Last meeting of 2007 -- Dec. 20, 2007

Remember, no meeting on Dec. 27.

Talented Toastmaster Cary Bradley set the stage for a dynamic meeting with a 2007 retrospect theme that she so skillfully carried out from start to finish. She also introduced all speakers like a pro at a public presentation.

Engaging speaker Mike Angel entertained us with his interpretive reading of a classic holiday tale about Ebineezer Scrooge, while "space ship captain" Mike Stablien took us on a narrative journey to other planets with his visual show.

Mike S. won best speaker, but it was a close vote with Mike A. scoring high, as well. Dave T. won best evaluator for his review of Mike's speech. Eric's review of Mike Angel's speech came in at a close second.

Janet Reese led Table Topics with questions that challenged everyone to reflect on and share their annual highlights. Cary Bradley won for her Eat, Pray, Love book description and recommendation for all to read.

Which speaking opportunity would you like to fill for our next meeting, Jan. 3, 2008? E-mail me with what you elect. As you can see, we need to line up our cast long before the curtain rises. Let's make our first 2008 meeting as great as the last one of 2007!

TM - open
Speakers: Dave T. & Deron W.
Evaluator 1: Janet for Dave
Evaluator 1: open (for Deron)
GE-open
WOD-open
Timer- open
Ah counter-open
Grammarian-open

Happy 2008!
See you Next Year, Jan. 3, 2008!

Dec. 6, 2007 Meeting Summary

Congratulations. You did it!
Today we recognized and celebrated our accomplishments in TM during the past year. Whether you just joined, you finished your Ice Breaker, one manual, or you earned a designation, congratulations! All your efforts pay off in better speaking skills that you apply daily. At the same time, you help our club earn a Distinguished Program award. What are your TM goals for 2008?

Deron White, VP of Education presented the awards:
Competent Communicator
Mike Angel
Gary Fuller
Eric Peterson
Advanced Communicator-Bronze
John Wierzba
Deron White
Nick Samoylov
Advanced Communicator-Silver
Janet Reese
Nick Samoylov
Competent Leader
Deron White
John Wierzba

There's more...
Our program also included a speech by Deron White who recounted a heartfelt story with a character named Bubba. Gary Fuller evaluated his speech, noting how Deron met the speech objectives and tips for next time.

Cary Bradly provided “dreamy” table topics and challenged us with creative questions about our dreams—when we’re snoozing. We incorporated Aaron Sapp’s word-of-the-day, crackerjack - A person or thing that shows marked ability or excellence. Connie’s reply won her Best Table Topics award.

Roles for next week Dec. 13:
Toastmaster-Eric Peterson
Speaker No. 1 - Dave Truzpek
Speaker No. 2 - Cary Bradley
Evaluator for Dave - John Wierzba
Evaluator for Cary- Open (You?--Let Eric and Cary know)
Table Topics- Connie Pshigoda
General Evaluator- Dan Pratt
Word of the Day- Gary Fuller

No meeting on Dec. 27 due to the holiday week.
See you next week!

Dec. 6, 2007 Meeting

Congratulations. You did it!

Today we recognized and celebrated our accomplishments in TM during the past year. Whether you just joined, you finished your Ice Breaker, one manual, or you earned a designation, congratulations! All your efforts pay off in better speaking skills that you apply daily. At the same time, you help our club earn a Distinguished Program award. What are your TM goals for 2008?

Deron White, VP of Education presented the awards:
Competent Communicator
Mike Angel
Gary Fuller
Eric Peterson

Advanced Communicator-Bronze
John Wierzba
Deron White
Nick Samoylov

Advanced Communicator-Silver
Janet Reese
Nick Samoylov

Competent Leader
Deron White
John Wierzba

Our program also included a speech by Deron White who recounted a heartfelt story with the lead character named Bubba. Garry Fuller evaluated his speech, noting how Deron met the speech objectives and tips for next time.

Cary Bradly provided “dreamy” table topics and challenged us with creative questions about our dreams—when we’re sleeping. In our answers, we used Aaron Sapp’s word-of-the-day, crackerjack - A person or thing that shows marked ability or excellence. Connie’s reply won her Best Table Topics award.

Roles for next week Dec. 13:
Toastmaster-Eric Peterson
Speaker No. 1 - Dave Truzpek
Speaker No. 2 - Cary Bradley
Evaluator for Dave - John Wierzba
Evaluator for Cary- Open (Tell Eric & Cary if you want to fill this role)
Table Topics- Connie Pshigoda
General Evaluator- Dan Pratt
Word of the Day- Gary Fuller

No meeting on Dec. 27 due to the holiday week.
See you next week!

Meeting Notes for November 29th.

Shopping

Word of the Day:  materialism

Black Friday Flight of the bumble bee

Shopping, Hopping, Swapping, Mopping
Popping, slopping, dropping , cropping
flopping, chopping, topping, propping
flopping?  sopping?  whopping?  stopping?


:)


Roles for next week
TM:  Janet
Speaker:  Deron
Speaker:  Janet - Awards ceremony
Evaluator: Gary
Table Topics:  Cary
Word of the Day:  Aaron
Evaluator General:  Eric
Guests:  Stephanie, Keith, Don and returning member Jeff Johns!


Meeting Summary
Airin' Aaron Sapp took the meeting to new heights with a positive attitude.  Gary Grandslam Fuller wowed us with a fireside chat about family values.  Eric the Red yucked it up with holiday cheer and jeer. 

Evaluators Janet and Connie, both were quite balmy.  Applauds rained down like a wild tsunami.  Next Karen Lang, Carin' so much, lead table topics, impromptu and such.  That crazy guy Nick, summed it all up, with his dazzle and shtick.  Did he do good?  yup. 

That all from me.  I gotta go.  See you next week.  At least I hope so.

Mike

Meeting Notes - November 15

We had a fun meeting today. We were a little short on audience, but long on participation.

John Wierzba, lead the meeting as Toastmaster with the theme of cards. Playing cards precisely. John provided us with some history about cards. How did the deck get to 52? Why does the Ace of Spades bear the makers information? Can you make a bomb out of the hearts and diamonds? These questions, all but the last one (look it up), filled the dead air and kept the meeting moving.

Aaron Sapp entertained us with his ice-breaker today. Aaron's a natural speaker who introduced us to him, his family, and his interests via a Powerpoint presentation, providing graphs to highlight information about his life. One of his daughters is has above normal sass, as measured against an average.

I provided his final speech from the Interpretive Reading manual. I'll be happy to say good-bye to that manual. It turns out, I'm more comfortable with my own words. It's been a learning experience in any case.

Dave Trzupek hectored us with Table Topics around a space theme. Do astronauts wear diapers? Funny thing is, as many a parent can confirm, diapers are a convenience that many kids aren't all that happy to give up. My question is, once the astronauts wear the diapers have any of them decided it's not such a bad way to go?

We were pleased to see Connie Pshigoda come back. Not the least, because she filled in as timer, ah-counter, and grammarian.

There's no meeting next week as we should all be fattening up for the winter. Following that the next meeting looks like....

Toastmaster: Aaron Sapp
Speakers: Gary Fuller and Eric Peterson
Evaluators: Connie Pshigoda and Janet Reese
Table Topics: Karen Lang

D.

Meeting Notes - November 8th

"When I was just a wee little lad, full of health and joy
my father homeward came one night, he gave to me a toy
a wonder to behold it was, with many colors bright
the first time I layed eyes on it, it became my hearts delight

It went zip when it moved, and pop when it stopped
and whirred when it stood still
I never knew just what it was, and I guess I never will."

-Peter, Paul, and Mary

Gadgets, was the theme for today's meeting. Dave Trzupek is a gadget junkie, and he shared this interest with us. Explaining what a gadget is, and giving several examples.


The word of the day was....


Novelty - 1: something new or unusual 2: the quality or state of being novel 3: a small manufactured article intended mainly for personal or household adornment - usually used in the plural 4: something that provides often fleeting amusement and is often based on a theme - often used attributively.



.... which fit right in with the theme.



We enjoyed two speeches on this day. One by Karen Lang and the other by Eric Peterson. Karen "got to the point," in her manual speech providing us with some interesting information about our natural preferences for Expressiveness. I'm on the left side of the second-third, for those who haven't guessed.



Eric worked upon the theme of "The Emperor's New Clothes," entertaining us with his good humor about having to pretend he knows less than he does, though he knows more, in order to maintain the illusion that he isn't capable of doing what he can do, though he clearly can, and will do what he can when he is deemed ripe for it; all in an effort to, not rock the boat and upset the emperor.



During table topics we all shared something novel about ourselves, which was an enjoyable way to learn a bit about each speaker. We were treated to an excellent table topic presented by our guest Pat O'Brien.



Next week we look forward to hearing an Ice-Breaker from Aaron Sapp. John Wierzba will be our Toastmaster. I shall give a speech from the story-telling manual.



-D.

Evaluation articles / awards presentation

Articles: Have you read the articles on the craft of evaluating speeches in the Nov. 2007 issue of Toastmaster magazine? They are a few of the best articles I've seen on on how to give evaluations properly.

Giving constructive feedback to speakers is important, yet one of the most difficult things to do well. I liked the articles because they give some good tips on what to do and what not to do when you are the evaluator. What do you think?

Awards: Have you earned a TM designation during the past year? Please plan on attending our special Dec. 6 awards meeting. We will recognize and present you with your designation, whether it's the competent leader, competent communicator or an advanced award such as advanced communicator bronze. Bring your certificate. We want to congratulate you for your accomplishments in TM!

Nov 1st - Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes
Roles
11-1-07

Toastmaster:  "Daring" Deron White

Speaker 1:  John "medicine man" Wierzba
Speaker 2:  Dave "Pride of Krakow" Trzupek
General Evaluator:  Gary "Grand Slam" Fuller
Evaluator 1:  Nick "The Hammer" Samoylov
Evaluator 2:  Mike "What day is this?" Angell

New member! Aaron Sapp
Please welcome Aaron.  Aaron also lead table topics today.

Awards:
Best Speaker:  John "faith healer" Wierzba
Best Evaluator:  Mike "Seriously, what day is it?" Angell 
Best Table Topics:  Janet "poised and ready" Reese

Summary:
John wowed us with essential oils.  A former skeptic, John was won over by his physical therapist when he suffered a serious back injury. 

Dave shared a tale of exquisite adventure as he recounted a visit to his ancestral home, Poland. 

Aaron sharpened his interview skills with some impromptu table topics.  He did such a good job we "hired" him. 


 

Triskelions

Oct. 25, 2007 Meeting Notes

We welcomed our two guests, Cris Wood and Ron Sexton, who we hope return and join. Toastmaster Janet Reese carried out the Halloween theme with chocolate treats and trivia.

Deron White entertained us with his theatrical performance, a dialogue where he played two different people. That could be confusing, but he kept the players straight. Karen Lang informed us in her speech about "your brain" and the different types of thinkers. She effectively used visual aids to help us follow along.

Luayne Trujillo challenged us with goolish Table Topics where we had to apply the word-of-the-day, "grotesque"-distorted and unnatural in shape or size.

Evaluators Gary Fuller and Paul Sadowski gave their speakers constructive feedback.

Karen won best speaker, Gary, best evaluator, and Cris and Paul tied for Table Topics.

Thanks to Deron for creating a guide for Triskelion TM, a useful tool for old and new members.

Next week's line up:
Toastmaster-Deron
Speaker 1- Dave T.
Speaker 2 - John Wierzba
Evaluator 1 - Karen
Evaluator 2 - Open
Table topics - Aaron S.
General Evaluator-Gary
Word of the Day-Janet

Happy Halloween and "Go" Rockies!

Oct. 18, 2007 Meeting Notes

We were entertained and informed today by our two speakers, Gary Fuller and Nick Samoylov. Gary enlightened us about the management of hunting and wild game in Colorado. Nick performed a monologue with an imaginary "cranky old man."

Janet led table topics from her "book of life questions." Everyone came up with insightful answers using the word of the day "ephemeral" meaning short, temporary.

Mike Stablien evaluated Gary's speech and Luyane, Nick's. Both offered tips and compliments.

Our guest Aaron Sapp--who we hope joins the club--was our timer. Aaron jumped right in to Table Topics.

Gary Fuller took speaker's award, Luayne won best evaluator and Mike Stablien won best table topics.

The lineup for next week:
TM-Janet
Speaker 1-Karen Lang
Speaker 2-open to be filled
Evaluator 1 - Gary Fuller
Evaluator 2 - open to be filled
Table Topics -Luayne
Word of the Day -Aaron Sapp

Please plan on attending next week and volunteer now for an open role. Some of our Triskelion crew will be absent due to an in-house meeting. So we need you to make a full meeting. Most of all, we want your company.

See you next week!

Meeting Notes - October 11

Toastmaster: Mike "Go Rockies" Angell

Word of the Day: Kismet, a noun meaning fate or destiny brought to you by Cindy "Kismet" Castilow

Timer: Cindy

Ah Counter aka the Wizard of Ahs: Gary "Helton" Fuller

Grammarian: Karen "leave 'em laughing" Lang

Speech: Janet "Fountain of Youth" Reese

Evaluator: Cary "Carry-on bag" Bradley

Table Topics: Eric "Muscles" Peterson

Janet treated us to a 20 minute speech today about "Pro-aging – how to live a long and healthy life". She cited many factors that contribute to our longevity including, diet, exercise and positive attitude. We were also educated in "yoga laughter" ho-ho-ho-ha-ha-ha. Hey.... I call 'em like I see 'em.

Eric rounded out the meeting with his usual cheer at Table Topics

Roles for next week:

Toastmaster: Eric

Speech: Gary

Evaluator: Dan

Table Topics: Janet

Grammarian/Ah/Word of the day: John Wierzba

Open: Speech 2
Ev 2: Open

Go Rocks!

Mike

Meeting Summary for October 4

Triskelion Toastmasters
10-4-07
Meeting Summary



Toastmaster: Tracy "multi-tasker" Goodman
Meeting theme: "Stop the ride. I want off!"

Word of the day: Redoubtable
Speech: "Wild" Heidi Sue Harris
Evaluator: Janet "poised and confident" Reese
General Evaluator: Eric "roll call" Peterson
Table Topics: John "wildman" Wierzba

Summary:
Heidi gave her icebreaker today. She charmed us with tales of her wild life. From her youth in the heart of Mississippi to the present in the Colorado Rockies, there's never been a dull moment. Janet gave a glowing review of our speaker.

The meeting climaxed with table topics. John lead an innovative "story telling" round today. Reminiscent of campfire games, John began a story. Each member had to carry on the story for at least one minute. It was great fun.

New member: Dan "common law" Pratt!

Roles for next week:
Toastmaster: Mike A.
Speaker: Janet
Evaluator: Cary
Word of the Day: Cindy
Timer: Heidi Sue
Table Topics: Eric
Speaker 2 Open
Evaluator 2 Open

10-18-07
Speaker: Gary

Announcements: Tall tales contest is this weekend. Please attend if you'd like to see what District competition is like. Mike A. will represent the club.

Please sign up for an upcoming speech, either this week or the next.

Humor
Doctor, Doctor I think I need glasses
You certainly do, Sir, this is a coffee shop!

Doctor, Doctor my son has swallowed my pen, what should I do?
Use a pencil 'till I get there


Thank you

Mike

Speaking article of interest

I found this article in Real Simple magazine that's right up our alley. Check out "Identifying and Correcting 8 Common Speech Problems" at this link:
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1642056-1,00.html

Enjoy reading!

Icebreaker - Nick Samoylov

While preparing this speech I made quite a few discoveries (thank you, toastmasters system!). The biggest one, I realized how lucky I am. Sure people told me this, and I felt lucky and was grateful for all the blessings, but I never actually tried to account how many of those blessings were provided. Just to name a few.

First of all - nothing terribly new here - my wife and our two daughters. With Luda we married many (I am not allowed to disclose how many) years. Most of this time we worked together – in the same company, on the same project, even sitting next to each other, as right now too in Jeppesen (Boeing Corporation). We are literally 24 by 7 for many years. We used to it and miss each other very quickly.

Our girls are delight of our hearts, realization of dreams we did not even dare to have, and justification of all our efforts. They graduated from college already. The older Kateryna graduated from Harvard (now is doing PHD in philosophy in Brown). The younger Maria graduated from Tufts (now works as an investment analyst in JPMorgan Bank in NY).
Another example of my luck, I studied English behind the iron curtain and knew I had no chance to use it. Normal people never crossed USSR borders, there were no foreigners around, and I had a clearance on the top of that (I worked for Star Wars project). My friends were puzzled: “Why?!” I could not explain. I just loved to learn a new language. Than - sure enough, my luck kicked in - the USSR collapsed, and suddenly I am among very few who can communicate with new world over the broken fence. Quite a few people said later: “Wow! How smart were you that studied English!” This first speech – in English - in front of English speaking audience is the fulfillment of my childhood dream.

The collapse of the USSR was lucky for me in several other ways. The scientific research lost funding, and we had to hit the market. First devastated and lost, I soon discovered joy and power of the free enterprise. I created two companies - all around computers – and not only kept afloat, but actually prospered by standards of those days. Since 1991 I am not afraid of anything… except myself.

The last example of my luck is related to our coming to the US. You know that many people try many different ways for many years to come here and cannot succeed. We tried it only once. Luda, my wife, pulled a Green Card Lottery ticket and got it right – just like that – in the critical moment when we desperately needed to re-unite the family (our daughters were schooling in England at the time; they were accomplished piano players and got scholarship in Royal College of Music, also in Claremont Fan Court school and Cheltenham Ladies College). At that time I worked for a German company. We tried to build a bridge between western money and Ukrainian brains. I traveled between Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and England, to visit kids, who were 10-14 and 12-16 years old. Luda also visited them, but we basically stuck in the Ukraine. The chance to live again as a family in a civilized country was just blessing.

There were several other discoveries… Manual recommends be more personal during the icebreaker. …One of my discoveries was my night cap – my private view of self. Everybody has one. Mine is Sylvester Stallone with Leonardo Da Vinci’s brains and Prince Charles’ manners. My secret initials are “LCS”. The icebreaker helped me to shed light on this monster. I have to work on the beast to bring it closer to reality.

Oh, yes, another thing … Did I mention I am a convicted felon currently charged with an identity theft from a Ukrainian guy? Just kidding.

Meeting Notes - September 20th

Tracy Goodman delivered her Ice Breaker today. Tracy's speech followed a geographic theme. Tracing her beginnings from St. Clairsville, OH, to Wheeling, WV, to Oxford, OH, to Pittsburgh, PA, and finally to Denver, CO. Tracy's speech had a geographic theme. More specifically, it had an I-70 theme, never taking her more than 20 miles away from the Interstate.


Paul Sadowski surprised us all by stepping into a temporary gap with a speech. Paul told the group the story of Minamata, Japan. A community so devastated by Mercury Poisoning that it has the dubious honor having the associated disease Minamata Disease, named after it. It's a cautionary story warning us to beware of the risks that environmental pollutants pose.




Mike Angell, our clubs poet laureate presented two poems by William Blake, from his Songs of Innocence and Experience. Illustrating Blake's use of opposites.



The awards were distributed at meetings end. Tracy Goodman received the honors for Best Speaker. John Wierzba was our Best Evaluator. Paul Sadowski took the honors for Best Table Topics.

Next week....
We have space and need for a speaker, and a General Evaluator.

Evaluation Contest - Sept, 6 2007

Punters sat on the sideline today as three very accomplished contestants vied for the Best Evaluator honor, and the right to represent Triskelions in the district contest. Past accomplishments eviscerated the odds preventing any gain from betting on such a tight contest.

The meeting began with the final arrangements for the contest. Lots were cast to determine the order of the contestants. Ballots were distributed among the three judges. Tracy was selected as timer, and she carefully reviewed the requirements for fulfilling her duties. A point of order was reached to compensate for the absence of our Sargeant-at-arms, an honor system was worked out, and controls implemented to insure fairness.

Nerves started tingling as the contest began. A speech was delivered by an annonymous Toastmaster. We listened intently to the strangers voice, observed his body language, read the audiences reaction to his speech, and made our own internal evalutions of his presentation. Would the contestants observe the same points? What would they say.

At speeches end the contestants were ushered from the room, and given time to prepare their evaluations.

In the mean time Nick treated us to an interview of the annoymous speaker. David Doud's his name. David joined Toastmasters 20 years ago in Germany earned his CTM, and stepped away from the organization. Twenty years on David is now the President of the Pioneer Club, and an Area Governor.

The five minutes were up and one by one the evaluators presented their evalautions. Luayne Trujillo spoke first making many insightful observations. Gary Fuller followed with his own insights. Both Luayne and Gary observed that a story about porcupine quills and a gluteus may have been outside the bounds of the clubs taste. Paul Sadowski wound up the evaluations making a similar observation. The details of each evaluation was similar. Emphasis on the details was all that separated the contestants.

A quick tallying of the votes, and time for two table topics followed. We covered club business, but what everybody really wanted to know was, who's the winner. Having prolonged the agony, and built the audience to a crescendo of anticipation Nick announced that Gary Fuller would represent the club in the next level.

Good luck Gary. Thanks to David for speaking.

Please everyone remember to bring your dues to the next meeting.

Meeting Minutes - August 30th

Meeting Theme: New Beginnings

Toastmaster
Your Toast host: Gary Fuller

Word of the Day
Vocabulary Dose: Infuse

Special Guests:
Dan
New Member: Heidi

Speakers
Orators Grandiose:
Karen "always leave 'em wanting more" Lang
Nick "The Raven" Samoylov

Evaluators
The Whipping Post:
Mike Stablien
Eric Peterson

Table Topics
Janet Reese

Toasts who can boast the most
Best Speaker Karen
Best Evaluator Mike Stablien
Best Table Topics Mike Angell

Summary:
Nick wowed us with an interpretive reading of Edgar Allen Poe's classic "The Raven". Karen gave her Ice breaker. She told us how much she likes her husband, her faith and her job as a behavioral expert. Mike explained how his parents moved away in a sneaky plan tofinally get him out of their house.

Joke of the Day
A man is having a really bad day on the golf course. By the 14th hole, he's missed one putt too many, and he lets loose with a string of profanities, grabs his putter, and storms off toward the lake by the 15th tee.

"Uh-oh," says his caddie to one of his playing partners, "There goes that club."

"You think so?" said the other golfer. "I've got five bucks says he misses the water."

Meeting Minutes - August 23rd

Triskelion Toastmasters
Meeting Minutes
8/27/07

Toastmaster Your Toast Host: John "coming through in the clutch" Wierzba

Vocabulary Dose: Word of the Day "Diligence"

Orators Grandiose: Speakers
Nick and Eric both gave humorous speeches. Nick discussed his latest escapade to the Ukraine. Banking is a little different there. He handed the teller a large bag of cash. She said "thank you" and threw it in the safe. She gave no receipt. "Come back tomorrow at 9:00" was all he got. Eric told us to "stay in school" :)

The Whipping Post - Evaluators:
Deron and Janet

Most Verbose Boasts: Table Topics by Nate
Topicers included Eric, Karen, Mike A., Gary and our guest Steve

Toasts who can boast the Most: Awards
Best Speaker: Nick
Best Evaluator: Janet
Best Table Topics: Steve

Joke of the day:
Three weeks after her wedding day, Joanna called her mom.
"Mom," she wailed, "John and I had a DREADFUL fight!"
"Calm down, my child," said the mom, "it's not half as bad as you think it is. Every marriage has to have its first fight!" "I know, I know!" said Joanna, "but what am I going to do with the BODY!

Meeting Minutes - August 16th

Your Toast Host
Toastmaster
Cindy "Can I catch a break?" Castilow

Vocabulary Dose
Word of the day - "missing"  adjective  "not present" 

Speaker Grandiose
Deron White - "Uncle Charlie and the snowblower"

The Whipping Post
Evaluator John Wierzba

Strange and Verbose
Table Topics Dave Truzpek

Contestants Arose - Tall Tales Contestants
Eric Peterson
Deron White
Mike Stablien
Mike Angell

Toasts who can boast the most
Best Table topics - Gary
Best Evaluator - John Wierzba
Best Tall Tale - Mike Angell


See you next week

Mike
Secretary/Treasurer

Meeting Minutes for August 9th

Toastmaster:
Paul "powerhouse" Sadowski reprised his role as TM

Vocabulary Dose
Word of the Day:
Cindy "Obligate"

Speakers Grandiose:

Eric and Mike Angell did the same speech: Speech 1 from the Entertaining speakers manual.
Eric "discussed" the new company dress code.
Mike wrote a "scientific" study of life on the beach
Eric got more laughs, but only because he was funnier.


Evaluators:
The Whipping Post
Gary "Grandslam" Fuller
Mike "straight and narrow" Stablien

Table Topics: Truthful ... almost
Our Table Topics Master was none other Cindy Castilow.

Wizard of Ahs
Dan Pratt, Grammarian, Ah counter, Timer

Toast Host:
Gary brought his father in law John as a guest

Toasts who can boast the most:
Award winners
Best Speaker - Eric
Best Eval - Gary
Best Table Topics - 3 way tie. Don't ask me how

Toasts at their Post! Meeting assigments for next week
Cindy Toastmaster
Eric Evaluator
Mike Stablien - Tall Tales contestant
Timer/Ah/Grammarian

Still need
Speaker, evaluator, tall tales contestants,
Tall Tales contest - Area "Tall Tales Contest" is coming up. Open to all

Thanks

Mike
Secretary/Treasurer

July 26 Meeting Notes

"The hills are alive with abundant wildflowers," toastmaster Janet Reese proclaimed.

Head to the mountains this weekend and check out the beautiful flora including alpine columbine, Indian paintbrush and wild rose. To identify the specimens you'll see, use a wildflower guide. Or, you can use the meeting agenda decorated with common wildflowers.

Speaker Nathan Wilkes kept us in stitches as he described the benefits of "going glossy" (shaving his head by choice). He gets more respect with a glossy head, he's more sexy, and urges us all to try it for two weeks.

Speaker Deron White interpreted several monologues from the Spoon River Anthology. The voices came from the souls of the departed speaking of their lives while sleeping on the hill. Scary! Ghosts actually attended our meeting.

Mike Stablein, with a full head of hair, evaluated Nathan's glossy speech. Eric Peterson evaluated Deron's monologue. Both speakers received high marks; Nathan won best speaker. Mike won best evaluator.

Luyane Trujillo provided table topics inspired by "365 plays in 365 days." Her questions were thought provoking, indeed. Luckily, no one had to act out a play.

Mike Angel, general evaluator, gave us a few tips for improvement. Here's one: include the speech time when introducing the speakers, so the timer knows when to flash the lights.

Next week's lineup includes speakers Carey Bradley and Mike Stablein, evaluators Eric Peterson and Luyane Trujillo, toastmaster Mike Angel and table topics by James. Check out the schedule for open roles and consider one.

Remember to stop and smell the wildflowers! See you next week.

My contest experience

My speech contest experience, in a few words, was eye opening. First, it was
"Wow! I can do it!". Second, it was "Wow! Other speakers are so good!"
Third, it was "Oh, it hurts to lose! I will never ever do it again!" and,
forth, it was "I will do it every time I will have a chance again."

From just repeating the same speech several times in front of the different
audience I got a chance to try different techniques and learn what works and
when and what does not work at all (strange, are they deaf?!). It was
striking to see that different audiences react differently to the same
words, how timing of the punch line can kill the phrase or bring down the
house. I tried pauses of different lengths. I tried my voice at different
volume and variety. I projected different level of energy in different
places of the speech. I tried many things and got a lot of experience.

I saw other speakers co-oping with similar problems. My alertness of a
participant helped me to observe how other speaker deal with the same
issues. I learned from that too. How to do and how not to do things.

I got exposed to a few sec of glory and the dark hole of failure, and
learned how to deal with each of them. The last one was not easy. I was
surprised how "obvious" for me was that "the judges were unfair", when they
did not select me as a winner. Than I learned from my failure even more than
from my victories.

Overall, these few competitions (I went up to the division level only) made
me feel I learned more than from the first ten speeches. Very similar
statements and experiences I have heard from many other participants.
Actually, I heard it from every one I talked to. And I got to know so many
new and interesting people, with some of whom we continue to develop
friendship now - long time after the contest is over.

That is why I am going to do it again and again - every time I can. And I
encourage everybody - new and experienced toastmasters - go ahead, give it a
shot, it worth the pain of failure.

Good luck to you!
Nick

_________________________________________________________________
http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_2G_0507

Meeting Notes - July 19th Flitch Day

I found this little tidbit on the Freakonomics website...

July 19 is Flitch Day, a surviving relic from Medieval England in which married couples appear before a "mock court." Those who can prove that they had "lived in harmony and fidelity" for the past twelve months were awarded a flitch, defined as a "salted and cured side of bacon." According to Thinkquest.org, "very few [couples] 'took home the bacon.'"

We didn't hold a mock court, but we did have an interesting table topics, presented by Tracy Goodman, revolving around the frustrations of the work place. It occurs to me that if we liken our work to a marriage between us and our employers the flitch would never be awarded. The spice of life is drawn from our experiences, and salted and cured bacon is a poor substitue.

We were treated to two very good speeches. Mike Angell provided us with an interpretive reading that lent us advice on finding harmony in our relationships. A careful study and attention to the details of the reading could lead us to earning a flitch, assuming the concurrence of our partners.

As Mike's evaluator, I missed all of Luayne's speech, as I toiled over my evaluation duties. I did get this much. There was a lot of laughter. Since Luayne was giving a speech from the Entertainment, I gather by the response that she hit her mark. It is a mis-fortune that I remain unable to do two things at one time.

We finished up the meeting by inducting Nathan Wilkes and Tracy Goodman to the club.

Meeting Notes - July 12

Dave Trzupek started kicked off the speeches for the meeting presenting his third speech from the CC Manual. Dave spoke on his passion for scuba diving. Dave shared some of his insights into the world of scuba diving and some of his personal experiences.

Mike Stablein also spoke from the CC manual and was charged with persuading with power. Mike's speech title, "Watch your sword," describes the device he used to persuade us to watch our swords. That is, to watch our tongues, which have the power to cut as a sword. Few people could disagree with this bit of advice.

Cindy Castilow stepped in at the last minute and presented Table Topics for the group.

Next week....
Eric Peterson will lead the meeting as Toastmaster. Mike Angell will be speaking, and we have room for another speaker, as well.

New Officer Induction, June 28, 2007

Today's meeting covered a vast territory from new officer induction to a speech on "where speaker Mike Angel is from" to table topics on passionate pursuits.

Past officers--thank you for your leadership in making 2006-07 a stellar, Distinguished (and beyond) Club year! Past officers: President Gary Fuller, Membership VP Connie Pshigoda, Treasurer Mike Angel, Public Relations VP Deron White, and Education VP Mike Biggs.

Wecome and congratulations, new 2007-08 Triskelion Toastmasters club officers!

President - Eric Peterson

VP-Education - Deron White

Secretary/Treasurer - Mike Angel

VP-Membership - Nick Samoylov

VP-Public Relations - Dave Trzupek

Sergeant at Arms - Mike Stablein

Also, a warm welcome to our newest members Karen Lang and Tracy Goodman.

Toastmaster Eric Peterson commenced the meeting with today's word of the day, "commence" (to initiate, start), which most participants managed to use.

In his entertaining speech, Mike Angel told us "Where he's from" starting in 50 BC to present day, all in 8 minutes! His two-year-long search for his family tree culminated in his speech.

John Wierzba evaluated Mike's speech, drawing on what Mike learned from giving his first 10 speeches. Mike scored an "A".

Karen Lang presented table topics, prompting us to talk about our passions. From the Denver Broncos to Nascar, to horseback riding, synchronized swimming and singing, our members are interesting people doing interesting things. Nathan Wilkes's sky diving drama won best table topics award.

General evaluator Nick Samoylov reviewed the meeting and made suggestions for next time. Tip: Before you leave the lecturn, shake hands with the presiding toastmaster, table topics master or general evaluator. This will ensure there's always someone at the lecturn.

As always, our meeting was filled with a lot of variety and laughs while we applied our public speaking skills.

Next week, July 5, there will be no meeting due to the July 4 holiday. Our next meeting will be July 12, 11:35 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

July 12 meeting roles:

TM: Deron White
Speakers: Dave T., Mike S.
Evaluators: Gary Fuller, Eric Peterson
Table Topics: Nick S.
General Evaluator: Mike A.
Word of the day: Tracy G.
Timer: open
Grammarian, ah-counter: open

See you July 12!

Meeting Notes - June 14, 2007

My most favored speech from the CC manual is the Icebreaker speech. It’s always a joy to learn about our new members. The first speech is often a portent of things to come. Everyone has some natural positives in their speaking style. Our speakers of June 14th were not an exception to this rule.

The first speech was by Cindy Castelow, and the second by Nathan Wilkes. Cindy displayed a natural gift for descriptive language and a nice sense of humor. Nathan demonstrated strength in speech construction, and very good composure behind the lectern. We look forward to many more speeches from Cindy and Nathan.

Father’s day was the theme for the Table Topics. Janet Reese plied us with her Table Topics questions about fathers, fathering, parents, and father’s day. The responses weren’t zany, but tended towards well-articulated personal stories about our fathers and ourselves.

Next Week...

We are currently in need of: a general evaluator, an evaluator, an “ah” counter, and a timer.

Next weeks meeting will be lead by Karen Lang with speeches by Nick Samoylov and Deron White. Eric Peterson will evaluate Nick.

June 7 Meeting Minutes

June 7th Meeting Minutes

Lead by: Eric Peterson, President Elect
Speakers: Deron White and Nick Samoylov
Evalutors: Janet Reese and Dave Trzupek

Fellow Toastmasters:

Today Nick wowed us with a death defying tale of mountain climbing. Every experienced climber has to start somewhere. Nick recounted his first climbing trip. He and two other rather inexperienced climbers took an "easy route" to the summit. "Experience" is often the best teacher and the three soon learned that "easy" was a matter of interpretation. In a climactic moment the three were stranded! They hung, suspended on a cliff face in the dark! As night fell and cold set in the three wondered if they would survive. They were, momentarily, trapped as the lead climber's strength began to fail him.

The third climber, Nina, took the initiative and climbed to safety. Unbeknowst to her other climbers, she had unhooked her safety belt in a selfless act. She did not want to take the other two climbers down with her if she fell. Fortunately for Nick and his companion, Nina soon found her way to safety on a geological shelf. She guided her companions down and the rest, as they say, is history.

Deron gave us a taste of Scotch - poetry that is! In an interpretive poem, Deron read the work of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Burns is the well known author of "Auld Lang Syne" and many other favorites. Nothing like a dash of literature and culture to spice up a speech.

Coming next week - Two ice breakers by Cindy and Nate!

In other club news, we're looking to fill our VP of PR slot. Interested parties should contact Eric.

Good speaking!

Mike
Secretary
Treasurer

Meeting Notes - May 31st

Eric Peterson stepped up to fill in as Toastmaster and brought order to the melee that began our meeting. The meeting was an unusual one as we took some time to elect new officers. Prepared speeches still took their place at the core of the meeting, and we were treated to two speeches.

Mike Angell gave his final speech from the Competent Toastmaster's Manual, and has achieved the designation of CTM. We congratulate Mike on his achievement. The awarding of each new CTM reminds me that it takes a good deal of dedication to achieve this goal. Mike's speech was on words that a fathers should pass on to their sons, or elders to kin if taken broadly, that might make for a less foolish world.


Dave Trzupek took first prize for his second speech from the the CTM manual. The speech focused on organization. Dave spoke on the topic of being positive, and the benefits that accrue to the positive person.

An election replaced table topics for the meeting. Speeches were given. A ballot was formed and the following officers elected:

• Eric Peterson - President
• Deron White - VP of Education
• Nick Samoylov - VP of Membership
• Still open - VP of Public Relations
• Secretary & Treasurer - Mike Angell
• Sergeant at Arms - Mike Stablein

Elections - Vote Early, Vote Often

It is the time of year that we need to elect new officers. A ballot has been formed, but there is still space for members to get involved.

Here is the ballot as it currently stands...

President....................... Eric Peterson
VP of Education.............. Deron White
VP of Membership........... Position is open to volunteers
VP of Public Relations..... Nick Samoylov
Secretary & Treasurer...... Mike Angell
Sergeant at Arms............ Mike Stablein

No electioneering will be tolerated outside the voting room. Electioneering inside is acceptable. Anyone not in attendance risks nomination and confirmation. Anyone wishing to take on a leadership role is welcome to toss their name into the hat.

Table Topics for the upcoming meeting will be used to allow the prospective officers an opportunity to explain why they should not be elected.

Meeting Notes - May 25

Paul Sadowski stepped in and led the meeting as the day's Toastmaster. We listened to two speeches both from the advanced manual, Speeches by Management.

Guido Sullam gave his first speech with our club. Guido's presentation was on Risk Management. The presentation outlined an approach to measuring and prioritizing risk, followed by methods to address the risks.

Cary Bradley gave a speech on social responsibility standards. International Organization for Standards is developing the standards for social responsibility under topic number ISO 26,000.

The contestants for best speech received equal votes. Votes were split equally for the best evaluators as well. Everyone did an equally good job.

Eric Peterson split the prizes into equal parts and distributed to the co-winners.The TableTopics challenge was to support or defend such feckless propositions as, "Luster improving shampoo's should be banned from pet show competitions," or "Prize monies should be equal between winners of cat shows and dog shows." Mike Biggs took first prize for his argument supporting, "Cameras should be installed in Wash Park to stop speeding joggers."

What's On My Bookshelf - An Ice-Breaker

What's On My Bookshelf?

Imagine you found yourself alone in a stranger's house, and you want to know about the people who live there. What would you look at?

My wife, Serena, would look at the pictures. She always notices the pictures. My son and daughter would look for toys, or substitutes. Myself, I would look at the available reading material. One can learn a lot about people by what they read. Here is what you would learn about me, if you were to peruse the books in our family room.

First, you will notice that we are not the tidiest people. Scattered on the floor are children’s books, The Poky Little Puppy, Good Night Moon, and others. There are children here, which is my excuse for the sloppiness. I am the dad of Charlie and Ainsley; both share their parent's enjoyment of books. Neither has learned to pick up. As long as the kids continue to exhibit an interest in reading however, we are willing to tolerate a few books lying around.

Neater, but not quite tidy, are two stacks of books occupying opposite ends of the couch. At one end of the couch, you will find a neat stack of books with titles suggesting matters of romance, child rearing, and education. The romance novel gives away the owner of this stack. It belongs to Serena, who is, a teacher, a dedicated mom, and a fabulous wife.

At the other end of the couch is my stack of books. On top, for pure pleasure there is a copy of, Fever Pitch by Nick Hornsby, a hilarious book about a soccer fanatic. This is a fitting book for me because I am a huge soccer fan. I am a sports fan in general, but Soccer holds the top spot since I started playing when I was six and stopped at 35. I have since filled the void by coaching, participating as a Director of a local youth club, and by becoming an even more rabid fan.

Next in line, is a book entitled, A Short History of Nearly Everything. A work of pop science, it combines several of my interests. I have always loved ideas for their own sake, and their influence on events in history. I spent my undergraduate years tailoring my studies to the “intellectual history” niche of historiography. Science fascinates me. As with my interest in intellectual history, I am fascinated with how the progression of science affects society. This book scratches all those intellectual itches.

The third book is, The Bootstrapper's Bible. I manage a small mortgage company that my father started in 1991. Accounting, marketing, technology, and personnel all compete for space on my schedule. Sometimes it is the best job in the world. Other times it is misery. It is always a lesson. That is best part.

The final book is untitled. It is my notebook. Flipping, through the pages we find: to do lists, lists of goals, grocery lists. We also find, memories and the remnants of story ideas. I live a simple but evolving life. Inside my notebook, plans for the future compete for space with admonishments to, “Fix the disposal.” Many of the plans will never see the light of day. Sometime they do. For instance, inside, there is a resolutions-list containing the line, “Join Toastmasters. Learn to speak.”

Taken all together, I think, these books paint an accurate picture of me. I am: a father, a husband, a reader, a sports fan, perhaps a bit of a geek, a professional, and a learner. It is not a complete picture. I know. I, myself, am still watching, and waiting, for much of the rest to fill-in.

~2005

Meeting Summary in Verse - May 17

Meeting Summary

Eric Peterson

called to order

Toastmaster today:

That chair is yours, sir."

Speech One

From new member

Dave's Icebreaker

He's a risk taker

Speech Two

Janet Reese

"Assert yourself

with grace and ease!"

Evaluation

by Johnny Dubya

fast paced fun

for our club, y'all

Next up Stablien

with critique

a little humor

tongue in cheek

Table Topics

by yours truly

Little Bull

we hardly knew ye

Votes are in

Dave and Dan

and our man John

deserve a hand

That's all this week

Eric said

Thanks for joining

come again

Mike

Meeting Notes - May 17 - Raising the Bar

Eric Peterson was our Toastmaster for today's meeting. He introduced the theme for the meeting, "Raising the Bar." Eric's been working on a degree in electrical engineering, raising the bar for himself by furthering his education, his career, and, by getting straight A's. Eric noted that our participation in Toastmasters is an effort to raise the bar for ourselves personally, by improving through practice our speaking skills.

Congrous with today's theme, Dave Trzupek, won the Best Speech honor for his Ice Breaker. That is an achievement for his first speech. What set Dave's speech apart from most Ice Breaker's was his presentation. He didn't require notes. He appeared comfortable being in front of a room, moving about, engaging the audience with eye-contact, and utilizing body language. He demonstrated good vocal variety.

Janet Reese, gave an advanced speech from the Interpersonal Communications manual, that addressed being assertive. The speech offered a four point approach to being assertive in addressing a concern with other:

1. State the problem.


2. Explain your feelings


3. Specify a solution


4. Describe the benefits

Apparently, much of the assertiveness training I received on the Gilbert Elementary play-ground is no longer in vogue. I am convinced that this is a good thing.

Dan Pratt, took the honors for the best Table Topics. Mike Angell challenged the participants to tell a joke or draw from the tote. Dan chose to do both, he told a joke and then drew from Mike's bag-o-stuff a ice-scraper. Thinking quickly Dan demonstrated how an ice-scraper may be used to clean up kitty litter, or may be modified to attract attention in order to flag down cars when one is in need.

Good luck and good bye to Jenny...

Jenny Tybor, has taken a job that is intruding on her further participation with our club. While we are happy for her, we are sad for ourselves. Jenny did give credit to our group for her confidence in the job interview process. We wish Jenny luck, and hope she enjoys the new challenge. Mike Angell has shared his thoughts on Jenny's move with us....

An Ode to Jenny

An Ode to Jenny

Little Red Riding Hood

She was part of our club

at least while she could

Red headed Jenny

so sweet and so fair

We'll miss you at the meetings

We'll wish you were there

But tears of sorrow

become tears of joy!

Yes, we're happy for you

and your new employ

Health food and such

keeping us fit

Nutrition and such

You've got a knack for it

Jenny, Jenny

Don't forget us

Heck, join another club

if you wish to respect us

Jenny Jenny

Don't be a stranger

You're welcome anytime

We'll see you later

Mike

Meeting Notes - May 5th - The Bigg Save

Mike Biggs, our VP of Education, stepped in as today's Toastmaster, noting that he's charged with filling the roles for each meeting. The downside of this duty is that when no one steps forwards to fill a role he is called upon to step in. He stepped in ably, harmoniously combining this unplanned role with the planned role of Table Topics Master.

We were treated to two speeches today. First, John Wierzba gave an advanced story telling speech that addressed the perils of mis-communication resulting from our newest electronic medium. It was an excellent speech, well crafted, well rehearsed, and it took first place for the best speech today.

I gave the second speech, a speech from The Leadership Excellence Series, on Visionary Leadership.

Table Topics, were presented by Mike Biggs who asked a series of questions sharing the device, "Would you rather....?" As an example, Paul Sadowski answered the question, "Would you rather go to jail for a crime you didn't commit, or go to jail for a crime you did commit?" Paul replied, "He'd rather not go to jail, for a crime he didn't commit."

We had a guest today, Karen Lang, who we goaded - nicely of course - into participating in Table Topics. Karen spoke well and earned the prize for Best Table Topics. She was concerned she'd be nervous. We hope to hear more from her in the future.

Photos

Photos of members proved effective, especially the swearing in ceremony.

Mike

Meeting Notes - May 3rd - Good words from good eggs

Often times a Toastmaster will choose a theme for a meeting, something to set the tone, the mood, the ambiance, or just something to fill the dead air.

I was today's Toastmaster, and I attempted to wing it more than is usually advisable. Our good General Evaluator, Dave Trzupek, was generous with his evaluation. Surely, the criticism, "a printed agenda would be helpful," was justified.

Without theme or agenda, we moved right ahead with the speeches As a happenstance would have it, a theme emerged from the speeches.

Nick Samoylov started us off by telling us a tale of a search for Fabrege's riches. It seems a desperate search of the egg artist's apartment ended badly when the would-be hiding spot turned out to be something entirely, and humorously, different.

Mike Stablein was up next, and began his speech by having a conversation with some eggs boiling away in a pan. The eggs had one chief complaint, and that was, it is too hot in the boiling water. Mike spun from this the moral of his story, that when you are feeling, "too cooked," get out of the water, act and change your situation.

Gary Fuller then subjected the, heretofore unspoken members, to Table Topics based upon our commitments as Toastmaster members. The resulting speeches were personal in nature, sharing what the speakers have received from our toastmaster's experience, what we hope for, and what we can do to make the experience positive for others.

There was a brief induction ceremony at the end of the meeting when we officially swore in six new members. Many of the inductees have been around for a while, this being a ceremony that, in my estimation, occurs bi-annually.

We were very pleased to have Karen Mehringer, a recently published author, visit the club.

D.

The Meetings

a turn of phrase

a clever speech

rapier wit

a day at the beach

A clever word

oration or two

speak speak speak

That is what we do.

Learning lessons

improving skills

Having fun

jokes and thrills

A bunch of lads

and lasses too

gather around lunch

T'is not much ado

And yet we learn

succinct eloquence

delivering words

in verbose parlance

Toastmasters, Toastmasters

both great and small

come to the meeting

Discover it all.

MPA

4-26-07

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A Close Call... April 26th Meeting.

Every once in a while life encroaches on the clubs regularly scheduled meeting. Today's meeting was nearly done in due to both our speakers being pre-empted by life.

Fortunately for us, we have a very dedicated group and two speakers were ready to save the day. Luayne Trujillo and Nick Samoylov both stepped up and filled the void. Let this be a lesson to fellow toastmasters, yours truly included (guilt may be the reason I'm drawing the lesson), good speeches require a good deal of practice and preparation. That both Nick and Luayne were able to step in with less than a few hours notice is testimony to the work they put in on their speeches.

The speeches were evaluated by Mike Biggs and Dave Trzupek. Both did an excellent job. Dave took the best evaluator honors, which is high praise for his first evaluation, especially since it was earned without benefit of an evaluation form to guide him.

Table Topics were presented by Lisa Dahl. Lisa drew the table topic subject of, Career Day, from her recent acceptance of a position as CFO of Qdoba. There were many questions and by meetings end everyone had spoke.

A note from the club's Poet Laureate - Mike Angell

Permit me this small submission.
which thou wilt post
with thy permission
upon the website and yonder board

permit me, merely, a word ,a phrase
to remember those of better days
to celebrate the good times of here and yore

permit me still
to speak in silence
to listen to each utterance
as we've done a thousand, thousand times before

Yay, if thou doth seek
to improve thy skills
or drown in fun and seeketh thrills
then cometh to our meeting on 4th floor