May 3, 2017 Minutes

“Toastmasters Rocks!” Beverly, acting as the Toastmaster of the May 3rd meeting of T-Toasters of Vinings, started the meeting off with high energy and lots of enthusiasm. Under the theme “Being a Toastmaster Is Great!” Beverly gave the 12 members and 4 guests in attendance lots of reasons to be excited about being there.  Despite an unplanned change of venue due to carpet replacement in our usual meeting place, our members pulled together and ran a fantastic meeting.

Marcus, in his first-time acting as General Evaluator, presided over a team of volunteers including Hank as Grammarian, guest Imoh as Ballot Counter, and Tiffini, who did an amazing job pulling double duty as both Timer and Ah-Counter.  Marcus did a fabulous job explaining the duties of the General Evaluator, and kept the meeting running smoothly, despite some challenges.  Beverly reminded us that “Success comes from knowing how to communicate with other people,” and told us that her participation in Toastmasters has been the best thing she’s ever done in her life.  “When you become a Toastmaster, you are special,” Beverly stated, and with that, we fired up and ready for our speakers.

Andrea was first up, giving her 7th CC speech, “Where Your Mind Goes, Your Attitude Follows”.  Andrea explained that she had gone into her last speech with negative thoughts.  She’d feared forgetting the order of her points, and even slipped into a “nervous dance”, which she gave a quick demonstration of, bringing a bit of humor to the subject.  She went on to tell the audience that when she acted as Toastmaster the following week though, she’d begun with a more positive mindset, and was grateful that it came across in her performance.  Andrea said that 90% of our thoughts are subconscious, and only 10% are conscious.  “Our mind has stories about how we’ll react to life, but we can change them,” she said.  Andrea kept the audience involved by calling out specific listeners, and reminded us to “Create the story you want your life to tell.”

Justin, our Best Speaker, was up next.  Working on a major project that will run through August, Justin introduced his topic “Justin’s Philosophy”.  His goal will be to facilitate discussion about our personal philosophies.  Justin began his speech with a powerful and personal story about some of the current struggles in his life.  He said he has felt discouraged because his efforts weren’t bearing fruit.  He made fantastic use of his body language, vocal variety, pace, tone and pauses.  Justin involved the audience by inviting us to participate in the discussion, and kept a serious topic enjoyable by regularly injecting his signature humor.  He provided a helpful handout listing questions like, “What is your philosophy?” and “Are you living by your philosophy?”  Jim, Marcus, Theresa and Suzanne’s participation all helped to enhance the discussion.  Justin concluded with a strong call to action.  “It’s not about me, it’s about you,” he told us, and he asked us as we moved forward to “dig deep” and to keep open minds. 

Kristina bravely volunteered to speak on a moment’s notice with her second Toastmaster’s speech ever!  She gave a pocket speech “A New Look at the Aviation Industry”, and described her participation in a recent convention in Orlando as a newly appointed leader in her family’s business.  This convention was Kristina’s first, and she ended up organizing the exhibit!  The industry is heavily dominated by men, which presents some unique challenges, but Kristina was up to the task.  T-Toasters applauds you on your willingness to challenge yourself in life, and within our club, Kristina!  Performing on the spur of the moment like that was no small feat, and you inspire all of us to “get comfortable with being uncomfortable”.  (Have you all noticed that concept keeps coming up? Something to think about.)

Theresa acted as Evaluator for Andrea, Lori, the evening’s winner, evaluated Justin’s performance, and Kristina’s evaluation was a team effort between Suzanne and Greg Palmer.    Hank’s Word of the Day was “nonplussed”, and the word means “filled with bewilderment; puzzled; at a loss”.  Several of us were nonplussed by this word, clearly making it a fantastic choice for Word of the Day!  Despite that, Jim, Greg and Beverly all managed to use it.

First-time guest Leanna, her husband, David, repeat guest Devin (who says he’s ready to make things official) and Imoh, there to support Justin, all seemed to enjoy the meeting, as did our members.  All signs point to us returning to our regular location next week, so we hope to see you all then!

​Keep in mind that we are still looking for a Sergeant At Arms to replace Justin, and anyone who is interested in running for any other office is encouraged to contact anyone from the leadership team to discuss your intentions.