More than 100 Toastmasters from District 53, Divisions B & C, went to Manchester on Saturday, January 24th, for officer’s training. All members were invited to the “magnificent breakfast” and 3 hour session. Five members from our Middlesex Club participated: Rob Schaff, Tom Alvord, John Keppler, Dianne Olsen and Erik Jarboe. All of them agreed it was time well spent.
There will be more opportunities for Officer Training and Conferences coming up. All members are encouraged to attend
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
January 22 Meeting
As usual, the Middlesex Toastmasters Meeting was filled with interesting topics, humor and camaraderie. There were 12 members and three guests present. Our guests were: Victoria Schaff, Pamela Mulready and Sharon Bride-Caltabiano. We hope to see all our guests back at our next meeting!
Our President, Rob Schaff, began the meeting by presenting membership pins to our two newest members: Charnaie Gordon and Bob Makkencherry. Rob also presented pins to current members who had not yet received theirs: Kaylani Jeyapalan and Dianne Olsen.
Beth Legnani did an amazing job for her first time as Toastmaster! Her speech was eloquent and she did a great job with current events and making the meeting flow. Congratulations, Beth!
Kim Price was our Table Topics Master. Kim appropriately used a presidential theme and challenged members with interesting questions about the history of our presidential election which was held two days prior to our meeting.
We heard from 4 prepared speakers: Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Dianne Olsen, and Anne Marie Cannata, using a variety of manuals for their guidelines.
Cheryl Mason was the General Evaluator for the evening. One of the issues Cheryl raised was how the club, as a whole, could benefit from some training in doing evaluations. It was well received by the membership.
Special points of interest:
· March 26th Speech Contest
· April 25th Spring Conference, Holiday Inn, Norwich
· August 12 –15th International Conference, Foxwoods Resort & Casino
Next Meeting - February 12, 2009
Our President, Rob Schaff, began the meeting by presenting membership pins to our two newest members: Charnaie Gordon and Bob Makkencherry. Rob also presented pins to current members who had not yet received theirs: Kaylani Jeyapalan and Dianne Olsen.
Beth Legnani did an amazing job for her first time as Toastmaster! Her speech was eloquent and she did a great job with current events and making the meeting flow. Congratulations, Beth!
Kim Price was our Table Topics Master. Kim appropriately used a presidential theme and challenged members with interesting questions about the history of our presidential election which was held two days prior to our meeting.
We heard from 4 prepared speakers: Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Dianne Olsen, and Anne Marie Cannata, using a variety of manuals for their guidelines.
Cheryl Mason was the General Evaluator for the evening. One of the issues Cheryl raised was how the club, as a whole, could benefit from some training in doing evaluations. It was well received by the membership.
Special points of interest:
· March 26th Speech Contest
· April 25th Spring Conference, Holiday Inn, Norwich
· August 12 –15th International Conference, Foxwoods Resort & Casino
Next Meeting - February 12, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Meeting Jan 8, 2009
We are off to a great start in 2009. We had 18 members at our meeting last night, including 4 guests.
As Club President, I was happy to catch up on the backlog of membership pins. I still have a couple of members to catch up with, as well as new member Charnaie Gordon, who joined last night. I was also happy to announce that Dianne Olsen has agreed to fill our open Club Secretary position.
Anne Marie Cannata was our Table Topics master, and she used a Dental Hygiene theme to tie together the Table Topics, the Word of the Day, and her prepared speech. And she gave us treats! Lots of good dentist stories ensued.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Deborah Nason, Cheryl Mason, Erik Jarboe, and Anne Marie Cannata. Deborah did a great job with her Ice-Breaker - congratulations!
Our next meeting is January 22. There are plenty of open roles, so sign up on-line!
Upcoming events:
- Jan. 17: District 53 2009 Kickoff, Hartford
- Jan. 24: District 53 Leadership Exchange, Manchester
- Feb. 26: Club Speech Contest
Bad Weather Policy
In case of bad weather on a meeting day, our policy is to follow Middlesex Community College. If MxCC is closed, our meeting is canceled. If MxCC is open, the meeting is still on.
Middlesex Community College posts their cancellation messages on the college’s main telephone number (860-343-5800) and on the MxCC website at www.mxcc.commnet.edu .
They also send notice to the following radio and television stations:
Radio Stations
WMRD 1150 am
WDRC 102.9 fm and 1360 am
WMMW 1470 am
WRCH 100.5 fm
WTIC 1080 am, 96.5 fm
WZMX 93.7 fm
WELI 960 am, WKCI 101 fm
Television Stations
WFSB - 3
WTNH - 8
WVIT - 30
As Club President, I was happy to catch up on the backlog of membership pins. I still have a couple of members to catch up with, as well as new member Charnaie Gordon, who joined last night. I was also happy to announce that Dianne Olsen has agreed to fill our open Club Secretary position.
Anne Marie Cannata was our Table Topics master, and she used a Dental Hygiene theme to tie together the Table Topics, the Word of the Day, and her prepared speech. And she gave us treats! Lots of good dentist stories ensued.
We heard 4 prepared speeches, from Deborah Nason, Cheryl Mason, Erik Jarboe, and Anne Marie Cannata. Deborah did a great job with her Ice-Breaker - congratulations!
Our next meeting is January 22. There are plenty of open roles, so sign up on-line!
Upcoming events:
- Jan. 17: District 53 2009 Kickoff, Hartford
- Jan. 24: District 53 Leadership Exchange, Manchester
- Feb. 26: Club Speech Contest
Bad Weather Policy
In case of bad weather on a meeting day, our policy is to follow Middlesex Community College. If MxCC is closed, our meeting is canceled. If MxCC is open, the meeting is still on.
Middlesex Community College posts their cancellation messages on the college’s main telephone number (860-343-5800) and on the MxCC website at www.mxcc.commnet.edu .
They also send notice to the following radio and television stations:
Radio Stations
WMRD 1150 am
WDRC 102.9 fm and 1360 am
WMMW 1470 am
WRCH 100.5 fm
WTIC 1080 am, 96.5 fm
WZMX 93.7 fm
WELI 960 am, WKCI 101 fm
Television Stations
WFSB - 3
WTNH - 8
WVIT - 30
Monday, December 29, 2008
District Training: Case Study
Here's a picture of me, presenting the recommendations from our Case Study working group to the group at the District Training on December 13.I copied this picture from Dave Wheeler's District 53 blog, http://areaa4.blogspot.com/
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Report from District Training event
Cheryl and I attended the District Training event at the Russell Library last Saturday, Dec. 13.
This training was put on by our District 53 leadership. We heard presentations on promoting our club on the internet, the Competent Leader manual, and the Speechcraft program.
We participated in a Case Study about a struggling TM club. Volunteers from the Springfield club gave us information about the challenges that they have been facing. We then broke into 2 groups to come up with some recommendations. The exercise became an unexpected speaking opportunity for me, as I was chosen to present our recommendations to the whole group.
The District team announced plans for a 2009 Kickoff event on January 17 in Hartford, 2-4 PM. This event will feature 3 speeches from some of the best speakers in the District, followed by evaluations, plus presentations by the leadership team. They are also planning a Pecha Kucha segment. Pecha Kucha is a highly structured, PowerPoint-based speech, requiring 20 slides. Each slide is shown for 20 seconds, for a total speech time of 6:40. This kickoff is open to all Toastmasters, and it should be a lot of fun!
This training was put on by our District 53 leadership. We heard presentations on promoting our club on the internet, the Competent Leader manual, and the Speechcraft program.
We participated in a Case Study about a struggling TM club. Volunteers from the Springfield club gave us information about the challenges that they have been facing. We then broke into 2 groups to come up with some recommendations. The exercise became an unexpected speaking opportunity for me, as I was chosen to present our recommendations to the whole group.
The District team announced plans for a 2009 Kickoff event on January 17 in Hartford, 2-4 PM. This event will feature 3 speeches from some of the best speakers in the District, followed by evaluations, plus presentations by the leadership team. They are also planning a Pecha Kucha segment. Pecha Kucha is a highly structured, PowerPoint-based speech, requiring 20 slides. Each slide is shown for 20 seconds, for a total speech time of 6:40. This kickoff is open to all Toastmasters, and it should be a lot of fun!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Meeting notes, December 11, 2008
We had a wonderful year-end meeting last night, with 16 participants. Our festivities included 3 guests: first time visitor Charnaie Gordon and old friends Ute Brinkmann and Rose Rota Riccitellii.
Nancy Green was Toastmaster for the evening. She organized the meeting around the theme of Giving, and the theme was reflected in the Word of the Day, the Table Topics, the prepared speeches, and in the Toys for Tots collection that accompanied the meeting. Great job, Nancy!
We heard 5 prepared speeches: A reading of "The Gift of the Magi" from Rob, an original fairy tale from Rose Rita, persuasive speeches from Tom and from Anne Marie, and an excellent Ice-breaker from Marc. Arun was the General Evaluator, and he managed to squeeze in the 5 evaluations and still end the meeting almost on time.
Thanks to everyone who brought refreshments. This was a great way to close out the year.
Our next meeting is January 8, 2009. Happy New Year!
Nancy Green was Toastmaster for the evening. She organized the meeting around the theme of Giving, and the theme was reflected in the Word of the Day, the Table Topics, the prepared speeches, and in the Toys for Tots collection that accompanied the meeting. Great job, Nancy!
We heard 5 prepared speeches: A reading of "The Gift of the Magi" from Rob, an original fairy tale from Rose Rita, persuasive speeches from Tom and from Anne Marie, and an excellent Ice-breaker from Marc. Arun was the General Evaluator, and he managed to squeeze in the 5 evaluations and still end the meeting almost on time.
Thanks to everyone who brought refreshments. This was a great way to close out the year.
Our next meeting is January 8, 2009. Happy New Year!
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