Member blog by Deb McAlpine. What a fabulous meeting! The theme of the day ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ offered up by our Toastmaster, Helen McLeod, inspired members to refer to this throughout the meeting.
Ian Thornton started the ball rolling as Grammarian, quoting (without notes) an anonymous poem about an Oyster who didn’t give up against the relentless tide of sand but worked on improving. And, wouldn’t you know it, the sand turned into a pearl; a reminder that the Grammarian can read a poem, famous speech, article etc.
Harry Brar delivered an emotional speech about her parents’ insistence on her getting a good education to the point of encouraging local leaders to build a high school and then a university in their area. They have been so supportive of all her ventures and are even accompanying her to learn Te Reo.
Gerald Hartley ran us through his journey to reach his level 5 Pathway and left us with plenty of helpful tips and tricks. Who knew that you needed about 700-800 words for a 5-7 minute speech?
Gerald outlined each of the projects he chose (where choosing was an option) and gave good examples of how the projects had helped in his work – eg. Going for a new job after doing the job interview project, and so much more. This really was an educational on how to use Pathways to your best advantage. The only downside to the speech was Gerald’s advance warning that he will be leaving Boaters at the end of the TM year. Such a huge loss for Boaters as Gerald has been a hard working and inspirational member both at meetings and in his many roles across the Leadership Team and Speechcraft courses. We can keep our fingers crossed that his work situation may enable him to rejoin us in the future. Go well and THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.
Amazing Grace delivered her Ice Breaker this morning and what a treat to be taken from hiking in Sri Lanka to motorbiking in Vietnam (only briefly as these are probably all subjects for Grace to expand on in future speeches. Grace is about to embark on a new career venture, instead of the hillsides of Asia, Grace will be “wandering the mountains of the mind” as she starts her journey as a professional life coach. Great start to your Toastmasters Pathway.
The Introducers and Evaluators were all on the mark today – Alana rightly anticipated a shortage of time and adjusted her Timer report accordingly.
Our guest, Sheila Hailstone, encouraged us to attend the Toastmasters Do Comedy event on 27th April.
Thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and made it worth getting up at 5:30am.
Meeting No. 1133, 31 March