Wednesday, July 20, 2011

On the Reading Railroad

Deb served as our engineer (Toastmaster) on the Reading Railroad for the July 11 meeting. Summer is a great time to sit in the shade and read. (Of course, this summer, in Seattle, you may want to sit in your house with the heat on!) Members shared their favorite books from mysteries to self help to popular fiction.
Our first speaker, Chris, shared some great advice given to him by Joe B.: If you aren't totally prepared for a speech, don't stay home, speak anyway. You will still learn from the experience. Chris cleared a high hurdle in his goal to be more vulnerable and open. Great job, Chris.
Our new president, Mariah, shared her goals and hopes for the upcoming Toastmaster year. It was great to see her positive attitude and exciting goals for the club. In the following table topics session members talked about their goals in the club this year. Mariah busily took notes during each speech. I know she will be encouraging each member to achieve their goals.
Our next meeting on July 25th is looking great. Bill S. will be at the helm as Toastmaster for the first time. Chris and Deb will be speaking. Can't wait to see how all turns out!
And...Don't forget our club picnic coming up on July 23rd. Thank you to Bill H. and his wife, Mary, for their generous offer to host the picnic. If you haven't seen the spectacular view from Bill's deck, you are up for a treat! Contact me or Bill if you need more details.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

How Much Fun Was That?

Our June 27th meeting challenged us to remember vacations from times past. We found out that some of us turned out enjoying vacations that we didn't think we'd like. All in attendance got the vicarious experience of vacations in exotic places from Italy to Bellingham. Our Toastmaster of the day, Joe B., did a wonderful job as tour guide for the meeting. Our guest, Vera, handled the Table Topic Master role like a pro and gave many of our members, without assigned speaking roles, the chance to speak off the top of their head.
Our next meeting promises to be equally as entertaining with Deb M. at the helm as Toastmaster. Our Table Topic Master will be Mariah who always comes up with creative ideas. We are also looking forward to seeing Joyce and Frieda at this meeting.
I'm bringing the camera, so bring your smiles. We'd love to get some pictures into this blog so everyone can see how much fun we have.