Great year everyone!
I really am glad I had the opportunity to be club president. It was a great experience.
My term as club president has ended and I would like to thank all of the officers for performing their duties wonderfully and their committees who helped our club be so effective.
Maureen, as EVP, conducted the educational program very well with a success and leadership module. She also coordinated with Bob and Herb to produce the meeting sign up sheets (a very important job), and along with Rosemary and Stan, they produced the members speech progress chart (it's important to be able to monitor your progress for achieving your goals). Maureen also attended the Area council meetings.
Michael, as Membership VP, kept in touch with all potential new members and generously offered use of his camcorder. His role was very important to our club growth.
Pat, as Secretary, did a wonderful job, processing all new members' applications, keeping notes at all the meetings, and coordinating with Doris' help to process all 38 members for the semi - annual report.
Margaret, as Treasurer, worked diligently to keep finances straight, which is no easy job. She collected the club dues and provided payments for supplies and reimbursed members who bought supplies for Area Contests.
Claudia, as Oracle Editor and Public Relations Vice President, produced our very informative and interesting club newsletter. This is a very big job. She submitted 3 Oracles to TMI for a contest. I hope she wins -- she deserves it. I also know she has some great ideas for PR and is presently working with her committee to bring these ideas to fruition.
Last, but certainly not least, Jeff, our Sgt. - at - Arms, consistently got our club meetings off to a great start by arriving early and setting out the ballots, lights, making sure the room was in order, and staying late to put everything away. Great job!
Also, I would like to commend all the speakers, evaluators, TMODs, and everyone who participated in the meetings this year. All of the members who participate contribute to allowing our club to be the stepping stone for each one of us to enhance our own speaking and leadership skills.
All members should consider becoming club officers. You really do learn so much about working with other people to keep things running smoothly. Assets you can use to further your careers and improving your interpersonal skills. None of the officer positions are too time consuming and when you do become bogged down, your committees are there to help.
We really do have a great platform for learning communication skills. I think our club officers and members are doing a great job utilizing our club to its fullest.
I know this upcoming year is going to be really stupendous. I know Maureen and her fellow officers will do a great job helping everyone achieve their goals. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the very nice TM pen and pencil set. It really brightens my government gray desk. And thanks for the opportunity to learn more leadership and speaking skills by serving as club president.
As another Toastmasters July 1 - June 30 year comes to a close, I think back at how far we've come (educationally speaking) in the past year; as individuals and as a club. We are a "learn by doing" organization, and we've certainly done a tremendous amount this year.
Karen Keen and Jeff Bolognese both attained their CTM (Capable Toastmaster) status. Mike Brill attained his ATM-B (Able Toastmaster - Bronze) status. Within our club we delivered, listened to, and evaluated close to 80 speeches. We participated in Area contests, volunteered to be judges for high school speech contests, talked to youth organizations, and participated in the "Power of Ideas" Success-Leadership Module. Wow, we've been busy!
It has been a pleasure to serve as our club's Educational Vice-President this past year. It really has been a learning experience. I've had the opportunity to see the "big picture" of what goes on educationally at the club and area levels. And, as an extra benefit, it's helped me to better define my goals both within toastmasters, and elsewhere.
The execution of EVP duties was made easier by club members who were always ready to lend a hand. One of the accomplishments that I'm most proud of is our updated progress charts! Thanks Stan Way and Rosemary Vail! Special thanks to Bob Grigsby and Herb Blodgett, who each prepared two of our quarterly schedules of club meetings -- the backbone of our educational program.
Michael Parrish will be your new EVP. Mike, I hope your experience will be as rewarding as mine.
We are a great club and our public image is such a positive one. Other clubs in the area are great, and I think our image and club spirit are something they want to imitate.
It is now time fopr me to get back to working on my speeches and getting my CTM. I really enjoyed this opportunity and I look forward to the other TM challenges that await me in the future.
This past year has seen no surprises (financially speaking), which is good news. We've moved along from month to month, slowly adding to our club's balance. Our club's income is provided by the $6.00 annual club dues assessed each ember. Our expenses during the year are for items like membership pins and other club - related items, food at speech contests, and buying dinners for our club's speakers at the contests.
Here is an account summary for the last 11 months:
Balance as of July 1, 1993 $506.84
Balance as of May 31, 1994 573.16
Increase $66.32
When I was first approached last year to serve as a Goddard Toastmasters officer, I must confess that I was a bit reluctant, and came up with a lot of excuses: I'm a busy guy! I'm getting my masters degree. I don't have the time needed to be an officer! Fortunately I was convinced to give Sergeant At Arms(SAA) a try.
Well, SAA turned out to be a great way to get my feet wet in the world of TM executive leadership. I've begun to learn the "art of hospitality", received officer's training, and, improved my leadership skills. Serving as SAA has also given me the confidence to move on to a new officer's position as VP of Public Relations.
And now, as I pass the on the sacred sword of office (well, you'd think Sergeant at Arms would have one!) to our new SAA, TM Martha O'Bryan, I wish her the best of luck, and look forward to serving on the executive committee in my new role. And when officer nominations come up again next year, I hope you'll consider Sergeant at Arms as your introduction to a whole new level of TM leadership training!
April 13 Ginny Kalb (Under Construction) related her experiences with programming and algorithm development. This Icebreaker speech gave us insight into Ginny's professional life. -- Great speech Ginny! Mike Brill (Getting to Know Goddard) gave speech 2 in the Public Relations advanced manual. This speech provided us a broad context of the work being done at Goddard. Paul McCeny (Domestic Violence Paradigm) discussed various types of violence that occur between men and women, in respect to present and historical aspects. Paul suggested four potential solutions and suggested that men and women would have to work together to resolve these problems. Andria Harrison, Louis Thomas and Pat Greco evaluated Ginny, Mike and Paul respectively.
Paul was voted most effective speaker, Pat was best evaluator and Margaret Pavlinic provided the best Table Topic response. Luke Goemhel and Josie Bowen were welcomed as visitors.
April 27 Meeting canceled. We had an unscheduled day off in memorium to former President Richard M. Nixon.
May 11 Paul McCeney organized a great meeting with five speeches. Tim Reyes (Of People Places and Events) Provided this Icebreaker to help us know a little more about himself. Evette Brown-Conwell (The Art of Negotiating) provided us with insight into evaluating engineering trade-offs and negotiating the best solution in a sometimes controversial environment. Bill Duffy (Nobody Asked Me ... but) discussed the many aspects which one must consider in planning for a satisfactory retirement. Careful thought must be given to optimize the retirement savings plan, and additional savings programs that are required to make sure we are adequately funded to enjoy our retirement years. Margaret Pavlinic (My English Friends) told us of her enjoyable visit with friends from England, and the humorous differences in their culture and communication. Martha O'Bryan (What Makes Racing Tick) provided us with information on many aspects of horse racing -------- beyond horses going around a track. Horse racing is really quite a complex business!
Maureen Armbruster, Karen Keene, Michael Parish, Louis Thomas and Jeff Bolognese respectively evaluated Tim, Evette, Bill, Margaret and Martha. Margaret was voted most effective speaker, Karen best evaluator and Regina Cody best Table Topic respondent.
May 25 George Griffin (TMOD) organized a full and interesting meeting agenda. Joe Miko's first speech from the basic manual (And The Survey Says) presented his "Ice - Breaker Speech", which allowed us to know a little more about himself. We're looking forward to your next one, Joe! Stan Way's speech, (Who Needs Health Care Reform?), described several problems with the current health care system. He convinced us that even we, who have insurance, can have troubles when it comes to pre - existing health problems. Tex Baird, (A Night To Remember) gave a touching speech about his high school graduation, the prom, and the very nice young lady who accompanied him to these social events. Her mother was quite concerned that all precautions be taken to insure her daughter's honesty as she and Tex sat on the school front lawn with many other couples. The young lady was very safe with Tex, but what about young ladies of today? Times have sure changed since 1944 -- huh Tex? Mike Brill, "Interpretive Reading", read a passage from a Steinbeck novel. Martha O'Bryan evaluated Mike, Bill Duffy evaluated Stan, Chris Scherer assessed Tex and Karen Keene discussed Mikes reading.
Stan was voted most effective speaker, Karen was best evaluator and Paul McCeney provided the best Table Topic response. We were honored by three visitors at the Meeting: Suriya Ahmed (923), Suri Tipparaju (664) and Jentung Ku (725)
June 8 Chris Scherer (TMOD) took over the task of organizing this meeting with just three days advanced notice. The true Toastmaster spirit of being able to fill in when needed, was certainly well demonstrated by Chris this week! Herb Blodget (A Pleasant Surprise) presented a travel agent's approach to selling a trip to Branson MO. He based his sales pitch on his own recent trip to this Country Music Center. Herb was evaluated by Tex Baird.
Herb and Tex won their uncontested awards and Claudia Brevard provided the best response to Louis Thomas' Table Topics. Suriya Ahmad (923) visited us again and asked to be scheduled for three speeches during the next quarter. Welcome aboard Suriya!
June 22 Martha O'Bryan (TMOD) had her first try at being Toastmaster for the Day and did a great job. Dan Mandl (Paradigm Shifting---- The Power to Control Your Destiny) described paradigms as major events in our lives that frequently have to undergo major changes in direction due to changes in time and/or environment. For example our activities change when we get married; on the job we must be flexible and recognize when means of accomplishing goals are needed. Dan added a few of his humorous antidotes which provided additional color and spice to his speech. Mike Brill (Some Men Are Too Gentle to Go Among the Wolves) read five very touching short poems. Each of these meaningful works touched different sensitivities in our lives. Tim Reyes did his first speech evaluation and did an excellent job in discussing the strong and weak points of Dan's speech. Bob Grigsby evaluated Mike.
Dan was voted most effective speaker and Bob was awarded the best evaluator ribbon. The best Table Topic was presented by one of our guests--- Diana Taggart.
We had four welcome guests today: Diana Taggart (653), Suriya Ahmed (923) and two summer interns-- Harris Nguyen (653) and Kattya Via (691).
OK. You're Table Topic Master for the next TM meeting, and you haven't a clue what topics to present. Help! Wouldn't it be great if you could pick the brains of Toastmasters from all across the country, and even the world? Well, now you can. If you have access to a computer and internet, you can tap into a universe of Toastmaster resources.
For instance, internet gives you access to "usenet news". Usenet news is a mutitude of electronic bulletin boards covering thousands of topics. One of these boards is devoted solely to Toastmasters. It's known in the lingo as "alt.org.toasmasters". This bulletin board offers Toastmasters from all around the world a chance to exchange ideas and discuss topics of interest to Toastmasters. Recent postings on the board have discussed interesting table topics, the Toastmaster point system, and the value of reading speeches presented by other TM's.
Another good resource on internet is the "word of the day". This is a computer server that will e-mail you a new word, with pronunciation and definition, each day. All you have to do to subscribe is to e-mail a message to "wordsmith@viper.elp.cwru.edu". Make the subject: "subscribe <YourFirstName LastName>", and leave the message blank. to unsubscribe send a blank message with the subject: "unsubscribe".
These are just two examples of many the internet resources available for Toastmasters. For more information on internet resources such as the usenews reader, and e-mail, contact your computer systems administrator. Also, you may want to contact the Goddard library, as they periodically offer brief classes on internet resources and how to access them.
See you on the Highway!
My thanks and gratitude to Martha O'Bryan for her original banner design for ''The Oracle'. Also, my thanks to Jeff Bolognese for his enhancement of the banner, and to Maureen Armbruster for her help in getting this issue to press. Finally, my sincere thanks to Herb Blodget for his endless hours of writing documentation and supporting my efforts to get the newsletter compiled. Hope you enjoy it!!!