Monday, November 24, 2014

Peace Speakers are Beholden to the Toastmasters Organization and More!

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.

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.

http://www.funchap.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/be-thankful.png

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

"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

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."

-- 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.

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:

"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:

http://peacespeakerslouisvilletoastmasters.blogspot.com/

http://peacespeakerstoastmasters.blogspot.com/

(We kept running out of space and needed to start new ones!)

Monday, October 27, 2014

A Plethora of Good Feelings and Growth Unfold at Our Oct. 15, 2014 Meeting

Robin, president of Peace Speakers, opens our meeting with the announcement of the Toastmasters International celebration of 90 years. She has cupcakes in hand, which she generously shares. The fact that Toastmasters has this kind of staying power and is known worldwide says a lot about its effectiveness and appeal: over 14,000 clubs in 126 countries!

Robin reminds us that our next meeting is on the Presbyterian Center's Staff Development Day with time and room changes: Wed., Nov. 5 at 12:40 in room CR 5000. Members are encouraged to attend and take on a role. This will be a great recruitment opportunity for Peace Speakers!

Robin acknowledges that 6 Peace Speakers participated in the chapel worship service on October 8. Those 6 members were Ada, Catherine, Kay, Kerri, Lynn, and Robin. And thanks to Perry, we had a Guatemalan vocalist and pianist who added complementary music to the worship service we planned.

Megan, our invocation leader for the day, recites a poem she has selected:

"THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS"
by Wendell Berry

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free.

JOKE MASTER STIRS UP
SOME FUN

I asked my North Korean friend how it was there. He said he couldn't complain.

Together, I can beat dissociative identity.

There's no "I" in denial.

"I'm sorry" and "I apologize" mean the same thing, except when you're at a funeral.

~Demetri Martin

TOASTMASTER SHARES
AN EXPLANATION

Eric points to the image of rye on the agenda and asks if anyone knows its relationship to Halloween. He shares that rye is prone to the ergot fungus. Unknowingly ingesting infected rye, one might suffer from ergotism or St. Anthony's Fire, making one's limbs feel like they're on fire. (LSD, a powerful hallucinogen, is derived from ergot.) I googled this and found that in France in the 1950s, people ate bread made from fungus-infected rye. These victims gave accounts of being chased or attacked by horrible beasts in the terror of darkness. They reported feeling that their bodies were not their own. This terrifying event likely lead to the development of the werewolf legend.

As Toastmaster, Eric introduces Kristi, one of our newest members. She's a transcriber with the Louisville Metro Police Department. This is her second Toastmasters club, and she's giving her Ice Breaker speech today called "As you Slide Down the Banister of Life, Don't Get a Splinter in Your Career". This is her first speech to deliver to our club, and it's a chance to get to know Kristi better.

Good afternoon. I'm delighted to have this opportunity to present my Ice Breaker speech.

I grew up in Wichita, Kansas. I was born two months premature and became blind as a result of being given too much oxygen in the incubator. I'm the oldest and have two brothers.

My parents elected to send me to the Kansas School for the Blind in Kansas city, where they felt I would receive a better education, about 200 miles away, where some of us, at the age of five, often traveled each way by bus. Sometimes we could only go home once a month.

Some of my friends in nursery school attended KSB with me, and I still keep in touch with three of them today. I think we should have the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest enduring friendships outside of marriage!

Mom was a home-maker and later worked in Daddy's grocery store. They had a strong work ethic that was passed along to me. I learned Braille as a child, as other children learned print, and I enjoy reading, and use it every day on my job.

Growing up we often went to the lake on weekends--where I swam, enjoyed motor boating, and attempting to water ski. At school I excelled in piano, chorus, German, reading, and I liked gymnastics, especially the parallel bars and the balance beam.

Our student body was very small, so it wasn't uncommon for students to meet in grade school and graduate together. One of our annual activities was our participation in a sports car rally sponsored by the KU Jay Hawks sports car rally club. They supplied the drivers, and we had Braille and large print directions to navigate a route with check points, where trophies were awarded. I won a trophy every other year of the years I participated.

Another benefit was that we could attend the prom starting in seventh grade. When I was a junior, our superintendent, Dr. Ohlsen, told us that we should have the appearance and conduct such that we would not be ashamed if our parents came to the prom. Somehow I thought that he asked us to ask our parents. I had four dates that year. You see, we had a banquet, a prom, and then a cruise on a pleasure showboat for several hours before we later went to breakfast as the finale.

I thought Phil was a very polite and becoming sports car rally driver, so I asked him if he would be my escort. Although I wondered what had happened when I didn't see him, I was touched when, right in the middle of our banquet someone delivered lovely white orchids and a card from Phil, apologizing that he couldn't be there, but hoping those would suffice. I was the only one that got flowers from an outside, would-be date.

At the beginning of our prom in our beautifully decorated recreation center, my mother was the only parent who came. She thought so much of two of Daddy's employees--Dan, who worked in the meat department, and Don, a delivery boy, that she brought them too. So they were my second and third dates.

They left at midnight since they had to drive the 200 miles back to Wichita, but Bill had agreed to escort me to the boat festivities, so he was my date for the rest of the time. During our alumni reunion last summer, held annually, I saw Bill after 43 years, and we reminisced about that experience.

Kristi and her Seeing Eye dog, Hailey

My parents and school taught me that being blind means we may do things differently, but that many things can be accomplished by using alternative techniques, and by being willing to take risks and to try new things. This belief has been steadfast in my life. In 2005 I became the first blind person who served on the grand jury for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Some of my hobbies include learning, baking, identifying birdsongs, making friends, public speaking, creative writing, and I have worked in a variety of jobs. I'm married, have three grown children, six grandchildren, a ferret, and my Seeing Eye dog, Hailey, who gets to critique all my speeches.

I am a colon cancer survivor since 2001, (thank God) and am a member of Gilda's Club, where I participated in the St. Patrick's Day parade and walked as one of their representatives last March. So did Hailey, where she was constantly distracted by other dogs.

Some of my values are love, enduring friendships, family, a sense of humor, punctuality, and self-development.

A few of the things I strongly dislike are ingenuousness, tactlessness, people who label and assume and are unwilling to learn, and consistent misuse and mispronunciation of words--like recognize, pitcher for picture, and irregardless, or in regards to, instead of in regard. Good grammar is always appreciated.

In conclusion, one of my goals is to become financially independent, to give much away, and to travel to Europe with my husband.

Thank you, Kristi, for sharing so much about your interesting life! You're living proof that a full and dynamic life is a choice, even when you have to learn how to do things differently.

TABLE TOPICS EVOKE A PLETHORA OF RESPONSES

I forgot to mention that the Word of the Day for our meeting is plethora. This word is chosen by the member who's taken on the role of the Ah-counter/Grammarian. The use of the Word of the Day is encouraged throughout our Toastmasters meeting. Plethora is a noun that means a very large amount or number. A plethora of good feelings and growth takes place during Peace Speakers meetings. And one way this is experienced is during Table Topics, where individuals get a chance to express themselves extemporaneously. You don't get to plan ahead, you read a prompt, and you jump in with your 1-2 minute response. It's fun, it's informative, and it helps speakers grow their skills.

Eva, our Table Topics Master, has a bag of goodies. There are chocolates for anyone volunteering to participate by drawing a prompt. Eva shares that her questions all relate to Halloween in some fashion or another.

What’s the best Halloween costume you’ve ever worn or seen someone else wear?

Megan admits that her mom refused to purchase store-bought costumes for her. It was a money thing. So most of her costumes were sweatshirts that were decorated in a variety of ways, such as a puppy from 101 Dalmatians. She remembers wearing a little felt hat and yarn for hair. Probably her best costume in her Halloween career was Pippi Longstocking, where she was given freckles with wire attached to her braided hair to make it stick out like Pippi's hairdo.

Tell us about a time when you were really scared.

Robin shares a time when her son crawled out of his crib and fell down the stairs. She heard him go thump, thump, thump as he tumbled down. When she got to him, he wasn't responding well and he couldn't answer her questions. She called the doctor and described the goosehead lump on his head. They did an MRI and determined that he did have a concussion. She told her husband that maybe he shouldn't be a football player when he grows up since he's already had his first concussion at age 2.

Have you ever been in a haunted house? Do you believe houses or other places can be haunted?

Kristi shares that she likes reading about haunted places and is a huge Steven King fan. She also recalls the movie Poltergeist where ghosts haunted a family's home. When Kristi lived in Wichita, she went to several haunted houses. Admittedly, her kids like them. But she prefers to read about her haunted houses rather than visiting them. Most are overrated, she thinks.

Do you decorate your house or yard for Halloween? Why or why not?

Lynn admits that she has twin boys the age of 9, so she does a tiny bit of decorating for Halloween. She notes that it takes a lot of work and it's expensive. People in her neighborhood decorate extensively, but she would rather use her effort to go out with her boys to look at other people's Halloween decorations, such as creatures being electrocuted and other scary set-ups. In the end, it's not a priority to decorate much. She would rather spend that time with her kids.

AND THE WINNER OF TABLE TOPICS IS...

MEGAN secures the greatest number of votes for a compelling response to her prompt, so she has bragging rights and takes the trophy home until we meet again on November 5th at 12:40.

SPEECH EVALUATOR SHARES HIS OPINION

ERIC shares that for Kristi's Ice Breaker speech, he noticed how comfortable she was speaking and that she used great grammar. He noted her clear and easy way of delivery and her ability to effectively share anecdotes. This showed just how genuine, kind, caring, and thoughtful she is. He thought she elaborated well, especially about her prom. He said the body and conclusion of her speech were clear. Next time, he suggested adding a few signposts in the beginning of her speech to let everyone know what's coming.

ERIC draws the educational part of our meeting to a close, noting that it feels like a long time since he's been up at the podium since he was out for a while with a new baby. However, he's really made up for lost time in Peace Speakers today. He took on Toastmaster and at the last minute picked up the Joke Master and Speech Evaluator roles as well. He concluded his time at the podium encouraging all of us sign up for roles for our next meeting.

If you're a visitor to this blog and are considering Toastmasters, this worldwide educational program has been successful for nine decades now. The founder's vision continues to thrive today by helping members overcome obstacles, live confidently, meet goals, and change lives for the better. Give our club a try, and you'll find a warm and welcoming group of people!