Let it snow! Let it Snow! Let it snow!

 4Although the meeting theme was “Volunteer” and the word of the day was “Altruistic” the two presentations today were on the “snow” theme.  Kris gave an excellent presentation on the “Love – Hate” relationship we have with winter.  His objectives were to focus on his word choice, which he certainly did.  Many vivid images were described which included such phrases as “hurtling down a snow hill at breakneck speed on a thin layer of plastic aptly called a Crazy Carpet” and  his description of the “soft fluffy snow falling that feels like concrete when we try to remove it from our driveways”.  This was a great presentation demonstrating the power of word choice.  Kris could certainly have presented a much shorter, more exact and factual presentation but it certainly would not have been as entertaining.  Great Job Kris.

The second “Snow” presentation was about our responsibilities as Saskatoon citizens and what the City’s objectives are regarding snow removal.  This was an informative speech from one of the Toastmasters Advanced Communication Manuals.   Julia is currently working in the Advanced Communication track of Toastmasters and did a great job explaining how the city uses the priority road system to clear the city streets.  And if you live in a house or operate a business, we are also responsible to clear the snow in front of our buildings and businesses.  Julia did a great job using the speaking space available to her with only one prop to show us.  No notes were used at all.  Way to go Julia.

Member attendance was down a little at today’s meeting but everyone chipped in to fill the roles and we were able to conduct a short business meeting.  You may recall a few weeks ago we had a lengthy business meeting were it was passed that the Chairman bring specific treats to the meetings.  Well, as the Chairman of the meeting today, I tried my best to have someone introduce a motion to impose a fine on the Chairman if the treats were not available, as they weren’t today.  But no one wanted to bite on the idea of another, possibly long discussion.  Oh well, a possible learning opportunity lost perhaps.

We started and ended the meeting on time and had 2 great presentations.  If you are interested in learning more about Toastmasters why not drop in for a visit and see what we are all about.  Who knows maybe the Chairman will have treats for us.