Christmas Meeting 1004

Christmas came early at the Full Moon Hotel when Toastmasters dressed up for the final meeting of the year.

Annette and Chris

Chris opened the Meeting then also took his role as Toastmaster.
President Annette welcomed guests Erin (with Kirsty), Mal (with Monica), Shane (with Christiane) and also former Member Mike.


Christiane and Shane, Erin and Kirsty, Mal and Monica, Marie, Mike

Gail toasted "The True Meaning of Christmas" and urged us to give to others at this time of year.
The Round Robin segment by Monica involved a drunken Elf named Edward. His adventures were despicable to say the least and shows what vivid imaginations some Toastmasters have.
Dinner was delicious and all tastes were catered for.

Edward the drunken Elf, Peter, Lit Up Liz

Table Topics were provided by all Members.
Peter (worst gift), Annette (who won't enjoy Christmas), Jim (who is most difficult to buy for), Marlene (what do you like about Sandgate), Marie (do you invite awful Uncle), Gail (what's your earliest childhood memory of Santa) and Jonathon (if money was no object where would you like to spend Christmas).

Then the highlight of the night - Marlene presented the Secret Santa with a Twist, otherwise known as "The Toastmaster who Stole Christmas". The Santa Mankini was a hot item, as too was anything alcoholic.

More fun with Christiane's game with Christmas related trivia.

Kirsty had given out Quiz sheets at the start of the night and the answers were now revealed.

For the big finale - the Christmas raffle with 6 hampers to win. Nikki and Karen drew the lucky winners Marie (x2), Jim, Kirsty, Blake and Chris.



Gail, Marlene, Raffle girls Nikki and Karen, the prizes

PS: An Elf went missing and an urgent plea was put out by Sharyn for his return. He was found holed up at Liz's place, after following her home attracted by the bright Christmas lights. Elf slept off his drunken stupor and you will all be pleased to know he has now been returned to his family.

A Happy Healthy Christmas to all, and see you back for first Meeting in 2018 on Tuesday 23 January.

The road to TEDxBrisbane..

A special Blog post by Nikki

Nikki

One of the things on my ‘bucket list’ has always been to attend a live TED event.  I have watched many great talks on their YouTube channel and really enjoy the concept that the TED experience is about having an idea worth spreading.  I even dared to dream that one day I might be on stage sharing an idea, if only it weren’t terrified of public speaking…

I’ve been with Toastmasters Sandgate for just over 12 months and I have challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone.  It has definitely taught me to believe in myself and the club has helped build my confidence in front of others.

So when the I heard about the TEDxBrisbane event I applied to attend (there is a whole selection process to go through just to be in the audience).  The theme for 2017 was Stand Up and speak out.  I got the acceptance email was very excited to be going and ready to be inspired by the speakers of the day.

As part of the acceptance we were all invited to submit a 60 second pitch to the TEDx team.  They would then review the submissions and would choose the top 8 to 10 ideas and have those 60 second presentations become part of the day’s event.  Well, I like a good challenge, so I decided to submit my pitch (all about changing the conversation around death) and see what happened.  The TEDx team liked my idea and I secured a spot with 7 other finalists for the 1 minute talks.  Wow!  This was an amazing opportunity.  Not only would I get to tick off an item on my bucket list, I would get to share my idea with over 500 people and really challenge myself to be a confident public speaker.  I was excited and extremely nervous but very determined to put all my Toastmasters learning to good use and give it my best. 

One of the most interesting things I learned is how many hours it actually takes to put together a refined, punchy speech with a clear message that fits into 60 seconds.

How did I go?  Well I can honestly say that it was one of the most intimidating yet exhilarating experiences I have ever had.  The TEDx team are a great supportive group who welcomed us with open arms and worked hard to make us ready and relaxed for our time in the spotlight.  On the day I reminded myself that I had done the hard preparation work and I just needed to engage the audience and have fun.  And I definitely did have fun. 

It was a truly memorable experience and one I cherish.  Yes, it was a great opportunity to speak to over 500 people about my work and more importantly, it was also a moment that I personally celebrated because, in the arena of speaking in public, I have come a long way.

Nikki

Meeting 1003 Cowboys and Indians

The Wild West came to Sandgate complete with horses, a Sheriff and even a Saloon barmaid and assorted cowboys and cowgirls.
President Annette opened with Meeting by acknowledging Area 8 Contestants and winners. She also welcomed guests Casey and Andrea, and visiting Narangba Valley Member Daniel.

Just horsing around

Toastmaster Leanne, dressed as an Indian Squaw, guided us with precision with a series of stories about Cowboys and Indians and segued from each item on the Agenda with ease.

Blake presented the Toast - to John Wayne (aka Marion Morrison) - 'The Duke".
He quoted one of The Duke's many memorable lines - "Out here, due process is a bullet".

Blake

Wordmaster Lien gave us "Courageous" as the word for the meeting. She had well researched its meaning and gave examples.

Lien

Carmy was Round Robin Master. She asked us all to give our American Indian name. This provided all Members with a challenge and many imaginative names were created.

Carmy

Speech 1 was an Ice Breaker by Marie, entitled "What will I do when I grow up", which told her very interesting life story. The Speech was evaluated by Darryl.

Marie

Darryl

Speech 2 was also an Ice Breaker by Stephen, entitled "Façade, Humility and Achievement". This was another fascinating story of Stephen's triumph over illiteracy, and was evaluated by John.

John

Stephen

Kirsty evaluated Annette's informative speech entitled "Killer Condiment" about salt and the many dangers of over indulging.

Annette

Kirsty

Marlene kept in the theme with an innovative Raffle containing a John Wayne DVD, Wagonwheel biscuits and a rice cooker (complete with recipes for Cowboy Rice). It was won by Carmy.

Nick was a very efficient timekeeper and gave his reports succinctly and precisely.

Time Keeper Nick

Peter also kept with the theme with Table Topics. Participants Karen, Blake, Marlene, Chris, Tim, Jim, Daniel and Jonathon all gave creative answers to some tricky questions, amid much laughter.

Peter

The Topics were evaluated by Christiane and Tim.

Christiane

Tim

New segments on the program added interest. Monica gave a quote "Challenges are what makes life interesting" and elaborated on the challenges that the American Indians had faced to survive and live off the land.

Monica

Gail

Show and Tell gave Gail an opportunity to display her masterpiece quilt which she finds a fulfilling passion.

Soapbox presented by Karen told of how Curiosity is the Essence of Life, and applied to us all.

Karen

Jonathon

Grammarian Jonathon enlightened us on the use of fillers - e.g. ums and ahs. His wise advice to take a breath, and pause instead, is sure to be heeded by all Members.

Listening Quiz was conducted by Chris, testing our attention to all sections of the agenda.

Chris

The General Evaluation was conducted by Liz.

Liz

Are these guys the 3 Amigos?

Awards:   Best Speech             -    Stephen

           Best Evaluation       -    John

                  Best Table Topic     -    Jonathon

                 Most Improved        -    Stephen

Christmas Break Up Dinner on the 12th December . If you haven't paid for your dinner yet, contact Blake for details on how to pay by this Friday 1st Dec.

Meeting 1002. Going to the movies

 "Going to the Movies" was the theme of the meeting.

Paul, standing in for Sergeant at Arms Chris called the meeting to order and handed control to President Annette.

Paul

Annette

 

Annette welcomed our guest Casey, and presented Leanne with a certificate of appreciation for her outstanding leadership and contribution in organising our club's recent 1000th meeting celebrations.

Leanne

Blake was Toastmaster of the evening and kept it flowing smoothly. It was his first time in that role.

Blake

The Toast was presented by Tim, who is working through the Special Occasion speech manual.
Since it was a manual project, the toast was evaluated by Nikki. It was Nikki's first time as evaluator.

Tim

Nikki

Word Master Robyn chose the word "surreal." which is uesd to describe an event, circumstance or situation that seems unreal.

Robyn

Round Robin Master Stephen  asked us to tell about our favourite movie. There were a  variety of responses.

Stephen

Lien & Christiane in audience

Table Topic Gail called on Marlene, Liz We, Leesa and Steve to tell about their first, scariest, worst and most viewed movie.

Gail - TT Master

Marlene - First Movie

Liz We - Scariest Movie

Leesa - Worst Movie

Steve - Most seen Movie

They were evaluated by  Kirsty and .John.

Kirsty

John

Supper was supplied by Steve, who in keeping with the "Going to the Movies theme, had brought ice creams for everyone.

Yum!

Pathways Guide Christiane presented an informative session and answered questions about the new Pathways educational programme that our club will soon be using.

Christiane

A business session followed, with Karen acting as chairman.

Karen

Grammarian Leanne commented on the use of words during the meeting.

Leanne

Time keeper Darryl reported that the meeting was running on time.

Darryl

Jim was the General Evaluator

Jim

Jonathon's raffle, a bag of Christmas goodies, was won by Liz Wo.

Jonathon

Liz We

President Annette closed the meeting and presented the evening's awards to Karen (Most Improved,)
John (Best Evaluation) and Marlene (Best Table Topic.)

Karen, John,Marlene

Next meeting on the 28th November will be the final one before our Christmas Break Up Dinner. Blake will be accepting payment from those who will be attending the  dinner