Framingham / Natick Toastmasters

 

The December 15 Holiday Memories meeting began on a festive note as the room was appropriately decorated for the season. A dinner party was expertly arranged by our own Framingham-Natick Toastmaster/Party Planner, Jennifer Lynch. Jennifer did an excellent job of organizing everything as the party was a big success. A festive dinner of Chicken Piccata, Vegetable Lasagna & a myriad of various appetizers were excellent. Equally yummy desserts were enjoyed by all at the meeting break. Thanks for all your hard work Jennifer and thanks to all who brought something.

The invocation was presented by Liz Kalber. Liz gave a perfect example of one of the benefits of Toastmasters which is to encourage all of us to be open and willing to learn so that we can be better teachers. As a result, each one of us is ready for growth.  These are very insightful words for this time of year.

Rich Tarro, as the Jokemaster, brightened the evening with a humorous anecdote about a frog & a hamster. The word of the day, portmanteau, a large travelling case made out of leather, was presented by our party planner, Jennifer Lynch, and was used numerous times throughout the meeting.

The first speaker was Laura Proctor, who presented her Ice Breaker speech.  She introduced herself as a mathematician, an engineer, and a Missourian. Her speech humorously detailed the differences between her life as a New Englander and a Mid-Westerner. Great Ice Breaker, Laura & we look forward to your future speeches!

The second speaker was club Sergeant-At-Arms, Dan Sharry, who gave his 9^th speech. Dan presented a brief history of Hawaii, which illustrated that ‘We Are Not a Perfect Union’.  He persuaded the members to adopt the view that this peaceful island kingdom was taken by force to become the 50^th state. Only one more speech to go before achieving that CC!

Jennifer Lynch was our third speaker who presented her speech, ‘Quality of Life’.  Jennifer showed us how hearing can greatly affect our lives. Her speech showed that sound can have both positive & negative influences.

Rick Schnur was our fourth speaker for the evening. Rick was speaking from the advanced manual ‘Storytelling’. Through vivid descriptions, he gave a humorous anecdote about seeking health care in a foreign country.  Through his trials & tribulations, Rick discovered that prestige is not a measure of expertise.

Jim Mitchell served as the General Evaluator for the evening. Jim’s evaluation of the entire meeting was both insightful and humorous. Jim introduced each speaker’s evaluator for the evening, who provided helpful suggestions for improvement. After the evaluations, the meeting closed on a positive note to end this year. Happy Holidays to all & we shall see you in 2011!