Meeting #570 - October 17, 2006

We had a good meeting on October 17, 2006. Our theme this week was Reality TV - Real or Fake and we were capably led by Toastmaster John v.

Toastmaster Angie provided us some new vocabulary with a Word of the Day: commodious (adjective), which means comfortably or conveniently spacious; roomy. Toastmaster Warren provided two fitting Quotes of the Day: "Television is the first truly democratic culture - the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people want." (Clive Barnes) & "Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There's one marked 'Brightness', but it doesn't work." (Gallagher) Toastmaster Serge provided some humour with a Joke of the Day.

We then moved on to our speech for the day. First we heard from Toastmaster Kathryn with the objectives for our first speaker's first Competent Communicator (CC) speech. Toastmaster Marcia then gave us her Icebreaker speech, telling us a bit about herself, as a new member.

Just before Toastmaster Marcia's speech, we had a bit of business; to vote her in and welcome her to the club. After the Icebreaker speech, Toastmaster Kathryn mentioned the Open House that will happen at next week's meeting (in honour of Toastmaster Week) and the booths that will be in malls across the city on Saturday, for the same reason. Toastmaster Angie mentioned that the District Contest will take place on October 25 and encouraged all to attend.

We then had an opportunity for impromptu speaking with Table Topics, led by Toastmaster Marcos. Five volunteers, Toastmaster Angie, Toastmaster Kathryn, Toastmaster Carrie, Toastmaster John H. and Toastmaster Warren then used their creativity to speak on the proposed questions, all relating to the theme.

Then we moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting. First was an evaluation of Toastmaster Marcia's speech from Toastmaster Kathryn. This was followed by the General Evaluation of the meeting from Toastmaster Carrie, who was ably assisted by Toastmaster Judy as Grammarian/Ah Counter and Toastmaster John H. as Timer. Turns out it was a very successful meeting!

Toastmaster John v. returned to review the agenda line-up for next meeting, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you on October 24!

Meeting # 566 - September 19, 2006

We had a good meeting on September 19, 2006, including changes to the agenda right up to the last minute! Our theme this week was Heavenly Bodies and we were skillfully led by Toastmaster Rebecca. We had a return guest and a visit from our District Governor!

Toastmaster Rebecca also provided us some new vocabulary with a Word of the Day: corporeal (adjective), that which is material, tangible, physical; of or pertaining to the body, bodily. Toastmaster Kathryn then provided a Quote of the Day: “The reason angels can fly is because they take themselves lightly.” (G.K. Chesterton). Toastmaster Louise brought us a delightful Toast of the Day: Here's champagne to your real friends and real pain to your sham friends.

We then moved on to hear from our District Governor, Toastmaster Guy. He gave us a Presentation on the DCP, or Distinguished Club Program.

We had a few items of club business - we'll be having our club Humourous Speech and Table Topics Contest on September 26 and it's still time to collect dues.

We then had an opportunity for impromptu speaking with Table Topics, led by Toastmaster Angie. Six volunteers, Toastmaster Carrie, Toastmaster John S., Toastmaster John H., Toastmaster Louise, Toastmaster Bill and Toastmaster Kathryn then used their creativity to speak on the proposed questions.

Then we moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting. General Evaluator Toastmaster Bill, ably assisted by Toastmaster Kathryn as Grammarian/Ah Counter and Toastmaster Serge as Timer, reported that we had a very successful meeting!

District Governor and Toastmaster Guy returned to present to our President, Toastmaster Kathryn, the DCP ribbon that Dows Lake had earned last Toastmaster year. We now have a new Select distinguished Club ribbon to hang on our banner! Good work and congratulations to all Dows Lake Toastmasters! Then Toastmaster Rebecca returned to ask the guests for comments, review the agenda line-up for the next meeting, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you for our speech and table topics contest on September 26!

Meeting # 565 - September 12, 2006

We had a good meeting on September 12, 2006. Our theme this week was Passions and we were capably led by Toastmaster Angie. We had one return guest and two new members!

Toastmaster John S. provided us some new vocabulary with two possible Words of the Day: effect (noun), which means purpose, intent, essence, or something that inevitably follows an antecedent (as a cause or agent) or (transitive verb) which means to cause to come into being AND affect (noun), which means the conscious subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes or (verb), which means to make a display of liking or using or tend towards. Toastmaster Kathryn then provided another Word of the Day (rather than a Quote of the Day): Passion (noun), which means intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction.

We then moved on to our speeches for the day. First we heard from Toastmaster Carrie with the objectives for our first speaker's first Competent Communicator (CC) speech. Toastmaster Warren then gave us his Icebreaker speech, telling us a bit about himself, as our new member. Toastmaster John H. then provided the objectives for our second speaker's speech. Toastmaster Rebecca then entertained us, with a speech from the Advanced Communicator manual, The Entertaining Speech.

We had a few items of club business - we'll be having our club Humourous Speech and Table Topics Contest on September 26.

We then had an opportunity for impromptu speaking with Table Topics, led by Toastmaster Angie. Three volunteers, Toastmaster Louise, Toastmaster Carrie, and Toastmaster John S. then used their creativity to speak on the proposed questions.

Then we moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting. First was an evaluation of Toastmaster Warren's speech from Toastmaster Carrie. Then was an evaluation of Toastmaster Rebecca's speech from Toastmaster John H. This was followed by the General Evaluation of the meeting from Toastmaster Louise, who was ably assisted by Toastmaster Kathryn as Grammarian/Ah Counter and Toastmaster Aldo as Timer. Turns out it was a very successful meeting!

Toastmaster Angie returned to ask the guests for comments, review the agenda line-up for the next meeting, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you on September 19!

Meeting # 564 - September 5, 2006

We had an even more full meeting on September 5, 2006. In keeping with the time of year and season, our theme was School Days and we were capably led by Toastmaster John S. We had two guests and we can look forward to their becoming members!

Toastmaster John v. provided us some new vocabulary with the two possible Words of the Day: palliative (adjective), which means serving to reduce the violence of or to moderate the intensity of (e.g., a disease); to cover by excuses and apologies; OR paleontology (noun), which is a science dealing with the life of past geological periods as known from fossil remains. Toastmaster Aldo then provided both a Quote of the Day and a Joke of the Day.

We then moved on to our speech for the day. First we heard from Toastmaster Angie with the objectives for our speaker's second Advanced Toastmaster speech. Toastmaster Marcos then informed us with his Technical Presentation from the Manual "Speeches by Management", Pesticide Management in Canada.

We had a few items of club business, then had an opportunity for impromptu speaking with Table Topics, led by Toastmaster Louise. Four volunteers, Toastmaster Bill, Toastmaster Guy, Toastmaster John H., and Toastmaster Marcos, then used their creativity to speak on the proposed questions.

Then we moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting. First was an evaluation of Toastmaster Marcos's speech from Toastmaster Angie. This was followed by the General Evaluation of the meeting from Toastmaster Kathryn, who was ably assisted by Toastmaster Bill as Grammarian/Ah Counter and Toastmaster John H. as Timer. Turns out it was a very successful meeting!

Toastmaster John S. returned to ask the guests for comments, review the agenda line-up for the next meeting, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you on September 12!

Meeting # 563 - August 29, 2006

And now we seem to be back in (almost) full swing. We met on August 29, 2006 and had even more members and visitors show up. Our theme was "My Summer Continues Until..."

We were ably led by Toastmaster Louise. Toastmaster Bill brought us a Word of the Day: Truthiness - a noun meaning the quality by which a person claims to know something intuitively or instinctively. Toastmaster Angie brought us a Quote of the Day. And Toastmaster Carrie brought us a Joke of the Day.

Then we turned to our speech for the day. We initially heard from Toastmaster John v., with the objectives for a Competent Toastmaster speech #9 (CTM #9). Then, we heard from Toastmaster Carrie, with "Nurture Your Health".

Then we had a few Table Topics, introduced by Toastmaster John H. This was followed by a test of our listening skills with a Quiz by Toastmaster John S.

Next we had a bit of club business - the club is looking for some assistance in the Executive Committee: the positions of Secretary and Vice President Public Relations are vacant.

Then we moved into the evaluation portion of our meeting, starting with a speech evaluation of Toastmaster Carrie's speech from Toastmaster John v. We continued in the same vein with a General Evaluation from Toastmaster Angie, assisted by Grammarian/Ah Counter Toastmaster Kathryn and Timer Toastmaster Aldo.

Chair Toastmaster Louise returned to offer the opportunity to comment to guests, to run through the agenda for next week, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you on September 5!

Meeting #562 - August 22, 2006

And now we seem to be back in (almost) full swing. We met on August 22, 2006, and had even more members and visitors show up. Our theme was "My Ideal Summer Vacation".

We were ably led by Toastmaster Carrie. Toastmaster Angie brought us a Word of the Day: perennial, which means present at all seasons of the year; persisting for several years; continuing without interruption. Toastmaster Angie also brought us a Quote of the Day. And Toastmaster John v. and Rebecca brought us a couple of Jokes of the Day.

Then we turned to our first speech of the day. We initially heard from Toastmaster Rebecca, with the objectives for an Icebreaker speech (CTM #1). Then, we heard from Toastmaster Aldo, with "Change". Next up was Toastmaster John H., with the objectives for a CTM #8 speech. Then we heard from Toastmaster Bill with his "Overbreeding is the first act of war".

We had a bit of club business - the club is looking for some assistance in the Executive Committee: the positions of Secretary and Vice President Public Relations are vacant.

Then our chair brought us something new: as Tabletopics, Toastmaster Carrie invited two participants to vent on their particular pet peeves. We then heard from Toastmaster Kathryn (on people who don't signal their intentions when they drive) and Toastmaster Aldo (on people who shuffle when they walk). Turns out this opportunity was quite therapeutic!

We then moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting with evaluations from Toastmaster Rebecca and Toastmaster John H. of Toastmaster Aldo's and Toastmaster Bill's speeches. Next up was the General Evaluator, Toastmaster John H., assisted by Grammarian/Ah Counter Toastmaster Bill and Timer Toastmaster Kathryn.

Chair Toastmaster Carrie returned to offer the opportunity to comment to guests, to run through the agenda for next week, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you on August 29!

Meeting #561 - August 15, 2006

We had our first meeting after our brief summer break on August 15, 2006. While it was a somewhat smaller than usual meeting, our participants were keen. Our theme was New Toastmasters Year.

We were ably led by Toastmaster Kathryn, who also brought us a Word of the Day: fauxtography, which means the staging, tampering, or otherwise directing of news photographs. Toastmaster Louise brought us a Quote of the Day. And Toastmaster John H. brought us a Joke of the Day.

Then we turned to our first speech of the day. We initially heard from Toastmaster John H., with the objectives for a Competent Toastmaster #8 speech. Then, we heard from Toastmaster Bill, with "Post-mortem of a presentation".

Then we had a bit of a Quiz on our progress so far from Toastmaster Louise. We followed this with a bit of free-flowing discussion of Toastmaster Bill's speech. This turned out to be quite successful and enjoyable for all. We may wish to include it in future meetings, if given adequate time.

Then we moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting with an evaluation from Toastmaster John H. of Toastmaster Bill's speech. Next up was General Evaluator, Toastmaster Bill, assisted by Grammarian/Ah Counter Toastmaster Angie and Timer Toastmaster Aldo.

Chair Toastmaster Kathryn returned to thank all for their enthusiasm, to review the agenda for next week, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you for on August 22!

Meeting #560 - July 18, 2006

We had our last meeting before we take a break of 3 weeks on July 18, 2006. Our theme was Attitude.

We were ably led by Toastmaster Angie, who also brought a Quote of the Day.

Then we turned to our first speech of the day. We were treated to an Icebreaker from Toastmaster Judy. Next up was Toastmaster John H., with the objectives for a Competent Toastmaster speech #3. Then we heard from Toastmaster Robert with his CTM #3 speech.

We had a bit of club business - the club continues the search for a Secretary and will have a summer break for the next three weeks, re-convening on August 15.

We moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting with an evaluation from Toastmaster John H. of Toastmaster Robert's speech.

Chair Toastmaster Angiereturned to review the agenda for the next meeting, to remind all of the 3-week break, and to adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you for the next meeting, August 15!

Meeting #559 - July 11, 2006

We had a special lunch meeting on July 11, 2006. Rather than meeting in our usual location, a small group of us headed to a nearby restaurant for a special gathering. Our group consisted of Toastmasters Kathryn, Angie, Bill, John S., Robert, and Guest Lillianne.

While participants had been invited to bring toasts for the occasion, only Toastmaster Bill actually brought one. We all toasted it!

Our small group had a very nice special lunch.

Looking forward to seeing you for the last meeting before our summer break, on July 18.

Meeting #558 - July 4, 2006

We had our first meeting of the new Toastmasters year on July 4, 2006. Present were some regular attendees, some return members, and plenty of visitors. Our theme was Summer Reading.

We were ably led by Toastmaster Sharon. Toastmaster Marcos brought us a Word of the Day: emblazon, which means to deck in glaring colours; set off conspicuously; display pompously; decorate. Toastmaster Kathryn brought us a Quote of the Day. And Toastmaster John v. suggested to us some humourous author/book pairings.

Then we turned to our first speech of the day. We initially heard from Toastmaster Yemi, with the objectives for an Advanced Toastmaster speech. Then, we heard from Toastmaster Rebecca, with The Essence of Teamwork. Next up was Toastmaster Bill, with the objectives for another Advanced Toastmaster speech. Then we heard from Toastmaster Guy with an entertaining speech, Ingredients for a Good Speech.

We had a bit of club business - the club continues the search for a Secretary and will have a summer lunch at a local restaurant next Tuesday.

We moved into the evaluation portion of the meeting with evaluations from Toastmaster Yemi and Toastmaster Bill of Toastmaster Rebecca's and Toastmaster Guy's speeches. Next up was the General Evaluator, Toastmaster John S., assisted by Grammarian/Ah Counter Toastmaster Louise and Timer Toastmaster Robert.

Chair Toastmaster Sharon returned to remind all of the lunch next week and adjourn the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you for the summer lunch next week, July 11!