A Catered Affair   Mark your calendars, for you and your date!  Our annual Holiday Party will be on Saturday, December 10th, at the beautiful, palatial home of our hostess, Rebecca Shakib.  This is the night we can let our hair down and whoop it up in dressy attire.   Catered by the famous Wood Ranch restaurant, which is popular for its delectable fare, including tri trip, chicken, beans, coleslaw, whipped sweet potatoes, and rolls.  Snacks, soft drinks, wine, dessert, and coffee will also be provided.   This gala begins at 6:30 p.m. with dinner served at 7:30 p.m.  Headed by Maya Debus, we're checking out fun and zany entertainment options for your evening pleasure.  If you have a special talent--please don't hold out on us!   The cost for this lovely evening is a modest $10.00.  If you'd like to attend, please submit your payments to Rose Lane no later than November 30th.

A witch, an alien, and a cowboy were some of the guests at the latest Warner Center Toastmasters meeting.  No, my friends, it wasn't the scene out of the latest Hollywood blockbuster--it was Halloween and some of our members were brave enough to come in costume!  The meeting even included a cake that was generously provided by Susan Mayberry.  Other noteworthy events included the induction of new new members: Tony Summers and Ann Philippon. 

Led by Wes Johnson, the Table Topics session also focused on the Halloween holiday.  Ken Slusser revealed that as a child, he and his sister would only trick or treat where the houses were close together so that they could get the most candy; Erin O'Neill reminisced about a rainy Halloween where her parents hid candy around the house for her to find; and Larry Blackford told of his elaborate Halloween decorating schemes.  Ann Philippon described how she dressed as bag of jelly beans by filling a garbage bag full of balloons; Paul admitted that "Snoopy Comes Home" was one of the most frightening movies he's ever seen; and Rebecca Shakib won the Table Topics ribbon for the evening by admitting that she was called "Pumpkin Head" as a child. 

Norm Dornfest started off the prepared speeches with his Icebreaker.  Entitled, "Free at Last," Norm gave the audience a panoramic view of his life.  He spoke about moving around a lot as a child and not having a lot of control over his early years.  Decisions were made for him and he did not have a chance to chose for himself.  Soon after high school he married and began his career in Accounting.  It wasn't until later on in his life, and after his divorce that Norm began to speak up for himself.  It was finally his turn to make the decisions that others had made for him all along.  In the end, Norm expressed how he was able to find himself after all those years.

Paul Kretkowski gave a very informative speech about the many uses of oil.  Called, "It's Not Just Liquid Anymore," Paul revealed some of the many products that oil is used in.  He took us from the supermarket, where oil is used to package our meats, to our homes where oil provides the energy we use.  During his speech Paul reminded us that, "the problem is that we have too much stuff," and encouraged us to reduce, recycle and reuse. 

The third speech of the evening was given by Pink Lady, Jackie Goldberg.  Her speech, "Let Freedom Ring," focused on the myriad of choices available today.  From markets to jeans and from cars to ice cream, we are all faced with more choices than we know what to do with.  "From the moment our alarm clock rings, we are making choices," she said.  In addition, the choices, she believes are no longer simple ones.  We are faced with increasing complex choices that we must deal with.  However, she concluded, "the older we get, the wiser we get."  Hopefully, this means that we are better able to deal with all the choices that come our way. 

The final speech of the evening was given by our VP of Education, Carolyn Goldman.  Focused on the differences between words we often use interchangeably, Carolyn explained how most words have distinct meanings. During her speech, Carolyn explained the differences between self-esteem and self worth, dementia and Alzheimer's, and bipolar disorder and manic depression.   Through her examples, she demonstrated why we must be cognizant of a words specific definition before we use it everyday speech.  In addition, she showed us how understanding words and their meanings will help us all in effective speech writing. 

Awards for October 27, 2005 Trophy Master: Maisie Lee
Rebecca Shakib Best Table Topics	Norm Dornfest Icebreaker	Carolyn Goldman Best Speech	Rose Lane Best Evaluator

Are you thinking of visiting Warner Center Toastmasters?
  
The purpose of Toastmasters is to help you develop your public (and private) speaking skills, improve your self-confidence in business and personal situations, and to help you define yourself to your world more clearly. Why fumble around in the dark with your self-image? You can communicate more effectively than you ever dreamed possible!

If this sounds good to you, then come join us for a light buffet and some great speakers at the Warner Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills. Among the most prestigious and popular Toastmasters meeting locations in greater Los Angeles, the Marriott provides a wide variety of superb meeting rooms for one of Los Angeles' finest Toastmasters organizations.  

Warner Center Toastmasters has been enhancing careers and enriching interpersonal communications for our members for more than two decades. Why leave great speaking skills to politicians and CEO's? You too can speak like a pro, and we'll show you how. 

It all comes together in a clearly defined and well-supported program of speeches and exercises that help you to sharpen your verbal skills, organize your words and gestures, and make you fast on your feet. Lose your fear of speaking in front of a large group, and you'll feel more relaxed speaking to anyone!

The Warner Marriott is located at 21850 Oxnard Street at the corner of Topanga. From Granada Hills to Calabasas, Santa Monica to Chatsworth, we have active members from all over the area.

We DO meet every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month without fail. Meeting begins at 630pm, gavel at 7pm. Meeting concludes approximately 9pm. Guest fee: five dollars.  This site is updated twice a month with forthcoming meeting details, so check back often.  For more information, please contact: