12/16/19 Holiday Celebration!

Eagles,

Our Holiday Celebration Meeting was full of friends, food, and fun! We had 21 members and 4 guests. It was a terrific end to the year and a transition to new beginnings.

Yours Truly served as the Toastmaster of the evening. Ian Brooks, fresh off a trip from Edinburgh Scotland channeled his inner Scot to provide a quote. As humorist, I went to the tried and true “somebody walked into a bar” joke. The reaction of the audience indicated my joke was more “trying” than “true”.

As we did not want to delay the festivities, we dove (“dived” also acceptable) right into the speeches.

I gave the first speech, out of the Better Club Series, on the topic of Mentoring. I shared my memories of mentoring Brad Leete and how mentoring can serve as the lifeblood of a thriving club. I was delighted to see fellow Toastmasters reach out to others to form new mentor/mentee relationships.

Ute Brinkmann was Speaker #2. She shared her holiday experiences as a youngster in Germany and in the US.  As the Japanese say “Kyūjitsu no ie” which means “Home for the Holidays”. (Thank goodness I don’t have to pronounce the meeting minutes.) We are very fortunate to have places we can call home for the holidays….even more fortunate when we can share with others!

Kat Calhoun was Speaker #3. Her speech was titled “Wanna Be a Leader”? Kat shared how her life has been full of leadership experiences and opportunities. Kat explained how she learned and adapted her leadership styles….Just as important, she saw how people that may not look like leaders on the outside were strong leaders because of what they had on the inside.

Last, but not least, was Markus Schumacher, Speaker #4 with a speech entitled “Reward Yourself”. Markus has been working on a project at BYK that required extensive travel and that he made time to “smell the roses” or, in this case, view a beautiful sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge in California. As beautiful as his picture was, I’m certain seeing it first hand was breathtaking.

After the speeches we moved right to the BYK fireplace where Sandra Centorino hosted a holiday version of Table Topics. We heard stories about childhood memories and old movies…and making new memories and watching new movies.

Speaking of old and new…….Our December 16^th meeting marked the handing over of the gavel from President Markus Schumacher to our new President, Christine Austin. With Markus moving back to Germany in January, Christine will preside over a thriving Eagle Club starting next month! Thank you for serving our club, Markus….and thank you, Christine, for stepping up!

Lastly, a thank you to everybody who joined us for this special meeting…..And to those that served in roles not mentioned above - Ric Zabor (Ah Counter), Ian Brooks (Grammarian), Paula Erardi (Timer), Kate Kelly, Joseph Oddie and Christine Austin (Evalutors).

Our next meeting is on January 6^th! Please log onto www.EagleToastmasters.com and sign up for something!

Have a blessed and safe holiday!

Tony Centorino

Eagle Toastmasters Secretary

Minutes from Eagle Toastmasters October 21st Backwards Meeting

Our president Markus Schumaker got the idea of doing the meeting  backwards from a Toastmasters Leadership Training.  Carlos Perez loved the opportunity to do his first time as Toastmaster backwards, as he and his college roomates used to call each by their backwards names!

The General Evaluator, Ian Brooks, had predictions about the evaluations to be given.  He had fun saying everyone’s name backwards.

Each evaluator spoke to the strengths they knew the speaker had, and predicted content based on the title of the speech.  Eric spoke about the meaning of the number three.  Christine joked about eye contact not being important, and the speaker should face the other way!  Michelle spoke about the wonderful aspects of a speech.

Dignitaries gave made-up numbers for each job.

For Table Topics, Kat had volunteers tell stories first, then the question was asked.  Amazingly, the questions did apply to the stories!

Markus’s speech told of his experience as an exchange student.  He spent six months in Finland.  On the ferry, he met a man who taught him about the rule of thirds to take better pictures.

Kat described her journey as a leader in Toastmasters, where she learned to be an  invisible leader empowering others.

Diana spoke about her experiences in her old boots with her son, hunting.

Ric brought the quote of the day inspired by Omar Coffee.

Humorist Ann read a Woody Allen story about living a backwards life-dying first, then the nursing home, etc.

Dignitaries gave their job descriptions at the end of the meeting.  The timer Maryanne showed the red card first, then yellow, then green, which was disconcerting!

Markus ended the meeting with the beginning!  He commended Carlos on the great job he did as Toastmaster.

Respectively submitted,

Lynne Grobsky