Dyehard Toastmasters

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.

We had our first “theme meeting” this past Tuesday. The theme was “Vacation” and we had our room decorated with that in mind. We had “travel music” from Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville to Chuck Berry’s Route 66 playing on the computer. I believe we had a “License to Chill” sign posted and the agendas even had maps on the back of them. We were ready to take I-85 to our dream vacation!! Our tour guide, eh Toastmaster was Mr. Mike Keever who did a great job of keeping the meeting on track.

We had two prepared speeches tonight. Jada spoke about some of her unusual vacations she has taken. She even discussed how she got her first “Brain Stain”; I will let her discuss that story with you all on your own. Brain stain was the adopted “word of the night”. Jada also mentioned she saw a living alligator on one of her vacations which was SO BIG, well you could make a lot of shoes and handbags from that sucker. Khaled was the evaluator for Jada and did a good job. He mentioned that perhaps her focus should have been more on key parts of the story, so we all could enjoy the details better. Jada also did an excellent job conveying some imagery in an acceptable manner.

The second speaker was me. “Road Trip” the dream or nightmare depending on your car was the title of my speech. The trip could have been sub-titled “the best laid plans of mice and men usually go awry.” The trip was back in college days with a room mate, the need for speed on skis, and Mother Nature’s way of paying you back. It was a fun speech, evaluated by Ron Crews who said I needed to develop my characters better. I totally agree, but that’s why there is a next time!

Chad Bordeaux was the Tabletopics Master this evening! As usual he did great. Questions included when visiting Charlotte, what is a MUST see for your guest! What was your worst vacation? What was your dream vacation? The interesting thing about those Tabletopics is Khaled and I both had Honda Civics’ during college. It also appears that we have the same opinion of them. Anne answered the favorite vacation question, dressed in full character. She mentioned visiting KY and seeing the thoroughbred horse farms. She was dressed as if she was going to ride a champion horse. Thanks for your contribution to our theme Anne.

Last but not least! Emily Lorance visited our club again tonight. She was the timer and did an admirable job. She will also be inducted next week and be giving her “Ice Breaker” as well. Emily on behalf of the Dye-Hard Toastmasters, we welcome you!!

Man did we have a GREAT MEETING tonight!! Our Toastmaster was Anne Dawson! Anne you did a great job of keeping the meeting moving and on track. We had three guests tonight!!!!  We would like thank Ms. Emily Lorance, Mr. Charles Hutson, and Ms. Marcey Walsh for visiting our meeting tonight.

Man did we have a GREAT MEETING tonight!! Our Toastmaster was Anne Dawson! Anne you did a great job of keeping the meeting moving and on track. We had three guests tonight!!!!  We would like thank Ms. Emily Lorance, Mr. Charles Hutson, and Ms. Marcey Walsh for visiting our meeting tonight.

We had two prepared speeches tonight. Lateefah Holley discussed her career path with the NC Dept. of Revenue. She told stories about her experiences as being the “dreaded tax collector” to her present position of being an auditor. Needless to say she held the audience’s attention.

Our second speaker was Khaled Elraie. Khaled’s speech was entitled: “Mr. Nice Guy”. The crux of the story is that you can be a civil individual and still stand up for your beliefs. I had the pleasure of evaluating Khaled’s speech. When discussing standing up for an individual’s belief, Khaled stated being focused on your goal eliminates the chance encountering issues which will sideline your success. He stated when we take our eyes off the prize; we are more likely to make errors in judgment. As Toastmasters let us focus on our fellow toastmasters and assist them in achieving their goals.

Jada Criswell was General Evaluator tonight and did a great job. Ron Crews evaluated Lateefah . He mentioned a powerful tool for a Toastmaster to use which is storytelling. Tell a story, make your point and repeat the process. Storytelling draws an audience into the speaker’s world. Ron demonstrates week in and week out why he is a DTM. A DTM stands for Distinguished Toast Master; it is the pinnacle achievement in Toastmasters. His insight and ability to encourage is boundless. Ron for all you do, we appreciate your hard work and dedication to Toastmasters.

Finally, we had Educational Presentation tonight from our Club President, Chad Bordeaux. Chad did a presentation from the Successful Club Series, entitled “How to become a Successful Club”.  You can find more information at toastmasters.org.

Our 2009 Club Goals:

1.) Four new members

2.) Two Competent Communicator Awards

3.) One Advanced Communicator Award

4.) At least 4 officers trained

5.) One Advanced Leadership  Award, (Competent Leader, Advanced Leader Bronze or Silver, or DTM)

6.) An additional 4 new members

7.) Two Additional Competent Communicator Awards

8.) One Additional Advanced Communicator  Award

9.) One Additional Advanced Leadership Award

10.) Semi annual dues submitted on time and an Officer List submitted to Toastmaster’s on time.

If we achieve five goals we become a Distinguished Club.

If we achieve seven goals we become Select Distinguished.

If we achieve nine goals we become President’s Distinguished.

We will acheive all ten goals!

Allow me to make one comment about Toastmasters. The above goals are a measure to see if a club is meeting its reasonability’s to its members. The whole purpose of Toastmasters is to be supportive and to reach whatever goals the member has for himself/herself. I will be happy to assist anyone in achieving their educational goals, just ask. Now fellow toastmasters think over the next couple weeks and let Bert know your goals for this Toastmaster year are and how we can assist you in achieving them!!!

Join us for tomorrow nights meeting of the Dyehard Toastmasters of Belmont from 7pm to 8:15pm.

We will have two speakers and an Educational Module.

I do not know how many fellow Toastmasters watch the television show, The Office, but it is one of my favorite shows.  Below is a good quote from Michael Scott, the Regional Manager.  Michael had to go to the Corporate office to answer questions related to the “wrongful” firing of his boss and girlfriend, Jan.  Of course, she prepared answers for him.  Below is a great quote from Michael on “ers” and “ahs.”  Given the stuggles that some of us (particularly myself) have with “ahs,” I found the quote rather funny.

“Four million dollars!  Man.  That’s a lot of guacamole – a lot of the green.  Lot of green.  That is why I  have memorized Jan’s answers and I’ve also thrown in some “ers” and “ahs” just to make it seem like it’s not memorized.  Perfect crime.”