Meeting Minutes 5-3-16

Cromwell Community Toastmasters

Club 5908 ~ District 53

Tues May 3, 2016

Attendees:    Rob Dalo, Bill Sullivan, Danielle Payne, Winston Phillip, Andrew Watt, Phil Mason

Guests: none

Business Meeting

Two members we tapped for possible executive positions for the upcoming year.

Nominations will be talked about next meeting.

Toastmasters District 53 Spring 2016 Conference 

Friday May 21, 2016 Social and Networking
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Conference

Sheraton Hartford Hotel @ Bradley Airport

Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, CT 06096
You can register through the District 53 website

Toastmaster Andrew Watt

Invocation Danielle Payne

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch

Table Topics Andrew Watt

Everyone read an excerpt from one of Shakespeare’s plays and then discussed Shakespeare.

Bill Sullivan – A moment of honesty, I  never read Shakespeare. I don’t understand him and my mind drifts.

Winston Phillip – I never paid attention to him. I don’t understand it.

Phil Mason – I am with Bill. I don’t understand it. I find that I need to understand the language he used.

Danielle Payne – I was dreading having to read Shakespeare in AP English Lit class but luckily it didn’t fit into my schedule. I was so relieved.

Rob Dalo – My daughter is in the arts and she got me to experience theater and opera. Broadway is like nothing else. I went to see Romeo and Juliet. We ended up getting good seats but I fell asleep.

Andrew Watt – Sonnet 65 is my girlfriend’s favorite part. In ninth grade I was in the play Hamlet. That was the first time Shakespeare meant anything to me. It actually made sense because it lived through the great teacher that I had.

Speaker # 1:  Andrew Watt
Manual/Project: Competent Communicator, Project 6

Title: Becoming a Poet

Because of the small group size Andrew shared a sonnet of his and taught everyone how to write one. In about 15 minutes everyone had created their own sonnet. Each line has to have ten syllables and there is a pattern to the way the words rhyme. For a beginner, start with the rhyming end words and then go back and fill the rest in. Its ok if it doesn’t make sense. After about six to ten time of doing this you will train you brain and be able to write a sonnet from start to finish the regular way.


Speaker # 2:  Rob Dalo : 8:15

Manual/Project: Competent Communicator: Research Your Topic   
Title: The Four Questions

At Subway there is a specific way we go about interviewing employees. First we look over the application. The person is usually 16 years old, dropped off by their parent and very nervous. We look for them to be clean and well dressed. We only ask four questions. First, tell me about your family. Do they have anything positive to say? Second, what will (reference) say when I call him or her? Are they positive? Third, if I hire you and give you the day off, what will you do? Do they have an action plan or are they indecisive? Finally, tell me the story about the three little pigs. Are they excited and expressive or dull and boring? If they have a positive outlook we can train them.

Evaluator # 1: Phil Mason

We could not have done the activity with a larger group. You showed true TM skills by shooting it off he hip and improvising. I enjoyed it. Thank you.

Evaluator # 2:  Danielle Payne

You did a great job of speaking without the chance to prepare. Your speech was very well organized with the four questions. It was also very interesting. To improve you could have established your authority on the topic. Talk about how long you have been working at Subway.

Officials’ Reports:

WordMaster: Rob Dalo

Invincible – adj. incapable of being conquered, defeated, or subdued 

Everyone used it. Great job.

Timer:  Winston Phillip

Times given (some forgot to time for), See above.

Ah Counter: Phil Mason

Danielle Payne – ums, so like, so um
Rob Dalo – um
Winston Phillip - ums

Grammarian:  Bill Sullivan

Andrew Watt – clichéd terms

General Evaluator: Rob Dalo

Thank you for carrying the meeting Andrew.
Thank you for the signs Phil.

Closing: Andrew Watt

Bill finished his Competent Communicator. Congratulations.

Thank you everyone for a great meeting.

Next meeting: May 17, 2016

Respectfully submitted by

Danielle Payne, Secretary

Meeting Minutes 4-5-16

Cromwell Community Toastmasters

Club 5908 ~ District 53

Tues April 5, 2016

Attendees:    Rob Dalo, Crystal Storo, Bill Sullivan, Danielle Payne, Jay Drew, Sheetal Patel, Maribel Camacho

Guests: August Wolf

Business Meeting

Membership Standing
We lost one member
All but one member has paid their dues (the check is in the mail)
We have 21 dues paying members

Discussion regarding being a club sponsor for a new club – Jackson Laboratories (Jen Bourne’s employer)

Division D Speech Contest
April 13 at 7 PM
Thames Club, 290 State Street, New London
Come cheer for the  Area 44 representatives, Sheetal Patel and Andrew Watt
If you are serving as a judge or functionary, please arrive before 6:30.

Toastmasters District 53 Spring 2016 Conference 

Friday May 21, 2016 Social and Networking
Saturday, May 21, 2016 Conference

Sheraton Hartford Hotel @ Bradley Airport

Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, CT 06096

Toastmaster Bill Sullivan

Invocation Maribel Camacho

Maribel read a poem about the questions surrounding life and success

Table Topics Sheetal Patel

Everyone picked three cards from the game Yadda Yadda Yadda

Best friend, voting, favorite desert
1:25 August Wolf – Joe, my best friend, is a chef at William Sonoma. He created a tower of puff pastry goodness. The tower was held together with caramel and spiced sugar. If done right it looks like Trump’s hair.

Teacher, first serious crush, camping
0:56 Jay Drew – I am a happy camper. I go camping with my son and his friends. Everyone sings songs and has a good time. My first serious crush was Paul in high school. He didn’t know that I existed.

Using coupons, living like the Flintstones, professional athletes’ salaries
2:14 Andrew Watt – As a kid my mother did not let us watch the Flintstones. I recently saw that Tom Bradey has a 653 room house. If that was my house I would need a room for coupon clipping.

Baldness, reality tv, ghosts
0:45 Danielle Payne – I think that they should make a new reality tv show where people with no experience give other people haircuts. Rob would be the only one safe on the show.

Cell phone etiquette, dressing up your pet, fast food
2:15 Crystal Storo – I am going to talk about some else, my son. My son just had his 6 month birthday. We went to my brother’s house for the Easter holiday. It is great to see him developing, learning and interacting.

Speaker # 1:  Rob Dalo:  5:04

Manual/Project: Competent Communicator

Title: My Next Trip

I hate giving speeches. I joined three years ago to grow. I would sign up two weeks prior and practice and rewrite. I would take the afternoon before the meeting off to practice. Then I would come in and perform. It was not me. Just as I push myself to grow in Toastmasters, I am pushing myself with my next trip. I just booked a trip to Paris with my daughter, Joey, who lives in California. It’s a five hundred mile hike from France to Spain. We will go church to church and stay in hostiles. I will once again push myself to do something uncomfortable


Speaker # 2:  Andrew Watt: 10:10

Manual/Project: Competent Communicator: Research Your Topic   
Title: The Names of Figures of Speech

Reach back to your ancestors and then to your ancestors’ ancestors. The two figures of speech everyone learns about are metaphor and simile. These, along with others, are the tools or writers and speakers. We should have a guide book to better understand the ancient tools for public speakers. Some other tools include erotesis which is the asking a series of rhetorical questions that lead the audience to the same narrow set of answers. Another example is anaphora. Anaphora is the act of repeating a given phrase at the beginning of several sentences in a row.

Speaker # 3:  Sheetal Patel: 6:21

Manual/Project: Entertaining Speaker Manual
Title: Stay Ignorant and Confident Forever

This is how I used to speak three years ago (very quiet, shy and unsure). That was before Toastmasters. Fast forward to the present time. I was at a wedding in India for my husband’s cousin. Weddings in India are huge with 1500 to 2000 people and last for two weeks. Two days before the dancing night I was asked to be the emcee. I would have to introduce the songs but was told it would all be written out for me. Right before the event I was handed a few notes scribbled on half a piece of paper. I was prepared to handle the situation because of Toastmasters. I delegated roles like someone to keep time, someone else to tell me who was up next. This was just like having functionaries at a meeting. At the end of the dancing night people congratulated me on how well the meeting went. It would not have been possible without Toastmasters. Thank you for being a part of my life.

Evaluator # 1: Bill Sullivan  

I loved the detail about your first speech. I think a lesson could be to not over think your speech all the time. Your journey was from the heart and soul. You moved around too much. Don’t stay in one place but don’t pace either. It was a little confusing how you were hiking in Spain but flying to Paris. Also you could use longer pauses for effect.

Evaluator # 2:  Crystal Storo

The topic was to research your topic. You definitely did that. It was a little hard to write down or spell all the words you were talking about. You could have more vocal variety. I liked your body language. You pointed and counted on your fingers. You squinted when you said, “Don’t you think.” You also had great eye contact. Don’t mention that you had a script. You could have drawn us in more.

Evaluator # 3:  Round Robin

You could look even more nervous at the beginning.
Talk about putting your Competent Communicator and Competent Leader skills more.
Link the wedding story to Toastmasters more.
Talk more about how big Indian wedding are.
Use vocal variety.
Pull it together at the end.
Have the actual half sheet of notes as a prop.

Officials’ Reports:

WordMaster: Jay Drew

Malarkey – insensitive of foolish talk

Bill Sullivan – 3
Sheetal Patel – 2
Crystal Storo – 2
Rob Dalo – 1

Timer:  Danielle Payne

Times given, See above.

Ah Counter: August Wolf

Andew Watt – “gonna”
Rob Dalo – “you know,” run ons, double “ands”

Bill Sullivan – “um,” “yur”
Sheetal Patel – no ahs or ums but you tend to draw out the word “the”

Table Topics
Jay Drew – 1 “ah,” 1 “um
Andrew Watt – none
Danielle Payne – 1 “ah,” 2 “ums”
Crystal Storo – “ahs,” “ums”

Evaluations
Bill Sullivan – Double “I can,” “yeah so its gonna”
Crystal Storo – “ums”

Grammarian:  Rob Dalo

Maribel Camacho – the daily grind
August Wolf – filled goodness
Jay Drew – happy camper
Andrew Watt – Tom Bradey, the head of the football team
Danielle Payne – Rob would be the only one safe because he’s bald
Crystal Storo – watching him from afar
Andrew Watt – blowing smoke
Sheetal Patel – inspired by those present and absent
Crystal Storo – be interested in my squint
Bill Sullivan – prepping and preparing

General Evaluator: Andrew Watt

We only had a few people but everyone filled the roles nicely.
Thank you everyone for stepping up.
Thank you to our Toastmaster Bill Sullivan

Closing: August Wolf

There are district incentives like a phone charger if you do items on the list such as attend a contest, act as a functionary, act as a contestant or visit another club.

Don’t forget the Division D Speech Contest and the District 53 Spring 2016 Conference (info under Business Meeting)

Next meeting: April 18, 2016

Respectfully submitted by

Danielle Payne, Secretary

Meeting Minutes 3-1-16

Cromwell Community Toastmasters

Club 5908 ~ District 53

Tues March 3, 2016

Spring Contest

Attendees: Donald Ostertag, Andrew Watt, Hollie Rose, Tom Alvord, Crystal Storo, Bill Sullivan, Danielle Payne, Heather Turner, Winston Phillip, Sheetal Patel, Crystal Storo, Jen Bourne

Guests: Ed, Jay, Noel, Laura, Raj

Tall Tales Contest
1^st Place- Andrew Watt – Armstrong Who Crossed the Emptiness

2^nd Place- Bill Sullivan – Run For the Ages
3^rd Place- Tom Alvord – Italians in New Haven
Danielle Payne – My First Job

International Speech Contest
1^st Place- Sheetal Patel – Be Ignorant and Confident
2^nd Place- Andrew Watt – The Value of Maker Education

Special Thanks to:
Jen Bourne- Contest Chair
Crystal Storo- Contest Master
Heather Turner- Chief Judge
Rob Dalo- Refreshments
Everyone else who helped make this contest possible

Cromwell Community Contest Winners Advance to:
Area 44
Tall Tales & International Speech Contest
Thursday, March 24, 2016
7:00-9:00 p.m.
Hosted by
Airline Trail Club in Hebron
14 Stonecroft Dr, Hebron, CT

Closing: Hollie Rose

Thank you to everyone.

Dues are due at the end of the month
Please bring a check to the next meeting if you received an email about paying dues

Next meeting: March 15, 2016

Respectfully submitted by

Danielle Payne, Secretary

Meeting Minutes 2-16-16

Cromwell Community Toastmasters

Club 5908 ~ District 53

Tues February 16, 2016

Attendees:    Hollie Rose, Donald Ostertag, Bill Sullivan, Jeevan Kale, Danielle Payne, Sheetal Patel

Guests: Winston, Daniel, Maribel

Business Meeting

The Contests for Tall Tales and International Speeches and it will be held on March 1st.

Toastmaster Sheetal Patel

Invocation Maribel  

Maribel read a poem entitled “Shadow.”

Table Topics Hollie Rose

Individualized questions

What is the best thing about Cromwell?
0:56 Sheetal – Cromwell is quiet with no hype. It is like a friendly village. There are also good schools.

Tell us about salsa dancing.
2:42 Maribel – I started in 2000. My sister got me involved. I took many lessons in small groups. I fell in love with it. I have also done salsa dancing in St. Louis, Las Vegas, New York and Rhode Island.

Do you cook island food?
2:06 Winston – Growing up on the island we collected coconuts and started selling them for money. We also made and sold sugar cake which is sugar and coconut.

Tell us about the beginning in Marine boot camp.
2:29 Don – I joined the Marines at the last minute. The first day we were all headed towards DC and we got off the train. The military police told us to get back on. I had no trouble with the physical part because there were guys in my group who were slower than me.

Tell us something about yourself.
2:06 Daniel – I am not from around here. I came from Romania on a short term work visa and wanted to stay. I finally got my accounting degree.  

Tell us something about math.
1:54 Danielle – Pi day is the best day of the year. It is one March 14^th because pi is approximated to 3.14. In high school I had a bunch of people all put different digits on their shirts with duct tape and we lined up to take a picture.

Tell us about work.
2:16 Jeevan – I work at Yale University’s IT support system. I provide IDs for students and staff. I say what they can and cannot do. I have to stay late sometimes.

Speaker # 1:  William Sullivan:  4:32

Manual/Project: Speeches by Management

Title: Delivering Bad News

This club has done a great job of earning the title of Distinguished Club for 5 years in a row. We have had Distinguished Toastmasters here and some people have done very well at the competitions. I have personally developed and grown. It is now my time to leave. I will have to discontinue being part of this club. I have a better job now and more responsibilities. Thank you to everyone. I hope to come back and see how this club has grown.

Speaker # 2:  Don Ostertag: 4:36

Manual/Project: Reading Out Loud
Title: A Table Topics Workout by: Maureen Zappala, DTM

Table Topics is an important part of any Toastmasters meeting and it is a powerful tool for growth. Everyday we engage in impromptu speaking. Participating in Table Topics helps you develop critical and organized thinking skills because you have to think quickly.

Speaker # 3:  Winston: 6:40

Manual/Project: Competent Communicator # 1 – The Ice Breaker
Title: Isaac, Will and Myself

I meet Will in 7^th grade. Back then, I kept to myself. But we had a lot of fun together. It was time to think about where to go to high school. I didn’t know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. I was skinny and I could run. Larry Stubbs from Prince Tech encouraged me to go there. I did end up going to Prince Tech were I met Isaac. Isaac was big, tall and strong. Will, Isaac and I had many adventures together.

Evaluator # 1: Hollie Rose 2:40

I felt that the news was being delivered to me. I didn’t know where it was going at first.  You set a calm and soothing atmosphere. All bad news should be delivered this way. I'm so glad the delivered news was untrue.

Evaluator # 2:  - No Evaluation for Don

Evaluator # 3:  Bill Sullivan 2:31

Thank you for stepping up. You were a natural. You also had a good story. You could have worked the closing better if you had more time. You don’t need to say the title. Overall, great job.


Officials’ Reports:

WordMaster: Danielle

Deluge -
a great flood of water

Timer:  Donald Ostertag Times given, See above.

Ah Counter: Bill Sullivan

Hollie – 1 “so”
Danielle – 1 “so”

Don – 2 “ah”, 1 “um”, 3 “ah”, 1”so”, 1 “um”, 1 “ok:
Winston – 1 “you know”
Sheetal – 1 “and”
Maribel – “ah”, “so”, “and”
Winston – 1 “ah”, “so”, “um”, “and”, “really”, “basically”
Don – 1 “ah”, 3 “um”
Dan – “ah”, “um”, “and”
Danielle – “1 ah”, “so”, “um”, “and”
Jeevan – 1 “so”,  1 “um”, 1 “and”

Grammarian:  Jeevan Kale

Hollie- math things
Winston – sugar cane

General Evaluator: Sheetal Patel

It was a short meeting. Everyone did a great job.  Thank you.

Closing: Hollie Rose

The Contests  for Tall Tales and International Speeches and it will be held on March 1st.

Winston and Maribel are joining.

Next meeting: March 1, 2016

Respectfully submitted by

Danielle Payne, Secretary