President’s
Remarks:
Chandra turned the program over to
Rachel, Area 34 Governor. Eagle
Toastmasters is a member of District 53 (Connecticut, Eastern New York and Western
Massachusetts), Division C. Area 34.
There are 145 Clubs in District 53.
Rachel asks members to sign up for the following:
·
Roles in the Club Contest for March 18
·
Roles in the Area 34 contest to be held on
Wednesday, April 10.
·
Central Connecticut Advanced Toastmasters
information: The club takes members to a
new level in achievement with feedback from advanced Toastmasters and expert
mentoring.
·
Helping a new club get off the ground: 3M Innovators in Meriden, on Research Parkway
Today’s Toastmaster: Jessica
Humorist: Uta—Uta presented several man-jokes,
challenging someone to get back at her next meeting.
Word of the Day: Hyunsoo
Paltry: Ridiculously small, completely useless, mean
or contemptible. (1) The turnout today
is the opposite of “paltry”. (2) I am
trying to find a new bank because of the paltry interest I am getting.
Quote of the Day: Shari
Luck
is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Table Topics: Ian
Subject is “being
busy” with topics like “If you weren’t here, what would you be doing?”; “you
were late for work because you were so busy”; “the background noise making it
too busy to work”.
Speaker 1:
Kate.—AC, Storytelling, “The Moral of the Story”, 4-6 minutes; “Turning
Around a Failing Company”
Kate gave a thought-provoking
scenario of students who invested in a company with the express goal of turning
it around. They hired 3 salesmen: #1 Jim was outgoing and gregarious; #2 Paul
was quiet with the look of success marked by his expensive taste; #3 Dave spent
his time talking to those in the company.
In
the end, the achievement bonus went to Dave who made the least sales. As fate would have it, Jim sold the most, but
cost the company plenty. His sales were
based on false promises which compelled the company to hire more staff to fill
orders it was unable to deliver. The
company lost many of the customers because of inability to provide
service. Paul had the next highest sales
total; but his travel and entertainment expenses nullified any profits. His extravagance gave rise to ethical
questions. Dave, who spent his time
learning the business from the bottom up, had 100 per cent customer
loyalty.
The
moral of the story is: Say as you do; do
as you say; play fair; you will win.
Speaker 2: Rich M.—AC, The Entertaining Speaker
#3, “Make Them Laugh”; 5-7 minutes; “The Flu”
The objective of this speech was
to say something funny. Rich had us
rolling in the aisles with one joke after the other, said with a perfectly
straight face. He is unique to say the
least.
He spoke about being a
survivor—a survivor of a 52 year battle with the flu. He spoke about his research on the baboon’s
immunity to the flu to get our attention.
He spoke about getting the shot, having the flu, and getting the
cure. After the flu shot, he gets the
flu. When he finally got desperate
enough to go to the Clinic for help, he found himself in a waiting room for 3
hours, bonding with other members of the Elite Flu Club. Though too weak to move, he found himself
journeying to the rear of the drug store for his medication. In a final move of desperation, he visited
his family doctor who assured Rich that he would do his best to get the flu
under control if it takes every penny Rich had.
A visit from his daughter and grandchildren provided an additional
challenge. He overcame all as he cured
himself—6 weeks to the day from first getting the symptoms.
As if he didn’t have enough of
the flu in his life, a Happy Hour acquaintance bragged: “I never get the flu shot; I never get the flu.” Here is where the Toastmaster in Rich came
out. Instead of manhandling this
inconsiderate taunting individual physically, he drew upon his years of flu
research and retorted in a short table topics speech response—“stop acting like
your baboon ancestors; they never get the flu.”
Speaker 3: Andrew—CC #3, “Your Body Speaks”, 5-7 min.; “Would
a Camel Walk a Mile for You?”
Andrew
related a story of his addiction to cigarettes brought about by the money from
his first job along with the mission of a friend to get him to smoke. By the end of summer, he was smoking 3 packs
a day, thus transforming himself into a member of the high school boy’s room
smoking fraternity. All was well until
he ran out of cigs after graduation and while staying over- night with a friend
who did not smoke. As an addict without
transportation, he formulated a plan, which included returning to his high
school which was within hiking distance.
The faculty room cigarette machine would save him. He cleverly disguised himself in the friend’s
mother’s wig, and began his hike on foot to the school. He broke into the school, incognito. As he was about to escape with the goods, the
vice principal, who was also the school disciplinarian, recognized him
immediately. The VP stood in the
doorway in disbelief as Andrew exited the school in a hurry. Rumor has it that Andrew was the inspiration
for the Camel Cigarette commercial.
Speaker 4:
Chandra, “The Toastmaster Journey—Be Positive”.
Chandra
delivered a pocket speech in the absence of a 4th speaker. He spoke about his Toastmaster Journey and
the importance of being positive.
Toastmasters became a bridge from his world in India to his world
here. He was able to apply what he learned
in TM to his professional life. He didn’t
want to be Club President, but accepted the challenge, making up his mind to
get the job done. He was amazed at our
club’s ability to always come together for a successful meeting, even at the
last minute. He thanked Lucy,
Sargent-at-Arms, for always coming ahead of time to set up; she generally goes
to work extra-early on meeting nights so she could be in town early before the
meetings. He thanked Sonia for her PR
work; she was on top of the web site postings with immediate responses to
requests. He thanked Ian for his
continued work to keep membership numbers up; Ian makes everyone feel at home
when they come to meetings, especially guests.
He makes phone calls to encourage members and guests. He thanked Uta, our Treasurer. Uta is the voice of experience who guides us
all towards our goal of President’s Distinguished. She gives confidence to members. She encourages the safe, fun meeting
atmosphere that our club is known for.
Uta always has a pocket speech-- just in case, so our meetings are never
lacking in quality. He thanked Elaine
for being secretary, posting the minutes on the Club Blog. Members are encouraged to read the minutes,
as they will be surprised at the quality; she does use her poetic license with
the recording of minutes (sorry, Tom). He
thanked Joe, the VP of Education, for undertaking the daunting task of keeping
track of our Club achievements and progress.
He thanked Area Governor Rachel for her work on the social media which
has put our footprint out there on the web.
He especially thanked Past President Kate for forcing him to be
President, a role that has transformed his life.
He thanked everyone at Eagles
Toastmasters for the team effort that has allowed us to get things done. There is always someone who steps up when the
need is there--amazing!
Chandra finally hit us with the
bad news: He is transferring to a new professional
position in Texas. He has great
credentials with his doctorate in the field of science, his wonderful family,
and now his achievements in Toastmasters.
By luck, he got a job in the area where his 2 brothers now work and reside. We will miss all that he brought to the Club
and to his position as President. He
became the heart of the Club this year, with his communications, his
inspirational speeches, and his caring.
His last meeting will be April 1; and he will be missed. There will be a lucky Toastmaster’s Club in
Texas that will, undoubtedly, be gifted with Chandra as a member.
He wants to let all know that
his Toastmaster Journey transformed him—the key: Be Positive.
General Evaluator: Rachel
Evaluator 1: Dawid for Kate—Kate’s excellent presentation
featured her images of 3 personality types you might find in the field of
sales. She directed their actions
towards the moral of the story—Know your game; play fairly.
Evaluator 2: Ian for Richard—“Making Them Laugh” is a
difficult speech. Rich did it all—he had
originality in good taste. The baboon
story got our attention. He then
organized the speech by 1) Getting the flu shot; 2) Getting the flu; 3) Getting
the cure. He had a strong theme, and
kept moving to further energize the speech and keep our attention.
Evaluator 3: Chandra for Andrew—Chandra is still waiting
for the Camel to appear in Andrew’s speech.
Timer:
Sonia
Ah Counter: Susanne—Speeches did not contain “ah’s” and
“um’s”, quite unusual.
Grammarian: Elaine
General Evaluator: Rachel complimented Jessica for taking on the
role of the Toastmaster for the first time.
Taking on the role for the first time is truly a learning experience and
takes a lot of courage. Members are
reminded that the Toastmaster is responsible for getting the agenda run off (or
for getting another member to run off the agenda). To make
the job easier, the Toastmaster can allow those taking on the roles to give the
job description. Everyone is encouraged
to take on the role of Toastmaster. Our
club has a way of helping out so even a beginner can run a successful
meeting. Jessica was entertaining and
proved herself to be a natural speaker, besides.
President’s
Remarks: Chandra elicited comments from
guests. Most were impressed with the
safety and trust in the room, especially with the comfort and acceptance within
the group. Evaluations were not intimidating,
but were supportive. Several guests are
considering joining. Guests feel
welcomed and comfortable at meetings.
We have been President’s Distinguished for 11 straight years. The 20 year Anniversary will be next
year. Some of us guaranteed that Chandra
would go out as the President of our 12th year as a President’s Distinguished
Club.
March 18 will be the International Speech Contest/Table Topics Contest. Lucy is chairperson; please respond to her
e-mails for signing up for roles to help out.
We have 3 Table Topics Contestants and 6 Speech Contestants. Kate and Rachel have volunteered to be in
charge of refreshments. Please sign up
to contribute to refreshments.
25 Members and guests were present.
At a post-meeting Officer’s pow-wow, Kate agreed to act as Interim President until the next president is elected.
