Meeting 847 on 14 December - Christmas Break Up

What a fun night!

Liz Wo, Toastmaster and self-pronounced Christmas Fairy, ensured her wand led us into a merry time.
Damian Azz received his membership badge, lovely to have you join us Damian.


Deb Smith, our wonderful Area Governor, inspired us with a speech dedicated to "not being afraid to try something new" - Deb encouraged us to "try things" within our Toastmasters family, and externally. We are very pleased she has been visiting our club so regularly this year, as events later in the evening may have put a stop to that ...

Deb also had the honour of awarding life membership to Sandgate Toastmaster Annette T - a member of Sandgate Toastmasters for 33 years, and a definite asset, having held every executive position at least once and having mentored many new members. Congratulations and thank you, Annette!


Marlene and Leesa's Secret Santa allowed some a once-a-year opportunity to "steal" from others, while Trish's game of "Celebrity Antlers" provided others a chance to have people laugh at them ... okay, so everybody was jolly clever except for one ... one who was just SO pleased to have another chance to humiliate herself after having done so just one year ago. Ahh, c'est la vie, no hard feelings, I promise!


Thank you to all - we should be just so proud of being part of this supportive, instructive and fun group of Toastmasters! See you in 2011!

Peninsula Break Up

Sharon, Leesa and I had a most enjoyable time at Peninsula Toastmasters Christmas Break Up at Crockatt Park. Peninsula Toastmasters is our "sister" club and  it always good to meet with our friends there.  After a sausage sizzle in the large shelter shed, we adjourned to their nearby meeting place for games and supper. Sharyn won a chocolate for building one of the tallest structures out of drinking straws. Articulate was another popular game. The cheese cake and pavlova were delicious!

Lance Miller Seminar

It's a pity more of our club couldn't have attended the Lance Miller Seminar, because those of us who did found it a very interesting and inspiring day.
(New) Liz picked up David and me and  it took less than half an hour to get to the Tingalpa State School. 

Liz & David with Lance

2005 World Champion Speaker Lance showed us how easy it is to develop a speech by looking for the "Extraordinary in the ordinary."  He got a member of the audience to select an ordinary object from a bag of items. It turned out to be an everyday ballpoint pen. He then asked the audience to make observations about the pen, and using these he turned it into a powerful speech. 

His session on building a Champion Club was inspiring. He talked about goals and the necessity of speaking frequently so that we don't lose our skills. 

I wrote down some of his wonderful phrases: (They mightn't be exact)

"It's not about speaking in Toastmasters, it's about speaking outside Toastmasters."

"It's not about being champion speaker, its about being champion in your life."

"The audience are the most important thing for that moment."

"The secret recipe - do the ordinary extraordinary well."

"It's not a meeting, it's an event."

The Evaluation Session was also helpful. "It is more important to find what is right!" he said.

He stressed evaluating according to the objectives in the speech manual.

We then had an opportunity to evaluate two interesting speakers.

It was also good to meet Toastmasters from other clubs. Some had come a long way. One couple had got up at 4 am to come from Townsville. 

We came home with renewed enthusiasm.

It's a Boy!

Liz was thrilled when her new grandson arrived last Thursday. His name is Hayden Gregory and he is very cute.
Won't he just love it when he is old enough to listen to the wonderful stories that Liz is so good at telling!
Congratulations to all the family!

Meeting 846 - "Inventions"

Our meeting last Tuesday was not without it's high points. See Kylie's photos in the previous entry.
Word master Sharyn introduced the word, "Litoties." See how many you can find in my report of the meeting.


li·to·tes 

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite, as in "This is no small problem."   "Not unkind, "  or "You're not wrong!"

Although there were not a few programme changes, members were not unwilling to  perform roles without previous notice.
 Meriel was not reluctant to step up and take on the role of Toastmaster. She didn't let the meeting drag but kept us entertained while votes were being collected with facts about inventions. 


President Marlene congratulated Sharyn on obtaining her Competent Communicator award, and Dave on his Advanced Communicator Bronze, also Trish on winning a Speech contest. All not small achievements.


New member Damian was warmly welcomed into our club. Damian is not new to Toastmasters, having been in another club before.
We also had 3 guests, Mary, Linda and Rod.


Liz's Round Robin showed that some of us are not without imagination when she asked, "What have you invented."


Annette continued the theme of "Inventions" with her Table Topics, "What is the greatest thing since sliced bread?" "What invention could you do without?" "Life without computers," "Cars of the future," "3D Television," and ""The most useless invention."
David, John, Rhys, Trish, Jonathon,  and Sharyn found it no problem to invent an answer.


Chris, evaluating Table Topics for the first time (I think) proved that he is not without evaluating skills.


Raider gave a very informative speech "What makes a Leader" which was not hard to follow thanks to his excellent flip charts.


Rachael presented her Icebreaker speech, "A Little Bit of Me" and kept our minds from wandering with her flowing gestures and animated expression.


Damian set the scene with dimmed lighting and painted word pictures in his Folk Tale, "What makes the Waves."


The speeches were evaluated by Del, Trish and Marlene.


Nicole presented an interesting book review on Stephen King's book, "The Dome."


The "Invention" theme was not forgotten by Raffle Master John, who pointed out that the compartments in the carry bag holding the 2 bottles of wine was not a useless idea. It was won by June.


Timer Dave said it was not too late to include a few extra Table Topics for Sharyn's "victims," Kylie, June and Rod. They were not easy topics.


Grammarian Del reported that there were not too many "ums" & other errors, and Rose concluded with her General Evaluation. 


Award winners for the evening were:
 Personal Best - Rachael 
 Best Speech - Damian 
Best Table Topic - Trish
Best Evaluator - Trish
Best Contributer - Meriel
(See photos below.)

Meeting 846 on 23 November - Inventions - PHOTOS

Meeting 845 on 9 November - Racing

The group general evaluation, faciliatated by Damian, showed that members are enjoying and benefiting from the meeting due to the standard of speakers; the friendliness and welcoming nature of all; and the willingness of members to step into roles vacant for the evening due to others not being able to attend. Suggestions for improvement included not racing through the business session, as we regularly do due to time constraints, to ensure the secretary has the opportunity to make notes.

Toastmaster Sharyn tracked down (pun intended) racing quotes and demonstated fine listening skills by slipping them into the program at most appropriate times. Jonathon as Sargeant at Arms for the night handled the job with ease, only showing at trophy time that perhaps Santa needs to bring him glasses.

Jonathon, Annette, Del and Leesa confidently replied to Monica's interesting table topics; after a very colourful Round Robin.

Nicole presented her second speech on The Golden Number - very interesting content delivered with confidence. Kylie's speech drew upon personal experiences that resulted in a fear of public speaking. Dave, with The First Industrial Revolution, once again impressed us with his memory for dates and details, completing his 5th speech from the advanced manual Speaking to Inform.

Rachael highly recommended the movie Red with a throrough and entertaining movie review.

Marlene won the raffle, with Leesa stepping into the role on the night - with a few away each meeting it is great to see others willingly taking on the challenge.

Welcome to two guests, Kerry and Lynda - we hope you enjoyed the meeting and come again. Welcome also to Damian who will be inducted at the next meeting - we are pleased to have another experienced Toastmaster join our ranks.

Trophies presented to:

Table Topics - Annette
Speech - Kylie
Evaluation - Annette
Personal Best - Nicole
Conribution - Sharyn



A reminder that there are only two more meetings for 2010 - Tuesday 23 November and Tuesday 14 December (Christmas dinner).

Kylie as VPPR welcomes all contributions for the newsletter by end November for distribution at the final meeting - by email please, as she is not able to attend meeting of 23 November.

Catching up with old friends

We form some lasting friendships in Toastmasters, and it is always good to catch up with old friends who no longer belong to our club. This week,  Annette, Leesa and I met with past Toastmasters Lenore, Narda, Edith, and Bing to celebrate Lenore's birthday. It was also a farewell for Edith, who is going to Hong Kong.

At the Area Conference, we were thrilled to see Penne, who was a member of  our club until she moved away and is now a member of Caboolture Toastmasters. I took a couple of photos of Penne with Liz. Penne looked good in one photo and Liz looked  good in the other. Thanks to modern technology, I was able to take someone's head from one of the photos and superimpose it in the other.. Can you tell which one?

Catching up with old friends

We form some lasting friendships in Toastmasters, and it is always good to catch up with old friends who no longer belong to our club. This week,  Annette, Leesa & I met with past Toastmasters  Lenore, Narda, Edith, & Bing to celebrate Lenore's birthday. It was also a farewell for Edith, who is going to Hong Kong.

At the Area Conference, we were thrilled to see Penne, who was a member of  our club until she moved away and is now a member of Caboolture Toastmasters. I took a couple of photos of Penne with Liz. Penne looked good in one photo & Liz looked  good in the other. Thanks to modern technology, I was able to swap heads of one of the photos. Can you tell ?

Meeting 843 on 26 October - Technology

Toastmaster Rose impressed us with examples of modern technology; and Nicole had us pondering in the round robin just which piece of technology we would wish not to be without. David Y did an excellent icrebreaker speech - note free; and new members Rachael and Andrew received their badges - plus tasks throughout the meeting. Once again members absorbed the roles of those unable to attend with ease - well done all!



Trophies to:
Table Topics - Rachael
Speech - Sharyn
Evaluation - Kylie
Personal Best - David Y
Contribution - Rose

Notice of Seminar organised by Toastmasters

Lance Miller, 2005 World Champion, is conducting a full day seminar in Brisbane on Saturday 27 November from 10am to 4pm.

• Losing my way to the World Championship
• Building a championship club
• Effective Speech Evaluation
  

Cost is $15 per person - bring your own lunch or buy nearby. Non-members are welcome at same cost. Location is Tingalpa Public School.

To register email Carolyn Phillips on carolyn_007@hotmail.com - first come first served.

Area Contest on 24 October

Congratulations to Annette, John and Liz Wo who represented Sandgate in Table Topics & Evaluation (Annette), International Speech (John) and Humorous Speech (Liz). Annette received 2nd place for Evaluation and 3rd for Table Topics. All did an absolutely fabulous job amidst very strong competition.




















As a club we were very well represented, with 10 members attending, contesting and assisting with roles such as caligrapher, timers, sergeant at arms, contest chairman, tally counters, pep talkers - and redecorators.

Meeting 843 on 12 October - Music

With Annette as Toastmaster reminding us of hit songs of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s; Dave Young allowing us the opportunity to be profound with a round robin topic of "life is a process of ..." and Chris presenting a fabulous icebreaker speech, this was yet another vibrant meeting.


Voted best on the night were:
Table Topic - Annette
Speech - Chris
Evaluation - Liz Wo
Personal Best - Chris



Chris was thrilled to receive two trophies, as since joining Toastmasters he has encouraged work colleagues to also join - five, across Australia - with a fair bit of friendly rivalry between them. Well done!



Congratulations to Sharyn and Liz Wo for completing their Competent Leadership Manual and receiving their badge at the meeting.






Best of luck and skill for the Contest next week Annette, John and Liz! We are proud to see you representing Sandgate.

Meeting 842 - 28 Sep 2010

Riddles about riddles ... much pondering, laughter and groaning to be had.

While the trophies are awarded to just some of those who contributed to the meeting, the blog does seem an appropriate place to record the recipients:



Table Topic: Sharyn

Evaluator: Kylie

Speech: Raider

Personal Best: Raider

Contribution: Dave H



















A warm welcome to our new members, inducted at this meeting, Rachael and Andrew. Congratulations on accepting your first assignments and table topics!

As always, thank you to all those who accepted roles when other members were unable to attend.

Kylie was the lucky winner of the raffle, courtesy of Monica, but doesn't yet know if she is "set for life".

A reminder that newsletter items must be to Kylie by email by Monday 11 October. As VPPR Kylie will collate the material but does not wish to be the only author!

Step up & Step Out

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Don't forget to bring your Area Conference registration fee next meeting. Come along on the 24th to support our own club contestants, to meet old and new friends from other Toastmasters clubs in Area 8 and to be inspired by world champion speaker Mark Hunter.

Meeting 841 - Area Governor's Address

With the theme of Spring, members embraced Round Robin with tales of new buds, endless mowing, sneezing, and revealing more skin ...

With her fourth visit to our club since taking on the role of Area Governor in July - a great effort and much appreciated by Sandgate Toastmasters - Deb Smith inspired us to be the best we can be.



Knowing she wouldn't be able to attend, Monica requested that Leesa present her prepared Table Topics:
If only I had ... ; I was so pleased ... ; and It's better to ...
Great topics, and answered with style by Trish, Sharyn and Deb Smith - with Trish receiving the ribbon.

Nicole Martin presented her excellent Icebreaker Speech with an insight into her life and family, and received the very first Personal Best award for Sandgate Toastmasters - a slight change from the previous Encouragement award. All members are looking forward to her next speech. As John mentioned during his General Evaluation, Icebreaker Speeches remind us that the club is active and growing - and we are all treated to the opportunity to watch each member grow in confidence and skill as a public speaker.


Kylie's speech focussed on her "rather strange" bushwalking behaviour; and Rhys's on his life journey to become a myopractor.

Jonathon conducted his first business session with aplomb; Marlene reminded us of Area Conference on 24 October; Sharyn inspired us to set personal and club goals with the use of the new charts of completion (thank you Marlene - they look great); Trish announced we currently have 29 or 30 members (with another joining at the meeting - welcome Rachael!); Kylie gave a rundown of current and furture PR; and Rose presented the treasurer's report on Tony's behalf.

John was the lucky winner of the raffle presented by Barry, who certainly had us wondering as to its contents.

Welcome also to guest Andrew, we hope you enjoyed the meeting and look forward to having you become a member.

Well done to all participants of the meeting, not all mentioned above - with various people trying new roles, and the more experienced toastmasters demonstrating how they perform the tasks, it can certainly be said that members of Sandgate Toastmasters have wonderful opportunities to "grow".

Sandgate Toastmasters Club turns 36 years old!

Club members, partners, members from other clubs, and our Area Governor Deb Smith gathered at the Full Moon on the evening of Tuesday 31 August to celebrate the 36th birthday of Sandgate Toastmasters Club.

Annette as Master of Ceremonies had us reliving the 70s with songs and TV shows of the decade - with most familiar to everybody, even though some members are only about the same age as the club.

John presented a brief history of the club, including the many locations the club has met over the years, and offered to email a copy of his research as Club Historian to interested members.

Sharyn had us all guessing what the "pink raffle" might entail, with Leesa the lucky winner.


New members were invited to participate in table topics, presented by Leesa and Jonathon, plus evaluations - and rose brilliantly to the challenge.

As fitting for all birthday celebrations, the night was sealed with a delicious mud-cake, cut by two of the "best dressed", Jonathon and Rose.

Contributions are welcomed from all members - why not post an article of the night from your perspective? Comments also invited. This blog is the informal area of the Sandgate Toastmasters Website - so add your touch.