The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club met on Thursday, October 14th.
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Charnaie Gordon, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jackie Kirwan, Yolanda Lowe, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, and Arun Sodani.
Guests Present: Stacy Davis, Debra Flynn, Jessica Maxan, and Ashley Oliver.
Business Meeting: Charnaie presented a new member pin to Yolanda. She updated us on the club’s progress in the Distinguished Club Program. We have five points so far, and have earned Distinguished Club status again.
The Area C5 contest was held in Cromwell on October 7th, and we have a lot to be proud of. Rob won the Humorous Contest, with Michael Nicastre coming in 2nd place. Michael O’Brien won the Evaluation contest. Rob and Michael O’Brien will next compete in the Division Contest on Monday, October 18th at the Eagles club in Wallingford.
Charnaie mentioned some updates from the club officers’ meeting on October 5th. To sign up for a 5th speaking slot, see Kay or Charnaie. Also, the backup speaking slot might be an opportunity to get a speech in, if a scheduled speaker is unable to attend a meeting. She brought up the possibility of selecting a particular individual to evaluate your speech, if you would like to do so.
Our next meeting will be held Thursday, October 28th, at the Village of South Farms (in the Show Room).
Our VP of Public Relations, Rob, gave us a club calendar for the next few months. Upcoming highlights: November 11th – we will have a guest speaker, Isaak Gelbinovich, offering “Storytelling Secrets”. There will be an extra, “speechathon” meeting on November 18th. The District 53 Fall Conference will be on November 20th, in Fishkill, NY. There will an extra meeting (a movie night) on December 2nd. On January 20th, there will be an extra meeting, a joint speechathon in Cromwell with the Cromwell Community Toastmasters.
Tom Alvord offered a hike recap. On Sunday, October 10th, Tom, Anne-Marie, Ramesh, Murali, and several friends (12 people altogether) hiked up to the Hublein Tower on Talcott Mountain in Simsbury. More dates to come!
Kay presented Tom with a certificate of recognition to Tom for all his efforts in putting the hikes together. She also presented certificates to Michael O’Brien, Michael Nicastre, and Rob for representing our club and doing so well in the area contests.
Club Meeting:
Rob was our Toastmaster. Our invocator was Anne-Marie, who gave us inspiring words from John Lennon, from his song, “Imagine”. Lennon would have been 70 years old on October 9th.
The Word of the Day was offered by Michael Nicastre. He gave us “Extemporaneous”, meaning impromptu, off the cuff, given without notes. In addition to posting the word, he gave us a handout to help us keep the word in mind.
Our Humorist, Siva, gave us three political anecdotes including an exchange between Benjamin Disreali and William Gladstone, and words from Mohandas Gandhi.
Tom was our Table Topics Master. He gave autumn themed questions to John; our guests Ashley, Stacy, and Deb; Arun; and Kim.
We had four prepared speeches:
Charnaie gave a speech from the Special Occasion Speeches manual, “Mastering the Toast”. Her speech was evaluated by Anne-Marie.
Jackie presented her Ice-Breaker, “My Search for Meaning: What I have Learned from My Favorite Book.” Rob evaluated Jackie’s speech.
Kay presented “The Toastmasters Educational Program” from the Successful Club Series. Her speech was evaluated by Murali.
Anne-Marie gave a speech, “Proper Flossing,” that was evaluated by Mike O'Brien.
Jen was our General Evaluator. Our technicians were Ramesh (Ah Counter), Siva (Grammarian), and Charnaie (Timer).
Jen’s evaluation of the meeting noted that as usual, club members were very supportive of each other. There were signs and banners congratulating Rob, Michael O’Brien, and Mike Nicastre for their performance in the Area Contest. Members stepped in to fill in roles, as Anne-Marie and Siva stepped in to fill a speaking slot and the grammarian role, respectively. Members were willing to evaluate each other in speaking roles and for the CL manual.
Comments from our guests: Stacy said she enjoyed it. Ashley thought it was great. Deb just loved it, and said that she will be back.
The meeting concluded on time.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Area C5 Fall Contest
Cromwell Community Toastmasters hosted the Area C5 Fall Contest on October 7. There were 27 people in attendance, including Dave Wheeler, District 53 Governor, and Cheryl Mason, Division C Governor.
Here are the results:
Evaluation Contest
1st - Michael O'Brien, Middlesex County Toastmasters
2nd - Kate Kelly, Eagle Toastmasters
3rd - Rachel Mele, Eagle Toastmasters
Humorous Speech Contest
1st - Rob Schaff, Middlesex County Toastmasters
2nd - Mike Nicastre, Middlesex County Toastmasters
3rd - Biju Kunjummen, Eagle Toastmasters
The winners will move on to the Division C Contest, Monday, October 18th, hosted by Eagle Toastmasters in Wallingford, CT.
Here are the results:
Evaluation Contest
1st - Michael O'Brien, Middlesex County Toastmasters
2nd - Kate Kelly, Eagle Toastmasters
3rd - Rachel Mele, Eagle Toastmasters
Humorous Speech Contest
1st - Rob Schaff, Middlesex County Toastmasters
2nd - Mike Nicastre, Middlesex County Toastmasters
3rd - Biju Kunjummen, Eagle Toastmasters
The winners will move on to the Division C Contest, Monday, October 18th, hosted by Eagle Toastmasters in Wallingford, CT.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Club Speechathon, Sep. 30
The Middlesex County Toastmasters Club held a special meeting, a “Speech-A-Thon”, on Thursday, September 30th.
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Charnaie Gordon, Erik Jarboe, John Keppler, Jackie Kirwan, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Rob Schaff.
We were joined by a guest, Krisha Kumar, invited by Murali.
Business Meeting: Charnaie updated us on the club’s progress in the Distinguished Club Program. We have five points so far, and are now a Distinguished Club! Yolanda Lowe joined the club (giving us a point for adding four new members), and we gained another point by turning in our club renewals and officer lists on time.
The Area C5 Humorous and Evaluation Contests will be held on Thursday, October 7th, at the Cromwell Community Toastmasters (7pm). We will be represented in the Humorous Contest by Rob and Michael Nicastre, and in the Evaluation Contest by Rob and Michael O’Brien.
Tom spoke about a hike to be held on Sunday, October 10th at the Hublein Tower on Talcott Mountain in Simsbury at 2pm. All area Toastmasters will be invited. Members will soon be able to get information for upcoming hikes, and sign up, at the website http://www.meetup.com/.
Speechathon:
Our Toastmaster was Tom Alvord.
Jackie led us off with the Word of the Day, “mendacity”: the quality of being mendacious, untruthfulness, tendency to lie, an instance of lying, falsehood. She gave an original quote using the word, then gave a dramatic reading from the play, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, in which mendacity is a recurring theme.
We had seven prepared speeches:
Siva – “A Walk in the Woods – What I Found by Getting Lost” (evaluated by John). This was Siva’s second speech from the CC manual, “Organize Your Speech.”
Charnaie – “Mega Memory” (evaluated by the group in a round robin evaluation).
Anne-Marie – “Go With Your Gut” (evaluated by the group in a round robin evaluation)
Charnaie and Anne-Marie each spoke from Toastmasters’ advanced manuals.
Erik – “Composting Basics” (evaluated by Rob)
Murugan – “ICD-10” (evaluated by Charnaie)
These were Erik and Murugan’s first speeches since rejoining Middlesex County Toastmasters, and we are so glad to see them both return!
Michael – “Upsides and Downsides” (evaluated by Anne-Marie)
This was Michael’s second speech from the CC manual, “Organize Your Speech”, and the third he has presented to the club overall (the other was his speech in last week’s Humorous Contest).
Jen – “Lessons from the Mouse” (evaluated by the group in a round robin evaluation)
This was Jen’s 10th speech – she has now completed the CC manual!
Our General Evaluator was Murali, who did a great job in his first time in the role.
Our technicians were Jackie (Ah Counter), Anne-Marie (Grammarian), and Jay (Timer).
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Charnaie Gordon, Erik Jarboe, John Keppler, Jackie Kirwan, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Rob Schaff.
We were joined by a guest, Krisha Kumar, invited by Murali.
Business Meeting: Charnaie updated us on the club’s progress in the Distinguished Club Program. We have five points so far, and are now a Distinguished Club! Yolanda Lowe joined the club (giving us a point for adding four new members), and we gained another point by turning in our club renewals and officer lists on time.
The Area C5 Humorous and Evaluation Contests will be held on Thursday, October 7th, at the Cromwell Community Toastmasters (7pm). We will be represented in the Humorous Contest by Rob and Michael Nicastre, and in the Evaluation Contest by Rob and Michael O’Brien.
Tom spoke about a hike to be held on Sunday, October 10th at the Hublein Tower on Talcott Mountain in Simsbury at 2pm. All area Toastmasters will be invited. Members will soon be able to get information for upcoming hikes, and sign up, at the website http://www.meetup.com/.
Speechathon:
Our Toastmaster was Tom Alvord.
Jackie led us off with the Word of the Day, “mendacity”: the quality of being mendacious, untruthfulness, tendency to lie, an instance of lying, falsehood. She gave an original quote using the word, then gave a dramatic reading from the play, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, in which mendacity is a recurring theme.
We had seven prepared speeches:
Siva – “A Walk in the Woods – What I Found by Getting Lost” (evaluated by John). This was Siva’s second speech from the CC manual, “Organize Your Speech.”
Charnaie – “Mega Memory” (evaluated by the group in a round robin evaluation).
Anne-Marie – “Go With Your Gut” (evaluated by the group in a round robin evaluation)
Charnaie and Anne-Marie each spoke from Toastmasters’ advanced manuals.
Erik – “Composting Basics” (evaluated by Rob)
Murugan – “ICD-10” (evaluated by Charnaie)
These were Erik and Murugan’s first speeches since rejoining Middlesex County Toastmasters, and we are so glad to see them both return!
Michael – “Upsides and Downsides” (evaluated by Anne-Marie)
This was Michael’s second speech from the CC manual, “Organize Your Speech”, and the third he has presented to the club overall (the other was his speech in last week’s Humorous Contest).
Jen – “Lessons from the Mouse” (evaluated by the group in a round robin evaluation)
This was Jen’s 10th speech – she has now completed the CC manual!
Our General Evaluator was Murali, who did a great job in his first time in the role.
Our technicians were Jackie (Ah Counter), Anne-Marie (Grammarian), and Jay (Timer).
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca, Secretary
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Monday, September 27, 2010
Fall Speech Contest, Sep. 23
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.
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.
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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