Meeting 1107 "Nocturnal Noises"

 It was our first meeting in our new venue, the RSL Sub Branch hall.

Dan, standing in for our Sergeant at Arms, called the meeting to order and passed control to our President Trish. 

Toastmaster Christiane introduced the theme of the evening, "Nocturnal Noises."

Trish

Christiane

The toast was proposed by Leanne. "To Sandgate Toastmasters and Adapting to change."

Toast by Leanne

Zoom attendees

Monica, who was attending on zoom, gave us the word for the evening - "Hair Raising."

This fitted well with the Round Robin introduced by David who was also on Zoom. He asked what we would do if it was the last day we would ever see the sun. There were many interesting answers, some were going to enjoy as much sun as they could before it disappeared, while others were going to join the rush for batteries and candles. 

Arun presented the first prepared speech, a Level 3 project in his Dynamic Leadership path, "Negotiation Strategies." It was evaluated by Trish.

Arun

Trish

The second speech was presented by Gokul, with the intriguing title, "Who would you love more - your Mum or your partner?"  It was actually about his love for both the country he was born in and the country he chose to emigrate to. Gail was his evaluator.

Gokul

Gail

The raffle was provided by Dan, who was attending on Zoom, but he had given it to Gokul to present at the meeting. It was a book about Johnny Walker and a generous selection of drinks. It proved to be a very popular raffle. It was won by Leanne.

Dan

Gokul with
part of raffle prize

Table Topics were conducted by Ted. (Sorry, I forgot to take photos for this session!) 

Monica was asked to speak about a frightening experience, John told why he was thankful for the night, Narelle explained what made her afraid of the dark. and Jonathon talked about a starry night.

They were evaluated by Dan and Hazel.

This was followed by a business session chaired by Tony.  The main items for discussion were our Changeover Dinner on the 12th July and our information stall at the Einbunpin Festival on the 31st July. 

Tony

The Time Keepers were John and Leanne.

Peter B was presented with his membership badge.

Peter, Tony & Trish

Paul conducted a General Evaluation with many constructive suggestions.

Paul

Award winners of the evening were, Best Table Topic, Narelle; Best Speech, Arun; Best Evaluation, Trish; and Most Improved, Gokul and Arun (tie).

Award winners, 14 June 2022

It was so good to see Jonathon and Trevor back. 

Jonathon and Gokul

Trevor and Leanne

Next meeting 28th June.

Changeover Dinner at "The Sands Social." 12th July. 

Stall at Einbunpin Festival 31st July.

New Venue

 Our next meeting on the 14th June will be held at our new venue, the RSL Sub Branch hall, 12 Burnett Place, Sandgate. Also on Zoom. 

Meeting 1106 - Hobbies

 Stand in Sergeant-at-Arms Dan opened the Meeting. Trish gave a brief outline of some changes for next month, and then handed control to Gokul as Toastmaster for the evening.

Trish

Gokul

The Toast was proposed by Ted and was to "Hobbies".

Ted

Peter B. gave us the Word "Benefactor" to use throughout the Meeting.

Peter B.

A lively Round Robin was introduced by John T. and what a diverse range of hobbies were disclosed by our Members.

Speeches:

First was an Ice Breaker by new Member David. The topic was "This is Me" and was evaluated by Paul.

David

Paul

Christiane was introduced by evaluator Chris H. Her speech was entitled "How does one find a Mentor" and was Level 2 Project 3 - Mentoring.

Christiane

Chris H.

Evaluator Liz Wo. introduced John T for his Level 2 Speech "Your Body Language Speaks for You".

John T.

Liz Wo.

Timers Dan and Monica provided a record of times for speeches and segments.

Monica

The Raffle by Arun included a decanter complete with liquid refreshment to fill it. The winner was Ted.

Arun

Trish conducted the Election of Club Officers, the results of which are:

President: Paul, VPE: Gail, Treasurer: Peter D., VPM: Dan, VPR: Christiane, Secretary: Chris H, and Sergeant-at-Arms: Gokul. Congratulations to all the New Executive Members.

Table Topics by Dan - included participants Ted, John , Paul and Arun. These topics were evaluated by Marlene and Carmy.

Dan

Carmy

Marlene

The General Evaluation of the entire Meeting was reported by Tony.

Tony

Awards:

Best Speech: John, Best Evaluator: Liz Wo., Best Table Topic: Paul and Most Improved: David.

John T, David and Paul

Please note: Sandgate Toastmasters have a new Meeting venue - it is the RSL Sub-Branch Hall, 12 Burnett Lane, Sandgate. 

We will be meeting there from next Meeting on June 14th.

Also, it is proposed that the Change Over Dinner will be held on Tuesday 12 July, so please note that in your diary.

Christiane's Report on the District Conference

Christiane

There are many reasons to attend a Toastmasters conference, but especially the District conference has the winners of 3 levels of contests which means they are the creme de la creme.

The emotions are high during the contests and the speeches inspire you to become a better person. The best speech I've ever heard at a contest inspired me to stand up when I see injustice in my life. "All that needs to be done for evil to prevail is good men doing nothing." The example of the speaker took us back to his schooldays where his classmate Helen stood up for her fellow peer when the teacher acted out after not receiving the correct answer to his math question. What made the speech so much more memorable was the introduction to this heartfelt story through examples of possible discriminations and injustices we might have already experienced in the work place (or will never experience): heritage, accent, skin colour, pregnancy status, age discrimination. I never knew the list could be so long.
The expectation is there to laugh out loud during the Humorous Speech contest. However I laughed most when Annette spoke about her uniqueness of her hairstyle during her Table Topic, only to half-turn and spot the contest chair. Priceless!

Since the conference is over 2 days, there is also time for workshops/ educationals and all three that I attended helped me to become a better speaker (with a better voice and connecting with my story) as well as a better evaluator. Kaj was able to give us valid points of improvement of the opening speech by Amy as well as the test speech by Robert. For advanced speakers, we should concentrate on authenticity, purpose to the audience or engagement. Very valid points which I plan to use over the coming months on our advanced speakers in the club.

The highlight of the conference was Tony bringing home the win for Sandgate Toastmasters in Evaluation (and the celebration afterwards) as well as talking to fellow Toasties about their life.
I'm looking forward to the next rounds of contests and conferences. Will I see you there?

Hazel's report on the District Conference

Hazel

If you want to move forward with your public speaking skills, attending the annual Toastmasters Conference is a great way to do it. Why? Because seeing how the expert speakers do it is a powerful way to learn.

And as a bonus, the event is entertaining, inspiring and great fun! Take a look at our slideshow to get a feeling, and I hope to see you at the next conference, which its rumoured is going to be held in Fiji. A good excuse for a follow-up beach holiday maybe?

And here's the slideshow link:

Meeting 1105 - May Day

 A hybrid Meeting was opened by acting Sergeant-at-Arms Dan and Trish welcomed all Members.

Toastmaster Arun was very knowledgeable about May Day throughout history and delivered snippets between segments.

Arun

A Toast by Gokul to "Festivals That Bring People Together".

Gokul

Gail conducted the Round Robin which asked "How do you usually celebrate May Day".

Wordmaster Dan gave the word "Flexible" which was very appropriate with our current Meeting.

Dan

Hazel and Christiane delivered a brief overview of the District 69 Conference they attended in Cairns earlier this month.

Hazel

Christiane

Speeches:

Evaluator Liz We. introduced Chris H, with a speech about plasma donations, entitled "Lifeblood".

Chris

Liz We.

Marlene's speech was introduced by Evaluator Monica. It was Pathways Level 3, Inspire your Audience, and the title was "The Speech I didn't Hear".

Marlene

Monica

Timing was shared between Paul and David, and their reporting was concise and kept us on track.

David

The Raffle was provided by Paul, and his reference to Elections was an excellent twist. The winner was Gokul.

Paul

Club Officer Election was conducted by Trish, but owing to lack of nominees was adjourned until next Meeting.

Trish

Dan presented the Table Topics, which were related to work experiences, and participants were Gail, Hazel, Christiane, Chris H., Trish and Gokul.

Marlene and Paul provided excellent evaluations for the presenters.

General Evaluation of the evening was presented by Liz Wo.

Liz Wo.

Awards:

Best Speech: Chris H.; Best Evaluator: Liz We.; Best Table Topic: Gail; Most Improved: Arun.

Chris H., Gail, Arun and Liz We.