Area 8 Conference - "Journey Together"

It was a rainy Sunday, when eight Sandgate Toastmasters joined many other Toastmasters to celebrate the club's bests to compete with each other. Area 8 comprises of 6 clubs: Bracken Ridge (BR), Healthy Chatterers (HC), North Lakes (NL), Peninsula (Pe), Powerlink (Po) and Sandgate (S). There were 4 contests and 12 trophies up for grabs.

The registration and raffle table were manned by North Lakes Club who were kept busy.

Before the actual contests went on their way, there was a few procedures beforehand: Sue called the meeting to order as our Sergeant At Arms, before handing to James who was our Conference MC for the day.

It was Suzanne's job as Area 8 Director to open the Conference and honour all the dignities in the room. She then went on to the Area Council Meeting where she was supported by Parliamentarian Trish (our member) and Secretary Barbara.

Our first contest was the Evaluation Contest, hosted by Peninsula Club, chaired by Nick. We first heard a test speech by Ian titled "Design Matters". It was evaluated by the five contestants which were Kris (NL), Cheyenne (HC), Monica (Pe), Heidi (BR) and Christiane (S).

 

 

 

 

 

For the awards (with sadly one time disqualification), Nick announced:

1. Heidi
2. Christiane
3. Cheyenne

 

 

 

 

Next on the agenda was our guest speaker Jock Elliott who gave as some very good pointers how to win the World Championship of Public Speaking.

We then had our first break: morning tea, which we took to catch up between the clubs and the news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next contest was hosted by Healthy Chatterers Club and chaired by Barbara. In the Table Topic Contest, she called on Monica (HC), John (S), Allan (Pe), Heidi (BR) and Hope (NL) with the topic: "If I could try again...".

 

With no time disqualifications, Barbara awarded:

1. John
2. Allan
3. Heidi

 

 

 

 

Next, we heard from Moreton Division (which Area 8 is a part of) Director Suresh who invited us to three upcoming events: Club Officer Training on February 17, Moreton Division Conference (where the winners of the four contest are going to next) on March 10 as well as District 69 Conference on May 3-5 (with registration being open now here).

District 69 (which Moreton Division and as such Area 8 are a part of) Director Denise thanked all members for District 69 receiving Distinguished District last year and being on a very good projection to do so this year as well.

It was time for our lunch break and more catching up time.

After our bellies were full, Conference MC drew the (first and not the last) raffle prize and it was won by Denise.

The Humorous Speech Contest was hosted by Sandgate Toastmasters and chaired by Jonathon. This also meant, he had to brief the contestants. The contestants' speeches were timed by Gail H and Trevor. The Sergeant At Arms was Christiane and the Ballot Counters were John and Marlene.

Jonathon called on Monica (HC) with "Fit For Nothing", Gail W (S) with "Puppy Love", Jonathan (NL) with "Have Kids They Said", Heidi (BR) with "A Bird In The Bush" and Kris (Pe) with "Let It Go". 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, Jonathon had to announce a time disqualification before placing the winners:

1. Heidi
2. Monica
3. Jonathan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a short afternoon tea break before the final contest: International Speech. It was hosted by Bracken Ridge and chaired by David.

David called on John (S) with "Lessons From a Small Nation With Big Ideas", Allan (Pe) with "The Candle Of Love", Heidi (BR) with "A Steep Lesson" and Jenny (HC) with "Something About Mary".

With no disqualification, he awarded:

1. Heidi
2. Allan
3. Jenny
   

Before closing the conference, Barbara had a plug for Persuasive Toastmasters Club (in formation), Suzanne had various helpers drawing the remaining raffle prizes and thanking the judges and other helpers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandgate Toastmasters would like to congratulate the two people going on to Moreton Division Conference next year [Allan (in place of John) and Heidi] and wish them good luck in a tough competition.

Meeting 1140 "The Month of October"

 Michael took on the role of Toastmaster for the first time and handled it with great aplomb. He chose the theme "The Month of October" and shared some interesting facts about the history of October.

Michael

President Gail H welcomed our guests Area Director Suzanne, and returning visitors George, JP and Paul. 

Elizabeth proposed the toast, “to well wishes” - with regards to celebrating special occasions like Toastmasters International turning 99 this month and Gail W, Christiane and John progressing to the Area Conference in November. 

The word of the evening chosen by Marlene was "Quotidian" meaning everyday, usual or routine.  Most members managed to use it at least once or twice.

Our prepared speakers all used exemplary body language to convey the emotions in their speeches.

Shaun presented his Icebreaker speech, using a unique approach with different body positions to illustrate his speech. 

"I don't know"

"I think I know"

"I know what I have to do"

Paul gave an insightful evaluation of Shaun's speech.

Paul

Gail W and John T presented the speeches they have prepared for the Area 8 Contests and received some helpful group feedback from club members.

John

John

John

Gail

Gail

Gail W

Gokul was the time keeper. He also provided the raffle which was won by Trevor.

Timekeeper Gokul

Raffle

Elizabeth and Arun provided a delicious supper. It was a good time for a chat.

Supper - I should have taken the photo earlier!

Paul Gokul & Michael

Area Director Suzanne urged everyone to attend the Area 8 Conference on the 5th November.

She also presented Marlene with the trophy she had won (Online) in the Area 37 Humorous Contest.

Suzanne

Marlene & Suzanne

Jonathon had some October related Table Topics for Gail, Marlene, Helen and John.

Jonathon

Gail

Helen

They were evaluated by  Arun and Trevor.

Arun

Trevor

A short business session was chaired by Paul.  Some items discussed were our club's 50th Anniversary Dinner to be held on the 30th April 2023, our Christmas Break Up and the Area 8 Conference on the 5th November.

Helen

Paul

General Evaluator Helen had some helpful comments about the entire meeting.

The evening's awards went to Michael (Most Improved) Shaun (Best Speech) John (Best Table Topic) and Paul (Best Evaluator.)

Award Winners 24th Oct 2023

Next meeting will be on 14th November. (In 3 weeks, because there are 5 Tuesdays in October.) No meeting on the 5th Tuesday this time.

The Area 8 Conference is on Sunday, 5th November. Come and support our contestants John, Gail W,  & Christiane.  You will need to hurry up and register.

https://www.toastmastersd69.org/event/area-8-conference-3/

Meeting 1139 - Evaluation & International Speech Contest

This was the second evening, contestants competed in two contests for a place, so they could represent Sandgate Toastmasters at the Area 8 Conference.

The room was set up, the judges organised and the briefing conducted, before stand-in Sergeant at Arms Marlene called the meeting to order. She ran us through the emergency procedure in case of an alien invasion and read the mission statement.

President Gail H opened the meeting and welcomed our returning guests Ashley, Paul and George, our first-time guest JP as well as our visitors to the club which were to remain nameless until the end of the evening.

Gail H also had the pleasure to hand out medallions to John at the start of the evening for his achievements at the previous contest night.

But then there was no stopping: Our first contest was the Evaluation Contest. It was chaired by Jonathon.

Our contestants were Paul, Shaun, Helen and Christiane.

Part of the contest is a 5-7 minutes speech by a guest, a 5 minutes break where the contestants write up their evaluation notes and are then called in one after the other to present.

The test speech was given by Tracey and was titled "Breathe Through Your Eyes". She even had handouts for the audience.

Timekeepers Gokul and Gail H kept the contest running smoothly with no disqualifications.

Sergeants at Arms Trevor and Marlene ensured that the contestants were seated and well kept out of earshot.

Tally counters Gail W and Michael ensured that the right placegetters were calculated.

The placegetters were:

1. Christiane
   

2. Shaun

3. Paul

After conclusion of the first contest, it was time for Elizabeth to present the raffle. Because of the surprising sporting competitions lately, she brought a bag full of edible goodies to celebrate your wins or drown your sorrows. Laughs were heard when she unpacked a car freshener her son added as well as her loved, but nearly dead aloe vera plant (hopefully going to a new home striving there).

Supper was provided by our Contest Sergeants at Arms Marlene and Trevor and the break gave us ample opportunity to sample the goodies, purchase raffle tickets and catch up among each other, but especially with the guests to the club.

The last club contest for 2023 was the International Speech Contest and was chaired by Shaun.

He called on contestants:

1. Christiane - "That Turned Out Better Than Expected" 

2. John - "Lessons From a Small Nation With Big Ideas"

3. Arun - "What Makes You a Leader"

The timing lights were manned by Michael and Gail H.

Tally counters were Gail W and Paul.

The placegetters were:

1. John

2. Christiane
   

3. Arun
   

To finish the meeting, Elizabeth asked guest JP to draw the winning ticket and John can celebrate his win in the International Speech contest with a bag full of goodies.

In closing, President Gail H thanked the judges by offering a small token of appreciation (we hope you win some money). Visiting judges were Jenny as Chief Judge, Suresh, Kirsty, Mark and Chris. Our own member Trish was also a judge.

Christiane (for Evaluation contest) and John (for International Speech contest and Table Topics contest) will join Gail W (for Humourous Speech contest) at the Area 8 Conference in North Lakes on November 5 to represent Sandgate Toastmasters.

Mark this day into your calendar to come and support our contestants!

We will have a normal meeting in-between on October 24.

Meeting 1138 - "Sleuthing"

We examined not only mysteries, but also how to become a better speaker and leader. Getting the feedback from 5 guests (with one of them joining Sandgate Toastmasters) really helps to improve our support for our members.

 

Sergeant at Arms Helen called the meeting to order and read us the mission statement. She then gave us an anecdote about being in the wrong place if we feel undervalued.

President Gail H was kept busy in her opening: She not only welcomed Area Director Suzanne to our meeting, but also two returning guests (Daniel and George) and three new guests (Ben, Ashley and Paul). Afterwards, she handed out the medallions to the first three places of last meeting's contests (John is missing in both pictures).

Toastmaster Christiane reviewed where the word sleuth came from before calling on Liz We to give us the programme changes.

Liz had secured an additional impromptu speech (and an evaluator) to be added to the agenda.

The toast "Solving the mystery" was given by Gail W who introduced us to various different sleuths over the lifetime of the word.

Word Master Gail H gave us "Mystery" as the word of the evening which flowed very nicely with the Round Robin, speeches and Table Topics.

Round Robin Master Helen gave us a conundrum to solve: "What is a mystery to you?" With many laughs, we started and ended with abstruse hate between cats and dogs, but heard in-between about relationships and communication problems (including children lying). We also explored sea travel, traffic jams and truck dynamics as well as where the Blu Tack had gone. Helen encouraged us afterwards to write a speech about any of those given examples.

 

 

Our next segment were the (prepared?) speeches:

1. Will presented his Icebreaker titled "The Power of Books" (Dynamic Leadership, Level 1, project 1) reviewing the five books he gave to his son for his 17th birthday. It was expertly evaluated by Trish.
2. Trish presented an impromptu speech titled "Journey of an introvert speaker" which encouraged us all to not hide in the corner, but step out and see how we can make the world a better place by bringing our story and expertise to it. Trevor evaluated Trish's speech.

Raffle Master Peter started his segment with the subtlety of "Let's go to Bracken Ridge" which got our attention. He delved into the reasons why you should and could with the evening's raffle.

Timer Carmy demystified us how we were running time wise before we went into our supper break.

Helen and Liz We had supplied a scrumptious spread which kept us clustered at the table catching up with each other. We also had the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets and get pointers about the segments for the second half.

 

Table Topic Master Michael called us to baffling topics which meant we needed to be all ears. He called on fellow agents:

1. Helen - Have you ever done any sleuthing of your own? When her beloved plant about to flower went missing, she dug deep to discover her then-husband had mowed it over.
   
2. Gail H - If you could write your own murder mystery: What would the title be and what would it be about? The title is a cliffhanger, however, it would be a tricky to solve murder story: a bad person is killed by a good person who is getting accolades for his action.
   
3. Peter - Every good detective has a side kick. Choosing from any past or present prime minister, president or politician, who would you choose to be your trusted side kick? Peter was quick to select Bob Hawk, but wasn't sure who would end up the side kick of who.
   
4. Suzanne - You're Batman and you've be given some intel that the penguin is doing a spot of shopping at Chermside Westfield in disguise. What shop would you go to first to look for him and why? The toy shop since it has those cooling water canons.
   
5. Christiane - You've been suspicious for a while that your neighbours are involved in criminal activity. It's 10pm at night and you're doing a spot of sleuthing through your window into their backyard. What can you see them doing? Using a thick stick loading the wheelie bin with a carpet snake (the 14th since they lived there for two years).
   
6. Will - From time to time, detectives require the services of a K9 to help sniff out and chase down a bad guy or gal. Putting a dog aside, what other animal would you choose to help you fight crime? Although nothing can be better than a canine, the inferior second choice would be an eagle with cameras.
   
7. Gail W - You have always wanted to be a super hero. What is your superhero name and could you share with us your super power? Dancing queen, to dance pirouettes around the robbers and so manoeuvre them into the vortex.
   
8. Carmy - You're a sleuth who has the power to become a fly. Whose wall are you landing on? And what can you see? Being on the wall in a bank, snooping out all the codes to get to the money. For the bank robbery, she will leave this to her side kick.

The topics were evaluated by Paul and Shaun.

Area Director Suzanne addressed Sandgate Toastmasters with a clap to ourselves for our success. It shows the most in our support for each other.

Word Master Gail H congratulated all Round Robin speakers since "Mystery" was used by each one, including our guests. Guest Ashley even used it three times in her answer. Even with her ample opportunity of speaking time, Toastmaster Christiane became the runner-up to Trish who used the word at least 32 times during the evening.

In her general evaluation, Liz We congratulated all evaluators on being encouraging while giving concise points of improvement.

In her final timing report, Carmy continued her precise delivery of timings for the second half.

Raffle Master Peter asked guest Ashley to draw the winning ticket and the enigma was lifted: Helen is the new owner of Cluedo, investigating the murder mystery game while eating chocolates and sipping coffee at Round Table Coffee in Gawain Rd, Bracken Ridge.

In closing, President Gail H asked our guests for feedback which was focused on our humour we incorporate during the meeting. (The secret is out!)

She then handed awards to:

• Best Speech -
  Will
  
  
• Best Table Topic -
  Christiane
  
  
• Best Evaluation -
  Shaun
  
  
• Most Improved -
  Will

We are looking forward to a second round of contests (International Speech and Evaluation) at our next meeting on October 10.

Meeting 1137 - Table Topics & Humorous Speech Contest

It was the meeting where brave contestants would battle in the impromptu speech as well as the Humorous Speech contest.

Preparation is everything when it comes to contests: Chief Judge Jenny was getting the final touches on our certificates.

Stand-in Sergeant at Arms Marlene called the meeting to order with humour about the facilities. She also read us the mission statement.

President Gail H opened the meeting and welcomed our first-time guests George, Lara and Hayley.

It was time to hand over control to Contest Chair Jonathon who conducted the Table Topics contest.

How would you have replied to: "My day started off badly when..."?

TT contestants and placegetters

Our contestants were John, Arun, Christiane, Paul and Shaun who in turn gave us an impromptu minispeech to above topic.

Timekeepers Carmy and Gail H kept the contestants well timed, so that we didn't have any disqualifications.

Sergeant at Arms Elizabeth and Marlene ensured that the contestants didn't hear the answer of the previous contestant(s), so that it was a fair game for all.

Tallycounters Gail W and Rosie ensured that the right placegetters were calculated.

The placegetters were:

1. John
2. Shaun
3. Christiane

After the first exciting contest, it was time for Paul to introduce the raffle with such humour (since he doesn't have such a close connection as another member of the club, his bottle of spirit was a bit smaller) that we all bought a lot of tickets in the supper break.

Supper was provided by Gail H and John.

We used the break to catch up with the visitors to our club as well as among members.

The second half of the meeting started off with an impromptu Round Robin by Liz We answering the question: What was your shortest, yet longest journey?

Humorous Speech contestants and placegetters

As Contest Chair for the Humorous Speech Contest, Liz We then called on the contestants:

1. Christiane - "On The Throne"
   
2. John - "Shopping strife with my wife"
   
3. Arun - "One day I will be old enough"
   
4. Gail W - "Puppy Love"
   
5. Jonathon - "You'r never too old..."
   

The timing lights were manned again by Carmy and Gail H.

Marlene was Sergeant at Arms positioning the contestants' props. 

Tallycounters were Rosie and Elizabeth.

The placegetters were:

1. Gail W
2. Christiane
3. John
   

To finish the meeting, Paul asked Shaun to draw the raffle (since Moreton Bay Division Director Suresh didn't feel right to pick his own raffle). Irony had it that Shaun draw Suresh' ticket.

In closing, President Gail H thanked the judges by offering a small token of appreciation. Visiting judges were Jenny, Suresh & Chris.

 

John (for Table Topics contest) and Gail W (for Humorous Speech contest) will represent Sandgate Toastmasters on November 5 at the Area 8 Conference in North Lakes. Mark this day into your calendar!