Our very own Susan Mayberry, ATM has done it again! In the District Competition held Saturday, May 20, Susan gracefully stole the show and captured Best Speaker in the International Speech Competition. Soraya Deen, CTM, gave the meeting's inspiration and pledge. After this fourth level of competition, Susan now moves on to the Toastmasters International Regional Competition in Honolulu, Hawaii, to be held June 23 and 24, 2006!  As part of the contest rules, Susan has to develop and use another speech other than the one she used for the Area, Division, and District. Congratulations, Susan, we carry your victory in our hearts!!!

You will have an opportunity to see Susan in action at our Thursday night meeting, where she will be Toastmaster of The Evening. See the table below for program information. 

Post-Toastmaster Minutes  

Recap of the May 11^th Meeting 

The Warner Center Toastmasters (WCTM) meeting of May 11^th got off to a rousing start with an inspiration given by our very own “Pink Lady”, Jackie Goldberg. Returning to the fold after having trod the boards of one of our local theatres for several weeks, Jackie talked about how the values that our parents taught us are embodied in the pledge of allegiance. The theme for the night was “Creative Storytelling”.  

WCTM President, John Graves, CTM-CL, then opened the meeting, welcoming the assembled members and the evening’s three guests.  Acting Vice President of Membership, Erin O’Neil, was then called upon to conduct the induction of four new members: Eleanor Arellano, Eva Barry, Felicia Martino, and Glen Rankel.  

          After the “pledge and pin” ceremony, President Graves introduced the evening’s Toastmaster, Loan Carrison, ATM-B, describing her as, “Pumping more energy than a major oil company!” Taking the lectern in a single bound, “Ms. Energy” took the pace of the meeting up a few notches, regaling the group with her remarks about the Toastmaster experience we all share.  

Carrison then introduced the evening’s Topics Master, Rose Lane, DTM. To the surprise of all, Rose held “round-robin” Table Topic session that used as its point of departure Jack & Jill going up the hill; becoming parents; Jack running afoul of the mob and meeting an uncertain end at the hands of “a person or persons unknown”. Ten WCTM members then took the story, embellished it and passed it onto the next person. Jackie Goldberg took the Best Table Topics prize, bringing the tale of Jack & Jill to a rousing conclusion.  

          Three prepared speeches formed the core of the meeting. Sunit Nangia led off with his Icebreaker in which he described the many contradictions of being born in New Delhi and of growing up in America. Taking the lectern in a traditional Indian outfit, Sunit adroitly used his appearance to illustrate this state. Next up was Chad Celi with speech #2 from the Communication and Leadership Manual entitled, “Intelligent but Dumb”. In it he explained the benefits of vitamins and minerals such as magnesium and calcium. Soraya Deen, CTM-Advanced gave the evening’s final prepared talk, an advanced speech, “Different but Equal”. After a leadoff in which she had12 meeting attendees stand up and say the speech’s title in unison, Soraya spoke of the need for all to accommodate diversity and understand its value. In a nod to good health, Chad Celi was voted the night’s Best Speaker.

          Doing double duty, John Graves returned to the lectern as General Evaluator. His review of the meeting was offered in the best Toastmaster spirit of keen insight given in good humor. Individual evaluations were done by Shelly Bright (Sunit Nangia), Art Hugon (Chad Celi), and Dan Marzec, ATM-B (Soraya Deen). Shelly Bright was judged the winner of the meeting’s “Best Evaluator” award.   

New Members 

Francisco Rotich has become WCTM’s newest member, answering the Toastmaster’s siren call after the May 11^th meeting. A Risk Analyst for Countrywide Financial, Francisco was born in Spain and grew up in Kenya. This brings WCTM’s total membership to 51. Welcome Francisco!  

                                                                                                                    --Bill Anderson                          

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? 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.