Cheers to the Holidays!

What another great Toastmasters meeting this past Wednesday!  

Although we had a smaller turnout from our member-base, we were lucky to have 3 new members attend as well as a guest.  The theme was Holidays, which was appropriate given that it was our last meeting before the Christmas season.  

Jane gave a great speech from her Advanced Communicator manual in regards to the benefits of Toastmasters.  She made some strong points, talking about some of the communication blunders from the British and Canadian governments (and Rob Ford….no more comments needed!) and how Toastmasters can make us stronger communicators and leaders.

Jane also discussed Maslow's Hierarchy of Human needs, and how Toastmasters can fulfill our need for friendship and the need to be recognized by others.  It also gives it members a feeling of accomplishment and self-improvement.  Jane wanted to say that Toastmasters can help its members fulfill our most basic requirements of food and shelter (insert laughter here), but I think we all agreed it was a bit of a stretch!!!

Brad graciously led a round of Table Topics, with questions from the Table Topic card deck.  One of our newest members- Laurie- won the session- Congrats!!!

As I mentioned, it is our last regular meeting until Jan 8th.  Next week we are off to Rembrandt's for some holiday celebration over lunch.

Marloes

Fun on the Run!

Wasn't that a song back in the 70s?

Oh no, that was Fox on the Run by the British band Sweet, first recorded in 1974.  Today's meeting we heard all about the FUN you can have while trying to stay fit by running.

You see, we have a runner on our team.  She took up running as a few years ago and has participated in two half marathons.  Her humorous speech fit well with the theme of the meeting (challenges) as well as the word of the day (adaptable).  This was project 6 in the Competent Communication manual with the objectives to use vocal variety to add interest and meaning to the presentation.

Well there certainly was interest.  There was much laughter from the audience and with the very descriptive words that were used, many of us could see ourselves in the very situations that she described.  Actually, if you talked to the presenter, the situations described were actually challenges she had while running, but they really were funny.

The other challenges we overcame at the meeting were a change in venue.  Unfortunately we did not have a meeting space at our our regular location so we were lucky enough to revert back to our previous meeting space.  Luckily it was just across the street.  Not very far to carry the material we needed.  We also overcame the challenge of putting on a top notch program.  This was important as we had three guests in the audience.  Two were returning from their visit last week.  All three are preparing too join us as regular members.  So we must have either impressed them or they were impressed with the Toastmaster program.  In either case, the club will get to know them and help them in their journey of developing their communication and leadership skills.

So why not stop in for a visit and see what Toastmasters can offer you?  You might learn a little about some activity you may be interested in or just be transported back to the big hair days of your youth.

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.

What kind of Pet do you Have?

What is your pet peeve? Do you have one? The theme of Prairie Schooners' meeting today was "Pet Peeves" and Club members were asked to share their most detested annoyances as part of our Introduction section.  No one had any issues with sharing at least one if not more of their pet peeves. We heard everything from driving woes to people taking up too much space on the sidewalks to grammatical faux pas. If nothing else, it was a fantastic therapeutic session.

We had one speaker step up to the plate today at the last minute.  Jane presented a mini-educational on Public Speaking Etiquette which included the purpose of applause and handshakes.  We even learned of the health benefits of hand clapping! Thanks, Jane, for sharing some insightful tidbits on the various aspects to public speaking events.

This was our 2^nd meeting in our new location at Federated Cooperatives Ltd. We had a low turn out of 7 Club members and I hope that wasn't because the other members couldn't find us! J Hopefully everyone can make it to next week's meeting @ 12:05pm. Guests are always welcome to check us out. See you there!

Crazy Busy

What a crazy week it has been for Prairie Schooners Toastmasters.  Even though it was a short work week, it was still crazy.

The week started of with our Area Speech Contest, Tuesday Evening.  Both Jane and Richard were up against stiff competition and were successful in their efforts to represent the club and Area 47 at the next level of competition, the Division Contests.

Wednesday happened to be our regular club meeting at noon.  It was a bit of a panic as we had moved most of our club material over to our new meeting location at Federated Cooperatives LTD.  Which is just across the street from our previous space.  Mark did a wonderful job with is second speech all about our relationship with food.  It was a good thing we only had one speaker as we needed the extra time to get ourselves organized at FCL.  I am sure next week will go smoother and we all like the extra space in the new digs.

Saturday afternoon was also a bit of a blur as the Division contests were on.  There was even stiffer competition for Jane and Richard.  The best speakers from six Areas were there trying to take home the hardware and bragging rights of being the Division E Table Topics winner or Humorous Speech winner.

Congratulations to Jane who placed second in this tough field with a tough question.  Unfortunately Richard didn't place in the top 3 spots.  But he did represent Prairie Schooners and Area 47 well and provided the audience with a few laughs at his brothers expense.

Now that the contest season is almost wrapped up our club will be getting back to quality meeting with an aim to help the members meet their individual goals.

Hopefully I will see you next Wednesday when you visit.

Jokes All Around!!

What a meeting we had at Toastmasters today! It was our Humorous Speech contest and we had 4 laugh-worthy contestants: Richard, Marloes, Jane, and Rathan. Richard spoke to us about a recent fishing expedition with his brother, Marloes spoke about running her first half-marathon, Jane talked about making a 'splash' in the pool, and Rathan discussed the different ways in which people get married. Everyone did a great job and it was a fun hour of laughter. We had a fantastic turnout from our membership and were lucky to have visitors from other clubs to help facilitate the judging. Richard Jackson was the well deserved winner of our speech contest, narrowly defeating Marloes in what was likely the closest contest voting in club history. Come and support Richard in the Area Humorous Speech contest on Tuesday, October 15th!!! Just contact an Executive Member for more details. See everyone next week!

Bustin' at the Seams

Wow, yesterday's meeting saw 21 people gathered around for our fall Table Topics contest.  The room is comfortable with 12 chairs.  We were at standing room only capacity.  It's a good thing the fire Marshall wasn't around, we might have had to move our contest out into the hall.

We had 5 contestants from the club.  Some were seasoned members and some had joined within the last year.  We also had a number of Toastmaster guests from other clubs that were helping in other capacities like judges, timers and ballot counters.  The winners of the contest will go on to represent Prairie Schooners at the Toastmasters Area 47 contest that will be held in a couple of weeks.

But before we get to the Area Contest, Prairie Schooners has another contest scheduled for next week.  Next Wednesday we will be holding our Humourous speech contest.  I understand from our Vice President of Education, there will be 4 members competing.  I have heard some of them and let me tell you, they are funny.  So why not stop in for a visit next week and be entertained.

This week we also saw some returning guests and I believe one of them joined.  So you see our little club is expanding.  More members create a diverse group with the presentations varied and interesting.   Actually we are expanding beyond the capacity of the meeting room Tetra Tech is providing us so arrangements have been made to change locations.  We are not going far, just across the street to Federated Coop.  We will be expanding into their main floor boardroom in a few weeks.

So if you want to hear accomplished speakers, why not stop in at our Humour Contest.  Then stop by on another Wednesday to see what a regular Toastmasters meeting looks like and see what Toastmasters can do for you.  Remember, Toastmasters, where Leaders are made.