Mayberry Shines at District Contest

          Warner Center Toastmaster’s Susan Mayberry, ATM-B “did us proud” once again, taking the Runner Up Trophy in both the Humorous Speech and the Table Topics competitions at the District 52 Contest held on Saturday, November 11^th at the Glendale Public Library. The Table Topics contest found eight contestants responding to the question, “If you could be anywhere but on this stage this morning, where would you be and why?” Showing her activist soul, Susan responded that she would be, “In cyberspace, exercising my freedom of speech,” in order to solve the problem of world poverty. For the Humorous Speech contest, Susan gave a fantastic rendition of the talk she tried out for the club at our last meeting, “Move Over Martha, Its Summer Vacation with Auntie Sue!”

Contest winners were, Ivan Gerson of Public Works Pioneers (Table Topics) and Alberto Cabilan of Renaissance Toastmasters (Humorous Speech). As this reporter can attest, our Ms. Mayberry’s performance is especially impressive in light of the high level of oratorical skills displayed by all of her competitors. Way to go Susan!

November 9^th Meeting Notes: And the Winner Is….

          Thirty members and three guests gathered in the Pearls room at the Warner Center Marriott for Warner Center Toastmasters November 9^th meeting. “Award Winning Accomplishments” was the theme of the evening. Toastmaster Shelly Bright opened the festivities, welcoming the assembled members and guests with a series of observations that underscored the evening’s theme.

Table Topics: And Now for Something Completely Different

           John Graves, CTM / CL served as Topics Master for the Table Topics segment of the evening’s program. As he is wont to do, the mercurial Mr. Graves reared back and threw his best curve ball, taking the segment into new, interesting territory. Instead of the usual question / response format, suggestions for ersatz awards were solicited from those present and randomly assigned to a “presenter” and a “winner.” The former “presented” the award to a “winner” who gave a short acceptance speech. The following paired Members participated in the “awards” ceremonies: Colin Giles / Erin O’Neil, CTM, Maisie Lee / Marc Cohn, CTM, Don West / Lois Coburn, Jason Thompson / Vlada Dymtrenko, Glen Rankel / Norm Dornfest, CTM, Arnold Arch / Eleonor Arellano, Bill Anderson / Carolyn Goldman, CTM, and Geza Kalman / Zahava Dembowich.  Taking the first place ribbon for Best Table Topics was Carolyn Goldman, CTM who accepted the award for “Most Contagious Laugh.”

Prepared Speeches: Personal Revelations

The Prepared Speeches portion of the meeting program was comprised of two offerings from the Communications & Leadership Manual (CLM), one from the Advanced Manual, and a run-through of Susan Mayberry’s competition speech. Eva Barry led off with “Fresh Baked Brownies”, speech #2 from the CLM.  In it, Eva told a rollicking story about a “special” brownie recipe, learned from her sorority sisters, which caused her to experience delightful fits of sustained laughter. Baking a batch for her family resulted in the same reaction and an excited query from her aunt, “Eva, I have to get that recipe!” Eva, however, demurred, telling us that, “I will carry the secret to my grave!”

Alan Reveles followed with his speech #6 from the CLM entitled, “Why I don’t Drink Alcohol.”  In very personal and moving account, Alan described his struggle to break free of his addiction and his realization that his drinking was preventing him from growing emotionally. Of his 16 years sober, Alan spoke of the continuing challenges that must be overcome. “I can’t say I have done all the work,” he concluded. 

           In her speech from the Advance Manual, “Fearing the Worst,” Rose Lane, DTM, spoke of how letting fear and insecurity cloud her thinking had nearly ruined two vacation trips.  Particularly amusing was the incident that found our Rose running to re-board her plane in London only to find the walkway door locked. Pounding on the door in panic, she was brought short by the voice of a flight clerk, “Young miss, you’re at the wrong door!”  The key to avoiding this travail is to stay focused and aware of what’s going on around you. If you do, “You won’t be a victim of the emotional trauma of fearing the very worst.”

Susan Mayberry, ATM-B rounded out the segment with a run through of her Advanced Speech for the District 52 Humorous Speech Contest, “Move Over Martha, Its Summer Vacation with Auntie Sue.”  In it she recounted how she had entertained her “under-10” nieces and nephew during a summer visit with Disneyland, a swimming pool and the invention of “cake in a bowl.” Through it all she found out that, “Love is best ingredient…and that is a good thing.” In recognition of her fine effort, Rose Lane was voted the evening’s Best Speaker.

Evaluations: A Labor of Love

          The meeting’s final segment, Evaluations, was led by General Evaluator, Dan Marzec, ATM-B. Remarking on the value of evaluations, Dan said, “From evaluations we learn to improve. Evaluations are a labor of love.” Commenting on the overall meeting, he said, “This was great meeting. I had fun. I’m sure you enjoyed it as well.” Individual evaluations were done by Donna Stewart (Eva Barry), Art Hugon (Alan Reveles), Chick Saffell, ATM-B (Rose Lane).  A group evaluation was done for Susan Mayberry with John Graves, CTM / CL, Erin O’Neil, CTM, Bill Anderson, and Beverly Rankel, CTM all providing comments. The “Best Evaluator” award went to Art Hugon. 

Announcement: Holiday Party Reminder

            WCTM Members are reminded to sign up for the club Holiday Party no later than November 20^th. Please email Mohnish Sharma. We need to know how many will be attending for planning purposes.  This is a dress up affair so get those party hats, tuxedos and fancy dresses ready for the event of the year!

READ OUR SPEECHES 

MEETING ARCHIVES