November 12, 2007 Minutes
From Austin Toastmasters (Balcones, Club #3407)
Balcones Toastmasters November 12, 2007
Chapter 3407 District 55
Minutes of Meeting
The November 12th meeting was opened right on time by Vice President Mary Buker. Lynn Barrett, father of Jerry joined us as a guest at the meeting.
- Mary Buker also led Prayer & Pledge and served as Sergeant at Arms.
- Scott Perry was our energetic Toastmaster. He picked "Be Wild!" He encouraged us to think about our wild dreams and make them a reality.
- Jim Comer tamed the clock and served as timer.
- Somebody was the Grammarian. I didn't put it in my notes and my memory is failing me, I apologize. The word of the day was "heft" (weight, heaviness, importance, influence). It was used by Sonny, Anne, John A, Jim and Rick.
- Harry Savio was One Minute Toastmaster. He reminded us the motto of Toastmasters is "Better Listening, Thinking & Speaking." Observer how others attempt to engage the audience. Use the club to see how your speech might be received by your intended audience.
Gordon Baker's quick Table Topics Master style delivered the opportunity for four participants. He urged us to describe our wild dreams.
- Rick Bradstreet - winner - 0:54 - Rick dreams of combining spiritual development with physical activity via mud wrestling and its protoplasmic goo.
- Jerry Barrett - 1:26 - Jerry wants to be shot up in space on a powerful rocket to see the earth from beyond.
- Harry Savio - 1:29 - Harry longs to power around a race track during a real race to know the feeling of competition.
- Anne Child - 1:19 - Anne wants to tame fire with prescribed burns and forest fire fighting.
Speaker #1 - John McMillan - 7:24 - "My Life as a Future Felony Crime Victim in Austin" - John spoke about a series of events that lead him to feel that he is under threat from people in Austin. Kelso described John as the most boring person in Austin and used that as a reason to nominate him for President. Ronnie Earle has created a "harmful intent file." John has hired an attorney who has spoken to a D.A. John is being proactive.
Speaker #2 - Antoinette Griffin - 9:10 - "True Tales about Antoinette" - Antoinette told stories two jobs she had as a teenager. The first was at Swenson's Ice Cream where she was too shy to ask customer "Can I help you" but she practiced. Soon her Youth Group director came to taste some Lemon Custard ice cream and purchase some... but after he left Antoinette licked his tasting spoon. The second was a receptionist job. She took a while to learn the concept of asking if the person being called was available. She discovered that one lady who was "going down the hall" was spending time in the restroom so when she got a call, Antoinette went in there and announced under the stall that she had a call. This was not appreciated.
Speaker # 3 - Hollis Baker - winner - 6:20 - "Armistice Day" - Hollis' story took us back to his youth when he learned the meaning of Armistice Day (now called Veterans Day). He painted a picture of the characters in his town: Mule Johnson - a rascal and John Chamberlain - the math teacher. Mr. Chamberlain was killed in WWII and the town was in shock. Mule Johnson read a poem that passed the torch of freedom on to the next generation.
General Evaluator was Steve Helmke. Steve appreciated Scott's great theme and people arriving early to fill the blank roles.
- Table topics evaluator was Sonny Sonntag - 2:10 - Sonny reported that Rick was to the point and used his voice and gestures well. Jerry used protocol but spoke to Gordon to the side of the room a lot. Harry dressed for the occasion and was at ease with his hand in his pocket. Anne was on subject.
- Evaluator #1 for John M was Anne Child - 2:00 - John organized his speech well with an introduction, past events, and finishing up with what he is doing now to address his concerns. He used interesting quotes but could have incorporated his reading from his letters into his notes for a smoother presentation. He included humor.
- Evaluator #2 for Antoinette was Dan Naden - winner - 3:34 - Dan pointed out that Antoinette was stretching herself to present a humorous speech. She used great descriptions so we could see her braces and imagine her licking the spoons of ice cream. She came out to the center but only after spending a bit of time to the left. She has good eye. She clasped her hands some and could use bigger gestures.
- Evaluator #3 for Hollis was John Allert - Most Improved - 3:58 - John proclaimed Hollis to be a master speaker. He framed the speech properly with greeting the room and telling us what we was going to tell us then telling us. His voice variation was powerful especially when he was almost whispering near the end. What a dramatic reading of the poem. He used vivid imagery as he pulled a folded paper out of his shirt pocket just as Mule had done to read the poem.
Timer and Grammarian gave their reports.
The District Conference and competitions are Nov 16-17. It's $110 to attend both days but only $20 to attend the competition.
December 8th is our Christmas party (dinner and gift exchange) at Antoinette's house.
Lynn Barrett recollected the power of Toastmaster speaking of a fellow in the bug business who could hardly say his name when he started but became the best humorous speaker. He was also promoted twice within a short period of time.
Mary read review the schedule for our next meeting on Monday November 19th which you can reference at at http://www.balconestoastmasters.org/schedule/ . We adjourned 7 minutes early!
