June 15th Meeting - Graduation Night

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”

-          Socrates

Eagles,

June 15^th, our last meeting of the 2014-2015 year, was another fun evening…..Too bad I missed it. However, I did make it to Jake’s!

When I arrived at Jake’s, I was immediately wowed by the fact that our club is truly a family….and that was before I saw my entire family at the far end of the table!

During our celebration, I learned that Meghan was “on top of her game” as the Toastmaster. I also learned that Rachel, my back up, was delayed due to traffic challenges on I-91…..No problem! Ute, “the back up to the back up” stepped up with the President’s message. As they say, “this is exactly how we drew it up in the playbook”!

The Eagles enjoyed a full night of four speeches…..Robin’s body spoke about miniature golf. Sandy gave her 11^th speech of the year about “doing less more meaningfully”. Joseph gave an interesting speech about General Patton. Last, but not least, Tom taught us that beer drinkers do not get cholera (at least that’s what Allie told me she learned!).

Susanne joined us for the last meeting of the year. Susanne was our president for the first half of 2014-15, but had to step down due to her demands at work. She enjoyed seeing how much the Eagle seedlings she met last year have grown. Susanne’s contributions were felt throughout the entire year!

The above quote describes one of my favorite lessons from the 2014-15 TM year……..I realize many of us are Eagles because we like to learn. However, I underestimated how invigorating it is! Many Monday nights I would have to drag myself to a TM meeting after a long day at work.  After our meeting, I would be so energized I would have difficulty going to sleep.

It has been a privilege being your president for the last six months. I was very moved by Joe’s presentation of my gift and am thankful for your expressions of appreciation……I am very excited about our 2015-16 year with Kate Kelly as our President. Kate is extremely committed - not only to our club, but as a helper to others.  

Our next meeting on July 6^th promises to be fun….We have three speakers lined up already but lots of roles still open….please log onto www.eagletoastmaters.com and sign up for something!

I look forward to seeing you on July 6^th!

Tony Centorino

Pets!

On Monday June 1^st, we had another fun meeting with Pets being the theme. The meeting lasted 2 ½ hours, which is 17 ½ dog hours! This is why we’ve had trouble attracting canine members. The lack of opposable thumbs that prevents them from being timers is another reason.

Joseph Oddie showed us his skills as our Toastmaster by keeping the meeting moving and providing interesting commentary between speakers.

Ruchi Pandey was our Quotemaster, kicking our meeting off with an inspiring quote. For those that have never done this before, it is a great opportunity to share your wisdom with others.

Sandy Centorino provided us a Values Moment about an organization that serves people, young an old, with pets. The organization is called Pet Partners -http://www.petpartners.org/

Sandy was also our Topics Master with pet related topics. Harry Thurow, our newest member, gave not one but two Table Topics……before his check even cleared! We also learned about Allie’s glass gold fish and Cassie’s uninvited pet turtles.

Jon Weinberger “broke the ice” and shared his interesting background with us. If Jon felt uncomfortable speaking in public, he certainly fooled us! It was an auspicious debut indeed! (Kate, do I get credit for using the word of the day?)

Robin Corrigan completed her 9^th speech, speaking about her dragon and her trip to Tibet.

Allie Centorino researched her topic for her second speech, inspiring us with her story about overcoming a personal challenge.

And then there was Elaine Piazza……..Elaine completed her Advanced Communication Silver with her 10 minute speech, providing pointers about public speaking.  Elaine had told us early this year that she was going to complete her ACS this year and she did it! She also pushed Eagle over the top…..We are now President’s Distinguished for the 14^th year in a row!

At the end of the meeting, Ian Brooks shared an opportunity to help another organization with a “Speechcraft” event. Ian is working with a Manufacturing Company in North Haven that is looking to improve their speaking skills. He is seeking volunteers at Eagle to provide a couple of hours of time on either a Wednesday or Thursday TBD.

As exciting as it is to grow at an Eagles meeting, I learned that helping others learn our craft is incredibly energizing! The bonus is that Eagle’s treasury will get a nice boost as this is a paid gig! Please reach out to Ian if you are interested and able to help. Several of us told Ian we can do it if provided enough notice. If you think you can find time to help (even if you’re not sure) just let Ian know. He will do his best to make it work.

I look forward to seeing you at our final meeting of the Toastmaster year on 6/15 (don’t worry, “next year” begins on 7/6). After our meeting, we will celebrate at Jake’s Tavern. I hope you will join us!

There are openings for our 6/15 meeting…..Please log onto http://www.eagletoastmasters.com/ and sign up for something!

Tony 

May 18th Meeting - "and the Emmy goes to....."

Eagles,

Another great meeting Monday night! TV night was a night where we not only celebrated TV, we also got to learn something new about each other. From John B telling us he watches 2-3 hours each day to Ute sharing that she doesn't even own a TV.

What TV night would be complete without Emmy Awards? Here we go.....

Best presentation of an invention: John Bimonte - the "Toastmaster Startup Kit" (a headband and wristbands for new people that, ahem, perspire when they speak)

Person that made me feel oldest: Meghan Neller – As Quotemaster, Meghan quoted Gilmore Girls (never heard of them)

Person that made me feel youngest: Richard Freeman, who told us he liked Rat Patrol (I read about them in social studies class)

Reference that made some of us wish Google was around in the 60s: Ian Brooks for his Diana Riggs reference.

Best live performance of a TV sound track: Tony Centorino for his a Capella performance of the “Ballad of Gilligan's Isle” (Sherwood Schwartz is rolling in his grave)

Best visual description: Heather McKelvie for describing how Mr. Rogers told her through the TV that he wanted to talk to her Mom. Heather asked her Mom to come to the TV while she was, hmmm, indisposed

Best Educational speech: tie between Robin Corrigan's Go for the Gold tutorial on Toastmaster awards and Kate Kelly for teaching us about Susan B Anthony through her interpretative reading.

Best alternative to sleeping at church: Deb Haggett for her persuasive speech on how our clergy can learn to be better speakers

Thanks to all mentioned above as well as the following that took on meeting roles…..Jeff Torone, Allie Centorino, Sandra Centorino, Tom Corrigan, Vin Messina, Kevin Tran, Ute Brinkmann, Joe Oddie and Ruchi Pandey.

Thank you for another fun evening! See you on June 1st! There are roles available….please sign up for something!

Tony

Cinco de Mayo

Eagles,

May 4^th was  a fun evening that showcased what Eagle and Toastmasters is all about!

Our meeting had a festive “Cinco de Mayo” feel to it. That is, until Allie the Humorist told us it is actually “Sinko de Mayo”. Our Toastmaster, Rachel, regaled us with her entire Spanish vocabulary, which was only exceeded by the six Spanish words Sandra had on her Table Topics display!

We had two guests from other Toastmaster clubs, Aparna and Paul. While it is really fun “showing our club off” to potential new members, it is especially gratifying hearing compliments from members from other clubs……..We have a great club! It is a privilege having guests like Aparna and Paul contribute to our club with table topics, evaluations, and positive energy. I hope to visit their clubs sometime.

My lasting impression of Monday’s meeting, was John Bimonte’s Icebreaker! John stepped up to perform his Icebreaker a month early when a speaker slot opened. John permeated his speech with eye contact and his vocal variety was remarkable for a first speech! He is off to a great start!

Robin presented a very informative speech that summarizes the Toastmaster Communicator and Leadership programs…..If you remember nothing else about her speech, please know that she is a wealth of experience in this area. Please reach out to Robin or any of our more experienced members if you have questions or needs in this area.

A note about the agenda…….For several of you, “life got in the way” resulting in you having to remove your name from the 5/4 sign-up sheet. Each one of you respected the Eagle family by letting me know as soon as you found out you could not make it….Thank you! I look forward to your participation in future meetings. To those of you that did participate, some on short notice, thank you for stepping up! It is great to know we have “each other’s back”.

I would like to close with a short message about playing “Taps”. I spoke about playing Taps at my Dad’s military ceremony, which took place in the Sarasota National Cemetery in 2012. Shortly before my Dad’s burial, my cousin (also a trumpet player) told me that the Service personnel would play a recording of Taps unless I lined up a trumpet player. My cousin flew down to Florida....I played Taps and he played the echo.

There is an organization that will line up a bugler - www.buglesacrossamerica.org. If you know of anybody that needs a bugler, just go onto the site to request a player. You can also reach out to me and I’ll see what I can do to help. Every Serviceman and Servicewoman should be entitled to a live player!

Get ready for TV night on 5/18! Please log onto the website and sign up for something!

Tony

PS. Congratulations to our new officer-elects, Kate Kelly, Heather McKelvie, and Meghan Neller! I will provide more of my thoughts about this over the next few days

March 2nd Eagle Toastmaster Meeting

Fellow Toastmasters,

On March 2nd we had a unique evening to meet under the bright lights and in front of the cameras at Wallingford Public Access TV. Here are the highlights.

Tom Corrigan’s skill and experience was on display as our Toastmaster. He kept the meeting moving and stuck to the agenda. Robin Corrigan wore multiple hats….she was the Table Topics Master, General Evaluator, and the speech evaluator for two speeches. As the TT Master, she encouraged two of our newest members, Jeff and Ruchi, to speak in front of the cameras.

In commemoration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Rachel Mele provided a Dr. Seuss humor moment. Shannon Breaux, another “newbie”, provided a Dr. Seuss quote from a special book.

We had four speeches from our newer members. Deb Haggett set the tone with an inspirational speech that showed that “if you can see it and believe it, you can achieve it”. The Inspire speech is the longest speech (8-10 minutes) in the first CC manual and she did it without notes!

Alison Centorino gave her icebreaker last evening. Allie’s speech, “The Giving Girl”, communicated how friendships are about “quality not quantity” and the importance of helping others. She set the bar high for her next speech!

Sandra Centorino’s speech, Wine and Spirits, described a magical evening as a designated driver. Her “How to Say it” speech painted a vivid picture with her words.

Speaking of driving, Heather McKelvey brought her car to life…..13 years and 160,000 miles. That car gave Heather the best years of its life!

Our Eagle family is now 23 members strong. Last night was Shannon’s and Ruchi’s first meeting as new members and they are no longer the newest. Jill Wruble just signed up….I look forward to meeting her at our next meeting!

Our next meeting is a Toastmaster International speech contest on 3/16. Rachel sent out the details. Please consider signing up for a role. More to follow…..

See you on 3/16!

Tony