Cromwell Community Toastmasters Meeting Minutes - May 21, 2013

Cromwell Community Toastmasters

Club 5908 ~ District 53

May 21, 2013

 

Attendees: Sixteen members attended: Tom Alvord, Bo Bogart, Linda Campbell, Rob Dalo, Asha Gangina, Charlie Hubert, Elizabeth Landeen, Cheryl Mason, Phil Mason, Donald Ostertag, Hollie Rose, Rammanohar Rudravajhala, Crystal Storo, William Sullivan, Brian Terry, Heather Turner,

Guests: Rachel Mele (Area Governor), Lucia, Liz, Sarah, and Eve

 

Business Meeting:

The meeting to order at 5:35 by Charlie Hubert. Rob Dalo who introduced our Area Governor, Rachel Mele and the guests. He presented awards to Hollie Rose, Heather Turner ( Advanced Communicator Silver Award), and Crystal Storo (competing her CC). Rob congratulated Tom Alvord on his speech in the District 53 Table Topics Competition and also presented him with our Happy Birthday wishes. Tom discussed the benefits of serving as an officer in Toastmasters. Nominations for the new officer positions were submitted and each nominee gave a short campaign speech addressing why he/she should hold that office. By unanimous vote, the incoming officers are:

 

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

 

Meeting Roles:

 

Toastmaster: Rob Dalo

 

Invocation: Bo Bogart - Mission Statement

 

Word Master: Donald Ostertag

Word - of - the - Day: Orchestrate - verb - meaning: to compose or arrange music for an orchestra; to arrange, bring about, manipulate

 

Table Topics Master: Tom Alvord ACB, ALB

Theme: Elections

1. Brian Terry: If you were running for President of the US, why should we elect you? Brian offered many excellent qualifications such as his intelligence, ability to listen, being part of a team, reaching a consensus with others and due to early retirement he has plenty of time.

 

2. Mano Rudravajhala CC: If you were running for Dog Catcher why should we vote for you? Mano told us he was the wrong person as he was afraid of dogs, but went on to say that so many dogs are not given enough love and affection and he would make sure the dogs would go to proper homes.

 

3. Liz (guest): Why would you like to be president/CEO of NE Homecare? Liz gave us some wonderful reasons and also said he would expand services for and hire more Spanish speaking people.

 

4. Lucia (guest): What do you like most about working at NE Homecare? Lucia said her position is aligned with her moral standards and beliefs.

 

5.Sarah (guest): What do you like most about working with Crystal? Sarah explained that Crystal was fair, honest, gets right to the point, is a team player, and "she knows what to do and she does it".

 

 

Prepared Speeches:

 

Speaker # 1: Hollie Rose

Manual/Project: Competent Communicator/Project 4 How to Say It

Title: Things Learned in the University of Life

 

Speaker # 2: Elizabeth Landeen

Manual/Project: Competent Communicator/Project 6 Vocal Variety

Title: Girls Rock!

 

Speaker # 3: Crystal Storo, CC, CL

Manual/Project: Competent Communicator/Project 10 Inspire Your Audience

Title: Self Love

 

Speaker # 4: Rachel Mele (Area Governor)

Manual/Project: How to Accept an Award

 

General Evaluator: Heather Turner

Heather thanked Charlie and Tom for setting up the room for tonight's meeting. Heather congratulated Bo for saying she wanted to be more involved and further mentioned it was a clever idea to have each officer nominee give a brief campaign speech. Heather commented that there were four great inspirational and enthusiastic speeches tonight. She complimented the evaluators for addressing the aims and goals and not just reading from the manuals.

 

Evaluator # 1: William Sullivan, ACB, ALB

 

Evaluator # 2: Cheryl Mason, DTM

 

Evaluator # 3: Rob Dalo

 

Evaluator # 4: Phil Mason, CC

 

Functionary Reports:

 

Ah Counter: Charlie Hubert

 

Grammarian: Linda Campbell

 

Timer: Asha Gangina

 

At the close of the meeting Rob asked the guests for their thoughts. Comments from Lucia, Liz, Sarah, Eve, and Rachele were: "Inspiring", "Well thought out.", "Absolutely love it." "I liked it." "I like the instant feedback.", "Welcoming atmosphere" and " So impressed.".

Rob announced that the next meeting will be held on June 4th and said that "meetings are more fun when you participate."

 

Next meeting: June 4th

 

Respectfully submitted by

Linda Campbell, Secretary

Another Great Meeting

Last night we had a great meeting.   Charlie had everything set up and we began right on time.  Phil served as toastmaster and moved the meeting right along.  Carolyn started us with the word of the day.  Stentorian: saying it loud.  Asha gave our invocation.  She spoke about working hard…but making  sure you have fun at it.  Hollie led table topics.  She brought a bag of items and asked each participant to answer a question. 

Sheetal spoke about being on a deserted island with canned air.

Heather measured the space-time continuum with her tape measure.

Jerry complained the glue stick could not hold his sons class presentation together.

New member Brian paid $50.00 for matches to keep warm.

Rama sold us a “Calcu-Rama” calculator.

Carolyn talked about her grandfathers “go to” glue.

We then heard Crystal’s ninth speech.  She entertained with stories and slides about her crazy cats.

We had guest speaker Rama practice his “magic mantra” for the upcoming speech competition.

We had another guest speaker Jerry who practiced “sublime”, his entry into the competition.

We then closed with Charlie gave a moving tribute about his father.

 

The general evaluator was Elizabeth who called up our evaluators: Hollie (first ever evaluation), Sheetal, Tom, and Cheryl.  Don and Bo served as technicians.

It was a fantastic meeting. 

Two more great things coming up in May:

The toastmaster convention is on Saturday May 18th.

Also our next meeting will be May 21^st.  We will be having some VIP’s visiting so it will be exciting!

See you soon 

Submitted on behalf of Rob Dalo, President

Meeting Minutes - April 16, 2013

Cromwell Community Toastmasters

Club 5908 ~ District 53

April 16, 2013

 

Attendees: Thirteen members and one guest ( now a member) attended: Linda Campbell, Rob Dalo, Asha Gangina, Charlie Hubert, Elizabeth Landeen, Cheryl Mason, Phil Mason, Donald Ostertag, Hollie Rose, Sharon Roth, Crystal Storo, Heather Turner, Carolyn Warner

Guest: Brian Terry ( who became a member at the close of the meeting!!!)

 

Business Meeting:

The meeting was called to order at 5:35 by Charlie Hubert, Sergeant at Arms. Rob made us all feel very springy ( even summery!) with his colorful shirt. He announced that Tom Alvord won and now will compete in the Division C Contest held on April 25th at the Colchester Senior Center beginning at 6:30. Rob encouraged us to show up and support Tom. Rob also mentioned that Bo did an unbelievable job in Table Topics at the contest. Rob explained that the new term for officers will begin in July and nominations will be offered at the May 7th meeting, with elections held on May 21st. Each officer gave a brief description of what his or her officer position entailed and Crystal said she would email complete descriptions to members tomorrow and volunteered to organize our Toastmaster materials. Thanks Crystal! Rob suggested members email Tom Alvord, Chairman of the Election process, if interested in nomination or for more information. Present officers can also be contacted for more information.

 

Meeting Roles:

 

Toastmaster: Elizabeth Landeen

Mission Statement read by Brian Terry

 

Invocation: Donald Ostertag gave us an excellent motivational invocation: "If you can somehow think or dream of success in small steps, every time you take a step or accomplish a small goal it gives us confidence to go on from there.".

 

Word Master: Asha Gangina

Word - of - the - Day: Ruminate-verb- meaning to contemplate carefully/deeply about something for a long time; to chew cud like a cow. "Never ruminate too much or you won't make a good decision!"

 

Table Topics Master: Sharon Roth, ACS ALB

Theme: Individually tailored to each participant by Sharon Roth

 

1. Asha Gangina: The question related to the Boston Marathon tragedy and helping those hurt.As you saw the news about the Boston Marathon tragedy what came to your mind about what you would be thankful for? Asha related that the same thing happened, only worse, in her country and said thanks to the Lord that not so many people were hurt or killed during the Boston Marathon bombing.

 

2. Carolyn Warner: Were you ever in a competition at school/camp? How did you make out and how did it help mould your character? Carolyn discussed the swim team at school and said she is still a competitive person.

 

3. Linda Campbell: As a third grade teacher ready to give a writing assignment, what would you do if a student suddenly said, "Did something happen in Boston yesterday?" Linda commented that a similar incident had happened to her at her first grade class Morning Meeting.

 

4. Donald Ostertag: What are you feelings when you see a soldier? Donald related how much he appreciates people saying " Thank you for your service" and that he always thanks other servicemen and women he meets for their service.

 

5. Brian Terry: Have you ever been on the receiving end of a stranger reaching out his hand to help? Brian related how while running a past Boston Marathon he was helped by people during a race when he developed a cramp and how they became friends.

 

6. Charlie Hubert: Given the scenario of having sold a painting for a million dollars, Charlie was asked where he would go and what he would paint for his next adventure. Charlie commented that he loves to paint nature scenes, but in this instance, would copy them from the Internet and not go anywhere. He offered several interesting thoughts on money saying, "It amplifies your values.... It does not buy happiness.".

 

7. Rob Dalo: If offered one million dollars, where will you go to work in a foreign country to help people who really need your help. Where will you go and what will you do? Rob said he would go to Panama, the last country he visited, and start a school for disadvantaged children and consult Sharon for advice.

 

Prepared Speeches:

 

Speaker # 1: Phil Mason, CC

Manual/Project: Storytelling Advanced Communications/The Touching Story, #4 (6-8 min.)

Title: Mr. Meister

 

Speaker # 2: Heather Turner, ACB

Manual/Project: Advanced Manual/Entertaining Speaker, Resources for Entertainment, #2

(5-7 min.)

Title: All Women Can Do Wonders if They are Put to the Test

 

Speaker # 3: Donald Ostertag

Manual/Project: Reading in front of a group

Title: Toastmaster Magazine 'Connecting with People'

 

Speaker # 4: Carolyn Warner

Manual/Project: Reading 'Student-of-the-Month' speech to be given in school

 

General Evaluator: Holllie Rose

Hollie remarked that Sharon's personalized Table Topics were a good idea, thanked the officers for the descriptions of their roles, complimented Elizabeth on her great job as Toastmaster, thanked Brian for reading the Toastmasters International Mission Statement and Don for his motivational invocation. She suggested we make an effort to begin meetings on time and further mentioned the basement dining room's sound was hard on the ears. At the close of the meeting, Hollie thanked the members for their functionary reports and remarked that each said he/she would report at the end of the meeting, without Tom's reminding.

 

Evaluator # 1: Rob Dalo ( Phil Mason, CC)

 

Evaluator # 2: Cheryl Mason, DTM, (Heather Turner, ACB)

 

Evaluator # 3: Sharon Roth, ACS, ALB(Don Ostertag)

 

Evaluator # 4: Round Robin evaluation/each attendee participated (Carolyn Warner)

 

Functionary Reports:

 

Grammarian: Linda Campbell

 

Ah Counter: Crystal Storo, CL

 

Timer: Carolyn Warner

 

At the close of the meeting Rob announced that emails will be sent on upcoming conferences and the officer nomination process. He discussed the office of Treasurer, Brian's service for many years and mentioned that the position will be open. In Mano's absence, Crystal gave a description of his role of VP for Membership and mentioned that much of it has been behind the scenes ( for ex: guest packets and new membership packets). Cheryl inquired about the benefits of each office and the officers put forward details about how the particular office held benefited them personally. Rob started us off discussing the challenges and benefits of being president of our club. He advised us that it is so much more fun when we participate on the court rather than stay in the stands with the words, "Play at every meeting like you did tonight!".

 

REMINDERS:

 

Division C Contest: April 25th Place: Colchester Senior Center, 95 Norwich Ave., Time: 6:30 (Note: food will be available.)

 

The next meeting: May 7th ( nominations for officers)

 

Election of Officers: May 1st (new term begins in July)

 

Respectfully submitted by

Linda Campbell, Co-secretary

Spring Speech Contest

Hello Fellow Toastmasters!

What an evening we had last night.  It was our Spring Contest meeting and it was spectacular.  Charlie served as sergeant at arms and had the whole room ready for us.  Sheetal was our Contest Master.  She was a natural and kept the meeting running smoothly.  Bill Sullivan was our Chief Judge and was all business. 

We started with the International Contest.  Amy spoke of a ship of dreams.  Sharon spoke about Rosa Parks.  Heather beseeched us with the problems of cell phones.   

 It was then on to the Tabletopics Contest.  The question involved finding a multi colored rock that crashes to earth and bestows special powers on the person holding it.   The SIX contestants all had a go at it:  Tom, Rob, Phil, Donald, Bo and Hollie.  It was a challenge.

The judges tallied up the results and we had a drum roll!

Sharon took first place in the International Contest.

Tom took first place in the Table Topics.  Bo came in second place. 

A VERY SPECIAL THANKS has to go out to Crystal for all the behind the scene organization she did.  Her dedication to this club shows through with all the hard work and effort she puts in.

It was a great evening!

Now three announcements:

1.     Next meeting April 2^nd.

2.     Dues are Due!  Bring your checkbook to the meeting if you did not pay yet.

3.     Area 34 contest right here in Cromwell- Covenant Village-April 10th.  Cheer you champions on!

-Rob, current President

Meeting Minutes for March 3, 2012

What an excellent meeting led by our Toastmaster Sharon tonight! 

We started off with our word of the day…Galvanized.  Quite a few members used it.

Don gave a great invocation “never regret a day of your life…”

Bo led the Table Topics with the “three wishes” theme.  She had three out of four visitors participate…way to go BO!

Evan…3 activities he would do

Brian…Ideal job…furniture maker

Charlie…going to Hawaii with all of us

Cheryl…Going to the movies

Crystal …role model

Carolyn…. What to do with a bad day

We had four strong speakers.

Crystal…What makes me a leader!

Bill…Talked about his brother.

Heather…presentation about conflict resolution.

Hollie…speech about hemp.

Heather served as General Evaluator.

Charlie, Tom, Rob and Crystal gave feedback to the speakers.

Asha (yea!) served as AH counter…I won once again with 15!!!!

Carolyn served as grammarian and had something encouraging to say about everyone who spoke.

Don once again served as timer and gave a perfect report.

Heather spoke on behave of the club in giving Charlie thanks for all he does as Sergeant at Arms.  He was especially helpful, along with Tom, at setting up for Mondays joint meeting with Glastonbury.

Next meeting…March 19^th.  CONTEST!!!  Please reach out to Crystal and get involved.  This is a total club effort.

Thanks to all for a Fantastic Club.

Rob (CCT President)

Cromwell Community Toastmasters - Meeting Minutes - February 19, 2013

Cromwell Community Toastmasters

Club 5908 ~ District 53

February 19, 2013

 

Attendees: Sixteen members attended: Tom Alvord, Bo Bogart Karen Breton,Linda Campbell, Chu-Chiang, Rob Dalo, Charlie Hubert, Elizabeth Landeen, Phil Mason, Donald Ostertag, Hollie Rose, Sharon Roth, Rammanohar Rudravajhala, Crystal Storo, Heather Turner, Asha

Guests: Anthony, Bobbi and Evan Glenn

 

Business Meeting:

 

• The meeting was called to order at 5:35 by Tom Alvord (acting Sergeant at Arms). 
• Rob reminded us of the area training meeting at Northeast Utilities, Berlin Turnpike, from 6:30-9:00 on February 20th. 
• Heather encouraged us to attend the joint Glastonbury/Cromwell Toastmaster clubs meeting on Monday, March 4th at 6:30-8:30. Directions to the meeting are on our website. Several roles are still available. 
• Our regular meeting will be held on March 5th. 
• Crystal mentioned the upcoming International Table Topics and Speech Contest which will be held on March 19th with a briefing session (5:30-6:00) to precede the regular meeting. She indicated that we need people to sign up for several roles: contest master, judges, and ballot counters. Hollie volunteered as chairperson. 
• There was a discussion and vote taken regarding the inclusion of Happy Hour after the meeting or on another day. 
• Guests Anthony, Bobbi and Evan were welcomed by Rob. 
• Asha was inducted as a new member to Cromwell Community Toastmasters and Sharon Roth was awarded her Advanced Communicator Gold Award. Rob related the story of how he heard Sharon on the Faith Middleton call-in show, 'Celebrating the Richness of Life' and how great it was that she mentioned Toastmasters in the discussion. 
• Crystal completed the District Club Program Goals chart and announced that we are now a President's Distinguished Club. Of the 152 clubs in our district we are the ONLY one to achieve this distinction. 
• Rob and the officers proposed a toast to our club members and club's success with refreshments and cupcakes! We sang Happy Birthday to two of our members celebrating birthdays today:  Chu-Chiang and Heather.

 

Meeting Roles:

 

Toastmaster: Tom Alvord ACB, ALB

 

Invocation: Elizabeth Landeen gave us four excellent, thought-provoking quotes:

 

"Excuses are nails that build houses of failure."

 

"Victory does not teach the way that failure does."

 

"We all have to fight against our fears . Everyone has limits...not everyone has to accept them."

 

"Goals are your dreams with work boots on."

 

Word Master: Karen Breton

 

Word - of - the - Day: Articulate- adjective/verb- meaning to pronounce distinctly-" I couldn't articulate my fears."

 

Table Topics Master: Rammanohar Rudravajhala

 

Theme: Valentine's Day

 

Elizabeth Landeen - Why do we celebrate Valentine's Day...come up with new/fun reasons. Elizabeth related the meaning of Valentines day to her.

 

Charlie Hubert - You gave a special person in your life the same card last year. Charlie related how he gives the same card each year using coupons for household chores.

 

Asha - If your significant other's allergic to chocolate/flowers, what would you give him/her?  Asha discussed giving a Valentine's Day card.

 

Chu-Chiang - What would be your perfect Valentine's Day present to receive? Chu-Chaing discussed giving watermelon ( colors have special meanings of friendship), apple ( small, not very expensive), and hot drinks ( in winter) and milk ( in summer).

 

Evan - Respond to Ann Lander's quote, " If you have love in your life, it can make up for what you lack; if you don't have it no matter what else you have, it is never enough." Do you agree? Evan agreed that the people you love in your life are more important than material things and help you get through hard times. Without that you are always looking to fill that void in your life.

 

Prepared Speeches:

 

Speaker # 1: Crystal Storo CL

Manual/Project: Competent Communication #6 Vocal Variety

Title: How My Nightmare Made a Difference

 

Speaker # 2: Amy Ansah CC

Manual/Project: Advanced Manual/To Inform

Title: Think

 

Speaker # 3: Donald Ostertag

Manual/Project: Custom Speech/No manual/ Reading

Title: Toastmasters Builds Confidence article by John Lau, Dec. 2012

 

Speaker # 4: Sharon Roth ACS, ALB

Manual/Project: ( 5th) Competent Communication/ #8 Getting Comfortable with Visual Aids

Title: Seneca Falls, Selma, and Stonewall

 

Speaker # 5: Heather Turner ACB CL

Manual/Project: Custom Speech/No Manual

Title: Giving Effective Feedback

 

General Evaluator: Holllie Rose

Hollie congratulated Sharon on attaining her Advanced Communicator Gold Award, thanked the guests for attending tonight's meeting, further thanked Rob for recognizing both past and present officers for their service as well as Mano for including guests in Table Topics. She suggested we make provisions for having the Toastmaster direction signs placed when Charlie is not in attendance and reminded us to leave three vacant seats near the door for guests.

 

Evaluator # 1: Tom Alvord (Crystal Storo) ACB,ALB

 

Evaluator # 2: Heather Turner (Amy Ansah) ACB

 

Evaluator # 3: No evaluation (Don Ostertag)

 

Evaluator # 4: Rob Dalo (Sharon Roth)

 

Evaluator # 5: Elizabeth Landeen (Heather Turner)

 

Functionary Reports:

 

Grammarian: Bo Bogart

 

Ah Counter: Don Ostertag

 

Timer: Phil Mason CC

 

At the close of the meeting Rob reminded us that we are a dynamic President's Distinguished Club. He encouraged the guests to offer their thoughts on tonight's meeting. Evan said he enjoyed standing up and speaking...got a rush...everyone did a great job...and the cupcakes were nice." Bobbi commented that it was "very good, friendly and fun". Anthony said he brought his wife and son this time "got a lot out of it" and saw "tremendous potential". Rob thanked us all for coming to the meeting. Heather added that we have achieved PRESIDENT'S DISTINGUISHED CLUB THREE YEARS IN A ROW!

 

REMINDERS:

 

Area Training Seminar: February 20th 6:30-9:00 at Northeast Utilities, Berlin Tpk, Berlin

 

Glastonbury/Cromwell joint Toastmasters meeting: March 4th. Directions on our website.

 

International Table Topics and Speech Contest: March 19th at Cromwell Townhall

 

The next (regular) meeting: March 5th

 

Respectfully submitted by

Linda Campbell, Co-secretary