October 26, 2010 - Meeting Notes

Brentwood Evening Toastmasters

Meeting Notes

for

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Toastmaster for the evening: Allan Daniels

OPENING

Sergeant at Arms, Manuel Glaze, opened the meeting and lead the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.

President, Suzanne Harrison, read the club mission, welcomed members and guests, and lead the club through the induction ceremony for new member, John Richardson.

We had three very welcome visitors who dropped in to observe BET in action: Miguel, Autumn, and Janet.


MICROPHONE NIGHT

In an effort to help club members become familiar with microphone usage and to provide an opportunity for practice using either a hand-held, cardioid and wireless microphones, Rachel Sumner (VP of Education), gave a brief introduction to the importance and proper usage of the two types of microphones.

When Rachel was finished, she introduced Allan Daniels as Toastmaster (Master of Ceremonies) for the evening.

WORD OF THE DAY

Janet Schreibman introduced the word of the day, challenging all club members and guests to interject the word throughout the meeting, when appropriate.

Xenophobia: exaggerated, irrational fear of the unfamiliar

HUMORIST

Mike Costa shared a humorous anecdote about the man who wanted to replaced the 710 cap that fell off his car and got broken. - - Not sure what a 710 cap is - write it down and turn it upside down ;-)

TABLE TOPICS

Michael Moryc acted as Tables Topics Master for the evening, challenging Toastmasters members to think on their feet and practice their impromptu speaking skills during the Table Topics section of the meeting. Filling in for Lynn Blake, who had last minute conflicts, he provided each speaker to share a memory about a specific topic.

Table Topics Speaker #1)
Brian Clinch was challenged with sharing the memory of his first crush.

Table Topics Speaker #2)
Suzanne Harrison was challenged with sharing the memory of her first car.

Table Topics Speaker #3)
Dasie Schulz was challenged with sharing a memory of either a favorite television show from childhood or a favorite class from high school.

SPEECHES

Speech #1)
Manuel Glaze with "The Truth About America"

Speech #2)
Srimanth Brindavanam with "So Near, Yet so Far"

Speech #3)
Rachel Sumner with "How to be a Distinguished Club with Toastmasters"

Speech #4)
Cindy Kubica with "Tornado Safety"

EVALUATIONS

General Evaluator - Jackie Houtz

Evaluator #1)
Carrie Hodges evaluating Manuel Glaze

Evaluator #2)
Skip Malone evaluating Sri Brindavanam

Evaluator #3)
Susan Martin evaluating Cindy Kubica

(Rachel Sumner's assignment did not require evaluation)

Grammarian/Ah Counter - Suzanne Martin

AWARDS

Best Table Topic Speaker - Suzanne Harrison

Best Evaluator - Susan Martin

Best Speaker - Srimanth Brindavanam and Cindy Kubica tied for best speaker

USE OF WORD OF THE DAY (WOD)

Once again members of BET made a terrific effort to use the WOD. Excellent work!! Those who worked the word into the meeting included:

Suzanne Harrison
Allan Daniels
Michael Moryc
Mike Costa
Cindy Kubica
John Clinch

(Sorry if I missed anyone)

Good job, everyone!!

The Visionary Leader - Highlights from Education Series

THE VISIONARY LEADER
(notes from a presentation given by Keith McLusky on 10/12/2010)

“ To be a leader, others must want and agree to be followers.

Leaders fall into different categories; a team captain is a leader, an airline pilot is a
leader.

In the business world, leaders are rewarded for guiding their companies into broader,
more profitable ventures. This requires a vision of the future and concepts of how to
attain that vision. Toastmasters International has its own vision of the ‘ corporation’ and
serves its Toastmaster members with that vision in mind.

Vision takes many forms; we can envisage our team winning, we can fantasize over our
next vacation, but true vision is longer term and requires the skills of a real leader in
order to fulfill that vision. This leader is worrying over/excited by what will happen in
three years, not the next three months.

A leader cannot achieve everything him/herself. Competent managers must be selected
and persuaded to become a part of achieving the goal/vision. Together, they will
determine a strategy and work to implement it. The leader will be involved in the
creation of the strategy, but will allow the managers latitude to set and achieve their own
goals within the overall objective.

People have not only to be motivated, but to feel respected and a meaningful part of the
total exercise.

So what characteristics must this visionary leader have? He/she must be realistic in
setting goals; the vision must be clear and easy to understand. The goals must represent
a challenge, so the participants can feel satisfaction at having exceeded their ‘ comfort
level’ . The vision will not be overly specific – a vision is not to achieve $2,000,000
in monthly profit, but rather, say, to create a company admired for its morality, for its
support of environmental protection………

A visionary leader will always talk about the vision, explaining the intrinsic benefits
to all who participate. He/she will be enthusiastic and encourage others to share their
enthusiasm. The leader will be involved – not in overseeing every team member’ s work,
but in reviewing regularly and sharing insights from the progress.

A vision is not ‘ set in cement’ ; it will adapt as conditions require – and the consequent
strategies will modify also. But the commitment to the vision remains.”



(This is one of the presentations from the Toastmasters International “ The Leadership
Excellence Series” . A script is provided, but speakers are encouraged to create their own
presentation, based on the concepts in the script.)

November 9th Educational Series "Giving Effective Feedback"

Upcoming Educational Series "Giving Effective Feedback"

On Tuesday, November 9 at 6:30PM James Justus will be leading the next session in our Educational Series - "Giving Effective Feedback"

James Justus is the Area Governor and an active B.E.T. member. He will be offering suggestions for providing effective feedback to others on their performance.

The presentation begins promptly at 6:30 PM in the room across the hall from our usual meeting room. All members and guests are welcome.

On the evening of November 9, B.E.T. is also hosting an open house for members of Forest Hills Methodist Church.

We hope to see you there!

B.E.T. Buzz - October Release

Read the latest issue of The B.E.T. Buzz, published by B.E.T. VP of Public Relations, Michael Moryc.

Please always remember that Michael encourages submissions of news about personal and professional successes for inclusion in upcoming newsletters. Please let Michael know if you have any exciting or interesting news you would like to share in The B.E.T. Buzz.

If you haven't already clicked on of The B.E.T. Buzz links above and you would like to read the latest newsletter simply click here.

October 12, 2010 - Meeting Notes

Brentwood Evening Toastmasters

Meeting Notes

for

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Toastmaster for the evening: Rachel Sumner

OPENING

President Suzanne Harrison called the meeting to order at a few minutes past 7:00 p.m. and lead the club members and guests in the Pledge of Allegiance. She also welcomed our guests and announced that Mohammad and Binosh were our newest members.

Do to a last minute work obligation that kept the scheduled Toastmaster for the Evening from attending the meeting, Rachel Sumner volunteered to fill the role and did a phenomenal job of ensuring adequate last minute changes to the schedule to make sure that every role was adequately covered.

WORD OF THE DAY

Jackie Houtz introduced the word of the day and challenged fellow toastmasters, and guests, to use the word as often as possible throughout the meeting.

The word of the day was Retrograde, an adjective or verb meaning a backwardor direction; retiring or reverse; inverse orreversed (as order).

HUMORIST

Tim Stowell shared a humorous anecdote about a man who after telling his friend he had broken his arm twice in the same place was wisely advised to "Stay away from that place."

TABLE TOPICS

Susan Martin acted as Tables Topics Master for the evening, inviting Toastmasters members to think on their feet and practice their impromptu speaking skills during the Table Topics section of the meeting. She provided each speaker with an international, national, or local news headline and a purpose for their 1-2 minute short speech.

Table Topics Speaker #1)
Manuel Glaze was challenged with addressing the families of the Chilean miners as they anxiously awaited the arrival of the first trapped miner as he about to be extracted after two months underground.

Table Topics Speaker #2)
Allan Daniels was challenged with addressing the Supreme Court in opposition to the church protesters who interrupted the funeral of a fallen marine with a war protest.

Table Topics Speaker #3)
Brian Clinch was challenged with addressing the Titans football team and coaching staff about their win against Dallas the previous weekend and the implications for the upcoming games on the road.

SPEECHES

Speech #1)
Carrie Hodges with "A Paradigm Shift"

Speech #2)
Allan Daniels with "Repeat After Me"

Speech #3)
Dasie Schulz with "A Learning Vacation"

EVALUATIONS

General Evaluator - Suzanne Harrison

Evaluator #1)
Srimanth Brindavanam evaluating Carrie Hodges

Evaluator #2)
Michael Moryc evaluating Allan Daniels

Evaluator #3)
Mike Costa evaluating Dasie Schulz

Grammarian/Ah Counter - Kieth McLusky

AWARDS

Best Table Topic Speaker - Allan Daniels

Best Evaluator - Mike Costa

Best Speaker - Carrie Hodges

USE OF WORD OF THE DAY (WOD)

Once again members of BET made a terrific effort to use the WOD. Excellent work!! Those who worked the word into the meeting included:

Suzanne
Rachel
Carrie
Dasie
Mike
Michael

(Sorry if I missed anyone)

Another terrific meeting!