Alcohol Works but Eagle Rocks!

Dear All,

It was a hot and a "dry" day but that did not stop us from having another great and fun filled meeting. "Dry" in the sense that we did not have alcohol served in the meeting after 3 consecutive meetings where alcohol sort of stole the show; and even then we had 20 members  including 4 guests, out of which 3 signed on the dotted line. That is Great and Welcome on board to the new members!

With record high temperatures this year, Ian, as table topics master, aptly chose "Heat" and various connotations of Heat like hot, hotter, etc as the theme for tonight's table topics. The whole room went quiet when Ian asked for volunteers to talk about the "hotter person" - I don't know what everyone was thinking but I know for sure that Kate (past club president) was thinking about George Clooney and I was thinking about Catherine Zeta Jones...( Now you guys know what Presidents think like , I mean eagle club presidents), but Robin broke the ice by stepping forward and started talking about her grandmother as the hotter person. Robin had the whole room cracked up in her 2 min table topics speech... Timely thinking and Great Job Robin!

Rachel with Area Governor hat thanked all the past club officers for the last year Club's achievements and then installed the current officers. It was very formal and this was a new experience for all of us... Looked very formal but Rachel with her magic touch made the whole episode very enjoyable.... Rachel also used her charm in making 5 members commit (voluntarily) for completing their CCs and 3 members for finishing their ACs( I have the names written down.. No ESCAPE. :) ).. Thanks Rachel for making my life very easy.

Ute stepped in when 2 speakers had to back out in the last minute and it was an appropriate continuation to where Rachel left off. 3 EEEs always sum up Ute's speeches.. Engaging, Energy and Enthusiasm... And this speech was no different. She makes it look very easy.....

And of course best for the last, we had an icebreaker speech given by Dawit who joined our club only in the last meeting. Dawit took us through his journey from Ethiopia to Europe to New Haven. Dawit has a Ph.D and he is carrying out research on coming up with early diagnostic tools for cancers like pancreatic cancer in particular at the Yale school of medicine. Dawit claims to be stubborn (?) though he does not look like at all and he loves soccer apart from research.

Finally after today's meeting I am convinced that it is our club's energy, chemistry and the atmosphere we create are the reasons for the recent good turn out for the meetings and not the alcohol..... So  Alcohol works but Eagle rocks!

Of course as usual please sign up for the roles and please contact me or any of the officers if you want to speak and there are no slots available.... We can always try to accommodate.

Goodnight and see you all in 3 weeks on Aug 6th. 

Regards,

Chandra

Great start for 2012-13

Dear All,

We just had our first meeting of the 2012-13 and what a start it was. We had a good turn out with 2 guests and 2 new signed members, champagne and food on the table (many thanks to Ute) and with the music in the background, it was a perfect setting for the perfect start.

It was heartening to see all the three prepared speeches come from the new members and they all did a wonderful job. Andrew ensured that we all had plenty of laughs with his speech on Jokes, by sharing the history of some of the jokes; he also shared a fart joke that can be traced back to 2500 B.C. With all the laughter, Andrew concluded his speech on a philosophical note saying even in the era of iPhones, airplanes etc etc, the basic common things like family ties, sharing a joke with close ones etc etc are still the underlying themes that bonds us/society.

Jessica gave her icebreaker speech by letting us all know about her a bit more. I was very impressed in the way she was able to, with ease and comfort, weave in about her family and background while answering two questions (i) why graduate school and (ii) why chemistry major. We all love icebreakers!

Santy shared how eventful his 2012 birthday was, where he had experienced a mix of emotions ranging from the excruciating pain due to the bleeding from his finger to the pleasant surprise party he received from his friends.

All in all it was a great start. As I said, in my opinion, toastmasters is of the members by the members and for the members and it is for us to steer and take advantage of.

Goodnight and see you all in 2 weeks.

Regards,
Chandra

Eagle Toastmasters Meeting of June 18, 2012

Eagle Toastmasters:  June 18, 2012

6-7pm:  Rachel worked with Sonia, Tami, and Elaine, giving them insight into the use of the new TM website. Thank you, Rachel.

President’s Remarks:  VP Education-JoeToday’s Toastmaster:  Tom C.

Humorist:   Bret

Quotemaster:  Robin

“Some men see things as they are and ask why.  Others dream things that never were and ask “why not”.  George Bernard Shaw

 “If you can dream it, you can do it.  Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse.”  Walt Disney

 “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”  C.S.Lewis

Word of the Day  Ian

Exigent:  adj., requiring immediate action.  The fire caused exigent circumstances.

Table Topics:  Rachel cleverly used value pack coupons as topics for extemporaneous speaking.

Speaker 1
Robin—CC, “Persuade with Power; 5-7 minutes; “Life Is Just a Bowl Full of Golf Balls! Or Inspiration in a Jar”

Congratulations to Robin on her 10^th Speech, allowing us to become “President’s Distinguished for a 11^th year in a row.  We have the required 9 points, but are going for a perfect 10.

Robin spoke about an article entitiled, “The Journey to Fulfilling Your Dreams” by Janet Grace Ortigas.  It stated that while we all want to fulfill our dreams and desires only a small per centage actually do.  She persuaded us to prioritize our goals by examining them outside the box with, of all things, a bowl full of golf balls, beads, and confetti-like sand.  That’s Robin for you!

 Speaker 2,

Joe—CC Demonstrating; 5-7 minutes “Why not Salt, No Rocks; As Joe searched for a topic, While Joe was onsidering speaking about folding sheets, brewing coffee, and tying a tie, we all proceeded to fall asleep.  Then he created a room full of excitement as he donned his apron and revealed his recipe for the “margarita”, a refreshing summer repast.  He clarified some misconceptions about tequila, stating that high quality tequila does not need salt and that it comes from a cactus. 

Speaker 3,
Sonia—CC, #3; 5-7 min.; “Weight Loss Obsession”.  Sonia revealed her thought process as she was trying to lose the 20 pounds gained in her early years in college.  While researching the ads for chemical solutions, diets, and exercise machines, she finally realized that the answer was balanced nutrition and exercise.  She was then able to lose the 20 pounds in 1year without financially investing in diet programs, pills, or exercise gizmos.

Speaker 4:

Andrew—CC, Icebreaker; “Life and Learning”; Andrew needs to be commended for diving into his icebreaker.  Being creative, he used his talents to give teachers a run for their money in high school.  Using his artistic ability, Andrew forged a career for 30 years as a Tatoo Artist. Though his reputation was not as a student, he is on the verge of completing his Bachelor Degree because of his appreciation of life-long learning.

General Evaluator:  Robin

Evaluator 1:  Chandra for Robin—Robin persuaded us to keep adding to life, never losing sight of priorities.  Robin left us with visual images as she took out her inexhaustible bag of  tricks that allowed us to see that there is always room for more in life. “The only one stopping you is you”.

Evaluator 2:  Rachel for Joe-Joe did a fabulous job of demonstrating as he too brought out his bucket of tools.  His props fully engaged his audience as they actually experienced his speech topic.

Evaluator 3:  Ian for Sonia-Sonia has great natural potential, using very effective body language as a beginning Toastmaster.  She related her journey to weight loss experiences and research which culminated in the simple solution of balance, nutrition, and exercise—how profound.

Evaluator 4:  Rich from 1 State Street for Andrew-Rich has an effective conversational storytelling style and a sense of humor—important for an effective public speaker.  He even ended with a quote.  After this impressive icebreaker, he is well on his way to passing his public speaking requirement.  

Ah-Counter:  Tami

Timer:  Jessica
Grammarian:  Lucy

President’s Remarks:  Joe, VP Education

By the end of June, we will be one of 2 clubs with the award of President’s Distinguished for the 11the year in a row.  We will have a perfect 10.

Our guest, Rich, a 25 year Toastmaster Member, advising us to learn and enjoy the trip! 

            Eagle TM is certainly enjoying the trip!!

20 were present including 8 guests or new members.