First meeting full of verve and vigor!

Thanks again, everyone who participated, for kicking off our new Silver Spring Toastmasters year con BRIO last Wednesday evening!

We lived up to that excellent Word of the Evening that Renee Davis shared with us--so much so that most of the photos I snapped came out a blur! (Likely there's an iPhone setting to take care of that . . . will explore further, or try taking video next time! :)

Featured here is the sole posed photo--of 2011-12 Silver Spring Toastmasters Club 1314 officers Pauline Brown, VP Education; Desiree Payne, VP Membership; Maxiine Blanks, VP Public Relations; Andy Jacobs, Secretary; Mike Nolan, Treasurer; Shirley Jarvis, Sergeant-at-Arms; and me, Joan Phillips, President--snapped by Merlyn following our installation by immediate Past President, Mel Bayo.

Fittingly, our leadoff meeting featured some new developments . . .

• See the NEW ORANGE NAME TAGS? If you're a member who wasn't able to attend, you'll find one waiting for you at the door at the next meeting. No more hand-scribbled stick-on throwaways, thanks to Shirley!

• Why orange? We introduced OUR NEW CLUB COLOR: ORANGE--a powerful color evocative of activity, fun, socialization, and . . .

• Our 2011-12 CLUB MOTTO: IGNITE YOUR POTENTIAL! as well as member and District Governor Barry Piatt's District 36 motto, BE THE SPARK! and member and Division Governor Una Mae Kettering's Division F motto, FIRE UP!

We also enjoyed some new twists . . .

. . . (and a lot of laughs) as our creative respondents, including William Aley, rose to Table Topics Master Mike Nolan's challenge to concoct a story leading up to the "moral of" he provided them.

. . . as Master Evaluator (and new Area 62 Governor) Mel Bayo expanded on the three excellent evaluations with insightful pointers of his own . . . foreshadowing the You Too Can Become a Great Evaluator theme you'll find at many of our meetings this year.

As always . . .

. . . The meeting featured admirable preparation and delivery by our Toastmaster of the Evening (Pauline).

. . . We were treated to informative and inspired speeches: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Short & Simple) by Maxine, who did!; "Medicaid's Nursing Home Benefit" by Henry Nash (many notes taken); and "We've Got Talents" by Las Vegas International Speech Contest bound Eldon Ralph (GO ELDON!).

. . . Our speakers, and each of us, benefited from perceptive, well articulated evaluations (by Andy Jacobs, Eniola Olowofoyeku, and Merlyn Kettering).

. . . We also received valuable feedback from our Timer (Robin Bradshaw), Grammarian/ Wizard of Ahs (Hoan Dang), and Listener (Shirley Jarvis).

. . . And, of course, we enjoyed great refreshments (thanks to Fiona Morrissey, Marcia Snyder, Una and Merlyn, and other contributors).

Looking forward to seeing you on WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, everybody!

Get to Know the Great Leader Inside You!

Fellow Silver Spring Toastmasters,

It has been a fun year full of growth opportunities for all and high achievement for our club as a whole. I personally thank and commend every member of #1314 for their contribution to our joint success in the 2010-11 Toastmaster year.

You’ve been the embodiment of our club’s tagline: Together We’ve Soared!!!

Want to soar even higher?

Get to know the Great Leader inside you better. Be a Silver Spring Toastmasters club officer in the 2011-12 Toastmaster year!

I can clearly remember my first #1314 meeting in March of 2008. As I walked in the door I was FULL of trepidation. This was a room FULL of accomplished speakers and leaders, what could I bring to the table?

But as the meeting was about to begin, the Sergeant at Arms greeted me with a welcoming smile and introduced himself. Without the safety net he provided my first meeting experience wouldn’t have been the same. That gentleman went on to become Vice President of Education, President and is now our Area 62 Governor. You know him well: Merlyn Kettering.

I was also struck by the eloquence and grace of the club President that evening. She was engaging energetic and, above all, full of encouragement for each member who performed a role and for the club as a whole. She became Area 62 Governor in 2009-10 and is our incoming Division F Governor. You know her well too: Una Kettering.

One of the speakers that night delivered a 7 minute speech with no notes. That was amazing to me! What presence, what casual confidence and WHAT A SENSE OF HUMOR!!! So that’s what a decade or so of taking on Toastmasters speaking and leadership opportunities can do for you. That gentleman was Division F Governor, went on to be Lieutenant Governor of Marketing, Lieutenant Governor of Education and Training and is our incoming District 36 Governor: Barry Piatt.

There are NUMEROUS additional examples of OUTSTANDING Toastmasters Leadership in our club’s history (to those not mentioned here: sorry for holding true to tri-partite structure) and the three described above were chosen so you could convince yourself not only of the importance of taking on club officer roles but the many benefits you’ll enjoy when you do so.

And please understand: those benefits are available to you regardless of how long you’ve been a club member. EVERY great Toastmaster Leader began with their first meeting. In fact, it’s great when new members decide to take on a club officer role right from the start!

To that end: It’s time to nominate club officers for the new Toastmaster year which begins in July.

Please be sure to attend our next meeting which will begin at 6:45 (in order to accommodate the club officer nomination proceedings) and will be followed immediately by our regularly scheduled club meeting from 7:30-9:30.

Also, please visit the Toastmasters International website beforehand to get an understanding of what each of the club officer roles entails.

Get to know the Great Leader inside you!

Silver Spring Toastmasters: The Resolve to Win by Pauline Brown

Mel Bayo and Eldon Ralph, you are truly quintessential communicators!

Silver Spring 1314 salutes you and shares the sentiments. You competed among six of the best speakers and earned first place in your respective contests. By your sterling performances, you have certainly set the standards higher.

Kudos!!!

Winning at the May 2011 District 36 International Speech and Evaluation Contests was indeed a by product of their unwavering persistence, focused hard work, and the resolve to win.!

Mel and Eldon shared these common denominators of success!

In his response to the question, “Are you ready for the Evaluation Contest?", Mel said in a rather calm and confident manner, “I am going to have fun, and I am going to deliver my BEST 3-minute evaluation speech ever!”

Not surprisingly, Eldon remarked prior to the start of the International Speech Contest that, “This will be my LAST speech contest—at the District level!”

The resolve to win was clear!

The inimitable Mel Bayo stepped out on center stage. Right away his keen listening skills were evident. The audience knew that his three main focus points for the evaluation of Wilson Rumble’s Test Speech titled, “Peeps Value” were: storytelling, structure, and premise.

Mel had a style. He was sharp—his attire was demonstrative of success!

He exuded confidence, boldness, and charisma. Mel’s gestures and use of speaking area were right on. He commended the Test Speaker’s use of story-telling with dramatic pauses throughout the speech. He spoke directly to the Test Speaker, but also maintained reasonable eye contact with the audience.

Mel identified values in the speech, and created the right balance by providing suggestions for improvement. Among his suggestions for improvement, he encouraged the speaker to make his premise and personal values clear. His job as an evaluator was well done. He validated the speaker.

Yes indeed, Mel delivered his BEST 3-minute evaluation speech!

Eldon’s speech titled, “You’ve Got Talents” was inspirational. It was clear from his speech that he had the benefit early, of becoming aware of his innate talents and abilities. He carefully navigated his path to success by focusing on using his natural talents as frequently as possible in environments that best rewarded them—He joined Toastmasters!

If Eldon’s innate abilities could be seen as a well-make cake, then Toastmasters was certainly the icing. He employed all the elements of speech-craft and delivery! How could one ever forget his amazing and humorous use of vocal variety? Eldon’s pace as he “navigated” the speaking area, was calculated and rhythmic. This served to enhance his transition as he moved through the speech.

The conclusion was memorable! As he charged the audience to celebrate their talents his final set of gestures illuminated the stage. It was awesome! The applause was sustained, with a subtle jubilant tone as Eldon Ralph did the Do-Si-Do that signaled the end of his speech—his LAST speech at the District level!

Actor, Richard Cline summed up the success strategy best when he said, “Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control.” Our winners were prepared to win!

Mel and Eldon, you are the “Spark!” Best of luck as you continue to reflect your light.

Eldon, your friends and family at Silver Spring 1314 look forward to seeing you electrify the audience as you compete in the August 2011 World Championship of Public Speaking in Las Vegas!

Silver Spring Toastmasters Meeting Summary April 20, 2011 by Pauline Brown

”Tulips are at their perennial best in ideal conditions!“ This was the response given by flowers expert, Frans Roozen, to the ever pressing horticultural puzzle, “Why don’t tulips always behave as perennials?”

April 20^th was heyday for Silver Spring 1314! Live, beautiful, flowering tulips “decked” the meeting room, and the agenda in its flowery splendor was a special rendition of Kim Crews’ creativity. It was little wonder then, that the word of the meeting was blossom—an intransitive verb.

As if May flowers burst forth ahead of the April showers, all 21 attendees, including two returning guests, were at their perennial best! This particular meeting must have been the kind of experience that motivated Doris Lessing, British writer, to say, “Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capabilities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.”

Like proud eagles in flight, attendees harnessed every opportunity and every challenge to soar higher and higher. No one dared to lose the momentum. Each leadership and each speaking role was a stellar performance!

Kim Crews, in her role as TMOE was a delight—a real pace-setter! There was no question as to whether she prepared for this role. She added value in a variety of ways. From her introduction of each leader/speaker we learned of their particular affinity to flowers. The secret’s out! Joan Phillip’s charming personality lies in her genes—her father was an amateur horticulturist, and she is particularly fond of pink tulips!

There were double-bloomers too! Merlyn assumed the role of Sgt-at-Arms and also gave a speech, while Joan Phillips graciously presided as President, and was also Table Topics Master. Eldon was Master Evaluator, and volunteered at last minute to fill one of the role as speech evaluator.

Table Topics was a blast! From the Quote Garden (website) Joan Phillips rolled out quotes dating back as far as the 16^th century. Remember literary/poetic favorites such Dickens, Shakespeare, Herbert, and Browning? Like a champion, Desiree Payne ‘danced’ verbally for about two minutes to the tune of the unfamiliar Shakespeare quote, “Oh, how the spring of love resembles the uncertain glory of an April day.” Great impromptu speech Desiree!

The three speeches were inspirational and powerful!

Merlyn Kettering spoke first—from the heart. Transitioning from his powerful and appropriate opening, “It’s not just flowers that blossom, people do too,” he unfolded in an almost solemn manner, his Rite of Passage. Can you guess the Rite of Passage that is associated with: socks and shoes taken off, towel draped around his waist, a basin (of water?), and a chair? Yes, the Ordinance of Feet-washing it is! We saw the magic of using props to add character and value to a speech—a firsthand illustration of true humility, and another opportunity to know Merlyn better!

Una-Mae Kettering ‘s speech titled, “My Path” provided much food for thought. She methodically and skillfully used the analogy of a waiter to inspire us to reach out and serve others. Could it be that this analogy also bore the underlying principle upon which Una planned and executed her path to growth as a Toastmaster? Let’s spread our wings and soar with her to greater heights!

“Setting the Tone” was Barry Piatt’s speech title. This was packed with powerful punches. One of them was his very personal and compelling story as a 9-year old, and the brilliant action that he took—that set the tone for his career as an adult. It was clear that with Barry’s wealth of knowledge, experience, and dedication as a Toastmaster, he is poised for control of the lectern and gavel at a higher level. See Barry in action at the District 36 Convention next week!

In his usual confident manner, Eldon Ralph led the evaluation segment of the meeting. Every attendee participated! Pauline Brown and Shirley Jarvis evaluated the first and second speeches respectively. The third required a round-robin evaluation. It was great hearing the many perspectives as to what worked and suggestions for improvement of Barry’s speech.

Another key component of the meeting, the reports, were provided by:

Mike Nolan – Timer, Marcia Snyder – Grammarian/Ah counter, and Fiona Morrissey – Listener’s report.

Social Time is special at Silver Spring 1314. Much gratitude went to Mike Nolan and Shirley Jarvis for providing delicious snacks.

In their concluding remarks, the Master Evaluator and President (acting) both agreed that the meeting was another well-spent time of fun and sharing!

Come soar with us at our next meeting!

Division F International Speech and Evaluation Contests - AND THE WINNERS ARE...by Pauline Brown

Three Cheers, Silver Spring 1314!!!

Eldon Ralph and Mel Bayo have done it once more--They have done us proud, and have claimed the FIRST PLACE TROPHIES!

The international Speech Contest was as inspirational as it was entertaining. With his speech title, "You've Got Talent," Eldon held the audience captive as he showcased all the elements of speech craft and delivery. He had stage-center, left, and right well defined, and he certainly spared no opportunity in rolling out vocal variety with appropriate gestures. He evoked furrowed brows at times, laughter at other times, and bobbing heads throughout. Eldon, you've got talent!

Mel Bayo's evaluation of Liz Porter's Test Speech, titled, "Doors and Windows" was indeed a mini-speech of of high class! It was clear that speech-mastery is transferable--the structure was well defined, and he transitioned well from one part to the next. Most notable was his conclusion. Mel's listening skills, coupled with mastery of delivery elevated his performance clearly above the rest. Mel's evaluation was a incontestable winner!

Silver Spring 1314, this is history, and this is big! Let's follow our winners to the next level!