Minutes - December 16, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance: 8 members, 2 guests (from Rotary North Haven)

 Word of the Day

“Renaissance”

Speakers

Ute Brinkmann – “Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus”
Bruno Chima - Icebreaker
Tom Piekarski – “The Curmudgeons Strikes Again”

Evaluators

Richard Freeman
Elaine Piazza
Robin Corrigan

Minutes – December 2, 2013, Guests @ Master’s Manna

Special club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Master’s Manna in Wallingford

Attendance: 10 members, 9 guests, some under 3 feet and Master’s Manna director

 Word of the Day

“altruism” – The principal of practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others

 Quote

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa who died just a few days later

 

Speakers
Cheryl Bedore of Master’s Manna
Joe Oddie – Icebreaker
Tom Piekarski – Behind the Barn


Observation: Difficult setting for speaking – good training.

Minutes – November 18, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance: 14 members, 2 guests

 Word of the Day

“coincidence”

Speakers

Tanya Gorshkov – Icebreaker
Robin Corrigan
Ian Brooks

Minutes – November 4, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance: 11 members, 1 guests, 1 past member,  and division C contest winner

 Invocation

“The man who can think and does not know how to express what he thinks is at the level of him who cannot think.”   Dionysius the Elder
“Second thoughts are ever wiser.”  Euripides
“Mind your speech a little, lest it mar your fortunes.” Shakespeare, “King Lear”

 Word of the Day

“lugubrious”

Speakers

Susanne Morse (“We are not in Cheshire anymore, Hollie”)
Practice run for district 53 contest

 

We welcome our new president: Mike Connors

Minutes – October 21, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance: 9 members, 2 guests (one guest became a member)

Invocation

“The man who can think and does not know how to express what he thinks is at the level of him who cannot think.”   Dionysius the Elder
“Second thoughts are ever wiser.”  Euripides
“Mind your speech a little, lest it mar your fortunes.” Shakespeare, “King Lear”

 Word of the Day

“pithy” (chosen by a guest)

 Speakers

Ute Brinkmann (“Men And Accessories”)
Mike Connors (“Tools, People, Putting It All Together”)

Minutes – October 7, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance:  10 members, 1 guest (who became a member)

Word of the Day

"indubitable"

 Thought of the Day

“Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”   Muhammad Ali

Speakers

Sonia Dean
Paul Douglass
Mike Connors

Farewell Eagles! I wish you all best!

Good Evening Everyone!

 

Below is a summary of the last meeting and why I cannot make it to our meetings anymore.

 

We had a very nice meeting on October 1st. Mike practiced for the Humorous Speech Contest. I don't know the results of the contest, but I thought he did very well at our meeting. Everyone there gave him some excellent advice and I truly hope it helped.

Doug gave the “Vocal Variety” speech from the Competent Communicator manual. He did a unique, creative and entertaining reading of Dr. Seuss's "Horton Hatches an Egg."  

I also gave a speech that I titled “The Next Step.” I talked about a series of steps I took in the course of my life to get where I am today. I’ve been in a rut for longer than I care to admit. I decided to get out of my rut last year. I saved up, planned and quit my job as a Graphic Designer. It was risky, but today I can say, with confidence, that I found a new career in television as a writer/producer at Fox-CT News!

 

On that note, I would like to let you know that my hours at my new job will not allow me to continue as President of Eagle Toastmasters. I am sad about this because it certainly has been a learning and growing experience for me. Being a part of Toastmasters has taught me a lot about stepping out and pushing past my comfort zones. One of the first steps I took to change my life was when I joined Toastmasters last year. I have been taking step after step since then and today, I have a new job and a new direction. It takes time and planning, but it can be done. I still have a long road ahead of me and I hoped to have continued it with Toastmasters. It just so happened that my new hours conflict with our meeting schedule. I am truly sorry…

 

I wish everyone all the best and urge you to take full advantage of Toastmasters. You learn by doing, after all. If there is anything I’ve learned on my way to accomplishing my goals, it’s that it doesn’t happen by accident. The agenda for Monday’s meeting has lots of roles for anyone who wants to grow. I realize I must sound cheesy, but… oh, well. So… GET OUT THERE AND TAKE SOME ROLES AND DO SOME SPEECHES!!!

 

Kind Regards,

Sonia

Minutes - September 16, 2013 - Fall Speech Contest

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Club Contest Night: Humorous Contest and Evaluation Contest
Attendance:  13 members, 1 guests (who became a members), guest speaker from 3M and Area Governor  Diana Drysdale

Speakers for the Evaluation Contest:

Susanne Morse
Sonia Dean
Ian Brooks

Speakers for the Humorous Contest:
Elaine Piazza – Boys 2 Men
Mike Connors – Medium Coffee, Goldie and the Middle
Richard Freeman – Women and Accessories
Bruno Chima – Email Troubles

Winners who move on to the Area Contest (Oct 9, 2013):

Ian Brooks for the Evaluation Contest
Mike Connors for the Humorous Contest

Minutes - September 9, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance:  19 members, 4 guests

Word of the Day

Glossophobia

Thought of the Day

When the love of power will be conquered by the power of love we will have world peace.

Speakers

Kate Kelly
Elaine Piazza
Ian Brooks

Humorous Speech Contest - September 16th

Dear Members,

 

Congratulations!! We had a terrific Humorous Speech Contest and lots of treats to munch on. Thank you for contributing! 

 

As Contest Chair, Kate made sure all roles were filled and everyone was ready to go. Ute carried the meeting through as Contest master, and the show went off without a hitch.

 

We had four speakers and three evaluators. Our contestants put in great effort, and in effect they are all winners.

 

We began with Elaine who gave a humorous account of the difficult task teachers have of helping their students become adults. She aptly named her speech, "Boys to Men", but don't let the title fool you, she also talks about changing girls to women. She quipped that teachers don't age, only parents do and that these educators come with a chisel and a vision of the future. We enjoyed her stories of students who give wisecrack answers to serious questions... A teacher says, "Why do you make so many mistakes?" The student replies, "I get up really early in the morning." Elaine's speech earned her second place!

 

Mike Connors won first place as humorous speaker! This is wonderful and amazing, especially because I believe he just joined about a month ago! Great job Mike! We look forward to more from you and good luck at the Area level contest. I'm sure you will "knock 'em dead". He gave us an interesting observation between the size of coffee and who buys it. According to Mike, senior citizens buy small, busy people buy large, really busy people buy extra large, and busy people with a lot to do and always on the go buy the extra large with the turbo shot. Mike is a self proclaimed extra large w/a turbo shot! Mike is baffled and somewhat envious of those who purchase medium. According to him, "medium" people have "Goldilocks" syndrome, which means they are always in the middle, but seem to have exactly what they want... It's not too much and not too little, but just right. Well, Mike, while you work on your coffee we thought your speech was just right!

 

Richard gave us a speech about a different kind of observation. He made a valiant attempt to understand women and their accessories, especially when it comes to the number of shoes they own. He came up with three theories. 1) Women need two pairs of shoes - one for show and one for comfort 2) Women are dressing to impress other women. Guys don't appreciate the effort fashion take, but other women do, so they will appreciate the effort of the challenge to look good. 3) Women have an emotional attachment, so much so that they will buy something at the end of a season and keep it in a box, in the closet until they can use it next year. I'm not sure if Richard found a definite answer as to why women have so many accessories... perhaps there are many answers, none of which that are right or wrong? But, he concluded that as many accessories as a woman has, the best accessory for a man is a happy woman. I think women can agree that's a good answer.

 

Bruno, one of our newest members, jumped right in. He made his first speech in a club contest! BRAVO! That is excellent initiative and very brave! He gave us a funny speech describing a misstep that can be taken in today's digital age. When he was younger, Bruno created an email only as a kid could, by naming it something... let's say less than professional. His younger sister's shampoo emergency led to a trip to a local CVS. As he purchased a pink bottle of shampoo (not manly, to say the least), he was asked for his email by the cashier. To avoid spam Bruno gave his unprofessional email, but ended up embarrassed by having to broadcast it. It wasn't enough that he had to buy pink shampoo for is little sister, but he had to loudly declare his email, "B-A-L-L-I-N-B-C-14@..." so everyone could hear. It was a lesson learned!

 

For the evaluation portion of our night, we had three contestants: Ian, Susanne, and myself. Ian is our winner! Congratulations Ian! We wish you luck at the area level!

 

We had a visit from our Area governor Diane and our guest speaker Angela (3M member). Angela did a wonderful job! She gave us an entertaining account of her fear of mice and what she is doing to work through it. Thank you both for joining us.

 

We also had two new members! Phillip Restivo and Tanya Gorshkov filled out applications! We look forward to seeing their ice breaker speeches!

 

It was a fun and eventful evening, thanks to everyone! You guys made it possible!

 

Until next time!

 

Sonia

President, Eagle Toastmasters

"If you build it, they will come..." - September 9th

 

Hi Everyone!

 

This Monday we were all Rachel's girlfriends! The guys may have been a bit hesitant at  first, but they all come around. We had some serious "girl talk" ranging from Rich telling us about his favorite romantic movie and Elaine explaining what qualities she likes best in a man!

 

We had three members step up to the plate with one prepared speech and two impromptu speeches. As it so happened, the theme for our meeting was to BUILD.

 

Kate gave us an excellent technique for starting and building a conversation. She taught us how to start with small talk that includes topics like weather and then to build, build, build... from there (if you choose). She explained that as you continue the conversation you can choose to add more facts and personal opinions to create a greater connection between you and the other person. She gave us a demonstration of conversation building with Rich as her partner. Thank you Kate for giving us a way to comfortably "break the ice".

 

Elaine gave us an impromptu speech with humorous anecdotes about raising her children and grandchildren. She told me impromptu speaking was "not her style" and that she was very nervous. Regardless of how she felt (and I think we can all relate) she did a great job and her shaky nerves were not apparent. Elaine may not have had notes to fall back on, but she took a chance and in effect is building on her public speaking skills.

 

Ian also gave us an impromptu speech. It may appear that Ian has always been comfortable with public speaking, but the truth is he began the same way we all did or are doing with Toastmasters. He used to be a nervous wreck. Ian gave us a short history of how he began to confront the situations that made him uncomfortable and continued to build on getting comfortable over the years. His speech is a great testimony to Toastmasters meetings and practicing. The only way you're sure to succeed is practice, practice, practice (or in other words, build, build, build).

 

Also, as a reminder, we have our Humorous Speech Contest next Monday, September 16th! See you then!

 

Sonia,

President, Eagle Toastmasters

Minutes – August 19, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance:  9 members, 3 guests (2 became members) and Fred
Area Governor Diana Drysdale came for a visit

Word of the Day

“Schism”

Speakers

Diana Drysdale
Richard Freeman
Sonia Dean

Minutes – August 5, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance: 12 members, 2 guests, 1 new member

Word of the Day

“selfie”

 

Speakers

Paul Douglass

Kate Kelly

Tom Piekarski

Enhance, Exercise, Encourage - August 19

Dear Members,

 

We certainly had an excellent meeting last night!

 

We had distinguished guest Area Governor, Diana Drysdale, who gave a compelling speech about participating in club contests. Participating may be intimidating, but there are incredible benefits to it. As Diana put it, "enhance yourself, exercise your confidence, and encourage growth in yourself" and at the same time "enhance your club, exercise your community, and encourage each other." She encouraged us to step outside of our comfort zones, using herself and a friend as testimonies to the benefits. Diana said the last three years of Toastmasters has been the sole development tool for her and she could not be happier with the return on investment, especially since the cost is remarkably low. So, anyone thinking of participating, I hope you heed Diana's words because it is a tremendous opportunity to grow, learn, and ultimately increase your self-confidence. It may be scary, but you truly have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

 

Richard gave us an exceptional speech, which was his first from an advanced communicator manual. He took that opportunity to toast the club and all the members' efforts and contributions. Those of us who knew where Richard began in his speaking ability and where he is now can testify to his growth. As I recall, he jumped right into the humorous speech contest last year not long after joining Eagles! He is a sure example of someone who has done what Diana prescribed... he has enhanced himself, exercised his confidence(evident last night), and enhanced his ability. I can't wait to see what Richard has in store for us in meetings to come!

 

I threw a bit of a curve ball last night. I decided to abandon my planned speech and gave an impromptu one instead. I was inspired by Richard's speech and wanted to take a moment to encourage our members to take chances, especially because that is exactly why many of us join in the first place. Public speaking is a kind of risk because the risk of failure seems gargantuan, but here in the Toastmasters environment, we have a safe haven to fall without judgment and get up again with a helping hand.

 

Our club is hosting its Humorous Speech contest on September 19th. Whether you plan on participating or not it is a great meeting to attend. It's a fun meeting filled with belly laughs!

 

Also, a reminder, Wallingford Parks and Recs is closed for Labor Day. Therefore, we will be having the 1st meeting of the month on September 9th. See you guys then!

 

Best,

Sonia Dean

President, Eagle Toastmasters

Action & Adventure - August 5th

Dear Members,

 

Tonight's theme was evident with each speaker giving his/her own brand of action and adventure.

 

Paul gave us an enviable ice breaker speech filled with adventures such as snorkeling and sky diving. It was clear this wasn't his first time speaking -- evident by his energy, vocal variety, gestures and storytelling ability. He described a side of himself that I believe all of us have, but may be afraid to take risk or, dare I say it... take a "leap".

 

Kate's speech was a call to action to live life to its fullest no matter your age. She carefully orchestrated her speech by giving us a glimpse into the lives of people who we wouldn't otherwise have expected to have any energy left. Yet, they have more vitality than some people half their age. She encouraged us to break free from the mundane and truly live. Not only do you live healthier, but you have more fun in the process. Forget the number of candles on your birthday cake, now is the best time to view life as an adventure. Skydiving anyone?

 

Tom did not disappoint with his interpretive reading of the song "Alice's Restaurant Massacre", by Arlo Guthrie. The monologue is about an American Citizen who's life changed because he took an action that was seemingly inconsequential (littering), and forced to enlist in the Vietnam war. Tom has certainly honed his skills, and was so convincing that at times I thought he was speaking about a time from his own life.

 

We also had three new guests. I believe two of them are already members! That is a testament to the life and energy of this club, and I want to thank everyone who attended tonight. You guys are loads of fun and truly make each meeting worth attending. Thank you!

 

Sonia

President, Eagle Toastmasters

Minutes - July 15, 2013

Minutes – July 15, 2013

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance: 10 members, no guests

Invocation

“The man who can think and does not know how to express what he thinks is at the level of him who cannot think.”   Dionysius the Elder
“Second thoughts are ever wiser.”  Euripides
“Mind your speech a little, lest it mar your fortunes.” Shakespeare, “King Lear”

 Word of the Day

“sagacity”

Speakers

Susanne Morse
Ute Brinkmann
Rachel Mele

Minutes - July 1, 2013 - Happy New Year

Minutes – July 1, 2013 – Happy New Year!

Club meeting of Eagle Toastmasters Wallingford, #3161 at Park and Rec in Wallingford, CT

Attendance: 16 people including 3 Toastmasters from Cromwell and 1 guest who became a member at the end of the meeting

     Congratulations to another successful Toastmaster year 2012-13

Thank you 2012-13 officers:

Chandra Palla (Kate Kelly, Joe Katucki, Ian Brooks, Sonia Dean, Elaine Piazza, Ute Brinkmann, Lucy D’Angelo

Educational Achievements 2012-13:

CC – Ute Brinkmann, Richard Freeman
AC – Chandra Palla, Kate Kelly
Leadership – Joe Katucki, Ute Brinkmann

Membership in 2012-13:

New members: 20
Beginning of the year: 25
End of the year: 31

Year                       President

2001-02                Ute Brinkmann
2002-03                Sabine Kirstein
2003-04                Tom Piekarski
2004-05                Robin Corrigan
2005-06                Chris Lewis
2006-07                Dan Schmidt
2007-08                Fred Swiderski
2008-09                Udaya Neelam
2009-10                Elaine Piazza
2010-11                Ute Brinkmann
2011-12                Kate Kelly
2012-13                Chandra Palla

Eagle Wallingford: A Presidents Distinguished Club since 2001-2002

 

Speakers
Crystal Storo and Tom Alvord from Cromwell
Tom Piekarski
Kevin Manner (Icebreaker)
Colleen Ventner (guest)

Misc.:
Elaine Piazza is stepping up to be the VP-PR for 2013-14
Maybe Eagle and Cromwell Toastmaster have a joint meeting in the near future.
Perhaps we can visit the local TV station again.

So Cool - July 14th

Dear Members,

 

It was a hot Monday night, but no worries, we had a very cool meeting!

 

We had two humorous presenters and twice as many laughs! Ian and I "brought down the house" with our own brand of tongue-in-cheek jokes. 

 

Suzanne gave a wonderful speech titled, "Meet My Exotic Friend". She started by introducing us to an endearing prop of a toy bird that made life-like sounds, then proceeded to guide us through choosing the perfect bird. The speech was interlaced with story and factual information that described all the in's and out's of your perfect new family member. Organized, informative and entertaining, Suzanne presented an excellent second speech from her CC manual. She also did a great job filling in for Tom Corrigan as Toastmaster. The meeting flowed well and we didn't miss a beat.

 

Aptly titling her speech "Poverty", Ute gave a passionate speech referencing her trip to India. Ute provided visual aids that supported her words, "poverty is not just a concept, it has a face" - indeed it does. Sometimes we develop a narrow focus in life and forget that the world is bigger than what is in our immediate surroundings. It seems it is Ute's mission to expand our vision and realize that not only is there more to see in this world, but also more to do.

 

Right off the bat, Rachel gave us a humorous anecdote of her inability to cook. Long story short, her attempts at cooking required calls to the fire department and possibly the paramedics... It's sad to say that some of us there could relate. Actually, I started taking notes hoping she would give some great advice on avoiding charred meals. Her solution: "The Whole 30". It's a nutrition plan that teaches about food and healthy living. Rachel has had great success with the program. In fact, she has lost twenty-seven pounds since she first began one-hundred and eleven days ago! Truly, I believe she has discovered the key to success in the kitchen, and that is you must enjoy what you cook and eat. When you enjoy it, you take better care to do it right. The result... no more calls to 911.

 

On a side note...

 

Recently, I came across the text "Difficult lessons teach the hard way. It's much better to plan your growth intentionally." We all join Toastmasters to grow an area of our life that we feel is lacking. Put another way, we are looking to improve. Honestly, when I joined it didn't occur to me that I had to be intentional about my growth. I thought that it's just something that is supposed to happen. After all, I joined an organization geared toward the development and success of its members. As evident by the members who have been participating in Toastmaster for many years, growth doesn't happen by accident. There is a secret behind their passion for this club, and it's not much of a secret at all. The "secret" is that this really works because the more you put in, the more you get in return. This is only my second meeting as President of Eagle, and as daunting as the task may seem to me, I realized there is no failure except my lack of action. So, I encourage all of you to take advantage of this opportunity. As Woody Allen said, "90% of success is showing up".

 

Stay cool!

 

Sonia Dean

President, Eagle Toastmasters

July 1st - Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone!

 

Today was the first meeting of the Toastmasters new year! We had a great start with yummy bubbly and cookies, courtesy of Ute.

 

Tonight, we had Crystal and Tom visit us from the Cromwell club and impart their wisdom regarding the benefits of video taping our speeches. Their title, "Watch Your Speech", says it all. It's the perfect tool to see yourself as others see you and conduct a self-evaluation. They acknowledged that even though it may be scary at first, if you begin with focusing on the positive you can see your strengths for yourself and in effect, build on them. True, your first instinct is to shun the idea of seeing yourself on camera, but when you can give yourself an honest review, it gives you an edge on making bigger learning strides. Tom filmed our meeting tonight, and I hope that especially those of you who attended will be brave enough to go ahead and watch the video. It may take a few tries to get used to it, but I think it's hugely beneficial to see yourself as others see you.

 

Tom Piekarski gave a memorable reading of "General Douglas MacArthur's Farewell Speech". Tom was genuine and passionate. He chose an interesting speech because the General wrote the speech on May 12th, 1962, but there were aspects in it that hit too close to home.

 

Congratulations to Kevin, who gave his ice breaker speech tonight. He gave a chronological rendition of his life's events with delightful humorous anecdotes peppered throughout. It was immediately clear that Kevin has a talent for humor. We look forward to many more speeches from him.

 

Colleen made a vast improvement from our last meeting and read a poem in preparation for her niece's wedding. We all have been told at one point in our lives or another that practice makes perfect, and Colleen is a perfect demonstration of this concept. Thank you Colleen and good luck!

 

Some food for thought, as mentioned in today's meeting, Crystal and I think it would be mutually beneficial for our two clubs to get together and have a combined toastmasters meeting. We will set up a time some time during the second or fourth week in August. It's a great opportunity to break out of comfort zones.

 

Speaking of comfort zones... we had an excellent experience taping a meeting at the Wallingford Public Access. It's a great way to break down barriers on our road to personal growth, which is what Toastmasters is all about. I know that's why many of us join Toastmasters, and I hope that people will join in taking advantage of such a great opportunity.

 

 

Sincerely,

Sonia Dean

President, Eagle Toastmasters

Minutes of June 17, 2013

Minutes of June 17,  2013

President’s Remarks: 

Today’s Toastmaster:  Robin

Humorist:  Kevin

Word of the Day:  Eva—Carpool—Ride sharing with 2 or more people

Quote of the Day:   Kate--“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”  Booker T. Washington

Table Topics Master:  Tom C gave vacation scenarios including vacationing with 10 children, a driving vacation with teenagers, a sporting event, a museum, a camping trip, an eating vacation.

Speaker 1:  Rachel, Area 34 Governor gave a speech from the Successful Club Series, “Evaluations are the Heart of the Matter”.  Rachel gave 16 important points in taking on the role of Speech Evaluator.

Speaker 2:  Kate—AC Storytelling; Bringing History to Life; 7-9 minutes; “The Grandslam”.  Kate spoke about Bobby Jones, Harvard Grad, Lawyer, and also the only golfer to win 4 Major Championships in one year (1930).  He went on to build the Marion Golf Course in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, home of the US Open.  Kate finally accomplished her ACB which allows Eagles to become President’s Distinguished.  Uta and Chandra can finally sleep at night.

Speaker 3:  Uta—AC Speaking for Information, Project 3, 5-7 minutes; Speech to Inform, “Sleep”. Uta woke us all up with her audience participation as she brought out facts on sleep

 
General Evaluator:  Ian
 
Evaluator #1:  Ian for Rachel--Rachel gave us ways to improve our evaluations, in her expert presentation style.
Evaluator  #2:  Tom P.--Kate added drama to the year by waiting for the last minute to give the speech the Club needs to reach our goal of President's Distinguished.  The Club had a body guard
Evaluator  #3:  Elaine
 
Ah Counter:  Robin
Timer:  Richard F.
Grammarian:  Tom P.

President’s Remarks: 

·        We are now President’s Distinguished for the 12^th Year in a row.
·        Officer Slate:

•  Sargent-At-Arms::  Rich F
•  President:  Sonia
• VP Membership:  Ian
• VP ED:  Rachel
• Secretary:  Uta

13 were present with 1 guest.

 

Minutes of June 3, 2013

Minutes of June 3,  2013

President’s Remarks:  Kate has accepted the position of Interim President until July 1 when Sonia will take over the position.  We are waiting for Kate’s tenth speech so we can be recognized as President’s Distinguished.  Let’s not let Chandra hold his breath any longer; he did so much to encourage all to do their part to achieve the distinction.

Today’s Toastmaster:  Kate Kelly

Humorist:  Kevin Manner

Word of the Day:  Rich F—Photobomb-To drop in a photo unexpectedly.  To hop in a picture before it is taken.  An otherwise normal photo that has been ruined or spoiled by someone who should not be in the photo..

Quote of the Day:   Tom C.--“Americans spend an average of 29 hours a week watching television…which means in a typical life span, we devote 13 uninterrupted years to our TV sets!  …Cutting down just an hour a day would provide extra years of life—for music and family, exercise and reading, and conversation.” Michael Medved, Radio talk-show host--------"and Toastmasters" Tom C.

Table Topics Master:  Robin gave us all un-birthday gifts, photos from the paper that we thanked her for and spoke about. Robin always has a clever bag of tricks so we can visualize speech information.

Speaker 1:  New Member Eva, CC  #3, Get to the Point; “”Gender vs Technology”—Eva gave her first speech by speaking on a Math Class  presentation that she would actually be giving in a couple of weeks.  She informed us about the widespread use of technology with men preferring video games while women preferred texting.  She set out to prove this theory by gathering data and presenting the results of the survey in graphs. 

Speaker 2:  Rachel presented a speech on mentoring, with the goal of the mentor being to learn to be a leader while the goal of the mentee being to learn faster.  She gave us a challenge—each of us should be a mentor. 

General Evaluator:  Kate

Evaluator #1:  Elaine for Eva—Elaine solicited feedback from all members, as requested by Eva.  Eva is on the fast track to improving her “English as a Second Language” presentation skills as she prepares for the college experience.

Evaluator  #2:  Tom for Rachel—Rachel made a dry subject personal by inserting personal stories to her very polished speech style. 

Ah Counter:  Susanne

Timer:  Richard F.
Grammarian:  Robin

President’s Remarks: 

·        An Officer Training session has been added for July 13 at Hamden Hall Country Day School..

·        August 10 is the Division C Officer’s Training at Manchester; Officer Slate needs to be confirmed by next meeting

·        Our deadline to finalize the Officer Slate is June 17.  All Potential Officers should attend so we can finalize.

o               Sargent-At-Arms

o               President is

o               VP Membership

o               VP ED

o               Secretary

o               Treasurer

o               VP Marketing (Public Relations)

 21 were present including 3 guests and 2 new members.

Minutes of May 20, 2013

Minutes of May 20, 2013

President’s Remarks:  Kate has accepted the position of Interim President until July 1 when Sonia will take over .

Today’s Toastmaster:  Robin-Congratulations to Kate who came in 2^nd at the District Level contest.

Humorist:  Tom C.

Word of the Day:  New member Kevin Manner presented the word Success—to strive to achieve.  Enjoying success is what Toastmasters is all about.

Quote of the Day:   Rich--“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” Mother Teresa

Table Topics Master:  Elaine threw out question about Memorial Day and the accompanying celebrations, engaging each member present.

Speaker 1:  Uta, Speaking to Inform #3, The Demonstration Talk; “”How to Build a Violin”—Uta decided to take action after hearing that the craft of violin making was dying out as Germany is not producing apprenticeships.  She showed us all how to make a violin, actually demonstrating the steps.  Now that all present can instruct, violin-making will not be a dying art.

 
Speaker 2:  Sarah, CC#2, “I Can Still Rock as an Introvert”; Sarah’s personal weakness, being an introvert, can result in lost opportunities as an introvert may not always have the courage to speak up.  Sarah found that she could express herself when dealing with an important issue like her advocation for her daughter’s education.
 
General Evaluator:  Kate

Evaluator #1:  Kate for Uta—Kate cited Uta’s humor at in the speech’s opening and closing.  Uta’s passion for the violin clearly comes through to us.  The price range of these instruments--$30 to $14 million—was quite amazing to us all.

Evaluator  #2:  Suzanne for Sarah---Sarah’s strength is the ability to speak without notes.  Notes can be an important tool for organizing a speech to increase clarity:  Opening; 3 related major point; closing to summarize.

Ah Counter:  Robin—Our meeting was loaded with um’s, ah’s, you know’s; so, like

Timer:  Richard F.
Grammarian:  Tom stressed that we need to pay close attention to run on sentences and unnecessary fillers.  He reminded us that we have a lecturn (on a table) as opposed to a podium.

President’s Remarks: 

·        Kate is one speech away from allowing Eagles to achieve President’s Distinguished for the 13^th straight year.
·        August 10 is the Division C Officer’s Training at Manchester; slate needs to be confirmed by next meeting
               We have an opening for Sargent-At-Arms
President is Sonia

o               VP Membership is Ian

o               VP ED is Rachel

o               Secretary is Elaine

o               Treasurer is open

o               VP Marketing (Public Relations) is op

·        Kate suggests we sign up on “Meetup” as one person didn’t attend thinking there were only 2 present when there were actually 22 present.

·        The New Division C Governor for 2013-14  is Richard Frantz, Jr of Cheshire

·        The new District 53 Governor is Val Albert

11 members were present.