspire Your Audience Speech #10: The Choice is Yours
Inspirational speech with references from the book, "The Power of Attitude" by Mac Anderson
Tom -- Thou Shalt Not Steal
Thought provoking speech, taking a pen might clearly be considered stealing, but other scenarios might not be so clear!
Michael - Ice Breaker Speech # 1: The Extra Mile
Speech describing Michael's walking sanctuary and where we might see him on a clear summer night
Cheryl - How to Say It Speech # 4: A New Experience
Speech describing Cheryl's recent volunteer experiences at the TI conference
Table Topics were given by Tom, with a fun summer theme
Speech evaluations were given by Craig, Jennifer, Cheryl & Tom
Business news:
* Cheryl brought two slides shown by Dave Wheeler, LGET, at the District officers meeting on 8/9 -- both are exciting for Middlesex.
First: Middlesex Club is #1 in DCP standings across the entire district!
Second: Middlesex Club has earned a banner ribbon for having 7 officers trained during the summer training sessions
* Charnaie brought the signup sheet for Sept. 10th club contest -- and is recruiting volunteers to help with contest role(s)!
* Tom discussed the Fall Variety Show on Oct. 15 that is planned for the Village at South Farms -- please let Tom know if you can help with anything such as coordinating light refreshments, reading a short poem, providing some other entertainment. Looking for volunteers to help!
Highlights the Middlesex club meeting Thursday, 8/13
Attendees: Tom A., Cheryl M., Emily O., Michael O., Craig F., Jennifer C., Ramesh P., Charnaie G., John K., Kay J.
Our toastmaster for the evening was John Keppler, who lead us through a great meeting.
Humorist: Emily O'Brien
Word Master: Jennifer Cimiluca, "kudos"
Ah Counter: Ramesh Padavala
Grammarian: Craig Fresher
Timer: Charnaie Gordon
General Evaluator: John Keppler
We had four prepared speakers:
Kay - Inspire Your Audience Speech #10: The Choice is Yours
Inspirational speech with references from the book, "The Power of Attitude" by Mac Anderson
Tom -- Thou Shalt Not Steal
Thought provoking speech, taking a pen might clearly be considered stealing, but other scenarios might not be so clear!
Michael - Ice Breaker Speech # 1: The Extra Mile
Speech describing Michael's walking sanctuary and where we might see him on a clear summer night
Cheryl - How to Say It Speech # 4: A New Experience
Speech describing Cheryl's recent volunteer experiences at the TI conference
Table Topics were given by Tom, with a fun summer theme
Speech evaluations were given by Craig, Jennifer, Cheryl & Tom
Business news:
* Cheryl brought two slides shown by Dave Wheeler, LGET, at the District officers meeting on 8/9 -- both are exciting for Middlesex.
First: Middlesex Club is #1 in DCP standings across the entire district!
Second: Middlesex Club has earned a banner ribbon for having 7 officers trained during the summer training sessions
* Charnaie brought the signup sheet for Sept. 10th club contest -- and is recruiting volunteers to help with contest role(s)!
* Tom discussed the Fall Variety Show on Oct. 15 that is planned for the Village at South Farms -- please let Tom know if you can help with anything such as coordinating light refreshments, reading a short poem, providing some other entertainment. Looking for volunteers to help!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Meeting, Thursday, July 23, 2009 - Village at South Farms
Middletown, Connecticut
Minutes of the Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Present were Club Members: Cheryl, Emily, Jennifer, John K., John V., Kay, Kim, Mike, Pam, Pete, Ramesh, Rob, Ron, Tom
Guests: Christina Dzenyuy, President Stag Toastmasters
Judith Chambers, Stag Toastmasters
Susan McNamara, VPM, Stag Toastmasters
Kathy, who accompanied her daughter Christina
Ute Brinkmann, Wallingford Eagles
Our special guest for the evening was Christian Mysliwiec, a freelance reporter for The Chronicle, arranged by the club Vice President of Public Relations, Kay Jeyapalan. Stay tuned for the September issue of The Chronicle (Middletown/Cromwell).
Cheryl Mason, the Club President, started the meeting with the announcement of our special meeting on July 30, 2009 at Russell Library in Middletown and John Keppler will be the Toastmaster for this meeting. Cheryl presented two of our new members Ron Brunelle and John Venduras with Toastmaster pins to welcome them to our club. Kim Price announced that Room 808 D has been arranged with Middlesex Community College for the club to meet beginning in September 2009 through June 2010. This room is bigger than the old one and will hold about 30 people.
Michael O'Brien was our Toastmaster for the evening and he tied the whole meeting with the theme of 40th anniversary of astronauts landing on the moon.
Other roles played by our club members and guests:
Timer - Emily
Ah Counter - Kathy
Grammarian - Jennifer
Word of the day - John V.
Invocator - Susan
Humorist - Pam
For Table Topics, Jennifer presented us some challenging and sagacious subjects intertwining the theme of the 40th anniversary of the astronauts landing on the moon.
Four ebullient speeches were given -
Ron Brunelle spoke on Alternative Energy evaluated by Cheryl - very informative with colorful phrases as mentioned by Cheryl. Cheryl pointed out the phrase, "Clean Environmental Power Source."
John Keppler gave a talk on the History of the Middlesex Toastmasters Club evaluated by Rob Schaff - members found it very interesting to hear that the original founders retired from the club in the same room we had our meeting last night. Rob, in his evaluation, mentioned the special connection of the club to the "Pub" room at the Village at South Farms. History of the club will be posted to the club's website soon!
Christina Dzenyuy gave a speech titled "Purity, Valor and Vigilance on the Sea of Tranquility" tied to the theme of our Toastmaster for the evening and she indeed brought History to Life. She captured the audience with the introduction of the precise time it took the astronauts to accomplish the mission. Kim Price in his evaluation of Christina's speech highlighted her introduction.
Ute Brinkman's speech titled "Acoustic" on Vocal Variety was evaluated by Tom as, "Ute left us with a WOW." Ute encouraged us to practice voice projection at home.
We enjoyed the 10 minute of break with delicious brownies, fruits, and drinks. Thanks to Cheryl and Pete who brought the snacks and drinks.
Our General Evaluator was Judith Chambers. Judith pointed out that we need to applaud more for our table topics as this is not a prepared speech and warrant more encouragement. Judith and all of our guests mentioned a couple of excellent qualities of our club that we should be proud of –
(1) Ours is a very welcoming club, and
(2) They felt comfortable participating.
Cheryl Mason closed the meeting by saying a few words about the traveling Gavel, Drew. Drew has been with our club for a year. Cheryl handed over Drew to our guests from the Stag Club in Hartford. We said Good Bye to Drew to send him away to live in Hartford with the Stag club till he decides to move to another home. Ute was responsible for designing and implementing the entire Traveling Gavel Program throughout District 53. She produced all six of the traveling gavels and designed the stand. Middlesex Toastmasters Club held three of these traveling gavels once.
To All: You did an excellent job whether you took a role or helped out during and after the meeting!
It was another exciting evening filled with information and laughter!!!
I am leaving you with the quote from our guest Susan McNamara, invocator for the evening -
"Learn from yesterday,
Live for today,
Hope for tomorrow."
Albert Einstein
Middletown, Connecticut
Minutes of the Middlesex Toastmasters Club #8340
Present were Club Members: Cheryl, Emily, Jennifer, John K., John V., Kay, Kim, Mike, Pam, Pete, Ramesh, Rob, Ron, Tom
Guests: Christina Dzenyuy, President Stag Toastmasters
Judith Chambers, Stag Toastmasters
Susan McNamara, VPM, Stag Toastmasters
Kathy, who accompanied her daughter Christina
Ute Brinkmann, Wallingford Eagles
Our special guest for the evening was Christian Mysliwiec, a freelance reporter for The Chronicle, arranged by the club Vice President of Public Relations, Kay Jeyapalan. Stay tuned for the September issue of The Chronicle (Middletown/Cromwell).
Cheryl Mason, the Club President, started the meeting with the announcement of our special meeting on July 30, 2009 at Russell Library in Middletown and John Keppler will be the Toastmaster for this meeting. Cheryl presented two of our new members Ron Brunelle and John Venduras with Toastmaster pins to welcome them to our club. Kim Price announced that Room 808 D has been arranged with Middlesex Community College for the club to meet beginning in September 2009 through June 2010. This room is bigger than the old one and will hold about 30 people.
Michael O'Brien was our Toastmaster for the evening and he tied the whole meeting with the theme of 40th anniversary of astronauts landing on the moon.
Other roles played by our club members and guests:
Timer - Emily
Ah Counter - Kathy
Grammarian - Jennifer
Word of the day - John V.
Invocator - Susan
Humorist - Pam
For Table Topics, Jennifer presented us some challenging and sagacious subjects intertwining the theme of the 40th anniversary of the astronauts landing on the moon.
Four ebullient speeches were given -
Ron Brunelle spoke on Alternative Energy evaluated by Cheryl - very informative with colorful phrases as mentioned by Cheryl. Cheryl pointed out the phrase, "Clean Environmental Power Source."
John Keppler gave a talk on the History of the Middlesex Toastmasters Club evaluated by Rob Schaff - members found it very interesting to hear that the original founders retired from the club in the same room we had our meeting last night. Rob, in his evaluation, mentioned the special connection of the club to the "Pub" room at the Village at South Farms. History of the club will be posted to the club's website soon!
Christina Dzenyuy gave a speech titled "Purity, Valor and Vigilance on the Sea of Tranquility" tied to the theme of our Toastmaster for the evening and she indeed brought History to Life. She captured the audience with the introduction of the precise time it took the astronauts to accomplish the mission. Kim Price in his evaluation of Christina's speech highlighted her introduction.
Ute Brinkman's speech titled "Acoustic" on Vocal Variety was evaluated by Tom as, "Ute left us with a WOW." Ute encouraged us to practice voice projection at home.
We enjoyed the 10 minute of break with delicious brownies, fruits, and drinks. Thanks to Cheryl and Pete who brought the snacks and drinks.
Our General Evaluator was Judith Chambers. Judith pointed out that we need to applaud more for our table topics as this is not a prepared speech and warrant more encouragement. Judith and all of our guests mentioned a couple of excellent qualities of our club that we should be proud of –
(1) Ours is a very welcoming club, and
(2) They felt comfortable participating.
Cheryl Mason closed the meeting by saying a few words about the traveling Gavel, Drew. Drew has been with our club for a year. Cheryl handed over Drew to our guests from the Stag Club in Hartford. We said Good Bye to Drew to send him away to live in Hartford with the Stag club till he decides to move to another home. Ute was responsible for designing and implementing the entire Traveling Gavel Program throughout District 53. She produced all six of the traveling gavels and designed the stand. Middlesex Toastmasters Club held three of these traveling gavels once.
To All: You did an excellent job whether you took a role or helped out during and after the meeting!
It was another exciting evening filled with information and laughter!!!
I am leaving you with the quote from our guest Susan McNamara, invocator for the evening -
"Learn from yesterday,
Live for today,
Hope for tomorrow."
Albert Einstein
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Meeting July 9, 2009 - Village at South Farms
Middlesex Toastmasters # 8340
Happy New Year!
This was our first meeting of the new Toastmasters year (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010).
We celebrated in style with festive hats, blowouts, balloons, and lots of yummy snacks and drinks! We were also treated to a wonderful homemade chocolate cake in the shape of a bicycle to match our District 53 theme for the New Year . . . thanks to Ute.
A special thanks to everyone that contributed to the festivities!
Meeting Attendees:
Charnaie, Craig, Deborah, Pete, Rob, Michael, Emily, Nancy, Jennifer, Tom, Rose Rita, Kim, Ron, Tom, Ute, Cheryl, Ashley
Guests
Rose Rita Riccitelli (past member of Middlesex)
Ute Brinkmann (past member of Middlesex)
Ashley Mason (Cheryl's 11 year old daughter)
The meeting theme was carried throughout the evening – thoughts of a New Year, a time of renewal, new challenges, resolutions, etc.
Business Meeting
Cheryl presented a vision for the club, focusing on member success and club excellence.
"Foster Aces" is the vision for the New Year. Stay tuned for more to come . ..
Also noted upcoming events – see below.
Cheryl brought "Drew" to the meeting before it gets captured! (see below)
Kim was presented with a ribbon "Award of Excellence" for his recent achievement of Advanced Communicator Gold, ACG. Way to go, Kim! He wore the ribbon on his pocket throughout the evening and it matched his pink party hat rather nicely!
Already we are making great progress toward "Distinguished Club Program" DCP goals!
Tom presented the idea of a "Variety Show" at the Village at South Farms to provide the residents there with entertainment as a way of giving back. They have been very accommodating with providing us a club meeting location during the summer and at other times when we've requested.
Calling all volunteers!
You are invited to . . .
sing a song, play an instrument, recite a poem, present a magic trick, give a 1-5 minute talk on a subject of your choice for which you may receive credit in your manual, present some photos, illustrate your hobby, tell a story, or come up with your own idea!
Most presentations will be 1-5 minutes in length.
The date will be sometime in October, specifics are being finalized. It may be held on a Thu. evening when we don't have a regularly scheduled meeting.
Please contact Tom Alvord tabangoman@yahoo.com and offer your support!
Charnaie handed out "Member Interest Survey" forms so that we can all provide feedback regarding goals, interests, and any suggestions for improving our club.
Charnaie was first-time Toastmaster, and the planning and organization that went into the meeting was apparent. She also brought professional looking laminated role cards that were used by those serving in roles. Charnaie provided remarks about the New Year theme and transitioned between the various parts of the meeting very nicely (as mentioned by our GE!)
Charnaie also encouraged us to try to challenge ourselves, try out new roles, and push ourselves out of our "comfort zone."
Nancy provided our Invocation (tied in nicely with our theme)
Ron provided us with a humorous story (we were picturing that horse!)
Craig provided the word of the day, "dogmatic," meaning rigid, unbending, fixed
Emily provided excellent Table Topics, involved members and guests, and tied the topics in nicely with our theme for the evening. There were thought provoking questions, and interesting
responses!
Deborah was our Grammarian (pointed out noteworthy phrases, word structures, etc.)
Craig was the Ah Counter
Cheryl was the Timer
Tom was our General Evaluator
Four excellent speeches were given –
· Rob had us in "stitches" with his humorous speech about teenager communications, all with a "hopeful" tone!
· Jennifer used awesome gestures with her speech, "to Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected"
· Deborah enlightened us with her "Human Tuning Fork" speech
· Ron broke the ice with his very first speech – and demonstrated great presence at the podium!
Our evaluators, Michael, Pete, Kim, and Rob all did a great job providing thoughtful feedback regarding the speeches.
Tom provided thorough feedback as General Evaluator, commenting on things that worked well with the meeting, as well as areas for improvement.
A few points:
Suggest that each person filling a role be prepared to give a short mini-speech regarding their role regardless of whether there are any guests in the audience or not, use it as an opportunity for "stage time"
Consider dropping the "objectives of the speech" given by the evaluator before each speech. Several other members agreed that this seems awkward and doesn't always fit nicely with the flow of a speech introduction. We will consider dropping this practice.
Ron was presented with a very nice "Ice Breaker Mints" medallion to wear around his neck by our VPE, Charnaie (see picture).
Meeting agenda was quite full, and Charnaie kept us moving along; we ended right on time at 9:00 p.m.
Upcoming Events: -
July 23rd – Guests from Stag Toastmasters are coming to "capture" Drew, a gavel we have had for the last year!
July 30th – Extra Club Meeting at Russell Library
August 10th – Club Officers Meeting at Russell Library
August 12-15 – Toastmasters International Convention, MGM Grand, Foxwoods Casino
September 10 – Club Contest - Humorous & Evaluation
October 8 – Guest Speaker Regarding Speech Evaluations - Kevin Wortman
October (specific date tbd) – Variety Show for Village at South Farms
November 7 – District Fall Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY
Happy New Year!
This was our first meeting of the new Toastmasters year (July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2010).
We celebrated in style with festive hats, blowouts, balloons, and lots of yummy snacks and drinks! We were also treated to a wonderful homemade chocolate cake in the shape of a bicycle to match our District 53 theme for the New Year . . . thanks to Ute.
A special thanks to everyone that contributed to the festivities!
Meeting Attendees:
Charnaie, Craig, Deborah, Pete, Rob, Michael, Emily, Nancy, Jennifer, Tom, Rose Rita, Kim, Ron, Tom, Ute, Cheryl, Ashley
Guests
Rose Rita Riccitelli (past member of Middlesex)
Ute Brinkmann (past member of Middlesex)
Ashley Mason (Cheryl's 11 year old daughter)
The meeting theme was carried throughout the evening – thoughts of a New Year, a time of renewal, new challenges, resolutions, etc.
Business Meeting
Cheryl presented a vision for the club, focusing on member success and club excellence.
"Foster Aces" is the vision for the New Year. Stay tuned for more to come . ..
Also noted upcoming events – see below.
Cheryl brought "Drew" to the meeting before it gets captured! (see below)
Kim was presented with a ribbon "Award of Excellence" for his recent achievement of Advanced Communicator Gold, ACG. Way to go, Kim! He wore the ribbon on his pocket throughout the evening and it matched his pink party hat rather nicely!
Already we are making great progress toward "Distinguished Club Program" DCP goals!
Tom presented the idea of a "Variety Show" at the Village at South Farms to provide the residents there with entertainment as a way of giving back. They have been very accommodating with providing us a club meeting location during the summer and at other times when we've requested.
Calling all volunteers!
You are invited to . . .
sing a song, play an instrument, recite a poem, present a magic trick, give a 1-5 minute talk on a subject of your choice for which you may receive credit in your manual, present some photos, illustrate your hobby, tell a story, or come up with your own idea!
Most presentations will be 1-5 minutes in length.
The date will be sometime in October, specifics are being finalized. It may be held on a Thu. evening when we don't have a regularly scheduled meeting.
Please contact Tom Alvord tabangoman@yahoo.com and offer your support!
Charnaie handed out "Member Interest Survey" forms so that we can all provide feedback regarding goals, interests, and any suggestions for improving our club.
Charnaie was first-time Toastmaster, and the planning and organization that went into the meeting was apparent. She also brought professional looking laminated role cards that were used by those serving in roles. Charnaie provided remarks about the New Year theme and transitioned between the various parts of the meeting very nicely (as mentioned by our GE!)
Charnaie also encouraged us to try to challenge ourselves, try out new roles, and push ourselves out of our "comfort zone."
Nancy provided our Invocation (tied in nicely with our theme)
Ron provided us with a humorous story (we were picturing that horse!)
Craig provided the word of the day, "dogmatic," meaning rigid, unbending, fixed
Emily provided excellent Table Topics, involved members and guests, and tied the topics in nicely with our theme for the evening. There were thought provoking questions, and interesting
responses!
Deborah was our Grammarian (pointed out noteworthy phrases, word structures, etc.)
Craig was the Ah Counter
Cheryl was the Timer
Tom was our General Evaluator
Four excellent speeches were given –
· Rob had us in "stitches" with his humorous speech about teenager communications, all with a "hopeful" tone!
· Jennifer used awesome gestures with her speech, "to Whom Much is Given, Much is Expected"
· Deborah enlightened us with her "Human Tuning Fork" speech
· Ron broke the ice with his very first speech – and demonstrated great presence at the podium!
Our evaluators, Michael, Pete, Kim, and Rob all did a great job providing thoughtful feedback regarding the speeches.
Tom provided thorough feedback as General Evaluator, commenting on things that worked well with the meeting, as well as areas for improvement.
A few points:
Suggest that each person filling a role be prepared to give a short mini-speech regarding their role regardless of whether there are any guests in the audience or not, use it as an opportunity for "stage time"
Consider dropping the "objectives of the speech" given by the evaluator before each speech. Several other members agreed that this seems awkward and doesn't always fit nicely with the flow of a speech introduction. We will consider dropping this practice.
Ron was presented with a very nice "Ice Breaker Mints" medallion to wear around his neck by our VPE, Charnaie (see picture).
Meeting agenda was quite full, and Charnaie kept us moving along; we ended right on time at 9:00 p.m.
Upcoming Events: -
July 23rd – Guests from Stag Toastmasters are coming to "capture" Drew, a gavel we have had for the last year!
July 30th – Extra Club Meeting at Russell Library
August 10th – Club Officers Meeting at Russell Library
August 12-15 – Toastmasters International Convention, MGM Grand, Foxwoods Casino
September 10 – Club Contest - Humorous & Evaluation
October 8 – Guest Speaker Regarding Speech Evaluations - Kevin Wortman
October (specific date tbd) – Variety Show for Village at South Farms
November 7 – District Fall Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY
Monday, July 6, 2009
Meeting 6/25/2009
Fellow Toastmasters!
It was an eventful evening at our Middlesex County Toastmasters Club meeting as we celebrated the Induction Ceremony of our newly elected officers, the President gave an award, and the theme for the evening was “Toastmasters Tributes.”
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Ron Brunelle, Jennifer Cimilluca, Craig Fresher, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Cheryl Mason, Pam Mulready, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Dianne Olsen, Alex Piccinni, Peter Plotica, Rob Schaff, and Sreeni Voleti. Guests: Jason Andrade, Janice Colandrea, and John Venduras.
The Induction Ceremony began with Tom Alvord introducing the current officers ending the year 2008/2009. There was a big round of applause for all the outgoing officers (present and not present) for their service over the last year! Then President Rob Schaff, who will be the new Area Governor, swore-in this coming year’s officers. They are: President: Cheryl Mason; Vice President Education: Charnaie Gordon; Vice President Membership: Michael O’Brien; Vice President Public Relations: Kay Jeyapalan; Secretary: Dianne Olsen; Treasurer: John Keppler; and Sergeant At Arms: Peter Plotica. Congratulations to our newly elected officers for 2009/2010!
President Rob Schaff presented Cheryl with the Middlesex County Toastmasters President’s Award for Outstanding Member 2008/2009! Congratulations Cheryl for this very well-deserved, prestigious award! For other business Rob commented that we had 19 new members this year! Wow!
Dianne Olsen was the Toastmaster. She led the meeting with the theme of “Toastmasters Tributes” honoring our servicemen for putting their lives on the line so that we can enjoy our freedom as it is today and also honoring all the members of our club for their participation in earning us the President’s Distinguished Club! This is the fourth year in a row our club has been a President’s Distinguished Club and much of that has been driven by the dedication of Rob Schaff and Cheryl Mason. As Uncle Sam says, “We need you!” We need you this year to help us win that award for the fifth year in a row!
For Table Topics, Michael O’Brien interestingly tied in our theme with questions to better our club, based on the book, “Good to Great” by Jim Collin. Several members participated as well as guest: John Venduras.
Our speeches were as follows: Charnaie Gordon, “The 30-Second Commercial”; Tom Alvord, “Independence Day”; Pam Mulready, “EMDR Therapy”; and Cheryl Mason, “Evaluate to Motivate.” Evaluating them were: Sreeni Voleti, Michael O’Brien, Craig Fresher, and Peter Plotica, respectively. Super speeches and evaluations by all our speakers! John Keppler, General Evaluator, did a wonderful job commenting on all the meeting, evaluation speeches and roles: Invocator, Cheryl Mason; Humorist, Kay Jeyapalan; Word Master, Pam Mulready; Grammarian, Charnaie Gordon; Ah Counter, Alex Piccinni; and Timer, Emily O’Brien. Great job everybody and that’s no “trope!”
Before closing, Vice President of Education, Cheryl Mason presented Charnaie Gordon with her ½ CC Completion Award. Charnaie has already completed half her Competent Communication manual and has only been with us since January. That’s determination at its best! Congratulations Charnaie!
Reminders:
Our meetings for July and August will be held at the Village At South Farms (it is now a yellow building), 645 Saybrook Road, Middletown.
Dianne Olsen went to the volunteer training and gave a quick talk about becoming a volunteer at the International Toastmaster Convention at Foxwoods, August 12 – 15. The best speakers from 80 different countries around the world will be presenting in our own state! This may never happen again in our lifetime! For volunteers they need greeters, monitors, reception areas, luncheons, registration, flag ceremony, dance, airport greeters, information desk, and on and on. Go to http://tm2009volunteers.wetpaint.com You don’t want to miss this opportunity!
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
It was an eventful evening at our Middlesex County Toastmasters Club meeting as we celebrated the Induction Ceremony of our newly elected officers, the President gave an award, and the theme for the evening was “Toastmasters Tributes.”
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Ron Brunelle, Jennifer Cimilluca, Craig Fresher, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Cheryl Mason, Pam Mulready, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Dianne Olsen, Alex Piccinni, Peter Plotica, Rob Schaff, and Sreeni Voleti. Guests: Jason Andrade, Janice Colandrea, and John Venduras.
The Induction Ceremony began with Tom Alvord introducing the current officers ending the year 2008/2009. There was a big round of applause for all the outgoing officers (present and not present) for their service over the last year! Then President Rob Schaff, who will be the new Area Governor, swore-in this coming year’s officers. They are: President: Cheryl Mason; Vice President Education: Charnaie Gordon; Vice President Membership: Michael O’Brien; Vice President Public Relations: Kay Jeyapalan; Secretary: Dianne Olsen; Treasurer: John Keppler; and Sergeant At Arms: Peter Plotica. Congratulations to our newly elected officers for 2009/2010!
President Rob Schaff presented Cheryl with the Middlesex County Toastmasters President’s Award for Outstanding Member 2008/2009! Congratulations Cheryl for this very well-deserved, prestigious award! For other business Rob commented that we had 19 new members this year! Wow!
Dianne Olsen was the Toastmaster. She led the meeting with the theme of “Toastmasters Tributes” honoring our servicemen for putting their lives on the line so that we can enjoy our freedom as it is today and also honoring all the members of our club for their participation in earning us the President’s Distinguished Club! This is the fourth year in a row our club has been a President’s Distinguished Club and much of that has been driven by the dedication of Rob Schaff and Cheryl Mason. As Uncle Sam says, “We need you!” We need you this year to help us win that award for the fifth year in a row!
For Table Topics, Michael O’Brien interestingly tied in our theme with questions to better our club, based on the book, “Good to Great” by Jim Collin. Several members participated as well as guest: John Venduras.
Our speeches were as follows: Charnaie Gordon, “The 30-Second Commercial”; Tom Alvord, “Independence Day”; Pam Mulready, “EMDR Therapy”; and Cheryl Mason, “Evaluate to Motivate.” Evaluating them were: Sreeni Voleti, Michael O’Brien, Craig Fresher, and Peter Plotica, respectively. Super speeches and evaluations by all our speakers! John Keppler, General Evaluator, did a wonderful job commenting on all the meeting, evaluation speeches and roles: Invocator, Cheryl Mason; Humorist, Kay Jeyapalan; Word Master, Pam Mulready; Grammarian, Charnaie Gordon; Ah Counter, Alex Piccinni; and Timer, Emily O’Brien. Great job everybody and that’s no “trope!”
Before closing, Vice President of Education, Cheryl Mason presented Charnaie Gordon with her ½ CC Completion Award. Charnaie has already completed half her Competent Communication manual and has only been with us since January. That’s determination at its best! Congratulations Charnaie!
Reminders:
Our meetings for July and August will be held at the Village At South Farms (it is now a yellow building), 645 Saybrook Road, Middletown.
Dianne Olsen went to the volunteer training and gave a quick talk about becoming a volunteer at the International Toastmaster Convention at Foxwoods, August 12 – 15. The best speakers from 80 different countries around the world will be presenting in our own state! This may never happen again in our lifetime! For volunteers they need greeters, monitors, reception areas, luncheons, registration, flag ceremony, dance, airport greeters, information desk, and on and on. Go to http://tm2009volunteers.wetpaint.com You don’t want to miss this opportunity!
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Friday, May 29, 2009
Meeting Notes - May 28, 2009
Fellow Toastmasters:
We had 18 participants in our meeting last night - 17 members and one guest. Attending members: Beth, Charnaie, Alex, Kay, Mike, Emily, Jennifer, Tom, Anne Marie, Ramesh, Arun, Tawana, Rob, Sreeni, Pamela, and Craig. Our guest was Ronald Brunelle, a first-time visitor who was interested to find out more about Toastmasters.
Arun was our Toastmaster for the night. Charnaie led us in a challenging Table Topics, requiring us to assume the role of an author explaining his new book. We heard 3 prepared speeches: an Ice-Breaker from Craig, and speeches from Kay and Jennifer. Our evaluators did an excellent job of providing supportive evaluations, while pointing out areas to work on.
Our next meeting is on June 11, and we will hold our club elections at that meeting. See you there!
We had 18 participants in our meeting last night - 17 members and one guest. Attending members: Beth, Charnaie, Alex, Kay, Mike, Emily, Jennifer, Tom, Anne Marie, Ramesh, Arun, Tawana, Rob, Sreeni, Pamela, and Craig. Our guest was Ronald Brunelle, a first-time visitor who was interested to find out more about Toastmasters.
Arun was our Toastmaster for the night. Charnaie led us in a challenging Table Topics, requiring us to assume the role of an author explaining his new book. We heard 3 prepared speeches: an Ice-Breaker from Craig, and speeches from Kay and Jennifer. Our evaluators did an excellent job of providing supportive evaluations, while pointing out areas to work on.
Our next meeting is on June 11, and we will hold our club elections at that meeting. See you there!
Friday, May 15, 2009
May 14 Meeting Notes
We had 14 members at our meeting last night: Rob, Cheryl, Mike, Emily, Jennifer, Kay, Deborah, Kim, Arun, Charnaie, Pete, Sreeni, Craig, and Pam.
Cheryl was our Toastmaster, and she did a great job getting the roster filled. Thanks to everyone who stepped up at the last minute to fill a role. Everyone participated on Table Topics, and we heard a lot of creative speaking on food, led by Deborah as Table Topics Master.
We had 4 prepared speeches, from Rob, Sreeni, Mike, and Kim. Sreeni let us know that he is actually an alien, and Mike gave a dramatic reading of Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Our next meeting is May 28, and we gave 4 more exciting speakers lined up. See you there!
Friday, May 1, 2009
2009-2010 Area Governors
Two Middlesex County Toastmasters will be serving as Area Governors for the 2009-2010 club year.
Rob Schaff, our current club President, will be the new Area Governor for our area, C5. He will be taking the reins from the current AG and Middlesex member Tom Alvord.
Cheryl Mason, our current Vice President of Education, will be the Area Governor for Area B3, the area which includes Cheryl's StanleyWorks club.
Congratulations Rob and Cheryl!
Rob Schaff, our current club President, will be the new Area Governor for our area, C5. He will be taking the reins from the current AG and Middlesex member Tom Alvord.
Cheryl Mason, our current Vice President of Education, will be the Area Governor for Area B3, the area which includes Cheryl's StanleyWorks club.
Congratulations Rob and Cheryl!
2009 Talk Up Toastmasters Award
Middlesex County Toastmasters has achieved the 2009 Talk Up Toastmasters Award, by adding 5 new members in February and March. We received a nice ribbon for our banner, and a free module from the Better Speaker Series.
Special thanks to Jennifer Cimilluca, Pam Mulready, Emily O'Brien, Mike O'Brien, and Leslie Strovas - the five members that joined during this time period.
Special thanks to Jennifer Cimilluca, Pam Mulready, Emily O'Brien, Mike O'Brien, and Leslie Strovas - the five members that joined during this time period.
Monday, April 27, 2009
April 23 Meeting Notes
Last night’s meeting was another full house of 19 members and 5 guests, all exhilarating lots of energy around the room! Visiting from area clubs were: Ute Brinkman, Wallingford Club; and Peter Carpenter and Bill Sullivan, both from Aetna, Hartford. We also had 2 other guests: John and Michelle Syc.
The meeting began with President Rob Schaff pinning Emily O’Brien. Kim Price was a lively Toastmaster for the evening. Dianne Olsen led Table Topics with a challenging game of Jeopardy, giving speakers 6 categories to choose from. Our 4 main speakers were: Jen Cimilluca, guest: Ute Brinkman, Charnaie Gordon, and Rob Schaff. Ute’s years of experience as a speaker, left many in awe over her speech about her violins.
Speech evaluators were: Nancy Green, Beth Legnani, Craig Fresher, and Deborah Nason. General Evaluator, Arun Sodani, then summed up the meeting, bringing it to a smooth closure. As an outsider, one might think Toastmasters would be much to “moil.” However, we have a club full of eager members, always willing to step up to the plate and fulfill roles. This makes our enriched club an easier and more enjoyable experience for all.
Rob’s timely speech of encouraging members to run for officer’s positions was a prelude to our upcoming elections to be held on May 28. Our next meeting will be at The Village at South Farms, May 7th. You don’t want to miss this Speech-A-Thon!
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen, Secretary
The meeting began with President Rob Schaff pinning Emily O’Brien. Kim Price was a lively Toastmaster for the evening. Dianne Olsen led Table Topics with a challenging game of Jeopardy, giving speakers 6 categories to choose from. Our 4 main speakers were: Jen Cimilluca, guest: Ute Brinkman, Charnaie Gordon, and Rob Schaff. Ute’s years of experience as a speaker, left many in awe over her speech about her violins.
Speech evaluators were: Nancy Green, Beth Legnani, Craig Fresher, and Deborah Nason. General Evaluator, Arun Sodani, then summed up the meeting, bringing it to a smooth closure. As an outsider, one might think Toastmasters would be much to “moil.” However, we have a club full of eager members, always willing to step up to the plate and fulfill roles. This makes our enriched club an easier and more enjoyable experience for all.
Rob’s timely speech of encouraging members to run for officer’s positions was a prelude to our upcoming elections to be held on May 28. Our next meeting will be at The Village at South Farms, May 7th. You don’t want to miss this Speech-A-Thon!
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen, Secretary
Monday, April 20, 2009
April 9 Meeting
We had 17 members attend our last meeting on April 9, 2009.
At the beginning of the meeting our President, Rob Schaff, handed out pins to our newest members: Tawana Bourne, Craig Fisher, and Leslie Strovas. Rob commented how the club ordered an abundance of pins this last year and we have had so many new members we need to reorder! We are the only club in District 53 to date that has reached President’s Distinguished Club status this year!
John Keppler was our excellent Toastmaster for the evening. As Table Topics Master, Cheryl Mason presented a theme that was inspired by recent contests, keeping participants thinking on their feet. Prepared speakers were Charnaie Gordon, Pam Mulready, Dianne Olsen and Kay Jeyaplan. Nothing was “feckless” about the speeches or the evaluations led by General Evaluator Peter Plotica, Jeff Lagasse, Charnaie Gordon, Sreeni Voleti, and Ramesh Padavala.
Rob asked Anne-Marie Cannata to speak to the group about her winning experience with her recent speech contests. For anyone thinking about giving a speech contest a try, next time around, she would be a wonderful mentor for it.
Reminders:
April 25th, District 53 Conference
May 7th, Our club Speech-A-Thon
Dianne Olsen, Secretary
At the beginning of the meeting our President, Rob Schaff, handed out pins to our newest members: Tawana Bourne, Craig Fisher, and Leslie Strovas. Rob commented how the club ordered an abundance of pins this last year and we have had so many new members we need to reorder! We are the only club in District 53 to date that has reached President’s Distinguished Club status this year!
John Keppler was our excellent Toastmaster for the evening. As Table Topics Master, Cheryl Mason presented a theme that was inspired by recent contests, keeping participants thinking on their feet. Prepared speakers were Charnaie Gordon, Pam Mulready, Dianne Olsen and Kay Jeyaplan. Nothing was “feckless” about the speeches or the evaluations led by General Evaluator Peter Plotica, Jeff Lagasse, Charnaie Gordon, Sreeni Voleti, and Ramesh Padavala.
Rob asked Anne-Marie Cannata to speak to the group about her winning experience with her recent speech contests. For anyone thinking about giving a speech contest a try, next time around, she would be a wonderful mentor for it.
Reminders:
April 25th, District 53 Conference
May 7th, Our club Speech-A-Thon
Dianne Olsen, Secretary
Friday, March 27, 2009
March 26 Meeting
Last night our meeting was a full house once again! There was some talk we may need to relocate to a bigger room to accommodate our large, successful meetings! We have been averaging at least two new members a meeting, for the last few meetings. Last night was no exception! We welcome three new members to our club: Jennifer Cimilluca, Greg Fresher, and Tawana Bourne. Congratulations to you all for joining and participating so quickly in Table Topics!
We had a total of 18 members in attendance, including the three new members! Tom Alvord was outstanding as Toastmaster, leading the group with scintillating energy! As TableTopics Master, Arun did a fantastic job raising it to another level. Speeches were given by: Beth Legnani, Rob Schaff, Erik Jarboe, and Dianne Olsen. Evaluators were: General Evaluator: John Keppler, Kay Jeyapalan, Cheryl Mason, Mike O’Brien, and Anne-Marie Cammarata. The speeches and evaluations were all enjoyed by the audience!
Tom Alvord and Dianne Olsen have been working together the last two months to give our mentoring program a little more structure. They introduced the new program last night as one of the presentations. Our club is growing by leaps and bounds! With the growing pace of new members, if we are to continue the level of excellence the club has today, we can no longer rely on the same few people to do all the mentoring for new members.
All of us want to continued to be mentored as we reach different levels in Toastmasters, yet, we need to do a better job of involving more club members as mentors for new members. Members who have been in the club for 6 months and more can qualify to mentor new incoming members. Tom and Dianne will be personally contacting qualified members to consider mentoring a new member. That way, we will be able to use our “more advanced” members to mentor our “intermediate” members and allow our club to continue to grow in numbers and successes.
Reminders:
Come out and support Anne-Marie Commarata on April 2nd, for the Division Contest in Newington. Tom Alvord has forwarded directions.
April 25th, District Conference, Norwich
Our own club Speech-A-Thon will be May 7th at the Village at South Farms (we will not be meeting at MXCC that week).
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen
Secretary, Middlesex County Toastmasters
We had a total of 18 members in attendance, including the three new members! Tom Alvord was outstanding as Toastmaster, leading the group with scintillating energy! As TableTopics Master, Arun did a fantastic job raising it to another level. Speeches were given by: Beth Legnani, Rob Schaff, Erik Jarboe, and Dianne Olsen. Evaluators were: General Evaluator: John Keppler, Kay Jeyapalan, Cheryl Mason, Mike O’Brien, and Anne-Marie Cammarata. The speeches and evaluations were all enjoyed by the audience!
Tom Alvord and Dianne Olsen have been working together the last two months to give our mentoring program a little more structure. They introduced the new program last night as one of the presentations. Our club is growing by leaps and bounds! With the growing pace of new members, if we are to continue the level of excellence the club has today, we can no longer rely on the same few people to do all the mentoring for new members.
All of us want to continued to be mentored as we reach different levels in Toastmasters, yet, we need to do a better job of involving more club members as mentors for new members. Members who have been in the club for 6 months and more can qualify to mentor new incoming members. Tom and Dianne will be personally contacting qualified members to consider mentoring a new member. That way, we will be able to use our “more advanced” members to mentor our “intermediate” members and allow our club to continue to grow in numbers and successes.
Reminders:
Come out and support Anne-Marie Commarata on April 2nd, for the Division Contest in Newington. Tom Alvord has forwarded directions.
April 25th, District Conference, Norwich
Our own club Speech-A-Thon will be May 7th at the Village at South Farms (we will not be meeting at MXCC that week).
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen
Secretary, Middlesex County Toastmasters
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Anne-Marie Sweeps Area Contest
The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club was a great hit last night at the Area C5 Contest in Wallingford. Eleven of our members went and supported Anne-Marie Cannata as she competed in both the Table Topics and International Speech Contests. She was amazing in both her speeches and it was no surprise when she won First Place, again, in both contests! Anne-Marie’s father was in the audience, too, beaming with pride.
Anne-Marie is eligible to compete in the Division Contest which will be held April 2nd in Newington. The winner of that contest will compete at the Spring Conference in Norwich on April 25th. The winner from the conference will compete in the Region 6 Contest on June 6th in Canada. All Regional finalists will be eligible for the International Conference at Foxwoods Resort & Casino, August 12th – 15th.
Thank you to all the members who were able to attend last night’s event. Congratulations Anne-Marie!
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen
Anne-Marie is eligible to compete in the Division Contest which will be held April 2nd in Newington. The winner of that contest will compete at the Spring Conference in Norwich on April 25th. The winner from the conference will compete in the Region 6 Contest on June 6th in Canada. All Regional finalists will be eligible for the International Conference at Foxwoods Resort & Casino, August 12th – 15th.
Thank you to all the members who were able to attend last night’s event. Congratulations Anne-Marie!
Respectfully,
Dianne Olsen
Friday, March 13, 2009
March 12 Meeting
We had another terrific meeting, with 20 participants - 14 members and 6 guests.
Three guests were back for a second visit: Michael O'Brien, Emily O'Brien, and Jennifer Cimilluca. Mike and Emily joined our club at the end of the meeting, and Jennifer indicated that she planned to join at the next meeting.
Our first time visitors were Barry Gordon, Brian Pollard, and Rita Allaire.
Arun Sodani was our Toastmaster, and Tom Alvord was the General Evaluator. Deborah Nason took her first turn as Table Topics master, and her questions on the theme of Community evoked some great personal anecdotes from our participants.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, Kim Price, and Anne Marie Cannata. Charnaie wowed us with a powerful Ice Breaker. Anne Marie got in one last practice before the Area Contest on Monday, 3/16, in Wallingford.
Thanks for everyone for signing up for speaking slots in advance. We now have so much demand for speaking slots, we are looking to add a special Speechathon meeting on May 7. More details to come, once we confirm the location.
Three guests were back for a second visit: Michael O'Brien, Emily O'Brien, and Jennifer Cimilluca. Mike and Emily joined our club at the end of the meeting, and Jennifer indicated that she planned to join at the next meeting.
Our first time visitors were Barry Gordon, Brian Pollard, and Rita Allaire.
Arun Sodani was our Toastmaster, and Tom Alvord was the General Evaluator. Deborah Nason took her first turn as Table Topics master, and her questions on the theme of Community evoked some great personal anecdotes from our participants.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, Kim Price, and Anne Marie Cannata. Charnaie wowed us with a powerful Ice Breaker. Anne Marie got in one last practice before the Area Contest on Monday, 3/16, in Wallingford.
Thanks for everyone for signing up for speaking slots in advance. We now have so much demand for speaking slots, we are looking to add a special Speechathon meeting on May 7. More details to come, once we confirm the location.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Club Speech Contest
We had a fun-tastic Contest Meeting last night with 18 members and 2 guests. Thanks to Cheryl Mason for an outstanding job and all the prep work she did ahead of time. Our guests included Victoria Schaff and first time visitor, Craig Fisher.
Kim Price was the Contest Master and he did an excellent job keeping the meeting in order and flowing. Jeff Lagasse was Sargeant at Arms. He was in and out of the room as he kept participants occupied during speeches. As Chief Judge, Tom Alvord did a terrific job keeping track of the judges, timers, and ballot counters.
Now for the exciting part of the evening – our 2 contests! Anne-Marie Cannata had an awesome evening, taking home first place for both the Table Topics and International Speeches! Double congratulations to Anne-Marie! Other winners for the Table Topics Contest went to Arun Sodani for second place and Rob Schaff, third place. Rob Schaff also took home second place for the International Contest! The speeches were all entertaining and very much enjoyed by the audience!
A huge thank you to everyone for making the Contest Meeting successful and fun!
Kim Price was the Contest Master and he did an excellent job keeping the meeting in order and flowing. Jeff Lagasse was Sargeant at Arms. He was in and out of the room as he kept participants occupied during speeches. As Chief Judge, Tom Alvord did a terrific job keeping track of the judges, timers, and ballot counters.
Now for the exciting part of the evening – our 2 contests! Anne-Marie Cannata had an awesome evening, taking home first place for both the Table Topics and International Speeches! Double congratulations to Anne-Marie! Other winners for the Table Topics Contest went to Arun Sodani for second place and Rob Schaff, third place. Rob Schaff also took home second place for the International Contest! The speeches were all entertaining and very much enjoyed by the audience!
A huge thank you to everyone for making the Contest Meeting successful and fun!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Meeting, February 12
We had an unusual night with almost as many guests as we had members: 11 members and 8 guests! Our guests were: Jennifer Cimillca, Michael O’Brien, Emily O’Brien, Leslie Strovas, Victoria Schaff, Pamela Mulready, Minyan Zhu, and Terese Rogers.
Pamela and Leslie came as guests but signed up to become new members! Welcome Pamela and Leslie!
Our President, Rob Schaff, motivated the club as he announced we now have 8 Club Points toward Distinguished Club. Other members chimed in that we are ahead of schedule to date!
Erik Jarboe was very comfortable in his role of Toastmaster for the second time. He thanked Tom Alvord and John Kepler for taking on roles that needed to be filled at the last minute, like true Toastmasters!
Rob was our Table Topics Master using an interesting spin on the movie, “Rocky.” Several of the guests eagerly participated.
Our four speakers were: John Kepler, Peter Plotica, Erik Jarboe, and Ann Marie Cannata. This was Ann Marie’s 10th and final speech in the CC Manual. Congratulations Ann Marie!
Cheryl Mason was our General Evaluator. It had been mentioned at the last meeting that the club, as a whole, needed to work on giving evaluations. Erik gave a timely speech on evaluations from information he had received at the training last month in Manchester. John also commented that all of the evaluations had been under time, less than 2 to 3 minutes.
Pamela and Leslie came as guests but signed up to become new members! Welcome Pamela and Leslie!
Our President, Rob Schaff, motivated the club as he announced we now have 8 Club Points toward Distinguished Club. Other members chimed in that we are ahead of schedule to date!
Erik Jarboe was very comfortable in his role of Toastmaster for the second time. He thanked Tom Alvord and John Kepler for taking on roles that needed to be filled at the last minute, like true Toastmasters!
Rob was our Table Topics Master using an interesting spin on the movie, “Rocky.” Several of the guests eagerly participated.
Our four speakers were: John Kepler, Peter Plotica, Erik Jarboe, and Ann Marie Cannata. This was Ann Marie’s 10th and final speech in the CC Manual. Congratulations Ann Marie!
Cheryl Mason was our General Evaluator. It had been mentioned at the last meeting that the club, as a whole, needed to work on giving evaluations. Erik gave a timely speech on evaluations from information he had received at the training last month in Manchester. John also commented that all of the evaluations had been under time, less than 2 to 3 minutes.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Winter 2009 Officer Training
More than 100 Toastmasters from District 53, Divisions B & C, went to Manchester on Saturday, January 24th, for officer’s training. All members were invited to the “magnificent breakfast” and 3 hour session. Five members from our Middlesex Club participated: Rob Schaff, Tom Alvord, John Keppler, Dianne Olsen and Erik Jarboe. All of them agreed it was time well spent.
There will be more opportunities for Officer Training and Conferences coming up. All members are encouraged to attend
There will be more opportunities for Officer Training and Conferences coming up. All members are encouraged to attend
January 22 Meeting
As usual, the Middlesex Toastmasters Meeting was filled with interesting topics, humor and camaraderie. There were 12 members and three guests present. Our guests were: Victoria Schaff, Pamela Mulready and Sharon Bride-Caltabiano. We hope to see all our guests back at our next meeting!
Our President, Rob Schaff, began the meeting by presenting membership pins to our two newest members: Charnaie Gordon and Bob Makkencherry. Rob also presented pins to current members who had not yet received theirs: Kaylani Jeyapalan and Dianne Olsen.
Beth Legnani did an amazing job for her first time as Toastmaster! Her speech was eloquent and she did a great job with current events and making the meeting flow. Congratulations, Beth!
Kim Price was our Table Topics Master. Kim appropriately used a presidential theme and challenged members with interesting questions about the history of our presidential election which was held two days prior to our meeting.
We heard from 4 prepared speakers: Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Dianne Olsen, and Anne Marie Cannata, using a variety of manuals for their guidelines.
Cheryl Mason was the General Evaluator for the evening. One of the issues Cheryl raised was how the club, as a whole, could benefit from some training in doing evaluations. It was well received by the membership.
Special points of interest:
· March 26th Speech Contest
· April 25th Spring Conference, Holiday Inn, Norwich
· August 12 –15th International Conference, Foxwoods Resort & Casino
Next Meeting - February 12, 2009
Our President, Rob Schaff, began the meeting by presenting membership pins to our two newest members: Charnaie Gordon and Bob Makkencherry. Rob also presented pins to current members who had not yet received theirs: Kaylani Jeyapalan and Dianne Olsen.
Beth Legnani did an amazing job for her first time as Toastmaster! Her speech was eloquent and she did a great job with current events and making the meeting flow. Congratulations, Beth!
Kim Price was our Table Topics Master. Kim appropriately used a presidential theme and challenged members with interesting questions about the history of our presidential election which was held two days prior to our meeting.
We heard from 4 prepared speakers: Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Dianne Olsen, and Anne Marie Cannata, using a variety of manuals for their guidelines.
Cheryl Mason was the General Evaluator for the evening. One of the issues Cheryl raised was how the club, as a whole, could benefit from some training in doing evaluations. It was well received by the membership.
Special points of interest:
· March 26th Speech Contest
· April 25th Spring Conference, Holiday Inn, Norwich
· August 12 –15th International Conference, Foxwoods Resort & Casino
Next Meeting - February 12, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Meeting Jan 8, 2009
We are off to a great start in 2009. We had 18 members at our meeting last night, including 4 guests.
As Club President, I was happy to catch up on the backlog of membership pins. I still have a couple of members to catch up with, as well as new member Charnaie Gordon, who joined last night. I was also happy to announce that Dianne Olsen has agreed to fill our open Club Secretary position.
Anne Marie Cannata was our Table Topics master, and she used a Dental Hygiene theme to tie together the Table Topics, the Word of the Day, and her prepared speech. And she gave us treats! Lots of good dentist stories ensued.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Deborah Nason, Cheryl Mason, Erik Jarboe, and Anne Marie Cannata. Deborah did a great job with her Ice-Breaker - congratulations!
Our next meeting is January 22. There are plenty of open roles, so sign up on-line!
Upcoming events:
- Jan. 17: District 53 2009 Kickoff, Hartford
- Jan. 24: District 53 Leadership Exchange, Manchester
- Feb. 26: Club Speech Contest
Bad Weather Policy
In case of bad weather on a meeting day, our policy is to follow Middlesex Community College. If MxCC is closed, our meeting is canceled. If MxCC is open, the meeting is still on.
Middlesex Community College posts their cancellation messages on the college’s main telephone number (860-343-5800) and on the MxCC website at www.mxcc.commnet.edu .
They also send notice to the following radio and television stations:
Radio Stations
WMRD 1150 am
WDRC 102.9 fm and 1360 am
WMMW 1470 am
WRCH 100.5 fm
WTIC 1080 am, 96.5 fm
WZMX 93.7 fm
WELI 960 am, WKCI 101 fm
Television Stations
WFSB - 3
WTNH - 8
WVIT - 30
As Club President, I was happy to catch up on the backlog of membership pins. I still have a couple of members to catch up with, as well as new member Charnaie Gordon, who joined last night. I was also happy to announce that Dianne Olsen has agreed to fill our open Club Secretary position.
Anne Marie Cannata was our Table Topics master, and she used a Dental Hygiene theme to tie together the Table Topics, the Word of the Day, and her prepared speech. And she gave us treats! Lots of good dentist stories ensued.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Deborah Nason, Cheryl Mason, Erik Jarboe, and Anne Marie Cannata. Deborah did a great job with her Ice-Breaker - congratulations!
Our next meeting is January 22. There are plenty of open roles, so sign up on-line!
Upcoming events:
- Jan. 17: District 53 2009 Kickoff, Hartford
- Jan. 24: District 53 Leadership Exchange, Manchester
- Feb. 26: Club Speech Contest
Bad Weather Policy
In case of bad weather on a meeting day, our policy is to follow Middlesex Community College. If MxCC is closed, our meeting is canceled. If MxCC is open, the meeting is still on.
Middlesex Community College posts their cancellation messages on the college’s main telephone number (860-343-5800) and on the MxCC website at www.mxcc.commnet.edu .
They also send notice to the following radio and television stations:
Radio Stations
WMRD 1150 am
WDRC 102.9 fm and 1360 am
WMMW 1470 am
WRCH 100.5 fm
WTIC 1080 am, 96.5 fm
WZMX 93.7 fm
WELI 960 am, WKCI 101 fm
Television Stations
WFSB - 3
WTNH - 8
WVIT - 30
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