SPEAKEASY NEWS

Online Newsletter of Toastmasters Club 1789

 

This week, Area Governor Nancy Knoth will honor us with her semiannual official visit.  Through her, the district keeps track of our progress as a club, mainly to see if we are doing OK and to offer help if we need it.  Our club is part of an international organization that has a great reputation even among nonmembers, with several "celebrities" as former or current members.  Nancy will not only participate in our meeting, but will present announcements of future activity, in our area and in our district (6).

 

Have you thought about entering the upcoming contests, either as a speaker or as an evaluator?  It's a great experience, with many personal rewards just for taking the plunge.  There are no winners or losers per se, because everyone wins just by competing.  Trust me.

 

This week, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, we should be in our regular meeting room, the Community Room.  Last week I had a look inside and all it really needed was a good vacuuming, as all the stuff that was being worked on was mostly gone.  Shouldn't be a problem.

 

Are you remembering that there are two tracks in Toastmasters?  There's the speaker track, and there's the leadership track.  It's the leadership manual that members are most likely to leave at home, where it's of little use.  Bring it along and get credit for just about every function during a meeting.  Complete the assignments and you'll receive a very nice certificate from international headquarters, suitable for framing.  Really, it is classy.  Do you know where your manual is?

 

I hear through the grapevine that one of our members is about to give a speech to another organization, or maybe has done so already.  This is a way of broadening the Toastmasters experience by putting ourselves in front of an audience of complete strangers.  It's a real challenge, one that I hope we'll all one day accept.  There is a district Speakers Bureau, and any member can be added to its list of presenters.  And no, you don't have to be of professional caliber; all you need is a message you feel would be of benefit to the audience, or at least informative.  If you're interested, go the district Web site for more details.

 

The schedule is attached.  Changes to me by 1:00 Wednesday, please.

 

Gordon Andersen

Editor, Speakeasy News