Meeting Minutes for November 26, 2007

Greetings Fellow Toastmasters,

The meeting of November 26 was called to order at 8:00 P.M. by Club
President Anna D. with Malcolm C. presiding as Toastmaster, Sue B. as Word
Master, Joanne E. as Table Topics Master, and Arlene S. as General
Evaluator. We were also honored with a visit from Area 57 Governor, Kilrak
Chung, who presented Doris C. with a CL Manual, and volunteered to serve as
Timer for our meeting. Joanne prepared an interesting mix of challenging
questions for Table Topics, starting with a question concerning smoking and
health that I (Woody) replied to. Doris was next up, with a reply to a
question about the impact of technology and if it makes our lives better or
worse. Jim was in excellent form with his reply to a question about
unpleasant noise in New York City, and Arlene spoke about counting calories
and the new challenge this factor presents to the best chefs. Sue praised
Jim for being "Mr. Can Do" in her reply to the question posed to her. I
think all of us would agree that Jim has been an outstanding leader on many
occasions, but especially the last few days when, on short notice, he
coordinated getting a meeting space in Building 546, and then did the setup
himself. Anna (a guest) commented on developing healthful habits and the
fact that doing so could add years to your life, and Don offered his take on
New York City as a healthy place to live.

After the voting for Best Table Topics Speaker, which Arlene won, Rena took
the podium as the first scheduled speaker. She completed Speech Project #6
(Vocal Variety). Her stellar presentation was full of fascinating content
related to the devastating impact a tropical cyclone can have on a community
and the lives of the people affected. She explained the different names for
the same weather event (hurricane, typhoon) in different regions of the
planet, and referred to the current debate concerning global warming and
climate change as she addressed the question of what can be done better. She
was evaluated by Doris. Kim spoke last, completing Speech Project #4 (How To
Say It) with a speech titled: "Home Renovation and the Four Agreements."
Besides great organization, the content was interesting and her expressive
gestures and vocal variety held the attention of the audience throughout.
She was voted Best Speaker, and Don's superb evaluation took Best Evaluator
honors. Anna D. presented a speech titled: " What is Leadership and How To
Get It." Her assignment was from the Advanced Communication Leadership
Series, Speaking To Inform, Speech Project #5. I (Woody) was her evaluator.
The project consisted of (1) The Advanced Concept, and (2) Planning and
Implementation. After briefly describing the concept of leadership, Anna
drew from the ideas of world-class authors and experts, including a
reference to Tolstoy's masterpiece, "War and Peace," and a paraphrase from
Dwight D. Eisenhower on the subject that earned a chuckle: "Leadership is
getting people to do what you want them to do when they want to do it."

After a few comments from Area 57 Governor Kilrak Chung, and a brief
business meeting and officers report, the meeting was adjourned at around
9:40 P.M.. Unless this notice is revised, the
next regular meeting is scheduled for December 10, 2007 at 8:00 P.M.
Building 546 Main Street, 12th Floor Meeting Room near the elevator.

Submitted Respectfully,
Woody Deas, Secretary