Friday, July 1, 2016

Meeting Minutes 6-21-16



Cromwell Community Toastmasters
Club 5908 ~ District 53
Tues June 21, 2016


Attendees:   Crystal Storo, Hollie Rose, Danielle Payne, Phil Mason, Winston Phillip, Laura King, Andrew Watt, Heather Turner, Tom Alvord, Jen Bourne, Bill Sullivan, Sheetal Patel (virtual attendee)

Guests
: Rich Derksen (Division D Director), Syed

Business Meeting

Jay has missed a few meeting due to an illness. We wish her the best.
Welcome to our two guests Rich and Syed.
Sheetal will be attending virtually tonight.

Toastmaster Hollie Rose

Invocation Jen Bourne

Quote from poet David Whyte

Installation of 2016-2017 Officers Rich Derksen

President- Sheetal Patel
Vice-president of Education- Danielle Payne
Vice-president of Membership- Winston Phillip
Vice-president of Public Relations- Heather Turner
Secretary- Laura King
Treasurer- Andrew Watt
Sargent at Arms- Phil Mason
Immediate Past President- Hollie Rose

Table Topics Heather Turner

If we were all forced to wear a warning label what would yours say? One person would be asked what their label says and other person would be asked to interpret. Then the creator would tell us what it really meant.

Bill picked “Don’t trust the mechanic.”
1:23 Phil  – Bill probably had his car worked on recently. Even good mechanics can seem like they are taking you to the cleaners. All the parts are connected. My mechanic knows that I know my stuff. Knowledge is power. Know before you go.
1:40 Bill – Phil was very close. If someone asks me to fix something they should know not to trust me. I buy something cheap and then throw it out.

Winston picked “Be careful what you wish for.”
1:30 Andrew – I used to have hair like Winston. What we practice is what we become. What are you practicing? That’s what you are wishing for and what you will become.
1:05 Winston – When I was younger I was a ladies man. I wanted to have a lot of ladies. Now I have 4 daughters and 2 nieces. This is not what I meant.

Tom picked “Caution. Quite, shy, philosophical person inside.”
1:37 Crystal – Tom is actually a very dear friend. If I saw this before I might have thought twice about meeting him. We all have a reserve. I enjoy getting to know people.
1:28 Tom – People who like to perform in front of others don’t always show their true selves. Way deep down I am shy. I can put on an act. It’s easier.

Syed picked “fragile” and interpreted his sign.
0:55 Syed – This is a sign I usually see. I have been going through life’s challenges lately but please don’t treat me any differently.


Speaker # 1:  Andrew Watt:  9:06
Manual/Project: Competent Communicator / Organize Your Speech (2)
Title: A Poet’s Life

I have been writing poetry since December 5, 1998. I was working at a boarding school and my day off was Mondays. I was looking for something to do. Everything was pretty dead until I found a poetry night in Worcester. I knew how to write a sonnet so I wrote one to share at the meeting. I went to the poetry meeting once a week. I made a small book of poems. My poems have gotten a lot better. I even wrote a play of connected poems although it never got performed. There is always a new poem on the horizon. I wrote because I had nowhere to go. I found I have opened myself and changed in ways I can’t describe.

Speaker # 2: Heather Turner: 6:55
Manual/Project: Competent Communicator / Get to the Point (3)
Title: HPL Overview

The High Performance Leadership Project (HPL) is the last thing I need to get my Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). I have been involved in inn keeping and with the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (PAII).  A while ago the executive director of PAII got the association into $250,00 of debt and everything went downhill. The board knew it and they were behind it. That was one and a half years ago. Everything stopped. They hired someone else. That lasted four months. I was the on the board to revive the organization. I took over more and more and became a paid employee. I had gone beyond what I wanted. I still faced competition from the old staff that formed a new organization. They copied us and were competing with PAII. We are also now competing with Air B&B. Air B&B is renting out huge buildings. This is taking business away from innkeepers. Some of you are on my HPL committee. Thank you.

Speaker # 3: Winston Phillip: 6:35
Manual/Project: Competent Communicator / Get to the Point (3)
Title: The Day I Wore a Dress


I was like every other normal bad kid. I used to rush home from school to see my grandfather. It was always and adventure. I left school early that day and as I was on my way out I walked passed my class. All the students were dancing. I said, “You can’t dance” to one of my classmates and the teacher heard. At the time I didn’t know that the teacher was friends with my mother. They ended up making me take a dance class. It was Scottish dance and I really got into it. I was the lead dancer and was excited for my first performance in front of the parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. No one told me I would be wearing a dress. We placed third and were invited to perform in front of other members of congress.

Evaluator # 1: Phil Mason 2:21

You always have great speeches and draw us in. You dropped your journals and got our attention. I wish we could have heard more. Pick up the journals one at a time. You could talk more about the impact poetry has had on you. Great opening, middle and closing.

Evaluator # 2:  Tom Alvord 3:45

Another great speech. You were so comfortable and made the audience feel comfortable. It was hard to come up with something for you to change but I thought of a few. Don’t say “for those who haven’t heard.” It makes the audience feel bad if they don’t know what you are talking about. Focus on the positive. Also explain what PAII stands for.  

Evaluator # 3:  Crystal Storro 3:03

You seem more advanced than only two speeches. I am envious of your body language. You drew an image of the school in my mind. “I was like every other normal bad kid” was a very powerful statement. You tend to look down when you are thinking of the words. You have a warm smile and great stage performance. I love your humor and animation. Work on your conclusion.

Officials’ Reports:

WordMaster: Tom Alvord

Parsimonious – frugal or stingy

Andrew – 3
Bill – 1
Heather – 1
Jen – 3
Winston – 1
Rich – 1

Timer:  Bill Sullivan

Times given, See above.


Ah Counter: Winston Phillip

I got lost but everyone did great.

Grammarian: Andrew Watt

There is a new preposition in the English dictionary, because. For example, I don’t know what to do with school because history. This sounds like teenage girls. Heather and Winston used because this way.

Winston – Every other normal bad kid.
Heather – She lasted 4 months then she quit.
Phil – The way the name of some part rolls off the tongue like it costs $5.
Heather – Used “very” as in intensifier. There are more descriptive words.


General Evaluator: Jen Bourne

Table Topics
It was very interesting to see how we see ourselves and how others see us.
Andrew – I liked when you said to be careful what you practice.
Winston – I enjoyed the quote about ending up with what you ask for.
Tom – You may be shy but you are good on stage.
Syed – You were very brave. Thank you for sharing.

Evaluations
All of the evaluators were very strong in review of information and hints.
Phil – I liked how you said that Andrew drew in the audience.
Tom – You said that Heather made the room comfortable.
Crystal – You mentioned that Winston should be a speech contest. Good encouragement.

Remarks: Rich Derksen

I’m happy to be here.
This club has great culture. You have participation, organization, and leadership.
The details make the difference. The signs were great. So many clubs don’t have signs telling everyone where the meetings are. Thanks Phil.
This club also has a personal touch. I love how you send cards to members who may need them.


Closing: Hollie Rose

There are several opportunities for new officer training. If you are a new officer please try to go to one.

June 25, 2016 - Wildwood School, 2995 Curry Road Extension, Schenectady, NY 12303

July 9, 2016
 - Hamden Country Day School, 1108 Whitney Ave, Hamden, CT 06517

August 6, 2016
 - New Hackensack Reformed Church, 1580 Route 376, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590

August 13, 2016
 - Manchester Church of Christ, 595 Tolland Turnpike, Manchester, CT 06042 
A suggestion – the Toastmaster should tell the group what each person’s speech is working towards or if there is a personal objective.

Andrew’s girlfriend has joined our club. We now have enough points for President’s Distinguished 7 years in a row.

Happy Solstice.

Next meeting: July 5, 2016


Respectfully submitted by
Danielle Payne, Secretary