Meeting Minutes, September 7, 2011

Meeting Minutes, Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Toastmaster of the Evening: Marie Madi
Theme: competition
Word of the Day: rivalry (goal was to include the word 14 times throughout the evening); the group mentioned the word 5 times by the end of the evening.

The meeting started at 7:30 p.m.

Guests: new guests: Christine Hughes: previously with TM; announced she will be rejoining the membership tonight. Shannon: learned of Humbershores TM via website and emailed Sue. Returning guests Alan and his mom Anne (accompanied by Alan’s younger brother).

Club Business:
· Vir reminded members of the Club Contest on Sept. 28th. Many roles are still vacant and contestants are needed so please sign up. Contact Reg or any of the Executive if interested. Allan Madonik mentioned he is open to any role. Mila Babic will be the Chief Judge.
· Judges Training workshop is being offered Sept. 13 at Apotex. For more details see club website.
· Proposal was put forward to use club funds for the purchase of snacks for weekly meetings. Allan mentioned how TI is strict about not using funds for this purpose. Kathryn MacKenzie will look into this for the group before the proposal is passed.
· Anyone under the age of 18 is not permitted to join TM; youth leadership programs may be offered through local libraries – it’s been difficult to obtain details due to people being away over the summer.

Roles were filled by Maria Ricupero (Ah Counter); Michelle Holmes (Timer); Sue Harvey (Quiz Master); April (General Meeting Evaluator); Allan Madonik (Grammarian); Kathryn MacKenzie (Snack Master).

Educational Tip: Mila Babic offered a timely educational tip that focused on what to look at for the Table Topics competition. She highlighted 3 factors for consideration: i) deal breaker: be sure to keep within the allotted time; (ii) 5 elements the judges look for à a) vocal variety (15%), b) language and grammar (15%), c) body language (15%), d) effectiveness (25%): is your message clear?, e) structure (30%): does your speech have a beginning, body and a conclusion? Thanks Mila for these helpful tips!

Table Topics: Else Pedersen chose the theme of “the first time.” Participants were to describe their first experience on a given subject. Speakers included: April, Arash (sp?), Sue, Maria, Shannon, Kathryn, Christine and Reg. The winner was April, who described her first day at college.

Speaker #1 –Bert Twomey; 5-7 minutes; TITLE: We should all speak politely.
Evaluation: Highlights of Mila Babic’s evaluation included how Bert made good use of vocal variety and spoke in a character’s voice when it was appropriate. Good use of gestures, however too much, which can be distracting at times. Gestures are more meaningful when used at a time to convey an important point/message. Try keeping hands at your sides. Bert was very conversational in his delivery, which made it easy to listen to him. Great job, Bert!

Speaker #2 – Allan Madonik; 5-7 minutes; TITLE: It’s crunch time.
Evaluation: Vir described how Allan set the tone for his speech by using his catch phrase, “it’s crunch time!” to describe his account of his favourite cereal, Captain Crunch. Allan used good use of imagery and repetition to get his point across. A very entertaining speech!

General Meeting Evaluation: April observed lots of camaraderie during the meeting. The team pulled together to help set up the room. The meeting started on time. Marie did a great job as TM for the evening; she was entertaining and provided educational tips. Mila chose an appropriate topic for the educational tip to help guide the group for the upcoming competition. She also provided a nice ‘hook’ to encourage members to participate. Elsa chose an interesting TT theme and also provided guidance/tips between speakers. We should over anticipate the number of people attending meetings. For example, ensure there are enough chairs set up so late-comers don’t have to sit at the far back. It was awkward to have members and guests sit far from everyone as others scrambled to find chairs. Altogether there was a very warm and welcoming energy to the meeting.

Guest Feedback: Christine commented on the great structure of the meeting and enjoyed the speeches. Shannon was glad to attend and mentioned that she felt very welcomed by everyone, especially Sue Harvey who was her initial contact with the group. Overall, it was a positive experience.

Meeting adjourned: ~9:30 p.m.

Humber Shores Toastmasters invites you to their...
  
Club Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest

When:  Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Time:   7:30 to 9:30, Participants arrive at 7:00 pm please
Where: 2045 Lake Shore Blvd, Palace Pier, Level B1 Boardroom
Guests: Please email memberservices@humbershores.com

Click poster for details