Thursday, January 2, 2014

Thankful Hearts at the November 20, 2013 Peace Speakers Meeting

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 

Blogger's note: I've ushered in this New Year with a brand new Peace Speakers blog site due to an unexpected implosion while trying to post my last blog in late November.  Just as I hovered over the PUBLISH button, I lost 2 days worth of work.  So I begin the year anew with fresh hopes, renewed determination, and sheer stubbornness.  I will blog that eventful Nov. 20th meeting today!


The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.




Ada, president of Peace Speakers, warmly welcomes two guests who have visited our club one other time.  Both Kerri and Gwen have returned to enjoy the Toastmasters experience again.  A hearty welcome to our visitors today!







Catherine (pictured below), created a lovely bookmark for us to use when visitors win Table Topics.  On the front are the Toastmaster emblem and mission statement.  On the back are Peace Speakers meeting details as well as our blog and Facebook page links.  Thank you, Catherine, for taking the time and using your creativity to create this useful bookmark!  (I apologize for changing the blog's URL on you today!)




Please pause for a moment and go to our Facebook page and LIKE it!  We could use a few more fans!   https://www.facebook.com/peacespeakers




                                                       INVOCATION LEADER


                                  


With Thanksgiving in mind, Kay chooses to share a poem that's also poignant from the perspective of being a Toastmaster.  Some excerpts from "Be Thankful" are shared below for today's invocation:



Be thankful when you don't know something...for it gives you the opportunity to learn.


Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations...because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge...because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.  They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary...because it means you've made a difference.




                   JOKE MASTER SHARES A FEW JOKES FOR OUR AMUSEMENT



Randy, our Joke Master for the day, holds up a photo as he asks, "What did one eye say to the other?"  The answer: "Don't look now, but something smells between us!"

A guy in a library walks up to the librarian and says, "I'll have a cheeseburger and fries, please."  The librarian responds, "Sir, you know you're in a library, right?"  Then the guy begins to whisper, "Oh, sorry...I'll have a cheeseburger and fries, please."

Sitting at a dinner table, a boy asks his father, "Dad, are bugs good to eat?"  The dad rebukes him and says, "That's disgusting!  Don't talk about things like that during dinner!"  After dinner, the father asks, "Now son, what did you want to ask me?"   The boy replies, "Oh, nothing.  There was a bug in your soup, but it's gone now!" 


                         TOASTMASTER FOR THE DAY


Catherine, our Toastmaster today, shares a quote listed on the image atop the agenda she prepared for us:

 "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."  ~Melody Beattie



Catherine points out that she's placed a Thanksgiving Word Search on the back of our agendas.  She playfully notes that it's something to help pass the time during Thanksgiving or during another meeting but isn't to be used as a distraction during our meeting today.



Catherine introduces our prepared speaker for the day, Eva, who is one of the original members of Peace Speakers.  Eva has already completed the 10 speeches in her Competent Communication Manual and has moved onto the Advanced Communications Series Manual.  Today she is giving a speech called, "Run for Your Life".  It is Project 2:  Resources for Entertainment.





PREPARED SPEAKER ENTERTAINS LISTENERS



Excerpts from “Run for Your Life”

An 8-year-old girl in Eva’s Sunday school class crossed the finish line ahead of hundreds of other children, and she proudly remarked, “I can’t believe how hard I had to run to come in first!”

Eva admits she didn’t start running until she was in her 20s, and she’s never won a race.  But she, too, has discovered that running boosts confidence and brings joy.   No matter what age you are, making running a part of your life can be a lifesaver.   Here’s why:

1.  Running keeps you healthy and fit. By now, everyone is aware of America’s obesity epidemic, and a big contributor to our bulging waistlines is lack of exercise.

Terry Mahr can testify to that. She moved from an active life in England where she walked a lot to Ohio, where people drive everywhere.  She began running after realizing how little exercise she was getting.

Jim Derham’s demanding career lead to weight gain and a nasty smoking habit.   He realized he needed to start running again, but it took so long for him to show up at the finish line of his first 10-K race that his wife thought something terrible had happened to him. Now, a much slimmer Jim is in his 60s and is running fast enough to actually win races.
 
2.  It’s easy to see how running benefits the body—but it’s also good for your mind! If you’re feeling depressed, the best remedy might be a half-hour jog around the park.  Running or any kind of rigorous exercise can reduce stress and even improve brain function.

One reader posted online: “All the anti-anxiety medications, anti-depressants and alcohol couldn't help me through the grief of my father’s death. The evening I left my first Hospice group session and had too much anxiety and only one Xanax left, I went to the gym and hopped on the elliptical machine, closed my eyes and waited for the sweat to pour down my face before I let the tears flow. It was the most therapeutic thing I ever experienced.  Running became my new ‘feel-good drug.’ ”



3.  Fortunately, running doesn’t require expensive equipment, and you can do it just about anywhere.  Karen Miles says, “I run because I can.  I don’t need a rink, a court, or a pool. . . . My biggest expense is my running shoes.”

4.  For those who are thinking, “I’m just not the athletic type,” think again!  At recess, Eva was always the last person to be chosen for the kickball team, but as an adult she’s run half-marathons.

Her friend, Evan Golder, was also one of those kids who sat on the sidelines during sports events.  As a youth, he was named the designated scorekeeper of his basketball team, which was humiliating! 

After turning 30, Evan realized he needed more exercise, so he began running laps, and before long he was entering races.  One spring morning, Evan was enjoying a 10-mile run in the hills above San Francisco Bay.  Suddenly, he heard a roar behind him, and glancing over his shoulder, he saw a pickup careening down the hill. Without hesitation, he leapt over the guardrail as the truck hurtled past him.

A blue Mustang convertible stopped beside him. At the wheel a young blonde wearing a powder-blue jump suit asked him, “At times like that, aren’t you glad you’re an athlete?”  Evan couldn’t believe his ears!  Me…an athlete?   That’s when it began to sink in that yes, regular running had made him a real athlete. 
 
5.  Ryan Althaus, a young seminary graduate in Louisville, founded a ministry to athletes called “Sweaty Sheep.” Ryan loves to run long marathons, which seem insane to most. Eva’s seen pictures of Ryan doing handstands across the finish line of the Louisville Ironman competition.

But Eva thinks she understands the attraction. It’s not just about winning; it’s about the joy of feeling your body in motion. It’s about the satisfaction of accomplishing goals. It’s about the confidence of knowing you can make it to the finish line.

It’s about running toward a healthier life.


Thank you, Eva, for sharing your passion for wellness.  We each need to find the kind of physical activity that speaks to us and practice it with consistency and love.  My mother calligraphied a quote I have displayed at home:  "Take good care of your body...for where else can you live?"  It's a fitting reminder to love yourself enough to do what it takes.



TABLE TOPICS FOR THE THANKFUL



Table Topics Master, Betsy, shares the nature of her prompts that will spur our extemporaneous 1-2 minute speeches. All questions today relate to Thanksgiving experiences and the food we share on that holiday.  Betsy asks for volunteers first, and gets the response seen below from Bethany and Randy. 
Enthusiasm abounds!



Tell us about one of your favorite Thanksgiving gatherings.

Randy admits that normally he cooks for his family gatherings.  On one Thanksgiving, he prepared two smoked turkeys...one outside.  He also created two casseroles for their feast.  This was his favorite Thanksgiving because everyone was on time, family members brought other dishes, they played Pass the Trash, and people stayed longer than usual because they were having so much fun together. 



Tell us about a dish that a friend or family member prepares that you look forward to every Thanksgiving.

Bethany quickly imparts that her Aunt Fawn always made a pie much like a Derby Pie from Kern's Kitchen.  It was full of sugar, chocolate chips and pecans.  It was so well-loved that family members fought over it.  Bethany admits to hiding it one year to make sure she got a piece of it.  Her aunt renamed the pie "Nieces and Nephews' Pie" since she legally couldn't call it a Derby Pie.  It was a dish Bethany always looked forward to on Thanksgiving.



Give us a few suggestions on what to do with left-over turkey.

Robin shares that her father loves cooking.  Her parents are divorced, but her Dad still cooks for 30, so there's always left-over turkey.  She offers a wide range of suggestions, some of which are turkey noodle soup, the traditional BLT on sourdough bread with mao, turkey pasta, or turkey tacos.  Left-over turkey is enjoyed in many ways by her family!




Members think about the 3 spontaneous speeches just shared and vote for their favorite.  We later learn that Bethany has won Table Topics and will get to keep the trophy for almost one month (due to upcoming holidays).  Enjoy those bragging rights, Bethany!

Time presses on...so we move to the reports from our Educational Team for this meeting.

Our speech evaluator, Ada, enthusiastically compliments Eva on her speech, noting that it was "spoken with great veracity and confidence".  Witnessing an audience that was attentive and interested, she says that Eva helped listeners connect with her running experience.  A speech that was well supported by stories, the outcomes of different running experiences made it real for the rest of us.  Ada said she would have liked some of Eva's stories expanded, but time constraints didn't allow for that. 



 

Eric, our Timer today, notes that all speakers stayed within their time frames.  That's noteworthy, as those limits are often challenging to keep when members have so many interesting things to share!





 

 

Catherine draws the meeting to a close reminding us that the Lord is good to us.  We are filled with joy, so let's move into the Thanksgiving season as such!




Ada adjourns with the thought that Thanksgiving is a lifestyle.  The more you give thanks daily, the more it is imbedded.  A life of gratitude makes for more happiness, greater contentment, and sustained growth.







GREAT NEWS FOR OUR TOASTMASTERS CLUB!

Peace Speakers learned in December that their 45-second video entered in the International Toastmasters Video Brand Contest won for the month of November!  We garnered national attention as well as a free Toastmasters branded item.  We'll be able to choose a branded item, like a banner, worth up to $100 dollars! Our video can be viewed at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frhVtRBfjEo&feature=youtu.be

Thank you, Robin, for getting the ball rolling on this project.  And a big thank you to everyone who participated the day our contest video was shot.  We couldn't have done it without you or the videographer, who declined to have his picture taken.

 
 TAKE NOTE FOR A HAPPIER NEW YEAR!!!!

If you're a visitor to this blog, maybe you've been hiding in the rafters and laying low in 2013.  I can relate.  An introvert by nature, the idea of joining Toastmasters terrified me initially.  I will always be an introvert at heart, but I can learn the ways and skills of the extrovert, and Toastmasters is a great way to do this.  We are a gentle club...not brash or flashy...but our mission is strong.  A Peace Speakers meeting provides a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every individual member has the opportunity to develop oral communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.  So drop in sometime and give us a try!  It's a new year, and a new and more accomplished YOU may just be in order!


We are an open Toastmasters club, 
so please pay us a visit!

OUR NEXT FEW 2014 MEETINGS:

 JANUARY 15 - Conference Room B

 FEBRUARY 5 - Conference Room B

Peace Speakers Toastmasters Club
Presbyterian Center
1st and 3rd Wednesdays (usually)
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
100 Witherspoon Street
Downtown Louisville, KY

Respectfully submitted,
Kay Chambers
VP of Public Relations for Peace Speakers
To access our previous blogs, here are the links: 
http://peacespeakerslouisvilletoastmasters.blogspot.com/  
 http://peacespeakerstoastmasters.blogspot.com/ 
(We kept running out of space and needed to start a new ones!) 


Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)