Dyehard Toastmasters

Archive for August, 2009

Meeting Recap: August 25, 2009

We had an enjoyable meeting tonight. There was synergy in the room, brought to us by Gewreka Robertson. Synergy was the word of the day. Its definition is the combined effort being greater than its parts. If that doesn’t reflect the Dye-Hard Toastmasters Club, I don’t know what does! Thank you Gewreka!! We had THREE guests tonight; Charles Hutson, Dawn Harris, and Dave Blazek we welcome you and hope you will return to visit or join! Join like Charles Hutson who will be inducted at the September 1st meeting. Welcome to the Dye-Hard Toastmasters Charles!

Our Toastmaster this evening was Bert Freeman. Bert also did an “improvisational moment” as humorist. Man stories about kids and grandkids are great!

Bert Freeman speaks at a Dyehard Toastmasters Meeting. Bert was the Toastmaster on August 25, 2009.

Ron Crews was our first “performer”, I mean speaker tonight. His speech was full of thoughtful tid-bits about giving a speech or performance that connects with the audience. Tell a story/ make a point, tell another story and make another point. He also mentioned humor is a great pressure reliever when giving a serious performance. Injecting just a little humor goes a long way! He mentioned even at funerals humor is a way to relieve the grief. I agree I attended a funeral for a very dear older lady; she was like a second grandmother to me. The priest spoke of all the traditional stuff and then pulled out a coffee cup and cigarette and acted like he was going to smoke. That was the lady’s persona and he hit it on the head. Humor WORKS!!

Our second speaker was Lateefah Holly. I believe this was her fourth or fifth speech. She role played with the audience and she was the principal. The audience was parents of Toastmaster High School students. She challenged the parents to sit down with their children and come up with some goals, and write them down. The goals could be academic or personal and write them down on index cards and keep one set posted at home and one set at school. Make action plans to achieve those goals. Then review those goals as the year progresses. I think that is a plan we all should do!! Lateefah I apologize I didn’t get the quote verbatim, but you mentioned Helen Keller and quote that is so sad for people “to have sight but no vision.” That added a great deal to your presentation.

I was the General Evaluator. Jada evaluated Ron’s speech. She did something which I thought was great, she asked the audience if they had “connected” with Ron’s performance and they did. Khaled was Lateefah’s evaluator and did a good job. He also reminded me that Toastmasters doesn’t eliminate the butterflies, but makes them fly in formation to help you speak enthusiastically and with energy. Anne Dawson was our ah/counter and grammarian. Chad was timer tonight.

Action Points:

1. E-mail Bert your educational goals for the upcoming year.

2. Meeting on Thursday at Alfred & Charlies 6-7pm “Operation CAPS”

3. Next week; Gewreka will giving her “Icebreaker” and Charles will be inducted!!

4. Wear your college school colors, college football is our theme!

We had an enjoyable meeting tonight. There was synergy in the room, brought to us by Gewreka Robertson. Synergy was the word of the day. Its definition is the combined effort being greater than its parts. If that doesn’t reflect the Dye-Hard Toastmasters Club, I don’t know what does! Thank you Gewreka!! We had THREE guests tonight; Charles Hutson, Dawn Harris, and Dave Blazek we welcome you and hope you will return to visit or join! Charles Hutson joined and will be inducted at the September 1st meeting. Welcome to the Dye-Hard Toastmasters Charles!

Our Toastmaster this evening was Bert Freeman. Bert also did an “improvisational moment” as humorist. Man stories about kids and grandkids are great! Ron Crews was our first “performer”, I mean speaker tonight. His speech was full of thoughtful tid-bits about giving a speech or performance that connects with the audience. Tell a story/ make a point, tell another story and make another point. He also mentioned humor is a great pressure reliever when giving a serious performance. Injecting just a little humor goes a long way! He mentioned even at funerals humor is a way to relieve the grief. I agree I attended a funeral for a very dear older lady; she was like a second grandmother to me. The priest spoke of all the traditional stuff and then pulled out a coffee cup and cigarette and acted like he was going to smoke. That was the lady’s persona and he hit it on the head. Humor WORKS!!

Our second speaker was Lateefah Holly. I believe this was her fourth or fifth speech. She role played with the audience and she was the principal. The audience was parents of Toastmaster High School students. She challenged the parents to sit down with their children and come up with some goals, and write them down. The goals could be academic or personal and write them down on index cards and keep one set posted at home and one set at school. Make action plans to achieve those goals. Then review those goals as the year progresses. I think that is a plan we all should do!! Lateefah I apologize I didn’t get the quote verbatim, but you mentioned Helen Keller and quote that is so sad for people “to have sight but no vision.” That added a great deal to your presentation.

I was the General Evaluator. Jada evaluated Ron’s speech. She did something which I thought was great, she asked the audience if they had “connected” with Ron’s performance and they did. Khaled was Lateefah’s evaluator and did a good job. He also reminded me that Toastmasters doesn’t eliminate the butterflies, but makes them fly in formation to help you speak enthusiastically and with energy. Anne Dawson was our ah/counter and grammarian. Chad was timer tonight.

Action Points:

1. E-mail Bert your educational goals for the upcoming year.
2. Meeting on Thursday at Alfred & Charlies 6-7pm “Operation CAPS”
3. Next week; Gewreka will giving her “Icebreaker” and Charles will be inducted!!
4. Wear your college school colors, college football is our theme!

Meeting Recap: August 19th, 2009

We had an enjoyable meeting last night. We had two guests; Ms. GiGi Sampson our Area Governor visited our club and Mr. Thomas Choat visited our club. Chad was the Toastmaster of the evening and did his “standard great job”. We accomplished one of the most important functions of a Toastmaster Club tonight, we inducted a new member. Ms. Gewreka Robertson was inducted into the club! We welcome you Gewreka! Her mentor will be me.

We had two prepared presentations tonight. Bert Freeman gave a presentation tonight that was part status report/ part motivational speech and 100% great. He discussed how his organization received a government contract and how he assembled his team to train a new generation of military personnel. A generation whose viewpoints are very different from those of the baby-boomers viewpoints and it is difficult to meet the same expectations of the two groups.

Great job, Bert!!

I gave the second prepared speech. It was “Mentoring”. What is a mentor? Why do we need them? Are they only needed in Toastmasters? A mentor to paraphrase a friend’s quote “Is someone who gets you through your first three speeches. They are a resource for information, a pat on the back for a job well-done, and the character from a children’s book. They are the little train engine that says I think you can, I think you can!!” I appreciate the positive responses I received from the club.

Jada was our “Table Topics Master” and Mike Keever won the most laughter award tonight. Jada asked Mike if you belong to an organization that was hiring and a friend who would be a poor worker for the job asked if you were hiring what would you do. Mike’s response was to LIE and state no positions are open at this time.

Our General Evaluator was Ann Dawson. GiGi evaluated Bert’s speech. I was impressed because GiGi’s evaluation was without notes. She also stated how body language really enhanced Bert’s speech.

Bert will be e-mailing the roles for next week’s meeting,

Action Points:

September 15th will be the Club’s Humorous Speech Contest/ Evaluation Contest.

We are looking ahead for January’s Public Speaking Seminars and volunteers to assist us.

We had an enjoyable meeting last night. We had two guests; Ms. GiGi Sampson our Area Governor visited our club and Mr. Thomas Choat visited our club. Chad was the Toastmaster of the evening and did his “standard great job”. We accomplished one of the most important functions of a Toastmaster Club tonight, we inducted a new member. Ms. Gewreka Robertson was inducted into the club! We welcome you Gewreka! Her mentor will be me.

We had two prepared presentations tonight. Bert Freeman gave a presentation tonight that was part status report/ part motivational speech and 100% great. He discussed how his organization received a government contract and how he assembled his team to train a new generation of military personnel. A generation whose viewpoints are very different from those of the baby-boomers viewpoints and it is difficult to meet the same expectations of the two groups.

Great job, Bert!!

I gave the second prepared speech. It was “Mentoring”. What is a mentor? Why do we need them? Are they only needed in Toastmasters? A mentor to paraphrase a friend’s quote “Is someone who gets you through your first three speeches. They are a resource for information, a pat on the back for a job well-done, and the character from a children’s book. They are the little train engine that says I think you can, I think you can!!” I appreciate the positive responses I received from the club.

Jada was our “Table Topics Master” and Mike Keever won the most laughter award tonight. Jada asked Mike if you belong to an organization that was hiring and a friend who would be a poor worker for the job asked if you were hiring what would you do. Mike’s response was to LIE and state no positions are open at this time.

Our General Evaluator was Ann Dawson. GiGi evaluated Bert’s speech. I was impressed because GiGi’s evaluation was without notes. She also stated how body language really enhanced Bert’s speech.

Bert will be e-mailing the roles for next week’s meeting,

Action Points:

September 15th will be the Club’s Humorous Speech Contest/ Evaluation Contest.

We are looking ahead for January’s Public Speaking Seminars and volunteers to assist us.

Remember to bring your Competent leader manual to all club meetings so you can be evaluated fulfilling your roles.

We had an enjoyable meeting last night. We had two guests; Ms. GiGi Sampson our Area Governor visited our club and Mr. Thomas Choat visited our club. Chad was the Toastmaster of the evening and did his “standard great job”. We accomplished one of the most important functions of a Toastmaster Club tonight, we inducted a new member. Ms. Gewreka Robertson was inducted into the club! We welcome you Gewreka! Her mentor will be me.

We had two prepared presentations tonight. Bert Freeman gave a presentation tonight that was part status report/ part motivational speech and 100% great. He discussed how his organization received a government contract and how he assembled his team to train a new generation of military personnel. A generation whose viewpoints are very different from those of the baby-boomers viewpoints and it is difficult to meet the same expectations of the two groups. Great job, Bert!!

I gave the second prepared speech. It was “Mentoring”. What is a mentor? Why do we need them? Are they only needed in Toastmasters? A mentor to paraphrase a friend’s quote “Is someone who gets you through your first three speeches. They are a resource for information, a pat on the back for a job well-done, and the character from a children’s book. They are the little train engine that says I think you can, I think you can!!” I appreciate the positive responses I received from the club.

Jada was our “Table Topics Master” and Mike Keever won the most laughter award tonight. Jada asked Mike if you belong to an organization that was hiring and a friend who would be a poor worker for the job asked if you were hiring what would you do. Mike’s response was to LIE and state no positions are open at this time.

Our General Evaluator was Ann Dawson. GiGi evaluated Bert’s speech. I was impressed because GiGi’s evaluation was without notes. She also stated how body language really enhanced Bert’s speech.

Bert will be e-mailing the roles for next week’s meeting,

Action Points:

September 15th will be the Club’s Humorous Speech Contest/ Evaluation Contest.

We are looking ahead for January’s Public Speaking Seminars and volunteers to assist us.

Remember to bring your Competent leader manual to all club meetings so you can be evaluated fulfilling your roles.

Meeting Wrap-Up – August 11, 2009

We had an enjoyable meeting tonight. For those of you who were unable to attend tonight, we missed you. We started the evening with a guest who is co-chair of the Toastmasters Fall Conference to be held in Asheville this year. Her name was Susan Stewart; she was visiting our club to promote the conference and ask for volunteers to assist with the conference. The conference will be held November 6th & 7th at the Doubletree Inn. Additional information may be found in the District 37 Newsletter “The Tarheel Talker” which was recently mailed to all Toastmasters in the state. The information can also be found on the District 37 website: www.toastmasters-nc.org . Susan’s e-mail is: susanestewart@gmail.com .

I had the honor of being Toastmaster tonight. We had two prepared speeches tonight! Jada Criswell gave speech #5 , tonight entitled “Citizen’s Arrest”. Some of Jada’s objectives were to learn the value of gestures and body movements as part of a speech. You nailed this one Jada! I really think if you enhanced your story with suggestions like Mike Weaver gave you during his evaluation you would have a contender for the humorous speech contest. The crux of the story was Jada wasn’t about to let the “bad guy” get away with leaving the scene of an accident. To paraphrase another comedienne; “She got it done!” Her best phrase was she was acting like the “Incredible Hulk on Steroids”. Go Jada!!!

Ken Levra gave the second prepared speech tonight. His speech was entitled “Pass it on”! Do you have a past time or a hobby you really enjoy? How did you learn to do it? Did you have a mentor or buddy to teach you the ropes? This was the central point of Ken’s speech. We must mentor/teach people our passion so they may enjoy the rewards. Ken mentioned his love for hunting and fishing. He mentioned in a ten year period almost a million hunters have left the sport. Ken realizes that the sport is often portrayed as being cruel and inhumane. It is however a sport that prevents the over population of animals like deer and beaver. Ken was taught by a mentor his uncle to respect the wildlife, hunt responsibly and ethically. Points he plans to pass along to future generations. (True story) Ken’s grandson Aidon (sp?) has a tee shirt with a picture of a high chair, underneath it the words: “My first tree stand”. Raise him right Ken!

Chad Bordeaux was our Table Topics Master. His theme was “Gilligan’s Island”. Ron Crews admitted he was really the “Professor” in disguise. Jada said if she wasn’t rescued from a tropical island that would be fine with her. Mike stated that the television and his computer were the only modern conveniences he would miss besides a shower.

There will be a new agenda being e-mailed in the next day or two. We will have a full meeting on August 18th. I will be presenting an “educational module”, Bert will be speaking and I believe we will have a new member induction ceremony, with Ms. Gewreka Robertson joining our ranks. Mr. Tony Treece may visit our club and we look forward to meeting you Tony!!

We had an enjoyable meeting tonight. For those of you who were unable to attend tonight, we missed you. We started the evening with a guest who is co-chair of the Toastmasters District 37 Fall Conference to be held in Asheville this year. Her name was Susan Stewart; she was visiting our club to promote the conference and ask for volunteers to assist with the conference. The conference will be held November 6th & 7th at the Doubletree Inn. Additional information may be found in the District 37 Newsletter “The Tarheel Talker” which was recently mailed to all Toastmasters in the state. The information can also be found on the District 37 website: www.toastmasters-nc.org.

Susan Stewart discusses the Toastmasters District 37 Fall Conference in Asheville

I had the honor of being Toastmaster tonight. We had two prepared speeches tonight! Jada Criswell gave speech #5 , tonight entitled “Citizen’s Arrest”. Some of Jada’s objectives were to learn the value of gestures and body movements as part of a speech. You nailed this one Jada! I really think if you enhanced your story with suggestions that Mike Keever gave you during his evaluation you would have a contender for the humorous speech contest. The crux of the story was Jada wasn’t about to let the “bad guy” get away with leaving the scene of an accident. To paraphrase another comedienne; “She got it done!” Her best phrase was she was acting like the “Incredible Hulk on Steroids”. Go Jada!!!

Ken Levra gave the second prepared speech tonight. His speech was entitled “Pass it on”! Do you have a past time or a hobby you really enjoy? How did you learn to do it? Did you have a mentor or buddy to teach you the ropes? This was the central point of Ken’s speech. We must mentor/teach people our passion so they may enjoy the rewards. Ken mentioned his love for hunting and fishing. He mentioned in a ten year period almost a million hunters have left the sport. Ken realizes that the sport is often portrayed as being cruel and inhumane. It is however a sport that prevents the over population of animals like deer and beaver. Ken was taught by a mentor his uncle to respect the wildlife, hunt responsibly and ethically. Points he plans to pass along to future generations. (True story) Ken’s grandson Aiden has a tee shirt with a picture of a high chair, underneath it the words: “My first tree stand”. Raise him right Ken!

Chad Bordeaux was our Table Topics Master. His theme was “Gilligan’s Island”. Ron Crews admitted he was really the “Professor” in disguise. Jada said if she wasn’t rescued from a tropical island that would be fine with her. Mike stated that the television and his computer were the only modern conveniences he would miss besides a shower.

There will be a new agenda being e-mailed in the next day or two. We will have a full meeting on August 18th. I will be presenting an “educational module”, Bert will be speaking and I believe we will have a new member induction ceremony, with Ms. Gewreka Robertson joining our ranks. Mr. Tony Treece may visit our club and we look forward to meeting you Tony!!

Meeting Wrap-Up – Tuesday, August 4, 2009

We had an awesome meeting tonight! Ms. Gewreka Robertson who works for Mecklenburg County Government visited our club tonight as a guest. We look forward to her returning to visit us next week; it was a pleasure meeting you! Tonight we had the privilege to induct a new member. Emily Lorance was inducted into our club; Emily’s mentor is Chad Bordeaux. Emily also gave her “Icebreaker” tonight. Her title was: “Finding My Voice”. She did an excellent job! The purpose of an “Icebreaker” is to let your fellow Toastmasters learn a little bit about yourself. We learned you were shy when you were in elementary school, we learned you lived in Germany which seems like great subject matter for a future speech. We also found out that your profession is city planning and you are an UNC- Chapel Hill graduate. WELCOME!!

Our second speaker was Chad Bordeaux. His title: “The Hidden Treasures found in Belmont, NC”. The speech was about geo-caching. . He discussed how using a GPS device, adults look for hidden booty like the pirates of yesteryear. The treasure is often of little value, but the thrill is finding the booty. Sounds like a Jimmy Buffet song in the making.

Ken Levra was our Toastmaster for the evening. We even had the honor of Mrs. Levra joining us tonight. Julie has been on Sabbatical learning how to be a masseuse, and Ken has been her guinea pig. He looked amazingly relaxed tonight. Great job Julie, we miss you! I had the pleasure of evaluating Emily’s Icebreaker. She did great! She used humor, clear, audible voice and was at ease in front of the club. Bert evaluated Chad, and stated something we all need to have. When using electronics it is good to have a plan “B” available. That ugly “Murphy’s Law” sometimes even appears at a Toastmaster meeting. Chad did have a plan “B” and did a great job.

Mike Keever was humorist and gave us the word of the day. “Gainsaying” whose definition is one who contradicts. He also told us about every August 1st, in Cherokee, NC a free event for kids under the age of 12. They get a free fishing rod, a chance to catch five trout and a great time! Lateefah was our General Evaluator and is growing more at ease every meeting. Jada was timer. Last and certainly not least Khaled did tabletopics. He stated something most Toastmasters can totally agree with. The first step to personal and professional growth is to leave your comfort zone.

Final Action Items: Please e-mail Bert your educational goals for this year. Our Toastmaster year ends on June 30th, 2010. What educational goal will you achieve? I am currently a Competent Communicator Bronze; I hope I will be a Competent Communicator Silver and a Competent Leader Bronze or Silver. Please e-mail Bert before the August 18th meeting.

Upcoming Events:

1. Susan Stewart will visit us on August 11th, requesting volunteers for the fall conference committee.

2. There will a planning meeting for the “Upcoming Operation Bits on August 13th, at Alfred & Charlies from 6:00-7:00 PM.

3. Gigi Sampson our Area Governor will visit our club on August 18th.

4. Our Area Humor and Evaluation contest will be Oct. 3rd.

We had an awesome meeting tonight! Ms. Gewreka Robertson who works for Mecklenburg County Government visited our club tonight as a guest. We look forward to her returning to visit us next week; it was a pleasure meeting you! Tonight we had the privilege to induct a new member. Emily Lorance was inducted into our club; Emily’s mentor is Chad Bordeaux. Emily also gave her “Icebreaker” tonight. Her title was: “Finding My Voice”. She did an excellent job! The purpose of an “Icebreaker” is to let your fellow Toastmasters learn a little bit about yourself. We learned you were shy when you were in elementary school, we learned you lived in Germany which seems like great subject matter for a future speech. We also found out that your profession is city planning and you are an UNC- Chapel Hill graduate. WELCOME!!

Our second speaker was Chad Bordeaux. His title: “The Hidden Treasures of Belmont”. The speech was about geocaching. . He discussed how using a GPS device, adults look for hidden booty like the pirates of yesteryear. The treasure is often of little value, but the thrill is finding the booty. Sounds like a Jimmy Buffet song in the making.

Ken Levra was our Toastmaster for the evening. We even had the honor of Mrs. Levra joining us tonight. Julie has been on sabbatical while attending school to learn how to be a masseuse, and Ken has been her guinea pig. He looked amazingly relaxed tonight. Great job Julie, we miss you! I had the pleasure of evaluating Emily’s Icebreaker. She did great! She used humor, clear, audible voice and was at ease in front of the club. Bert evaluated Chad, and stated something we all need to have. When using electronics it is good to have a plan “B” available. That ugly “Murphy’s Law” sometimes even appears at a Toastmaster meeting. Chad did have a plan “B” and did a great job.

Mike Keever was humorist and gave us the word of the day. “Gainsaying” whose definition is one who contradicts. He also told us about every August 1st, in Cherokee, NC a free event for kids under the age of 12. They get a free fishing rod, a chance to catch five trout and a great time! Lateefah was our General Evaluator and is growing more at ease every meeting. Jada was timer. Last and certainly not least Khaled did tabletopics. He stated something most Toastmasters can totally agree with. The first step to personal and professional growth is to leave your comfort zone.

Final Action Items: Please e-mail Bert your educational goals for this year. Our Toastmaster year ends on June 30th, 2010. What educational goal will you achieve? I am currently a Competent Communicator Bronze; I hope I will be a Competent Communicator Silver and a Competent Leader Bronze or Silver. Please e-mail Bert before the August 18th meeting.

Upcoming Events:

1. Susan Stewart will visit us on August 11th, requesting volunteers for the fall conference committee.
2. There will a planning meeting for the “Upcoming Operation Bits on August 13th, at Alfred & Charlies from 6:00-7:00 PM.

3. Gigi Sampson our Area Governor will visit our club on August 18th.

4. Our Area Humor and Evaluation contest will be Oct. 3rd.