Meeting Minutes from 10-2-2018

Good evening fellow Toastmasters!

Kudo’s go out to all the brave souls that fought the floods and rain to seek out growth, personal development and a great time amongst friends Tuesday night on October the 2nd! Here is the meeting recap:

Members in attendance Maureen Willett, Beth Pruchnic, Alex Trachishin, Stephen McGirr, Carl Lepack, and Andrew Watt

Guests in attendance Phil Gagnon and Ute Brinkmann

Our President Stephen McGirr banged the gavel at 6:30PM to start the meeting off, and immediately went into a 5 minute break to allow for last minute preparations while dried of a little from the torrential downpour and storms we had! Almost as thunderous as Stephen’s gavel bang! We then started the meeting with TWO new member certificates, one for Maureen Willett, and one ! for Beth Pruchinic. They also received freshly printed name tents, which can be just as valuable! Welcome to the club and enjoy your journey of growth and personal development! We also had a visitor, Phil Gagnon. To help familiarize ourselves with one another, we gave a brief introduction with our names, where we were from, and how much fun we had traveling to the meeting in the storms through flooded roadways and poor visibility. Welcome everyone!

Stephen McGirr then started the meeting off as the Toastmaster of the evening first calling upon Andrew Watt to give an impromptu invocation by reading the Toastmasters International Club Mission Statement printed on our agenda’s. “We provide a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills. Resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.” 

Stephen then led us through the agenda, first calling upon the functionaries to explain their roles. Countess Maureen Willett took on the role of Ah Counter in her first meeting as a member and Grand Duchess Beth Pruchnic tackled the grammarian role. Stephen! spoke to Maureen before the meeting and she used the name descriptions jokingly so Steve went with it and added them for flare! Alex Trachishin was our impeccable timer of the night. The word of the day was given by Beth Pruchnic, and was “Nocuous” meaning harmful. Also available to use was the antonym “innocuous” which means harmless.

Andrew Watt was our first speaker of the night with his “A different perspective on time.” Looking into the realm of astrology, Andrew shared with us his obvious passion on the subject with in depth knowledge of the planets, moon, and other celestial happenings. Andrew shared with us what ancient civilizations saw the passing of time as, and how depending on how many times you saw an event that happened once every 30 years, you could say how old (lucky?) you were. With the passing of time on a completely different level for celestial bodies, ! Andrew left us with a quote from Bill Gates stating “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and under estimate what they can do in ten years.” Ute Brinkmann was his evaluator and shared that the hand in pocket start to the speech limits his voice, as we all talk with our hands. At some points it seemed that Andrew liked speaking to the floor, but did do well for the most part speaking to us all in turn. Ute shared a gloves off evaluation intended for expert speakers, and Andrew was very much appreciative for Ute’s guidance! We all were!

Our second speaker of the night was Carl Lepack, speaking from the Competent Communicator Manual speech project, “Your Body Speaks”. Carl’s speech was titled “How to build and maintain motivation.” Carl shared with us that we should have the end in mind first when we are deciding our paths asking us “What do you want?” Be specific, and be intense about it! Wake up and spend every day living in the present moment, be aggressive and follow, listen to role models that are successful. Stephen McGirr was his speech evaluator. Carl had to leave early and we didn’t get to give his speech an evaluation in the meeting, but since I am writing thi! s now….you can hear some of it. Carl is definitely growing as a competent speaker quickly. He is aware of his previous evaluation suggestions and actively seeks to touch upon the fundamentals each speech project aims to help us improve at. Carl went further into the “U” than I have ever seen before from other speakers and STAYED THERE. I feel this could be a little overwhelming to the audience with the proximity at times, especially with the amount of energy Carl brings to his speeches, but a bold move and one that really showed confidence. Don’t forget that when we step that far in, some of the audience may be to your back. Excellent topic and well done.

Next on the list with the final project from level one of his Effective Coaching path, Stephen McGirr delivered a speech aimed at helping us improve our speech preparation research and resource sharing during the speech. Stephen spoke about the dangers of cave exploration and shared several resources from research teams on navigating blindfolded to the frequency of earthquakes. Alex Trachishin was his speech evaluator and it was Alex’s FIRST TIME evaluating! Alex shared what he liked about the speech and followed the pathways suggested format beautifully. Alex even shared suggestions for Steve to push himself by trying to really memorize the resources he was quoting from, givin! g a more seamless and smooth delivery to the speech. Fantastic Alex, way to jump in to one of the hardest roles of being a Toastmaster!!

Our final speaker of the night was Ute Brinkmann. Mute is working on her pathways level two assignment, “Communicating Styles”. Ute did some research and found that there are FOUR speaking styles on one website, FIVE on another, FOUR again on a third, SIX speaking styles on still yet another. There are many speaking styles and Ute is direct in hers! Ute is German, she tells it like it is, but maybe could use more sugar talk to sweeten her style! Andrew Watt was Ute’s speech evaluator and shared what a quality speaker she is. It is always a privilege to her Ute present!

We next had our Table Topics portion run by Andrew Watt! Andrew went back to touch upon the subject of his speech and the visuals that the human race has used to reference celestial bodies. In this fashion, Andrew shared the typical theme of certain bodies in our solar system, Moon, Venus, etc by their depictions. Stephen McGirr was first up. Andrew had Stephen visualize and woman, with a comb in one hand, a mirror in the other, and she was riding backwards on a bull! This sight made Stephen think that she must have been on a farm where her husband scared the cattle and one ran through the house while the wife was preparing to go out. Alex Trachishin had the pleasure of viewin! g a man on a throne with four wheels drawn by a cat and a goat! This made Alex think of Ford and his automobile as when it was first introduced maybe people didn’t quite understand its use or how it worked. There must have been some process before they realized what was better as they very well could have tried using goats and cats to pull them! Ute Brinkmann had a boat with a ripped sail, with a fisherman holding a net about to catch a big fish. This made Ute think about religion and the fisherman tales in the biblical stories. A star, Bethlehem, fisherman…not much into Astrology though! Our guest Phil Gagnon gave Table Topics a try and gave a go at a picture that had no takers earlier on in the Table Topics Session! A man, in a dome, sits at a desk, writing letters. Phil started off by sharing some of what his personality traits are as a Leo; he is a type A personality, aggressive, also into astronomy. Shared his first admiration with the night ! sky from the movie Star Wars in the 70’s. Phil would like to impart his love of the sky’s with his children, while checking out blue stars, red gas giants, and the moon.

When switched it over to the evaluations portion of the meeting which was led by expert General Evaluator Stephen McGirr.

Our next meeting is on October 16th! Can’t wait to do it all again! Thank you all for your participation, and we will see you soon!!

Steve

Meeting Minutes from 9-19-2018!

Good evening fellow Toastmasters!

We had an amazing fun filled meeting Tuesday night on September 18th! Here is the recap:

Members in attendance Stephen McGirr, Tom Alvord, Astrid Uryson, Carl Lepack, Heather Turner, Winston Phillip, Mark Richardson, and Andrew Watt

Guests in attendance Maureen W. and Beth Pruchnic

Our President Stephen McGirr banged the gavel at 6:33PM to start the meeting off, welcomed everyone to the last meeting of the summer (BOOOO!!!) and led a round of introductions. First introduced were our returning guests Maureen and Beth, followed by a round of member introductions with how we first visited Toastmasters and how long we had been members for.  

Stephen then passed control to our Treasurer Andrew Watt, so he could remind us of the importance of paying our membership dues, what the dues fund, and how to go about submitting a payment. Six months membership includes $45 to Toastmasters International and $6 for club dues. A total of $51. Checks to be made out to “Cromwell Community Toastmasters”. Thank you for your continued support and participation!

Steve then handed control over to a seasoned Toastmaster to lead us through the agenda, Tom Alvord! Tom demonstrated amazing ability to seamlessly fill in any gaps in the agenda, and coordinated a full meeting. His first order of business was to call up Andrew Watt, who shared with us his version of the invocation. Andrew read aloud the Toastmasters Promise developed long ago in 1927 by Ralph Smedley. It is always a good idea to remember what we promised, when we signed up to become Toastmasters. Thank you Andrew!

Next on the list, Tom introduced our functionary roles of the night. Carl Lepack took on the role of Ah Counter. Mark Richardson was our punctual timer. The grammarian role was taken on by Andrew Watt, whose role it was to listen for grammatical inaccuracies, failures of language, infelicities, and additionally mellifluous use of the English language. Yes, that last one is actually a good thing! ! Tom with his impeccable observational skills, knew we didn’t have a Word of the Day, chose to have mellifluous as the word of the day which means “flows like honey”. Also a snap decision, Tom enlisted Winston Phillip into the role of observing who used the word and how many times.

Our speeches were given by first off by Carl Lepack. His speech “What does a business organization do?” was an extended elevator pitch for what it is that the CT Business and Industry Association (CBIA) does. Carl took us back in time with a short history lesson of where the saying “Yankee Ingenuity” comes from, why the factories started here in CT with its prime location, and the origination of the assembly line. Moving next onto the need for an organization that fights for pro-business legislation, helps small businesses save money, and assists with employee training programs. Only 2% of the business that belong to the organization are large, the rest are smal! l or “Mom & Pop” businesses. Andrew Watt was his evaluator and shared he loved the rich content that was supplied in the speech, advised to add in structured movement to display points, and cautioned on the habit of hand wringing. Carl has done an excellent job reigning in his tireless energy, that’s a tall order and he is doing great! Excellent Carl!

Our second speaker of the night was Astrid Uryson, her speech tonight realized the completion of her tenth speech! She has come SO FAR! Astrid is going to be teaching a class over the next couple months on incorporating Feng Shui in our lives. She started off with a great example of being outside and looking up at the night sky. Do you believe you would look at the night sky the same way as an astronomer? Adding the concept and teachings of Feng Shui in our lives, gives us a new lens to view the world. It allows us to work towards removing clutter and restoring the free flow of energy in our lives. Living in a state of being conscious of our surroundings. Heather Turner was Astrid&rs! quo;s speech evaluator and loved the phrasing of the question “What is clutter? What is it not?”, asked if Astrid could supply more examples of clutter, and suggested maybe she could move around the stage a little bit more. It has been a pleasure watching how far Astrid has come I the past year and we look forward to her continued journey!

Next on the list with a different speech format adapted to a specific situation, Stephen McGirr delivered an interview speech with the help of Heather Turner and Andrew Watt. Stephen was to be interviewing for a high level position at his work and, of course, the Cromwell Toastmasters was there to serve his needs and help him prepare. Heather asked the first two questions and shifted to Andrew who asked the final question. A Round Robin Evaluation Session was conducted to hear feedback from all of those in attendance, and job offers were put on the table as well! I can tell you now, as I am writing this, the interview was a TOUGH experience! Thank you ALL for the preparation, advice, and participation!

Our final speaker of the night was Mark Richardson. Mark shared a speech from the Competent Communicator Manual, project #3, get to the point. The speech titled “Getting out of your own way”, was a look at how our thoughts can sometimes get in the way of what we are looking to accomplish. Such a valuable concept that started with the story of an Olympic Hurdler, who in a race, had a “continent of distance” between her and the next contestant. She stumbled over a hurdle, then continued to stumble over hurdle after hurdle and ended up finishing twelfth. When asked in an interview what had happened, she simply stated that as she was running she wondered what would happe! n if she lost. Also shared was Mark’s own experience with trying to diagnose a home alarm system malfunction where he suspected there was a bad window switch for sure, and it turned out to be the main circuit board instead. Mark asked us to stop, and reset ourselves, if we find we are in that type of situation where are minds are overburdening us with wrong thinking. Winston Phillip was Marks speech evaluator and shared he had a great voice, and presentation. No need to preface the speech with humor to say he wasn’t completely prepared, or apologize. Take the stage and run with it! This was also a sentiment that was echoed by Tom Alvord as Steve had also done this as well before his talk. Great points gentlemen!

We next had our Table Topics portion run by Stephen McGirr! Stephen led a Table Topics session that had everything to do with the five senses (Hearing, Sight, Smell, Touch, and Taste) and how memories and thoughts can be intrinsically attached to them. He had made emoji props for us to hold as we shared our stories about our chosen senses. Winston Phillip chose sight, as he shared with us his recent trip to Tobago with his infant son, and how he was able to hold him as he looked up to the star filled night sky as his son fell to sleep.Heather Turner chose smell, as she shared her love of cooking and being a chef and how from smelling so many items, through smell overload, she! has lost her sense of smell. She shared with us the technique of checking old spices by smelling them. If you have to shake the bottle to get them to smell, check them! When you shop for food, the best tasting will be the best smelling! Smell them cantaloupes! Andrew Watt chose touch as his emoji of choice and shared with us an Australian Aboriginal Tradition of “feeling” where you are and the connection you have with the earth and your location in the environment. A society that spans 40,000 years can’t be wrong! Andrew asked us to remember to see how it feels for a moment, when we get out of our cars at home. What does it feel like to be home? Beth Pruchnic gave Table Topics a try and shared a story involving touch and sight. She celebrated a birthday recently and her co-workers decorated with balloons and streamers, and even used her favorite color orange in the decorations. From the sight and magnitude of the care they shown for her, she! was touched. Very cool! Happy belated Beth!! Astrid Uryson gave it a try and also shared her love of cooking and the smells that are produced from combining ingredients like garlic, onion, and ginger. Good food smells get everyone excited!! (Good thing we bring snacks to our meetings!)

When switched it over to the evaluations portion of the meeting which was led by expert General Evaluator Heather Turner.

Our next meeting is on October 2^nd! Can’t wait to do it all again! Thank you all for your participation, and we will see you soon for our first Fall meeting!

Steve

Tuesdays Meeting Recap!! 7.24.18

Good evening/morning fellow Toastmasters!

We had an amazing fun filled meeting Tuesday night! Here is the recap:

Members in attendance Rob Dalo, Heather Turner, Sheetal Patel, Schuyler Diehm, Carl Lepack, Mark Richardson, Stephen McGirr.

Guests in attendance Allison Klump, Ute Brinkmann, Atul Gupta, Harouna Camara, Deandre Camara, Olademeji Sanniola, Alex Trachisin, Ravidra Perera.

Our SAA Schuyler Diehm banged the gavel promptly at 6:30PM to start the meeting off, welcomed everyone with style and ease, and passed control over to our President Stephen McGirr.

Stephen shared a brief message about how what we do today, is in preparation for tomorrow. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” – Wayne Gretzky. Even before those shots were taken, you can guarantee, there was a LOT of practice. That is what we do at Toastmasters every 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of the month. So let’s have fun practicing communications and leadership!

Stephen also shared that it was Andrew Watt’s birthday the past weekend (HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!) and brought in a box of donuts with 2 candles in the eyes of the smiley face on the box. Unfortunately Andrew could not make it, so in his absence, we were able to sing happy birthday to Sheetal Patel! Everyone sang for her and she was a very gracious recipient. We also found out after the fact that S! heetal’s birthday is in December! Excellent! (Sheetal - you only get one song per year though…)

After the initial merriment, Stephen welcomed and asked each of our guests to introduce themselves: Allison Klump – is visiting our club and is a fellow Toastmaster from Heather Turners club in Massachusetts! So great to meet you! Ute Brinkmann – is a visiting Toastmaster from Eagles club in Wallingford. Ute was there so that she could complete a project in her new Pathways path “Dynamic Lea! dership” Love when you visit! Atul Gupta – is a first time visitor who found us on Meet-up and is very excited to be a part of our club family! So glad you enjoyed the meeting and club experience! Harouna Camera and Deandre – A father and son duo! Harouna is a visiting Toastmaster from Eagles club in Walingford and his son is an aspiring Toastmaster. Excellent participation guys! Olademeji Sanniola– Is a second time guest and is in the process of becoming a member! So great to see you again Ola! Alex Trachishin – Is a second time visitor to our club, and joined after the meeting! Welcome to the club fellow Toastmaster Alex!! Ravidra Perera – “Ravi” recently moved to the area from New Jersey and quickly joined Middlesex Toastmasters. He didn’t realize he lived so close to another club and came to check us out! Ravi had a great time and is going to be attending! often. Great to have your talent with us tonight Ravi!

After introductions, Steve Passed control over to our extremely competent Toastmaster of the night, Sheetal Patel! Sheetal wasted no time getting to the business by introducing our functionaries! Schuyler Diehm took on the role of Timer. Our guest Allison Klump did a phenomenal job as Grammarian.! Carl Lepack shared with us the word of the day which was Laconic, which means having few words. NOT a Toastmaster tendency! It was a tough word to fit in and was used several times by skillful Toastmasters, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! Stephen McGirr handled the Ah-Counter role.

Our speeches were given by first off Carl, speaking from the third project in the Competent Communicator manual, Get to the Point. His speech “The space between words” was an absolutely brilliant speech describing the abstract nature of language, and how a one word, three syllable sound such as “Elephant” is supposed to describe such a majestic creature, where if you just observe! d an elephant in the Savanna, with no words in mind, how could you possible describe its complexity? Simple words such as “I do” can change everything in a couples life. And adding silence, in between the words, to just observe life in general, can be an absolutely awe inspiring experience! Heather passed on the evaluation sheet to our visiting Toastmaster Harouna Camara, who gave his first ever evaluation! Harouna has not even given his first speech yet and that isn’t as hard as your first evaluation! Heather did help, but excellent first delivery Harouna!

Our second speaker of the night was Ute Brinkmann, with her second speech from Level one of her Dynamic Leadership Path. Her speech was “Autobahn or Highway” where she, with the greatest of ease and best of examples, proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, it was no question at all! It is Autobahn! From the skill of German drivers, to expert road design that lasts, and everything in between! There really is! no comparison. Ute is an exemplary speaker and had everyone taking notes on style and presentation, especially her evaluatorStephen. As difficult as it is to evaluate a DTM+++, Steve was able to assist in some small way to help Ute advance her craft.

Next on the list with his second speech out of the Competent Communicator manual was Mark Richardson! Mark shared with us the “Everyday Utility of a Knife”, reasons why we should all carry a knife! The everyday utility of a knife, is truly extensive. From ease of carrying with so many styles, to its numerous uses. A truly remarkable tool! Effective at its intended use as a cutting tool, hand! y in dire emergencies where one would be caught and needed to be cut away from being stuck in clothes or seatbelts. A handy little piece of insurance, that he swayed most of us to start carrying. Except Heather, she has always hand knives around…BIG KNIVES!  Sheetal evaluated Mark’s speech and did a fantastic job as always! Noticeable growth and comfort!

Our final speaker of the night was Schuyler Diehm with his 4th speech out of the Competent Communicator manual, “Ho! w to Say it”. Schuyler shared in his speech, “The three Pillars of Health” a story of a prisoner of war, where his captors broke him down by chaining him to the wall and restricting his movement. They improperly fed him, making him malnourished. They deprived him of the basic consistency of sleep. Over time, he broke. Relating that to us, in modern day, we are no different with our lifestyles, and we have no captors but ourselves. Schuyler also shared tips and tricks to help with each and every deficiency from the story, so we can live better lives NOW! Ravi Perera was was his evaluator and shared how impressed he was with his 4^th spe! ech. Say it isn’t so!   

                                                 

Most important in Ravi’s evaluation, he reminded us that Toastmasters should not thank the audience at the end of their speeches, because it is the audience that should be thanking the speaker, and we thank ALL our speakers tonight for such well delivered speeches!

We next had our Table Topics portion run by Stephen McGirr! He pulled amazing speeches from every participant! He first shared that, on the back of his newsletter, he had provided several tips to make it through the 60 seconds we aim for when participating in Table Topics. Stephen read a quote and asked a question. Our enthusiastic first participant was Rob Dalo! Rob shared most all tips from the back of the ! sheet, extending his speech well over the required time and got to the task of sharing a very visual example of plumbing work! Allison Klump shared with us the first step in moving in a new direction, and she has been around the world some! Thankfully pulling up ties and coming north from Florida on a prayer! We are glad to have you near us!  Heather Turner shared with us excitedly about her view on Mark’s speech about KNIVES! Especially in self-defense when she and some fellow culinary students were the victims of an attempted mugging with a small knife…when culinary students have MUCH sharper and MUCH larger knives! Ravi Perera shared with us his belief about how people are unique and that the approach used for every situation must be unique to properly communicate. A very competent Toastmaster with great delivery! Deandre Camara jumped at the chance to be our last speaker for his first time ever speaking in front of a Toastmaster crowd! Deandre shared with us what he is doing to help others. He is starting by surrounding himself with go! od people and working on his speaking skills, and Deandre, you are moving in a great direction with your father, and hoping you to join us!

We took a 5 minute break and everyone had great conversations and enjoyed chocolates and chips and donuts OH MY!

When we resumed Stephen introduced Heather as the general evaluator of the night leading a darn fine evaluations segment! Heather also shared some tips about the meeting she liked and thanked all participants and guests.

If you weren't able to make it to the meeting, our next meeting is August 7th. I want YOU to be a part of the fun! See you all in 2 weeks!

Steve

Meeting Minutes for 7-10-2018

We had a great first meeting of the 2018/2019 TM year last night!

Our SAA Schuyler Diehm banged the gavel with athourity for his first meeting as not only SAA, but a Club Officer as well! Schuyler greeted everyone efficiently and turned the meeting to our President Stephen McGirr.

Stephen quickly passed authority to one of THREE visiting dignitaries, Division B Director James Zukowski, who led the officer induction ceremony with a slight touch of his own personal flair. Very well done James, we thank you for you participation!!

We also had in attendance Second Vice-President of Toastmasters International Richard Peck and past District Director Rich Derkson! They were extremely welcomed and a big hit with the members! We all took photos together as well as two first time guests Kim and Alex. They sure came on the right night!

Inducted this year were Schuyler Diehm SAA, Andrew Watt Secretary/Treasurer, Tom Alvord VPM, Sheetal Patel VPPR, Heather Turner VPE, and Stephen McGirr President. Thank you all for your commitment to serving the club this year, and HAVE FUN WITH IT!!

For the main meeting, Stephen gave the presidential opening remarks and led right into the 1st meeting of the year as Toastmaster. Our functionary roles were covered by Sheetal at grammarian, Schuyler and Tom tag teamed the timer role, Heather took on the Ah Counter position, and Mark Richardson took on the Word of the Day with a particularly challenging word that was only used (3) times, QUIXOTIC. I actually had to re-ask him to explain it to me half-way through the meeting!

Our speeches were given by first off Stephen, speaking from the project for the second speech requirement from Level One of his Pathways path Effective Coaching. He shared with us a tool from his mechanics tool box that he uses for life situations, Complaint, Cause, and Correction. Heather evaluated his speech, and because it is a Level One speech in Pathways, the purpose is to take the evaluators suggestions, address any possible recommendations and deliver the speech a second time reworked! Heather shared some valuable insights as always, come next meeting to see version 2.0!

Next on the list with his second speech out of the Competent Communicator manual was Carl Lepack! Carl shared with us the reasons why we would want to use an "Energy Advisor". The speech format was "Organize your Speech", and Carl did a fantastic job opening about what the subject was on, gave great points in the middle, and most certainly swayed the audience that, YES, we should all use an Energy Advisor! Stephen gave Carl's speech evaluation and shared some good suggestions but stated he wasn't swayed too much because of Wallingford Electric. Stephen did comment on the intense amount of energy and life Carl brings to his speechs, he truly is an intense speaker!

Our final speaker of the night was Sheetal with a speech about her Toastmasters Journey. Sharing with us a very well put together narration of the story of her passage from Shy Sheetal to highly Social Sheetal! James Zukowski was her evaluator and shared that she has come a great distance and it shows! Now is the time to add just a little more, and totally command every room she walks in!

We next had our Table Topics portion run by superstar Tom Alvord! He pulled amazing speeches from every participant! First we had Rich Derkson sharing with us that he wished he had a money tree in his backyard harvesting $100 bills daily! Richard Peck shared with us his daring attempt at running for Second Vice-President a second time, and winning the nomination! James Zukowski shared with us his best vacation that wasn't really a vacation when it started out in the first place. Mark Richardson shared with us his best gift. A watch from his grandfather that got him off his phone, cleared his mind, and kept him employed! First time guest Alex went over a minute and one half on his like of real Japanese Sushi chefs as opposed to Chinese ones, because he has learned Japanese and likes to try and converse with the chefs! Alex is from the Ukraine, and speaks three languages that I know of so far! Incredible!

We took a 5 minute break and everyone had great conversations and enjoyed chocolates and chips! Especially Tom Alvord and chocolates!

When we resumed Stephen introduced Schuyler as the general evaluator of the night for his FIRST TIME at it. Again proving he is an incredibly capable Toastmaster in only a few months, handling the role with ease, confidence, and conviction! 

If you weren't able to make it to the meeting, our next meeting is July 24th. I want YOU to be a part of the fun! See you all in 2 weeks!

Steve

Meeting Minutes June 6, 2017

Cromwell Community Toastmasters #5908

Minutes: 6 June 2017
Attending: Philip, Watt, Uryson, Alvord, Patel, Ehlers, McGirr, Storo, King, P. Mason.
Quorum: 18 paid members, 10 attending, quorum achieved.
Sergeant At Arms Phil Mason opened the club at 5:30pm, and gave control to the evening’s
Toastmaster, Stephen McGirr. Toastmaster McGirr immediately called up Tom Alvord to give the
invocation, and Crystal Storo to give the word of the day.
The Invocation was based on a quotation from
The word of the day was Hubris, a noun meaning “excessive pride or self-confidence.”
Business Meeting: nominations for officers for the 2017-18 Toastmasters year
Sheetal Patel called up the nominating committee’s slate, as follows:
Sheetal Patel, Immediate Past President
Winston Philip, President
Stephen McGirr, Vice President of Education
Emily Ehlers, Vice President of Membership
Laura King, Vice President of Public Relations
Andrew Watt ACS ALB, Secretary/Treasurer
Astrid Uryson, Sergeant at Arms
After a call for other nominations (there were none), the slate of officers was elected.
The installation of officers shall occur on 20 June. Outgoing District Director Rich Derksen will
perform the installation.

Announcements:
Crystal Storo, a past club president, announced that our 20 June meeting will be her last active
meeting with Cromwell Community Toastmasters; she and her family are moving to Florida.
Please come out and wish her success during her last meeting attendance.
The Toastmaster year concludes on 30 June 2017. Please report any projects to Danielle
Payne as outgoing Vice President of Education before that date; or to Stephen McGirr after that
date.

Education Program:
Sheetal Patel passed the gavel to Stephen McGirr, making his first appearance as Toastmaster.
Winston Philip led Table Topics at the invitation of Toastmaster McGirr. Winston demonstrated a
student asleep in his classroom, and invited us to engage with the student in a variety of ways
that provided various strategies or tactics for dealing with such challenges. Speakers included
Phil Mason, Crystal Storo, Laura King, and others.
Page

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