A Walk in the Park

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
13 attendees

One of my favorite experiences in the work force is finding out about personal or non-essential items. By non-essential I mean details about their lives that normally wouldn’t come out during the course of our workday. Finding out that a co-worker moonlights as a nightclub singer or owns a flock of geese adds a dimension to our understanding of that person – rounds them out so to speak.

During today’s meeting we caught a glimpse into the lives of two new members to our club in the form of our featured presentations. Member doreen Morrissey delivered her icebreaker (Project 1, Competent Communicators manual). Doreen took us on a verbal journey along the path that led to her current position at Metro.

She’s currently studying to become a landscape architect and loves being outdoors. Influenced by the visionary, yet controversial parks designer Robert Moses, Growing up in New York, Doreen worked for years for the Parks and Recreation department’s pool division. Studying abroad in Japan, South America and Ireland as part of her university’s requirements, Doreen landing in Southern California working in an Art Museum and continuing studies at Cal Arts in Valencia.

Doreen quickly got over nerves and as the story unfolded utilized good hand gestures and moved well around the podium. A very good first speech indeed!

In addition, member James Tu shared the story of his battle with cancer in Project 2, Organizing Your Thoughts. James took us on a compelling journey through his battle with the disease and its potential causes as well as ways he has modified his lifestyle to address it. Griping and informative, we all left the gathering with a better understanding of the disease.

Table topics master Joe Simpson (Club President) asked Kathy Hendry (Secretary), member Jay Fisgus and Raynard Price to speak on various aspects of the holiday season.

Another great meeting; see you next week.