June 1, 2009 Minutes

From Austin Toastmasters (Balcones, Club #3407)

Laura Ivy Schultz was Toastmaster of the Day. Referring to the phrase “Have a nice day” she shared nice things participants have done for others recently.

• Dan Naden enjoyed being timer.
• Antoinette Griffin, Grammarian, enticed us with two words of the day: penchant (strong liking for something) and Panach (flamboyant manner). These were used by Gordon, Sonny, Jim, Mary Priscilla and Laura. However she also had many “um’s”, “likes” and “you knows” to report.
• Anne Child, One Minute Toastmaster, explained that mentors coach and support new members through their first three speeches.

Gordon Baker, Table Topic Master, was touched by the theme as giving is from the soul. He questioned participants on nice thing done.

• David Gaddy - 1:57 – David told of Imagine Art that works with artists with disabilities. One member, Lydia, was reluctant to come in, preferring to be isolated. But now she is active and brings in many others to participate too.
• Jane Sanford – 1:52 – Mrs. Hall was Jane’s passionate Latin teacher in high school. Jane was more interested in socializing than doing her homework well. After turning in a sloppy assignment, Mrs. Hall spoke to her privately and said “You’re much to smart for this. I expect more from you.” It changed Jane’s outlook.
• Mike Prentice – 1:55 – Mike was doing a solitary ride on I-80 in Nebraska when he had a blowout at 11:00 PM. Finally another motorcyclist gave him a ride 60 miles to the next town where he could get help.
• Charlie Cole – Best Table Topic – 2:00 – When Charlie was a teenager, the family planned that he would move with his mother to Portland. He said “no,” he wanted to stay with his father. His father agreed. Later he found out that his father gave up an opportunity to work for a major European corporation in order to stay with Charlie.

Bruce Solberg – Most Improved - Social Networking – Why do we need it? – 6:23 – Linked-In, Plaxo, Facebook and Twitter are examples of the many social networking programs that allow you to build relationships through the internet. Bruce had 3 points of social networking. 1) Jobs are not guaranteed. He thought when he started at IBM he was set for life. CEO John Akers even announced no on would ever be laid-off. Alas that promise was not kept. Monday morning, Bruce reported to his ninth job, this one at Tango. 2) You must have multiple streams of income. Do small things that bring in income, speaking, freelancing, selling things on Craig’s List. 3) You need to be an expert and share your knowledge. Show others what you know and who you are connected to. This is relationship building.

Fred Maynard – Best Speaker – Fred’s Odyssey - 6:30 – In September 1991 Fred embarked on an unexpected odyssey. He had been deployed to the Mediterranean for 3 ½ months and they crew was given leave to go back home. In Rome they caught flight 841, a 747 back to New York. About 3 hours after departure, the pilot announced a bomb threat requiring them to go back 2 hours to Shannon Ireland. The long search process required they stay overnight. No bomb was found. While back in the air the next day, a passenger suffered a heart attack. Fortunately there was a doctor and glycerin on board but still they had to detour to Gander, Newfoundland to get him to a hospital. This was only a short delay on the ground. When in the air again, the flight attendant rushed by with a fire extinguisher. There was a fire in the trashcan of the lavatory. No delays here but not settling to the passengers. Finally they arrived in New York and everyone was happy to be home.

Jim Comer – Letting Go - 8:40 – Six years ago, Jim had an operation to his face. Unfortunately the surgeon botched the procedure and caused irreparable nerve damage. Jim was livid, complained to everyone, and sought medical advice anywhere and everywhere else during the next three years. No one could help. Finally he made one last appointment with the original doctor. They agreed that there was nothing they could do. Jim silently forgave the doctor during that meeting. This act liberated him from the resentment he was carrying with him every day. Jim then reached out to each of us having us recall someone we have not forgiven. He suggested that perhaps indeed we were really wronged but urged us to forgive, as it will make us feel better. Love is a demanding verb and forgiveness is not easy. It doesn’t mean all will be well. Jim is angered when he hears of siblings not talking to each other as his brother died 39 years ago. You can’t get another brother. He gave us all homework. Think of someone we need to forgive, take a few moments to see that person’s actions from his or her perspective and let that resentment go. It will change you and may open the door to reconciliation. The Prodigal Son is a story of forgiveness; a son goes away, squanders everything and does sinful acts. But when he returns home, his father welcomes whim with open arms.

Priscilla Oehlert, General Evaluator, facilitated the evaluation section of the meeting. Priscilla commented that all the speeches included human kindness, the theme of the day. Laura was a gracious Toastmaster. She appreciated that Dan enjoyed keeping time. Mary’s evaluation was thorough, Peter gave good advice of internalizing your speech, Jason was animated, and Sonny was “right on” with his evaluation of Jim.

• Mary Buker evaluated Table Topics – 2:38 – All four stories were inspiring. David knew exactly what he waned to talk about but clasped his hands between his otherwise really good gestures. He had a complete story, as did Jane who stood in the same spot on the left. Mike painted a picture. He opens with acknowledging the audience, and wrapped it up nicely. Charlie looks down for inspiration and starts with his hands on his hips but then really gets into it.
• Peter Ryon evaluated Bruce – 2:52 – The only job security we have is our social network. Bruce got to the point right off by telling us he was going to tell us about social networking and the listed the reasons why it was important. His three points supported his topic. Bruce had a definite beginning, middle and end. His voice wavered at the beginning and he did use notes. Bruce informed us all about social networking.
• Jason Boehle evaluated Fred – 2:19 – Fred had a great story that Jason recapped a bit. Fred expected it to be a normal flight and as in any good odyssey, he eventually made it home. Fred used big gestures. Jason liked Fred’s pilot voice, beeping and vivid pictures but suggest that Fred could have used more variation in volume for more emphasis.
• Sonny Sonntag evaluated Jim – Best Evaluator – 3:21 0 Jim has a penchant for panache. But Jim was different in his speech this time. He didn’t move around quite as much and spoke to all of us, not to one person at a time. All of Jim’s asides were audible to everyone in the group and they were pertinent. He gave us something to think about. Sonny found no issue with Jim reading part of his speech. Jim reaction to the group was good.

Comments:

• Jon Beall recognizes we use Ums and Likes but heck, it’s 6:45 in the morning!
• Glenn Nielsen thought Jim’s speech was touching and really liked “Love is a demanding verb.”
• Edwin De Angel also liked Jim’s speech. He made us really think about forgiveness.
• Mary reported that Antoinette had her picture in the Austin Business Journal

Business:

• We are still looking for a VP of Education. Anne reported that the Club Scheduler program and a stack of canned emails makes the job easy.
• Balcones Toastmasters received a $50 award plus hands cards for Table Topics and Words-of-the-day.