Meeting Minutes for 1-22-2007

Greetings Fellow Toastmasters,

The Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Potluck Dinner Party Meeting of January 22,2007 was a complete success, thanks to the leadership of Sue Brown, the hard work of the Dinner Committee, and the generous contributions of club members. A Special thanks to Simi for the bottled water, and Bart and Malcolm, and Arlene and Doris and Sue, all the folks who helped with preparing the Rivercross Community Room for the event. The tables were gorgeous and the ambience (candle-light) was especially warm and welcoming. Malcolm, who served as Toastmaster extraordinaire for the evening, did a splendid job of leading a round of impromptu Table Topics-Styled speeches around the general theme of the Ideal Club, which was a featured article in the January 2007 issue of Toastmaster Magazine. However, the primary business of this meeting of thirty or so members and guests was food, so each member and guest present was invited to comment on the dinner item, ethnic dish, desert, condiment, beverage, or special treat they brought with them to the meeting. Our club is among the oldest and most ethnically diverse in District 46, and the variety of food items and beverages one could find on the attractively arranged tables certainly reflected that diversity. A quote by founding member, Bernie Silverman, expressed the spirit of the occasion best- Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Embrace The Joy Of Community, The Gift of Diversity, And The Vision of Harmony. We were entertained with song and the intriguing sounds of Africa, and a folk music performance by the very talented club member Damon LaScot and his wife highlighted an exciting evening of food, friends, and fun. Our club was also honored by a visit from Division E Governor, Letitea Archer, and Area 51 Governor, Regina Pawlik. One final note, Club Officer training that was scheduled for January has been rescheduled for sometime in February. I’m sure Doris will inform us of the new date soon. The next regular club meeting will be in the Rivercross Community Room on February 12, 2007 at 8:00 PM

Submitted Respectfully,

Woody Deas, Secretary

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Meeting Minutes for 11-27-2006

Fellow Toastmasters,

The meeting of November 27 was called to order at 8:00 PM by Club President Arlene Stock with Woody Deas (me) presiding as Toastmaster and Don Guan as Table Topics Master. Sue Brown served as General Evaluator. Melissa Buerbaumer was Word Master for the evening, and she challenged us to use the word - sesquipedalian - in our presentations. She offered a definition and usage examples, and Merriam-Webster defines it as meaning having many syllables, or in usage one who is given to or characterized by the use of long words - a sesquipedalian television commentator is the example they use. It was an unfamiliar word to me and probably a few others present, but I thought it was an excellent word choice, and quite a few presenters used it effectively. Anna, Simi, Jill, Bart, and others participated in the Table Topics session, and Damon La Scot treated us with an energetic and interesting Speech #1, his IceBreaker titled - The Rewards of Risk. He was followed by Anna Falth, who presented Speech #2 - Commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Her speech was informative, well-organized, and well-presented, and I for one was made more aware of the global nature of the issue of domestic and political violence against women.

Rena Salayeva also presented Speech #2 (Organize Your Speech) titled - Freedom of Expression. Again, there was a political and a human rights aspect to the content of her speech, and she did a fine job of it. Arlene evaluated Damon, Al Short evaluated Anna F, and Simi evaluated Rena. Sue evaluated the evaluators and offered comments on her observations of the meeting in general. She was helpful in her suggestions and kind to me in her comments. Anna D was Timer, and as the Ah counter, Jill caught several speakers using an excessive number of ahs and similar utterings. An Executive Committee Meeting had preceded the regular meeting, and after a brief business and announcements period, Arlene adjourned the meeting at 9:30 PM. Hats off to Bart for doing Setup and other chores in the absence of Malcolm. Hardware and Software issues on my end has delayed this meeting minutes post. My apologies.

Submitted Respectfully,

Woody Deas,

Secretary

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