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Meeting Notes - February 23, 2012

The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, February 23, at Middlesex Community College. We had 19 in attendance, 16 members and 3 guests. Our meeting featured a first-time Toastmaster, another Competent Communicator added to our ranks, and a new member joining the club.

Members Present:

Patricia Alston, Tom Alvord, Anne-Marie Cannata, Helen Evrard, Helena Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Mike Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Michael O'Brien, Murali Pemmaraju, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, Chris Sullivan, and Judy Thompson.

Guest Present:

• Kim Toledo, who became our newest club member at the conclusion of the meeting

• Kirti Sodani, who came back for her second visit

• Linnae Gould, a first-time visitor who lives in Portland, CT


At the start of the meeting, Club President Kay Jeyapalan announced that we have officially achieved President's Distinguished Club status. This is the 7th straight year that the club has achieved this highest level of recognition. Congratulations, Middlesex County Toastmasters!
Chris Sullivan was the Toastmaster for this evening. This was Chris's first turn at Toastmaster, and he made it look easy. Murali Pemmaraju provided the invocation, and Helen Evrard provided a humorous story. Murali was the General Evaluator, and was supported by Arun Sodani (Ah-counter), Anne-Marie Cannata (Grammarian), and Helena Grey (Timer).

Kay provided the Word of the Day ("exultant"; overjoyed, thrilled), and the club members did a great job of using the word through-out the meeting. Rob Schaff was the Table-Topics Master, and used a set of inspirational quotes that he received from World Champion of Public Speaking Darren LaCroix as the topics.

Prepared speeches:

• Jonathan Herron presented his 10th speech from the CC manual, earning his Competent Communicator award. His speech, entitled "What Is Your Fairytale?", was evaluated by Kay. Congratulations, Jonathan!

• Tom Alvord gave a speech about his Toyota Prius, which was evaluated by Mike O'Brien.

• Sally Nicastre gave a speech about her experiences on the Connecticut Wine Trail, evaluated by Tom.

• Judy Thompson presented a speech on her trip down the Colorado River, entitled "Never Knew I Was a River Rat." Her speech was evaluated by Michael Nicastre.

Tom talks about his Prius

Our next meeting will be our Spring Club Speech Contest, on Thursday, March 8. We are still looking for contestants for both the International and Tall Tales contests. See you there!

Respectfully submitted,

Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB

Meeting Notes - February 9, 2012

The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, February 9, at Middlesex Community College. Twenty-one public speaking fans were in attendance, including 17 members and 4 wonderful guests. This meeting featured one member giving their very first speech, and one member achieving their Competent Communicator award by giving their 10th speech.

Members Present:

Patricia Alston, Tom Alvord, John Bell, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Omar El-Taliawi, Helen Evrard, Charnaie Gordon, Helena Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, and Chris Sullivan.

Guest Present:

• Mary Essue, who recently moved from Florida to Connecticut

• Dave Pelland, a member of Park City Toastmasters and brother to our own Jennifer Cimilluca

• Kirti Sodani, who is married to long-time club member Arun Sodani

• Kim Toledo, a second-time visitor to our club from Middletown


At the business meeting, Club President Kay Jeyapalan recognized new members Patricia Alston and Helen Evrard with their official membership pins.

Arun Sodani was once again our Toastmaster. Charnaie Gordon provided the invocation, and Ramesh Padavala told a very humorous joke. Jonathan Herron was the General Evaluator, and was supported by Tom Alvord (Ah-counter), Helen Evrard (Grammarian), and Jennifer Cimilluca (Timer). Chris Sullivan provided the Word of the Day ("bombast", pretentious, inflated speech), and Jonathan managed to use the word twice.

Kay Jeyapalan was the Table-Topics Master, and provided a mix of group exercises and solo topics.

Prepared speeches:

• Omar El-Taliawi gave his Ice-Breaker speech, fittingly entitled "A Little About Myself." His speech was evaluated by Helena Grey.

• Rob Schaff gave a speech from the Special Occasions Manual, speaking in praise about "My Marathon Mentor." His speech was evaluated by Kim Price.

• Murali Pemmaraju gave us some insight into his speech preparation methods with a project from the Humorously Speaking advanced manual. His speech was titled, "How I Cook My Speech," and was evaluated by Tom Alvord.

• Helena Grey presented her 10th speech from the CC manual, earning the Competent Communicator award. Her moving speech was titled, "Of Men and Honor", and was evaluated by Charnaie Gordon.


The feedback from our guests shows that our club continues to make visitors feel comfortable and welcome at Middlesex. Our next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 23. See you there!

Respectfully submitted,

Rob
Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB