Editor: John C Graves   March 9, 2006    Warner Center Toastmasters    guests welcomed
"Let's Celebrate!" (WCTM's 23rd Birthday Bash)
   

Saturday I had the pleasure of attending an event which impressed me so much that I called our President, John Graves, CTM-CL, this morning to ask him if I could write an article about it for our Toaster’s Choice Newsletter.  I have attended other such events, but this was by far the best organized and presented!   

Now, have I piqued your curiosity?  What event could this be?  Our Area International Speech and Evaluations Contest, of course!  The contest was held at St. Jude Medical in Sylmar. That was impressive enough as the contest was held in an auditorium with stadium seating, a large stage and, of course, a Toastmaster lectern.   Our Soraya Deen, CTM, gave an excellent Invocation, using an inspirational story about Love, Money and Success to show how once Love is brought into a person’s life, Money and Success follow.  Other members who attended were Dan Marzec, CTM, who acted as a Sgt. at Arms and yours truly who was the “Second Timer”.  

Our Area 14 Governor, Erin O’Neill, co-hosted this event with the Area 11 Governor.  I was particularly impressed with how organized everything was, starting from the registration process to how smoothly both Area Governors ran the contest.  Can you imagine the amount of work required for weeks ahead just in finding the location and setting everything up!  I suspect that Erin’s natural talents for being organized and specific about detail made the day! How proud can we be of you, Erin, having gone from such a shy member to such a success as yesterday’s contest?!  Great job! 

Of course, by now you must be wondering -- who were the winners?  Did our Susan Mayberry steal the show?  Guess what?  Susan captured both  – International Speech as well as Evaluation!  Susan not only gave an excellent evaluation of the test speaker but she also delivered (as well as she did at our club contest) her speech about the importance of being nice and taking the high road as taught to her by her mother.  Who can’t relate to such an inspirational speech!  In both contests, Susan was up against a well-seasoned, 15 year veteran of Toastmasters!  So, even though I thought Susan was far better, she did have some stiff competition.  Now she will go to the next level – the Division A Contest to be held on Saturday, April 8.  Susan, thanks for representing WCTM and making us so proud of you!   

Please, WCTMs, think about attending speech contests.  It’s a wonderful experience to see not only how an effective and well organized contest is run, as certainly was the case on Saturday, but also to just be there to support our club members who are in the competition.  As I mentioned above, the next level is the Division A Contest on April 8.  Think about making that a date.  You will not only be supporting our Susan, but you will go away from the experience with a greater appreciation of the contest process.  The next step, then, should be for all of us to extend our goals to include being speech contest participants ourselves!   

Carolyn Goldman 
VP of Education

 

READ OUR SPEECHES                                     FULL MEETING ARCHIVES

Program Schedule for March 9, 2006

(program subject to late changes)             

Theme: Let's Celebrate! (Our Club's 23rd Birthday)

Inspiration and Pledge:  Carolyn Goldman

Toastmaster: Rose Lane, DTM

Topicmaster: Donna Stewart

General Evaluator: Loan Carrison, ATM-B

Timer: Lorena Mendelsohn

Grammarian: Marion Colston

Ah Counter: Sunit Nangia

Trophymaster: Maisie Lee

Jokemaster: Chad Celi

Speakers

Evaluators
Tricia Greaves, Icebreaker Susan Mayberry, ATM-B, CL
Shelly Bright, #3 Soraya Deen, CTM
Marie Umali, #4 Lois Coburn
Don West, #6 Dennis Rowe, ATM

Would you like to develop your public speaking skills?

You may find the answers in a book, but how can you take action and put principles into practice? Toastmasters is dedicated to helping you overcome your fear of public speaking, so why fumble around in the dark with your self-image? We can help.

Toastmasters has nothing to do with drinking, there’s no secret handshake, nor do we pledge our lives and our sacred trust to the organization. We simply want to communicate better  –  the old-fashioned way, by speaking well, greeting, and introducing people better. Think of your Toastmasters club as a communications laboratory, a forum for experimentation, a place to work on your own, personal style. 

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 (except Xmas). 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 details, please contact:

John Graves, President    818-882-3300

Rose Lane, Founder         805-371-8803

Carolyn Goldman, VP Education    818-996-7483