The December 20 meeting of T-Toasters of Vinings revolved around the Winter Solstice, and was led by first-time Toastmaser of the Day Devin.  In attendance were 11 members and 3 guests.  Devin shared some interesting facts about the solstice, including that it is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, as well as the longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere.
 
Leading the evaluation team was General Evaluator Christian.  His team included Grammarian Jim, Ah -Counter (and guest) Erica, Timer Josue and Ballot Counter Greg.  Jim’s Word of the Day was “pinnacle“ meaning top, or crest. 
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Three speakers took the lectern.  First of those three was Andrea with an Advanced project form the Successful Club Series titled “How to Be a Distinguished Club”.  Andrea inspired the club by announcing that we have been a President’s Distinguished Club for 13 years, and are about to complete our 14th year as such.  Motivating listeners with gold candy coins, Andrea shared some facts including that the Toastmasters year runs from July 1st through June 30th and that qualifying requirement categories include education, administration, membership and training.  Jasmine served as Andrea’s evaluator.  She noted Andrea’s use of a quote in her strong opening and that her “clarity was on 10!”  Jasmine appreciated how Andrea “channeled a celebratory tone” and kept the audience engaged.
 
The evening’s second speaker was Liana with “Why a Pageant’s Right for Me,” project 5 from the Competent Communicator manual which focuses on body language.  Liana spoke about her decision to pursue participation as a pageant contestant and her journey thus far.  After being named Mrs. Cobb County, Liana will progress to the Mrs. Georgia contest.  Lori served as Liana’s evaluator.  She praised Liana’s strong use of gestures, movement, poise, enthusiasm, vocal variety and facial expressions, as well as her naturally confident manner.  Lori also noted that the use of a personal story was a powerful tool in reaching the audience.
 
The final speaker was Matt with a pocket speech focused on growth and betterment.  Matt touched on the importance of contests, conferences, participation in leadership roles at the area level and the potential value to be gained by becoming involved with an advanced club. 
 
The Table Topics portion of the evening was run by Marcus.  Marcus asked three volunteers about some of their winter experiences.  Greg spoke about what he wants for Christmas (quality time with Jennifer Anniston).  Jim shared that 2002 was his favorite year because of the birth of his son. Guest Jimmy said he has always wanted (but never received) an IPad. 

During the evaluation portion of the meeting, Grammarian Jim noted two uses of the word of the day- nice work, Marcus and Matt!.  Jim appreciated Devin’s use of “figure out what we want to be when we grow up”.  Jim also enjoyed Andrea’s use of a Susan Gale quote, Greg’s “Age is just a number,” Matt’s “evolve or disappear” and Liana’s use of alliteration. 
 
Josue’s Timer report included the following: Andrea 14:49, Liana 5:41, Matt 8:07, Greg 1:02, Jim 1:04, Jimmy :40, Jasmine 2:42, Lori 2:41, Erica 1:30, and Josue 1:00.
 
Chiristian’s General Evaluator report noted that good turnout.  He complimented Josue’s dedication to his Sergeant at Arms role, and congratulated him on his last day as such.  Christian also noted the topical thereme and Devin’s calm and smooth manner as Toastmaster.
 
Guest Erica said, “Thank you for being so welcoming.  I had a great time!”  Jimmy said the meeting was “great, as always!”
President Jim closed out the meeting with some announcements.  Marcus was named our new Vice President Membership.  We are still looking for a Secretary to take over for Lori, as well as a new Sergeant at Arms to replace Josue.    Contest time is upon us.  Please see New VPE George, Jim or Andrea for more information on competing or serving a role. 

The December 13th Holiday Party Meeting of T-Toasters of Vinings was hosted at the Lake Laurel clubhouse by Toastmaster Jim, our club’s President.  With a festive Christmas tree and beautiful decorated tables, courtesy of Andrea Lewis, the atmosphere was warm and cheery.  A delicious sampling of potluck treats were shared, as was the good company of 15 members and 8 guests.
 
General Evaluator Greg led a team which included Grammarian Jasmine, Ah-Counter Scott, Timer Josue, and Ballot Counter Lori.  Jasmine’s word of the day was “salubrious” meaning “favorable”. 
Marcus was the first of three prepared speakers.  He presented his second project from the advanced annual Speaking to Entertain.  Marcus detailed the shady characters involved in “The Kringle Conspiracy”.  Some of Christmas’s most notorious troublemakers, including Frosty (top distributor of snow), Elfon D. Shelf (Kringle’s muscle) and the big guy himself.  Marcus’s PowerPoint presentation illustrated the who’s and why’s of the Elf B. I’s. investigation into these characters.  David served as Marcus’s evaluator.  David complemented Marcus’s ever-present passion and his excellent use of smooth transitions.
 
The evening’s second speaker was Christian with his 6th CC speech “Play the Long Game”.  Christian began with an explanation of the infamous Marshmallow Experiment, which took place in the 1960s.  In it, participating children were offered a marshmallow but told that if they resisted eating it for a set period of time, they would be rewarded with a second treat.  The study showed that the children who were able to resist achieved more success in life, and lived healthier lives.  In doing so, the critical importance of self-control with regards to delayed gratification was illustrated.  Christian wrapped things up by requesting people pick one thing to do one percent better each day, and to reflect on their choices.  Kristina served as Christian’s evaluator. She noted his pleasing voice, good use of pauses, meaningful movements, and the timeliness of his topic. 
 
The final speech was Beverly’s “Uplift the Spirit” from an advanced manual.  Beverly inspired the crowd, reminding us to “Get busy living or get busy dying,” a line from The Shawshank Redemption.  Beverly encouraged listeners to “work your dash”, referring to the dash seen between a birthdate and death date on a gravestone.  Liana, the evening’s Best Evaluator, evaluated Beverly’s speech.  Liana began by asking the crowd, “Did you feel uplifted?” and was met with a resounding “Yes!”  Liana said, “Hand down, this was the best speech I’ve heard from you@”
 
The Table Topics Master for the evening was George.  Four participants stepped up to the lectern to answer George’s questions.  Guest Jean chose to speak about a doll in our Toys for Tots collection pile that reminded her of one from her childhood which inspired her to become a teacher.  Kristina shared her thoughts on Christmas music.  Guest Jimmy filled us in on his opinion of Christmas movies.
Guest Jatika discussed her holiday plans for a Las Vegas vacation and took home the ribbon for Best Table Topics.
 
In her Grammarian report, Jasmine complimented Christian’s phrase “The decision you make has a strong impact later.” As well as Lianna’s “gamut of emotions”. 
Scott’s Ah-Counter report let us know that “and” and “so” were the words of the day.  Scott encouraged us to take the opportunity to pause, reminding us that it can make us sound more knowledgeable as speakers and makes it appear as though we’ve “got it together”.  General Evaluator Greg feels that “Every evaluation team should have two Bracketts!” and suggested keeping the wine stash closer to Suzanne. 
 
Our guests then shared their thoughts on the party.  Jean said, “It felt good to speak again!”  Jatika reminded speakers of the importance of bringing their manuals and striving to meet their speech objectives. Maya though the meeting went well.  Tracy enjoyed the evaluators, the speeches and the meeting’s flow.  Markisa was “glad to be back” and Zachary said, “All the meetings are awesome!”
 
President Jim closed out the meeting with a special thank you to Andrea for all of her hard work.  The crowd was also reminded that TLI will be held on January 6th.  With the attendance of our officer team there, our club will have met all ten of our Distinguished Club goals and will be named President’s Distinguished for the fourteenth year!

The November 29 meeting of T-Toasters of VInings was led by Toastamaster Christian with a theme of Holidays.  Christian shared several tidbits about various holidays and holiday traditions with the crowd including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah and Kwaanza.  In attendance were 14 members and 2 young guests- Zachary and Maya. 
 
General Evaluator Matt led a team which included George as Grammarian, Lori as Ah-Counter, Jim as Timer and Chad as Ballot Counter.  George’s Word of the Day was “wastrel” meaning “one who is wasteful”. 
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As the first of two prepared speakers, Greg gave an advanced level speech from the Storytelling Manual entitled “Dream Big”.  Greg’s speech covered a variety of topics including his teenage crush on Jennifer Aniston, his experience owning the coolest t-shirt in the universe and the dreams he had for himself as a Toastmaster.  Lee served as Greg’s evaluator.
 
Next up at the lectern was Beverly with an advanced speech from the Better Speaker series entitled “Organizing Your Speech”.  Beverly provided the audience with handouts and touched on several pointers including starting with a great opening, including interesting facts, using stories and props and trying techinquest like demonstrations with volunteers.  Marcus served as Beverly’s evaluator.
 
 
The Table Topics Master for the evening was Josue who asked the crowd to imagine they were at a holiday party and that they were approached by guests who asked a variety of questions.  The first participant was Suzanne who was approached by a psychic and was allowed to ask for the details of any one future event she’d like to know about.  Suzanne showed a bit of her true nature by admitting she’d rather learn about the psychic’s experiences than to know about her own future.  Next up was Chad who was asked if he’d rather develop beliefs or gain knowledge.  Chad shared the tale of a work trip with a colleague and her nervousness about public speaking.  Mark was the third participant.  Josue asked him, “When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?”  Mark wanted to b e a professional baseball player.  The final participant was George.  He was asked, “If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”  George said if he had a job he loved, he’d probably continue working.
 
Timer Jim reported the following stats: Greg 3:38, Beverly 13:23, Lee 2:56, Marcus 3:26, Suzanne 1:06, Chad 2:19, Mark 1:33, and George 1:33

General Evaluator Matt reminded us to not ask for corrections, especially when acting as Toastmaster as it causes us to potentially give up control of the timing if people do add their thoughts.  Matt commended Christian on his ability to keep up with all of the moving parts of the meeting.  Finally, he also reminded us to clap until speakers take their seats.
There was no vote for Best Speaker as we only had two prepared speakers.  Marcus was named Best Evaluator and Suzanne won the ribbon for Best Table Topics. 
 
President Jim took the lectern to share some announcements: 
-Our holiday party will be at the Lake Laurel clubhouse on 12/13 at 6:00.  Please remember to sign up for the potluck and to bring a toy for Toys for Tots. 
-Club members received a survey and are asked to participate in our efforts to continue to improve our experience at T-Toasters
-TLI will be held on Saturday, January 6 at the Loudermilk Center (Georgia State).  Contact Greg Palmer for tickets if you’re interested in attending.  T-Toasters will cover the cost!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/district-44-toastmasters-mid-year-club-officer-training-at-toastmasters-leadership-institute-tickets-39924321721