Meeting Minutes for June 12, 2006

Greetings Roosevelt Island Toastmasters,

Oh what a night! A regular meeting with three featured speakers, an Awards Ceremony, three special guests, election and installation of club officers for 2006-2007, and a beautifully prepared table full of special treats, compliments of Luigi Cavandoli and Silvia Vendettuoli.

The meeting of June 12th was called to order by Club President Jim Luce shortly after 8:00 PM with Marlene Flom serving as Toastmaster and Word Master. Don Guan served as Table Topics Master, Janet Schoene served as the General Evaluator, and Malcolm was the Timer for the meeting. Marlene set the ground rules for the evening, and after refreshing our memory of what a homonym is - a word that is spelled and pronounced the same as another word with a different meaning, she challenged us to use a homonym for precedence in our presentations. Don had an interesting variety of questions for us during the Table Topics session, and Felicia, Malcolm, Maria, myself, and Sonyamae - from the Hunter College Club - responded with grace before the scheduled speakers took over the podium.

It is a rare occasion that we have an Area Governor visit with us, but we had three District 46 Area Governors present at this meeting, and I imagine they were favoorably imporssed with the way the RITM meeting went. Barry spoke informatively about real estate and the Remax-Peabody System, Anna spoke interestingly about Why Aircraft Fly, and Jill mesmerized the audience with Speech #5 from the Advanced Manual on Lee’s Surrender to Grant at Appomattox. In bringing history to life, she demonstrated her extraordinary presentation skills and also her in-depth knowledge of the subject. Jill took Best Speaker honors, Felicia took Best Table Topics Speaker honors, and Jim was voted Best Evaluator.

CTM and Half-Way Awards were also on the agenda, with Jim and Area 55 Governor Letitea Archer presenting CTM honors to Luigi and Silvia. A half dozen of us were recognized with Half-Way honors. Letitia is moving on to a Division level position, and Soniamae N. King-Hunte from the Hunter Club 6138, a Select Distinguished Club, is the incoming Area 55 Governor. Also present was Edison Elder, the Area 54 Governor, who spoke briefly during the meeting, and we got to chat with him a bit more during the socializing after Jim adjourned the meeting. Jill’s speech was really the high point – she was at her absolute best.

RITM members know that Luigi has in-depth knowledge of art, bee-keeping, and a variety of other subjects - his presentations are always interesting, and we listen with anticipation when he speaks because his presentations are always colorful and interesting. The beautifully presented table full of tasty treats he and Silvia prepared for the evening included condiments and some tasty wines, including a bottle of red wine from Italy that was especially delicious. This was a special evening indeed. Luigi has been wonderful as Vice President Membership/Public Relations, and Jim Luce has performed marvelously as Club President. The Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club appreciates their service and their leadership during the past year, and wish them all the best.

Arlene Stock is the incoming Club President, and Simi Rokolaqa is the incoming Vice President Membership/Public Relations. Doris Chernik will continue to serve as Vice President Education, Malcolm Cohen will continue to serve as Sergent-at-Arms, Anna Doumnova will continue to serve as Treasurer, and I (Woody Deas) will serve another term as Club Secretary. I offer my personal thanks to Jim and Luigi for their fine example and their encouragement during the months I have been a member of Club 4121.

The Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club will end the semester on June 26 with a meeting and dinner at Trellis, beginning with cocktails at 6:30 PM, and dinner at 7:00 PM.

Submitted Respectfully,

Woody Deas
Secretary