Tom Alvord Places First in the Division C Tall Tales Contest!

Tom Alvord competed in the Division C Tall Tales Speech Contest on April 26 in Marlborough, CT, representing Club 5908 Cromwell Community Toastmasters, .

Tom placed FIRST out of the five contestants who had previously won their club and area contests in order to earn their spots in the division contest.  The competitors at the division contest represented the best speakers across 24 clubs and 6 areas, all of which make up Division C. 

Also attending from Cromwell:  Louis Nizet, Club President, Cheryl Mason, VPPR, Charlie Hubert, and Phil Mason. 

Tom's Tale, "Swanee River" earned him 1st Place in the Division Contest.  Tom will go on to compete in the District 53 Speech Contests on May 21 in East Windsor, CT.  We wish Tom much success and hope to see many of our fellow club members at the District Conference to support him! 

Read more here: 

Contest Results, April 26, 2011 Division C

District Spring 2011 Conference Info

Pictured l-to-r:  Dave Wheeler, DTM, District Governor, Tom Alvord, 1st Place Tall Tales Winner,
Cheryl Mason, DTM, Division C Governor, Leslie Hammond, CC, Area C6 Governor & Contest Master

Pictured l-to-r:  Leslie Hammond, CC, Area C6 Governor & Contest Master, Tom Alvord, 1st Place Tall Tales Winner, Liz Trendowski, ACS, CL, Contest Chief Judge

January 20, 2011 Meeting Minutes

Middlesex & Cromwell Speech-a-Thon

See many great pictures from this event here:    Speech-a-Thon Pictures

The 2^nd annual Joint Speech-a-Thon with Middlesex County Toastmasters & Cromwell Community Toastmasters was held on Thursday, January 20, 2011, at the Cromwell Public Library, in the Arch Room.  The event was well attended with members from both clubs joining in the fun as well as a number of guests.  Refreshments were provided for everyone to enjoy. 

The meeting featured seven great speeches, including a “secret” speaker not known until that evening!  Ute Brinkmann from Eagle Club in Wallingford was a guest speaker.  Thorough, constructive speech evaluations were given to all the speakers, and one evaluation consisted of “round robin” comments from everyone in the audience, including guests!

Opening

Louis Nizet, Cromwell Club President, opened the meeting and welcomed all!  Guests were introduced individually and welcomed. 

Meeting Roles

Toastmaster:                Bill Sullivan, Cromwell

Timer:                          Brian Conte, Cromwell

Ah Counter:                  Phil Mason, Cromwell

Speaker 1:                    Jackie Kirwan, Middlesex

Speaker 2:                    Murugan Pachaiyappan, Cromwell & Middlesex

Speaker 3:                    Charlie Hubert, Cromwell

Speaker 4:                    Charnaie Gordon, Middlesex & Cromwell

Speaker 5:                    Ute Brinkmann, Eagle

Speaker 6:                    Jay Broderick, Middlesex

Speaker 7:                    Tom Alvord, Cromwell & Middlesex

General Evaluator:       Kay Jeyapalan, Middlesex

Evaluator 1:                  Bill Sullivan, Cromwell

Evaluator 2:                  Rob Schaff, Middlesex

Evaluator 3:                  Cheryl Mason, Cromwell & Middlesex

Evaluator 4:                  Michael O’Brien, Middlesex

Evaluator 5:                  Louis Nizet, Cromwell

Evaluator 6:                  Kay Jeyapalan, Middlesex

Evaluator 7:                  All, Round Robin Feedback

Closing

Charnaie Gordon, Middlesex Club President asked each of the guests for feedback and comments regarding the meeting.  The feedback from guests was very positive and comments such as “stimulating,” “fun,” and “I’ll be back” were heard.  Charnaie then closed the meeting.  Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. sharp! 

January 4, 2011 Meeting Minutes

The first meeting of the year was well attended and very educational!  The meeting featured three great speeches,  table topics that were loads of fun and included surprise props, and thorough, constructive speech evaluations!

Members Present:  Tom Alvord. Phil Mason, Cheryl Mason, William Sullivan, Charlie Hubert, Heather Turner, Ethel Peltz, Joe Lenart, John Lecornec, Akshay Dhote, Udaya Neelam

Guests Present:  Charnaie Gordon

Charnaie completed the application process and became our newest member tonight!  Welcome! 

Udaya Neelam, Area C5 Governor, conducted an official club visit. 

Meeting Roles

Toastmaster:                Cheryl Mason

Invocation:                   Charnaie Gordon

Word Master:                Ethel Peltz

Timer:                          Charlie Hubert

Grammarian:                Charnaie Gordon

Ah Counter:                  Akshay Dhote

Table Topics Master:    Heather Turner

Speaker 1:                    Phil Mason

Speaker 2:                    Tom Alvord

Speaker 3:                    Bill Sullivan

General Evaluator:       Joe Lenart

Evaluator 1:                  Heather Turner

Evaluator 2:                  Charnaie Gordon

Evaluator 3:                  Udaya Neelam

Business Portion

Vice President of Membership (VPM) Bill Sullivan welcomed all and kicked off the meeting.
Upcoming events: 

Thu 1/20/2011 7-9:00 p.m. Speech-a-Thon with Cromwell & Middlesex Clubs, Cromwell Town Hall

Mon 1/24/2011 7-9:00 p.m. Division C TLE Mid-Year Officers Training, All Welcome, Cromwell Town Hall

Sat 1/29/2011 12 noon – 6 p.m. District 53 Jan Jam 2011 – This is a free event open to all! 

The Hartford, Tower 22^nd floor, 690 Asylum Ave., Hartford, CT  06105

Must pre-register, RSVP to:   janjam@district53toastmasters.org

***************

Ethel presented the Word of the Day, “compensate”

Table Topics

Table Topics was led by Heather Turner.  Participants:  Tom, Ethel, Akshay, John, Joe, Udaya

Props were provided for some to use in their speeches, while others responded to “what-if” scenarios such as inheriting a large sum of money, and explaining driving infractions! 

Education Portion

Speaker #1                   Phil Mason

Speech Number:           2

Speech Length:             5 – 7 minutes

Manual:                         Competent Communicator

Objective:                     Organize Your Speech

Title:                             My Passion – Or Is It An Obsession? 

Phil described his love for motor sports and racing, which started early in his childhood. 

Speaker #2                   Tom Alvord

Speech Length:             10-15 Minutes

Objective:                     Successful Club Series

Title:                             Going Beyond Our Club

Modules in the Successful Club Series are Toastmasters International provided materials that address the quality of club meetings and offer tips on attracting and maintaining members.  Fulfills ACS & ALB requirement.

Tom described the many ways for personal enrichment and growth by attending events and participating in activities outside the club environment.  The opportunity is to get to know and interact with a broad variety of people while practicing communication and leadership in these other environments. 

Easy opportunities:  visit another club, participate in an area contest, attend the upcoming Jan Jam, join a Toastmasters hike.       

Speaker #3                   Bill Sullivan

Speech Length:             10-15 minutes

Objective:                     Successful Club Series

Title:                             Setting the Stage for Success:  Meeting Roles & Responsibilities

Modules in the Successful Club Series are Toastmasters International provided materials that address the quality of club meetings and offer tips on attracting and maintaining members.  Fulfills ACS & ALB requirement.

Bill described the various meeting roles and how important they are to successful meetings.  He also described additional meeting roles (e.g. Humorist) which we may want to consider adding to our structure.  He included descriptions of the club officer duties as well and how their contributions help to strengthen the club. 

Evaluation Portion

Joe led the Evaluation portion of the meeting as General Evaluator. 

Speech Evaluators provided feedback to each of the speakers: 

Evaluator 1:                  Heather Turner

Evaluator 2:                  Charnaie Gordon

Evaluator 3:                  Udaya Neelam

Each of the technicians provided their reports: 

Word Master:                Ethel Peltz

Timer:                          Charlie Hubert

Grammarian:                Charnaie Gordon

Ah Counter:                  Akshay Dhote

Closing

Toastmaster Cheryl closed the meeting.  Meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.

December 21, 2010 Meeting Minutes

The last meeting of the calendar year was well attended and lots of fun with a variety of speeches, table topics, and evaluation reports!    Our Toastmaster, Bill, kept the meeting moving and on track while bringing lots of energy and enthusiasm to the meeting. 

Members Present:  Tom Alvord. Phil Mason, Cheryl Mason, William Sullivan, Charlie Hubert, Heather Turner, Brian Conte, Murugan Pachaiyappan, Ethel Peltz, Joe Lenart

Guests Present:  Joe, John Lecornec, Akshay Dhote

John & Akshay completed membership applications and joined as new members!  Welcome! 

Meeting Roles

Toastmaster:                Bill Sullivan

Invocation:                   Heather Turner

Word Master:                Murugan Pachaiyappan

Timer:                          Phillip Mason

Grammarian:                Brian Conte

Ah Counter:                  Brian Conte

Table Topics Master:    Heather Turner

Speaker 1:                    Heather Turner

Speaker 2:                    Ethel Peltz

Speaker 3:                    Tom Alvord

General Evaluator:       Cheryl Mason

Evaluator 1:                  Charlie Hubert

Evaluator 2:                  Cheryl Mason

Evaluator 3:                  Round Robin led by Bill Sullivan

Business Portion

Our VPM Bill Sullivan welcomed club members and guests. Upcoming events: 

Ø  January 20^th, 2011 Cromwell Community Toastmasters & Middlesex Toastmasters are joining together for a Speech-a-thon at the Cromwell Town Hall (7pm to 9pm). All members are encouraged to sign up for available roles and make use of this opportunity to get closer to completing their TM goals.  Bill will be the Toastmaster and is helping to organize the agenda. 

Table Topics

We had a unique table topics session which was guided Heather Turner.  She enthusiastically volunteered to fill in when help was needed!  Topics included clever play-by-play narration of baseball game highlights with role-play by Bill & Phil, and other topics which included our guests as willing participants! 

Education Portion

Speaker #1                  Heather Turner

Speech Number:           2

Speech Length:             5 – 7 minutes

Manual:                         Competent Communicator

Objective:                     Organize Your Speech

Title:                             The Elephant in the closet, or dyslexia and should one wear a big red D?           

Heather shared stories and experiences about dealing with dyslexia, and inspired the audience with this speech! 

Speaker #2                  Ethel Peltz

Speech Number:           4

Speech Length:             5 – 7 minutes

Manual:                         Competent Communicator

Objective:                     Get to The Point

Title:                             Trip to Stowe, VT

Ethel shared many interesting facts about the early endeavors of Ben & Jerry, the founders of the famous ice cream company, She left everyone wanting to hear more!   

Speaker #3                  Tom Alvord

Speech Number:           1

Speech Length:             4 – 6 minutes

Manual:                         Competent Communicator

Objective:                     The Ice Breaker

Title:                             Paint

Tom shared a story from his childhood about painting, and left us with a very inspirational message about exploring our potential talents and not giving up!   

Evaluation Portion

Cheryl led the Evaluation portion of the meeting as General Evaluator. 

Speech Evaluators provided feedback to each of the speakers: 

Evaluator 1:                  Charlie Hubert

Evaluator 2:                  Cheryl Mason

Evaluator 3:                  Bill Sullivan led a timed round-robin evaluation segment for Tom, where each member of the audience provided feedback about Tom’s speech.  Members and guests all participated! 

Each of the technicians provided their reports: 

Word Master:                Murugan Pachaiyappan

Timer:                          Phillip Mason

Grammarian:                Brian Conte

Ah Counter:                  Brian Conte

Closing

Bill asked each of the guests for their feedback of the meeting.  Feedback was very positive feedback; John Lecornec and Akshay Dhote completed membership applications and joined as a new members!    

Meeting was adjourned approximately 6:40 p.m.

December 7, 2010 Meeting Minutes

Participants                    :      Louis Nizet, Tom Alvord. Phil Mason, Cheryl Mason, Praveen Nair, William Sullivan, Charles Hubert, Phillip Mason, Heather Turner, Brian Conte,

                                            

Guests                             :    John

Meeting Roles

Toastmaster                 :           Heather Turner

Invocation                    :           Heather Turner

Word Master                 :           Phillip Mason

Timer                           :           Praveen Nair

Grammarian                 :           Cheryl Mason

Ah Counter                   :           Charles Hubert

Table Topics Master     :           Tom Alvord

Speaker 1                     :           Brian Conte

Speaker 2                     :           Murugan Pachaiyappan

Speaker 3                     :           Tom Alvord

General Evaluator        :           Cheryl Mason

Evaluator 1                   :           William Sullivan

Evaluator 2                   :           Louis Nizet

Evaluator 3                   :           Charles Hubert

Business Portion

Our club President Louis Nizet started off the meeting by welcoming the club members and guests. Below are the highlights of the business portion of the meeting:

Ø  Welcome certificates awarded to our newest members : Brian Conte and Charles Hubert

Ø  Our VP for Education Joe Lenart has reached out to all members to provide him a list of all completed speeches for his records. All members are requested to respond to Joe Lenart’s email.

Ø  The Cromwell Community Toastmasters club and Middlesex Toastmasters club are having a Speech-a-thon on January 20^th, 2011 at Cromwell town hall (7pm to 9pm). All members are encouraged to sign up for all the available roles and make use of this opportunity to get closer to completing their TM goals.

Ø  Our club is planning an “Open House” in February 2011. More details will be available soon. Heather Turner has agreed to take a lead in organizing this event.

Ø  Tom Alvord provided some details around the Mentoring program. Members are encouraged to reach out to Joe Lenart or Tom Alvord with regards to any mentoring requests / questions.

Education Portion

Word of the Day      :           Stalwart

                                     

Table Topics           :

We had a unique table topics session which was guided by one of our Stalwart member and Table topics master Tom Alvord. The goal for every member was to carry forward a conversation based on the last sentence spoken by a different member. The key part of the exercise was to have the ability to continue a conversation without asking a question. All the members thoroughly enjoyed this unique exercise.

Prepared Speeches & Evaluations

Speaker #1                   :           Brian Conte

This was an Ice Breaker speech and Brian provided us a fascinating introduction to his life and his interests.

Speech Number            :           1

Speech Length              :           4 – 6 minutes

Manual                          :           Competent Communicator

Objective                        :         To get comfortable in front of an audience for first speech

Title                                :         My Beach

Speaker #2                   :           Murugan Pachaiyappan

Murugan provided some unique insights into the difference between a Leader and a Manager

Speech Number            :           9

Speech Length              :           5 – 7 minutes

Manual                          :           Competent Communicator

Objective                        :         Persuade listeners to adopt your viewpoint or ideas or to take some action

Title                                :         Leadership style

 

Speaker #3                   :           Tom Alvord

Couple of weeks ago Tom attended the TM conference and had the opportunity to listen to an accomplished and inspirations speaker Dana Lamon. Tom gave an inspirational speech based on Dan Lamon’s life.

Title                                :         Dana LaMon, My New Hero

Evaluations                  :          

Ø  The General evaluator for the evening Cheryl Mason guided us through the evaluation portion of the meeting

Ø  William Sullivan, Louis Nizet and Charles Hubert provided a very detailed and effective evaluation for the speeches

Ø  The Timekeeper (Praveen Nair), Word Master (Phillip Mason). Ah – Counter (Charles Hubert) and Grammarian (Cheryl Mason) also reviewed their reports for the meeting.

Conclusion                  :

The Toastmaster for the evening Heather Turner and club ex- President William Sullivan thanked all the members and guests for their participation. Our next meeting is scheduled on 12/21 at 5:15pm.