And the results are in…

June 10, 2008
7 Attendees

As the 2007-2008 year comes to a close for this class of Toastmasters Officers, I can only say that my time as President has been extremely rewarding and a grand learning experience. I’ve always seen myself as a leader, but only reluctantly. I’ve often been dragged into a fray kicking and screaming only to look back wondering why I shy away from the spotlight.

I’ll never forget how last year I was “nominated” for the office and although I had deep reservations, seeing the club possibly dissipate without leadership wasn’t an option I felt I could live with – so I cautiously accepted. I was determined to step out of a pattern I had created and look to grow and succeed in a challenging new role.

I’ve come to know the officers better as people and in their valued roles supporting the club; Kathy’s wit, Paul’s humor and musicianship, Cynthia’s quiet strength, Jennifer’s curiosity and Gene’s solid support and mentoring have helped me grow in confidence as a leader and communicator.

Each week’s meeting was another chance to share a bit of myself with the audience (which I’ve never been comfortable with personally or professionally) in story or function. I actually became a more thoughtful listener, finding anecdotes to share in the strangest places, constantly jotting down notes to bring to meetings during dinner or a phone call.

So as we prepare to welcome our new President, Frank Clarke back to the helm of this ship I can only say thanks to the club officers, members and visitors for letting me come out of my personal shell and the most public of spaces – behind the podium.

New Officers – 2008-2009

• Frank Clarke, President
• Paul Burke, Vice President of Education
• Bertha Bruner, Vice President of Membership
• Gene Hargreaves, Treasurer
• Cynthia Jimerson, Sergeant at Arms
• Joe Simpson, Past President and Vice President of Public Relations
• Vacant, Secretary

Good luck and continue to share your gifts with others. See you at today's meeting!

Let's Celebrate A Great Speech!

June 3rd, 12-1pm
Attendance 26

As the year was coming to a close, we wanted to celebrate another successful year by kicking back and enjoying each other's company. No functions, no speeches, just a plate of goodies and a cup of soda. Today, was that day and for those in attendance our featured speaker, William "Bill" Satterfield was icing on the proverbial cake.

For those who hadn't been to a meeting before, the gathering began with Sergeant at Arms Cynthia Jimerson calling the meeting to order followed by a "musical" table topics session. Members Bertha Bruner and Raynard Price answered questions regarding a song in one and a half minutes or less.

Club Secretary Kathy Hendry then welcomed all of our former presidents in attendance. FalanGuan, Gene Hargreaves, Sangeeta Patel, Pauline Lee and Frank Clarke all received a much-deserved warm welcome acknowledging their hard work in leading the club.

Afterward, Bill Satterfield was introduced to the group and started telling a story that wove a story of love, discipline and words of wisdom. Bill has been a trendsetter and pioneer during his long and illustrious career. He's been with Metro's Real Estate group for over twenty years and his resume highlights many firsts of note.

The focus of his speech though was how his parents molded him and paved the way for achievements. Tough love and thoughtful words moved the story to its tearful climax that had members in the audience grabbing for their handkerchiefs.

What a wonderful way to usher out another year. But no party would be complete without music and food. Paul grabs his tenor and the masses moved on the table area loaded with goodies brought by members. Surprises were handed out to current officers (TI clocks) and past presidents (TI mugs) as an added thank you for everyone's participation in the club.

Remember, we need your attendance at the June 10th meeting to elect new officers for the 2008-2009 term. See you there and thanks again to our guests and members who made the event so great!

Do you want the scuttlebutt, the 411, the news, about today’s Toastmasters meeting?

Read on!

Early in the meeting, which was attended by 7 regular members and 3 guests, we were educated with the word of the day: scuttlebutt.

A few minutes later, we were entertained by another round of Joe Simpson’s musical Table Topics, won, with a marginal lead in the polling on this Super Tuesday, by Raynard Price. Say, wasn’t he last week’s Best Speaker ribbon winner? Is this a trend? Go Raynard.

Toastmaster Paul Burke kept the meeting running on schedule, introducing and transitioning with his usual flair for entertaining and energetic commentary.

He introduced our first speaker, President Joe Simpson, for “Show and Tell” who shared some ideas for a membership building activity, and called for suggestions and comments. Discussion of this topic is to be continued over the next few weeks.

Kathy Hendry was introduced next, by name only, because she didn’t have a title for her presentation. Her speech turned out to be an extemporaneous disquisition on the importance of knowing your audience, and tailoring your topics appropriately. She talked about how the Table Topics experience can help prepare you for those occasions when you are called upon to speak before a group without advance preparation. Particularly appropriate, in this case, since 30% of her audience were visitors new to the Toastmasters experience.

All in all, it was a pretty typical Toastmasters at Metro meeting. We laughed, we learned, we practiced our skills, and we laughed some more. Come on up and join us soon!

Kath

Learn a new language in ten minutes!

Tuesday February 26, 2008
Word of the Day - Misremember
Attendance - 7

There is a old saying -- if you live long enough, you'll see just about everything. At last Tuesday's meeting I REALLY must be old because I witnessed one of the most unique speeches I've seen in as a Toastmaster! Paul Burke, CC (Vice President of Education) presented Spanish 101 from the Advanced Communications Manual.

Now it is difficult enough presenting your topic in five to seven minutes, but doing a ten minute speech is quite a challenge. But the icing on the cake was that his speech was delivered totally in Spanish! The gist of the speech was the learning Spanish wasn't difícil at all; he compared how words in English have multiple spelling and enunciation which are often confusing for the non-English speaking; how living in Los Angeles makes it easier because of the diversity of languages and cultures, illustrating these points behind humorous examples.

By the end of his speech, even the non-speakers in the audience (all of us but one) could follow his "teaching" method. And to think, with this refresher, I could have been fully fluent (if I hadn't forgot those two years of high school Spanish growing up in Michigan)! Very imaginative and entertaining indeed. Don José signing out...


Join us this week for the second installment of Musical Table Topics and a look ahead to what our next event will be. Bring a friend and your lunch and we'll see you there.