There was excitement in the
room this night – contestants calming their nervous butterflies,
and audience anticipation high. Yes, it was the night our club
hosted the Area 72 International Speech and Evaluation Contests.
There were four clubs from the North Shore and one club from
Bowen Island represented by competitors in these competitions.
As well, each club had sent a Judge, and some also sent other
volunteers, to help everything run fairly and smoothly. Our club
members and our Area Governor generously provided a table laden
with food and drinks for this occasion.
First Dr. Michael Recich, the Test Speaker for the Evaluation
Contest, delighted us with an enlightening and entertaining
speech about “Dentistry 101”. Then the Evaluation Contestants
entered the room one at a time to evaluate by giving their views
on how they felt the Speaker had performed. Mike received
instant feedback from five different perspectives, in five
different styles. Many of us who were there hope to practice
incorporating some of the methods these experienced evaluators
used into our own future evaluations. It is a learning
experience for everyone. The First Place winner of this
competition was Allan de la Plante.
The second half of the evening we were treated to five
outstanding speeches. We were inspired, motivated and encouraged
in many different ways: To believe in ourselves and our dreams
will come true; To eliminate discrimination in order to achieve
world peace; To use Preparation and Practice in our lives so
that we will be as ready as possible to conquer and overcome our
fears; To recognize that the inner demons of alcoholism do not
only destroy the ‘down and out’ in Vancouver slums, but can hurt
people from all walks of life, and that with great strength and
perseverance that battle can be won; To recognize that it is
most often the little things in life that can cause our biggest
stresses but that there are some very practical, down to earth
ways with which we can handle them, with humour leading the way.
The First Place winner of this competition was David Long.
From the comments and murmurs around the room after the contest
meeting was adjourned, the consensus was clear that this was one
of the highest caliber Area 72 Competitions people can remember.
Both contests must have been very difficult to judge, and the
winners must feel that they have achieved a well earned feat.
The
winners will now progress to the next level, the Division
Contests – date and place to be announced soon.
Once club members have reached a ‘comfort zone’ within their own
clubs, and have mastered the basic qualities of public speaking,
some wish to ‘go beyond the club’. Competitions are an excellent
way for those members to go beyond that comfort level and
stretch their abilities even further. There are also other
opportunities for them to achieve this goal both within the
Toastmaster organization and out: For instance, there are always
new clubs being chartered, or clubs which are temporarily
struggling to find enough people to fill their Agendas. The
clubs in these two situations are often looking for Speakers.
This is the perfect chance for those who have tamed their
butterflies within their own clubs to once again feel them
fluttering as they speak in front of an audience of ‘strangers’.
Another example: There are at least four Advanced Toastmasters
Clubs in the Vancouver area which welcome anyone who has
achieved a CTM award. These advanced clubs usually meet once a
month and vary in their focus. For instance one of them, which
runs a regular Toastmasters meeting agenda, meets for dinner in
restaurants all over greater Vancouver, while another focuses
solely on speeches and evaluations. The people who join these
advanced clubs generally stay in their original weekly clubs as
well, always continuing to hone their own basic skills while
also acting as leaders and mentors to the clubs that helped
them; to help those clubs continue to keep the high standards by
passing on their experience to newer members. These people who
wish to test themselves even further have an opportunity to sign
up with our B.C. District’s Speakers’ Bureau. It gives
experienced club members an opportunity to book speaking
engagements both within and outside of the Toastmaster
organization. Ie. Several members of our club auditioned to be
on the Speaker’s Bureau for the Commonwealth Games when they
were held here, and one of them ended up speaking to audiences
on behalf of the Games not only within Greater Vancouver, but
also in Kitimat, Terrace, and Prince Rupert! With this in mind …
the Olympics are coming so keep your eyes opened because you
never know …
But now … back to our Contests and our own club’s involvement:
Congratulations, along with our admiration and appreciation go
to our own two contestants, Dave Stewart (Evaluation Contest)
and Jan Khubyar (International Speech Contest).
As well as contestants, contest also involves a large number of
volunteers who help in the background to make everything run
smoothly and efficiently. Special Thanks to the members in our
club who helped make this happen: Pam Elliott as Contest
Chairman, Joyce Soti as Chief Judge, Gerhard Rentsch as our
club’s representative Judge, Li Ying Kao as Chief Timer, Wilma
Atchison as Interviewer, Don Ekroth as Sgt. At Arms, and also as
our Greeter in sync with Jill McCormick for making everyone feel
welcomed as they walked into the room.
This truly was a very special evening and our heartfelt thanks
to everyone who helped to make it happen.
We are looking forward to welcoming all members and guests to
our Ice Breaker Night this coming Monday April 11th beginning at
our regular meeting time 7:15. This is the night that many of
our newest members will be giving their very first speech
projects: the Ice Breaker – a speech in which they tell us a
little bit about themselves. Don’t miss it – Ice Breakers are
the Best
We are looking forward to seeing you all.
Club 1085
We are looking forward to seeing you all. 
