“What great turnout on a cold, wet night!” “Tonight’s meeting
was just what I needed!” It seems that many members felt this
way, and justifiably so: we had “animated speakers” throughout
the evening and “warmth from start to finish!”
In his role as Chairman of tonight’s meeting, “Jan F. was
jovial, energetic and friendly, and his chairmanship was
excellent!” “He was wonderful at making us all feel at home.” In
keeping with tonight’s theme (Home), “Jan F. was able to dig up
a picture of his family home and share some really
fun/interesting experiences.” “Jan’s energy made the meeting a
success!” One member highlighted Jan F’s introduction of Dave S,
at the end of the meeting, in which Jan revealed that Dave’s
father had once dressed him up for Hallowe’en as a brown, paper
grocery bag – for which he won a prize: “Thanks for that image,
Jan F! Unforgettable!”
Li-Ying was “welcoming” in her introduction of guests, and, like
tonight’s Chairman, was praised for her “energy and enthusiasm.”
Manjur, in his first-time role as Wordsmith, was praised for his
“very calm demeanor” and lauded for his progress: “each week he
appears to be gaining confidence and now presents himself in a
calm and confident manner that is a highlight for me. – I wish I
was calmer and more confident!” Manjur’s word of the evening,
“apathetic”, challenged people, but was used during the meeting.
Jane received kudos for her “well-timed” joke, “delivered with
calm and a sense of direction.” One member especially enjoyed
“the unexpected punch line! The audience really enjoyed it!”
“Great pick, Jane!” Inspirator Hilary was praised for “her
sincerity”, and for an inspiration that several members said
“touched the heart.” Jill was highlighted as an “apt and
accurate” Wizard of Ahs, who “was gentle but precise” in her
duty to fill our piggy bank. “I loved her comment to one of us:
‘You were quite generous with your ‘um’s’.” “I enjoyed Jill’s
sense of humour, especially as she identified a new kind of
“ah”: the ‘woohooahhahh’!” Members were also warned about
“snapping at the air at the end of a sentence.” And our
first-time Timer, Christina, received kudos for her “competent,
clear and concise explanation” of her role. Throughout the
meeting, “she kept us on time” and was lauded for being
“extremely exacting” and for “looking after the lights very
well.” As Dave S. commented in his General Evaluation, “I think
the acid test for a good timer is when you don’t even know
they’re there.”
The Table Topics session was “animated and jam-packed!” Our
Table Topics Master this evening, Karen, “provided good,
wholesome topics” that ensured that “nobody got stuck without an
answer.” Her “bridging was excellent,” and she “picked up
something from everyone’s speech for smooth transitions between
speakers.” “I liked how Karen involved guests and people who
hadn’t been able to make a meeting in a while.” “Her sparkly
humour and warmth made Table Topics so enjoyable!” Karen’s
“relaxed manner” was credited with “taking the fear out of Table
Topics.” In responding to “Home is where the heart is”, Jill
revealed that “home is exactly us”; while Jim spoke of not
wanting to have a “home away from home” when on business trips.
Hilary inspired us to be “30% better than our parents” in order
to be a truly great parent, and Manjur praised his mother’s
cooking, eliciting compliments and agreement from several
members: “his Table Topic really struck home for me”; “how true
it is that nobody cooks like Mom!” Jane gave an informative
Table Topic about “greening up” our homes, and advised us of
some ways to eliminate toxic gas build-up from plastics.
Christina “delighted our imaginations and taste buds” with her
speech about a traditional Polish Christmas celebration, a Table
Topic that one member highlighted as “great, descriptive and
heart-felt – thanks!” Li-Ying, as usual “made us chuckle” as she
regaled us with her comparisons between housekeeping in Taiwan
and Canada. The final Table Topics speaker, guest Diane,
“offered wise words” in her appreciation of the communities she
is involved in outside her home: “groups of diverse people
helping [her] to grow and to build.” “First-time Table Topics
Evaluator, Atta, did a great job, especially with his sense of
humour.” One member especially enjoyed Atta’s “demonstration of
different ‘comfortable and uncomfortable’ ways of standing at
the lectern.”
Both speakers this evening were “informative and well-prepared”.
Dave A., in his speech ‘Paranoia: 1, Children: 0’, warned us of
the dangers of over-protecting our children. “His speech was
passionate and very memorable.” His “excellent us of statistics”
helped to “put some of our fears in perspective.” “I was
especially struck by Dave A’s comments that ‘there is an
increasing incidence of rickets because children are being
over-protected from the sun’ and also that adults are now
‘afraid to help children in need’ because of fear their motives
will be questioned.” “Dave A’s speech was well-prepared,
well-presented and very entertaining. He has justified my
often-frowned-upon parenting methods!” “As a parent, I
thoroughly enjoyed Dave A’s speech: I was there when raising 3
children.” In her evaluation of Dave A’s speech, Ruth “offered
good, specific constructive suggestions.” One member highlighted
that “her evaluation was delivered with sincerity and energy.”
Equally sincere and energetic was second speaker, Li-Ying, in
her presentation of an award to member Jan F. “Her speech was
nicely paced. It was really surprising to hear that she had
spoken for almost five minutes, as her message was light, fun
and effective.” “Li-Ying’s presentation of an ‘Inspirational
Award’ to Jan F. was motivating!” “I loved Li-Ying’s statement
that ‘A person’s inspirational act should be recognized!’” One
member’s highlight was: “watching Li-Ying give an inspiring
speech about how inspiring Jan F. is, as he is one of the
inspirators in my life.” Jan K’s evaluation of Li-Ying’s speech
was “organized, full of specific examples and spot-on!” One
member especially enjoyed “how pleased Jan K. was to have caught
something she could suggest as improvement: it made me feel
human for the incredible number of times I haven’t had a
suggestion for someone, because I couldn’t find anything to
“fix”.”
“Dave S’s General Evaluation was great fun, as always! A
fantastic review and summary of the great evening we had!” Dave
S. “tells it like it is – and he has insights that surprise me
but are spot-on!” “I loved Dave S’s plea for Toastmasters not to
refer to ‘experienced’ members as ‘seasoned’ because ‘seasoned’
seems merely to be a synonym for ‘old’!” “Dave S. is so relaxed,
sincere and self-assured when he delivers his evaluation: this
is something we should all strive for.” As a final touch to the
evening, we were treated to some compliments from a guest (who
is an ‘experienced’, but not-so-‘seasoned’, Toastmaster): it is
wonderful that our club “claps people right to their chairs”;
our wearing nametags “is really appreciated, because it makes it
easier to learn people’s names”; and we are “very positive but
don’t whitewash” in our evaluations. It’s good for us to hear
these things, and be reminded of some of the elements we love
about our club, too!
Come and join us for a wonderful evening of “Learning through
Fun and Friendship” on Monday, December 10th, our last regular
meeting before the winter break. Monday, December 17th will be a
dinner meeting at Cheers Restaurant. Happy Holidays!
Club 1085
