october 25,2017 minutes

The October 25th meeting of T-Toasters of Vinings was attended by 12 members.  Toastmaster Christian, decked out in vampire regalia, started the meeting by introducing his timely theme: Halloween.  Christian enjoys the parties and shenanigans which surround the holiday, and kept the group entertained with fun facts about October 31st. 

In his first time as General Evaluator, Josue led a team which included Greg as both Grammarian and Ah-Counter and Lori as Timer. 

​Marcus, the first of three prepared speakers, gave his tenth CC speech entitled “How I Got Over”.  Growing up, Marcus struggled with low self-esteem due to his strict father.  He thought of himself as an Urkele type, and struggled with various challenges through the years.  As he made his way through these struggles, Marcus began to realize that if he relied on his “Four Keepers” he could triumph over adversity.  Marcus advised: Keep your head up (get rid of the stinkin’ thinkin’), Keep serving (get out of your own head by helping others), Keep Pounding (a reference to Panthers coach Sam Mills), and Keep the the faith (his faith has lent him strength).
 
Next up at the lectern was Beverly.  Beverly presented “Why Didn’t You Just Leave?” Beverly presented several sobering statistics about domestic violence.  Every 52 seconds a woman is abused.  More women were murdered by their partners than troops were killed in Afghanastan between 2001-2012.  Women with disabilities are even more suspetible to domestic violence. Beverly included reasons that some women either can’t or won’t leave these situations including a lack of money and work experience, familial pressures, guilt and isolation.  She also included a helpful handout with resources for people who might be living with violence.
 
Anne presented a pocket speech entitlted “You’re Sorry But I’m Dead”.  Continuing the converestation about domestic violence, Anne told us the stories of close friends who lived with violent partners.  Anne cautioned the audience “When someone shows you who they are, believe them,” a quote from Maya Angelou. 
 
George served as Table Topics Master.  With an upcoming birthday of his own, George chose to use various people with October 25th birthdays as his topics.  Ken spoke about Johan Straus (1825), Kristina spoke about Katy Perry (1984) and Christian spoke about James Carville (1944)
Anne evaluated Marcus’s speech.  She praised Marcus’s opening saying,  “In the first few seconds we decide if we’re going to lean in and listen.”   She noted that Marcus gained a consensus of the audience with his statement “Everyone loves a hero” and enjoyed that he included a joke within the first 60 seconds of his speech.
 
Justin evaluated Beverly.  He complimented her preparation saying he appreciated the “respect you gave to us by having your stuff together.”  Justin appreciated the depth of Beverly’s topic and the emotion she used to convey the stories of some who have lived with domestic violence.
 
Greg was Anne’s Evaluator.  He noted her descriptive vocabulary, describing the images that her words brought to his mind.  Greg also appreciated Anne’s use of vocal variety, and her inclusion of Maya Angelou’s words. 
 
Josue announced the evening’s winners.  Anne was named the Best Evaluator, Marcus was our Best Speaker and Ken was our est Table Topics Speaker.