Friday, September 30, 2011
Speechathon Recap - September 29
The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, September 29, at Middlesex Community College for a special Speechathon meeting. We had 16 members and 1 guest in attendance.
Jacqueline Kirwan was our Toastmaster, and she did a masterful job of leading the meeting through 7 prepared speeches. Our functionaries for this meeting included Murali Pemmaraju (GE), Diana Ashton (Ah-counter), Ramesh Padavala (Grammarian), and Emily O'Brien (Timer). Pamela Mulready provided the Word of the Day ("sylvan").
The speechathon provided a great opportunity for our members to fit in 7 more speeches, helping a lot of members move closer to achieving their goals.
Prepared speeches:
• Charnaie Gordon presented a humorous speech from the Humorously Speaking manual, "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes". The speech was evaluated by Jonathon Herron.
• Michael O'Brien presented a persuasive speech, "The Twelve Week Year". His speech was also evaluated by Jonathon.
• Rob Schaff presented "The Underdog", an Abstract Concept speech from the Speaking to Inform manual. The speech was evaluated by Emily.
• Jennifer Cimilluca took on the character of Susan B. Anthony, and presented an Oratorical Speech from the Interpretative Reading manual, "Susan B. Anthony's Constitutional Argument." The group evaluated this speech with a round-robin format.
• Chris Sullivan presented project #2 from the CC manual, "Creating an Influence Network". This speech was evaluated by Pam.
• Judy Thompson presented "Brainstorm Predicted for Friday!", project #3 from the CC manual, evaluated by Jennifer.
• Helena Grey presented project #4 from the CC manual, "Positive Impressions". The speech was evaluated by Charnaie.
Members Present:
Diana Ashton, Jennifer Cimilluca, Charnaie Gordon, Helena Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Pamela Mulready, Emily O'Brien, Michael O'Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Rob Schaff, Chris Sullivan, and Judy Thompson.
Guests Present: Paul Dietrich
Friday, September 23, 2011
Fall Speech Contest - September 22
The Middlesex County Toastmasters held their Fall Speech Contest on Thursday, September 22, at Middlesex Community College. The evening featured two contests, Humorous Speech and Table Topics. We had 21 members and 1 guest in attendence.
Jennifier Cimilluca was the Contest Chair. Jonathon Herron was our Contest Master, and Kay Jeyapalan was the Chief Judge.
Humorous Speech - Results
1. Rob Schaff
2. Mike Nicastre
3. Tom Alvord
Table Topics - Results
1. Tom Alvord
2. Arun Sodani
3. Ramesh Padavala
The contest winners will be competeing at the Area-33 Contest on Wednesday, October 12. This contest will be hosted by the Greater New Haven Toastmasters, and will be held at New Haven City Hall, 165 Church Street, New Haven.
Members Present:
Tom Alvord, Diana Ashton, John Bell, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Charnaie Gordon, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Cheryl Mason, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, and Arun Sodani.
Guests Present: Tanya Miuskova, a guest of Anne-Marie.
Our next meeting will be our Speechathon, next week, on September 29.
Respectfully submitted,
Rob
Friday, September 9, 2011
Meeting Notes - September 8
The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, September 8, at Middlesex Community College. We had a great turnout for this meeting, with 23 members and 9 guests in attendance.
Rob Schaff was our Toastmaster. Our functionaries for this meeting included Charnaie Gordon (GE), Helena Grey (Ah-counter), Jacqueline Kirwan (Grammarian), and Jennifer Cimilluca (Timer). Jay Broderick provided the Word of the Day (aplomb), and Cheryl Mason was our Table-Topics Master. Cheryl used her experience at the recent Toastmasters International Convention to inspire a great set on table-topics, and included both members and guests in the impromptu speaking.
Prepared speeches:
- Jonathan Herron presented speech #5 from the Competent Communicator manual, "Parenting and Sporting Events". His speech was evaluated by Marsha Kiley.
- Emily O'Brien recounted her experience of learning to drive, "One Memorable Day", as project #5 from the CC manual. Her speech was evaluated by Anne-Marie Cannata.
- Our special guest, Michael Aron, presented our Keynote Speech, "What Is In It For Me". Michael gave a great accounting of the benefits of participating in Toastmasters, especially with regards to the development of self-confidence. Michael's speech was evaluated by Kim Price.
- Rob Schaff used the opportunity of being the Toastmaster to complete project #5 from the Specialty Speeches advanced manual, "Introducing the Speaker." Rob's introductions were evaluated by Michael O'Brien.
Lots of planning went into this meeting, and it really paid off, with excellent speeches, a beautiful meeting space with great refreshments, and a team of participants that came prepared to perform their roles. This was a great start to our fall season, and we look to keep the momentum going with our Fall Speech Contest on September 22.
Welcome aboard!
- Welcome to Diana Ashton, who joined our club following last night's meeting.
Members Present:
Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Siva Digavalli, Charnaie Gordon, Helena Grey, Steven Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Mike Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O'Brien, Michael O'Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Kim Price, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, and Chris Sullivan
Guests Present: Raja Annu, Judy Aron, Michael Aron, Diana Ashton, Ute Brinkmann, Marsha Kiley, Rose Rita Riccitelli, and Beth Lapin.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Meeting Notes - August 25
Meeting Notes - August 25
The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, August 25, at The Village at South Farms. We had 18 members and 2 guests in attendance.
Our next meeting will be on September 8, back at Middlesex Community College. This meeting will feature a special guest speaker, Michael Aron, DTM. Michael's speech is titled, "What Is In It For Me?"
Jennifer Cimilluca was our Toastmaster. Jennifer was assisted by Emily O'Brien (GE), Tom Alvord (Ah-counter), Rob Schaff (Grammarian), and Murali Pemmaraju (Timer and Table-Topics Master).
Prepared speeches:
- Chris Sullivan presented his Ice-Breaker speech, evaluated by Tom Alvord.
- Helena Grey presented a speech on the psychological impact of room colors, evaluated by Jacqueline Kirwan.
- Pamela Mulready presented her final speech from the CC manual, a persuasive speech showing the perils of procrastination. Pam's speech was evaluated by Mike O'Brien.
- John Keppler presented a persuasive speech from the CC manual, challenging us to understand the changes to CT withholding rules. John's speech was evaluated by Arun Sodani.
Congratulations!
- Congratulations to Pam Mulready, who completed her Competent Communicator award.
- Congratulation to guest Chris Sullivan, who completed his Ice-Breaker speech.
Toastmasters International - Winning Speeches
Tom Alvord let us know that, for the first time ever, Toastmasters International published the top 3 winning speeches on YouTube. The links to these videos can be found at
http://www.facebook.com/#!/ToastmastersInternationalOfficialFanPage
Members Present:
Tom Alvord, John Bell, Jennifer Cimilluca, Helena Grey, Steven Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Pamela Mulready, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Murali Pemmaraju, , Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, and Chris Sullivan.
Guests Present: Diana Ashton, Danielle Prushko.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB
The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, August 25, at The Village at South Farms. We had 18 members and 2 guests in attendance.
Our next meeting will be on September 8, back at Middlesex Community College. This meeting will feature a special guest speaker, Michael Aron, DTM. Michael's speech is titled, "What Is In It For Me?"
Jennifer Cimilluca was our Toastmaster. Jennifer was assisted by Emily O'Brien (GE), Tom Alvord (Ah-counter), Rob Schaff (Grammarian), and Murali Pemmaraju (Timer and Table-Topics Master).
Prepared speeches:
- Chris Sullivan presented his Ice-Breaker speech, evaluated by Tom Alvord.
- Helena Grey presented a speech on the psychological impact of room colors, evaluated by Jacqueline Kirwan.
- Pamela Mulready presented her final speech from the CC manual, a persuasive speech showing the perils of procrastination. Pam's speech was evaluated by Mike O'Brien.
- John Keppler presented a persuasive speech from the CC manual, challenging us to understand the changes to CT withholding rules. John's speech was evaluated by Arun Sodani.
Congratulations!
- Congratulations to Pam Mulready, who completed her Competent Communicator award.
- Congratulation to guest Chris Sullivan, who completed his Ice-Breaker speech.
Toastmasters International - Winning Speeches
Tom Alvord let us know that, for the first time ever, Toastmasters International published the top 3 winning speeches on YouTube. The links to these videos can be found at
http://www.facebook.com/#!/ToastmastersInternationalOfficialFanPage
Members Present:
Tom Alvord, John Bell, Jennifer Cimilluca, Helena Grey, Steven Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Pamela Mulready, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Murali Pemmaraju, , Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, and Chris Sullivan.
Guests Present: Diana Ashton, Danielle Prushko.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB
Monday, August 15, 2011
Meeting Notes - August 11
The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, August 11th, at Luther Ridge, Middletown.
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Margarita Giraldo, Charnaie Gordon, Helena Grey, Steven Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Michele Rousseau, Judy Thompson.
Guest Present: Adam Herman.
Our Sergeant-at-Arms, Jonathan, opened the meeting and turned it over to the club President, Kay. Kay thanked Murali and Michael O’Brien (the evening’s Toastmaster) for organizing the meeting amidst last-minute changes.
Our Toastmaster for the evening was Michael O’Brien, and our theme was “Get Motivated!”
Our Wordmaster was Charnaie, who used the game “Hangman” to present the Word of the Day, “Actuate” (to incite, or to put into action).
The Invocator, Tom, read us the poem, “The Dash” by Linda Ellis.
Our Humorist, Michael Nicastre, told us a joke about Mary and Maude, two women who met outside the gates of Heaven.
Jacqueline, our Table Topics Master, gave questions about motivation to Jonathan, Steven, Judy, Anne-Marie, Margarita, and Michael Nicastre.
We had four prepared speeches:
Our guest Adam, gave a speech called “Broken Politics in America”, which he will be presenting in a college class. His speech was evaluated by Anne-Marie.
Sally presented a speech from the CC manual (Project #5, Your Body Speaks), “Good with the Bad, and Bad with the Good” was evaluated by Ramesh.
Helena’s speech, “The Waiting Game” was Project #2 in the CC manual (Organize Your Speech). Her speech was evaluated by Murali.
Michele gave a speech called “Do you Need a Life Coach?”. Her speech, Project #3 from the CC (Get to the Point) was evaluated by Emily.
Our General Evaluator was Jen, assisted by the Timer (Tom), Grammarian (John), and Ah Counter (Charnaie).
Jen noted that the meeting started on time with the room set up very nicely (in a horseshoe shape, the best use of the room at Luther Ridge that we’d ever had). There was a table with the duty roster for future meetings, guest book, and more, nicely laid out. Charnaie had a fun way to present the Word of the Day (the game of Hangman). Jen liked that Michael read out each objective from the CC manual for each speech, so the group knew what to listen and watch for during each speech. Jacqueline was careful during Table Topics to try to call on those who didn’t have other roles in the meeting, and coordinated with the Toastmaster to stay on time. It was apparent there was coordination between speakers and evaluators before the meeting, so the evaluators knew which areas were of especial interest to the speakers. Anne-Marie and John stepped into roles at the last minute, and it was nice to see the CL manual emphasized (Jacqueline mentioned that Table Topics speaker is a role for some CL projects, and CL manuals were seen being passed around during and after the meeting). The podium was left empty a couple of times – a speaker would sit down before the Toastmaster or Table Topics Master came back up to the podium.
There was one piece of closing business – the club received a ribbon for our banner after we “Beat the Clock” by having five new members join the club between May 1st and June 30th.
The meeting ended shortly after 9pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Members Present: Tom Alvord, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Margarita Giraldo, Charnaie Gordon, Helena Grey, Steven Grey, Jonathan Herron, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Michele Rousseau, Judy Thompson.
Guest Present: Adam Herman.
Our Sergeant-at-Arms, Jonathan, opened the meeting and turned it over to the club President, Kay. Kay thanked Murali and Michael O’Brien (the evening’s Toastmaster) for organizing the meeting amidst last-minute changes.
Our Toastmaster for the evening was Michael O’Brien, and our theme was “Get Motivated!”
Our Wordmaster was Charnaie, who used the game “Hangman” to present the Word of the Day, “Actuate” (to incite, or to put into action).
The Invocator, Tom, read us the poem, “The Dash” by Linda Ellis.
Our Humorist, Michael Nicastre, told us a joke about Mary and Maude, two women who met outside the gates of Heaven.
Jacqueline, our Table Topics Master, gave questions about motivation to Jonathan, Steven, Judy, Anne-Marie, Margarita, and Michael Nicastre.
We had four prepared speeches:
Our guest Adam, gave a speech called “Broken Politics in America”, which he will be presenting in a college class. His speech was evaluated by Anne-Marie.
Sally presented a speech from the CC manual (Project #5, Your Body Speaks), “Good with the Bad, and Bad with the Good” was evaluated by Ramesh.
Helena’s speech, “The Waiting Game” was Project #2 in the CC manual (Organize Your Speech). Her speech was evaluated by Murali.
Michele gave a speech called “Do you Need a Life Coach?”. Her speech, Project #3 from the CC (Get to the Point) was evaluated by Emily.
Our General Evaluator was Jen, assisted by the Timer (Tom), Grammarian (John), and Ah Counter (Charnaie).
Jen noted that the meeting started on time with the room set up very nicely (in a horseshoe shape, the best use of the room at Luther Ridge that we’d ever had). There was a table with the duty roster for future meetings, guest book, and more, nicely laid out. Charnaie had a fun way to present the Word of the Day (the game of Hangman). Jen liked that Michael read out each objective from the CC manual for each speech, so the group knew what to listen and watch for during each speech. Jacqueline was careful during Table Topics to try to call on those who didn’t have other roles in the meeting, and coordinated with the Toastmaster to stay on time. It was apparent there was coordination between speakers and evaluators before the meeting, so the evaluators knew which areas were of especial interest to the speakers. Anne-Marie and John stepped into roles at the last minute, and it was nice to see the CL manual emphasized (Jacqueline mentioned that Table Topics speaker is a role for some CL projects, and CL manuals were seen being passed around during and after the meeting). The podium was left empty a couple of times – a speaker would sit down before the Toastmaster or Table Topics Master came back up to the podium.
There was one piece of closing business – the club received a ribbon for our banner after we “Beat the Clock” by having five new members join the club between May 1st and June 30th.
The meeting ended shortly after 9pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Cimilluca
Middlesex County Toastmasters Club
Friday, July 29, 2011
Meeting Notes - July 28
The Middlesex County Toastmasters met on Thursday, July 28, at The Village at South Farms. We had 22 members and 4 guests in attendance for this special meeting that featured two speeches from Jerry Aiyathurai, the District 53 International Contest winner.
Club President Kay Jeyapalan introduced the Distinguished Club Program to the club, and announced that when this meeting was completed, we will have qualified for 4 DCP points already this club year. The club is in great position to achieve President's Distinguished Club once again in 2011-2012.
Michael Nicastre was our Toastmaster. Michael managed the meeting very well, fitting in 5 prepared speeches and juggling special circumstances, including parking problems, shuttle busses, and requests to move our cars.
Arun Sodani was our Table Topics Master. Arun presented a series of job openings, and asked the members to portray both qualified and unqualified applicants.
Prepared speeches:
- Jerry Aiyathurai started off the prepared speeches with "Trapped", the speech that won the 2011 District 53 International Speech Contest. Jerry is preparing to give this speech at the TI Convention semi-finals.
- Jacqueline Kirwan presented her 10th speech from the CC manual, "Good Morning! What Would You Like to Accomplish Today?" Jacqueline's speech was evaluated by Rob.
- Emily O'Brien presented speech #4 from the CC manual, "Got a Vacation?" Emily's speech was evaluated by Sally.
- Ramesh Padavala presented his 10th speech from the CC manual, "Attitude". Ramesh's speech was evaluated by Cheryl.
- Jerry presented the speech that he is preparing for the finals of the International Contest, "The Best Thing That Ever Happened To You".
Congratulations!
- Congratulations to Jacqueline Kirwan and Ramesh Padavala for achieving their Competent Communicator awards, and for completing Phase I of their Pinky Challenge!
- Congratulation to guest Chris Sullivan, who became our newest member at the conclusion of the meeting.
Members Present:
Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Margarita Giraldo, Charnaie Gordon, Helena Grey, Steven Grey, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Michele Rousseau, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, and Judy Thompson.
Guests Present: Chris Sullivan, Susan Dean, Phil Mason, and Jerry Aiyathurai.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB
Club President Kay Jeyapalan introduced the Distinguished Club Program to the club, and announced that when this meeting was completed, we will have qualified for 4 DCP points already this club year. The club is in great position to achieve President's Distinguished Club once again in 2011-2012.
Michael Nicastre was our Toastmaster. Michael managed the meeting very well, fitting in 5 prepared speeches and juggling special circumstances, including parking problems, shuttle busses, and requests to move our cars.
Arun Sodani was our Table Topics Master. Arun presented a series of job openings, and asked the members to portray both qualified and unqualified applicants.
Prepared speeches:
- Jerry Aiyathurai started off the prepared speeches with "Trapped", the speech that won the 2011 District 53 International Speech Contest. Jerry is preparing to give this speech at the TI Convention semi-finals.
- Jacqueline Kirwan presented her 10th speech from the CC manual, "Good Morning! What Would You Like to Accomplish Today?" Jacqueline's speech was evaluated by Rob.
- Emily O'Brien presented speech #4 from the CC manual, "Got a Vacation?" Emily's speech was evaluated by Sally.
- Ramesh Padavala presented his 10th speech from the CC manual, "Attitude". Ramesh's speech was evaluated by Cheryl.
- Jerry presented the speech that he is preparing for the finals of the International Contest, "The Best Thing That Ever Happened To You".
Congratulations!
- Congratulations to Jacqueline Kirwan and Ramesh Padavala for achieving their Competent Communicator awards, and for completing Phase I of their Pinky Challenge!
- Congratulation to guest Chris Sullivan, who became our newest member at the conclusion of the meeting.
Members Present:
Tom Alvord, Jay Broderick, Anne-Marie Cannata, Jennifer Cimilluca, Margarita Giraldo, Charnaie Gordon, Helena Grey, Steven Grey, Kay Jeyapalan, John Keppler, Jacqueline Kirwan, Cheryl Mason, Michael Nicastre, Sally Nicastre, Emily O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Ramesh Padavala, Murali Pemmaraju, Michele Rousseau, Rob Schaff, Arun Sodani, and Judy Thompson.
Guests Present: Chris Sullivan, Susan Dean, Phil Mason, and Jerry Aiyathurai.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert A. Schaff, ACS, ALB
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