Meeting Minutes – Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Attendees: Tom Alvord, Eileen Baird, Akshay Dhote, Charnaie Gordon, Charlie Hubert, Elizabeth Landeen, Louis Nizet, Dave Roman, Sharon Roth, Bill Sullivan, Heather Turner

Guests: Anthony DiSantis, Elizabeth Dubosz, Mark D.

President Tom Alvord reminded everyone of the Holiday Party January 24, The Open House February 21 with guest speaker Mike Aron, the Fall Contests on March 20 and the April guest Marilyn Jess. We are encouraged to sign up for roles for the next meeting on the club website. 

Toastmaster Bill Sullivan performed his role with aplomb.   Eileen Baird read the Toastmasters Mission Statement with gusto. Tom offered the word of the day: PLAUDIT meaning applause. Elizabeth Landeen offered a provocative invocation suggesting each member write a phrase to use throughout the year to achieve one's goals.  At the end of the meeting, everyone shared what their phrases.

Topics Master Heather Turner called on Charnaie, Charlie, Louis and Dave Roman to present 1-2 minute speeches using creative topics which allowed speakers to add a humorous flavor to the meeting.

Akshay presented Project #5 “Your Body Speaks” in his speech titled, “Time to Buy a Calendar.”  His speech contained many humorous anecdotes which the audience thoroughly enjoyed. Tom evaluated Akshay, complimenting him on his strengths and offering one suggestion.

Heather presented Project #1 from the “Speaking to Inform” advanced manual. The title of her speech was, “How to Make Brushetta,” during which she demonstrated the proper preparation of the ingredients including the tomato, onion and garlic with professional tools.  The audience was treated to a delicious sample of her recipe.  Charlie evaluated Heather, complimenting her on the content and presentation with one suggestion.

Sharon gave Project #2 from the Better Speaker Series called “Organizing Your Speech,” entitled, “Dump the Script.” She gave handouts at the end showing the five easy steps to organize an effective speech. Bill evaluated Sharon with compliments and a suggestion.

Elizabeth Landeen, who effectively performed the role of Timer, gave her report. Eileen Baird presented the Grammarian report showing her excellent listening skills. Dave gave an effective Ah Counter report.  Tom reported that Bill and Sharon used the word of the day, Plaudit.

Our guest Mark told us that his friend, who was a toastmaster, told him what Toastmasters is all about: Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

Charnaie Gordon gave the General Evaluation of the meeting, noting the positive aspects.  She also spoke about the Toastmasters Leadership Exchange which will take place on Monday, January 30^th at Middlesex Community College from 6:30 to 8:30pm. All are invited.  ClickHere for flyer.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon Roth January 4, 2012