April 16, 2007 Minutes
From Austin Toastmasters (Balcones, Club #3407)
Balcones Toastmasters April 16, 2007
Chapter 3407 District 55
Minutes of Meeting
The April 16th meeting was opened by triathlon survivor President Jake North.
Lesley Bradstreet served as Toastmaster. Her introductory theme was laughter. She masterfully told jokes and got us all laughing
Prayer & Pledge was lead by Phil Hallmark, a quote from the recently departed Kurt Vonnegut. Phil also served as Sergeant at Arms.
Timer was Amanda Garner. She timed us well even without the detailed timer's sheet.
Steve Gonzales was Grammarian and the word for the day was "satirical" used by Sonny, Matt, Geogi and Jack.
One Minute Toastmaster was Antoinette Griffin. She shared that she did not win the divisional contest but learned that it is better to forget your lines and create a substitute on the fly rather than to retreat to your notes and fumble to find your place.
Table Topics Master was Gordon Baker. Gordon used a variation of Phil's "take it if you want it" strategy. He presented several topics and allowed volunteers to pick from any of them.
- Glenn Nielsen - tied winner - 0:54 - Glenn animatedly told us about his amusement at a co-worker at a convenience store who sniffed canned whipped cream.
- John McMillen - 1:40 - John expressed dissatisfaction for jokes by relating a story of a clergyman being incapacitated for live by kids dropping a boulder off an overpass for fun.
- Sonny Sonntag - tied winner - 1:30 - Sonny told a joke about a church elder helping a woman climb the stair to the sanctuary only to have her ask to leave when she found out the elder would be preaching, not a minister.
- Jonathan Huizingh - 1:32 - Jonathan related the joy of playing a prank on high school girls by hosing and squirting them with shaving cream as they came to TP his house.
- Jon Beall - 0:52 - Jon related a one-liner he told to a fellow biker when a car passed too close and she waved at them. "Don't bother, they can't count."
Speaker #1 John Allert - winner - 6:21 - "A Night to Remember" - John described the frustrating and anxious night watching his well laid out plans for a romantic proposal unravel as the heat climbed and the target young lady became exhausted form a long day. Funny and moving.
Speaker #2 Matt Carlin - 6:4 5 - Ice Breaker - "In Search of a Better Razor" - Matt interestingly wove choices and improvements in razors with those in life. "Sign me up" for criminal justice and "we learn to justify our biases better" were memorable quotes from his interesting story.
Speaker #3 Geogi George - most improved - 10:32 - Ice Breaker - "The Globe Trotter" - Geogi ensemble of shot glasses reflects this love for travel and interest in different cultures. Born in Canada of Indian heritage to a UN employee he travelled as a kid. Now as an engineer and marketer he's still going interesting places.
General Evaluator was Jennifer Wagner.
- Table topics evaluator was Vladimir Garner - 3:30 - Glenn was good but quick. John M's discussion was well thought out and well delivered. Sonny sets the scene well. Jonathan use pauses well but could expand his movements. Jon B is a smooth talker but it was short.
- Evaluator #1 for John A was Scott Perry - 2:21 - John told a well structures, animated, personal story. He built it up and delivered at the end. He started with some lip smacking.
- Evaluator #2 for Matt was Jack Frick - 4:29 - Jack like how Matt told the story of picking a school and a major. The unexpected turns kept our attention. The speech was well thought out and prepared. It was obvious Matt has done some speaking before. Imagine being pulled over by smiling, friendly Officer Matt.
- Evaluator #3 for Geogi was Glenn Nielsen - winner - Geogi's strength is his natural humor. He used wit throughout the speech. He didn't refer to his notes much. Geogi should strive to structure his speech around a few points and develop them more completely. An extroverted engineer!
Timer and Grammarian gave their reports. Jim Comer, Anne Child & Hollis Baker had quick comments.
Jake reviewed the schedule for our next meeting on Monday April 23th. Rick volunteered to Sergeant at Arms. Jennifer volunteered for Evaluator #3. Future schedules are available at http://www.balconestoastmasters.org/schedule/ .
We adjourned close to 8:00.
