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

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Lori Hobson receives her Icebreaker Ribbon

"The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public."

- George Jessel (1898-1981, American actor, known in his lifetime as "Toastmaster General of the United States")

Hello Toastmasters!

          We had a great meeting as always. One more meeting left before this year 2010 is over and it's time for a fresh start again. We had 16 members in attendance and a second-time visit from Christina. It was nice to see her again! Nancy Hogg was Toastmaster of the Evening, Danita Fox was General Evaluator, Cristina Stoia was Table Topics Master.

          We had two speakers. Lori Hobson presented her Icebreaker speech. Lori's speech was evaluated by Frank Connelly. She started her presentation with a song "Special Woman" she played for us. Lori suggested we all have a song that energizes and motivates us. Her speech was titled "Why you should be a President of your own Fan Club". We should first and foremost believe in ourselves; be confident and humble at the same time. We can't compare ourselves to others because we have all been given special gifts and talents which makes us unique.

          Matt Phillips was the second speaker of the evening. He gave his 6th speech from the Competent Communication manual. Matt was evaluated by John Harman. Matt volunteered last minute to present this "hip pocket" speech since one of the scheduled speakers could not come to the meeting. Matt spoke about his love of football and shared his experience of attending a college football game at his alma mater, West Virginia University. 

         Cristina Stoia was Table Topics Master. Cristina brought some fresh ideas to our table topics. She shared a bagful of fortune cookies with the audience and later asked volunteers to comment on the fortune they received. Participants included Christy Gardner, Wade Miner, Rick Boyer, Victor Lopez, and Frank Connelly.

         Victor Lopez presented the Professional Tip of the Day. He gave us some advice on how to understand other people based on their different behavior styles. The four groups of people are "talkers", "doers","controllers", and "supporters". By knowing which category someone else falls into, we are able to match our style to theirs, thus greatly improving communication between us. 

   RIBBON AWARDS  

Victor Lopez was Best in Table Topics

Frank Connelly was Best Evaluator

Matt Phillips was Best Speaker

Congratulations, Winners!

We are having a Yankee Gift Exchange Christmas Party on December 16. Come to celebrate with us. It will be lots of fun!

Thank you, 

Magda Brugos

OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Jessica Ledbetter is Toastmaster of the Year!

Hello Toastmasters Family and Friends, 

          Time certainly flies by! It was our last meeting before Thanksgiving and we have two more meetings before the year 2010 is over. It will be time again to start fresh and set new goals. At this meeting we had 15 members in attendance and 2 guests - Kristene Skalicky and Lanette Kelly. Christy Gardner was Toastmaster of the Evening. Stacey Wallace was General Evaluator. Stan Dalziel performed Call to Order and Pledge. The word of the day was "effusive", which means "unrestrained or excessive in emotional expression; overflowing, profuse", e.g. "effusive praise".

          First speaker was John Harman, evaluated by Nancy Hogg. Over the years, John  has delivered over 100 speeches. This was his final speech towards achieving his (yet another) Advanced Communicator Bronze level. The title of his speech was "Toastmaster's Job is Easy!". In his presentation, John reminisced on the 15 years with Toastmasters and spoke about both fun and challenges he faced in his various roles in the organization.

          Second Speaker was Danita Fox, evaluated by Adam Gold. Danita delivered a sales training speech from the Professional Speaker manual. Danita has been a Toastmaster since September 2007. In her speech, she trained her sales force (the audience played this role very well!) on two sales techniques. These two techniques vary, dependent on the category. The categories were "colorology" and "generations". Danita informed us that the science of colorology can tell us about the person's character and preferences based on the colors they wear and favor. The category of "generations", i.e. how old a person is and which generation they grew up in, will reveal even more clues to how most effectively sell to them. For example: "Veterans" are practical and frugal because they grew up during the Great Depression. "Boomers" are focused on goals and dreams. "Generation X" emphasize personal image and want instant gratification. "Generation Y" are civic- and environment-oriented. Knowing these broad characteristics can help salespeople determine how to best fill the need of their customers and communicate with them most effectively.

          Third speaker was Jean Smith with her very first Icebreaker speech. Jean's speech was evaluated by Stan Dalziel. Jean faced many challenges that day (she almost didn't make it to the meeting) but decided to give her speech despite them. In her Icebreaker she spoke about her background and where she came from. She shared the memory of her mother who taught her to represent the family well and be proud of her heritage. Jean reminded the audience how important it is to believe in oneself. Jean has a book coming out in two weeks! We will let you know the details soon.

          Speeches were followed by Thanksgiving-theme Table Topics. Juan Martinez was Table Topics Master. Participants included Adam Gold, Rick Boyer, Frank Connelly, Christy Gardner, and Stacey Wallace. Even our two guests, Kristene and Lanette, volunteered to participate in this activity. Kudos for courage! Rick Boyer presented the Professional Tip of the Day segment. Rick spoke about what motivates people to do great work. Club President, Stan Dalziel, conducted New Member Induction. We are happy to announce that Jean Smith is now an official member of Oyster Point Speakers Club. Welcome!

The meeting was wrapped up with awards. 

RIBBON WINNERS:

Nancy Hogg: BEST EVALUATOR

Rick Boyer: BEST TABLE TOPICS

Danita Fox: BEST SPEAKER

CONGRATULATIONS!

Danita Fox received an award for Distinguished Club Leadership for 2009-2010!

Jessica Ledbetter was recognized as TOASTMASTER OF THE YEAR!

Photos: http://www.radiantharvest.com/TM/photos/

Thank you and see you soon!

Magda Brugos

OPS Club Secretary

Thursday, November 4, 2010

"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."  - Jerry Seinfeld

 Hello Toastmasters and Guests,

          As you read in the above quote, for most people the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of death.  Shall I let you in on a secret? Even most Toastmasters fear public speaking and still get nervous before getting up to speak. What makes the difference is that those who participate in Toastmasters meetings are the ones facing and conquering that fear. If you're reading this blog and are thinking of coming to one of our meetings, don't hesitate. Come. 

          We had twenty in attendance at our last meeting, including six guests. It's always such a pleasure to host visitors. Lauren and Jon,  Jen and Jonathan, Christina, Michael - thank you all for coming. We hope you will visit us again.

Rick Boyer was Toastmaster of the Evening. Nancy Hogg was General Evaluator. Magda Brugos was Table Topics Master.

           We had two speeches. Danita Fox presented "The Moments of Truth" from Successful Club Series manual. Her speech was evaluated by Christy Gardner. Danita spoke about ways to gain and retain new members, and to improve members' experience. Even though her presentation focused on ways to improve a Toastmasters club, it could easily be applied to any other organization or corporation. 68% of people leave an organization because their needs are neglected. It's important to keep that in mind. Any club, organization or corporation has to remember that its members or employees are crucial to its overall success. "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

          Magda Brugos presented speech # 5 from Competent Communication manual. Her speech was evaluated by Tim Tonkovic. Magda gave a brief introduction to personality types. The four main personality types are: Popular Sanguine, Perfect Melancholy, Powerful Choleric, and Peaceful Phlegmatic. They are driven by different things. Popular Sanguine's basic desire is to have fun. Powerful Choleric wants to have control. Perfect Melancholy strives to have perfection. Peaceful Phlegmatic wants to have peace. One of the secrets to improving relationships with others is knowing what makes other people tick and what drives them to behave in certain ways. When you're able to identify someone's personality, you will be able to better relate to them and adjust your message accordingly. If you learn the primary characteristics of personalities you will improve relationships and avoid  conflict with others.

Since both speakers exceeded their allotted speech time, the Best Speaker award was not presented.

          Table Topics participants were: Matt Philips, Juan Martinez, Tim Tonkovic, Lori Hobson and guest Lauren White. Remember, participation in table topics is the best "off the cuff" speaking practice. All the partcipants did exceedingly well with their topics.

Ribbon Winners:

Tim Tonkovic: BEST TABLE TOPICS

Christy Gardner:  BEST EVALUATOR

Congratulations!

Thank you, 

Magda Brugos

OPS Club Secretary