Meeting 859 "Goals"

The theme "Goals" was appropriate for our first meeting in the new Toastmaster year. Our new president, Sharyn opened the meeting on a positive note and Round Robin Master Robert asked members to state what their goals were for the coming year.

As Toastmaster of the evening, Tony kept the meeting flowing  motivational quotes between segments.

Jennine presented her Icebreaker, telling about her love of crafts, particularly knitting.

Dave read the Poem, "The Highwayman" for his Interpretive reading project.

The raffle was won by Liz.

Awards for the evening went to Raider (Best Table Topic, Jennine (Best speech And Personal Best), Rhys (Best Evaluator) & Tony (Best Contribution.)

Meeting 858 - Changeover Dinner - Theme of Colour Your World

Congratulations to Marlene for arranging a fabulous changeover dinner to say 'thank you' to the outgoing executive team, and 'welcome' to the incoming.

Congratulations to award recipients: Sandgate Toastmaster of the Year, Sharyn; 100% Attendance, Dave H; and Most Improved, Kylie.

Thank you to outgoing Area Governor Deb for her support, enthusiasm and input this year - her visits have been an absolute pleasure and we look forward to supporting her as incoming Division Governor.

Thank you to the Full Moon Hotel for use of their facilities throughout the year, it is a great venue for our meetings.

Photos of the evening in no particular order - despite my efforts - this blogsite likes to add its own touch.

Meeting 857 - Theme of Eclipse (Winter)

A fun, challenging and informative meeting once again, with 22 club members and one guest.

We had the opportunity to welcome our incoming Area Governor Jeff, pictured below with our incoming club president Sharyn, and also current club president Marlene.





June took on the challenge of a new role, Madame Toastmaster, and entertained us with eclipse anecdotes.

Rhys did an amazing job with his 10th speech from the Competent Communicator manual, earning him the CC qualification as well as a standing ovation. Entitled iCare, he ensured food for thought for each of us.

Rachael presented her second speech, an educational piece about the Royal Flying Doctor Service; David inspired us all to take a longer look at Sandgate's Hidden Treasure; and Trish delved into a word often felt to be taboo, suicide, although "It's Just a Word". Four great speeches, followed by four informative evaluations.

Raider impressed with an impromptu book review on The Brain that Changes Itself.

John scared us a little with a thorough general evaluation followed by a statement that after 38 years it would be his last - many were wondering whether he was withdrawing from the club and were relieved when John said only from evaluations - reserving the right to make private suggestions.

Leesa appealed to book lovers with her raffle prize, and the primary raffle winner of the club claimed this one too - but has offered to share - Wanting by Richard Flanagan. Could this be a book review in the making?


With a few minutes to spare on the program, Sharyn had members wriggling, writhing and roaring as they played "descriptive animals" charades. For the following photographic gems you may thank the quick-shooting Marlene.







Trophies to:

Table Topics - Liz Wel
Prepared Speech - Rhys
Evaluation - Annette
Personal Best - Rachael
Contribution - June



Next meeting is the changeover dinner Colour Your World - don't forget to dress accordingly!

Welcome to Guests

Guests are encouraged to attend club meetings, held on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at The Full Moon Hotel in Sandgate, at no charge. Meetings start promptly at 7pm, so please arrive by 6:45pm so we may welcome you beforehand. Further details can be obtained from Kylie on 0407 877 272 or Marlene on 3269 1730.

Please note: Tuesday 28 June will be a pre-paid dinner, so please do not arrive unexpected on this night. Contact Kylie or Marlene if you would like to attend.

Meeting 856 on 24 May - Theme of Travel

Tempted as I was to issue a moratorium for this entry (the word of the night as introduced by Kerry), I shall instead keep it brief.

An inspiring meeting, and the first for some time without any guests, other than Sir Richard Branson during the round robin. If you know somebody who would enjoy and benefit from Toastmasters, why not bring them along as a guest? Encouraging new members keeps the club strong and dynamic. Tonight's meeting was special for having lots of firsts, including an icebreaker speech by Lynda; a table topic by Jennine; and a toast & mission statement by Harry and Jennine.

Please note the next meeting is in three weeks, on Tuesday 14 June. Please bring money for the changeover dinner on Tuesday 28 June. Only members and invited, pre-paid guests will be able to attend the meeting on 28 June, so if anybody contacts you with interest to attend a future meeting, please make them aware of this exception to our standard rule of no charge for guests.

A particular thank you to Kerry and Raider for attending the meeting to complete their roles before departing for other commitments. As John pointed out, this showed commendable commitment to the club and their assigned duties.

Trophies to:
Table Topics - Rachael
Speech - Rhys
Evaluation - Kylie
Personal Best - Lynda
Contribution - Leesa

Meeting 855 - Theme Zodiac

Written by a Piscean, apparently the most metaphysically orientated of all the symbols, you may be expecting this blog post to be a little emotional and nostalgic; but overall calm, considerate and compassionate. I shall do my best ...

Meeting 855 was once again a challenging, informative and interesting night. The theme allowed each of us to speculate whether our zodiac sign matched our personalities, and that of other club members.

Liz Wel as Toastmaster, her first time in this role, did an excellent job, having researched comments to make between segments, introducing the next segment and keeping the meeting moving. Well done.

Dave Y as acting sargeant at arms, and Trish as acting acting president fulfilled their roles with style. Jennine and Harry were voted in and will be inducted at the next meeting.


With confidence and enthusiasm Kerry offered us the opportunity to win a bag of Tupperware Treats, and this Piscean was tempted to display some "rare out of control behaviour with serious consequences" when the winner was announced to be John instead of herself.

June challenged Kerry, Tony and Raider with themed table topics; evaluated well by Dave H.

Trish with her speech Tears of the Moon and a little town from an advanced communicator manual had us all throughly looking forward to our stay in Broome; and Kylie presented five key photography techniques, concluding that If all else fails, read the instruction manual.

John gave an educational about introducing a guest speaker, and an outline will be included in a future newsletter. The key points to include are: why this speaker, why this time, why this subject and why this audience. Annette provided a great example.

Annette's delivery of Henry Lawson's The Teams was delightful.

Trophies were presented to (with photo by Sharyn - didn't she listen carefully to the photography tips!)

Table Topics - Kerry
Speech - Kylie
Evaluation - Liz Wood
Personal Best - Kylie
Contribution - Liz Wel