Meeting Minutes for 4/17/2012

On 4/17/2012 The Cromwell Community Toastmasters Club held their meeting at 5:30 PM at the Cromwell town Hall.

Ten Members and 3 guests attended.

Toastmaster was TOM ALVORD. He presided over the meeting and began with a review of A Toastmaster's Promise.

Invocation was presented by HEATHER TURNER. She referred to John Zimmer's discussion of "The Ripple Effect", and urged us to consider this powerful effect as we prepare and give our speeches.

Word of the Day was selected and presented by our guest AMY ANSAH.  "Carpe Diem" was used numerous times during the meeting with BILL SULLIVAN incorporating it most frequently.

Table Topics was led by BILL SULLIVAN. He used questions asked at Google job interviews to spark unwitting members give fun impromptu speeches.

5 prepared speeches were given and evaluated: 

SPEAKER : SHARON ROTH                                            

EVALUATOR: BILL SULLIVAN

SPEAKER : HEATHER TURNER

EVALUATOR: MARY TALBOT

SPEAKER : LOUIS NIZET      

EVALUATOR: CHARLIE HUBERT

SPEAKER : MARY TALBOT    

EVALUATOR: HEATHER TURNER

SPEAKER : JACQUELINE KIRWIN (guest from Middlesex Toastmasters)

EVALUATOR: JOSEPH LENART

LOUIS NIZET provided a general evaluation of the meeting. DANNY STRONG, AKSHAY DHOTE, CHARLIE HUBERT and MARY TALBOT filled the many other important roles and presentations that structure our meeting in the unique way that supports our having fun while we grow in our ability to stand up and speak confidently.  Our guest ANGIE ONDRIK joined our ranks at the end of the meeting. WELCOME TO ANGIE.

Minutes Respectfully submitted,

Mary Talbot

Our Area 34 Spring Contests were held this evening April 11, 2012 at 7:00.

They were held in a very nice room called the auditorium at Northeast Utilities in Berlin.  

There were seven contestants from four clubs.

Three Tall Tales and Four International contestants

from...

Cromwell

Cedar Hill (Newington)

Central CT Advanced Toastmaters

NorthEast Utilities Toastmasters

 

Results:

(They announced two places in each contest):

International:

1st place - Kevin Finn - gave a speech about "Dave", an man who is confined to a wheel chair.  He gave part of this speech at a Middlesex open house - maybe the one with Walter Beveridge?

2nd place - Nathan Jaycox - a very well organized speech about an "unseen mentor" - a relative of his who inspired Nathan years ago and who he only realized recently as a mentor.

The other two contestants were our own Louis Nizet and Helen Taylor.

There was one disqualification for time.

Louis gave a great presentation of the "I Believe" speech he gave at our club contest.  This time no notes, and he had all the items for each letter of "I B-E-L-I-E-V-E" down cold.  It was very interesting and educational, even inspiring! 

Tall Tales:

1st place - Patricia Martin from Cedar Hill who treated us with a very animated Tall Tale about witches, crab apples and fire.

2nd place - Richard Franz Jr. from CCAT - who was also very animated. 

Charlie Hubert and our own Sharon Roth (and Division C Governor!) were in attendance as was Nancy Green - a former member of Middlesex Toastmasters and a guest at Cromwell last fall!

Sharon gave a very inspiring speech at the end of the contest about the exciting Toastmasters club she is helping start in a prison!

Identity Theft Notes from a recent speech

This past week my speech was from one of the advanced manuals; Speaking to Inform, the title was Reputation Management and Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft in the Online World. I thought it would be helpful to post my handout online as Identity Theft can happen to anyone, toastmasters included.

Tips on Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft

§         When using online banking or any other sites (like Amazon.com) always type in the address or use a bookmark in your browser. Never click on a link received in an email.

§         Don't use obvious or the same passwords

§         When ordering online, make sure the site has an SSL certicificate, it will appear as a lock in the URL on a PC and down in the corner on a MAC. If the lock has a slash through it is insecure.

§         Keep antivirus and anti spyware software active and up to date

§         Check your credit report yearly

§         Sign up for online banking and if you use credit cards, online pay, check often at least weekly

Signs you might have a problem.

§         Bills that do not arrive as expected

§         Unexpected credit cards or account statements

§         Denials of credit for no apparent reason

§         Calls or letters about purchases you did not make

More information here as well: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt04.pdf

The three major consumer reporting companies are required by law to give you a free copy of your credit report each year if you ask for it. The companies are: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

www.AnnualCreditReport.com is a central website, run by these three companies,

From the FTC website:

• Place a "Fraud Alert" on your credit reports, and review the reports carefully. The alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures before they open new accounts in your name or make changes to your existing accounts. The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have toll-free numbers for placing an initial 90-day fraud alert; a call to one company is sufficient: 
• Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
• Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Placing a fraud alert entitles you to free copies of your credit reports. Look for inquiries from companies you haven't 
contacted, accounts you didn't open, and debts on your accounts that you can't explain.

• Contract the security or fraud departments of each company where an account was opened or charged without your okay.

o                        Follow up in writing, with copies of supporting documents.

o                        Use the ID Theft Affidavit at ftc.gov/idtheft to support your written statement. 

o                        Ask for verification that the disputed account has been dealt with and the fraudulent debts discharged. 

o                        Keep copies of documents and records of your conversations about the theft.

• File a police report. File a report with law enforcement officials to help you correct your credit report and deal with creditors who may want proof of the crime.
• Report the theft to the Federal Trade Commission. Your report helps law enforcement officials across the country in their investigations.
• Online: ftc.gov/idtheft 
• By phone: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338) or TTY, 1-866-653-4261
• By mail: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580