Intriguing presentations! 12-18-14

Due to last minute substitutions, Jim served as Toastmaster.

Edie served as Grammarian; as well as presenting a speech, and she provided us with "agent provocateur" as the word of the day.

We heard three great speeches.

Tamar presented "The Wage Gap, True or Myth?".  Tamar is expecting another child in May, so she decided to investigate some of the issues of a working mother earning an income, along with her working husband, and how incomes of men and women compare.  There is no question that the incomes of women are lower than the incomes of men.  The question is determining why.  She found several very informative studies that evaluated this, examining differences in types of jobs, differences in education levels, differences in years of on the job experience and other factors.  Taking into account all the identified factors, there is still a large gap between men's and women's pay that is not explained.

Edie then gave us a speech about police brutality, which included her own proposal for how best to reduce it.  She proposes that police maintain multiple methods of visible identification, which anyone on the receiving end could quickly recognize, and that if these requirements for identification are not fully maintained, their funding be cut off.

Karen then provided us humor by Roasting Russell Pike as "Russell The Romantic Rascal".  Karen told us that she is wondering how many times Russell will tell her that he met "the one" only to later say she was not "the one".

We look forward to next years enlightening, entertaining, educational presentations!  Merry Christmas, happy New Year and seasons greetings!

12-10-14 presentations!

Russell gave his closing arguments for us the Jury to show that Neanderthals were a kinder gentler being than those who survived evolution. Kathleen gave a speech on how building a reservoir of self-appreciation can add to your ability to give both positive feedback and self-improvement feedback. Giving and receiving appreciation is progressive work because it contradicts our $ driven society. Kathleen also engaged us in an activity where we gave ourselves appreciation and then used that same energy to exchange appreciation with a partner."  Lydia gave a fascinating speech!  We had a wonderful table topic session as well.  We look forward to this coming Thursday’s presenters, table topics, and evaluators!

A review of our cosy meeting 12-4-14

Jim opened the meeting right at 6:30. It was fitting that Toastmaster Russell Pike's theme for the evening was “I'll never stop the rain by complaining.”  During the meeting he surprised everyone when he related that Portland get more rain on more days than – Seattle.

First Speaker Edie Gillis gave a speech called, “In The Elevator.”  We learned that subjecting a captive audience to a sales pitch in an elevator just turns people off.   She said, Don't sell, connect.”  A good elevator talk is more like dialog and a dance.  She made great use of a hand-held flip chart and made us laugh.  Way to go, Edie!

Second Speaker Kevin Seed spoke on “Reading a Label.”  He handed out chemical labels and drew on his expertise as a landscaper to unlock their mysteries.  He said there were two things to know about chemical labels.  First, the label is a law.  Second, read the label.  He said that if there is no FDA number on the label to tell someone immediately.  Another great speech, Kevin!

Table Topics Master Henry Exerjian gave members Brinn Hemmingson, Jim Robison, and Edie Gillis and long-time member and current guest Sandra Wolicki (she is re-joining Portland Progressives) their choice of politics, law enforcement, and justice.  We learned that Brinn was a criminal justice major in college.  She said she had been in funny, loud protests without violence and that protesters that destroy property need to be stopped.  Sandra thought that body camera were generally good, but that we should analyze the costs and benefits.  Edie spoke out for more police accountability and that the D.A. is looking for prosecutions and not justice.  Jim talked about why the Democrats lost and said that money taking over the entire conversation during election season is bad.

Jim lead the evaluation session. 

Kathleen Clarke evaluated Edie's speech.  Kathleen liked Edie's focus on meaning and emotion.  She also praised Edie's creativity and especially the choreographed foot stomping introduction.  Kathleen said that Edie easily met her project requirements  by demonstrating “how to say it” with short, distinctive words.  Kathleen suggested that Edie should slow down a bit.

Even though Sandra was a guest, she stepped up to evaluate Kevin.  Sandra told us that Kevin had chosen a great topic for his “how to say it speech”.  She liked the catchy start and the repetition of the two points.  She liked his final recap and suggested that he end with a quote.  Sandra encouraged him to do more speeches.

Brinn was grammarian.  Five people used the word of the day, “exigency.”  She pointed out our verbal highlights and the few uses of filler words.  Christine Seed lead a short, punchy listener session that had us on our mental toes.  Peter Liu handled the timer activity flawlessly and gave a crisp report.

Jim told us that he enjoyed the meeting and that it was generally a good meeting.  He focused on our need for storage of equipment, a second guest book, and signage.  Without the storage, these were missing since Sgt. at Arms Chuck Melikian had them and was unable to attend the meeting.

It was a great meeting on a rainy day.  We look forward to our next wonderful meeting coming up this Thursday!  You don't want to miss it!

News from Toastmasters International for December

The Redesigned Website Is Here!

Toastmasters International’s redesigned website was engineered with your user experience in mind. It offers a sleek design, easier navigation, mobile-friendly access, an improved shopping experience and more resources than ever before. Leadership Central gives you quick access to all the management tools you need. Please note: You will need to log in to view Leadership Central webpages.

Last Call for 2015 Convention Presenters

Do you have experience addressing international audiences of 400 or more? Dynamic presenters are invited to apply by December 15 to speak at the 2015 International Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Watch highlights of last year’s convention.

Educational, Awesome meeting!

Toastmaster Kathleen advised that connecting to neighbors, friends and family is always a great resource in the challenges in winter and other emergencies.  For example she gave having “soup nights” as a way to connect with neighbors.  She also was grateful to 4 different neighbors who came to assist her in time of need.  Russell as only Russell could fascinate us with the history of thumbtacks.  Edie gave us great information on more healthy ways to communicate during family gathering.  Ann gave us new pointers on ideas that could help us on our impromptu speeches.  Lydia’s Table Topics was about clichés.  Karen had many roles General Evaluator, Snack Master, and regular Evaluator.   This coming Thursday the 27, is Thanksgiving Day and because of this our meeting will be canceled.  See you December 4^th!

Meeting has been canceled!!!

Today's meeting November 13, 2014 has been canceled due to challenging driving conditions.  We had a terrific line up of great speakers!  We are looking forward to an enjoyable, educational experience next Thursday, November 20, 2014 beginning at 6:15 pm.  You don't want to miss it!

Informative, interesting, tasty, and enjoyable!

We had another enjoyable meeting. Edie our Snack Master brought a plethora of healthy foods. Russell spoke on what a difference a year makes, and Karen roasted Russell!  We had great table topics to speak from thanks to our table topic master, Kevin.  Great evaluators: Kathleen and Lydia.  Henry was an expressive General Evaluator and Jim our president and Toastmaster reminded us of how just a few votes can make the difference in the recent election. We had a meeting afterwards to talk about the progress of our club and what we can do to make it better.  Our Area Governor was attending and asked if anyone wanted to be one?  This coming weekend at our District Conference, Karen will be representing us in the Table Topics Contest.  There will also be a humorous speech contest.  Please see D7 toastmasters.org for more information.

News from Toastmasters International

90th Anniversary: A Year-long Celebration

Pay tribute to the rich history and legacy of Toastmasters International and celebrate in your club or district. Visit the anniversary website for ideas and fun resources you can use through October 2015. Limited-edition T-shirts, buttons or decals also are available, so shop today.

The New Toastmasters.org

Have you seen the beta version of the website? Explore its easier navigation, interactive multimedia, a resource library and a new online store.

Call for 2015 Convention Presenters

Do you have experience addressing large international audiences of 400 or more? Dynamic presenters are invited to apply to speak at the 2015 International Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Apply between November 4 and December 15.

Accredited Speaker Program Deadline

Applications for the 2015 Accredited Speaker Program will be accepted January 1 through February 1, 2015. To learn more about the program, or to download an application, click here.

Latest Toastmasters News

Get breaking news about the organization in your email. Visit the Media Center, and click on "Subscribe to News Alerts" in the menu on the left.

Spooky story night!

We had a magical spooky tale Halloween Meeting/Party with so many treats that  it would be hard to mention.  As examples: Peter brought apple pie and nuts, Ann brought cup cakes, Lydia brought yogurt pretzels, Deeana brought cookie candies, etc.  We had an assortment of spooky stores: Lydia with her eerie haunted house, Kathleen with her spine chilling Black Cat tale from Poe and Chuck with his evil ominous cell phones.  Enchanting Brinn the plant was an excellent Table topics master with wonderful Halloween topics to choose from.  Ann, our marvelous costume judge gave many awards.  Such fun such joy!  Bill the pirate did an excellent job hosting in their haunted house! I will try to include a few pictures of some of the awesome costumes in the FB page Monday the 3rd.

Enjoyable, humorous meeting with many delectable treats!

The October 23 meeting revealed itself to be a very enjoyable, humorous event with many delectable foods to eat! Edie did a wonderful Ice Breaker Speech, Kevin dramatically spoke on the topic “You Are What You Eat” and Ann spoke about the advantages of Toastmasters.  We had bicycle related questions for impromptu speaking portion- educational, insightful evaluators as usual.   We are really looking forward to our next meeting whose theme is spooky Halloween stories and fun.  Costumes are welcome but not necessary, however, there will be prizes for best in various costumes, such as scariest, cutest, handmade, original, political, environmentally friendly, etc.  Following are details our our upcoming Halloween event!!         

Welcome to our Spooky Halloween Meeting/Party on the 30^th of October 2014 at 6:15p.m. You are invited to bring a costume, finger food snacks and drinks. 3385 SE Brooklyn St. Portland, OR. 97202. Brooklyn St. Between Clinton and Powell. We could use a bit of help preparing for the event.  If you get lost don’t be frightened call 480-255-9543.    503-953-6414 “Bill” or “Kathleen”

.          

Impressive meeting yesterday!

We had a very educational meeting last night.  Bill spoke on how we all benefit from a wonderful evaluation and how to be a great evaluator; Peter did an awesome Icebreaker speech in which we really got to know him much better.  Kathleen, the table topics Mistress gave us questions having to do with competition.  We had insightful evaluators: Brinn, a warm and poised Toastmaster as usual and Henry very motivational. We are looking forward to our next exciting meeting.  Jim Robinson has been selected as Division D’s member of the month!  Karen won at the division level in Table Topics contest.  We are all looking forward to our next meeting with awesome speakers coming up!  Don’t forget the Halloween party/meeting!

  Halloween Meeting/Party           

Welcome to our Spooky Halloween Meeting/Party on the 30^th of October 2014 at 6:15p.m. You are invited to bring a costume, snacks and drinks. 3385 SE Brooklyn St. Portland, OR. 97202. Brooklyn St. between Clinton and Powell. If you get lost don’t be frightened call 480-255-9543.    503-953-6414 “Bill” or “Kathleen”

.          

Fun,humorous, and educational

We had a fun packed Progressive Toastmaster’s meeting with Russell speaking on real hobbits of Flores Island, Brinn telling us an intriguing story titled “The Rich Man and the Poor Man” and Henry telling us a humorous boyhood story of him and some of his friends in Chile.  Bill did an excellent job as Table Topics Master speaking on GMOs.  Chuck did an excellent job being the Toastmaster.  We had awesome evaluators and great snacks provided by Peter the Snack Master!  Start planning for our Halloween meeting/party the 30^th of October at Bill and Kathleen’s spooky house.  Bring your costume and scary stories.  They have had awesome parties in the past and no doubt this one will be a night to remember!

Wonderful events coming up!

We had another awesome meeting last night!  Edith walked us through registering people to vote telling us how important it is to vote because some people win by only a few votes!  Russell entertained us with a dramatic reading of a play “The Contract”.  Kathleen entertained us in her speech titled “My Mother The Entertainer”.   Lydia was our Table Topics Master asking questions relating to what we would campaign on.  We had 7 visitors filling our friendly room up.  We will be planning an enchanting Halloween meeting the 30^th of October.  Be looking around for a costume to wear.  We plan to have a small prize for various categories such as most terrifying, best political, best home made, most colorful, cutest consume, best recyclable, etc.  We are looking forward to this coming week’s’ enticing presentations and fun filled events.

Another Awesome meeting!

We had an awesome meeting this evening, 9-25-14!  Jim gave a slide presentation on why we should have single payer health care.  He convinced us by showing us various graphs reflecting how much more we pay for lower quality health care then several other countries.  A great deal of money is wasted in overhead.   Wonderful table topics: we spoke about the change of weather and how it affected us.  The theme was the colors of autumn: red and blue. Russell the Toastmaster introduced political challenges that will be taking place.  We were well represented at the District level competition by Brinn, and Russell.  Karen a member of our club won first place for another club.  Our wonderful Snack Master, Bill, provided delectable treats.  The meeting was well attended.

Humorous Speech

We had an awesome meeting last Thursday 9-18-14.  Russell, Kevin, Kathleen, Lydia and Brinn entertained us with their humorous speeches creating much laughter and fun.  Brinn came first and Lydia came second, and Kathleen came in third.  We will be well represented in the district contest.  We also had a variety of delectable foods from which to feast on.  Our wonderful meetings will be going back to normal this coming Thursday beginning with speeches, followed by table topics and ending with evaluations in order to aid us in improving our speaking skills.  Coming at 6:15 gives one the opportunity to meet members and pick a good spot to view the presentations.  I hear tell we are going to have exceptional treats this coming meeting 9-25-14!

Exciting Table Topics Contest

We had a wonderful table topics contest this last Thursday, Sept. 11^th 2014, with Russel, Brinn, Sandra, Chuck and Lydia competing.  They were to speak about a time they failed and learned something that was valuable.  It was a very competitive contest.  Russel came first, Brinn second and Sandra third.  They will be representing us in the District Contest!  We had awesome responses from the contestants!  We also had savory snacks!  Afterwards, some of us went to Yataimura Maru’s on Divison St. to continue our socializing and celebrating.  We toasted to the participants who competed in this contest and Heather for returning!