Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Cromwell Community Toastmasters Meeting Minutes - June 4, 2013


Cromwell Community Toastmasters
Club 5908 ~ District 53
June 4, 2013
Attendees: Eleven members attended: Tom Alvord, Linda Campbell, Rob Dalo, Asha Gangina, Charlie Hubert, Elizabeth Landeen, Donald Ostertag, Sheetal Patel, Hollie Rose, Crystal Storo, Brian Terry
Guests: Richard Franz Jr. (Incoming Div. Governor), Eve Lai, Angie Lai
 
Business Meeting:
The meeting was called to order by Charlie Hubert. Rob Dalo introduced the incoming Division Governor, Richard Franz Jr. and guests and noted the unusual number of empty seats alluding to the nice weather as the cause. Crystal conducted the business meeting and handouts were provided with the following key points: 1). New Area - Governor, Nathan Jaycox, Division Governor Richard Franz Jr.. Area 32 includes Farmington Club, SBD Power Speakers, Energy, CCAT, Middlesex and Cromwell; 2). TLI - Toastmasters Leadership Institute - Education for all to attend, need 4 of the new officers to attend. Crystal, Elizabeth, Hollie, Sheetal, and Bo have all registered for Aug 10th. Register at: http://d53tli2013.eventbrite.com/# Dates are: June22 - Schenectady, NY, July 13 - Hamden, CT, August 3 - Division A - TBA, August 10 - Manchester, CT; 3). Joint Meeting with Glastonbury Toastmasters at their location on Mon, Sept 16th. More details to follow. 4). SPEAK documentary - Any interest? Contact Crystal. A handout on the Toastmasters Revitalized Education Program was also provided. Hollie, our Toastmaster, seconded Rob's comment about the beautiful weather, welcomed members and guests, and provided us with interesting facts about this day in history ( " a day of firsts") and briefly explained some facets of the Revitalized Education Program.
 
Meeting Roles:
 
Toastmaster: Hollie Rose
 
Invocation: Eve Lai
 
Word Master: Brian Terry
Word - of - the - Day: Ubiquitous - adjective - present at all times; omnipresent. A an example of the usage was provided from a technical manual - " The human connective tissue is ubiquitous...".
 
Table Topics Master: Elizabeth Landeen
 Theme: Advice from club members to Elizabeth Landeen as incoming VP Education 
 
1. Rob Dalo: What advice/suggestions would you give to officers going into new roles? Rob said the office of president was an honor, made him a better speaker, got him up on his feet more and gave him the ability to handle things when they change quickly. His advice to the incoming president is to have fun, nothing to be nervous about, friends are cheering for you, you'll meet new people who are friendly and nice, and .....remember to breathe and relax!
 
2. Tom Alvord: Of all our club members who would you like to have give more speeches? Tom said, " Everyone, especially the newest members." He specifically mentioned Asha, Brian and Charlie.
 
3. Brian Terry: Who would you like to have as your mentor and why? Brian told us he would like to be more animated and connect with the audience. He mentioned several people but said he didn't have favorites.
 
4. Charlie Hubert: Regarding Presidents Distinguish Club, what are your ideas to help us reach this goal? Charlie mentioned new members, Heather's excellent job with the Cromwell Community Toastmaster's website, encouraging guests to attend our meetings, mentoring and use of the internet.
 
5. Don Ostertag: What Toastmasters goals are you setting for the upcoming year? Donald said he "wants to get up here more often.... read in front of people."
 
6. Eve Lai: What Toastmaster goals are you setting for the upcoming year? Eve said she would like to give speeches.
 
7. Richard Franz Jr.: What should a VP Education be? Richard said his advice is to enjoy the job, have fun while doing it, don't drive yourself crazy, encourage people to do things and to give speeches, always bring your manuals to the meetings and that one of the six dimensions of leadership is encouragement.
 
Prepared Speeches:
 
Speaker # 1: Asha Gangina
Manual/Project: Competent Communicator/Project 2, Organize Your Speech
Title: Global Warming
 
Speaker # 2: Linda Campbell
Manual/Project: Competent Communicator/Project 5, Your Body Speaks
Title: Those Quirky Detectives
 
Speaker # 3: Richard Franz Jr.
Incoming Division Governor
Inauguration of our 2013-2014 club officers
 
Outgoing officers were thanked for all their hard work during the past year and the incoming officers were inaugurated, beginning their service in July. Photos were taken of the inauguration of our new officers. Thank you Tom! 
 
Cromwell Community Toastmasters Incoming Officers:
 
President: Crystal Storo CC, CL
 
Sergeant at Arms: Charlie Hubert
 
Treasurer: Brian Fleming
 
Secretary: Bo Bogart
 
VP Public Relations: Hollie Rose
 
VP Education: Elizabeth Landeen
 
VP Membership: Sheetal Patel
 
 
General Evaluator: Crystal Storo
 
Crystal noted that everyone had a chance to speak tonight, mentioned that we can learn to grow as evaluators and further said it was helpful to evaluate the evaluators which can provide insight. She described the 'sandwich approach' used by both Charlie and Tom as very helpful and complimented both evaluators on giving the positives as well as suggestions for improvement. Crystal reiterated that the beautiful weather was probably the reason for a lower than normal attendance and reminded us to share if we aren't going to be at the meeting ( block provided at the bottom of the agenda page on the Cromwell Community Toastmasters site). She encouraged members to discuss Toastmasters and bring guests to the meetings. Crystal congratulated Hollie on her role as Toastmaster mentioning her personal energy, the theme of the meeting, her introductions to speeches, her seamless but not effortless manner when leading into each portion of the meeting, and offered a suggestion to encourage members via email to sign up for roles that remain open a day or two before the meeting. She further expressed her excitement about the upcoming year and the new team of officers and also encouraged all members to get involved and share ideas. Crystal mentioned there are two speech contests throughout the year.
 
Evaluator # 1: Charlie Hubert
 
Evaluator # 2: Tom Alvord, ACB, ALB
 
Evaluator # 3: Rob Dalo
 
Functionary Reports:
 
Ah Counter: Charlie Hubert
 
Grammarian: Tom Alvord, ACB, ALB
 
Timer: Donald Ostertag
 
At the close of the meeting Rob said it had been a fantastic meeting and asked the guests their thoughts. Eve responded when asked if she enjoyed herself, " I sure did!" Richard said, " It was an excellent meeting."
Rob announced that the next meeting will be held on June 18th and encouraged us to sign up for roles saying "meetings are so much more fun when you participate."
 
Next meeting: June 18th
 
Respectfully submitted by
Linda Campbell, Secretary

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