December 1, 2011

Club meeting started at 6:45pm with SAA John Harman calling the meeting to order.

Members in Attendance: Rick Boyer, Magda Brugos, Frank Connelly, Allen Foretich, Christy Gardner, John Harman, Sabrina Joy-Hogg, Nita Langford, Curtis Lassiter, Victor Lopez, Wade Miner, Jean Smith, Tim Tonkovic, Phillip Sweat, Lester Yearwood

Guests: Jackie, Timothy, Kathryn, Joy

Toastmaster of the Evening, Curtis Lassiter, had the distinction of emceeing the meeting and introducing the two speakers for the night.  Victor Lopez and Allen Foretich.  Both speakers delivered speeches from the Competent Communicator maual as they work their way through the 10 required speeches. Victor's speech title "Negate the State" spoke about holiday shopping and taxes; while Allen spoke about learning by doing and avoiding political conversations in his speech titled "Get to the Point".


Distinquished Toastmaster Wade Miner held the role of Table Topics Master where he challenged unsuspecting people to "speak off the cuff" for 1 to 2 minutes about various topics.  The nine participants and their topics were:

Magda Brugos – Black Friday, Lester Yearwood – Thanksgiving, Phil Sweat – Christmas Gift, Sabrina Joy-Hogg – New Year’s Resolution, Frank Connelly – End of the World, John Harman – Joy of Raking Leaves, Tim Tonkovic – 2012 Accomplishments, Nita Langford – Best Gift You Have Given

General Evaluator Jean Smith lead the evaluation team in the second half of the meeting where growth and improvement are the focus.  Speech evaluators, Christy Gardner and Rick Boyer, shared the strengths of each speech as well as offered comments on how to enhance the deliver so that the audience is more engaged and the message clearly understood.

The meeting was wrapped up at 8:25 by President Christy Gardner.  She announced that at the next meeting we would have a White Elephant gift exchange and the last one of the calendar year.  Officer training is scheduled for Jan 14 or Feb 4.  After announcement awards were given:

Ribbon Winner

Best Table Topics--Tim Tonkovic

Best Evaluator--Rick Boyer

Best Speaker--Victor Lopez

Respectively submitted

Danita Fox, club secretary

November 17, 2011

Club Members in attendance:  Rick Boyer, Magda Brugos, Stan Dalziel, Allen Foretich, Danita Fox, Christy Gardner, John Harman, Nancy Hogg, Janet Krenn, Nita Langford, Victor Lopez, Wade Miner, Jean Smith, Lauren White, Phillip Sweat, Lester Yearwood, Zach Fauver.

Guests:  Seth Uteche, Darius Peterson, Sean Todd

Club meeting was called to order by SAA John Harman at 6:45pm and President Christy Gardner took control of the lectern to conduct a special segement of the meeting.  Three new members were inducted into the club; Zach Fauver, Phillip Sweat and Lester Yearwood.
After the induction ceremony, President Christy Gardner introduced the Toastmaster of the Evening, Magda Brugos.  As TMOD, Magda's role was to keep the flow of the meeting consistent and on task and she did it wonderfully.  She introduced the General Evaluator, Stan Dalziel, who inturn introduced the evaluation team.  Once description of the different roles was shared Magda then introduced the two speakers for the evening, Danita Fox and Victor Lopez.  Danita spoke about how a wish changes into a goal, and she used her recent accomplishment to motivate club members to focus on their goal of improved public speaking the same way.  Victor Lopez brought laughter to the group with his speech about "a day in the life of a cab driver". 

Once the speeches were complete, Magda introduced President Christy Gardner as the Table Topics Masters, where she challenged everyone to be able to "speak of the cuff".
After 8 participants spoke for 1-2 minutes on varies topics, Rick Boyer and Janet Krenn delivered their evaluations for speakers Danita and Victor.

President Christy Gardner concluded the meeting with announcements and awards.  She asked Rick Boyer to recap the District 66 Conference and she also invited all members and guest to mark calendars for December 15th meeting which will be our annual holiday "white elephant" party (bring a wrapped gift, $10 limit).
The meeting was adjourned at 8:23pm

Ribbon Winners

Best Table Topics  Jean Smith

Best Evaluator  Janet Krenn

Best Speaker   Danita Fox

Respectively submitted,
Club Secretary, Danita Fox

November 3, 2011

Club Members present:  Rick Boyer, Stan Dalziel, Danita Fox, Christy Gardner, John Harman, Janet Krenn, Nita Langford, Curtis Lassiter, Wade Miner, Tim Tonkovic, Lauren White, Linda Williams, Brett McGee, Jonthan Register, Phillip Sweat, Lester Yearwood

Guests:  Zach Fauver, Tim Herrity, Jackie Allen.

Toastmaster of the Evening, Tim Tonkovic, managed a wonderful meeting where three members delivered speeches, and nine people participated in Table Topics. 
Linda Williams and Lauren White both delivered speeches from the Compent Communicator manual as they are working to complete ten speeches.  The third speaker, Rick Boyer, spoke from an advanced manual delivering a technical speech where he unveiled the club's new website.
Table Topics Master, Curtis Lassiter, challenged nine others to "speak off the cuff" with some interesting topics such as; "red" and "tie".  There was some talk after the meeting as to how did he come up with those topics
General Evaluator Janet Krenn and her evaluation team offered feedback that would both enhance speeches and also improvements for the meeting itself.  One important comment is that we all need to commit to our club by signing up for roles and then being prepared to fulfill them appropriately.
President Christy Gardner wrap the meeting up with announcements and and invitation to guests and members alike to attend the next meeting.  Christy also awarded "best" ribbons to the following:

Best Table Topics: Zach Fauver, guest

Best Evaluator:  Wade Miner

Best Speaker:  Lauren White

Next meeting Thursday November 17, 2011.  Look forward to seeing you, respectively submitted club secretary Danita Fox

October 6, 2011

Attendance (members): President Christy Gardner, Rick Boyer, Stan Dalziel, Allen Foretich, Danita Fox, John Harman, Nancy Hogg, Sabrina Joy-Hogg, Lanette Kelly, Janet Krenn, Nita Langford, Naomi Lewis, Victor Lopez, Robyn Roberts, Jean Smith, Lauren White, June Montgomery, Brett McGee.

Guests: Lester Yearwood, Phillip Sweat

Meeting was called to order by SAA John Harman, after President Christy Gardner welcome members and guests, she introduced Toastmaster of the Evening, Rick Boyer.
As Emcee of the night, Rick's main role was to introduce speakers and keep the flow of the meeting constant and on target.
The meeting was lively with three speakers and six table topics participants.  Speaker one was Allen Foretich delivering his second speech of ten as he shared one of his passions, "law".  Following Allen was veteran member John Harman, who is working on another Competent Communicator level and he spoke about "transitions".  Completing the planned speeches for the night, Lauren White challenged us to enjoy the mundane as she delivered her third speech towards the required ten for Competent Communicator.
Once planned speeches were delivered then club Vice President of Education Nancy Hogg challenged six participants to "speak of the cuff" with Table Topics. Janet Krenn had to share about which habit she'd liked to break; Robyn Roberts-what her dream job would be; Naomi Lewis-what instrument she would like to learn; Jean Smith-where she would travel if she were a time traveler; Sabrina Joy-Hogg-what she would do if she didn't have to deal with fear; and last Brett McGee shared who his hero is and why.
All great topics to think about, but quite a challenge to speak about without prior planning.  All six participants did a fabulous job sharing their thoughts about their respective topics.
Club Treasurer Stan Dalziel was the General Evaluator for the meeting and he and his team (timer, speech evaluator, ah counter, grammarian) gave constructive feedback to help with improvement and growth.  Through constructive feedback and pointed evaluations, speakers, as well as all present, learn the value of "stately pauses", eye contact, body gestures, and appropriate use of grammar to communicate more effectively. 

President Christy Gardner closed the meeting by presenting ribbons to peer voted

Best Table Topics Speaker: Namoi Lewis

Best Evaluator:  Dr. June Montgomery

Best Speaker:  Allen Foretich

Next meeting Thursday Oct. 20, 2011.  Hope to see you all there, respectively submitted, club secretary,
Danita Fox

Special Meeting, 5th Thursday

Attendees: Christy Gardner, Nancy Hogg, Victor Lopez, Nita Langford, Diane Norbutus, Lauren White, June Montgomery, Curtis Lassiter, Magda Brugos, Wade Minor, Allen Foretich, Rick Boyer, Lois Boyle.  
Guest(s): Zach, guest of Lauren White.



The meeting and small group exercise went very well. Area Governor Diane Norbutus who was with us also participated in the small group exercises.
Dr. June Montgomery presented a speech that offered 10 tips for giving Fair and Effective Evaluations. She gave a mini grammar lesson about some common mistakes people make (using prepositions at the end of sentences and using verb tenses incorrectly).
After June's speech, participants divided into groups to practice what they learned through use of Table Topics and Evaluations. Below are the ribbon winners from each group.

Winners:
Best Table Topics Speakers:
Team 1: Lois Boyle;
Team 2: guest, Zach
Team 3: Nancy Hogg

Best Evaluators:
Team 1: Rick Boyer
Team 2: Diane Norbutus
Team 3: Christy Gardner

Submitted by,
Danita Fox, club secretary

September 15, 2011

Members Present: Christy Gardner, Rick Boyer, Magda Brugos, Stan Dalziel, Danita Fox, John Harman, Sabrina Joy-Hogg, Lanette Kelly, Nita Langford, Victor Lopez, Wade Miner, Lauren White, June Montgomery, John Foden

Guests: Lester Yearbook

Meeting was called to order by SAA John Harman, and President Christy Gardner welcomed guest Lester Yearbook to the club.  Magda Brugos took control of the lectern as Toastmaster of the Evening.  She kept the flow of the meeting going through two speeches and six table topics speakers.
President Christy Gardner delivered an informative speech about club meeting involvement, personal goals, club goals and how those three points are interdependant. Lanette Kelly delivered her ice breaker speech where she introduced herself to the club.
After the speeches we were challenged by Table Topics Master June Montgomery to speak 1-2 minutes. Table topics participants: Sabrina Joy-Hogg, Lauren White, Wade Miner, John Foden, Christy Gardner, Nita Langford and guest Lester Yearbook.
General Evaulator Wade Miner introduced his "evaluation team" to complete the meeting by offering feedback for the speakers, timer's report, grammarian and listen-up master.  General evaulation for the meeting was "good, but we can do better". 
President Christy Gardner wrapped the meeting up with tips for improvement both for individuals and the group as we continue our growth as public speakers and communicators.

Ribbon winners:

Table Topics-Wade Miner

Evaluator-Rick Boyer

Speaker- Lanette Kelly

Graciously submitted,
Danita Fox, club secretary

Thursday Sept 1, 2011

Evaluation and Humorous Speech Contest Night!

Present: Rick Boyer, Magda Burgos, Frank Connelly, Stan Dalziel, Allen Foretich, Danita Fox, Christy Gardner, John Harmon, Nancy Hogg, Sabrina Joy-Hogg, Janet Krenn, Nita Langford, Curtis Lassister, Jean Smith, Lauren White, June Montgomery, Lois Boyle, Brett McGee, Jonthan Register

Guests: Jasmine Cooper

Contest Chair Frank Connelly was the emcee for the contest, Rick Boyer was Chief Judge. Once contest rules were noted and explained, Rick Boyer called for the “contest to begin!”

Competitors for Evaluation Contest: Curtis Lassiter, Janet Krenn, Lauren White and Allen Foretich.  John Harmon was the target speaker for the competitors and he spoke about "transitions of life".  All evaluators did a wonderful job giving positive feedback and offering suggestions that will enhance John's speech. 

Competitors for Humorous Speech Contest: Jean Smith, Dr. June Montgomery, Stan Dalziel and Christy Gardner.
After the Evaluation Contest we were entertained by the four contestants delivering Humorous Speeches.  Christy made us laugh about hurricane Irene, and Stan delivered a double wammy of both laughter and reflection with his speech about bucket lists.  Jean took us down memory lane with her as she shared some funny family stories and Dr. June's speech made us laugh about the power of mind. 

Congratulations to all club members who competed in contests, and a hearty "thank you" to the other club members who worked behind the scenes before the meeting as well as those at the meeting fulfilling valuable roles as timers, ballot counters, and judging.

Winners for each will move on to Area Contest on Saturday September 10th, 1-3p at ODU Workforce Development Center.

Winners, advancing to Area Contest Sept 10th:

Evaluator: Janet Krenn

Humorous Speech: Dr. June Montgomery

Area Contest Sat Sept. 10th, ODU Workforce Development Ctr

Lets all be there to cheer on our winners, Janet and June!

Submitted by Danita Fox, Club Secretary

Thursday August 18, 2011


Present: Christy Gardner, Curtis Lassister, John Harmon, Wade Miner, Rick Boyer, Allen Foretich, Nancy Hogg, Bonnie Parker, Janet Krenn, Magda Brugos, Victor Lopez, Tim Tonkovic, June Montgomery, Lois Boyle, Nita Langford, Jean Smith, Danita Fox

Guests: Gary Brown, Janice McGhee, Felicia Ruffins, Delesia Ruffins, Jasmine Cooper, Krishna Arkal

Meeting was brought to order by John Harmon, Sargeant at Arms and Toastmaster of the Curtis Lassister then introduced speakers and evaluators for the evening. Four speakers shared from their hearts and minds topics and themes that left us wiser and happier. Magda Brugos spoke about “conversations”, followed by Rick Boyer who shared with us ways to save money, then Jean Smith shared a health tip with us speaking about “laughter being the best medicine”, and finally Janet Krenn wrapped up the speakers section by encouraging us to how to overcome obstacles.

President Christy Gardner brought the meeting to a close with a few announcements one of which was the club’s contest for the next scheduled meeting Sept. 1st.

"The Best" RIBBON WINNERS

Best Evaluator: Dr. June Montgomery

Best Speaker: Rick Boyer

CONGRATULATIONS!

OPS Club Meeting Thursday August 4, 2011


Members
  Present: Christy Gardner, President; Stan Dalziel, treasurer; Curtis Lassister, VPM; John Harmon, SAA;
Danita Fox, secretary. Members: Tim Tonkovic, Rick Boyer, Janet Krenn, Magda Brugos, Wade Miner, Naomi Lewis, Frank Connelly, Lois Boyle, Lanette Kelly, June Montgomery, Allen Fortich, Stacey Wallace, Jean Smith.
   Absent:   Nancy Hogg, VPE; Victor Lopez, VPPR; Lauren White, Bonnie Parker
Guests: Area Governor Diane Norbutus, Mark Wallace, Lewi Blosser, Sierra Lewis, Brett McGew

Meeting theme: farewell to Stacey Wallace

The meeting was started by Area Governor Diane Norbutus inducting the 2011-2012 officers and thanking the outgoing officers. Officers inducted were: Christy Gardner-President, Curt Lassister-VPM, Stan Dalziel-Treasurer, John Harmon-SAA and Danita Fox-secretary.

TMOD Magda Brugos, CC, kept the flow of the meeting going and also helped the many guests present to understand what TM is all about. Three members delivered speeches: Linda Williams gave speech #5 of 10 and she spoke on "presentation" ; Danita Fox was the second speaker and she spoke commonality and friendship and she spoke about Stacey's friendship. Frank Connelly was the final speaker and he delivered a speech about the new TM branding which unvails August 17th.
Table Topics Master Curtis Lassister continued the theme about saying farewell to Stacey and ask participants speak for 1-2 minutes about her. Table topics participants were: Rick Boyer, Stan Dalziel, Wade Miner, Christy Gardner, and Magda Brugos.  Stacey spoke also sharing her thoughts about the club and her move to Florida with her husband, guest Mark Wallace.

Stacey was the GE (General Evaluator) and she guided her evaluation team through the process of delivering the feedback that causes growth and improvment.

The meeting went a little over time, but for good reason; a visit from our new AG Diane Norbutus and a farewell theme for Stacey Wallace.
Please join us for the next meeting Thursday August 18th, we have three speakers scheduled and as always, it has the makings of a great evening.  Please make plans to attend...see you there!

Ribbon winners:

Table Topics-Stacey Wallace

Evaluator-Rick Boyer

Speaker-Danita Fox

Graciously submitted,
Danita Fox, club secretary

Thursday July 21, 2011

Hello fellow Toastmasters and Guests

Toastmasters present: John Harmon (SAA elect), Naomi Lewis, Wade Miner, Lauren White, Stan Dalziel (Treasurer elect), Nancy Hogg (VPE), Allen Foretich, Jean Smith, Magda Burgos, Rick Boyer, Christy Gardner (President elect).  Absent: Stacey Wallace, Tim Tonkovic, Victor Lopez, Robyn Roberts, Curtis Lassister.

Guests:  First timers; Laurie Lewis and Nikki Paquette, returning for a second visit Mike Johnson.

Newly elected President Christy Gardner stood behind the lectern as her new post and delivered a warm welcome to members and guest alike and then turned lectern over to the Toastmaster of the Day (TOD), Danita Fox.  John Harmon was the General Evaluator (GE) and he introduced his evaluation team; members who would have the distinction of providing the feedback that allows for growth and improvement.

Speakers:  Allen Foretich gave his ice breaker, first speech of 10 for the Competent Communicator.  As always, we enjoy ice breaker speeches because we get to know our newest members.  Jean Smith, delivered her 3^rd of 10 speeches towards her CC and she packed a lot of information about improving self-improving team.  Magda Brugos spoke about time management, completing a project requirement towards her Competent Leadership manual.

Rick Boyer was the Table Topics Masters and he challenged the club with a different format that was designed to get us out of our comfort zone as well as teach us how to be more animated.

The meeting was full of emotions and behaviors that we all felt and did with the common purpose of improving as public speakers and striving towards competent communicators.  I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.

Respectfully submitted,
Danita Fox, Club Secretary

"The Best" RIBBON WINNERS 

Best Table Topics: Naomi Lewis

Best Evaluator: Lauren White

Best Speaker: Allen Foretich

CONGRATULATIONS!

Thursday July 7, 2011

Greetings Toastmasters of the Oyster Point Speakers Club, and Guests

A new year has begun…July 1, 2011—June 30, 2012; and with it a different editor of this our club newsletter.  The format may change, but my goal is the same, to re-cap our club meetings by showcasing speakers as well as providing information about Toastmasters.

Toastmasters present (not all inclusive): Nancy Hogg (VPE elect), Victor Lopez (VPPR elect), Rick Boyer, Wade Miner, Linda Williams, Lauren White, Frank Connelly, Magda Brugos, Robyn Roberts, Curtis Lassiter, Allen Foretich, Danita Fox (Secretary elect).  Absent: Christy Gardner, Tim Tonkovic, Stacey Wallace, Stan Dalziel, John Harmon.

Speakers:  Lauren White gave her second of 10 speeches towards her Competent Communicator, and she captivated the audience with a speech topic that she may use at work to encourage employee involvement.  Next was veteran John Harmon, DTM, as he once again plots his course through another Competent Communicator manual.  Last was Danita Fox as she delivered her first speech of ten towards her Advance Communicator Silver.

Frank Connelly was the Table Topics Masters of the evening and he challenged all participants to think quick on the spot to share thoughts about summer’s heat.

We had two guests; Brett McGee and Mike Johnson….thank you for coming gentlemen.

Respectfully submitted,Danita Fox, Club Secretary

"The Best" RIBBON WINNERS

Best Table Topics: Rick Boyer

Best Evaluator: Frank Connelly

Best Speaker: Danita Fox

CONGRATULATIONS!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Stacey Wallace was voted The Best Speaker

Hello Oyster Point Speakers and Guests!

          The Toastmaster year 2010-2011 is slowly coming to an end. This last meeting of the year was hugely successful in many respects. New officer team has been nominated and selected. Club goals have been successfully met. Once again, our club has satisfied the requirements of President's Distinguished Club Program. A round of applause for that!

          Tim Tonkovic was Toastmaster of the Evening. Danita Fox was General Evaluator. Danita reminded us that evaluations are to be focused on the delivery, not the content of a speech. John Harman was Table Topics Master.

         We had 16 members in attendance and 2 guests, Soheila and Frank. The speakers of the evening were Magda Brugos, Stacey Wallace, and Christy Gardner. Both Magda Brugos and Stacey Wallace completed their Competent Communication manual and achieved the title of Competent Communicator. Congratulations! Work well done!

         Evaluators were Nancy Hogg (evaluating Magda's speech), Curtis Lassiter (Stacey's speech), and Victor Lopez ( Christy's speech). 

          We concluded the meeting with New Member Induction. Nita, Sabrina, Alan and Jermaine are now brand new members of Toastmasters International. Welcome! We hope you enjoy your journey and meet the goals you have set for yourself.

           New officer core to take over club duties on July is as follows:

President - Christy Gardner

VP Membership - Victor Lopez

VP Education - Nancy Hogg

Sargent at Arms - John Harman

Public Relations - Curtis Lassiter

Secretary - Danita Fox

Treasurer - Stan Dalziel

Good Luck to the New Officers!

"The Best" RIBBON WINNERS

Best Table Topics: Guest, Soheila

Best Evaluator: Victor Lopez

and

Best Speaker: Stacey Wallace

CONGRATULATIONS!

Thank you and see you "next year"!
Magda Brugos
Out-going Club Secretary, passing her baton to in-coming Club Secretary Danita Fox!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Hello Toastmaster Family!

          Another meeting is in the books and the Toastmaster year-end  is approaching soon...June 30.

We had 10 members in attendance and 10 guests, majority of them from the Thomas Nelson Community College. A few of them were familiar faces (Bo and Princess ...). Danita Fox was Toastmaster of the Evening. Victor Lopez was General Evaluator. Stacey Wallace was Table Topics Master. 

          Huge announcement and joy - Oyster Point Speakers is now in possession of a brand new projector system! Thank you, Janet Krenn for researching the product. Janet also presented a speech about how to use this projector system to our advantage and avoid using it as a crutch in public speaking. As always, her speech was witty and informative. Janet was evaluated by Wade Miner. 

        Second and last speaker of the evening was Magda Brugos. Magda presented a speech titled "The Sounds of Summer" in which she talked about the various critters who can be heard in the spring and summer time. Magda was evaluated by John Harman.

         Stacey Wallace as Table Topics Master used a well-known "Dear Abby..." column and transformed it into a "Dear Toastmaster..."  advice session. The participants were asked to answer a series of "Dear Toastmaster.." questions. Participants included both members and visitors. Job well done!

RIBBON AWARDS

Wade Miner - BEST EVALUATOR

Tim Tonkovic - BEST TABLE TOPICS

Janet Krenn - BEST SPEAKER

CONGRATULATIONS!

See you next time!

Magda Brugos

OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Hello Toastmaster Family!

Stacey Wallace was voted Best Speaker.Here with Club President Stan Dalziel.

          At this meeting we had 11 members in attendance and 3 visitors. Curtis Lassiter was Toastmaster of the Evening. Christy Gardner was Table Topics Master. Robyn Roberts was General Evaluator. We heard four prepared speeches. 

          Speaker # 1 was Stacey Wallace, evaluated by Victor Lopez. Her speech described the abuse that takes place in puppy mills. Stacey convinced her audience not to participate in this atrocious business of pet breeding and sales and to be diligent in the process of  acquiring a new dog. Stacey's advice was to never buy pets online or through those pet stores which don't disclose the origins of their animal inventory.

          Speaker # 2 was Sierra Hargraves, evaluated  by Stan Dalziel. Sierra is Toastmaster Naomi Lewis' daughter and a high school senior. She took advantage of an opportunity to practice her senior year speech in our club. Sierra spoke about "the freshman 15" and how to avoid it. " The Freshman 15" is used to describe the fifteen pounds freshmen college students are said to pick up in the first few months of college due to unhealthy and unrestricted cafeteria diet.

          Speaker # 3 was Nancy Hogg, evaluated by John Harman. Nancy presented helpful guidelines for the roles of Toastmaster, General Evaluator, and Table Topics Master.

          Speaker # 4 was Magda Brugos, evaluated by Danita Fox. Magda's speech was titled "Paper or Plastic". She spoke about the dangers of using credit cards and benefits of paying with cash.

          Christy Gardner as Table Topics Master chose two groups of volunteers to participate in a debate titled "Are you in favor of offshore drilling?" The debate indeed was heated; the particpants included Victor Lopez, John Harman, Danita Fox, Naomi Lewis, Sierra Hargraves, and Curtis Lassiter.

Votes were cast and the RIBBON WINNERS were:

Stacey Wallace -  BEST SPEAKER

Victor Lopez  - BEST EVALUATOR  

Victor Lopez - BEST TABLE TOPICS 

( yes, Victor did take both Ribbons home once again)

Congratulations! 

We had an extremely successful meeting!

Thanks and see you next time!

Magda Brugos

OPS Club Secretary 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Club President (C) and Guests

Hello Toastmasters and Guests, 

          Happy Cinco de Mayo! As always, it was great to see everyone! Stanley Dalziel was Toastmaster of the Evening. Nancy Hogg was General Evaluator. Wade Miner was Table Topics Master. We were pleased to host 3 first-time visitors: Al, Jermaine and John. Al and Jermaine serve in the Air Force. John is a William and Mary student and Tribe football player. We had 16 members in attendance and 4 speakers.

          Speaker # 1 was Janet Krenn, evaluated by Rick Boyer. Janet presented a "Persuade with Power" project from Competent Communicator manual. Janet is our Club Treasurer and in her speech she proposed to purchase a much-needed screen projector. As of today, the club does not own any AV equipment. Such a purchase would help members address their need for using powerpoint in their presentations. At the end of her speech, Janet asked club members to vote on this matter. The majority of the club was in favor of the new purchase.
          Speaker # 2 was Christy Gardner, evaluated by Magda Brugos. With new officer elections on the horizon, Christy used this opportunity to speak about responsibilities of each Toastmaster officer role. She also talked about the benefits of being a club officer. She wrapped up her presentation with a question and answer session.
          Speaker # 3 was John Harman, evaluated by Juan Martinez. John presented project # 7 from CC manual. He spoke about the Lewis and Clark expedition. He used visual aids and had done a great deal of research while preparing for his speech.

          Speaker # 4 was Magda Brugos, evaluated by Curtis Lassiter. She presented project # 9 from CC manual. Magda's objective was to "persuade with power". She spoke about protecting and investing in our most precious asset - our own body. She spoke about the importance of drinking plenty of water, proper nutrition and supplementation, diet and exercise.
          Wade Miner as Table Topics Master picked "volunteers" to participate in this extemporaneous speech exercise. The participants were Stan Dalziel, Victor Lopez, Lanette  Kelly, guest Al, and Danita Fox.Victor answered a topic "What is Cinco de Mayo all about?". Lanette spoke about her dream beach vacation on the coast of Jamaica. Al, a "first-timer",  talked about the vision for his life 5 years from now. Danita recalled highlights of the Toastmasters International district conference that had taken place just the previous weekend.
          The meeting was wrapped up with  Lanette Kelly being inducted as a new member of the Oyster Point Speakers club. Welcome, Lanette!

 

Ribbons Award Winners:

Curtis Lassiter  - Best Evaluator

Stan Dalziel - Best Table Topics

Janet Krenn -  Best Speaker

Congratulations!

View photos from this meeting here:  May 5, 2011 Photos


Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Hello Toastmasters Family, 

          Another great evening in the books. With 13 members present, we had a quiet but productive meeting. 

Juan Martinez was a first-timer in his role as Toastmaster of the Evening. Curtis Lassiter was General Evaluator. Danita Fox was Table Topics Master. 

          Speaker # 1 was Robyn Roberts. Her speech was evaluated by Victor Lopez. Robyn is a Master Gardener and she gave a wonderful speech in which she shared  tips on successful gardening and setting up an herb garden. According to Robyn, there are 4 main ingredients to a happy herb garden: sun, soil, mulch, and water. Here are some tidbits from her speech: always pick a sunny location as herbs need lots of sun; use good, organic soil to help plants grow themselves; buy good quality herbs; use mulch to prohibit weeds and to encourage earthworms; water the soil, not the plants. Plenty of great advice for those who want to grow an herb garden.
         Speaker # 2 was Stan Dalziel, evaluated by Magda Brugos. Stan's speech was titled "Interview for my Dream Job". Stan delivered a presentation in front of a mock job interview panel and convinced all of us why he is the best applicant for the job. His speech was followed by a "question and answer" session. The project came from Competent Leadership manual. Good luck on your real job interview, Stan. You did very well!

          Speaker # 3 was Tim Tonkovic, evaluated by Bonnie Parker. Tim's speech was titled "These boots are made for walking." Using a pair of  baby leather boots which he had found in a New York antique store, Tim spun captivating tales of who the little boots might have belonged in the past. He talked about the lives of Jacob Cohen aka Rodney Dangerfield, a great American comedian, and Anna Mae Bullock, who became world-famous under the stage name of Tina Turner. Tim's gift for telling stories and using humor was evident in his speech.

          Danita Fox as Table Topics master presented us with one topic: "What's bothering you?". It was a rare opportunity for everyone to vent and to gripe! It was certainly fun!

RIBBON WINNERS:

Best Speaker: TIM aka TOM TONKOVIC

Best in Table Topics: VICTOR LOPEZ

Best Evaluator: VICTOR LOPEZ ( yes, Victor did swoop both awards tonight!)

See you next time,
Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, April 7, 2011

          Hello Toastmasters Family and Guests,

          We had a record number of first-time visitors at this meeting! We had about a dozen guests, majority of whom were Public Speaking class students from Thomas Nelson Community College. They attended our meeting on the recommendation of prof. Jacqueline Slaughter. Thank you for visiting our club and we do hope you had a positive experience.

We had 13 members in attendance. Stacey Wallace was Toastmaster of the Evening. John Harman was General Evaluator. Victor Lopez was Table Topics Master. We heard 3 prepared speeches.

          Curtis Lassiter presented project # 3 from Competent Communicator manual. Curtis's speech was evaluated by Christy Gardner. In his speech, "To Roll or Not to Roll Your 401k", Curtis, a financial advisor, convinced us that we should always transfer our retirement accounts if we no longer work for the company where they are held.

           Lauren White presented project # 2 from CC manual. Her speech, "Travel Tips for Toastmasters" was evaluated by Bonnie Parker. Lauren, a seasoned traveller,  gave us some invaluable advice on travel. Here are some tips:

• always be aware of vaccine requirements when travelling out of country; some of the vaccination processes need to be started several months prior to travelling
• check your passport's expiration date and whether it has enough pages  for visa stamps
• there are no hard rules to booking flights; however, do not book them more than 3 months in advance
• start packing a couple of weeks ahead
• check the weather of your destination
• always carry some necessities in your carry-on luggage in case your main luggage is delayed (or lost!)

These were great tips, Lauren!

          Frank Connelly's speech was evaluated by Wade Miner. Frank educated the audience about the benefits of attending a Toastmasters International 2011 District Conference.

          Victor Lopez, Table Topic Master, used very fun and creative ideas for his table topics. The topics varied from promoting a new line of shower curtain apparel to inventing new recipies to improv group story-telling. The participants included several first-time visitors, who did exceedingly well. Everybody was quick to think on their feet and very witty. Wonderful job, all!

Word of the Day: "ubiquitous" (adj.); existing, being everywhere at the same time; widespread; e.g. "ubiquitous fashion", "ubiquitous billboards"

Ribbon Awards went to:

Lauren White for BEST SPEAKER

Bonnie Parker for BEST EVALUATOR

and

 Melynda Roberts, First-time visitor,  for BEST TABLE TOPICS

Congratulations, winners!

See you on Thursday, April 21!

Magda Brugos

OPS Club Secretary

Thursday , March 31, 2011

Hello Toastmasters and Visitors,

Club President gives out "First-Timer" Ribbons to our Guests

         Thank you all for coming to this out of ordinary meeting! It was devoted entirely to Icebreaker speeches. We heard speeches from "veteran" Toastmasters to the newest members of our Club. 

We had 13 members present and 2 first-time visitors. Cheryl came by invitation of Janet Krenn's. Mark was invited by Danita Fox. All in all, we heard 11 Icebreakers. Speakers were: Rick Boyer, Tim Tonkovic, Danita Fox, Magda Brugos, Juan Martinez, Wade Miner, Christy Gardner, Stan Dalziel, Stacey Wallace, Curtis Lassiter, and Janet Krenn. Toastmaster of the Evening was Nancy Hogg.

It was a great opportunity to learn a little more about fellow Toastmasters, their past and their visions for the future. Some things to remember from the speakers are: 

• Discover and develop your strengths; do not focus on growing in your weak areas.
• Do what you're supposed to do; find your calling.
• Face adversity even when you feel afraid.
• If you believe you can do something, great things will happen!
• Face fears of public speaking! You can only get better.

The audience cast ballots on Best Speaker of the evening.

Christy Gardner's Icebreaker was voted BEST!

Congratulations, Christy!

See you next time!


Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Hello Toastmasters and Guests, 

My apologies for a very brief update. Your loyal secretary was absent at the meeting...

Here's the summary of what took place: Danita Fox was Toastmaster of the Evening. Rick Boyer was Table Topics Master. Christy Gardner was General Evaluator. We had two guests: Christina and Janice.

Due to changed contest policy, OPS will be sending the top two contest winners onto the Area 12 contest on March 15th. Scheduled Table Topics contestants are Linda Williams and Magda Brugos. Competing in International Speech contest will be Victor Lopez and Stan Dalziel.

Lauren White presented her Icebreaker speech. Congratulations, Lauren!

Ribbon Winners:
Best Speaker: Janet Krenn
Best Evaluator: Nancy Hogg
Best Table Topics: Stan Dalziel

Congratulations, winners!

Thank you,
Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary
http://ops.freetoasthost.info/

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Hello Toastmasters and Guests,

          This meeting was devoted entirely to the International Speech Contest at the club level. Contest Master was Nancy Hogg and Chief Judge was John Harman. The contest was held in two categories: Table Topics (2 minute impromptu speech) and International Speech (5-7 minutes long). We had five contestants in table topics, and three in international speech. Our attendance at the meeting was 16 Toastmasters and 2 guests, Nita and Sami.
          Table Topics contestants were Juan Martinez, Wade Miner, Magda Brugos, Linda Williams, and Michael Brugos. All contestants were given the same speech topic: "Good fences make good neighbors".
International Speech contestants were Wade Miner, Stan Dalziel, and Victor Lopez. Each contestant delivered a previously prepared speech.
         Wade Miner presented a speech titled "Be Thankful for the Handicap." Wade gave a personal account of his journey towards conquering a speech impediment. His stuttering seemed like a huge obstacle and a handicap when he first realized he had this challenge. However, it turned out that this handicap was sometimes a blessing in disguise. With courage, determination and a strong desire to win, Wade eventually conquered his stuttering. In his words, a stumbling block can become a stepping stone. Wade's question to us was "What is your "handicap" and what are you going to do about it?". He urged us to look for a seed of opportunity in every obstacle we face.
          Stan Dalziel's speech was titled "What are you going to do when you grow up?". Stan's message was that it's never too late to pursue our dreams and visions. Stan spoke about how the choices we make daily shape the life we live. We need to discover what it is that we truly want in life and go after it. Stan wants to become a farmer after he retires from a career in engineering.
          Victor Lopez delivered a speech titled "Me, through the pages of my life". Victor challenged us to conquer the biggest fear most people have, the fear of not truly living life. Our life is like a blank page and we're the authors who write on it. If you don't like your life, change it. You need to work towards change. Victor gave us this acronym to remind us:
W : be willing
O: be optimistic
R: be  ready
K: have knowledge

The speeches seemed to have a common thread. They all challenged us to conquer our handicaps, go after our dreams and work towards creating the life we want. All three speakers performed extremely well. Winners at the club level move to Area Contest held on March 15 at ODU Hampton Campus. 

The Winner of Table Topics Contest

WADE MINER

The Winner of International Speech Contest

VICTOR LOPEZ

CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK AT NEXT LEVEL!

Thank you, 
Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, February 3, 2011

         Hello Toastmasters and Guests!

         It was great to see everyone. We had a great turnout, fantastic guests and great speeches! Magda Brugos was Toastmaster of the Evening. Sandy Peterson was Table Topics Master. Adam Gold was General Evaluator. 4 guests and 17 members were present. Our guests were Sami Ki, Lauren White, Charles McLead, and Joel Reid. Thank you for visiting our club! We hope you had a great experience.

          Tim Tonkovic presented the Professional Tip of the Day. Tim gave us some advice on what  information not to include in a resume and what not to say during a job interview. One of the tips was to always use a spell check so that spelling mistakes such as  "seeking a party-time position" are caught in time. Tim's segment was not only informational, but also very funny.

          We listened to 4 prepared speeches. Curtis Lassiter presented his first speech, the Icebreaker. Curtis was evaluated by Nancy Hogg. We learnt about his background and his reasons for being in Toastmasters. Curtis has an impressive athletic background - his track team once represented the USA in Chile.

          John Harman was evaluated by Danita Fox. John spoke about his adventures of looking for new employment. He decided to actively pursue it as opposed to just staying home and filling applications online. John attended numerous networking events, joined professional groups and read books on how to improve resume-writing skills. This strategy worked great for John as he is now successfully employed.

          Juan Martinez was evaluated by Victor Lopez. Juan spoke about how to prepare for an emergency such as a hurricane. Remember to have water, batteries, battery-operated radio, candles, nonperishable food. In Juan's experience, best quality time he ever spent with his family was during hurricanes. He also once learnt how to play the guitar during a hurricane.

          Christy Gardner was evaluated by Bonnie Parker. Christy's topic was "Conversing with Ease". Christy gave a great speech on how to improve one's conversation skills. She spoke about 4 progressive levels of conversation: small talk, fact disclosure, personal opinion, personal feelings. She gave us some conversation advice: stay abreast of current affairs, ask open-ended question, always ask the other person about themselves and listen attentively.
         Table Topics participants included Charles McLead, Michael Brugos, Stan Dalziel, Curtis Lassiter, and Wade Miner. John Harman gave a rundown of upcoming contests and contest rules. The meeting was wrapped by with a few words from Area Governor, Danita Fox, about officer training.

Ribbon Winners: 

Best Evaluator: Victor Lopez

Best Table Topics: CharlesMcLead, Guest

Best Speaker: Christy Gardner

Congratulations!

Next meeting: Table Topics and International Speech contests

P.S. Word of the day was "Eclat" (noun): brilliance of success, reputation; showy or elaborate display; acclaim. E.g. "I am hoping for an eclat from every one of our speakers tonight."

Thank you,
Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, January 20, 2011

        Hello Toastmasters and dear Guests!

         Thank you for visiting the club and joining our Toastmasters meeting. At  this meeting 19 members were present. Tim Tonkovic was Toastmaster of the Evening. Danita Fox was Table Topics Master. Juan Martinez was General Evaluator.

          We had the opportunity to hear 4 prepared speeches. 

Stacey Wallace was the first speaker and was evaluated by Wade Miner. Stacey's topic was multi-tasking. She gave examples of multi-tasking and her research showed that multi-tasking was not an efficient was to do things. Second speaker was Matt Phillips, evaluated by Cristina Stoia. Matt's speech was about an incident that led him to be in the safety/fire response career field. Rick Boyer's speech was evaluated by Janet Krenn. Wade Miner was evaluated by Sandy Peterson. Wade's topic was about the struggle a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly. Wade related that to people having to struggle to achieve their goals.

          We would like to officially introduce new club members: Robyn Roberts and Curtis Lassiter. Congratulations and thank you for joining us on this journey towards developing excellent communication and leadership skills.

VP Education Stacey Wallace performed the new member induction.

Ribbon Winners

Best Table Topics speaker : Wade Miner 
  Best Evaluator : Janet Krenn

Best Speaker : Juan Martinez 

Congratulations!

Thank you, Christy Gardner, for taking your time to prepare these notes.


P.S. Word of the day was  "pulchritudinous" (adj.), which means "physically beautiful".


Thank you,
Magda Brugos
OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Club President, Stan Dalziel, and Guests

Happy New Year Toastmasters and Guests!

         We are back in the working mode! After a month-long break from club meetings, we are ready to start fresh. We had a great turnout! Welcome back, everyone. We had 16 Toastmasters present and 5 guests: Heather Brown, Lauren White, Robyn Roberts, Curtis Lassiter, and Sumit Arora. Thank you for coming! We hope you had a positive experience and will visit us again. Victor Lopez was Toastmaster of the Evening. He did a superb job, considering it was his first time in that role. Adam Gold was General Evaluator. Magda Brugos was Table Topics Master.

          Cristina Stoia presented  Professional Tip of the Day. She gave us very valuable advice on how to  feel reenergized in one's (stale) career and how to land a great job, even in a depressed marketplace. Here are some of her ideas: dream big and focus on long-term results; acquire new skills; attend social networking events; mentor someone; take time off work to regain focus.
          Juan Martinez was the first speaker. His 5th speech from Advanced Communication Series was evaluated by Christy Gardner. Juan's assignment was to deliver a speech after receiving an award. He spoke about his experience in Toastmasters International where he learnt how to properly speak in public. He also mentioned how attending training sessions helped him network and learn from top-notch speakers.Great work, Juan, and congratulations on your perseverance in the Toastmasters program.

          Second speaker, Danita Fox, was evaluated by Janet Krenn. Danita's project came from The Entertaining Speaker Advanced Communication manual. The title of her speech was "Danita's Meanderings" and just like the title suggests, we got a glimpse into Danita's mind and her "meanderings" on leadership, personal fitness and pet-peeves. It was very captivating. This speech was Danita's final step towards achieving Advanced Communicator Bronze level. Congratulations, Danita!

         Table Topics participants included Frank Connelly, Rick Boyer, Nancy Hogg, and guest, Curtis Lassiter. The meeting was followed by our Annual Gift Exchange party, led by Wade Miner. It was lots of fun! Final words of the meeting came from Area Governor, Danita Fox.

RIBBON WINNERS:

Nancy Hogg: BEST TABLE TOPICS  

Janet Krenn: BEST EVALUATOR

 Danita Fox: BEST SPEAKER

Congratulations!

Danita Fox has reached Advanced Communicator Bronze level . CONGRATULATIONS, Danita!

Thank you, 

Magda Brugos

OPS Club Secretary