(What more could you want this summer?)
Thanks for the Memories
by Maureen Armbruster, President
Fellow Toastmasters, as the July 1, 1994 -June 30, 1995 Toastmasters' year comes to an end, I'd like to thank all of the Goddard Toastmaster's members and 1994-1995 officers for helping me to serve you as President this year. I have really appreciated this opportunity to serve the club and believe the leadership skills I've learned this year have helped me tremendously to grow both individually and professionally.
This year's Executive Committee has truly been a pleasure to work with. Although the TM Club President has the overall responsibility for seeing that the Club provides the positive, supportive environment its members need to fulfill their self-development goals, no one person alone can assure that these club goals are met. That's why having a dedicated team of officers to work with can really make the difference between a mediocre club and an enthusiastic successful one (like ours). These are some of the people who helped to make the 1994-1995 a successful year for Goddard Toastmasters, and in so doing made the role of President an enjoyable and enriching experience for me:
Karen Pham, Immediate Past President, was particularly supportive in the first few months of the TM year. All of the Presidential duties were so new to me and I was sometimes feeling overwhelmed. She helped tremendously in making my transition into office smoother. Thanks Karen! Karen is moving on up. She'll be Area Governor 1995-1996 for our Area 45, which currently is made up of 6 clubs. Way to go, Karen!
Paul McCeney, even though not officially an officer of our club, made a point of attending most of our Executive Committee meetings, and offering timely advice and suggestions. `Appreciated the moral support, Paul!
Herb Blodget, again this year, took the responsibility of contacting all of the members, quarterly, to fill meeting positions.
The job of the Educational VP is so much easier when it's known that someone you can trust is taking care of this important task. Insuring that we have dynamic and worthwhile meetings is the meat of our program. Your dedication to preparing the Quarterly schedule each quarter is greatly appreciated, Herb!
Martha O'Bryan has done a super job of arriving early to every club meeting, assuring that the lectern is in place, furniture is arranged properly, guests are welcomed, and everyone is made to feel comfortable. She put together new and improved guest packages this year. She also makes sure that a sign goes up on the regular meeting room door if we're meeting in a different room. This all goes a long way in making sure our meetings start off on the right foot and on time. She has agreed to continue with the Sergeant-at -Arms office for another year. Did I mention that she completed the Basic Manual and earned the CTM (Competent Toastmaster) Educational Award this year, as well? Thanks for your enthusiasm and commitment, Martha!
Evette Brown-Conwell served as our Treasurer this year. It has been her task to notify each club members when it's time to pay dues, to collect international and club dues, issue checks to TI for semiannual membership dues and new member fees, pay all bills promptly, and present verbal and written financial reports monthly. We appreciate you serving your club, Evette!
Doris Wood was invaluable in preparing the October Semi-Annuals. As a new President, I relied heavily on her to keep track of New Member Applications and Training Requests this year. As a former employee of the Training Office, she knew who to contact to make sure communications between TI and Goddard Training was clear (This is no easy task).Thanks for your support, Doris!
Jeff Bolognese has served as our Vice-President of Public Relations this year. In addition to being our Oracle Newsletter Editor, he has brought our club into the 21st century by creating a Goddard Toastmaster's Home Page on the Internet Word Wide Web. Jeff also coordinated the club's most recent Educational Program, entitled "Effective Evaluations". He will be our Vice-President of Education for the 1995-1996 TM year. Thanks for helping to make ours a successful club, Jeff!
Pat Greco played double roles this year. In addition to serving as our Vice President of Membership, she was also Doris Wood's alternate Secretary. So, she kept busy making sure that New Member Applications were processed, and keeping ``Dateline Goddard'' informed about Toastmaster's meeting announcements (which has brought lots of interested guests to our meetings, and keeps members without phonemail up to date regarding meeting room changes). She also found time to coordinate an Educational Meeting on ``Improving Your Management Skills''. Way to go Pat! Your involvement was greatly appreciated.
Michael Parrish held what I believe to be the most difficult office in the club. As Vice-President of Education, it was his job to plan dynamic meetings, orient new members to the club, arrange Success/Leadership Educational Programs, Administer Speech Contests, and preside in the absence of the President, among other duties. He also coordinated the video taping and playing back of speeches when we had special needs this year. He was a great role model for some of our newer members-- as he completed the Basic Manual and received his CTM Educational Award in the midst of all of these other responsibilities. Michael is well qualified to take on the challenge of being our President for the July 1, 1995-June 31, 1996 Toastmasters year. Congratulations and Good Luck! `Hope your experience is as enjoyable as mine has been. Remember that there are lots of people who want to help!
Thanks for the Support
by Michael Parrish, EVP
I would like to take this opportunity to thank each member of our club for supporting me during the past year. We have had an excellent year with exciting meetings, educational programs, and growth within the Club. Thirteen new members were added to our roles this year, and several more are contemplating joining in the future. Several members retired, but are still active in the Club.
I believer that our club is in the best position it has been in since I have been a member dating back to 1989. We have more active members who are devoted to the principles of Toastmasters and a team of devoted officers willing to offer the Club strong leadership. Several members are positioned to earn CTM during the upcoming year and I can envision more members participating in area contests.
Please give the incoming Vice President for education the same support you have given me. Good luck to all the members of Goddard's Club, and I look forward to serving you in the future.
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
by Martha O'Bryan, SAA
Serving as Sergeant-at-Arms for the past year has yielded several rewards. The experience gained through participating in each Toastmasters meeting has helped me gain confidence. It's good practice to speak at each meeting, the more your speak the more you grow as a speaker. I thoroughly enjoy several of the Sergeant-at-Arms "duties" such as greeting visitors, handing out information about Toastmasters, and setting up the room for each meeting. In fact, I enjoyed these activities so much I decided to continue my role as Sergeant-at-Arms for one more year. I also decided it was time to step outside of my comfort zone and take on additional challenges, so I decided to fill the role of Vice President of Membership. If you know anyone who could benefit from Toastmasters training and would like to join our club please notify me, Martha O'Bryan at ext. 3804 or e-mail a message to xrmvo@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Treasure's Report
by Evette Brown-Conwell, Treasurer
Balance at the end of March:
Checking $0.00
Savings $ 447.04
Cash Received:
Checking Deposit $27.00
Withdrawal Savings 0.00
Dividend Savings 1.29
Total Deposits $28.29
Cash Spent Since 4/3/95 $4.17
Cash balance (6/6/95) $471.16
________________
Words From the Wordsmith
Anu Garg (anu@wordsmith.org)
Emily Dickinson's poetry is as true and evocative today as it was nearly a century and a half ago. She is known for her vivid metaphors and economy of words. All the following words have been taken from her poems.
ver.dure n [ME, fr. MF, fr. verd green] 1: the greenness of growing vegetation itself 2: a condition of health and vigor - ver.dur.ous aj
"Twice had summer her fair verdure
Proffered to the plain"
Ely.si.um n [L, fr. Gk E-lysion] 1: the abode of the good after death in classical mythology 2: PARADISE
"Elysium is as far as to
The very nearest room"
1. sere aj [ME, fr. OE se-ar dry; akin to OHG so-re-n to wither, Gk (Xhauos dry 1: WITHERED archaic 2: THREADBARE
2. sere n [L series series] : a series of ecological communities succeeding one another in the biotic development of an area or formation
"Bountiful colored, my morning rose
Early and sere, its end"
prosy \'pro--ze-\ aj 1: PROSAIC 2: TEDIOUS
"The day was warm, and winds were prosy"
Spreading the Word
by Jeff Bolognese, VP-PR
Now that we've started a new Toastmaster's year, I guess it's appropriate to reflect on the last year, and my role as Vice President of Public relations.
When I started this job I tried to make my main focus to increase the visibility of TM here at GSFC. To achieve that goal, I focused on two areas: maintaining the high standards of our club newsletter, "The Oracle" and also trying to get the Goddard Toastmasters a presence on the internet in the form of a World Wide Web (WWW) page.
Well, I hope that "The Oracle", with its new format, has remained entertaining and informative. I'm also I'm happy to report that our club home page is now officially referenced from the GSFC WWW site. We're listed under Goddard events and employee organizations along with the Radio, Flying, Fishing and Tennis clubs.
Our site has information on Toastmasters, our club, schedules, members and officers, and even has "The Oracle" on-line. This is meant to be a resource not just for new and prospective members, but also current club members. If you get a chance, take a look at it. The address is
http://kiwi.gsfc.nasa.gov/~jeff/TM/GSFC_TM.html
My thanks to everyone that's helped me with the newsletter and the WWW page. That really includes everyone. Your submissions to "The Oracle", and the WWW page, as well as the feedback I've received have really made it all come together. As I will be the maintainer of the WWW page for a while, and also "Oracle" editor for the time being, I hope your support will continue.
Spring Quarter Meetings Summary
by Herb Blodget CTM
12 April 1995: Our first meeting of the quarter was organized by our past president, Karen Pham. The one prepared speech of the day was presented by Solomon Evangelista. This was Solomon's second speech from the basic manual (Be in Earnest) in which he discussed the certainty of death and taxes. His speech was evaluated by Jane Lui.
Tom Riley presented a challenging Table Topics session dealing with interpretations of song lyrics.
Solomon was voted most effective speaker, Jane Lui, best evaluator, an d Jeff Bolognese, most effective table topics respondent.
26 April: Bob Grigsby again demonstrated he's loyalty to the club, even in retirement, as he served as TMOD. Bob built a great program around four prepared speeches. Don Moore ("Swimming against the Tide") presented a great icebreaker which helped us to get to know him better. Tom Riley ("Interesting Ideas, Interesting Times") also presented an enlightening icebreaker.
Evette Brown-Conwell ("Thrift Savings Plan") convinced us of the necessity of taking advantage of the savings plan to supplement out retirement program. Jeff Bolognese ("The Electronic Toastmaster") presented the second speech in the advanced manual, Technical Presentations. Jeff related his efforts to get our Toastmasters data on-line, and responded to questions related to the speech. Jeff was voted most effective speaker.
Carolyn Ng presented an exciting table topics for the six respondents.
10 May: This meeting was allotted as an educational meeting on the Art of Effective Evaluation. Jeff Bolognese and Carolyn Ng discussed the merits of effective evaluations: to motivate the speaker.
Karen Pham discussed the methods of evaluation which are most constructive for the speaker.
Martha O'Bryan concluded the session with a mini-meeting in which a sample, video speech, by Jan Gervin was evaluated by Chris Scherer. Chris' evaluation was then critiqued based on what had been discussed earlier in the meeting.
24 May: Jeff Bolognese served as TMOD and organized a fine program around two prepared speeches., both dealing with money. Tom Riley ("Your Money or Your Life") gave the second basic manual speech. Jentung Ku ("Savings for Retirement") also delivered his second speech. Both speakers emphasized the need to develop a monetary nest egg to complement our retirement pensions. Evette Brown-Conwell evaluated Tom and Herb Blodget evaluated Jentung.
Jentung was elected most effective speaker, and Herb Blodget was voted most effective evaluator. Jane Lui provided the best response to Pat Greco's table topics.
14 June: Chris Scherer responded to the challenge of filling the TMOD position when the scheduled TMOD was unable to make the meeting . Great spirit, Chris.
LaShawn Davis ("Treatment") used speech two to tell us that we should be considerate of others and show them respect, good interpersonal relationships, and build positive associations.
Ginny Kalb ("Happy June 14th") noted that this date marks the last day of public school. With the cooperation of her lovely daughter, Amy, Ginny suggested ways to make this vacation time more meaningful for the students.
Jane Lui ("Hugging Judge") told how a retired judge went around hugging people to bring good feelings to others.
Pat Greco evaluated La Shawn, Don Moore- Ginny and Andrea Harrison evaluated Jane.
Ginny was voted best speaker, Pat most effective evaluator, and Carolyn Ng gave the best response to Martha O'Bryan's table topics. Pat McHale served his first time as General evaluator, and did a great job.
28 June: Pat Greco served as TMOD and organized an interesting and well run meeting. Margaret Pavlinic ("The Secret to Wealth") told us how we can save money by modifying our every-day activities.
Tom Riley ("The 50's Boom of 2002") took a long-term view of economics. By reviewing various statistics Tom convinced us that in the year 2002 we will repeat the "boom times" that were experienced in the 1950's. Dan Mandl ("Making the Connection") showed how to have fun giving speeches. If we rehearse too many times, the speech becomes mechanical and perhaps even causes us to "burn out". Dan's wonderful sense of humor kept us all in smiles as usual.
Paul McCeney evaluated Margaret, George Griffin- Tom Riley, and Herb Blodget evaluated Dan.
Margaret was voted most effective speaker, Paul vest evaluator, and Jan Gervin provided the best response for Jeff Bolognese's Table Topics.
George Griffin and Tex Baird made their first meeting since retirement - Great to see you guys.
Top Ten Reasons to Be a Toastmaster
10. No secret handshakes to learn.
9. Nifty logo.
8. Overcome your fear of speaking without having to imagine your audience in their underwear.
7. Elvis is a member of the Winnipeg, Talking Bisons Toastmasters club.
6. Opportunity to add lots of letters after your name. (CTM, ATM, DTM)
5. Recommended by 4 out of 5 dentists.
4. Silly hats are optional, unlike some other organizations...
3. Meet the brightest, most interesting people at Goddard.
2. Learn the secrets of enthralling the hearts and minds of millions through effective public speaking.
1. What else are you going to do during lunch, eat?
Improper Debate Technique #1
