Meeting 1033 Etymology

President Christiane was glad to be back at a Meeting and she welcomed guest Diane.
Christiane also congratulated Gail who was recognized at a breakfast on International Women's Day for her contribution to community organisations.

Christiane

Toastmaster Liz asked who had to look up the meaning of the theme of tonight's Meeting (it means an explanation of what our words mean and their history and derivation), and who confused it with Entomology (the study of insects). She also introduced the words Lexophile (a word to describe those who have a love for words), and Onomatopoeia (a word that actually looks like the sound it makes (e.g. babble, gurgle, plop, swish, purr).

Liz

A Toast to the late great interviewer "Mike Willesee" was a timely choice by Darryl.

Stephen chose the word "Naughty" for the word, and gave a complete background of how it's meaning has changed over the years.

Darryl and Stephen

Kirsty stepped in to conduct the Round Robin, with a theme of What One Word would you use to describe your year so far.

Kirsty

Speech 1 by Jonathon, entitled "Wheel of Life" was evaluated by John T.

Jonathon and The Wheel of Life diagram

John T

Speech 2 by Eileen, entitled "My Communication Style" was evaluated by Paul.

Eileen and Paul

Trevor was a diligent Timekeeper all evening.

Trevor

Christiane gave a presentation on the Moments of Truth survey results, which showed our Club as well above the average in most areas. Suggestions that were made have been taken on board by the Executive and will be introduced where possible.

Carmy was the Raffle presenter, lucky winner being Gail.

Carmy

Chairman of the Business Session, for the first time, was Casey. She really threw herself into the role and enjoyed bringing order to the session. Well done.

Casey with gavel in action

Table Topics presenter Monica gave single word topics, which participants then had to create a mini speech around.

Monica

Darryl (oranges), Marlene (hate), Leesa (shoes), Stephen (confidence), Gail (shock) and Kirsty (family). The topics were evaluated by Peter and Gail.

Peter and Gail

Marlene gave some tips in her Grammarian session which all Members could take on board.

Marlene

General Evaluator was Annette who gave a comprehensive overview of the Meeting, and reminded all Members to speak up so as to be heard.

Annette

Awards:

Best Speech: Jonathon, Best Table Topic: Leesa, Gail and Kirsty (shared), Best Evaluator: Gail, Most Improved: Casey.

Jonathon, Gail, Leesa, Kirsty and Casey

Moreton Division Conference

Congratulations to all who participated in the Moreton Divison Conference on Saturday 9th March. All contestants were excellent and the organisers can be proud of a successful event.

Some of our members were there to support Darryl who was in the Evaluation Contest and who was awarded Third Place. Congratulations Darryl!

There will be more photos and information abut the Conference on the Moreton Division Facebook page.

Evaluation Contest

Darryl with his proud supporters

Lunch Time

A special treat was an entertaining Educational Session by Dale Rees-Bevan, a Keynote Speaker and Presentation Skills Trainer. 

Dale Rees-Bevan

Another interesting speaker was Liam Richardson, Community Relations Officer for North Brisbane Blood Bank.

The day lived up to the Conference theme "Moreton Members Matter."

Meeting 1032 "Sweet Dreams"

Although attendance was down, the spirit of the meeting was high. Past President Annette filled in for President Christiane and welcomed everyone to the meeting

Annette

Eileen

Eileen was Toastmaster of the evening (her first time in the role) and she kept the meeting flowing.
New member Skye proposed a toast to "All the dreamers who won't and can't stop dreaming."

Skye

Carmy

Carmy's word of the evening was "Pleasant."

The Round Robin topic, presented by Eileen was "Why do you deserve more sleep?" There were some humorous answers.

There were three prepared speeches. Marlene's speech was a Pathways project  "Understanding your Communication Style",  She spoke about "Learning to Listen."

Trish's speech was about  great speakers and memorable speakers and defined what makes a speech memorable.

Trevor's speech about "Defining Love" was from the Storytelling Manual and he posed the question, at what point do you realise that you love someone?

Trish

Trevor

The speeches were evaluated by Peter, Darryl and Blake.

Peter

Darryl

Blake

The Table Topics had been prepared by Jonathon but as he was unable to attend, Stephen presented them, calling on Darryl, Peter, Skye, Marlene and Trish and Blake to answer them.

Peter

Skye

Paul

Trish

Blake

Stephen

They were evaluated by  John T and. Leesa

John T

Leesa

Carmy reviewed the book  "A Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela.

In a "Show and Tell segment, Monica told about her ancestor Selina Brown, who drowned in 1890 during a flood at the Plough Inn, South Brisbane. Selina's ghost is said to haunt the Plough Inn.

Carmy

Monica

Grammarian Stephen commented on some good word usage and reported that there had been only a few "Ums and Aahs."

Paul presented a General Evaluation of the entire evening.

Award winners were Blake (Best Table Topic,) John T (Best Evaluation,) Trevor (Best Speech,) and Skye (Most Improved.)

Award winners 26th February

Next meeting 12th March.

Semi Annuals will be due at the end of March and can be paid at either of the next two meetings.

Don't forget the Division Conference on the 9th March. Come and support Darryl in the Evaluation Contest. Contact Blake if you wish to attend.

Meeting 1031 Valentine's Day

John T as Acting Past President had the pleasure of inducting John A and Skye at the opening of the Meeting. He also welcomed guests Sharyn, Leila and Shima.

Toastmaster Trish enthralled us with a quiz about famous (or infamous) couples throughout the ages, which tied in with the Valentine's theme. Her mastery of sacrifices made for love was educational and entertaining, and filled in between segments artfully.

A Toast to "Cupid" was a first for newly inducted John.

Skye then presented the Word "Adore" with definition and examples. Many Members were able to incorporate the word into their segments.

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, ……. was the Round Robin theme by Marlene. It became rather obvious that their are no budding poets in the Club.

Speeches:
Carmy's title was "Thinking Out Loud" and Evaluator was Monica.

"Smoke Nuisance" was presented by Chris, and evaluated by Leanne.

Peter researched and delivered a speech on "Marchfelderhof" which was evaluated by Trevor.

Blake was trying to sweeten us up with the Raffle of chocolates and wine - just perfect for your Valentine. Winner was Eileen.

Timer Stephen gave accurate timings and managed to keep the Meeting running exactly as per the agenda. Well done.

The Business Session was chaired by John T, who conducted it succinctly and on time.

Table Topics were delivered by Eileen, each with a romantic/love theme. Participants were Blake, John A, Skye, Liza, Monica and Trevor.

Grammarian Liz highlighted the quality points and noted that ums and ahs were in the minority.

General Evaluator John T gave an excellent overview of the Meeting and suggestions to strive for at future Meetings.

Awards:
Best Speech: Chris, Best Table Topic: a tie for Blake and Liz,  Best Evaluator: Leanne, Most Improved: Skye.