Meeting Minutes for 10-23-2006

Greeting Fellow Toastmasters,

The meeting of October 23, 2006 was called to order at 8:00 P.M. with Simi Rokolaqa as Toastmaster, Jill Burk as Table Topics Master, Anna Falth as Word Master, Marlene Flom as General Evaluator, and three scheduled speakers on the agenda. Simi did an outstanding job of summarizing the essentials of the Toastmasters organization and the meeting procedures. Anna challenged us to use the word- leviathan -in our presentations, and Jill opened the Table Topics session with a challenging question for Brad, followed by a provocative question for Jim Luce to respond to. With his usual sharpness, Jim used humor to effectively sidestep the risk of a thoughtless reply. Her next challenge was for Doris in the form of delivering a brief extemporaneous acceptance speech as an Academy Award winner, an assignment Doris with grace and charm using a strategic twist of humor and some kindly words of praise for herself. The next challenge was to me to comment on my reasons for wanting to go on a trip to outer space. Damon was asked to choose the one superpower he would like to have and explain his choice. He chose the ability to fly, and his comments were followed up on by the next speaker, who selected as his favorite tune the theme song from the Superman movie. Jill commented that John Williams had composed that tune and much of the soundtrack for the Star Wars series. Her excellence as Table Topics Master was equal to her excellence in the role of evaluator, and she was voted Best Evaluator for the evening. Bronco was the last Table Topics speaker and perhaps the best sport of the evening since, as a guest and recent arrival from Croatia, he could have declined to speak. And he was voted Best Table Topics speaker for his response in English (not his first language) about soccer as the one sport he would want to play professionally. Don Guan completed Speech #3, and there were two Icebreakers - the first by Elena Como, and the second by Rene Salayeva - that were as interesting as they were informative of the background and aspirations of the speakers. It was a tough choice for many of us I'm sure, but when the votes were tallied, Elena had won Best Speaker honors for the evening. Letitia Archer, formerly Area 55 Governor and the current Division E Governor, was present to honor Malcolm Cohen with a trophy and photographs for his recent first place win in the District 46 Table Topics competition. And she had some helpful comments and kind words of praise for the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club as well. After a brief business session lead by Doris, an announcement by Jim, and an ancient quote by Simi, Club President Arlene Stock adjourned the meeting at 9:40 PM.

The next meeting will be on November 13, 2006 at 8:00 PM - Rivercross Community Room.

To honor the Veterans Day Holiday and my birthday on November 11, I'll supply the refreshments and condiments (wines included) for a bit of socializing after the meeting. Looking forward to seeing you then.

Submitted Respectfully,

Woodrow R. Deas, Secretary

Meeting Minutes 10-09-2006

Greetings Fellow Toastmasters,

The meeting of October 9, 2006, which was preceded by an Executive Committee Meeting, was called to order at 8:00 P.M. by Club President Arlene Stock with Doris Chernik as Toastmaster for the evening. Ana Alba was Word Master and challenged us to use the word "quagmire" in our presentations. Jill Burk served as General Evaluator. Anna Faith participated in Table Topics with an interesting story about a Swedish Holiday and clambake tradition, and she later delighted the audience with her splendid presentation of Speech #1 "How My Dad Prepared Me For New York." Daemon spoke about a Scandinavian Maypole Day celebration on the day he was married, while Marcus spoke about a July 4th experience. Anna Doumnova spoke about New Years Day in her native Russia, and John Lee spoke about a shopping adventure in Singapore. We were taken on a world adventure in less than an hour. Bart presented Speech #1, and I commend him for delivering an Icebreaker that ranks among the best I've witnessed since I've been a member of Toastmasters. I, Woody Deas, completed Speech #7 (Research Your Topic) "Celebrating Discovery: An Ongoing Voyage," which was based on a theme celebrating Columbus Day as it was presented on a Library of Congress Website. My primary focus was on Giovanni da Verrazano and the great suspension bridge here in New York that honors him.
I left the heavy lifting for Marlene, who spoke from the Advanced Storytelling Manual Project #5, "The Young Man and the Sea." She related the story of Christopher Columbus with her usual grace,
punctuated with a few rhetorical devices and a bit of drama, Anna Doumnova evaluated Anna Faith, Malcolm evaluated Bart, Jim evaluated me, and Janet Schoene evaluated Marlene. Jill was at her best as General Evaluator, and provided us with her usual insightful observations and helpful suggestions. After the officers report and other Club business was completed, the meeting was adjourned at around 9:40 P.M.

The next meeting is October 28, 2006 at 8:00 P.M. - Rivercross Community Room.

Submitted Respectfully,

Woody Deas, Secretary