Speech Contests Elicit Laughs, Gasps

Contest winners Glenn Decker, John Stubblefield, Jim Hummel and Laura Stewart

Afterburners Club held its Evaluation & Humorous Speech Contests tonight, bringing out the very best in the contestants and the audience, too.

Glenn Decker won the Evaluation contest with a very well-constructed evaluation that was everything Afterburners has come to expect from our evaluators. It was positive, specific, helpful and Glenn even remembered to summarize all his major points.

Laura Stewart had the crowd in stitches with her winning speech, titled "She's Not Cooking, Is She?" Even though we had another great Afterburners potluck meal, you will all be relieved to know Laura brought fresh fruit, so no cooking was required.

Phillip Silas kept the evening lively as Contest Master, and all the contestants gave their very best efforts. Bill Erwin, John Stubblefield and Jim Hummel also competed, and I'm sure the judges had a difficult time with so many skilled speakers.

Tammy Bailey

One of the most rewarding moments for me as an Afterburner, came near the end of the contest. Phillip interviewed all the contestants, and one of the standard questions is, "How long have you been in Toastmasters?" Laura answered, "About three or four months," and I heard gasps of appreciation throughout the room. When John answered the same question, "I think about a month," the gasps were even more pronounced. It was clear our guests were impressed with the swift development of these neophyte speakers, and perhaps even more impressed with their willingness to compete.

Congratulations to Glenn & Laura, who will move on to compete at the Area 12 Contest on October 13!

Tammy Bailey

Preparation leads to confidence

Steven Thorn

Preparation is a key factor in becoming a good public speaker. Preparation leads to confidence.

In 2009, I competed in the International Speech Competition, winning the Club, Area, and Division rounds before finishing Second at the District level.

To prepare for the International Speech Competition, I wrote out my speech on the computer and continually revised it.

I chose every single word in my speech to make the sentences smooth, understandable, and pleasing to the ear.

Listening to good speakers and observing how they organize their thoughts can help you organize your own thoughts.
Reading quality books, magazines, and newspapers can also give you a model for writing your speeches.

For those of you who hated English class AND hate public speaking, don't give up. All of you who enjoy math, take heart. We're not going to do math right now, but I am going to provide you with a formula:

1) Introduction: Tell the audience what you're going to tell them.
2) Body: Tell them.
3) Conclusion: Tell them what you told them.

This is a classic organizational strategy, like the traditional five paragraph essay from English class.
Typically, your speech (or essay) has a theme, and you support or explain the theme in three main points.
Talk about the theme and the three points in the introduction, flesh out the three points in the body, and recap the three points and how they support the theme in the conclusion.

After you write your speech, you need to practice it. While preparing for the International Speech Competition, I practiced my speech every day in front of the mirror until I was sick of it.
When I didn’t want to practice it anymore, I practiced it one more time.

Give your speech to yourself in front of a mirror to watch your eye contact and gestures. Being in front of a mirror should help you to act naturally. It may reveal distracting habits that you have, like jangling loose change in your pockets or wringing your hands.

If you can, record your speech and listen to (or watch) the recording. This will help you to enunciate correctly and talk at a natural pace.
You must practice your speech out loud before you give it, because the spoken word sounds different than the written word. Some things just don't make sense when you say them out loud. You want to identify the rough spots in your speech before you give it.

I prepared for my speech: wrote, revised, practiced, recorded and listened, watched myself in the mirror — and then I finally gave the speech in the competition.

Did all of that preparation give me confidence when I stepped onto that stage, in front of all those people, to deliver my speech?

Yes, it was SHOW TIME for Steven Thorn!

I wasn't worried about the competition or the judges. Win or lose, I was going to do my best.
I was ready.

While you may never feel the same excitement about "show time," preparation will give you confidence.

Don't focus on your nerves or the urge to throw up. Focus on the fact that you have a message to deliver and you're ready to do it. Let that preparation give you the strength and confidence to do whatever public speaking you have to do.

Preparation leads to confidence.

Plan your speech.

Practice your speech.

Become a confident speaker.

Steven Thorn

Hats off to the Spring Conference!

Teresa and LaShawn in their hats!

This past weekend, several Afterburners members attended the District 25 Conference “The Road to Success.” On Friday night, Sergeant at Arms Gary Chiu proudly carried in both of our club banners during the Banner Parade. Toastmasters International President-Elect Michael Notaro presented us with a ribbon for accomplishing our Dream BIG commitment of President’s Distinguished.

The hat ladies — Pat, Teresa and Linda

Our very own Brenda Daniels was the Friday night Chair and Toastmaster. She opened the weekend’s festivities with “Toastmasters Start Your Engines” which was taken from the NASCAR-themed decorations. The “HATtitude” contest was so much fun, with ladies and gentlemen donning all different types of hats. Linda Coleman, Teresa Wilburn, LaShawn Carter, Gary Chiu and Pat Quick all got into the spirit by wearing some great hats; some fashionable and some downright funny.

Gary interviews LaShawn

The Table Topics contest, presided over by the busy Gary Chiu, was kicked up a notch when Afterburners member LaShawn Carter competed on the district stage. She did a fantastic job and made every member present proud at how poised she was and how articulately she spoke.

District 25's Outstanding Club Officers

On Saturday during the Awards Luncheon, our website, afterburners.us, was chosen as the Best Club Website, Jodie Sanders was named the Outstanding Vice President Public Relations and Gary Chiu was named Outstanding Sergeant-at-Arms. Everyone at Afterburners knows that Jodie and Gary are outstanding, but now so does everyone else. Congratulations, Jodie and Gary!

George and Pat

After hearing the incredible speeches given during the International Speech Contest, it was time to dress in our best for the Saturday night Installation of Officers and DTM Ceremony. Cheers were shouted as George Arndt escorted Division A Governor Pat Quick in the Dignitary Parade and all members in attendance were all smiles as Setma Maddox received her DTM and Brenda Daniels received DTM number two.

Pat, Gary, Brenda and Setma

You would think that we would be just exhausted after all that fun, but we still had strength to make it to the Hospitality Suite hosted by Rose Timmons and Linda Coleman. They put out a spread of food that would make any restaurant jealous. I heard people talking about the delicious fare and the warm welcome they received from Linda and Rose. Kudos to both!

Steven and Rose

Also, a big “you done great” to Steven Timmons who assisted with Registration and did all the badges and tickets, behind-the-scenes work that was essential to a smooth member experience.

If you missed this year’s conference, you can make the next one. Mark your calendars for November 18-19, Fall Conference, “Let it Shine.” I’m already making plans to attend and I hope you will join me.

Pat Quick

See more pictures of Conference attendees and the DTM ceremony.

A great day at Division A

Linda

I am proud to say I attended the Division A Table Topics and International Speech Contest held on April 30. The food, of course, was to die for — fresh fruit, turkey legs, sausage on a stick, dessert items galore — something for everybody to feast upon.

Our club's Linda Coleman was the Toastmaster of the contest and she did a fabulous job of keeping the contest going on time with proper introductions for all the speakers and contestants.

First was the Table Topics contest — our club's LaShawn Carter was first up. The question was "What have you discovered about yourself through Toastmasters?" and LaShawn had quite a bit to say on the subject — basically she has a "gift for gab" and Toastmasters really enjoy hearing her life stories. LaShawn won first place — a well-deserved win, I must say.

Second was the International Speech contest and I thought that all the speeches were quite good. Regina Clay's speech on What is the worst 4-letter word you shouldn't use in a Toastmaster speech (the word is can't), won first place.

Mike

Then the outstanding officer awards were handed out and the winners announced. A great speech contest I really enjoyed attending.

Mike Kelly

Area 12 Contest just happened to be significant

LaShawn

March 26, 2011 was a very significant day in the lives of LaShawn Carter, Linda Coleman, Steven Timmons and Afterburners around the world. What happened?

Have you ever heard this statement? There are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. If you’re wondering what happened, you missed the Area Contest on March 26!

LaShawn Carter won the Table Topics Contest, Linda Coleman won second place in the International Speech Contest, Steven Timmons was Contest Master, and Afterburners won the Area 12 Spirit Stick. To win the Spirit Stick, our club had the most participation at the contest. Finally, four of our officers were named Outstanding Officers — Joyce King, VP Membership; Jodie Sanders, VP Public Relations; Steven Timmons, Secretary; and Gary Chiu, Sergeant at Arms.

Way to go, Afterburners, you made this a memorable experience!

Linda Coleman

Speech contest is all about life

The International Speech Contest was one of my most exciting times since being a part of Toastmasters. I really didn't know what to expect, since I've never partaken of this kind of event before. But the five speakers (George Arndt, Linda Coleman, Ryan Gallagher, Dámaris Thorn and Rose Timmons) showed us what giving a speech is all about.

If you happened to be a judge, and all of the speakers presented first class speeches, then you had no choice but to pick the best subject matter; and even that could be a hard call. For instance, George talked about appreciating life; Linda spoke on the things that would make you have a successful life; Ryan talked on not taking life and our loved ones for granted; Dámaris spoke on life's small appreciative gifts; and Rose on why in life do we pay for bottled water when tap water is cheaper and sometimes better.

Do you see my point? All of these subjects were worthy of attention, and the speakers delivered their messages well. But in this life we have winners and losers. First place went to Linda; 2nd to George; and 3rd to Ryan. Congratulations to all of the speakers.

Phillip Silas

Terrific turnout for Table Topics contest

Front row: Linda Coleman, Melessa Baker, Holly Trinh, Saraí Garcia.

Back row: Phillip Silas, Antoinette Silas, LaShawn Carter, Ron Baker.

Eight brave souls stepped forward at tonight's Table Topics contest, and each moved forward in his or her journey toward improved communication.

The question each addressed was "What effect did your childhood have on your life?" Those in attendance heard a wide variety of answers ranging from being a middle child to  growing up in harsh economic conditions and how strength was born of it.

After the votes were tallied, LaShawn Carter was our winner with Saraí Garcia as runner up. If LaShawn is unable to compete in the Area 12 contest on March 26, Saraí will represent Afterburners instead.

Antoinette Silas, LaShawn Carter and Saraí Garcia won the top three places.

Next week we'll hold our International Speech contest. Anyone may participate who has completed at least six manual speeches in club. Speeches must be 5-7 minutes long, and can be on any topic.

Will you take the opportunity to advance in your journey by competing next week?

Tammy Bailey, DTM

Club contests . . . are coming up!

Our spring club contests are going to take the places of our regular meetings on February 22 and March 1st. People who are interested in competing in either the Table Topics Contest, the International Speech Contest, or both should notify the Vice President Education, Ryan Gallagher.

EVERYONE is eligible to participate in the Table Topics Contest. This one is on February 22.

Members who have given AT LEAST 6 manual speeches are eligible to compete in the International Speech Contest. Speeches are 5-7 minutes. This one is on March 1st.

Volunteers are needed for contest roles — specifically two timers, a contest master, two sergeants-at-arms, and judges for each contest — so if you are not interested/eligible to participate, please consider volunteering for one of these roles.

Ryan Gallagher

Steven has a full day of contests!

What do clowns and barnyard animals have in common?
Give up? Toastmasters!

At Saturday's contests at Polytechnic United Methodist Church at Texas Wesleyan University, Division D's Clowns theme in the morning was followed in the afternoon by Division A with a Barnyard Humor theme. Afterburners were there in force! Before Division D could even get started, Brenda Daniels, the Contest Chair for Division A, was on the scene and in control. Pat Quick, Division A Governor, was ready and raring to go. Setma Maddox and Rose Timmons were already starting to bring in food to feed the afternoon crowd.

I was on hand to give my Project 9 speech, Persuade with Power, called "Dare to Dream" about the Dream Big Promotion as the Test Speaker for the Division D Contest. In it, I was able to indirectly brag on the super effort being made by Afterburners as one club that is still leading the way in the Dream Big Promotion. The contest, led by Division D Governor James Hansen, was done very well and was a great deal of fun. As soon as it ended around 12:30 pm, the Division A contest moved to take the hall.

The tables were covered with red and white checkered tablecloths, and decorated with buckets of peanuts, cow print balloons, mini bales of hay, and incredibly funny theme cards. Ryan Gallagher, Balloon Chair, assisted with the decorations. The kitchen was full of helpers, many of them Afterburners. Marla and Juan Tovar and Holly Trinh were prepping the food. Joyce King pitched in, and I understand she brought one of my favorites for the dessert contest, an excellent rendition of a southern favorite, Banana Pudding. Jodie Sanders was popping photos and awaiting the Humorous Speech contest, and Mack Mercer soon appeared for the Evaluation Contest, both representing Area 12. Antoinette Silas brought the beautiful certificates for the helpers and participants.

We ate sliders made with Cousin's Bar-B-Q, thanks to Rick Newton of Tip-Top and Jacqulyn Hudgins, Area 12 Governor. Cousin's Bar-B-Q also supplied all the fixin's. Setma Maddox made a whole heapin' bunch of deviled hen eggs and Linda Coleman brought the most delicious cole slaw. There was potato salad provided by Holsters Bar-B-Q and baked beans made by Warren Ehn. The food was incredible, and then the desserts . . . They were marked with a sign that said "Remember that stressed spelled backwards is desserts." The only stress was how to pick out the best. They were all so good.

The contest itself started at 3:00 pm to a packed house. Robi Ley was a great Toastmaster. Test Speaker Loren Norris gave his Project 6 speech, which was definitely an example of Vocal Variety and quite entertaining. Mack Mercer delivered an effective evaluation. Later, Jodie Sanders told us of her experience with "Apartment Living." And even as they both took 3rd place in their respective contests, they made me proud to be an Afterburner with them.

Pat Quick gave out the Division's Outstanding Officer awards and our own Brenda Daniels took the Outstanding Secretary Award. At the conclusion, Brenda's minions quickly cleared the tables and the kitchen, and all the evidence of a superb contest was gone.

Thanks to all of those who made it a fun and delightful day. See you in the Spring!

Steven Timmons

Two wins at Area 12 Contest

Last Saturday, September 25th, Area 12 conducted its Speech Evaluation and Humorous Speech Contests. Steven Timmons did a great job as Contest Toastmaster. Dressed in a bright green hat, he led the group in a fun-themed event. Several attendees came dressed in boas, tiaras, weird hats and crazy glasses.

The food was wonderfully coordinated by Gary Chiu and Rose Timmons. Mack Mercer won 1st place in the Speech Evaluation Contest and Jodie Sanders won 1st place in the Humorous Speech Contest. Everyone had lots of food and fun. We will be ready to support Mack and Jodie as they compete at the Division A contest on November 6th.

Congratulations Mack and Jodie...

Pat Quick

Gary's take on the contest!

The Humorous Speech and Evaluation contest was a BLAST! Not even the drenching downpour outside could shake our spirits.

Our own Jodie Sanders and Mack Mercer were in fine form and are moving onto the next round...fantastic job to both of you!

With all due respect to Julius Caesar, we came, we saw, we laughed while eating powdered sugar donuts (ewww!).

Gary Chiu

Calendar reminders

Our regular monthly business meeting is next week, Sept 21, immediately after the regular meeting.

The Area 12 Contest is Saturday, Sept 25, at Tarrant County Public Health, 1101 S Main St in Fort Worth. Afterburners is in charge of the refreshments. (We are good at anything to do with food.) If you are going to be involved as a helper or contestant, be there at 9:15 am, otherwise the contest starts at 10:00 am. If you want to help in any way, see or talk to Pat Quick. Come to have a good time, and to support Jodie and Mack, our club's representatives in Humorous Speech and Speech Evaluation, respectively.

Remember that you can see all upcoming club events by checking the calendar on the Members home page on the website. Clicking on an event will open a small window where you can read more details about it.

Sept 7: Fall contest has big turnout

Test speaker Rick Newton and evaluation contestants Mack Mercer,
Brenda Daniels, Dámaris Thorn, Joyce King, and Tom Brents

We had a big night at this year's Fall Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest, in spite of it being the day after a holiday. First, we had excellent attendance: lots of members and several visitors came to assist with eating all that good food. (I'm sure they were interested in the contest as well.) Second, we had quite a full slate of contestants: five evaluators and five humorous speakers, with two people participating in both contests. Third, we accepted applications from three new members — Holly Trinh, Melessa Baker, and Ron Baker.

Yum!

Toastmaster Rodney King kept the contest humming along, with the necessary breaks for plate refills. Did I mention that we had a lot of good food? Leading off, our guest test speaker Rick Newton (of Tip Top Toastmasters) had us all wanting a Porsche. Or was it Por-sche? This was a question that came up several times in the evaluations!

After a short break (too short to be called halftime or intermission, but we had a lot of speakers still to hear), Rodney conducted the humorous speech contest. What an entertaining and educational night this was! A real-life "Bates Motel." A creative practical joker named Benny. The risks of apartment living. Dangerous, independent women. How to determine if your socks are ripe enough to launder. (If you are worried about that last one, don't sit next to Ryan at meetings.)

Humorous speech contestants Steven Timmons, Jodie Sanders,
Brenda Daniels, Dámaris Thorn, and Ryan Gallagher

After the judges and vote counters did their work, the highly-anticipated results were finally announced. There were two disqualifications for time (out of the 10 speakers). The first-place winners will go to the Area 12 contest on Sept 25. Each second-place winner will be ready to compete if the first-place winner is unable to.
Speech evaluation contest results:
1st place: Mack Mercer
2nd place: Brenda Daniels
3rd place: Joyce King
Humorous speech contest results:
1st place: Jodie Sanders
2nd place: Ryan Gallagher
3rd place: Steven Timmons

A big THANK YOU goes to contest chair Pat Quick and the helpers, judges, contestants, participants, club members, guests, cooks, and eaters — all of whom made our contest a success and created an enjoyable evening for everyone. I want to especially thank our wonderful photographer:

Support Mack at Division Contest

Division A's contest is Saturday April 24th. Mack Mercer will represent our club and our Area in the International Speech Contest, so let's show up in force and give him the support he deserves! It's at Motorola, 5555 N Beach St at 9:30 am. You must be 18 and show ID to get in, and an RSVP is requested because of security issues. Email your RSVP to johnbergs@d25toastmasters.org or jacquelynegriffin@d25toastmasters.org.

Tammy Bailey

Two Contestants, Two Winners

Also in the photos: David Martin, Lt. Governor Education and Training, Greg Fox, Area 61 Governor and Jacquelyne Griffin, Division F Governor

Our very own Tammy Bailey did an awesome job as she led the Area 61 contest as the Toastmaster. Several members of Afterburners were present to support our two contestants, including Steven Thorn who came all the way from Oklahoma and Theresa Eller’s husband Scott. Tom Brents was the club’s Tall Tales Speech contest winner but was unable to compete due to a family emergency. Hunter Allen filled in at the last minute to represent our club in that category and did an amazing job. “Woo Hoo” was his battle cry and from now on Hunter will be known as the”Dragon Hunter.” He told about his journey to defeat a fierce dragon and what happened when he came face-to-face with the mighty beast. Hunter was the clear winner and took home the first place trophy.

Mack stood his ground as he competed in the International Speech contest and came away victorious. He grabbed his audience as he presented his speech “Small Things with Great Love.” We are proud of both Hunter and Mack and will be looking to support them at the Division F contest on Saturday, April 24th.

Pat Quick

Food, Fun, Tall Tales and Great Love

You know when you come to an Afterburners club contest you will be well fed and entertained. This event was no exception. We had our normal spread of great food and a line-up of talented speakers.

Winning the Tall Tales Contest was Tom Brents. Tom told us a big tale titled “A Dangerous Bit of Shade,” about when he was training for the Olympics and leaned up against the wrong tree to get a little rest. He told us how he was taken hostage and held inside a huge mansion. He was interrogated by a couple of mean characters and feared for his life. Eventually he gathered his strength and used his keen senses and skills to escape and finally elude his captors. The twist in the story was that this mansion was located in Tom’s neighborhood and was the reason why many neighbors had gone missing. I don’t know about you, but I am going to think twice about attending another one of Tom’s Christmas parties! You never know if those neighbors are still around.

Next was the International Speech Contest which was won by Mack Mercer. Mack inspired us with “Small Things with Great Love.” He told us about how his mother and father took 5 cousins into their family after a horrible tragedy. Adding the 5 cousins, Mack’s two siblings and Mack made a total kid count of eight and with only one bathroom! We remember Mack singing a little song “2, 4, 6, 8 now the bathroom’s a longer wait.” My favorite part of Mack’s speech was about his brother Richard who used to sleepwalk right off the top bunk bed. Richard dreamed he was diving into a pool filled with water but instead dove onto the hard terrazzo tile floor. This talent served Richard well in life because later he was hired at Euro Disney to dive off stagecoaches while performing in the Wild West shows. Richard continues to entertain audiences at Disney and has been there for 17 years. Mack’s story reminded us that we may not be able to accomplish big things, but we can accomplish small things with great love.

Congratulations Tom and Mack! Both will represent Afterburners in the Area Contest on Saturday, March 20th.


Pat Quick

Speaking of eating . . .

Hunter Allen enjoys doing just that at the Fall Youth Leadership festivities on Nov 5th.

Fall Youth Leadership Program wraps it up

The fall Youth Leadership program came to an end on Nov 5 with a Recognition Party and Speech Contest. Six young men gave speeches while their parents and other family members listened. Afterburners members served as timers, vote counters and judges, along with several outside judges from District 25. The rules, standards and procedures were the same as for a regular Toastmasters speech contest.

The contest winners were:
First Place - Austin Starnes, "The Difference Between Error and Failure"
Second Place - Dan Walton, "Picture Perfect"
Third Place - Seth Morehead, "What Happened to the Hindenburg"

Coordinator Pat Quick  recognized several Afterburners members for their contributions and announced there will be a spring session of the program, dates to be determined later. Some of the current participants are planning to be back.

The parents brought lots of delicious food and a celebratory cake to the "party" segment of the evening's program. A very good time was had by all!

Jodie Sanders

Don't forget about the Youth Leadership Speech Contest on Thursday night

It starts at 7 pm in the Kornfeld Room which is downstairs on the first floor of the building where we normally meet. The parents are bringing food. If you can help out in any way, call Pat Quick, 214-537-1788. Otherwise, please come and support an important project of our club, and several very fine young people who deserve an appreciative and discriminating audience.

Area 61 contest results

Will Higgins took first place in Speech Evaluation and Tammy Bailey was first in Humorous Speech at the Area 61 contest on Friday, Oct 9. There may have been a shortage of competitors, but there was a full house of dignitaries and lots of good food.

And those of you not there missed Brenda Daniels leading the cheers! More pictures to come.