Welcome to the recap of our second meeting since
summer holidays. We’re well in the swing of it now, anticipating
“Exciting Prospects” (Theme of the Evening) to come.
The General Evaluator aptly described the Chairman when he said
“Gerhard Rentsch appears to be “ very comfortable as Chairman.
He is particularly good at directing traffic! Everything moved
very smoothly under his leadership.”
Wordsmith, Marlene Finlayson’s Word for the evening,
“speculate”, was not used nearly as often as one would have
expected, especially when she set it up so well.
In her report she focused on the “vivid and powerful words that
the Speakers used through the meeting”. Imagine spending two
hours in this stimulating atmosphere!
Neville Cohen, stepping in as Wizard of Ahs, was determined to
help us to speak better by catching our “ums, ahs, and ers
– those little utterances that make otherwise good Speakers
sound a little awkward”. He warned us well, because there
weren’t many clinks as the pig was passed around at the end of
the meeting.
Omar Hung’s Inspiration challenged us to look at life again
through a child’s eyes, seeing everything new and “possible”. He
encouraged us to regain the childhood excitement and confidence
“to take risks” so we can continue to learn and improve
ourselves completely uninhibited by the fear of failure.
When the Joke was introduced as Open Mike, Dave Stewart jumped
up right away. Some may have said it was a bit of a ‘blonde
joke’, but even so it was a good chuckle, and some of the
blondes in the club even took the ‘blonde dig’ further, in fun,
later on in the evening.
Timer became a dual role, filled ably by both Jim Sinclair and
Omar Hung. Two ‘on time’ meetings in a row bodes' well for the
year, and for the shared synchronicity between Timer and Chair.
“Speculate the exciting prospects of whatever Table Topic I give
you”, instructed Table Topics Master, Dave Stewart. The topics
were fun, and so interesting to speak to that it was a shame we
did not have time for more… Many of the speeches were so well
constructed and presented that Anne Marie Deluise should feel
her winning ribbon was very well earned.
You never would have known that Veronica Marshall took a big
step out of her comfort zone this night to Evaluate Table Topics
for the very first time. She has a keen eye and a keen ear. As
our General Evaluator said, “She found very good suggestions for
the Speakers, all validations very positively and sincerely
worded.
Li Ying’s Toast, as Toastmaster, was “Something To Look Forward
To.” Li Ying always sets an example in this role – The General
Evaluator’s comments on her “well described introductions, and
her very good bridging” echoed thoughts of many of us.
Anne Marie Deluise’s fully packed Ice Breaker speech, “Who Am
I?” took us on a roller coaster ride of the highs, doubts, and
contradictions that have helped to form her character and
personality. In her excellent evaluation of Anne Marie’s
presentation, Ruth Sol described it as “like going into a twenty
room mansion and getting a glimpse of each room”. Yes, Ruth won
the Best Evaluator ribbon for the astute insights and
observations she shared on this speech
Red socks and special pins are rewards for the District’s
incentive programs this year. We were fortunate to have our
visiting Area Governor, Robyn Newton, fill us in on how we can
make our club even better by helping the District achieve its
goals.
Her speech was interesting, and informative– educational for our
newest members and our guests, and motivating for the executive
and ‘older’ members.
Our General Evaluator has been quoted numerous times throughout
this newsletter. He was generous with his praise for our
strengths, but we were particularly appreciative for the
teaching part of his role because some of his excellent
suggestions for individuals on the Agenda are ones that we can
all take to heart and work on.
It was a great meeting – Fun, informative, and well run by
everyone.
Be Sure To Come Next Week and BRING A GUEST
It’s our OPEN HOUSE.
Club 1085
