We Threw a Surprise Party with
a Maritime Theme to acknowledge the outstanding “over and above”
contributions which Don Ekroth has generously given us in his
short time back in the club We used his Birthday (which was
not only that very night, but was also a significant number!) as
the perfect time to thank him. Jill McCormick made the
presentation with her natural sparkly warmth, and sincerity.
Normally we wait until the end of June to give these awards, but
Don (a professional fisherman) is always working out of town
that month. The room decorators were distraught when Don arrived
before all the balloons were in place, but they needn’t have
worried. Apparently Don thought the last people to use the room
had had a party and assumed we were busy taking the balloons
down!!! It took a while for the penny to drop!
You guessed it … the mood was festive and fun! The actual theme
for the meeting was chosen by Don: “The Future is Now”.
Intriguing, isn’t it? So were the many interpretations of it
which we heard in the various introductions of members
throughout the evening.
In his thought provoking interpretation of this theme, Omar Hung
asked us: “If you suddenly died tomorrow and looked back on your
life, what are the moments you would cherish most?”
It was not unfathomable that Jill McCormick’s ‘Word of the
Evening’, unfathomable, was enthusiastically used by a number of
the participants. It is a fun word that rolls very nicely off
the tongue.
The ‘ums and ahs’ were plentiful, too! Jim Sinclair didn’t seem
to miss a single one! He actually appeared to enjoy enumerating
exactly the kinds of extraneous ‘word whiskers’ he had caught us
subconsciously using to weaken our speeches.
Marlene Finlayson learned ‘the trick of the overtime bell’ when
she timed the meeting for the first time, and unlike many first
timers … she didn’t hesitate to use it, either! The trick? To
hold the bell towards the tip of the wooden handle so the ring
is loud and clear.
Jokemaster, Neville Cohen, was actually able to find a humorous
anecdote that fit right in with his interpretation of the theme
: “The one thing I would like to do if I knew I only had a short
time left on earth would be: To prove the doctor wrong
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Joyce Soti chose a very interesting and eclectic assortment of
Topics for our impromptu short speeches. Every single Speaker
seemed to relish the topic they had been given and the
competition for the Best Table Topic Award was fierce. The
winner was Marlene Finlayson, who invented a ‘soul searching
name change’.
Evaluating the Table Topic Speakers was the unflappable Li Ying
Kao, who was ‘delighted’ to step into this role at the last
minute This experienced Toastmaster balanced well the things
she saw as the Speaker’s strengths, along with well considered
suggestions, beginning and ending on an uplifting note.
Our Toastmaster for the evening was non other than the Award
Winning Birthday Boy himself…Don Ekroth He was ebullient in
his role as ‘Toaster’ and Host Introducer. His skillful
adaptation of the Toast flowed right into the Word of the
Evening. His Introductions of the Speakers were above reproach.
He led the audience right to the Speakers so that there was no
doubt in our minds what was expected of their project
objectives, and then he whet our curiosity for what was to come.
As his Toast flowed, so did his bridging – easing us beautifully
from one section to the other. It was a very fine night for this
well regarded man!
Monopoly was the name of the game, and Stuart Manning was there
to tell us how to play it, as well as the relationship between
the game and real life experiences in the real estate market. In
fact … he assured us that by mastering the game, we could be on
our way to being Real Estate Moguls! You never know …
Then, Ruth Sol delighted in entertaining us with another
humorous speech project which also carried a sage message: The
public is being duped by advertisers and politicians who are
magicians at covering up (“sugar coating”) the basic truth with
euphemisms. We should beware and be aware.
Both Speech Evaluators this night have their own unique
approaches. Jan Khubyar says her evaluations are ‘soft’, Dave
Stewart prides himself ‘telling it like it is’. They are both
right in their personal evaluations of themselves. They are both
also right in their very different approaches.
Jan’s evaluations are given with a smile, making sure the
emphasis is on the strengths of the Speaker, but don’t let this
fool you. Jan’s suggestions may be well cushioned but her
observations are wise; she knows what she’s talking about and we
listen.
Dave does ‘tell it like it is’, but it’s not usuallydone in what
he would describe as a ‘hard hitting way’. He has the ability to
weave suggestions in and out of the strengths, absolutely
leaving the Speakers with no doubts about how they can improve,
but doing it with humour and empathy - not a black eye
Their evaluations for Stuart and Ruth were true to their
individuality, and yet similar in the feeling with which they
left their Speakers: motivated and eager to do another speech
project, with the knowledge that by incorporating the
Evaluator’s suggestions their next speeches have the tools to be
even better.
Everyone had someone to General Evaluate with one strength & one
suggestion. It almost worked! Glitch? We’re Toastmasters & we
like to talk! It is a good thing the Timer was on the ball or we
could have been there all night
General Consensus: Wasn’t That a Party!?! A great time was had
by all.
Club 1085
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