Toastmasters 10-30-2008

Change: It’s A Constant

Toastmaster Connie Pshigoda opened today’s meeting with nine members and two guests. The theme for the day was Change. It’s all around us but often we fail to acknowledge or appreciate it.

Gary Fuller stepped up as Speaker informing us of the traits of a Spokesperson. He opened by asking his audience to recall a memorable spokesperson. His speech project came from the Advanced Speaker Manual on Leadership.

Eric Peterson effectively evaluated Gary’s speech.

Linda Holm opened the way for all kinds of crazy Table Topic tales from our Halloween memories. Don Lyman took the award for the best tale of his 15 minutes of fame as a “rock-star-turned-clown.”

Todd Rys challenged us with the Word of the Day: Perfunctory.

Welcome visitors, Robert and Jason! Please visit us again.

Next week’s roles:

GE-Eric Peterson

Speaker #1 – Mike Angel

Evaluator #1 – Karen Lang

The meeting closed with encouraging lyrics from Jimmy Buffett’s song: Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude: Keep laughing! Keep changing!

Toastmasters 10-23-2008

Toastmasters was held in our spacious and comfortable new meeting room. For all who felt cramped in the old room you will be much more relaxed in the new setting.

Dave Trzupek showed us the way to survive these turbulent economic times with an informative speech. His five steps of action gave us all a way to take some control of our future.

Dave was evaluated by Ed Johnson.

Next, Karen Lang gave the 10th speech from the CC book focused on inspiring your audience. Congratulations to Karen for completing her Competent Communication manual. She now plans to focus on helping each of us reach our goals in her role as VP of Education.

Karen was evaluated by Connie Pshigoda.

During Table Topics each person talked about a time in their childhood when they got into trouble. Gary Fuller told us of a time when his brothers, friends, and he were playing army and launching grenades (rock) at each other. Gary's rock found its mark and sealed his fate.

For next week’s meeting, Connie will be our Toastmaster and Linda will be our Table Topics Master. All other roles are open. See you then!

Best Regards,
Don Lyman

Triskelion Toastmasters Thursday 10-2-2008

Here are the meeting notes from Triskelion Toastmasters Thursday 10-2-2008 meeting,

Toastmaster was Eric Peterson

Speaker today was Todd Rys who did his icebreaker and told us of fun childhood memories of family vacations that stretched from “90 minutes north of Mexico to 90 minutes south of Canada” and wound up at a ranch in Montana with plenty of outdoor fun.

Todd was evaluated by Julie Williams.

Table Topics were hosted by Dan Pratt who had tell stories of head games, sports games or table games. Gary Fuller won best table topic for a story of tackling his opponent in football, a play that ultimately caused a 30 yard gain for the other team. J

Mike Angell was General Evaluator.

Roles for next week include:

TM Julie Williams

Sp 1 Dan Pratt

Ev1 open

Snacks and Chicago Restaurants

We had snacks and soda for the food themed meeting so no one would get too hungry learning about Chicago Restaurants.

TM Eric Peterson entertained us with anecdotes about legendary Chicago Restaurants White Castle, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, and the Billy Goat Tavern (cheeseburger cheeseburger!!!).

Karen Lang gave the 9th speech from the CC book about “Change”. She showed how the brain’s neural system makes a new pathway when you do something differently including thinking in a new direction and encouraged a “21 day plan” to make positive personal changes in your life.

Karen was evaluated by Dan Pratt.

Next, Dave Trzupek gave an engaging talk about the Jay’s potato chip company in Chicago where his mother once worked and the joy of getting free samples from the factory. As they say on the package, “ya’ can’t stop eatin’ ‘em”.

Dave was evaluated by Gary Fuller.

During Table Topics each person talked about their favorite restaurant, including Linda Holm, our guest from Shaw, enjoyed her first toastmasters meeting and I am happy to report that she has decided to join our club.

We were excited to hear that Eric Wales, our general evaluator for today, is taking a 2 year trip around the country and won’t be back any time soon. The trip would’ve taken a month, but due to the high price of gas Eric will only be driving 8 miles an hour. To clarify, the excitement is for his excitement, not for his leaving us.

For next week’s meeting, Todd Rys will give his Ice breaker speech, all other roles are open, see you then!

Best Regards,
Eric Peterson

The Last Rose of Summer

Triskelion Toastmasters
Meeting Minutes
9-18-08
________________________________________

After a great turnout last week, attendance was down again. Only five members and one guest showed up. Our guest was Suzanne. She recently returned to work for Shaw and wanted to see what Toastmasters was all about. It turned out to be a great little meeting as witnessed here:

Our Toastmaster, Don Lyman, kicked things off with a poem recital:

The Last Rose of Summer

'Tis the last rose of summer

Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
From Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit,
This bleak world alone?
Thomas Moore

Speaker
Eric Wales gave his fifth speech from the CC manual -- Your Body Speaks. Eric is a full time commercial real estate investor who began his career nearly 10 years ago. He began investing in single family homes, and roughly 4 years ago transitioned into commercial properties. Each day he become more passionate about this new found love and enjoys the hunt.

Eric's speech was titled "How to Identify A Commercial Real Estate Opportunity." He gave us some great advice:

• Locate a mentor
• Get educated
• Surround yourself with who know more than you
• Tell everyone you are a commercial real estate investor
• Meet every real estate agent you can
• Learn how to evaluate properties
• Have at least one lawyer on the team
• After following these steps, do it all again

Evaluator
Gary Fuller evaluated Eric's speech. In keeping with the goal of this speech, he observed that Eric's eye contact engaged everyone in the audience and Eric's use of hand gestures was excellent. Gary advised us that a speaker should move around and not be tied to the lectern. He also stated that in order to enunciate in the English language one should loosen the mouth.

Gary's general evaluation of the meeting was that attendance was low. It is the Toastmaster's job to do the best he can to encourage participation in the meeting. To that end, please bring a guest to the meeting next week!

Word of the Day
Our word of the day was "sublime".

1. Not to be excelled; supreme; majestic.
2. Causing deep emotions and feelings of wonder or joy
3. Of great moral, artistic, or spiritual value

Usage: Starting in 1980 Gary Larson became known the world over for giving us glimpses into sublime genius, with a liberal sprinkling of cows.

Quote: One step above the sublime, makes the ridiculous; and one step above the ridiculous, makes the sublime again. —Paine,Thomas

Table Topics
Our Table Topic Master for this week was Eric Peterson. His question for each of us: "Tell us about an amusing or interesting story from your school days."

Dan Pratt won table topics with a funny story about the time he tried to take ice to school for show-and-tell. As the ice sat in his sack lunch, he wished that it would have sublimated rather than what it did do in the warm classroom.

Roles for September 25, 2008
ToastMaster - Eric Peterson
Speaker 1 - Open
Speaker 2 - Open
Evaluator 1 - Dan Pratt*
Evaluator 2 - Open
General Evalutor - Open
Table Topics - Dan Pratt*
Timer - Open
Grammarian/Ah Counter - Open

Please sign up for a role by sending email to Eric!
Good meeting.
See you next week.

Where Were You On Sept 11, 2001?

Triskelion Toastmasters
Meeting Minutes
9-11-08
________________________________________

We had outstanding attendance on Thursday. Thank you for everyone who came. It was almost "standing room only". The meeting unfolded as follows.

Speaker 1 - Connie
Connie wowed us with a speech about "The agony of de feet". A wellness expert, Connie explained how the feet function as a major nerve center for the entire body. Massaging and caring for the feet can actually help your entire body! Thinking about wearing those uncomfortable shoes, ladies? Connie says think again. Wearing 3 inch heels consistently over time reconditions your muscles and tendons, causing problems later. Guys, are you fond of dress shoes or Cowboy boots? Beware of shortened achilles tendons if you overuse them! Take care of yourselves. Be sure to start each day off on, well.... the right foot!

Speaker 2 - Nick
On a day of solemn remembrance for our country, Nick shared a story of national security from his homeland. A Russian immigrant that hails from the Ukraine, Nick talked about his first hand experience during the frightening hours of the 1990 Communist Coup. In reaction to Gorbechev's numerous reforms, Communist hardliners seized the premier, deployed troops and attempted to restore the "Old Regime." The hours were tense. Nick's tale was gripping. Tanks waited outside town and no one knew exactly what would happen. In the end, Boris Yeltsin declared, as President of Russia, he had the authority to order all the troops back home. The day was saved!

Nick shared that Yeltsin's men were able to foil the coup with lightning speed because the CIA, in an unprecedented act of friendship, shared major communications intelligence with Yeltsin. Nothing was held back. Through the CIA, Yeltsin and the Russian people were able to monitor all coup communications and bring a swift end to the oppression.

Nick is writing an entire book on his experiences. We fellow Toastmasters look forward to hosting his first book signing.

Table Topics - Mike A.
The meeting was capped by Table Topics a' la Bill Walsh. Bill Walsh passed away not long ago. However he is remembered as one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. He, and he alone, has 5 Superbowls to his name. Additionally, his students like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Jon Gruden, Dick Vermiel, Brian Billick and many, many others won Superbowls using his philosophy. Even Hall of Fame players like Denver Broncos Safety John Lynch can thank Walsh for his instruction.

Walsh was special not only for his knowledge of football, but his knowledge of leadership. Table topic-ers commented on leadership quotes from his book "Finding the Winning Edge."

Julie came armed with the word of the day, "exacerbate". Don and Dan headed up the evaluation team.

Announcements:
1. Club dues of $33 are due at the end of the month. Please get your dues to Eric or Mike at your earliest convenience.
2. Officer's meeting, going forward, will be held on the last Thursday of every month
3. Don't forget to bring a guest. We have strong numbers, but we can always be better. Now is a great time to join because we are starting a new cycle.
4. Are you due for a "speech check up?" How are you progressing on your manuals? Are you a Distinguished Toastmaster yet? Are you knocking them dead at your business meetings? If not, get with VP of Education, Karen, or Mike (yours truly). We'll book some time on the calendar for you. Keep your speaking skills sharp and your wit sharper.

Roles for September 18, 2008
ToastMaster - Don Lyman
Speaker 1 - Mike Roth
Speaker 2 - Eric Wales
Evaluator 1 - Mike Angell
Evaluator 2 - Gary Fuller
General Evalutor - Julie Williams
Table Topics - Eric Peterson
Timer - Dan Pratt
Grammarian/Ah Counter - Open

Good meeting.
See you next week.

Mike Angell
President

Friends—You need them. But first you have to be a friend.

What political candidate greets his audience with “My Friends,” (perhaps more than he should)? John McCain. He knows that we can never have too many friends. But we can be parsimonious and have too few, or worse yet, none at all!

Did you know that this is National Friendship Week? In it’s honor, we extolled our friends today, because they are important in our lives. A good friend is indispensable. Friends inspire, support and encourage us—they enrich our lives. As Emerson said, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." Make yourself available for friendships...that way you’ll be there for each other in high and low times.

Program highlights
*Welcome new members Brendan McMillan and Todd Rys who joined today!

*Our word of the day: - par·si·mo·ni·ous. Frugal to the point of stinginess; sparingly.

*Don Lyman, our solo speaker, gave his second CL manual speech, Organize it, titled Everyday ethical conundrums. As an "integrity leader" for his company, InsureMe, Don spoke about the integrity poll, a key tool he uses to champion the virtue.

*Gary Fuller adeptly evaluated Don's speech with praise and helpful tips for next time.

*Eric Peterson carried out the theme with his Table Topics questions about friendship.

*Our general evaluator/toastmaster Janet sized up the meeting with her keen observations. We need to start using the ah-buzzer and give award certificates to winners. Janet gave herself and her TM crew excellent marks for a well-organized and executed meeting.

Awards--Congrats to:
Best speaker: Don Lyman
Best evaluator: Gary Fuller
Best table topics: Brendan McMillian

Roles for next week, Aug. 28, 2008 Note: next week is the officers' meeting.
Toastmaster - Mike Angel
Speaker 1- Dave Trzupek
Speaker 2 - OPEN
Evaluator 1- Don Lyman
Evaluator 2- OPEN
General Evaluator - Cary Bradley
Table Topics - Ed Johnson
Word of the day - Mike Angel
Ah counter - OPEN
Grammarian - OPEN
Timer - OPEN
Contact Toastmaster Mike Angel promptly to fill and open role.

"Life is a great chronicle of friendship. Friends create the world anew each day." Helen Keller

Have a great week, my friends. :)