Meeting Notes - July 14

The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, July 14, for the first meeting of the new Toastmasters club year. 13 members and 3 guests turned out to our summer quarters at Luther Ridge.

Club President Kay Jeyapalan introduced our theme for the 2011-2012 club year, "Dance as if no one is watching you." Kay spoke about the importance and challenges of being yourself when speaking in front of a group. This will be a challenge for all of us this year.

Arun Sodani was our Toastmaster. Arun did a great job of explaining each part of our meeting for our 3 guests, 2 who were attending their first Toastmasters meeting. Wordmaster Tom Alvord presented a word that everyone in the club could relate to, "glossophobia", which means fear of public speaking. Michael O'Brien was our Table Topics Master, and he presented a set of interesting and thought provoking questions to both members and guests.

Prepared speeches:
- Judy Thompson presented her second speech from the CC manual, "Wanna Yak?", about the process of getting started with kayaking. Judy was evaluated by Tom.
- Rob Schaff presented a speech of the pros and cons of Facebook as tool for promoting the club. Rob was evaluated by Michael O'Brien.
- Ramesh Padavala presented his 9th speech from the CC manual, "How to Save Gas While Driving". Ramesh was evaluated by Jonathan Herron.
- Jennifer Cimilluca presented a Folk Tale from the Storytelling Advance Manual, "Hansel and Gretel". She was evaluated by Kay.

All of our guests commented on the fact that everyone had a chance to speak at this meeting, and they liked the way that everyone had an opportunity to be involved.

Members Present: Tom Alvord, John Bell, Jay Broderick, Jennifer Cimilluca, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, and Judy Thompson.

Guests Present: Adam Herman, Lori Miano, Chris Sullivan

Our next meeting will be on July 28 at The Village at South Farms.

"You've gotta' dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.
(And speak from the heart to be heard.)”
-William W. Purkey

Respectfully submitted,

Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB
Club Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters