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
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
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
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