Welcome Back
After a summer holiday from Toastmasters it felt good to get
back into the swing. What better theme for the evening than An
Ideal Holiday?
The credit for the high turn out for this meeting should be
given to Neville Cohen, our new Education Vice President. He was
organized and in touch with all of our members well before
September, so it is no surprise that he had a full Agenda.
Marlene Finlayson, our new Vice President of Membership, was
busy this summer fielding e-mails from people interested in
visiting our club to find out more about it.
You will now be greeted at the door each night by this friendly,
outgoing lady. If you are a Guest, it is most likely Marlene who
will answer your initial questions and make you feel at home
before she introduces you to us at the beginning of the meeting.
One of the most amazing things about this first meeting back was
the lack of rust! Sometimes many of us need a week or two to
regain our confidence and hone the skills for our agenda roles.
That wasn’t at all apparent this time. This may have been partly
due to the atmosphere created by our Chairman, Don Ekroth. He
was his relaxed, comfortable self, efficiently guiding us
through the Agenda with just the right touch of humour and
decorum. Loved one of the lines he used when introducing the
theme: “When my kids were younger I used to think that The Ideal
Holiday begins the day after Labour Day!”
When thinking of holidays, doesn’t the word “salubrious” come to
mind? Simon Russell chose this as the fitting Word of the
Evening. He excelled in his role as Wordsmith, both in his
introduction of the Word (in which, through definition and
demonstration, we had no doubt of its meaning or its use), and
in the explanation and report of this role overall.
Gerhard Rentsch, freshly returned from a holiday cruise to
Europe, used this as the theme for his Inspiration. Yes,
Gerhard, this kind of vacation certainly would be a salubrious
benefit to body and soul.
Is it possible Jim Sinclair picked up even more energy over the
summer break? Enthusiastic as always, he rubbed his hands
together with glee as he described the many ways we could um,
ah, and er our money from pocket to the club piggy bank (newly
donated by former member, Yvonne Maes, who is currently teaching
in China). The most popular contribution seemed to be ‘two
bits’!
Jim also had a great Joke for us. Have you heard the one about
the couple visiting New York City for the first time, and their
trouble with the cab driver? Just ask Jim…we don’t want to spoil
the twist at the end.
Anne Marie Delouise told us that she likes being the Timer best
of all because she was born late and has been busy catching up
ever since
It was apparent that she did have fun with that role. With a
smile and humour she admitted losing her place once in a while,
but in spite of that she helped keep the meeting right on time
We even had time for a short Business Meeting, which we do from
time to time. Don Ekroth chaired this one while our efficient
new Treasurer, Omar Hung, gave a clear explanation of his
projected new budget and revised dues for the year.
Then it was time to delve into some fun! Li Ying Kao ran a
light-hearted Table Topics session which she set up so well that
everyone knew exactly what to do when they were given their two
word topic. Above all, she requested that they pull out the
stops when using their imaginations. The winning Speaker in this
competition was Jim Sinclair, who was given the topic of
“Walking in Space”, but who preferred a previous topic “Scuba
Diving”. Jim was imaginative and comedic (and agile!) as he
described and demonstrated the possible similarities between
these two activities.
Veronica Marshall, the main Speaker of the evening, was
introduced by Pam Elliott.
Veronica’s speech project was “How To Say It”, and in her own
special style she ‘said it’ so well. In her speech, titled “Soul
Food” Veronica shared with us her favorite place in the whole
world; the place that replenishes her spirit. Using her own
personal experience as an example, she vividly described for us
her recipe for Soul Food. By the end of her speech it would be
safe to say that she could have led many of us to Her special
place right then and there. Like the Pied Piper, she had enticed
us to follow.
Dave Stewart began the new year in a role he does well – He had
the pleasure of evaluating Veronica’s speech. His focus was on
her strengths, and what she did well. The suggestion he had for
her is something that will come more naturally to her over time,
as she gains even more confidence at the lectern.
Later in the meeting someone suggested that this speech might
have been even stronger if delivered in front of the lectern
(not behind). An interesting observation. There is no right or
wrong, but in certain speeches one actually might be more
effective than the other. However, unless specified by a speech
project, Speakers in Toastmasters have the choice of whether or
not to stand in front of or behind the lectern, just as they
have the choice of whether or not to use unobtrusive notes.
Winding up the meeting with his General Evaluation, Neville
Cohen gave an uplifting, informative commentary – a very smooth
and through General Evaluation. One particularly good ‘pick up’
for us to note on this first meeting of the year was his
suggestion that the Timer, when reporting the Table Topic speech
times, could simultaneously remind us about the topic that
person spoke about. This could be particularly helpful to the
‘Best Table Topic’ voters, and to the guests. Congratulations to
Neville for winning the Best Evaluator ribbon this night
Kudos to everyone who came to this meeting – You all made it
very special.
Club 1085
After a summer holiday from Toastmasters it felt good to get
back into the swing. What better theme for the evening than An
Ideal Holiday? 
