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, presiding officer, opens our meeting while Robin, our president, is out on maternity leave. Robin has relayed to Ada, "My baby is in no hurry to come." So we wait in anticipation of her baby's arrival...hopefully soon and safely!
Ada thanks Area 66 Governor John Frederick for visiting us today. She notes that he's continuing to encourage us to become a distinguished club, and Peace Speakers continue to make progress towards that goal.
Ada thanks Area 66 Governor John Frederick for visiting us today. She notes that he's continuing to encourage us to become a distinguished club, and Peace Speakers continue to make progress towards that goal.
Peace Speakers are beholden to John for his visit today. Beholden is the Word of the Day, and it means indebted to or grateful for, and members are encouraged to practice using this word when speaking today.
Kerri, our invocation leader, relays a poem for us to reflect upon today. It's right in alignment with Catherine's earlier message about gratitude.
Today I’m sharing an anecdote…a recent experience with a friend who is actually an ex-boyfriend. We occasionally meet for coffee and talk about really important life events… like the curly perm I suggested he get back in the late 1970’s, which he claims is the reason he’s balding today. : )
You
can imagine the astonished looks of their employees when I burst in exclaiming,
"Where's my ticket? Did my husband leave me a ticket?" I
got 3 blank stares, especially from the popcorn guy. I immediately
realized I must be in the wrong theater and pleaded for a phone, which they
stretched outside an exterior window where the guy takes ticket money.
Catherine asks John for tag team support, which he readily supplies. He has been our area 66 governor for 1 year now and has been an active toastmaster for 13 years. Peace Speakers are beholden to John not only for his visit today but the fact he originally sponsored our club back in 2005 when it was just beginning. We certainly do appreciate your ongoing support, John!
John admits that Toastmasters has helped him learn how to share and talk confidently in front of audiences. It has propelled him in his business and personal life. He has also become a lay person at his Methodist church and has even given sermons.
Toastmasters
has provided John an avenue for growth and learning in the context of the
organization. As a result, he has continued to learn from his many experiences
outside of his club as well.
After giving
his initial 10 speeches from the first Toastmasters manual, John
finished 9 advanced manuals (and now there are 15 of them)! John
eventually became the president of his Toastmasters club and today is our area 66 governor. Through continued participation and progress,
he's learned so much more moving around the state.
Tanja, our Table Topics Master for the day, has prepared quotes as prompts for our 1-2 minute talks today. She asks for volunteers who are willing to speak spontaneously, and members begin to raise their hands. We all know that this is one of the best ways to practice speaking in front of people. And being in a safe environment makes it all the more likely individuals will step out of their comfort zones. Besides that, it's fun and it's informative!
Kerri, our invocation leader, relays a poem for us to reflect upon today. It's right in alignment with Catherine's earlier message about gratitude.
JOKE MASTER SHARES A HUMOROUS ANECDOTE
Today I’m sharing an anecdote…a recent experience with a friend who is actually an ex-boyfriend. We occasionally meet for coffee and talk about really important life events… like the curly perm I suggested he get back in the late 1970’s, which he claims is the reason he’s balding today. : )
Well,
the other day while he and I were catching up over coffee, it hit me that time had
slipped away and I was supposed to be at the movie theater meeting my husband. I had walked
to this coffee shop, and with no phone or car, I had no way to rush off. Borrowing my ex’s cell to call my husband, I
yelped, “I’m sooooo sorry, honey! We got lost in conversation! ”
My
husband replied, “Well, I’m sitting here in Baxter’s parking lot and the movie
starts in 5 minutes.”
I
think I mumbled something like, “Alright!
See ya!” before hanging up. Then I begged
my ex-boyfriend to drop me off at the movie theater.
“Sure!” he said. Driving speedily,
he kept making ridiculous siren noises and yelling, “Movie emergency!!! Clear the roads!!!”
Well,
I'm embarrassed to admit, that my listening and processing skills in this little crisis were kaput. I had
my ex drop me off at the wrong theater. Arriving at Village 8, I leaped from the car
and sprinted inside.
I
called my husband groaning, "I'm the worst wife ever!! I don’t have a car and I need you to come pick me up at Village 8.” When he pulled
up, he just shook his head and calmly asked, "Didn't you hear me say I was
in the Baxter parking
lot?" In retrospect, yes…in panic mode, no! (I guess that bang on top of my head several
weeks ago rattled some of my vital thinking parts.)
We did
finally go see the movie “Gone Girl”, but the only real gone girl in this episode
was me.
And, when
my ex-boyfriend heard what happened, he said it took him 10 minutes to wind down from
laughing and that I definitely picked
the right guy for me.
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TOASTMASTER OPENS THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
 Catherine, our toastmaster for the day, draws attention to a beautiful fall picture she's placed on our agenda. She shares the following quote:
"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 mentions that she has functioned relatively well in the midst of chaos today both at home and at work. She reminds us that there's plenty to be grateful for even in the face of turmoil. Speaking of, she realizes she doesn't have as much information as she'd like to introduce our prepared speaker for the day and leans in on the podium to banter with him.
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PREPARED SPEAKER GIVES AN ICE-BREAKER SPEECH
Using no notes, John launches in to his talk sharing that he's been a toastmaster since 1981. At the time he was working at a bank, and his supervisor suggestion he join Toastmasters. He knew he needed to learn how to speak with ease and confidence. Today some in the Toastmasters field find it hard to believe that John's an introvert, given that he's able to speak in front of groups so comfortably.
John admits that Toastmasters has helped him learn how to share and talk confidently in front of audiences. It has propelled him in his business and personal life. He has also become a lay person at his Methodist church and has even given sermons.
Toastmasters
has provided John an avenue for growth and learning in the context of the
organization. As a result, he has continued to learn from his many experiences
outside of his club as well.
John said
that he stayed in Toastmasters until the bank let him go due to an
acquisition. He finally reconnected with the organization as a
consultant. As an I.T. guy, he had to do presentations to teams and
customers. He spoke to Toyota's entire supplier base in Georgetown,
which consisted of several hundred people. He admits that it would have freaked him
out totally had he not been a toastmaster.
He wholeheartedly believes that Toastmasters
is a method to learn how to grow, speak, and become a better leader. Drawing his speech to a close, he encourages us to tell others to
consider doing the same.
TABLE TOPICS MASTER GETS US
REMINISCING ABOUT THANKSGIVING
REMINISCING ABOUT THANKSGIVING
Tanja, our Table Topics Master for the day, has prepared quotes as prompts for our 1-2 minute talks today. She asks for volunteers who are willing to speak spontaneously, and members begin to raise their hands. We all know that this is one of the best ways to practice speaking in front of people. And being in a safe environment makes it all the more likely individuals will step out of their comfort zones. Besides that, it's fun and it's informative!
“The funny thing about Thanksgiving, or any big
meal, is that you spend 12 hours shopping for it then go home and
cook, chop, braise, and blanch. Then it's gone in 20 minutes and everybody lies
around sort of in a sugar coma and then it takes 4 hours to clean it up.” ― Ted Allen
Eva notes that we call all relate to this quote, especially when preparing the Thanksgiving meal. Time spent in preparation seems out of proportion to eating it. But she admits she still enjoys this aspect, being at home with the smells coming out of the kitchen. Thanksgiving's a time to chat with family and relax. It's a good way to spend the day once a year.
"A
turkey without seasonal angst is like a baseball game without a
national anthem, a winter without snow, or a birthday party without
candles."
Catherine draws the educational part of our program to a close. She suggests we go with gratefulness in our hearts, peace within ourselves, and release what isn't. Choose to be beholden to positive things in our lives.
Eva notes that we call all relate to this quote, especially when preparing the Thanksgiving meal. Time spent in preparation seems out of proportion to eating it. But she admits she still enjoys this aspect, being at home with the smells coming out of the kitchen. Thanksgiving's a time to chat with family and relax. It's a good way to spend the day once a year.
"I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it
all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.”
― Henry David Thoreau
Kerri fully agrees with the author and admits that she's a pumpkin fanatic. She shares how she loves to buy pumpkin flavored items and that she just had pumpkin coffee earlier that morning. Her family's coming in for Thanksgiving, and her mom is trying to get her to bake pumpkin pies with her. While she loves eating them, she suggested to her mother that she'd be a much better taste tester instead.
"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we
use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”
― W.T. Purkiser
― W.T. Purkiser
Catherine definitively states, "I agree." She shares that what's a blessing to one isn't to another. Holidays show us this the most. Being with family can be a blessing for some but a stressor for others. What really matters is our perspective of the experience we are having. We can decide to learn from our experiences and utilize them in order to make our lives better.
 |
| Hailey is Kristi's Seeing Eye dog |
"November comes
and November goes,
with the last red berries and the first white snows."
and November goes,
with the last red berries and the first white snows."
-- Clyde Watson
Kristi shares that Hailey, her Seeing Eye dog, loves the snow and ice more than she does. Hailey goes out for a snow appetizer and recently grabbed the ice that fell off the dumpster. Kristi used to go snow skiing in Colorado when it was fluffy. She likes that better than icy conditions. She admits that she was not beholden (word of the day) to anyone when she had a mango smoothie recently.
"A
turkey without seasonal angst is like a baseball game without a
national anthem, a winter without snow, or a birthday party without
candles."
- Lauri Colwin
Ada shares that this quote gets her thinking about turkey at Thanksgiving, and she wonders what that turkey went through before it ended up on the table. Then she launches into talking about preparing one and using seasonings to make it inviting to eat. She likens seasonings to what enhances our lives as we living them. The drama, chaos and good times represent the seasonings. We can apply that to events in our lives, and that in turn makes them whole.
There is no clear winner today, and this is a first: a 4-way tie! So we proclaim that all of the participants are winners, which of course we already knew.
WHAT???? WHO'S THE WINNER OF TABLE TOPICS?
There is no clear winner today, and this is a first: a 4-way tie! So we proclaim that all of the participants are winners, which of course we already knew.
Catherine draws the educational part of our program to a close. She suggests we go with gratefulness in our hearts, peace within ourselves, and release what isn't. Choose to be beholden to positive things in our lives.
Ada adjourns our Peace Speakers meeting with this quote:
Dec. 3 - Conference Room B
Dec. 17 - Conference Room B
"As
we approach the season of Thanksgiving, let us live one day at a time, enjoy one
moment at a time and accept hardship as a pathway to peace. Let us dedicate
ourselves to peace within ourselves that wherever we go, we bring peace and
learn to find peace in all things, gathering in the fellowship of peace. Happy
Thanksgiving to all!"
If you're a visitor to this blog, I invite you to join us sometime and enjoy a Toastmasters experience. Our members are warm and inviting, and we gently support each other as we become better speakers and leaders. And who wouldn't want that?
We are an open Toastmasters club,
so please pay us a visit!
OUR NEXT FEW 2014 MEETINGS:
Dec. 3 - Conference Room B
Dec. 17 - Conference Room B
Peace Speakers Toastmasters Club
1st and 3rd Wednesdays (usually)
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
100 Witherspoon Street
Downtown Louisville, KY
Respectfully submitted,
Kay Chambers
Blogger for Peace Speakers
To access our previous blogs, here are the links:
(We kept running out of space and needed to start new ones!)
