Toastmasters International
Presidents Club
District 14, Division D, Area 44, Club 1713
Record of Meeting
Date: January 4, 2012
Location: East Cobb Government Center
Theme: “New Year’s Resolution”
Toastmaster:
· Sutham Cobkit
Call to Order:
· Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by Sutham Cobkit.
· The Secretary was unfortunately a little tardy.
Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance:
Rush Netterville shared the poem of "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann, a poet and lawyer from Terre Haute, Indiana, who lived from 1872 to 1945.
Business Meeting:
· Eric reminded us of the following:
o Banquet Evites are out for the event on January 14th at the Papermill Grill. Be sure to respond and you can send your payment to Kumar. The cost is $35.00 and includes dinner and an appetizer. Checks should be made out to the The President’s Club Toastmasters.
o Next Wednesday is the Officer’s meeting at Caribou Coffee.
o The Speech contest is scheduled for the 18th. Charlene Anderson is organizing. We have volunteers for table topics and speeches. If you would like to join please contact Charlene. We also need the usual helpers. To speak you must have given six speeches. All are welcome to participate in Table Topics competition.
o Officer Training is on the 14th.
o We need a space for our meeting on February 29th.
General Meeting Begins:
Helpers:
Richie Deason Joke Master
Dave Brookmire Videographer
Charlene Anderson Ah Counter
Judy Anderson Vote Counter
Rush Netterville Timer
Rich Hart Grammarian
Daniel Jourdan Table Topics Master
Word of the Day: Headlong
Table Topics:
Table Topics Master – Daniel Jourdan (DJ)
Table Topic “New Year’s Resolution”
DJ recognized the value of extemporaneous speaking when recently visiting his Dad in a nursing home. As we get older, the ability to make good conversation will be very helpful!
Question 1: “Why are New Year’s resolutions good?”
Susan McMullen answered that her favorite quote is “I hope your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolution”. She doesn’t think New Year’s resolutions are good as they tend to get broken. However they are good to look back on. She shared a similar experience as DJ in visiting a nursing home recently. So perhaps resolutions give you something to look back on.
Question 2: Why are setting resolutions a terrible idea?
Ernie Pollitzer replied that nobody keeps them so why waste the time. They have no purpose and make you feel like a loser (well you might be a loser). But in summary, they are a terrible idea because they cannot be fulfilled and you may become a bigger loser than you already are.
Question 3: Why are people who are nice, loving, generous and smart, usually liberals?
Judi Rogers answered by saying she didn’t know liberals to have these qualities unless they have been mugged. She thinks that Jim wrote the book on how to be nice and surly at the same time. She reminded us that the Iowa caucus is only what happens in Iowa.
All Table Topics speakers qualified.
Speeches:
“The Will to Win” – Clemmie Scott
(Manual: CC, Speech #10: Inspire the Audience; Time: 7-9 min)
Objectives:
- To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievement.
- Appeal to the audience's needs and emotions using stories, anecdotes and quotes to add drama.
- Avoid using notes
Clemmie very powerfully shared several examples of people who were successful due to the will to win. After winning the Superbowl, Vince Lombardi, coach of the Packers, said, “Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit.” It is an attitude. How would you like to have a doctor or lawyer who had the “you win some, you lose some” attitude? Attitude is everything. Clemmie shared anecdotes about Steve Jobs changing the way we communicate today, Monica Kaufmann beating out Oprah Winfrey for a job, his son shooting a basket to win a game after the team being behind and feeling dejected and Dr. Ben Carson who traveled to South Africa to successfully perform brain surgery on conjoined children. Clemmie closed by challenging all the Toastmasters to have a will to win!
“You Can Have it All”- Mack Miller
(Manual: CC Speech #8: Using Visual Aids; Time: 5-7 min)
Objectives:
· Select visual aids that are appropriate for your message and the audience. Use visual aids correctly with ease and confidence.
Most businesses have 3 desires: To be the leader in quality, the low cost provider and the quickest in delivery. But being a leader in quality can mean high cost and slow delivery. Being a low cost provider can mean poor quality and poor delivery. Being the quickest in delivery can mean high cost and low quality. How do you have it all? Eliminate waste, strive for a lean operation and look to add value to the company. Nine areas of waste include overproduction, waiting or idle time, excess transportation of handling, over processing, excessive stock or inventory, unnecessary motion, producing defects. Mack recommends we go after the Non-Value added areas and focus on those. By eliminating these nine areas of waste you can have it all.
Speech Title: “The Great Divide” – Eric Holtzclaw
(Manual: Speaking on Video, Speech, #1, Straight Talk: 3 minutes
Objectives:
· To effectively present an opinion or viewpoint in a short time. To stimulate giving a presentation as part of a video broadcast.
Eric role played a new anchor man and shared the story of his technology prowess beginning in 1985 when he was given his first Atari 1200. His Dad had suspiciously kept him out of the house that morning while it was being set up. That magical moment opened his career. He was early his parents crossed that divide at an early age. Lack of technology knowledge is a new kind of illiteracy. In this economy, we will need to look to technology to help bring us forward. Eric reminded us of the Rural Electrification act that move 10% of household with electricity to 90% within 3 years. Eric closed by asking everyone to support programs that provide access and training in technology.
Speech Title: “Georgia Forest Watch – Watches Your Nation Forest” – Jim Dawson
(Manual: ACM – Public Relations Speech #2, Resources for Good Will, Time: 8 - 10 minutes
Objectives:
· Research the operations and benefits of an organization; prepare a talk to build goodwill toward it by presenting the facts; analyze the common interests of your audience and focus your talk on those interests; effectively use visual aid to enhance the audience’s understanding.
Jim presented a slide show of beautiful forests and began by asking how many enjoyed a nice walk in the woods? However, this simple activity may be in peril as our watershed is disappearing. How does greed “louse” up a good value? Think about the water crisis. You may walk along the Chattahoochee but you wouldn’t get in it. When the country was discovered, civilization was surrounded by wilderness. Now wilderness is surrounded by civilization. Clear cutting persists for generations. Forests help clean air, cultivate land for wildlife, and provide a place for camping with the kids, walking in the woods, keeping in shape and enjoying the scenery. Now forests are in jeopardy. Jim closed by asking all to join, donate and act. It is in our hands.
All speakers qualified with the exception of Mack Miller.
Evaluations:
General Evaluator: Tom Nixon
Evaluator for Clemmie Scott Debbie Field
Evaluator for Mack Miller Judi Rogers
Evaluator for Eric Holtzclaw Lisa Goodman
Evaluator for Jim Dawson Rob McGoldrick
Meeting Evaluation by Tom Nixon:
With our great combination of structure and fun we are the best club going.
Announcements
Story telling a Roswell Square.
Awards
Most Enthusiastic Helper – Charlene Anderson
Best Table Topics –Judi Rogers
Best Evaluator – Lisa Goodman
Best Speaker – Clemmie Scott