Toastmasters…. Risky Business

Twenty-Eight members and five guests squeezed into the Warner Center Room at the Marriott for Warner Center Toastmaster’s (WCTM) regular meeting on July 27^th. The theme of the evening was “Summer Getaway”. Toastmaster, John Graves, CTM / CL, used his opening remarks as a call to action, exhorting those gathered to reach beyond their comfort zone. “I want all of you to take risks,” he said. “WCTM is one of the few places where you can afford to try out things that don't work!”  

Summertime & the Living Is….

Rose Lane, DTM served as Topics Master for the extemporaneous portion of the evening’s program, Table Topics. Looking hale and hearty again after her recent illness, the effervescent Ms. Lane peppered 11 members of WCTM with questions about what each had done or, would like to do with  the vacation time that accompanies “those lazy, hazy days of summer.”  Those so queried included Ken Slusser, CTM, Shelly Bright, Colin Giles, Bill Anderson, Soraya Deen, CTM, Ann Philippon, Geza Kalman, Mark Cohn, CTM, Mohnish Sharma, Loan Carrison, ATM-B, Eleonor Arellano. Bill Anderson took the first-place ribbon for Best Table Topics for his response to the question, “What was the worst vacation you ever had?”  Recounting a childhood car trip from Iowa to California in the days before divide highways, the Hawkeye state native described how seven people were trapped in a continuously moving ’56 Chevy  driven by an uncle (not a blood relative he emphasized) without a clear understanding the of word “stop”. 

Prepared Speeches x 4

Four WCTM members participated in the “Prepared Speeches” portion of the evening’s program.  Cate Bramble led off the proceedings with an Icebreaker entitled “POV”.  From a frightening awakening in a car flying off a road in the Brazilian rainforest to dealing with her husband’s serious illness just days after their wedding to her work as technical writer, Cate described how her “point of view” changed over the course of her life.

Up next was Marion Colston with speech #2 from the Communications & Leadership Manual (CLM) entitled, “The Hidden Qualities of a Great Leader”. Basing her talk on her 30 years experience of working with a variety of people, the forthright Ms. Colston distilled her leadership philosophy into one trenchant statement, “I will not ask anyone to do a task that I will not do myself.”

Chad Celi was the evening’s third speaker. His offering, “The Drugging of America”, fulfilled the requirements of speech #4 from the CLM. Pacing, behind, before and on both sides of the lectern, the animated Mr. Celi described his take on the imperatives that drives the development of prescription drugs – patents and the money they represent. Natural remedies, he opined, are ignored because, “You can’t patent nature!” When taking any prescription drugs he advised, “Please do not be fooled. This is a business.”  

Rounding out the “Prepared Speeches” segment was Erin O’Neill, CTM, who read a selection from the Milan Kundera novel, Immortality, in fulfillment of exercise #1 (“Read a Story”) from the Interpretive Reading Manual. The selection depicted a fictional first meeting between the German poet, Johan Wolfgang Goethe and Napoleon Bonaparte. The evening’s “Best Speaker” award went to Chad Celi.

Empathetic Evaluations

Evaluations followed led by General Evaluator Dan Marzec, ATM-B, who opened this program segment by sharing the insights he had gained from a recent article from “Toastmasters Magazine” that pointed out the benefits of “empathetic listening.” Individual evaluations were then done by Art Hugon (Cate Bramble), Susan Mayberry, ATM-B / CL (Marion Colston), Vlada Dmytrenko (Chad Celi), and Carolyn Goldman, CTM (Erin O’Neil). Returning to the lectern, Mr. Marzec offered his evaluation of the overall meeting. Describing his enjoyment of the variety of speakers and evaluators who were on the program, he called the meeting great experience. “It makes me proud to be a member of WCTM!” The award for the evening’s “Best Evaluator” went Susan Mayberry. 

Announcements

Area 13 Governor, Soraya Deen, CTM reminded members that, as the new Toastmasters year had begun July 1^st, it was time to commit to a personal educational goal for the year. Pursuing these goals can help both the club and the individual grow in many ways. “You evolve. You learn communications skills that can be used in so many circumstances,” she said.  

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Letter from the President

Happy New Year, Fellow Toastmasters!

Oh no, you must be thinking, “Has Carolyn gone nuts??? She must be on drugs!!! New Year is January 1, right?” 

WRONG!!!  As some of you know by now, our Toastmasters “New Year” begins July 1^st.  Just like any “New Years”, this is a time to start planning your Toastmaster goals.  After all, we are one month into our New Year! 

In that regard, each of us needs to start thinking about where we want to see ourselves as speakers at year-end, June 30, 2007.  Now, that can mean many things.  It may be that you want to get your first designation or an advanced designation.  If so, you need to plan ahead and decide how often you can give a speech to fulfill your goal. 

Or it can be as simple as this:  I would like to be Table Topics Master, General Evaluator and Toastmaster this coming year.  Actually, this was exactly my goal last year!  And I accomplished it! 

Whatever your Toastmaster goal, I would suggest the following:  Write it down.  Commit to it in your mind.  Remind yourself of that goal.  But, most importantly, sign up to give that speech or do that position which puts you closer to your goal. That’s what Toastmasters is all about – setting and accomplishing goals.

But don’t forget to have a very Happy (and healthy) New Year! Now, am I on drugs?

Your President at Large,

Carolyn

Summer Party Reminder

WCTM’s Summer Party will be held on Saturday, August 19^th at the home of Soraya Deen. Members are reminded to RSVP to Carolyn Goldman as soon as possible. Please indicate the number of people and the food you intend to bring. In addition to eating, dancing, and other fun, the Summer Party will feature our annual White Elephant Auction and announcement of the results of WCTM’s “Special Year-End Elections”. Among the awards to be given are “Rookie of the Year’ and “Most Improved Speaker”.      

Club Contest Reminder

Warner Center Toastmasters Members are reminded that the Club will hold its Table Topics and Humorous Speech Contests at its regular meeting on September 14^th.  Any member in good standing is eligible to compete. Winners will go on to represent WCTM in the Area 13 Contests on September 30^th. Those interested in competing or who want more information about the contests, should contact Erin O’Neil, CTM, Vice President, Education.