What is Your Favourite Sport?

Boy did we have an exciting meeting today!

We were in a smaller boardroom today.  An intimate situation at the best of times but with four guests, things were a little tight.  We perservered and I thing we showed our guests what a typical, high performance toastmasters meeting is all about.  They all showed interest and asked questions at the end of the meeting so I am hopeful we will see them back next week.  Maybe even as new members.

So what does the heading have to do with our guests?  Well, actually nothing.  It is just the theme of the meeting was sports and all of our guests stepped up to the challenge of introducing themselves and told us about their favourite sport.

We learned there were a number of armchair athletes among us.  Many of the group explained that they participated in numerous sports, and most admitted they weren't very good, but had fun, none the less.  The typical sports were mentioned, Football (go Riders) and Hockey but there were two that you don't hear about very often.  One of the guests enjoyed Cricket, a sport that is gaining popularity in Canada.  I just wish I knew the rules as it would make watching the game so much more enjoyable.  Oh, and if you haven't guest, I am one of those armchair athletes.  We also learned that one of our members enjoys Nascar Racing.  He advised that  most people don't think of Nascar as a sport but it has to be, because it is on the sports networks.  Who can argue with that.

For the rest of the program, we had a sports theme for table topics.  The questions ranged from what were the economic benefits of Regina hosting the Grey Cup to would you rather watch your favourite sport on the TV at home or in the stands at the game.

There was one prepared speech.  Well actually the speech was a prepared toast.  Often times we are called on to present a toast and today we saw how to properly recognize a person through a toast.  The subject of the toast were our Vice President of Education for the current as well as the past year.  Through a top notch evaluation we learned the proper elements required for a proper toast.  So I think we all learned something about toasts and recognized two well deserving people.

Next week we will be in our normal meeting place, just to the left of the main doors at Federated Co-op.  Why not stop in next week and check us out.  For sure we will have more room.

What's In The Hat

Our meeting this week was sparse on people but we still managed to conduct a fun and education session.

The interesting part of todays schedule was, there was no schedule.   All the attendees drew their role from a hat, so we all needed to be as prepared as possible. We didn't know what role we could be presented with.  This turned out to be a lot of fun and thanks must go to our Vice President of Education, Melissa for her innovative means of scheduling.

Mark presented his third prepared speech that dealt with him not wanting to loose his right to vote.  His speech topic was well suited as the theme of the meeting was Remembrance Day.  We also had an interesting Table Topics session.  With only one prepared speech we had lots of time.  With this extra time, everyone was asked to pick an object out of a hat and explain why it was the most important thing they owned.  It was apparent that some didn't have any idea what they were describing, but the story they came up with was interesting, none the less.

We also learned that Toastmasters in the city are holding a Boot Camp.  This is an excellent learning opportunity for new as well as experienced Toastmasters.  It will enable all to come away with a road map that will guide them through all the Toastmasters programs so they can attain their communication and leadership goals.

Toastmasters is a great place to learn, grow and develop your skills.  Why not stop in for a visit and see what we are all about.  If you can't make one of our meeting, Wednesday ant noon, copy the following link into your browser:
http://reports.toastmasters.org/findaclub/searchresults.cfm?Country=Canada&State=Saskatchewan&City=Saskatoon

There are twenty five clubs that meet in Saskatoon.  I am sure at least one will fit into your schedule.
Check it out.

North To Fort McMurray

This last weekend was Toastmasters District 42 Humorous and Table Topics competition where the best from all the Divisions compete.  The event was held in the far North – Fort McMurray Alberta, in the Boreal forest.  The event started off with a bus tour of the Oil Sands – A very enlightening trip where we saw the mine in action.  We were also able to witness and experience the reclamation program, which included a documented trail winding around the natural grasses and fauna of the region.

The keynote address on leadership entitled “How to get what YOU need by also considering the needs of others”, was given by Anne Barab.  This presentation was insightful, informative as well as extremely entertaining.  More growth and leadership skills were obtained through the great educational sessions all presented by experienced toastmasters.  Then the fun started with laughs at the humorous speeches and at the interviews – Toastmasters are funny people!  The winner of the Humorous speech contest was Jackie Diemart from North Battleford.  The Table Topics contest was held on the last day, and the contestants were required to name their street.  A weird selection of names was presented; Fathers Street, Content Street, Clover Lane etc. – typical when you have to come up with a name with no time to think!  Kelly Kaur from Calgary was the winner of the contest with the street called “Happy Street”.  

Sawridge Hotel - Our Venue

Bagpipes and Delegates

 A great time was had by all with fun, friendship and ample learning opportunities presented through out the weekend.  Why not stop by a local club to see what Toastmasters is all about, because Toastmasters is Were Leaders are made. 

New Tricks for Old Dogs

We almost had a full house at today's meeting and I think we all learnt something new.

We had one speaker today, our Vice President of Education, who explained the importance of the "leadership" training you can receive at Toastmasters.  As a member of Toastmasters, you are supplied with two manuals.  One to develop your communication skills, which most of us are concentrating on.  But we also receive a manual that helps us develop our leadership skills.  This manual is not as familiar to most.

Melissa explained that the Leadership manual has ten projects.  These projects cover such essential leadership skills as Listening, Critical Thinking, Time Management and Motivation, among others. There are a number of tasks that must be completed in each project so you get ample feedback on the skills you are developing.  At first glance, the sheer number of these tasks seem overwhelming, but Melissa assured us it is easy, as long as we bring our Leadership manual to every meeting and pass it on to our neighbour for them to evaluate us.  Even if we don't have a role to play, she urged us to bring our manual as you never know when you may have to fill a vacant position.

Melissa asked us to review our manuals and let her know the areas we were working at completing.  If there was something specific we needed, she would ensure we would get on the schedule.  She also asked us to have a close look because a couple of the project require participation in club events that only happen one or two times a year.  You wouldn't want to miss out on completing your manual because you missed an event.

Great job Melissa on educating us on how important the leadership track in Toastmasters really is and how easy it is to develop these essential skills.

If you are interested in learning more about what Toastmasters has to offer in the way of Leadership or Communication skill building, why not stop in for a visit.  Guests are always welcome.