Experience the Excitement and Suspense of the Brown Bag Meeting!

The notorious Brown Bagger!

Guess who tried to fool us on our “April Fool’s Bagger” meeting? If you weren’t there last Tuesday, April 3, you would not know.

Like many other Toastmasters clubs in District 25, Afterburners always soars high when it comes to providing quality, enjoyable, educational meetings; and to make it a fun evening, our VP Education Steven Timmons, also known as the “Brown Bagger,” actually wore a brown bag on his head.

We created our agenda just before the meeting started. As we came in, each of us drew a role from a brown bag and everyone did a fine job, including myself as the Toastmaster! Hope you don’t think that I’m such a fool, because I know for a fact that all the speakers delivered a 5-7 minute off-the-cuff speech and only had 30 seconds after the time they drew the topic to prepare. As far as we know, this has never happened in Afterburners history; plus, our illustrious Club President Jodie Sanders told us a very short but remarkably hilarious joke.

Here’s what some of our speakers thought about their experience:

Tom Brents: When Steven Timmons asked if I would participate, my first reaction was "Wow, in my 30+ years as a Toastmaster, I have never done this." The next thought was, "I am very confident about my speeches when well-prepared, how will this turn out?" Next, I knew that if I had a framework to organize my speech, probably I could succeed. And that’s the way it turned out. I would like to do it again sometime.

Gary Chiu: "They always say that one should do what one fears most.” Whoever came up with this axiom most likely did not have to reach into a brown bag containing slips of paper with random subjects written on them, and to speak for a minimum of 5 minutes on said subject in front of 20 critiquing Toastmasters. No notes. No Google. No way!

I drew "What would the World be like without Chocolate?" Slowly, cautiously, I talked about my hazy recollection of the history of chocolate. I gathered a bit more confidence discussing how the holidays would be all messed up due to the absence of the brown stuff. I concluded with how all of us need to march up Capitol Hill to ensure Congress does not take away our chocolate privileges, for we are the 99%!

It is truly a "rush" when the green light finally flickers on and the realization dawns that I've just spoken for five entire minutes on a completely random topic. Ah, how sweet that is!

Ryan Gallagher: Part of the challenge I wanted was having something I wouldn't ordinarily select to speak on, so this fulfilled my expectation. The second most important thing I learned is the necessity of implementing some sort of organizational structure to your speech, impromptu or not. The first most important thing I learned was that I’m not afraid of getting up there and making a fool of myself  — the possibility to crash and burn was very real but thankfully it didn't happen, though I would have had a good time no matter what.

Tammy Bailey graciously led the Table Topics about April Fools’ Day and first-timer guest Ingrid won the ribbon. Our friend Teresa Wilburn was also present and evaluated a speech! Gary took home the ribbon as the best speaker and Jodie Sanders won best evaluator.

Finally, I just received my Competent Leadership award and I hold the rights to brag about what happened that night! Next time, make sure you come to our special meetings because you never know what you might be missing.

Rose Timmons, CC, CL

The Torch Has Passed . . .

Last Tuesday night, June 28th, we had a full evening of festivities as we bid farewell to our President Tammy Bailey and the current leadership team. Of course, it would not be an Afterburners event without great food.  We dined on an array of delicious fare and heard a couple of wonderful speeches from George Arndt, “Pressure”; and Mike Kelly, “Leadership 101”; and then it was time to start the Installation.

President Tammy Bailey began with thanks to each of her executive officers with words of appreciation and a plaque. Joyce King surprised Tammy with a gift of appreciation from the club and then Tammy gave her final speech about her thoughts from the year.

Then it was time for the installation and we were proud to have our incoming Area 12 Governor Brendan Bagnell to conduct the formalities. He thanked the current Executive Officers and discharged them of their duties. Afterburners appreciates their service for 2010-2011 and the full executive board is as follows –
Tammy Bailey – President
Ryan Gallagher – VP Education
Joyce King – VP Membership
Jodie Sanders – VP Public Relations
Steven Timmons – Secretary
Antoinette Silas – Treasurer
Gary Chiu – Sergeant at Arms
Pat Quick – Immediate Past President
Brenda Daniels – Parliamentarian, ex-officio

The incoming officers were installed and each one was given an opportunity to speak to the club about what their plans were for their year of service. The incoming executive officers are –
Jodie Sanders – President
Steven Timmons – VP Education
Rose Timmons – VP Membership
LaShawn Carter – VP Public Relations
Dawn Mercer – Secretary
Antoinette Silas – Treasurer
Philip Silas – Sergeant at Arms

After the new officers were installed, the “Passing of the Gavel” portion of the installation was done with the gavel being passed from one Past President to the other to the newly installed incoming President Jodie Sanders.  The Past Presidents in attendance were Setma Maddox, Brenda Daniels, George Arndt and Pat Quick.

Jodie Sanders gave her incoming speech and told the club that it was her vision in the next year to always keep the member in mind. “It’s all about the member” she said, and encouraged the club to consider ensuring the member gets the full benefit from a project before moving on. Jodie asked the members, “Is it a good thing to count a project completed by a member to gain points for our DCP if the member learned nothing?” She certainly gave us powerful words to ponder.

The evening ended with our current President Tammy Bailey giving final announcements and adjourning the meeting one last time.

Pat Quick, DTM

June 7: Summer comes to Afterburners

Summer. What images does the word evoke? Recently, it has meant not having to slow down to 20 mph when traversing school zones. (YAY!) But then finding mobs of kids at the mall. (BOO!) It also heralds the arrival of new movies from Hollywood, and the related buzz about which film will be the “summer blockbuster.”

This evening, LaShawn Carter made her summer debut as Toastmaster, and it’s certain to be a blockbuster. It was, by anyone’s account, a flawless performance, and a textbook example of how one should perform their Toastmaster duties.

Dawn Mercer spoke about “Mass” and all that the word has come to stand for. At the end of her speech, she disclosed that a personal tragedy was narrowly averted. Bill Erwin exuded confidence and poise with “Reorganize.” He told us that he views Toastmasters as a way to re-sharpen speaking abilities that went dull over the years. I (Gary Chiu) delivered “Going Outside the Club,” exhorting members to try their hand at various opportunities. Club contests, emceeing, judging, not to mention formal positions at the District are all available and are in need of participants. I was honored by having members name me Best Speaker.

Pat Quick triumphed with a wonderful Table Topics delivery of bygone summer days. Imagine no central A/C and window units as the only salvation from the heat. She was named Best Table Topics Speaker.

David Thorn rounded out the evening by delivering a superb evaluation of my speech. The Good, the Bad, (minus the Ugly) were all present in his evaluation. He was our Best Evaluator.

Afterburners always strives to consistently provide a quality meeting each Tuesday evening. Looks like we hit another home run!

Gary Chiu (the “silent partner” of Siskel, Ebert, and Chiu)

Courtroom drama and . . . zombies?

Judge Maurice Taitt

I enjoyed the opportunity to attend the REAL Trial of the Century on Tuesday, May 24. It was a civil trial . . . a tragic case of negligence, where the defendants were all members of the "Terrible Toasties" group.

One may say the defendants were also victims, due to their incapacity to see their club's inevitable demise. You see, they didn't have adequate training to fulfill their executive roles, suffered from lack of initiative required to read the manuals, and lacked the knowledge that they could reach out to the district for assistance.

This cautionary tale reminds us not to be complacent with our club's direction and encourages us to keep seeking new and interesting ways to bring in new members, and to balance persistence and change.

The dramatic scene in the courtroom

After the Toasties trial, I was enlightened with a speech on preparing for the impending zombie attack! Ryan Gallagher instructed us all on the different types of zombies, how they came into existence, and the best methods to avoid (or dispose of) them. Interestingly, this provided a good context for discussion of disaster preparedness without the negative thoughts the subject typically provokes.

In fact, the CDC recently used this subject to garner interest in preparation for dealing with the viral category of zombies. Ryan provided everything we needed to be informed. And fortunately for us, the zombies were afraid of the inclement weather that night, so we were spared from the need for Ryan to give a demonstration.

Bill Erwin

May 31: Teresa debuts as Toastmaster

This was an exceptional meeting! The theme was "It Takes Fierce Will to Get Ahead in this World." Our famous Sergeant at Arms, Gary Chiu, in his easygoing style, addressed the challenge of working around (pun intended!) the surprise of finding round tables in our meeting room. He also wore two hats and smoothly transitioned to General Evaluator. 

 

Speakers for the evening were: Bill Erwin, "Bleeding Edge"; Steven Thorn, "Dating"; Holly Trinh, "Health Benefits of Honey" and Linda Coleman, "Meeting Roles & Responsibilities."

 

Tuesday night was my first opportunity as Toastmaster and let me say what a pleasure it was to work with all of you. Special thanks to those who responded to my emails and either confirmed or volunteered in a timely manner. Because of your professionalism and dedication to developing leadership skills and personal growth, the meeting was a great success. Our four visitors were very impressed with the supportive and positive learning environment we have. 

 

Thanks for a great experience.

 

Teresa Wilburn, CC 

May 16: Thinking on our feet

We had a Table Topics Night — it was more unusual and challenging than any other normal meeting night we have had. You were missed if you weren’t there. It was a spectacular, educational, fun night! The theme was "Fly by the Seat of Your Pants."

The Toastmaster was Ryan Gallagher. There were two teams, one named X and the other one named O. Each team member was provided a topic and each member of the team did "rock paper scissors" to determine who got to go first. Each member of a team spoke either pro or con about the topic given by the toastmaster.

The Toastmaster provided topics such as: Donald Trump, is his hair the real deal? Is Texas the best state? Does money buy your happiness? Everyone shared their opinion and experiences and "thought on their feet."

It was an awesome night! Everyone spoke well and we learned a great deal on different topics.

Holly Trinh

Ryan is the star of the show!

Caitlyn and Ryan

He did it! He did it! Ryan Gallagher completed his Dream Big challenge Friday evening at his parents’ home. It was really befitting for such a large feat Ryan was questing to accomplish. He actually gave two back-to-back speeches in one setting. That completed his 10 speeches. Simply amazing!

When Ryan greeted his fellow Toastmasters at the door, he seemed a little nervous. You know, the icebreaker kind of nervousness. In my opinion, anyone giving two speeches in one night should be nervous.

In attendance were myself (Antoinette), Phillip Silas, Steven and Rose Timmons, Jodie Sanders, Gary Chui, Teresa Wilburn and Joyce King. Ryan’s sister Caitlyn was a guest; we all thought she was his girlfriend and she assured us that she wasn’t. 

Timing equipment

Steven called the meeting to order. Jodie wore many hats: toastmaster, table topicsmaster and general evaluator. Rose was timer and improvised with a cell phone for the stopwatch and 2 books (green and yellow) and a red DVD case for the lights. Gary and Phillip were evaluators.

Phillip and Gary did some GREAT evaluations!

Ryan’s first speech was titled "A Matter of Survival." He talked about zombies. I am not into the scary things but everyone else got a kick out of it judging by the robust laughter. Gary’s evaluation of the speech was excellent. He chuckled and laughed through the whole evaluation.

Before the second speech, Ryan provided us with pizza and cheap & nasty beer (Ryan’s words). Then Jodie hit us with great table topics.

Ryan’s second speech "The Dullest Speech You've Ever Heard" was just that, dull. Phillip assured Ryan that he achieved the mission of the title. Ryan talked about paint, and the intricacies of its makeup. Yes, it was very dull, but wonderfully delivered. He proved from this speech that you can give a speech on anything.

What a wonderful unofficial/official meeting. It was a priceless evening. Good job Ryan! Congratulations on achieving your Dream Big commitment!

Antoinette Silas

Our day in court is coming!

Hear ye! Hear ye! On Tuesday, May 24, Afterburners Club 6191 will host The REAL Trial of the Century!

The Terrible Toasties, Club 9999 is lax, inefficient, and everything a Toastmasters club simply should not be. On this evening, the Terrible Toasties will answer District 25's suit against them for damages they are causing to the reputation of the good Toastmasters of District 25. The Honorable Judge Maurice Taitt, DTM will preside. Court will be called to session promptly at 7 pm.

This promises to be an educational and entertaining evening. Naturally, there will be the world-famous Afterburners food. More to come on this exciting and unusual event!

May 10th: It was a BIG night for Dream Big

Saraí Garcia, Rose Timmons and Teresa Wilburn show off their new badges!
Distinguished Toastmasters Tom Brents and Pat Quick also finished CCs.

By whatever the preferred nomenclature, the May 10th Speak-a-thon, Speechapalooza, or Speechfest 2011 saw the completion of five Afterburners Dream Big commitments (!) and one Dream Big commitment by our guest, Area 12 Governor Jacqulyn Hudgins.

The largest percentage of our speeches this evening were "inspirational" in nature — which translates to "long" (8-10 minutes each) for all you non-members reading this. Fortunately in this case long never equaled boring, and the messages given by each were varied enough to retain interest throughout the meeting.

LaShawn Carter kicked off the meeting by introducing the audience to her new best friend, Netflix (you have great taste in friends, LaShawn), while DTM Tom Brents took us along with him back in time to his days of travel to Taiwan.

I blathered on for close to 8 minutes about my Book of Success and my Book of Failure, and was followed by Saraí Garcia who told us all why she wanted to be a Saint. Something to work toward now that you're done with your CC, Saraí!

Rose Timmons then spoke about the importance of spending quality time with family. Rose took home the honor of Best Speaker for the evening. Congratulations!

Some of our Dream Big peeps!

Teresa Wilburn delivered a truly excellent speech about the importance of touch, reaching out to those close to you physically, and personalizing contact. I was lucky enough to get a big ol' hug from her in front of everyone. There was even a leg lift. Yeah, buddy!

She then provided everyone with both cards and stamped envelopes and told us to write a thank you note to someone important in our lives. No excuses for not getting these things in the mail, Afterburners! My address is...

Pat Quick told us all about the footprints in her funky room back when she was a teenager in the 70s. Oddly enough she told us that she is currently 29. Still trying to figure out that math, Pat. Must be that new math or something.

Finally, Jacqulyn Hudgins hyped us up about getting involved in some sort of cause to further the human condition. The noble cause she is personally championing is ending cancer. We're all behind you there, Jacqulyn.

All in all, great meeting folks. Thanks for stepping up into the role of Toastmaster, Steven Timmons, and thanks as well to all those other people who fulfilled the various opportunities. The meeting couldn't have run as smoothly as it did without y'all.

See y'all next week. And if anyone wants to behold my two speeches I'm giving Friday to fulfill my Dream Big Commitment, shoot me an email. If not, I don't blame you.

Ryan Gallagher

May 3: The "Cat Lady" makes an appearance

What do you miss when you miss an Afterburners meeting? I was the Toastmaster for the first meeting of May and it was a great evening. We had a full house of presenters, participants, and several guests as well. Our speakers included Teresa Wilburn, aka the Cat Lady. She gave another winning speech about the growing problem of stray kitties. As the floor was littered with the rogue offspring, she conducted a search for the daddies at large. Great job, Teresa!

The Table Topics were presented by our own Division A Table Topics champion, LaShawn Carter. With the night's theme "My Favorite Teacher," she was popping out questions like a Pez dispenser. Giving her a brilliant answer to win was long-time member Hunter Allen.

Finally, Holly Trinh made her debut as the General Evaluator. Her team of evaluators included a caped evaluator Steven "Super Evaluator" Timmons, who made an appearance to evaluate Aaron Robinson's alter ego speech, "Blake Stone." Our guests James and Kirti both participated in the Table Topics and said that they will likely be back.

Please do come and join our craziness. Next week promises to be a great evening as well. We have a full slate of speakers preparing to complete their Dream Big commitments.

Don't You MISS IT!

Rose Timmons

Eight speakers showcased in speech-a-thon

Best Speaker Saraí Garcia

From all over the county, near and far, we came. Some of us spoke. All of us listened. We had Dawn tell us about her life, as she criss-crossed the country (“East or West”). Ron gave us some valuable tips on how to hold down a job, especially pertinent in these tough times. Phillip told the tale of a young sports prodigy he had the privilege of knowing in “Possum.” Teresa took a relaxed approach in a lawn chair and told us about the decline of the drive-in movie theatres over the years. We were patriotically inspired by DTM Pat Quick with her speech “Old Glory.” We were equally inspired by Hunter Allen (wearing his Birkenstocks!) as he spoke about his new start-up business venture.

Saraí Garcia gave us a strict lesson in child rearing, and how punishment can and should be used judiciously. And Gary Chiu brought the night to a close by giving us an overview of conflict, and some possible resolution steps.

The evening concluded as we went to the polls, and resoundingly elected Saraí “Best Speaker.” The lovely Saraí then brandished her wooden paddle and sent us straight to bed with no dinner.

Gary Chiu

Afterburners inspires another guest to become a new member

Congratulations to John Bacon on his first outing as Toastmaster! He overcame several absences and filled all the roles before the meeting began. Thanks to everyone who took on extra responsibilities to ensure the meeting ran smoothly. And what a meeting it was! Five speakers gave us presentations that included music, poetry, storytelling, tips on teaching and reaching children, and keeping a positive outlook.

One man in attendance with us for the first time, Bill Erwin, decided to change his life for the better. His company is trying to organize a Toastmasters club at work, but things aren't happening quickly enough for Bill. He decided to join another club (that just happens to meet in the same building where he works) and on the very first visit, he submitted his application and dues for Afterburners. Bill had some experience with the still-formulating meetings at his job that showed him how to fulfill some of the roles. Several people with opportunities were unable to make our meeting last night, but Bill stepped right in when asked to present the Pledge of Allegiance and inspiration. With a willing volunteer spirit like that, voting him in at the end of the meeting was a no-brainer!

Additional guests last night included Bill's nephew Michael Erwin and a co-worker of Teresa Wilburn, Cherry Weaver. They had good things to say about Afterburners and how comfortable they felt, despite their misgivings about public speaking. We hope they come back again to see how Afterburners can help them overcome any fear!

Tammy Bailey

How can you tell we've been good this year?

Easy! Santa came to see us — and Mrs. Claus came along, too!

Chuck and Terry Mencke as the first couple of the North Pole brought Christmas to the Afterburners this year, with a reading of Clement C. Moore's "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and a delightful dialogue about the author, the story, and what it's like to be the Clauses.

Dec 14: Give me a break!

After all, we all deserve it!

I don’t like to brag or complain especially when I know for a fact that Tuesday night’s meeting was a great success and memorable with our theme “Give Me a Break.” It was my great privilege to serve as the toastmaster for the very first time; and boy, if you weren’t there you really missed the fun.

Tom Brents gave us “A Memorable Speech.” I’m always fascinated with Tom’s passion every time he delivers his speech; and like he said, memorable speeches contain memorable lines.

Jodie wears her new CC, CL badge.

Which would you prefer to have, a best friend or a better friend? Jodie Sanders shared with us her thoughts about “Being a Better Friend.” All I can say is WOW! What an inspiring speech. Of course she inspired everyone including herself as she became a Competent Communicator. Congratulations Jodie! We are proud of you.

Steven Timmons' speech “Multi-Dimensional 101” was a very complicated topic. To help us understand what he really does for living, Steven took us to what I call “Geek World.” His visual aids helped me to realize that I really need to think outside the box.

Have you ever thought that you can change the world? Setma Maddox’s presentation “Let’s Change the World” gave us clarifications on who was doing what, and it made us wonder what will happen in the future . . . if paternity leaves outnumbered maternity leaves, would it be possible for men to get pregnant and actually give birth? Well, if that sounds confusing let’s talk about how our timer Ryan got confused by mixing up numbers and colors!

Of course we had a wonderful meeting, plus a very special treat from the first couple of the North Pole; Santa and Mrs. Claus came for a visit. If you missed the fun, this was our last regular meeting for this year. Make sure you will not miss our Educational Retreat on Sunday, Dec 19th.

Rose Timmons

Dec 7: Rallying the troops

Tuesday night’s meeting was a success. We don’t know how we made it, but we did. Tammy Bailey rallied the troops — I mean Afterburners — with words of encouragement. Someone would say, so-and-so is not here. Immediately she would ask someone to fill that role. With her smile, wit and gestures, she indicated that “this is a cake walk, and tonight you can have as many slices of the cake as you would like.” Her use of good leadership skills calmed the room and the 12 of us had a great time!

Phillip Silas was a “one man show,” he did it all. Ron Baker did a phenomenal job as Toastmaster. Way to go, guys!

 Ryan Gallagher’s speech title was “Crutches.” He spoke while propped up on crutches, wearing a medical boot. The story and the props were in sync. Imagine walking on the beach, with crutches. Ryan was not only in “sync” but he was sinking — in the sand. (Be sure to let me know if you didn’t get the joke.)

Mike Kelly gave a humorous speech titled “Mariner Moose.” That title had everyone stumped. Mike told about the time he attended the Mariners baseball game, and how he accidentally drenched the Moose (the Mariners’ mascot) with his drink. The gestures and the speech were both dramatic and funny.

George Arndt’s speech was titled “The City,” from the Advanced Communication Manual, Storytelling, Bringing History to Life. George stepped up, straddled a chair, faced the audience, looked to the left and looked to the right, stretched out his left hand and began to speak.

We had a blast, but we missed y’all. Hope to see everybody next Tuesday.

Linda Coleman

Nov 30: No place like "Home"

Melessa

Just because a meeting is light on speakers doesn't mean it has to be light on quality, as Tuesday proved. Toastmaster Linda Coleman opened with a few comments on the meeting's theme of "Home." I'd actually like to commend Linda for her quick wit and ability to make relevant, clever remarks to fill space. She made several that had me snickering. Congratulations as well to Melessa Baker for giving her Ice Breaker speech. It takes a lot of nerve to get up in front of a group for the first time and speak, and she did an admirable job. Setma Maddox left many of us wondering if she had been timed incorrectly (sorry we doubted your abilities Ron!), as her speech on leadership engaged the audience to such a degree that we lost track of time.

Greg Geis appropriately stepped up the number of Table Topics questions in consideration of the light speaking schedule, and we had some quality impromptu responses from the audience. Tammy's mother, Maxine, won Best Table Topics for her description of Altoona, Pennsylvania, and it was a showdown of veteran evaluators with George Arndt edging out Tammy Bailey for the win. Aaron "The Assassinator" Robinson kept us all in check with our ums, ahs, long pauses, and generally any other excuse he could find to ring the bell. The only real suggestion for improvement that was made for the meeting was that our applause could be a little louder, so any of y'all that missed last week's meeting, come on out this week and help us out.

Ryan Gallagher

Nov 23: More Thanksgiving Table Topics!

Brenda channels Paula Deen. Is that timing light red?

Our Thanksgiving Feast this past Tuesday can only be categorized as a success, due to both the great food and creative Table Topics. Tammy Bailey, the illustrious President of Afterburners, rummaged around her house and came up with a box of household items that each Table Topics speaker had to choose from, and then attempt to sell to the rest of the group in the character of a randomly selected person. We had everyone from past United States Presidents to Presidential-wannabe's, wrestlers to actors and actresses, and an appearance by the Queen of Butter herself, Ms. Paula Deen y'all (aka Brenda Daniels).

Our best Table Topics speaker for the evening, as voted on by the rest of the group, was Teresa Wilburn. In the character of Pee Wee Herman (yes, that Pee Wee Herman), with his obnoxious voice and all, she sold the audience on a very generic product put to creative use, as only Pee Wee Herman could think up. Mr. Herman's masking tape was peddled to us for its ability to work as a replacement for buttons on clothes, as well as taping your eyes open should you find yourself very sleepy during the day. I don't remember the price of this extraordinary tape, but I do remember it was a deal. Thanks to everyone who spoke and/or brought food for making this meeting a great one. I think most of us gorged ourselves to the point of button-popping of the pants. Luckily there was that tape...

Ryan Gallagher

Nov 23: Our Thanksgiving Table Topics

Holly as Scooby-Doo

Rose tries to sell us . . . a sink stopper?

What an evening! What a meal! What a great time to participate in “Table Topics”!

Well planned and orchestrated, the evening was a culinary hit, with turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, pizza without tomato sauce, macaroni salad, green bean casserole, pie, fudge, birthday cake, and I’m sure I missed something. If you weren’t there you missed something too.

Tammy did an outstanding job with Table Topics, with everyone participating except Luca, our nine-year-old guest.

Melessa, Teresa, John and Luca look both bemused and amused.

Imagine, reaching into a box, selecting an ordinary household item, posing as a famous person and pitching a sale for that item. It was hilarious and lots of fun. The winner was Teresa Wilburn, who was quite convincing as PeeWee Herman.

Keep on reading the blog, you never know what you have missed.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Linda Coleman

Nov 9: Being thankful for . . .

M&M’s, Stressful weekends, Animals and Cluttered emails. That’s what last night speeches were about. Our theme was ‘Giving Thanks’. Great theme because we all have something to be thankful about.

Ryan Gallagher’s speech ‘Animal Magnetism’ was hilarious. He thought he was getting two big dogs to run with but instead he got two weenie like dogs that had tails like propellers. Ryan drew the line for love for his weenie dogs when their tongues entered his mouth. Singing in public is something that Antoinette Silas can now say she has done. She sang ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ by Bobby McFerrin at the end of her speech and boy was it happy. Antoinette won best speaker. Dodi Foster, re-establishing member of Afterburners, won Best Table Topics. Kim Alvarez, a seasoned Toastmaster did a great job evaluating Jodie Sanders speech, ‘Don’t Let Email Rule Your Life’.

Come join us next week at Afterburners Toastmasters Tuesday November 16, 2010. Theme is ‘Most Influential Person in My Life’. Now that should be interesting.

Aaron Robinson 

Honorary Toastmaster

Nov 2: Election night debuts are winners

New members inducted tonight are (back) Ron Baker, Teresa Wilburn,
Ryan Gallagher, (front) Melessa Baker, and Holly Trinh

First-time toastmaster Ryan Gallagher worked hard on preparing for this meeting, and it paid off, with almost no changes to the agenda, and nearly every role player ready to go at the Call to Order. His organization and efforts to make sure everyone was ready were exemplary, and we hope everyone will follow his lead in their own opportunities.

In other debuts, Teresa Wilburn and our honorary member, Aaron Robinson gave their Ice Breaker speeches, showing us that we should anticipate good things to come from them. Aaron had previously given his Youth Leadership prize-winner, but this was his first official club speech, with a real-life verbal and written evaluation. Teresa has wasted no time getting started on her Toastmasters career, stealing a march on several other members who joined us before she did! 

And speaking of new members, we inducted Teresa, Ryan, Holly Trinh, and Melessa and Ron Baker tonight. All of them have jumped right into the swim by making speeches, taking meeting roles, and most exciting, volunteering for outside-the-club activities. We are glad they're here!

Jodie Sanders