Learn to Speak and Present in Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club, New York City, NY. Improve your leadership and presentation skills.

Fellow Toastmasters,

The meeting of December 10, 2007 was called to order at 8:00 P.M. by Club
President Anna D, who also served as Toastmaster for the meeting at part of
Advanced Competent Leadership Project #8. Rena was Table Topics Master, and
Jim was General Evaluator. After a brief overview of the rules, Anna invited
Joanne, the Word Master, to the podium. Joanne challenged us to use the word
"quixotic," which she defined as being idealistic but not realistic,
recalling the origin of the adjective from the fictional character and
novel, Don Quixote of La Mancha, written by Spanish author Miguel de
Cervantes Saavedra. Rena lead the Table Topics session around the general
theme of "the magic and mystery of Christmas," and called on Joanne, who was
voted Best Table Topics Speaker. Jim, Sue, Elena, and Arlene, responded to
Rena's questions as well, and it is often tough to select the "best" on a
particular occasion. After Table Topics, Jim did a general evaluation of the
progress of the meeting, and introduced a special guest, Matthew Katz of
RIRA, who gave a brief presentation later in the meeting. The first
scheduled speaker was Linda, who presented Speech #2 (Organize Your Speech)
titled: "The Beginning With The End In Mind." After a strong opening, Linda
provided really interesting content about the impact of the tsunami in the
Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004. It killed tens of thousands of people and
left millions more homeless. She gave us a brief overview of the role of
the NGOs (non-government organizations that included Orphans International)
that stepped in to provide life-saving relief and services to the people
affected by the disaster. Elena did her evaluation. Don was Speaker #2. He
completed Speech #6 (Vocal Variety) titled: "A Story About My Uncle," which,
essentially, was a story about a family member and his own experience
dealing with an international banking scam. Sue was his evaluator, and Don
was voted Best Speaker. Speaker #3 was Branko, who presented Speech Project
#10, titled: "Be Proactive." I (Woody) was his evaluator, and was voted Best
Evaluator on this occasion. Anna's work on the Advanced CL Project #8 was
evaluated by Arlene. AfterJim's general evaluation, and reports from the
Timer (Malcolm) and the Ah counter (me), and a business meeting that
included discussion and voting on the type of semi-annual dinner we will
have in January, the meeting was adjourned at 9:55 P.M. Due to the Christmas
holiday, Roosevelt Island Toastmasters will not meet on Monday, December 24,
2007. However, a regular club meeting is scheduled for January 14, 2008, and
the semi-annual dinner meeting is set for January 28, 2008. Location and the
other specifics will follow.