December 18th Meeting

Our last meeting of the 2017 calendar year was held in the BYK Conference center. It was short and sweet, so that we could move out to the lobby and enjoy refreshments while doing a round of table topics by the fire.

Sandra Centorino was Toastmaster for the evening. We happily welcomed two new members – Markus Schumacher and Celina Dorn. Tom Piekarski served as the humorist and Ian Brooks gave the quote of the day, "Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection." – Winston Churchill.

To keep the meeting short, we only had two speakers. Ute Brinkmann delivered speech #9, Persuade with Power from the Competent Communicator manual. Her speech was titled Giving, and she spoke of the importance of giving to those who are less fortunate than we are. There are many ways to give – we can donate time, money, and resources. By doing so we can give hope to others in this world.

Maryanne Shirshac gave Speech #6, Vocal Variety, from the Competent Communicator manual. Titled “Holly Days”, Maryanne spoke about her cat, Holly. Holly came into Maryanne’s life as she was mourning the loss of her previous cat. Holly has left pawprints on Maryanne’s heart, which is something to which other pet owners can relate.

The general evaluator was Nilani Shankar, and Ian Brooks and Stephen McGirr evaluated the speeches. Functionary roles were: Ah-Counter – Heather McKelvie, Grammarian – Salvatore Romano, Timer –Melinda Torgerson.

After the evaluations and functionary reports were given, the group migrated to the lobby for snacks and socialization in front of the fireplace. Deborah Haggett led a holiday session of table topics. All in all, it was a fun way to celebrate our time together as Toastmasters.