Christmas Break Up

 Our Break Up Dinner was a lot of fun. Good food, games and a Secret Santa.
I'll let the pictures tell the  story.

Meeting 912 "Speechfest"

Liz We with Flame

President Liz We has returned from her trip overseas and got acquainted with Robert's new guide dog, Flame.

It was almost a full house with only one member absent (Missed you, Trish!) We also had three guests, Karen, Norm and Hollie.

In the wake of  White Ribbon Day promoting the elimination of violence against women, Jim proposed a toast to women - that they be strong & respected & safe - and what ever age they choose to be.(not his exact words.)

Round Robin Master John S asked what word do we avoid using because we find it difficult to say or to pronounce. Some of the words mentioned were facade, pronunciation, aficionado, relevant, patina, castle, leverage, fruition, vocabulary, etc. 

Annette

Toastmaster of the evening was Annette. In keeping with the theme, she interspersed helpful speech making tips between segments, eg. How to choose a speech topic - keep a file of interesting information and ideas. 
Don't attempt to speak about topics you are not interested in.
Make eye contest, hold a person's gaze for a moment. Make the audience feel you are speaking directly to them.
Leave hands at your side when not gesturing.

Sharyn

Sharyn had some theme related Table Topics for Jim, Jonathon and Marlene.
What is the best topic for a speech?
How do you think of a subject for a speech?
How have you gained confidence since joining Toastmasters?

Jim

Jonathon

Dave asked Terry, Del & John S, "What is the most inspiring speech you have heard?"
Who is the best speaker you have heard or are aware of?
Which famous speech from history would you like to have heard?

Del

John S

The Table Topics were evaluated by Ron and Peter.

Ron

Peter

Bev

Bev presented her Ice Breaker speech, and we enjoyed her humour as she recounted some amusing incidents she had encountered in her work.

Her speech was evaluated by Liz Wo.

Liz Wo

Inge

Inge, in her second speech, gave us some interest tips on Dog Ownership.

It was evaluated by Nicole.

Nicole

Nick

Nick delivered his second speech. He spoke about the use of Mobile phones and the decline of real conversation. His speech was evaluated by Maureen.

Maureen

Amanda

Amanda's speech was "Facing Fear with Hot Coals."  - an animated account of her experience in fire walking. It was evaluated by Terry.

Terry

John  T's moving speech was about "Depression - the Illness that Doesn't Speak it's Name."

It was evaluated by Jonathon.

John T

Robert's raffle was a voucher for the Coffee Club and was won by Amanda.

Robert & Amanda

The General Evaluation was conducted by Leesa.

Leesa

Awards for the evening were presented to Nick (Personal Best,) Jonathon (Best Evaluation,) Marlene (Be Table Topic,) Amanda (Best Speech,) and Annette (Best Contribution.)

Winners 26th November 2013

Meeting 911 "Gimmicks and Gadgets"

Dave

"Gimmicks and Gadgets" were the theme of the meeting and Toastmaster Dave had brought some of his favourite gadgets to show us, as well as some interesting information.

In the wake of Remembrance Day, John T proposed a toast to "World Peace."







Wordmaster Pam chose the word "Resplendent" and used it in the sentence "The jockeys were resplendent in their riding gear on Melbourne Cup Day." (Another recent event.)

Pam

Round Robin Master Liz Wo asked us to tell what gadget we found useful, and what gadget we disliked.Just a few of the favourite gadgets were a jar opener, GPS, Television remote control, egg timer, book stand with place holder, hearing aid, dice, aligator peg, etc.

Some of the annoying gadgets were a wireless mouse, swiss army knife with utensils, pineapple corer, bread maker.

Ron

Terry's Table Topics provided some fun. He had brought an assortment of gadgets and asked Ron, Jim, Sharyn, Liz Wo, Maureen and Robert to tell us what they were used for. The responses were highly imaginative and Ron even rode his gadget down the centre of the room.

Terry and Jim

Sharyn

Liz Wo

Robert had brought a special gadget for his "Show and Tell" session. No one 

could guess what it was, so he had to tell us, it was a template to help blind people sign cheques.

Robert & Sharyn

Robert had also brought his new guide dog, Flame. I'll  get a clearer photo next meeting.

Flame

Inge

Inge's raffle was an bag of goodies, including gardening gadgets, toy reindeer, and a tub of Malteesers. It was won by Marlene. Yipeee!

Jim presented his Icebreaker Speech, "Back on the  Bike." He told of his love of bike riding and related the story of owning his first bike. It was evaluated by Marlene.

Trish

Maureen used the data projector for  her speech, "A Lesson in Life." It was evaluated by Trish.

The Business Session was efficiently conducted by Sharyn.

Sharyn

Grammarian Annette commented on the  words and phrases used during the meeting.

Annette

John T

John T had some helpful suggestions in his General Evaluation.

Jim & Nick

Time Keepers were Jim and Nick

Awards went to Jim (Best Speech and Personal Best,) Liz Wo (Best Table Topic,) Trish (Best Evaluator,) and Dave (Best Contribution.)