Afterburners Educational Retreats

Setma Maddox, DTM

When you become a member of Afterburners, you become a member of a family that loves to get together and celebrate life. Toastmasters International rules do not allow clubs to have parties. In fact, the rule, loosely stated, implies that if a club meets, it must have an educational component for its members. With this rule in mind, Afterburners budgets for and schedules three (3) "educational retreats" around the annual celebrations of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve.

 

Our Thanksgiving retreat is usually held during our regularly scheduled meeting in November each year. Brenda Daniels has historically prepared the turkey and dressing and the rest of the food is provided as pot luck by each club member. The Christmas Retreat held in a club members' home -- someone who volunteers to host the retreat. The host prepares the main dish and opens their home to the club members. Each attending member provides a side-dish and/or desert and brings a $10 gift for the fun-filled Chinese Gift Exchange. This year, Tammy Bailey, hosted the retreat in her beautiful home and we all had a great time as usual. Pat Quick and Antoniette Silas gave manual speeches -- the educational side of things.

 

For the last three (3) years, I have had the honor of hosting the New Year's Eve Retreat. My dining room table is large enough to get 10-12 people around it family style and I have extra dining and seating. Most times the feeding of the multitudes begins around 7 p.m. but if someone is running late or decides to just drop-in for a visit that works too. Everyone brings a dish and their favorite board game.

 

After dinner we check out the games and select one or two games to play. This year the game Brenda developed for the Fall Conference was chosen. Brenda served as MC. The ladies vs. the men. (I'll leave to your imagination as which group won!) It was fun watching how everyone came to the conclusion that something was fact or fiction about District 25 Toastmasters -- uh huh, that educational thing again. At 11 p.m. we always watch the ball drop in Time Square in New York City and then continue to celebrate until the clock strikes 12 in the Central Time zone.

 

It sounds as though there would be a lot of work involved in hosting one of these retreats but that's not true. You just provide the place and the main dish -- for which the club will reimburse you up to $25 -- and the club members provide the rest. I am a very laid back hostess in that I don't wait on people hand-and-foot. I treat them like family. If you want more to eat, it's in the kitchen. If you want something out of the refrigerator, help yourself. I believe it helps everyone feel at home and that is what I want. There is a satisfaction that comes from having my Toastmasters family in my home. I see us have fun together outside the club and I get to see everyone relax and interact as family.

 

We will have three educational retreats again next year. Consider hosting one of them in your home or preparing the main dish. You don't need a huge house or table, as we have been known to sit on the floor instead of chairs. You don't need a lot of parking space; the neighbors won't mind as long as you let them know you have several people coming. If you don't think you can cook the main dish, let someone know and you might just be surprised who will volunteer to help you by cooking it for you. If you think no one will come because you live out of the way, think again. We have been known to drive to Ponder, Texas -- east of Denton -- for a retreat. This is Texas, after all, so we are used to going a little distance to have fun -- and fun we do have!

 

Happy New Year, everyone! Be safe and keep smiling.

The Beginning Stages



Tammy Bailey



Ryan Warner joined Afterburners Toastmasters in August 2011. His willingness to jump in and participate was evident from the very beginning.  His first speech was titled "Small Town USA."  In his second speech, he introduced us to "The Myth of Electric Cars."  Ryan is a shining star on the rise. 



Ryan Warner

I am in the beginning stages of learning how to deliver professional speeches for my job.  Toastmasters has given me the tools to prepare and organize effective speeches.  Everyone at Afterburners has been excellent at encouraging me and building my confidence.  Toastmasters has helped me succeed in delivering a professional presentation. 

My Worst Nightmare

LaShawn Carter

The first time I heard about Toastmasters I was in college. An invited speaker at my Marketing Club advised that it was a great way to hone your speaking skills. I was immediately intimidated. My worst nightmare came to mind. All I could picture was a lecture hall of 300 people and having to speak for an hour about something I knew absolutely nothing about. Anyone who knows anything about Toastmasters knows it’s all about timing. I wasn't ready to tackle my fear. It was the wrong time.

Fast forward to last year…I became a charter member of a Toastmasters club at work. What changed between now and then? This time around, I was open to the idea. I saw Toastmasters as a way to polish my rough edges and I hoped it would get me noticed at work. More importantly, Toastmasters would give me the skills to conquer my worst nightmare.

I attended my first Afterburners meeting in mid January 2011 after the club at work disbanded. I was immediately impressed because this club is very well organized and I was welcomed with open arms. Everything fit perfectly. The day, time, and location fit my schedule. The level of expertise and professionalism was exactly what I was looking for. And the demographic makeup was diverse. I was even matched with a mentor.

Toastmasters is developing my speaking skills. I always made eye contact, but now I work the room and pause for dramatic effect. I’m still working on my volume levels and vocal variety. But that will come in time. For me, Afterburners is like therapy, but a whole lot cheaper. I know I can call on anyone in this club for anything, especially my mentor, Pat Quick. I made up my mind that I cannot miss Afterburners on Tuesday nights. It’s like church on Sunday morning...if I miss, I feel that my week just doesn't go right.

My goal for Toastmasters is to conquer my worst nightmare. I want to make an informative, yet entertaining presentation to a group of 300+ people for an extended length of time. I don't want to just do it. I want to do it well. With continued training and guidance from Toastmasters, it's just a matter of time.

Chapter Two

Saraí Garcia Olmos

This fall at Afterburners Toastmasters has been a memorable one! I was finally able to present chapter two of the “novel” that I’ve been working on. Like most aspiring authors I was experiencing writer’s block.  Although I did not physically write anything down, my family here at Afterburners has helped me develop this ongoing tale about a character named Peter. I introduced him earlier this year and had hoped to continue his story throughout a number of subsequent speeches. 

After presenting my story to the club, I received numerous praises. I never imagined that the response would be so great.  It made me proud.  Everyone gave me lots of compliments and encouragement. I was even asked to deliver a part two! This is what ultimately helped me continue developing Peter’s story.

My club members have also helped me focus on wording and delivery so that I can continue to capture the audience. I am so thankful to be able to share my side projects with my club and in return get the feedback I need to polish it. So, come and join the fun! Who knows? You might catch Peter in his next adventure!

Comfort Zone

Bill Erwin

I visited a Toastmaster meeting with no idea of what to expect. There were some very impressive speakers who were willing to share their experience in a positive setting.

After a couple of meetings, I felt comfortable enough to participate in "Table Topics" where I stood up to answer a short question about a fun topic.  After noticing the improvement of the newer speakers, I felt ready to do my own "Icebreaker" speech where I get to talk about myself.  That made me nervous.  But I can think of no better way (or place) to step out of my "comfort zone" and drag it to where I want it to be!