Toastmaster Kathy M. reminded us that spring rituals mark the return of light and warmer days.

Justin K. introduced the word of the day “ Flourish” and Landon was the time keeper for the first time. Welcome Landon!

We all flourish!

Rached H. presented her icebreaker speech in which she shared two of her passions: scuba diving and skiing.

Passions: scuba diving & skiing.

Mike D. presented project #1 from the CC manual. In this icebreaker speech titled “ Family of origin”, he shared precise, thoughtful and humorous reflections on parenting and parenthood- as the product of a chatty and agreeable mother and a “ loud father who never whispered” and as father who reminds him of his father. Through the shared experience of fatherhood,Mike discovered a new affinity and appreciation for his own father.

Bill S. presented project #10 from the CC Manual- ” My history of flight” . This was a repeat and improved presentation of this this lively and inspirational speech. Using expressive body language, Bill shared his fascinating ability to fly in his sleep. What’s most surprising: this skill does not come any easier in the dream world; it takes training, dedication and fearlessness… just like the ability to speak in public! Bill encouraged the audience to keep spreading their wings by coming to Toastmasters .

Fly!

Scott C. presented Project #1 from the “ Speaking to Inform” manual. In his speech titled “ The benefits of time tracking”, Scott shared the reasons why he started the practice and lessons learnt. By integrating this tool in his work habits, Scott has greatly increased his self awareness and productivity! I declare him Super Scott!

Paula L.was the Table Topics master.
Scott C. and Aswini H. were voted best Table Topic and Evaluation respectively.

Our next meeting is April 21.

Thanks to Kathy M. for taking notes this week!

Bill S.opened the meeting and welcomed everyone to Toastmasters and the 3rd day of spring –no joke!

The Theme of the meeting was “Laughter is the Best Medicine” and Paula L. stepped in as Toastmaster with a definition of laughter, and some funny jokes. She kept the meeting moving and helped with transitions with her poise and genuine connection to the audience.

The word of the day was Kerfuffle”, presented by Rachel H.

Our timer and kazoo novice was Lidia S.

Speaker #1, Steven W. presented “Be a Big!”, a speech about  what a Big Brother/Big Sister are and the positive impacts of ” Bigs “on  kids at risk; from difficult teens to productive young adults.  He shared how he bonded with his Little, and watched him mature and turn bad choices into smart decisions. He shared one funny anecdote being invited to play basketball by his taller Little.  Generously, his Little passed him the basketball, and he promptly threw it over the hoop into the neighbor’s yard. Generously, his Little promptly went over and rescued the ball. Steve shared how he has been with his Little for the past 4 years and how proud he is to say that although there were challenges, his Little is engaged in many great activities and is on track to graduate from high school. He reminded the audience that we can all make a difference and urged everyone to consider being a Big.”

Speaker #2  presented project #8. In her speech titled  “Learn to see the light”, Lara G.told us the story of her journey to learning to see the light. As a professional photographer who  didn’t understand what that meant, Lara felt like a cheat or a fraud, and was sure someone would catch her and show the world her weakness. So she set out to learn to see the light, accumulating a nice stack of lighting manuals in the process. However, despite her best efforts, three years later, there was no light to be seen … at the end of the tunnel or otherwise. This is when Lara joined a professional photography group. There she found a supportive community finally took a photographer certification class. By showing up and connecting to her professional group, she passed the exam and finally learned how to” see the light. Lara  gave a masterful yet easy to follow demonstration of how anyone can do this by having an awareness of the location and direction of light and shadows on a person’s face.  She ended her speech by encouraging us to try it and saying now we can all use light to take better pictures.

Aswini H, Table Topic Master, led the whole audience in a lively and extended round of table topics. Aswini presented us with a word game called “Story Time” that was very creative and allowed all our members to participate by building a story from words that had been randomly distributed.

Justin set a record in our club, as far as we know, by his winning a ribbon for the Table Topics and Best Evaluator. Way to go Justin!

Evaluation was then opened up to the audience for Steven, as he will be representing us today in the International Speech area contest. Brett will represent our club in the Evaluation contest. Best of luck Steven and Brett!

Our next meeting is March 31st.

Table Topics^® is a long-standing Toastmasters tradition intended to help members develop their ability to organize their thoughts quickly and  respond  to an impromptu question or topic.

Although I have been a member of the club for almost three years now, I’ve noticed that I still tend to slip lower in my chair and studiously avoid making eye contact with the Table Topics Master when that time comes.  Don’t get me wrong, I love table topics… just don’t call me!  Judging from a recent club survey,  and the strong workshop  attendance,  I was definitely not the only one to feel that way!

We learned the basics of table topics in 90 minutes of instruction interspersed with team brainstorming and demonstrations. Instructive, Inspirational and Infectious, thanks Marti!

” Take time to think”

“Bring your knowledge, experience, expertise, playfulness, imagination, creativity…”

” Maintain a strong presence all the way to the end”

On this snowy, yet beautiful day Kiki N. officiated as  Toastmaster of the day.

The Word of the Day was “ Improvise”and Rachel H. performed the duties of Timer.

Bill S. presented CC project #10 titled “ My History of Flight” Bill shared  his lifelong ability to fly in his dreams. You would be mistaken to think that flying in your dream requires no effort. Flying in your dreams takes time, and learning. You learn to launch from progressively higher places until you are in the air.Just like when you are awake, if you fret, you fall. Bill compared Toastmasters to a school of flight where one gets to learn to fly in public speaking. Poetic, don’t you think?

Dave E. gave an impromptu speech titled “ Intro Part II”.  We are pleased to welcome Dave back to the club. An experienced speaker, Dave demonstrated the art of improvisation with brio.

Our guest speaker was International Toastmaster, Richard Ripley who presented the new Toastmasters International Pathways program. Richard’s presentation was followed with an animated Q & A session.

Our next meeting is March 10.