Meeting 1005 "Journalism. Newspapers, Media Tycoons"

It was our first meeting for 2018 and our first meeting since the new educational system Pathways was rolled out in our area. Thanks to our Pathways Guide Christiane, our club has been well informed.  Kirsty, Nikki and Leanne have also received training to act as our "Pathways Gurus." President Annette presented Kirsty,  Nikki and Leanne with their badges.

Kirsty, Nikki, Leanne & Annette

Annette welcomed our  three guests, Tim, Lee-Anne and Eileen. She also conducted a brief  business session for 3 minutes while we elected a new secretary to fill the vacant position. No arm twisting was necessary - Paul immediately volunteered.

Darryl

Toastmaster of the evening Darryl introduced the theme of the meeting and announced that his aim for the evening was to "Have fun and to run on time."  He managed to keep the meeting flowing while also presenting  stories and snippets about the media.

Wordmaster Nick introduced the word "Propaganda."

 

Nick

Gail

Round Robin Master Gail invited us to tell about misleading headlines we have read. Some examples of propaganda were mentioned.

Blake

Cristiane

Blake presented his third speech titled "Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink." He told about the harmful effects of fluoride added to water. 

It was evaluated by Christiane.

Kirsty

Nikki

Kirsty's speech "A Child's Journey" was about visiting her grandparent's home as a child. It was her 4th speech. Nikki was the evaluator.

Paul

Trish

Paul was our first member to present a speech in the new Pathways programme. His Icebreaker speech, "It's all about confidence, isn't it?" was an interesting and informative account of his progress in Toastmasters. It was evaluated by Trish.

Monica

Leanne

Raffle Master Monica offered four chances to win money with her raffle of  scratch-it tickets. It was won by Sharyn. 

Time Keeper Leanne reported that thanks to members keeping within their allotted time to speak, we were running 1 minute ahead.

After a supper of cup cakes and biscuits provided by Chris, the meeting was called to order and Jonathon conducted the Table Topics session. 

Jonathon

Karen, Chris, Steve, Christiane, Monica, Trish, Nikki and Blake were called on to speak for 2 minutes on media related topics.

Karen - "Write the truth or toe the line?"

Chris - 'Who would you interview/"

Steve - Fake news about Donald Trump"

Christiane - "Owner of media empire"

Monica - "Front page story"

Trish - "Best media story 2017"

Nikki - "Give up media for a year"

Blake - "Presenter of YouTube channel"

They were evaluated by Jim and Marlene.

Some short segments followed...

A book review was presented by Stephen, who spoke about the book, "More Great Australian Flying Doctor Stories" by Bill " Swampy" Marsh.

Steve offered some Tips for more effective speaking.

Karen conducted a lively Listening Quiz.

Annette got on her Soapbox and complained about social media, which she said is a waste of time.

Grammarian Leesa commented on some descriptive  words used during the meeting.

Annette

Leesa.

Sharyn gave a comprensive General Evaluation of the meeting and suggested that evaluators always look for positive points.

Sharyn

Annette closed the the meeting which finished just a few minutes over time and presented the evenings awards to Blake (Best Speech,) Trish (Best Evaluation,) Nikki (Best Table Topic,) and Paul and Nikki ( Most Improved - tie.)

Award winners 23 Jan 2018

Next meeting 13th February.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all! Make 2018 your best yet.

Our first meeting of the year is next Tuesday, 23rd January. The theme is "Journalism. Newspapers, Media Tycoons"  and we have an interesting line up on the programme - here it is....

Names have been blurred for privacy, because we don't use surnames on this blog.

Click for larger size

The fun starts at 7pm, but come early for a chat first.

Visitors are very welcome. Come and see how friendly we are!

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.