Century Toastmasters Meeting Minutes 1-26-05

Theme: Sports
WOW: Champion – the supreme victor in a contest; someone who exemplifies excellence or achievement

The meeting got off to a good start beginning on time, lead by Jude Awiylika with the Pledge of Allegiance, and 15 people in attendance. President Dick Larkin took a moment to mention the upcoming International Speech Contest and Evaluation Contest. More info is to come on those two exciting events! Dick introduced me (Molly Frisbie) as Toastmaster for the meeting. I mentioned the theme and WOW and had everyone stand up and introduce him or herself and say his or her favorite champion and why. Century Toastmasters for the most part don’t have to look far for inspiration, as childhood friends, mothers, grandmothers, fathers, and children were frequent favorites. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. also inspire the group.

Andres Acosta provided an interesting Educational Moment, filling the group in on the details of Super Bowl advertisements this year. With an estimated 35 million viewers, each 30 second ad costs 2.4 million dollars! Budweiser is the frontrunner paying a whopping 24 million for ten ads, and Pepsi 12 million for five ads. Car and beer companies will all be vying for our attention as we watch the game and think about how much money they’re spending!

President Dick Larkin presented his ATM Bronze Speech 8 titled “The Sales Training Speech.” Using experience from his work, Dick presented a speech to the group as though we were advertising salespeople who sell Yellow Pages advertising and are being trained to sell Internet advertising as well. Using humor, and comparative insight into Internet business listing, he educated all of us on the relevant need for especially small and medium sized businesses to advertise and list on www.worldpages.com.

Speaker #2, Emily Waters, presented her CTM 2 speech “Try New Things.” With the aim of the speech organization, Emily did a great job explaining the three main areas in her life that she wants to try new things in 2005, and told us specific examples. She likes to stay in touch with her creative side with art, and intends on taking jewelry making classes soon. (She also suggested taking classes at the San Diego Museum of Art!) In the realm of food, she’d like to try new restaurants and take cooking or wine classes at the House of Hospitality in Balboa Park. And lastly, she wants to try Pilates as a way to break out from the normal gym routine. Emily offered great inspiration and ideas.

Tony Gutierrez celebrated the completion of his CTM today with his speech titled “Speak from the Heart.” With his knack for engaging the audience, and delivering personal, insightful speeches, Tony did a fantastic job in capping off his first speech series. About five years ago at a seminar, when we was living in L.A., Tony met a woman who told him that he did not speak from his heart. From that moment, he took it upon himself to really self-examine his life. Since then, he has changed his career for the better, and has tried to focus on not only positively improving his life but the lives of others. We’re proud of you!

Due to time constraints, we did not have Table Topics, and moved right along to evaluations. Joe Stewart lead the group as General Evaluator, and past president Alan Colton delivered an evaluation for Dick. Alan congratulated Dick on his speech, and offered the comment that he be even more enthusiastic when delivering a training speech. Issa Zumot evaluated Emily, noting her excellent use of organization, with the small suggestion that she continue to use her arms and hands more. Robert Corbin evaluated Tony’s speech, echoing the audiences’ sentiment of how well Tony presents his speeches, and picked a very appropriate subject for the speech. Christina Baker gave the timer’s report and I presented Best Evaluator to Issa and Best Speaker to Tony.

The next meeting is Wednesday, January 26, in building 6, seminar room 2. Don’t miss our guest speaker Milo Shapiro. He’ll be leading us in an improvisational teambuilding workshop.

Molly Frisbie, Secretary
Century Toastmasters

Century Toastmasters Meeting Minutes 1-19-05

Theme: Martin Luther King Jr.
WOW: Tolerance – acceptance of different views

Sickness and last minute schedule changes lead to a very intimate and interesting meeting. With five members, and two guests in attendance, everyone had a great chance to speak! Our Toastmaster for the day Joe Stewart started off the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, and straight away took a moment to introduce the guests. Linda Parker, the Lieutenant Governor for District 5 was in attendance, and brought along Erin Stallmer, an employee at GMAC looking to start a new Toastmasters club. We welcomed them both, and tried our best during the meeting to explain the various parts of the agenda to Erin.

Toastmaster Joe took a few moments to recall a time when he had the opportunity to see MLK Jr. speak at the UC Berkeley campus. The topic moved him, but Joe reminded us to also remember MLK not only as a civil rights activist, but also as a person with a fantastic speech craft. His ability to deliver to a crowd is obviously something to admire. To continue with the theme of the day, the Toastmaster asked each person to stand up and introduce him or herself, and talk about some aspect of his or hers life where tolerance is challenging, or present. Answers ranged from co-worker working habits, to young bosses, to kids’ table manners, to having a high tolerance of alcohol in college! We certainly all have our own daily tests.

Matt Greenbergs gave us an Educational Moment titled “Sweet Spot.” He explained that giving a speech is more than just talking, it’s meant to be a meaningful and important presentation. While preparing for a speech Matt says it three to five times in his head, then out loud twice, and once to someone else. This is his way to find his speaking “sweet spot.” He recommended that we all spend the time to figure out how we should best practice and prepare for our own speeches.

Tony Gutierrez gave his CTM 9, and he did it courageously with little time to prepare. With the planned schedule for the meeting changed, Tony graciously volunteered to be the only speaker for the meeting. He spoke of a subject he knows well, life insurance. He explained the difference between term and cash value or whole insurance, and did it well by providing stories and examples. Thank you Tony for your well delivered and organized speech! Tony also noted that fellow Toastmaster Jim Tucker gave him inspiration for stepping up and speaking on short notice.

I (Molly Frisbie) lead Table Topics. I asked Jim, “Should the birthday of any one individual be a holiday?” and he certainly agreed. Jim expounded on the topic, noting the importance of honoring someone who has made a huge difference in society. Linda, one of our guests, answered Bill Gates as the person who has had the greatest impact on American society, at least in the last century. Great answer. And Joe explained why he thinks people look to MLK Jr. as a true American hero, although he remembers a time when some did not think so.

Jim delivered a fabulous evaluation to Tony, even tying in the theme of Tony’s speech. He told attendees that with Toastmasters and public speaking, “courage is our payment and confidence is our benefit.” Jim applauded Tony’s appropriate chose of a speech topic for speaking extemporaneously, and his phenomenal growth as a speaker since starting Toastmasters.

There was tie between Jim, Joe and Linda for best Table Topics, and surprise! Tony received the Best Speaker award, and Jim the Best Evaluator. Our next meeting is Wednesday, January 26.

Molly Frisbie, Secretary
Century Toastmasters

Century Toastmasters Meeting Minutes 1-12-05

Theme: Etiquette
WOW: Affable – courteous; sociable

Once again Century Toastmasters showed its energy and strength with a meeting attendance of 15 people, including four brand new guests! Jude Awiylika called the meeting to order and led us with the Pledge of Allegiance. President Dick Larkin helped introduce the guests Issa Zumot, Adrienne McCrumb, Paul Strong, and Christina Huang and importantly had everyone read the Mission of the Century Toastmasters. Dick reviewed the theme and the WOW affable and appropriately applied both to self-introductions by asking everyone what affable traits we enjoy in other people. Answers ranged from eye contact, to active listening, to a friendly smile.

Byron Shovlain did a quick Educational Moment by giving us information about Emily Post’s website about etiquette www.emilypost.com. The website contains lots of useful tidbits and hints about etiquette, including business etiquette, holiday etiquette and technology etiquette. We can all benefit and grow by improving our affable traits.

Stephen Jaworski graciously offered to be Toastmaster spontaneously for the meeting, and introduced the first speaker Dick Larkin. Dick is working on his ATM 7 and presented a humorous speech. He delved in to some of the funny instances in life, so silly that sometimes we feel like someone is watching us and being entertained. His voice techniques, arm gestures, and ability to relate to the audience offered us all a great example of an effective speech.

Tony Gutierrez shared a speech titled “Dare to be Different.” He explained how he has personally grown as an individual by attending etiquette and self-improvement classes and seminars. By recognizing his own shyness, he has created a positive change in his life by finding ways to gain more confidence.

Our Toastmaster Stephen led us in Table Topics by asking the question: “Can you recall a situation when you noticed someone else being affable?” Dee Williams, Cher Vargas, and three of the guests, Issa, Adrienne, and Paul, participated.

General Evaluator Andres Acosta explained to the guests the role of the Toastmasters Evaluation Team, and introduced me (Molly Frisbie) as Evaluator #1 for Dick Larkin. Andy Crabtree dutifully acted as Evaluator #2 for Tony Gutierrez, offering congratulations and helpful suggestions. Joe Stewart provided the grammar evaluation, and noted the higher use of “uhs” and “ums” in evaluations, and overall impromptu speaking. Jude recorded and announced times for all speakers.

Stephen awarded Best Speaker to Dick Larkin and Best Evaluator to me, Molly. Cher was awarded Best Table Topics Speaker for her encounter with the Italian Mafia in New York City! The next meeting is Wednesday, January 19.

Molly Frisbie, Secretary
Century Toastmasters

Century Toastmasters Meeting Minutes 1-5-05

Theme: New Year’s Resolutions
WOW: Equivocate – To be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or to avoid committing oneself to anything definite

Century Toastmasters 2005 got off to a great start with a strong attendance of 16 energetic and happy members! After Jude Awiylika lead us fearlessly in the Pledge of Allegiance, President Dick Larkin encouraged the audience that Toastmasters this year can be as great as we want to make it. The new Vice President of Education, Joe Stewart, took the lead in organizing meeting volunteers for meetings several weeks ahead. Thank you Joe for spearheading the effort and everyone who graciously volunteered for positions.

Dick Larkin then introduced himself as the Toastmaster for the meeting. As a friendly reminder, he had us all read the mission of the Century Toastmasters Club, and reiterated that you can build confidence by enthusiastically doing something that you consider embarrassing. And, to keep with his word, he had everyone stand up and introduce herself or himself, say what she or he wanted to get out of the meeting, and then do an imitation of an animal. We heard and saw a variety of animals, from a beaver, to a Mexican rooster, to a cheetah imitating Tarzan. Andres Acosta imitation of a “crow” was definitely a crowd pleaser. Thanks Dick for the fun exercise!

The new Vice President of Membership Byron Shovlain held the important role of inducting new members into the club. We are all now official and have our Toastmasters pins!

I (Molly Frisbie) was the first speaker of the meeting, working on my CTM 3. I spoke to persuade people to give Bikram yoga a try, and stated three main reasons why. The reasons were that anyone can do it, your body will improve healthfully in a variety of ways, and your mind and mental wellbeing will improve as well. My persuading skills have already worked, and at least one other Toastmaster is going to try it! If anyone else wants more information, you can go to http://www.bikramkearnymesa.com/.

Christina Baker did an excellent job delivering her first speech, the Icebreaker. She started out with a personal subject, her devotion and faith in Jesus Christ, and explained how her being a Christian plays a role in her life in different ways. For the past several years she’s taught Sunday school to fourth and fifth graders, and has gone on trips to Mexico with her church volunteering. She’s known her fiancé Mark for many, many years, but their relationship has been blessed, and they’re getting married in June! Christina grew up in Santee, graduated from San Diego State, and currently lives with her parents and her brother Charlie, while working for Katz and Associates as a PR professional. She hopes to one day be the director of a non-profit Christian association, and would like to apply her acting and theater experience to Toastmasters. We’re looking forward to that!

Immediate Past President Alan Colton presented the installation of the new officers. Thank you Dick, Byron, Joe, Jude, Tony Gutierrez, and Stephen Jaworski for your service to Century Toastmasters! The new officers for the next 6 months are: Dick, Byron, Joe, Jude, Tony, Andy Crabtree, and myself.

Don Wiggins took over as the general evaluator, and Matt Greenbergs gave a helpful evaluation to me, with a reminder to not say “sorry” in my speech, or “thank you” at the end. Joe Stewart evaluated Christina, and Jim Tucker as the grammarian/ah counter noted Dick Larkin's' fine skill in not ever saying um or uh. Dee Williams provided a thorough timing report, and Don finished it off noting that we should be more cautious of how we use or time in meetings.

Awards were given to Christina for Best Speaker, and Matt for Best Evaluator. Congratulations! Our next meeting is January 12.

Molly Frisbie, Secretary
Century Toastmasters