Meeting 898 "Travellers Tales" Speechfest

 Club Ambassadors Chris, Del & with June

We were pleased to welcome special guests Chris and Del from Chermside Communicators. Chris and Del are taking part in the Club Ambassador Programme, which involves visiting other Toastmasters Clubs and taking part in the meeting.

Toastmaster June kept the meeting flowing with anecdotes and travelling tips in between meeting segments.

Terry read the mission statement & proposed the Toast, then Annette had the pleasure of inducting three new members, Jim, Nick and Bev.

All three new members bravely took part in Annette's Table Topics. In keeping with the theme of the meeting, Jim was asked to speak on what mode of travel her preferred, plane, train or ship. Bev answered the question, "On your bucket list, where do you still want to travel?" and Nick was asked, "Why should you holiday in Australia?"

Experienced member Trish was given a more challenging topic - "As an experienced caravan traveller, what advice what you give to others considering caravanning?"  Trish gave such good advice, it was hard to believe that she has never actually travelled in a caravan!

The Table Topics were evaluated by Del.

Jim

Bev

Nick

Trish

The meeting was a feast of speeches.
Peter presented his Icebreaker speech, "My VIP Journey." Peter told us of his life as a VIP - Visually Impaired Person. Her provided special simulation goggles for everyone so we could understand how a person with Retinis Pigmentosa views the world.

Seeing what it's like

Peter

Trish evaluated  Peter"s speech and commended him for his use of humour.

Kerry's spoke about "Fragrances" - the unique smell of a country and how aromas can evoke memories.
Her speech was evaluated by Harry.

Kerry

Harry

Maureen's speech title was "What is the answer to procrastination?"  Maureen said she has found the answer. She has been using a programme called "Smart Sheet."

Jennine evaluated Maureen's speech.

Maureen

Jennine

Jonathon was the fourth speaker. His speech, "Celebrate the Surprises of the Journey." was about his trip to India while making a documentary and the insights that he gained.

It was evaluated by John S

Jonathon

John S

Annette kept us entertained with  her wonderful gestures  as she spoke about her efforts to take up golf. 

Her speech was evaluated by Leesa.

Entertained Audience - Leesa in foreground.

Annette

Sharyn

Our 6th speaker Sharyn spoke about the necessity for planning when travelling and gave us a humorous account of trip that lasted longer than she had allowed for after drinking a large quantity of water.

Her speech was evaluated by Dave.

Inge

Inge's raffle was a combination of items including a tote bag, cushion, apron, tea towels, cookbook, and a novel. The lucky winner was Trish.

Since it was almost Anzac Day, John S recited the well known fourth verse of the Ode of Remembrance.

"They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, 
We will remember them.
LEST WE FORGET"


General Evaluator Chris gave us some encouraging feed back on the meeting.

Annette reminded us that it will be three weeks till the next meeting.


Award winners were Peter (Best Speech and Personal Best,) Nick & Bev (Best Table Topic - tie,) Trish (Best Evaluation,) and June (Best Contribution.)

Awards winners 23rd April

As there are 5 Tuesdays in April, it will be three weeks till the next meeting on the 14th May, when we will conduct our Club Officer Elections. 

Meeting 897 "Health"

We had a healthy attendance at the meeting and there were four guests, Christiane, Bev, Jim and Nick. President Annette opened the meeting and presented new members Peter and Ron with their membership badge.

Peter & Ron received new member badges

Nicole

 Toastmaster of the evening was Nicole, who skillfully segued from one item to the next with interesting information and quotes.

Jennine proposed the toast and Harry introduced the word for the evening - "Badinage", which means humorous conversation, banter, pleasantry, joke, jest or raillery. There is usually some badinage at our meetings!

Peter conducted the Round Robin and asked, "What do you do to keep the doctor away?" The answers were varied. "Eat Craisins," "Drink plenty of water," Exercise,"  "Dark chocolate,"  "Low protein diet," "Stay positive" "Sleep," "Badinage," etc.

Terry

Marlene presented the Table Topics that John S had prepared. (Thanks for sending them through, John!) They were in the form of a mini debate. Robert was called on to answer the first topic.
"We hear a lot about the ability of the two sexes to withstand pain. Do you believe men are babies when it comes to health matters?"
Then Annette was asked, "You disagree strongly on everything said. Why?" 
The next one was for Liz We.  "Given that we have transplants for those who smoke too much; liver transplants for those who drink too much and operations for those who eat to much - should menical help be given only to those who help themselves?"
And Jennine was asked, "Why do you disagree?"

The Table Topics were  evaluated by Terry.

Ron presented his Icebreaker speech, and spoke of his heritage and his journey to Australia. He cleverly captivated our attention by offering a block of chocolate to whoever could pronounce his surname correctly and also who could tell its origin.

The second speaker was Amanda, who gave some fascinating  insights and  information about Greetings.

The speeches were evaluated by Maureen and Liz Wo.

Liz Wo

Maureen

There was a 15 minute break for supper and possibly some badinage.

While Homer looked on wistfully from under the table. 

The Business Session was conducted by Dave. The main items discussed were the motions on notices that are to be voted on at the  District Conference on the 4th & 5th May.

Inge presented a Handy Hint. She spoke about the use of hands while speaking and how it is hard to hear the speaker if they keep their hands close to their face.

This was followed by a joke by Robert.

Inge

Robert

Sharyn's Raffle, a selection of healthy treats, was won by Dave.

Trish conducted the General Evaluation.

Sharyn

Trish

Award winners were Amanda,(Best Speech,) Maureen (Best Evaluation,) Liz We (Best Table Topic,) Nicole (Best Contribution,) and Ron (Personal Best.) Robert's dog, Homer wanted to be in the picture.

Winners

Next meeting is a Speechfest, "Travellers Tales." We are looking forward to hearing some interesting stories.

Don't forget our club officer election is at the first meeting in May. See the previous post for a description of the roles.

Time to Nominate

The Election of new Club Officers is only a month away. Please consider taking on a role this year. It is a wonderful experience, being part of the team. If you are not ready to take on a full role, you might like to act as an assistant to someone else - or an experienced member might like to assist someone performing a role for the first time.

If you are interested in nominating for a role, speak to the current  Executive Officer to find out what it entails.

Here is a brief overview of the Executive Roles.

 CLUB OFFICER ROLES

PRESIDENT
Attend club officer training day (held in June & February.)
Attend and vote at District Council meetings and Conferences (or authorise a club member to do so.)
Make sure guests are warmly welcomed. Speak with them before & after meeting.
Open & close meetings.
Oversee plan to achieve Distinguished Club programme goals.
Encourage members to acheive their goals.
Chair executive meetings.

VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION
Attend club officer training day (held in June & February.)
Attend and vote at District Council meetings and Conferences (or authorise a club member to do so.)
Prepare programme for meetings
Track members progress
Initial speaker's Records of Assignments & submit award applications to World Headquarters.
Explain Toastmasters programme to new members
Assign mentors for new members
Attend club executive meetings

VICE PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP
Attend club officer training day (held in June & February.)
Follow up on guests, new members, & members not attending meetings.
Greet guests and give them information on Toastmasters. Get them to fill in information sheet about themselves.
Help prospective members to fill in membership application form, collect their fees and submit it to World Headquarters.
Keep membership list up to date.
Speak with fellow members to determine if their needs are being met.

VICE PRESIDENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
Attend club officer training day (held in June & February.)
Promote the club via local newspapers, posters in shops, etc.
Announce upcoming events.
Greet members & guests.
Attend club executive meetings.

SECRETARY
Attend club officer training day (held in June & February.)
Send new Club Officer list to World Headquarters within 10 days after election.
Handle club correspondence.
Keep Club files, minutes, resolutions & correspondence.
Record & read meeting minutes.
Greet members & guests.
Attend club executive meetings.

TREASURER
Attend club officer training day (held in June & February.)
Provide bank with new signatures.
Prepare & send dues statements by August 15 / February 15
Collect & send dues to World Headquarters by Oct1 & April 1
Work with VPM to contact members who have not paid dues.
Pay accounts as due.
Keep records of financial transactions.
Present written & verbal reports quarterly.
Submit club accounts for audit.
Attend club executive meetings.

SERGEANT AT ARMS
Attend club officer training day (held in June & February.)
Maintain Club equipment & keep adequate number of supplies.
Provide milk, tea, coffee.
Arrange room for meeting (Everyone helps)
Make sure lectern is in place, voting slips distributed, etc.
Greet visiting Area Governor etc & escort them to the President.
Ensure meeting starts on time.
Collect and tally votes for awards.
Greet members & guests.
Attend club executive meetings.  

You can find more information on the Toastmasters International Website.

Meeting 896 "Easter"

Liz Wo was presented with 25 yr badge

Congratulations to long serving member Liz Wo, who received a badge commemorating 25 years in Sandgate Toastmasters Club. Annette presented the badge at the beginning of the meeting. Liz has served in most of the executive positions at least once, competed in contests and mentored new members. It was because of Liz that I joined our club. She was Vice President Public Relations at the time and it was through reading Liz's articles in the local paper, telling what went on at the meetings, that I realised that this was a club that had fun and would welcome ordinary people like me.

John T

And our last meeting was fun! Annette had decorated the tables with small Easter eggs - enough for everyone. Toastmaster John T really entered into the spirit of Easter and arrived wearing his Easter hat. He kept the meeting lively with appropriate Easter jokes and a lot of information about the origins of  many Easter traditions. It was John's first time as Toastmaster.

Our new member Ron proposed the Toast, reminding us that Easter is a time of hope, and Inge read the Mission Statement.

Annette conducted the Round Robin, asking "What does Success mean to you?" There were some light hearted answers such as "waking up in the morning still breathing" and some more profound, eg "Leaving the world a better place," "Being happy with what you've got." "Being married to the right person." Interestingly, no one mentioned wealth or fame.

Elizabeth

Table Topics was another lively session. Liz Wo's topics were
"What do you remember about Easter as a child?" 
"Do you believe in the Easter bunny?" 
and "Why are Easter Buns hot and cross?" 

Elizabeth had also prepare three topics -
"The tradition of self discipline during Lent," 
"How do you feel when you see the full moon?"
 and "Is the Australian Bilby a suitable substitute for the Easter Bunny?"  

Del

The topics were answered by Liz We, Leesa, Sharyn, John S, Marlene and Inge. The Evaluators were Annette and Del.

Our first speaker was unable to attend the meeting, but Jonathon filled in with an entertaining session on how to answer a Table Topic by telling a story. He used the white board to write the formula.

Start with a situation -
"Once upon a time -  create issue.
"And everyday" - problem.
"So one day" - resource.
"Because of that"- benefit.
"And then finally - resolution.
"Ever since." - happily ever after.

Jonathon

Dave presented a speech from the "Speaking to Inform" Manual. The title of his speech was "Ouch!" and
was a fascinating history of the development and use of anaesthesia in medical practice.

Dave's speech was evaluated by Terry.

Dave

Terry

Sharyn

Sharyn conducted a "soopa doopa" Educational Session on Evaluation. Some of her main points were,
"Be specific - with feedback,"
"Acknowledge - what is good."
"Speak for your self - personal opinion"
"Build self esteem of the speaker"
"Stretch your Evaluation vocabulary - use descriptive words. (eg soopa doopa!)
"Your opinion matters."

Robert

Leesa

Robert had some more trivia about Easter in a brief "Did you Know?" spot.

Leesa read a short inspiring poem by Leo Marks, "The Life I Have is all that I Have"






Some of us were caught out and fined during June's Listening Quiz.

June

Liz We's Raffle, a book and a bottle of wine, was won by Terry.

Liz We

Terry wins raffle

John S

General Evaluator John S had some good advice and commendations. He demonstrated how to write on the white board from the side, to avoid turning away from the audience.

Guests Nick and Jim said they had enjoyed the meeting. We were sorry to hear that Rhys is taking a break for 6 months. We will miss him & look forward to the time when he comes back.

The evening's awards went to Dave (Best Speech,) John T (Best Contribution,) Terry (Best Evaluation,) Marlene (Best Table Topic,) and Ron (Personal Best.)

Metro Division Conference 2013

Annette 

Six from our club attended the Metro Division Conference last Saturday. John S, John T, Annette, Leesa, Liz We, and me.

Annette competed in the Evaluation contest and came second. I felt I learned more from Annette's evaluation that any of the other evaluations, because she had a good point for improvement that none of the others mentioned. Anyway she did our club proud.

The speeches were of a high standard. It was good to see former International President of Toastmasters,

Gavin Blakey

Gavin Blakey chair the International Contest. Another distinguished guest was Jock Elliott, who was World Champion speaker in 2011.

I was challenged by the session conducted by  keynote speaker Kevin Ryan. 

One of his memorable quotes was, "Everything great you'll ever achieve will happen outside your comfort zone."

He challenged us to pair up with someone in the room who we didn't know & tell them what commitment we had made to step outside our comfort zone. I found myself talking to the lovely young girl in front of me, and I rashly committed myself to entering the Evaluation Contest this year. 

Oh dear, what have I done!!

Meeting 895 "Getting Involved"

Annette & Denise

We were happy to  welcome our Area Governor, Denise to our meeting. Denise brought a special treat - two large cartons of books for anyone who wanted them. They were eagerly snapped up.

Other visitors were Christiane, Nick, Bev and Kerryn.

Two new members, Peter and Ron were inducted by Annette. Annette used our new modified Induction Ceremony, which includes the Mentors Promise. Liz We will be  Peters mentor and Dave will mentor Ron.

Annette inducted Peter & Ron

Jonathon

Toastmaster Jonathon kept the meeting moving along and injected  it with some inspiring quotes about getting involved. 

Robert proposed the Toast and Del read the Toastmasters Mission Statement, which has recently been revised,
"We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth."

Inge & guest Christiane

Round Robin Master Inge invited us to tell about our hobbies.To start the ball rolling, Inge had brought some of the brooches and stones she had painted. We were able to see them more closely during the supper break.

 Del, Terry, Maureen and Rhys were called on to answer Marlene's Table Topics with a "Getting Involved" theme -

"Tell us how you came to be involved in one of your favourite organisations."

"Your neighbour's teenager has a wild all night party while his parents are out of town. Do you tell his parents when they return?"

"You are driving alone at night. A desperate looking person tries to flag you down. Do you stop?"

"You suspect a neighbour is abusing his or her children. Do you notifiy the authorities?"

Del

Terry

Maureen

John S

The Table Topics were evaluated by John S, who pointed out their strengths & how they could improve.

Jennine

We heard three excellent speeches. Jennine's was "For the Love of Water."  She used great word pictures and explained how sea creatures are endangered by rubbish that finds it way into the ocean.

John T

John T's speech was "Winning the War of the Word." It was a very humorous look at the way "New Speak" is taking over our language.

Liz We

Liz We's speech "How Long is a Foot?" was a fascinating account of how the size of the human foot has increased over the years. She used charts and pieces of wood to demonstrate.

Evaluators were Amanda, Annette and Nicole.



During the supper break, we were able to inspect the chart John S had made of the history of our club.

John,  Leesa & Amanda

Liz Wo

The Business Session was chaired by Liz Wo. Parliamentarian John S congratulated  the club on the professional way the meeting was conducted.

Grammarian Dave commented on the colourful word usage during the meeting and gave examples.

Kerry's raffle (stationery) was won by Liz Wo.

Kerry

Sharyn was General Evaluator. She had encouraging comments and suggestions for all, and said she was particularly impressed with the quality of the evaluations.

Maureeen revealed herself as the Mystery Toastmaster.

Sharyn

It was a tightly packed programme, but thanks to the efficiency of the Toastmaster, Chairman and co-operation of everyone by not going over time, Timekeeper Harry was able to announce that we had finished 2 minutes early.


Winners of the evening's awards were Annette (Best Evaluator,) Maureen (Best Table Topic,) Jonathon ( Best Contribution,) Jennine (Best Speech,) and Amanda (Personal Best.)

Award winners

Remember, next meeting is the deadline for our semi annual fees.  If you prefer to pay online, please contact Nicole for details.