The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club held its Fall 2010 Evaluation and Humorous Contests on Thursday, September 23rd.
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Anthony Elder, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, Jackie Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Pam Mulready, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, Jeannette White.
Guests: Yolanda Lowe (who joined the club after the meeting).
Business Meeting: Greg Kline from the Middlesex County Community College Foundation came to our meeting to accept our donation. $300 was presented to the Foundation as appreciation for the College’s allowing us to use the meeting space free of charge during the college’s academic year. Mr. Kline offered some history of the College, and some perspective on the College’s strategic plan as it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016.
The Fall 2010 Evaluation and Humorous Contests:
Our Contest Chair was Kay Jeyapalan, our Chief Judge was Charnaie Gordon, and our Contest Master was Jennifer Cimilluca.
Kim Price was the test speaker for the Evaluation Contest. His speech was entitled, “Do You Really Wanna Know?” The Evaluation Contest contestants were Arun Sodani, Ann-Marie Cannata, Rob Schaff, and Michael O’Brien.
The Evaluation Contest winners:
Rob Schaff
Michael O’Brien
Anne-Marie Cannata
The Humorous Contest had five contestants: Anthony Elder (“Grandkids”), Murugan Pachaiyappan (“LA to NY Travel Experience”), Michael Nicastre (“The Low Road to Higher Education OR How I Became the Man I am Today”), Rob Schaff (“Good Evening, Sir”), and Pam Mulready (“An Apple A Day”).
The Humorous Contest winners:
Rob Schaff
Michael Nicastre
Anthony Elder
Many thanks to all those who assisted with the contest – our Sergeant-At-Arms, Ramesh Padavala; our timers, Jackie Kirwin and Siva Digavalli; our ballot counters, Emily O’Brien, Sally Nicastre, and Jeannette White; and our judges.
Rob and Michael O'Brien will represent the Middlesex County Toastmasters at the Area C5 Evaluation Contest on Thursday, October 7th, at the Cromwell Community Toastmasters Club (Cromwell Town Hall) at 7pm. If either is unable to attend, then Anne-Marie will compete. Rob and Michael Nicastre will represent us in the Humorous Contest, with Anthony competing if either is unable to.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
September 9 - Meeting Notes
The Middlesex County Toastmasters welcomed many guests and a special speaker, Jerry Theodorou, to our meeting on Thursday, September 9th.
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Anthony Elder, Charnaie Gordon, Erik Jarboe, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jackie Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Pam Mulready, Deborah Nason, Michael Nicastre, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani.
Guests: Venessa Bromell, Christopher Cargnel, Gail Freeman, Norris Haynes, Kristoffer Jensen, Jessica Maxan, Abhijit Mhetre, Ewa Nowale, Frances Ocansey, Murugan Pachaiyappan (a former Mx County Toastmaster), Dave Pelland, Kasia Polak, Paul Rice, Barakah White.
Business Meeting: Charnaie welcomed our many guests, and Erik (a returning member) was given a new member pin and welcomed back. Charnaie gave us an update on how our club is progressing in the Distinguished Club Program. So far, we have three points for the year.
We are back to meeting at Middlesex Community College, with two exceptions in the near future: we have an extra “speech-a-thon meeting” on September 30th at the Village of South Farms, and our October 28th meeting location is still TBD.
There is an officers’ meeting on October 5th, at the Russell Library from 6:30-8pm. Club members with any feedback or concerns are encouraged to see a club officer prior to the meeting.
On November 11th, we will be having another special guest. Isaak Gelbinovich will be presenting "Storytelling Secrets of the Masters".
Our VPE, Kay, spoke about the Humorous and Evaluation contests, which will be held at our next meeting on September 23rd. Timers and ballot counters are needed (sign ups available for these roles on the club website). Contest judges are also needed—please email Kay if you are interested in being a judge.
Our mentoring program coordinator, Pam, reminded us she is still collecting surveys for prospective mentors/mentees. Those members interested in being a mentor should have already given three speeches.
Charnaie was our evening’s Toastmaster.
Meeting:
Jackie did probably the most thorough presentation of the Word of the Day the club has ever seen. “Malapropism” means usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase.
Our Invocator, Pam, gave us words of wisdom from a new client she had met earlier that day.
Our Humorist Tom had us laughing over a teenager scoring a great truck at a naughty husband’s expense.
Our Table Topics Master Cheryl put us in pairs for everyday (and not-so-everyday) situations. Up to the challenge were Kim and Deborah; Jen and Jay; Pete and Michael Nicastre; Siva and Erik; our guests Abijit and Dave; Rob and our guest Ewa; and Murali and Murugan.
Prepared Speeches:
Anthony presented his second speech from the Competent Communicator manual, “Everyone Can’t Be Rich, but Everyone can be a Success”, which was evaluated by Arun. Kay presented the first speech from the Speaking to Inform manual, “Numbers can Tell Stories.” Her speech was evaluated by Anne-Marie.
Our special guest speaker for the evening was Jerry Theodorou, who gave a vocal clinic for speakers. His presentation gave three common pitfalls for speakers and exercises to help overcome them: Mumbling/Garbled Indistinct Speech; Unprojected Sound Stuck in the Throat; and the Foreign Accent. It was an excellent presentation. Jerry brought a handout that will be available at our next meeting for those members unable to attend.
The General Evaluator was John. He thanked Charnaie for her efforts in bringing Jerry to the meeting and for all of her hard work in putting the meeting together. John gave kudos to Jackie for her excellent presentation of the Word of the Day and bringing four guests to the meeting (also some food!), also to Cheryl for her Table Topics.
Our technicians were Anthony (the Ah Counter), Pam (the Grammarian), and Michael O’Brien (the Timer).
Kay presented Erik with his “1/2 CC” certificate which he earned before his sabbatical from Toastmasters, and also a “1/2 CC” certificate to Ramesh. Congratulations to both!
Charnaie gave Jerry an appreciation gift to Jerry. It was a mug with the most appropriate saying: “Find Your Voice”. Many thanks to Jerry for a very enjoyable and helpful program.
The meeting ended at approximately 9:05pm.
Please advise any errors or omissions.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Anthony Elder, Charnaie Gordon, Erik Jarboe, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jackie Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Pam Mulready, Deborah Nason, Michael Nicastre, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Pete Plotica, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani.
Guests: Venessa Bromell, Christopher Cargnel, Gail Freeman, Norris Haynes, Kristoffer Jensen, Jessica Maxan, Abhijit Mhetre, Ewa Nowale, Frances Ocansey, Murugan Pachaiyappan (a former Mx County Toastmaster), Dave Pelland, Kasia Polak, Paul Rice, Barakah White.
Business Meeting: Charnaie welcomed our many guests, and Erik (a returning member) was given a new member pin and welcomed back. Charnaie gave us an update on how our club is progressing in the Distinguished Club Program. So far, we have three points for the year.
We are back to meeting at Middlesex Community College, with two exceptions in the near future: we have an extra “speech-a-thon meeting” on September 30th at the Village of South Farms, and our October 28th meeting location is still TBD.
There is an officers’ meeting on October 5th, at the Russell Library from 6:30-8pm. Club members with any feedback or concerns are encouraged to see a club officer prior to the meeting.
On November 11th, we will be having another special guest. Isaak Gelbinovich will be presenting "Storytelling Secrets of the Masters".
Our VPE, Kay, spoke about the Humorous and Evaluation contests, which will be held at our next meeting on September 23rd. Timers and ballot counters are needed (sign ups available for these roles on the club website). Contest judges are also needed—please email Kay if you are interested in being a judge.
Our mentoring program coordinator, Pam, reminded us she is still collecting surveys for prospective mentors/mentees. Those members interested in being a mentor should have already given three speeches.
Charnaie was our evening’s Toastmaster.
Meeting:
Jackie did probably the most thorough presentation of the Word of the Day the club has ever seen. “Malapropism” means usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase.
Our Invocator, Pam, gave us words of wisdom from a new client she had met earlier that day.
Our Humorist Tom had us laughing over a teenager scoring a great truck at a naughty husband’s expense.
Our Table Topics Master Cheryl put us in pairs for everyday (and not-so-everyday) situations. Up to the challenge were Kim and Deborah; Jen and Jay; Pete and Michael Nicastre; Siva and Erik; our guests Abijit and Dave; Rob and our guest Ewa; and Murali and Murugan.
Prepared Speeches:
Anthony presented his second speech from the Competent Communicator manual, “Everyone Can’t Be Rich, but Everyone can be a Success”, which was evaluated by Arun. Kay presented the first speech from the Speaking to Inform manual, “Numbers can Tell Stories.” Her speech was evaluated by Anne-Marie.
Our special guest speaker for the evening was Jerry Theodorou, who gave a vocal clinic for speakers. His presentation gave three common pitfalls for speakers and exercises to help overcome them: Mumbling/Garbled Indistinct Speech; Unprojected Sound Stuck in the Throat; and the Foreign Accent. It was an excellent presentation. Jerry brought a handout that will be available at our next meeting for those members unable to attend.
The General Evaluator was John. He thanked Charnaie for her efforts in bringing Jerry to the meeting and for all of her hard work in putting the meeting together. John gave kudos to Jackie for her excellent presentation of the Word of the Day and bringing four guests to the meeting (also some food!), also to Cheryl for her Table Topics.
Our technicians were Anthony (the Ah Counter), Pam (the Grammarian), and Michael O’Brien (the Timer).
Kay presented Erik with his “1/2 CC” certificate which he earned before his sabbatical from Toastmasters, and also a “1/2 CC” certificate to Ramesh. Congratulations to both!
Charnaie gave Jerry an appreciation gift to Jerry. It was a mug with the most appropriate saying: “Find Your Voice”. Many thanks to Jerry for a very enjoyable and helpful program.
The meeting ended at approximately 9:05pm.
Please advise any errors or omissions.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Meeting Notes, August 26, 2010
The Middlesex County Toastmasters last met on Thursday, August 26.
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Anthony Elder, Charnaie Gordon, Lawrence Gore, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jackie Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Erin Mulhern, Pam Mulready, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Rob Schaff, Jeannette White.
Guests: Alfredo Herreira, Udaya Neelam (Area C-5 Governor).
Business Meeting: Charnaie has updated us on how our club is “Branching Out” in the Distinguished Club Program. So far, we have three points for the year.
Our September – December meetings will be held at Middlesex Community College, starting on September 9th. Our October 28th meeting location is TBD.
There is an officers’ meeting on October 5th, at the Russell Library from 6:30-8pm. Club members are encouraged to give any feedback to a club officer prior to the meeting.
Club dues are up for renewal in September. Renewals for the October – March period are $33 ($27 to Toastmasters International and $6 retained for the club). Also, we are taking up a collection to thank Middlesex Community College for allowing us to use meeting space there. MxCC’s Greg Klein will be coming to our September 23rd meeting to accept the donation. Please note: Checks should be made payable to the Middlesex County College Foundation. John is collecting both the club dues and the collection for the college foundation.
We will have a special guest speaker at our next meeting on September 9th. Jerry Theodorou, a trained opera singer, will be giving us techniques on how we can more effectively use our voices. Toastmasters from all over the district have been invited and we hope to have a packed house!
Tom spoke about our upcoming hike at Wadsworth State Park on Sunday, September 12th, from 1-3pm. It will be about three miles long. Toastmasters from Holy Apostles, Cromwell, Eagle, and Cheshire Toastmasters have been invited to join us, so we should have lots of company on a fun day. Anyone interested or needing more information should see Tom.
Our mentoring program coordinator, Pam, passed out a survey for prospective mentors/mentees. These surveys should be returned to Pam as soon as possible.
Our VPE, Kay, spoke about the Humorous and Evaluation contests, which will be held on September 23rd. A chief judge, timers, ballot counters, and a sergeant at arms are needed. To sign up for one of these roles, please go to the club website. Contest judges are also needed—please email Kay if you are interested in being a judge.
We will having an extra meeting on September 30th, at the Village of South Farms. It will be a “speechathon” meeting, with up to eight speakers. Signups are now available on the club website.
Tom Alvord was the evening’s Toastmaster.
Erin presented the Word of the Day, “inchoate”, meaning not yet completed or fully developed, rudimentary, just begun, incipient, not organized.
Our Invocator, John, told us “life is about expectations”, and reminded us how our positive and negative expectations affect what happens in our lives.
Our Humorist (and new member), Jackie, gave us many great examples of just how bizarre the English language really is at times. She had us rolling with laughter.
Our Table Topics Master, Charnaie, asked “If your fill in blank could talk, what it would it say about your ___________?” Lawrence was asked about his stove, our guest Udaya his brain, and Rob his phone. Sally was asked about her hair, our guest Alfredo his wardrobe, and Siva his eyes. Murali was asked about his pen, and Michael Nicastre was asked about his stomach.
Prepared Speeches:
Jennifer’s speech answered the question, “Who the heck were the Mansfields?” and was evaluated by Udaya.
Anthony wowed us with his Icebreaker, “Disadvantage to Advantage”. His speech was evaluated by John.
Pam presented her seventh speech, “Angry? Don’t get Even…Get Speaking!, which gave very effective anger management techniques and dispelled a myth or two. Her speech was evaluated by Cheryl.
Michael O’Brien’s speech, “30 Days to Success”, was evaluated by Erin.
The General Evaluator was Rob. He commented on how much he liked John’s invocation, adding that if you expect a good meeting, you will get one (and we did!). He praised club members for being willing to step up and fill in, noting that Tom stepped in as Toastmaster at the last minute. Rob also noted Charnaie’s excellent Table Topics questions, saying it was terrific to learn so much about our club members. He also commended the speech evaluators.
Our technicians were Jeanette as Timer, Kay as Grammarian, and Ramesh as Ah Counter.
Kay presented Anthony and Jackie with their new member pins. She also presented Ice Breaker candies to Anthony – along with congratulations on an excellent speech.
Guest comments: Alfredo used the words, “wonderful” and “animated” to describe the meeting.
Udaya said it was a pleasure to be there, adding comments on how well organized the meeting was, and energetic.
The meeting concluded shortly after 9pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Anthony Elder, Charnaie Gordon, Lawrence Gore, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jackie Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Erin Mulhern, Pam Mulready, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Rob Schaff, Jeannette White.
Guests: Alfredo Herreira, Udaya Neelam (Area C-5 Governor).
Business Meeting: Charnaie has updated us on how our club is “Branching Out” in the Distinguished Club Program. So far, we have three points for the year.
Our September – December meetings will be held at Middlesex Community College, starting on September 9th. Our October 28th meeting location is TBD.
There is an officers’ meeting on October 5th, at the Russell Library from 6:30-8pm. Club members are encouraged to give any feedback to a club officer prior to the meeting.
Club dues are up for renewal in September. Renewals for the October – March period are $33 ($27 to Toastmasters International and $6 retained for the club). Also, we are taking up a collection to thank Middlesex Community College for allowing us to use meeting space there. MxCC’s Greg Klein will be coming to our September 23rd meeting to accept the donation. Please note: Checks should be made payable to the Middlesex County College Foundation. John is collecting both the club dues and the collection for the college foundation.
We will have a special guest speaker at our next meeting on September 9th. Jerry Theodorou, a trained opera singer, will be giving us techniques on how we can more effectively use our voices. Toastmasters from all over the district have been invited and we hope to have a packed house!
Tom spoke about our upcoming hike at Wadsworth State Park on Sunday, September 12th, from 1-3pm. It will be about three miles long. Toastmasters from Holy Apostles, Cromwell, Eagle, and Cheshire Toastmasters have been invited to join us, so we should have lots of company on a fun day. Anyone interested or needing more information should see Tom.
Our mentoring program coordinator, Pam, passed out a survey for prospective mentors/mentees. These surveys should be returned to Pam as soon as possible.
Our VPE, Kay, spoke about the Humorous and Evaluation contests, which will be held on September 23rd. A chief judge, timers, ballot counters, and a sergeant at arms are needed. To sign up for one of these roles, please go to the club website. Contest judges are also needed—please email Kay if you are interested in being a judge.
We will having an extra meeting on September 30th, at the Village of South Farms. It will be a “speechathon” meeting, with up to eight speakers. Signups are now available on the club website.
Tom Alvord was the evening’s Toastmaster.
Erin presented the Word of the Day, “inchoate”, meaning not yet completed or fully developed, rudimentary, just begun, incipient, not organized.
Our Invocator, John, told us “life is about expectations”, and reminded us how our positive and negative expectations affect what happens in our lives.
Our Humorist (and new member), Jackie, gave us many great examples of just how bizarre the English language really is at times. She had us rolling with laughter.
Our Table Topics Master, Charnaie, asked “If your fill in blank could talk, what it would it say about your ___________?” Lawrence was asked about his stove, our guest Udaya his brain, and Rob his phone. Sally was asked about her hair, our guest Alfredo his wardrobe, and Siva his eyes. Murali was asked about his pen, and Michael Nicastre was asked about his stomach.
Prepared Speeches:
Jennifer’s speech answered the question, “Who the heck were the Mansfields?” and was evaluated by Udaya.
Anthony wowed us with his Icebreaker, “Disadvantage to Advantage”. His speech was evaluated by John.
Pam presented her seventh speech, “Angry? Don’t get Even…Get Speaking!, which gave very effective anger management techniques and dispelled a myth or two. Her speech was evaluated by Cheryl.
Michael O’Brien’s speech, “30 Days to Success”, was evaluated by Erin.
The General Evaluator was Rob. He commented on how much he liked John’s invocation, adding that if you expect a good meeting, you will get one (and we did!). He praised club members for being willing to step up and fill in, noting that Tom stepped in as Toastmaster at the last minute. Rob also noted Charnaie’s excellent Table Topics questions, saying it was terrific to learn so much about our club members. He also commended the speech evaluators.
Our technicians were Jeanette as Timer, Kay as Grammarian, and Ramesh as Ah Counter.
Kay presented Anthony and Jackie with their new member pins. She also presented Ice Breaker candies to Anthony – along with congratulations on an excellent speech.
Guest comments: Alfredo used the words, “wonderful” and “animated” to describe the meeting.
Udaya said it was a pleasure to be there, adding comments on how well organized the meeting was, and energetic.
The meeting concluded shortly after 9pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
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