Meeting 1207 International Speech and Evaluation Contests

 

Our last meeting was a contest night. Thank you to all who took part or assisted in any way.

Contest Participants
Christiane, Mali, Peter Paul, Narelle

 Evaluation Contest Place getters
First: Christiane
Second: Paul
Third: Mali

International Speech Contest
First: John
Second: Christiane

Club President with Contest Judges

Chris's Raffle
(also included a folding umbrella)

Next meeting:  Tuesday 27th October.

Area 8 Conference: Saturday 28th November. 

Club Officer Training: Club Officer Training Round 2 dates are now available!

Make your plans to complete the minimum required 3-hour full COT round 2 for this year.

The sessions are:

Session 1 - Tuesday 10 November 2026 6pm-9pm 

Register here: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/T9XZBoaBQk2PyLc3IU1djg

Session 2 - Saturday 21 November 2026 1pm-5pm

Register here: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/0DYzRrPbT7aKHiYisfQHbg

Session 3 - Sunday 13 December 2026 1pm-5pm

Register here: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jr9PrUaNRlqf9_DzO6069g

Session 4 - Sunday 7 February 2027 1pm-5pm

Register here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QAgWrs7yQCKC8y0Ftm0PxA

Session 5 - Thursday 11 February 2027 6pm-9pm

Register here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/n8859ZymSRGRjqM1gfEh8A

All club members are invited. 

Meeting 1206 "The Power of Curiosity."

We were delighted to welcome return guests Helen & Bob, Aiden. Also Agi who is joining our club.

Our Club president Jonathon presented Erin with a ribbon for completing Level One in her Pathways Path.

Jonathon and Erin

Paul was Toastmaster for the meeting.

Paul

Helen presented a Toast "To participation." 

Helen

Arun introduced the word "Resilient." It was used the most times by Helen, with Erin a close second.

Arun

John Introduced the Round Robin, "Are you curious?" 

Arun's speech was titled "Networking. Learning from Mistakes." It was evaluated by Jill.

Arun

John presented his Humorous contest speech and received feedback which was led by Christiane.

John

Narelle's speech "Equipment Proposal" was evaluated by Maddy.

Maddy

Chris was Timekeeper.

Jill's raffle, a bag of pizza ingredients and wine was won by Gail.

Jill's raffle prize

Christiane and John provided a delicious supper.

Jonathon presented the Table Topics that Marlene had prepared, calling on John, Maddy, Aiden (guest), Peter, Helen (Guest) and Erin.

The Table Topic questions were:

1. "Has someone ever given you bad advice?"

2. "The last time you tried something new."

3. "Has your greatest fear ever come true?"

4. "How do you define success?"

5. "Which activities make you lose track of time?"

6. "Most beloved childhood memory."

They were evaluated by Chris and Paul.

Chris

Paul

Christiane conducted a "Who am I?" quiz. No one guessed it was Chris Walker, although they guessed it was from the TV show, "Sale of the Century."

Christiane

 Narelle presented a General Evaluation of the meeting with some helpful suggestions for improvement.

The evening's awards went to John (Best Speaker,) Jill (Best Evaluator - not in photo,) Erin (Best Table Topic,) Arun, Erin and Jill (Tied for Most Improved.)

Award winners 22nd Sept 2026

Next Meeting: Tuesday, 13th October. (Second Tuesday in October) There will be an extra week between meetings because there were 5 Tuesdays in September.

Meeting 1205 Table Topics and Humorous Speech Contests

 Our Contestants were well supported by an enthusiastic audience, including guests Agi, Aaron, Aiden, Helen and Bob.  

Toastmaster Jonathon briefed the contestants to ensure that they were well prepared 

Table Topics Briefing.

Table Topics contestants were John, Peter, Helen, Arun, Christiane and Narelle. They were ushered outside and brought into the room one at a time to answer the topic. "What is the one simple thing that makes life better."

The place getters were: 

First Place: John 

Second Place: Narelle 

Third Place : Christiane

Narelle 2nd, John 1st, Christiane 3rd.

After a break for a delicious supper provided by Chris and Christiane, the Humorous Speech contest took place. Contestants were Christiane, Peter, John and Helen.

 Place getters were:

 First Place: John

Second Place: Christiane

Third Place: Peter

Peter 3rd, John 2nd, Christiane 2nd.

All the contestants with Toastmaster Jonathon

A big thankyou to the judges from other Toastmasters Clubs who gave their time and expertise to make our contest possible. Chief Judge Jenny, Chris, Area Director Mary, Maria and Mark.

Judges

Our club members who acted as Timers, Sergeant at Arms and Ballot Counters were Maddy, Carmy, Trish, Chris, Liz, and Marlene.

Maddy supplied a popular raffle, a $50 voucher for a meal at a local cafe. It was won by Chris.

Our next meeting will be a "normal" meeting on Tuesday 22nd September followed by an Evaluation and International Speech contest on the 13th October.

Don't forget, Semi Annual fees are due this month to be paid before our next meeting. If you can't find   Arun's email that he sent with the bank details, send a message to our club's email address for information. toastmasters.int.sandgate@gmail.com

Meeting 1204 "Number Plates"

Christiane

Toastmaster Christiane had chosen the theme "Number Plates." She admitted that she couldn't remember the numbers on her own number plate.   

President Jonathon congratulated Jill on completing Level One in Pathways.

Mali proposed a toast to "The People behind the number plates."

Jill chose the word "Distinctive" as word of the evening.

Round Robin Master Gail prompted some comments on personalised number plates.

Jonathon presented a helpful educational session on how to answer a Table Topic.  Some suggestions were:

P. point: make a point or statement.

R. reason: give a reason why you made that point.

E. give an example.

P. Sum it up by repeating the point.

Past: What happened or how it was done in the past. 

Present: As it is now. 

Future: How it will be in the future.

Family: How the topic affects your inner circle.

Friends: How it affects your social network.

Strangers: How it applies to a broader society.

Jonathon

Helen

Helen had some suggestions on how to choose a speech topic. 

The speeches were evaluated by Arun and Paul.

Arun

  

Paul

Jill was Timekeeper.

Peter presented the raffle, which was some quirky gadgets that he had bought from a craft shop in Samford. They included a firtle, a scottish utensil for stirring oatmeal. It was won by Jill.

Peter

Gail and Mali had provided a delicious supper.

Carmy had prepared some Table Topics with a theme of number plates. She called on Mali, Gail, Jill Paul, Arun and Peter to reply.

Carmy

They were evaluated by Helen and Marlene.

Peter presented a General Evaluation of the roles that had not already been evaluated. 

The evenings awards went to Jonathon (Best Speech,) Mali (Best Table Topic and Most Improved,) and Paul (Best Evaluation.)

Jonathon, Mali, Paul

Next meeting on 8th September will be a Table Topics and Humorous Speech contest.

Let Helen know if you wish to be a contestant.

Meeting 1203 "Social Cohesion"

 

Trish Educational Session

 

Gail and John Table Topics

Eoin Raffle Master

Paul  Evaluator

Carmy Round Robin

Jonathon Timer and Paul

Mali Speech

Meeting 1202 “Community”

Sandgate Toastmasters met at Sandgate Parish Hall on Tuesday, 28 July 2026, for Meeting #1202, themed “Community”. We welcomed Area Director Mary, along with David, Peter’s friend, and return visitor Danie. The theme proved fitting for an evening that repeatedly returned to the ways Toastmasters brings people together.

TJ guided the programme with a toast to “The community of Toastmasters”. The Word of the Evening was “Convergence”, while Helen’s Round Robin invited everyone to finish the sentence, “A community converges when...”. Mary also spoke about where Sandgate fits within the wider area, giving members and visitors a broader view of the club’s place in Toastmasters.

Jonathon presented Peter with a ribbon for completing Level 2 in his Pathways journey, and Christiane with ribbons for completing Levels 2 and 3. The prepared speeches then brought two very different subjects to the room. Narelle had prepared a substantial set of printed pages for her Pathways educational because she was unsure whether the projector would work. Mali’s speech compared the training of guide-dog puppies with the raising of teenagers.

Mali with her Best Speech and Best Table Topic awards.

Jonathon at the lectern during Meeting 1202.

Mali’s prepared speech used a guide-dog puppy as a visual aid.

Chris led Table Topics, with answers from Marlene, Mali, Mary, Christiane, Jill and Maddy. Christiane’s raffle featured coffee, tea, wine and other prizes, with David taking home the winnings. Helen then presented the General Evaluation, bringing together the lessons and observations from the evening’s programme.

Christiane’s raffle added a later highlight to the evening.

The Toastmasters Education Program was part of the evening’s Pathways discussion.

Recognition closed the meeting. Mali was the evening’s double award winner, receiving Best Speech and Best Table Topic. Jill received Best Evaluation, and TJ was named Most Improved.

Thank you to Mary, David, Danie and everyone who contributed to a warm Community meeting. Our next meeting is Tuesday, 11 August, and guests are always welcome.

Meeting 1201 “The Waves We Leave Behind”

Sandgate Toastmasters met at Sandgate Parish Hall on Tuesday, 14 July, for Meeting 1201 and our first gathering of the new Toastmasters year. Our newly appointed executive team took their places as we began the year together.

Jonathon welcomed members to the first meeting of the new Toastmasters year.

Jill called the meeting to order before Jonathon welcomed members. Mali did a great job as Toastmaster, weaving “The Waves We Leave Behind” throughout the programme. Gail offered the toast, Marlene introduced RAMIFICATIONS as the Word of the Evening, and Arun led the Round Robin.

Mali carried the evening’s “Waves” theme throughout her role as Toastmaster.

Arun led the Round Robin early in the meeting.

Marlene introduced RAMIFICATIONS as the Word of the Evening.

Prepared speeches gave us two very different topics. Christiane, pictured below, presented “Einbunpin: awareness, sharing, visitors” for her Team Collaboration High Performance Leadership project. Narelle, not pictured, followed with the timely question “Is AI killing our TM speech writing abilities?” as part of her Presentation Mastery project on managing a difficult audience. It was a very enjoyable moment as she faced a barrage of disruptions, handling each one politely and professionally without breaking stride. Peter and Eoin provided the evaluations.

Christiane presented “Einbunpin: awareness, sharing, visitors.”

Helen led Table Topics. Chris served as General Evaluator, Paul tested our listening, Carmy kept time, and Trish conducted the raffle. Awards went to Narelle for Best Speaker, Trish for Best Table Topic, Mali and Jill jointly for Most Improved, and Jonathon for Best Evaluator. Helen and Paul also provided supper, an always appreciated part of the evening.

Thank you to everyone who helped create another enjoyable evening of speaking, listening and learning. Our next meeting is Tuesday, 28 July, and guests are always welcome.

Changeover Dinner 2026

 Some photos from our Changeover Dinner.

Executive Team 1 July 26 - 30 June 2027

Outgoing Area Director Jenny

     

Incoming Area Director Mary

Toastmaster of the Year Helen

      

President's Trophy

100% Attendance Marlene