September 20, 2012 Theme: Memories of School Days

Vern brought the meeting to order.  The theme of the evening was "Memories of School Days".  It is worthy to mention that the seating, with no planning whatsoever, reminded some members of a school dance.  All the boys on one side and the all the girls on the other.

Chairperson for the evening was Val.  She officially started the meeting with the opening remarks.  Guest introductions were next.  Apryl is a member of the Mount Forest club who came out to see how a meeting runs at another club.  Next, for agenda changes, there was no Literary Corner this evening and Speech Evaluator 1 was changed to Diane.

Vern was up again with Joke of the Day.  Always funny, he started with a few quick jokes and one liners.  The one that had the members groaning was the following one:  "...my one teacher was cross-eyed....she could not control her pupils....".

George was Toast and Timer this evening.  He gave a few words on pertaining to the theme and then had the members follow him in the Toast to Canada.

Word of the evening was Timely.  An adjective meaning on time/timeliness.  This was the word picked by Heidi, our Grammarian and Laugh Counter for the evening.

John was up next with his speech "A moment in time", followed by a minute for written evaluations.  Table Topics was next.  Leo, and avid golfer, handed out quiz cards all related to golfing.  Members got to speak on their experience based on what was on their card, or if not a golfer, to any other sport.  Fact:  it seems there are few golfers in the Listowel Club.  General Evaluator was Tony.  He first introduced Diane who gave her speech evaluation for John.  She did an excellent job with both Glow and Grow points.

Tony then asked for the reports.  George was first and recapped the minutes for each section so far.  Next, Heidi said the word of the evening was used 5 times.  As well, she had recorded 91 laughs so far and 3 or 4 aah's.  She was having so much fun she lost count.  Leo gave the report for Table Topics.  Winner for this evening was our guest Apryl.  Last but not least, Tony gave his report as General Evaluator.  Well done, he gave both Glow and Grow points.

Brent was next with the Quiz Master's Report.  Excellent job testing the member's listening skills, there were several quotes that had members guessing as to who had said that.

Slowly wrapping up, Anything for the Good of Toastmasters was next, followed by assigning Roles for the next meeting.  This format that Val started seems to be working well.  Members can sign up for roles several weeks in advance, or indicate when they will not be able to attend.

Last, our guest Apryl gave her comments on the meeting and Val gave her closing remarks.  This officially ended the meeting for this evening.

September 13, 2012 Theme: Fall

The Linguists of Listowel met at the St. Paul's Lutheran Church.  I drove by about an hour before the meeting and it was a pleasure to see the sign out front.  It was readily visible and clear.

In attendance this evening were the following members:  Tony, Leo, Brent, Keith & Jane Stoltz, George, Keith M., Audrey, Vern, Heidi, Marie, Val and John.  Special guest of the night was Joy Klumpenhouwer.

The theme of the evening was "Fall" and the meeting was brought to order by Leo.  The evening started on time.

Tony was the chairperson this evening and welcomed everyone with his opening remarks pertaining to the theme.

Next, Vern introduced our guest for the evening, followed by any agenda changes.  There were no changes this evening.

Joke of the day was done by Audrey.  Humorous and well done in a clear and steady voice, the punch line had everyone laughing.  Keith M. was our toast and timer for the evening,  while Brent was our grammarian.  The word this evening was "impeccable", an adjective meaning faultless or blameless.

Keith S was next with Literary Corner.  Well done with a twist, Keith had a fellow toastmaster, John, give him a number between 2 and 14.  He then proceeded to read several small articles from McLean's magazine from the page number given to him by John.

"Animal Antics" was next.  This was the title of the speech given by Vern.  Some of his facial expressions mimicking animals had the group laughing throughout his speech.

George was the Table Topics master this evening.  Everyone participated in this event.  An envelope was passed around.  Inside the envelope were slips of paper with various local, and not so local, fairs and festivals.  Each member had the opportunity to say why they enjoyed, or planned to go to, the event listed on their slip of paper.

The next part of the meeting was the reports and General Evaluation.  Jane took control of the lectern for this segment of the meeting.  First, she introduced the speech evaluator for Vern.  This role was performed by Leo, who gave an excellent review.  This was followed by Jane asking for the various reports.  First up was Keith M. who gave the timer report.  Next was the Grammarian report by Brent.  The word of the evening had been used 10 times.  As well, Brent had counted 61 laughs, 5 um's and 10 ah's.  The Table Topics report was next, with the winner being our guest Joy.  Last, Heidi tested our listening skills with the Quizmaster report.  Last, Jane gave her General Evaluator report.

The meeting was slowly  wrapped up with Anything for the good of Toastmasters and Keith M. giving updates about the Sept. 6th Executive Meeting.  Val then asked went through the various roles still available for the next meeting and asked for members to fill them.  Our guest Joy was then asked if she wanted to comment on the meeting.  She said it was a little overwhelming, a feeling many of us have shared at our first Toastmasters meeting.

Tony gave the closing remarks and brought the meeting officially to end.

Thanks to Jane for providing snacks :)

September 6, 2012 Theme: What Did You Do On Your Summer Vacation?

Leo called the meeting to order at 7:18 p.m. and introduced Keith Stoltz as Chairperson.  Keith welcomed everyone to the meeting and spoke of the memories of summer vacations that we all have.  He explained how the summer vacations of dairy farmers are a little different…if they exist at all.  There were no agenda changes or guests to introduce so Keith dived right into the meeting with speaker introductions.  Vern got the meeting rolling with a memorable Joke of the Day about the escapades of a widow and widower at a 60^th High School Class Reunion.  Brent carried out the role of Toast and Timer and led us in a toast to Canada.  Heidi was Grammarian and her Word of the Day was “Grip” which means to hold firmly on to something of interest.  Variations of the word are gripped and gripping.  Jane handled Literary Corner and read an article from a Woman’s World magazine about a couple that were caught in a downpour of mice inside of a metal granary.

Marie completed Speech 10 from the Competent Communicator’s Manual and this is her third time through!  Marie entertained us with a speech called “Ontario, Canada:  Yours to Discover”.  Her goal was to inspire us to learn to live on simple abundance, and one way she accomplishes this is to go cross-country backpacking.  Members enjoyed hearing about Marie’s experiences meeting all kinds of people and she encouraged us to step out of the ordinary and to enjoy Ontario.  Marie included a Question and Answer session as an addition to her speech.

Tony covered Table Topics.  Each Toastmaster was given a picture of something connected to the summertime theme, and members had to give clues about the picture and then let fellow members try to guess what it was.  Many members had interesting clues to give and it was a great challenge.  Keith McCluskie took over the Lectern as General Evaluator.  He introduced Leo as the Speech Evaluator for Marie.  He had Brent give the Timer’s Report, and had Heidi provide the Grammarian’s report.  Heidi said the word “grip” was used 4 times and there were a few ums and ahs but not many. Tony gave the Table Topics Master’s Report and announced that Audrey had won the challenge with her story about a northern trip.  George tested members during his Quiz Master’s Report.  Keith McCluskie provided his comments as General Evaluator and said the meeting was good overall. 

Keith Stoltz took back control of the meeting and called for anything for the good of Toastmasters.  Upcoming events were reviewed.  Members were encouraged to Tweet and Facebook the upcoming Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre.  The goal is to sell 100 tickets and 40 tickets have been sold to date.  People can pay for their tickets at the door if they pre-order them.  Keith also asked members to encourage their friends to give Toastmasters a try.    

Submitted by Val Hummel on behalf of John Van Meeteren, Club Secretary

August 23, 2012 Theme: Mystery Meeting

This evening was hosted by Marie McCutcheon and the meeting was held at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Listowel.  Start time was 7:15 on the dot.

In attendance were Marie McCutcheon, Jane and Keith Stoltz, Tony Galvao, Brent Jemmett, Audrey Orth, Leo Brisebois, Keith McCluskie and John vanMeeteren.

Thanks to Marie for doing an excellent job putting together the "Mystery Meeting", theme for the evening. 

Everyone in attendance got an envelope.  Inside the envelope was a letter welcoming everyone to the mystery meeting. Some of the envelopes also contained another sealed envelope with the word "clue" on it, the others with a King or Queen card from a deck of playing cards, both to be used during the night.

There was no Toast & Timer, Grammarian or General Evaluator, but there was the word of the evening for members to try and use.  The word was "inexplicable". This word is an adjective meaning; unable to explain or justify.  The evening was filled with several different fun games as outlined in the letters.  These were AKA, Whodunit, Clue and last, Kings and Queens. 

The first event on the list was AKA, or Also Known As.  Going around the room, everyone had a chance to say what their AKA name was and why.  Some of the names and reasons brought forth scores of laughter.

The Whodunit was a great game, the point was to guess who, what, where and with whom.  Members would leave the room one at a time.  The remainder would think of funny people, events, location and partners in crime to fit the above criteria.  The member would then come back in.  It was their job to guess who they were, what they did, where they did it and who was with them by piecing together "clues” thrown at them during their "interrogation."  Again, a lot of laughs were shared.

Next on the list was clue.  Those who had the sealed envelopes had a chance to open them, look at what was inside, and give a quick, impromptu speech similar to Table Topics.

Kings and Queens was the final "event".  The members with the cards went up to the front and were given an assortment of clues in the form of pictures, words and letters.  It was their task to put the clues together and decipher the message.

For anything for the good of Toastmasters, the upcoming Murder Mystery was discussed.  This included ways of reaching out to friends, family and the public.  Several members took posters to post in various locations.

The evening ended with a social, thanks to Marie for providing the snacks.

Next meeting will be held September 6th.  Check your email for updates.

August 7, 2012 Mount Forest Tall Tales Contest

Four members of the Linguists of Listowel Toastmaster Club attended and enjoyed the Mount Forest Tall Tales Contest on August 7th.
Starting from left to right; Diane Bender, Tony Galvao, Audrey Orth and Keith McCluskie.
 Tony Galvao entertained the Mount Forest club contest attendees with his Tall Tales Humdinger entitled "Grand River - River Monsters". Tony did a great job with his speech presentation!

The Mount Forest Motivators had four Tall Tales Contest participants. Irma Devries placed first with her funny speech entitled "A Love Letter". Paula Nunes-Haggett placed second with her very entertaining speech entitled "Potty Dance". Congratulations to all of the contest participants on their speech presentations. Jafar Mirjalali also did a fine job as chairman of the meeting and contest.

July 12, 2012 Theme: Farm Animals

Tony Galvao was the chairman of the meeting.
In keeping with the theme of the meeting, Tony had his coveralls on and was ready to help out with the chores if necessary.

Diane Bender was the Grammarian for the meeting and provided us with a new word to use during the meeting and the rest of the week.
The word was "Mewl" meaning a little cry.

Jane Stoltz filled the Literary Corner role and provided all in attendance with the story of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse.

Left to right; Diane, Wayne and Keith S.
Diane played the role of the interviewer and Wayne played the role of Vern who was being interviewed about his choice of farm, location, animals and what challenges he faced daily.

July 12, 2012 Theme: Farm Animals

Keith Stoltz conducting the interactive Table Topics Session

Left to right; Jane, Vern and Keith S.
Jane and Vern were listening to the rules of the Table Topics session before Jane interviewed Vern about why he enjoys living on his farm.







 

Left to right; Marg and Audrey.
Marg played the role of the interviewer and Audrey (aka Vern) answered the questions that Marg presented her with about what she likes about living on this farm.

  Left to right; Leo, John and Keith S. Leo interviewed John (aka Vern) about the animals he has on the farm and why he choose this location for his farm.

John was the General Evaluator of the meeting and provided his glow points and one grow point.
It was a great meeting in a very comfortable environment. Special thanks to Vern and Harriet for hosting the meeting.

July 12, 2012 Theme: Farm Animals

Location:  At the home of Vern and Harriet Noseworthy

Theme:  Farm Animals

This being the first meeting with the newly elected executive in place, it turned out to be a wonderful evening of fun and laughter.

In attendance were 15 people, in no particular order; Vern,Tony, Keith and Jane, Marg, Keith M, Audrey, Val, Heidi, Diane, Leo, Wayne, John and guests Holly and Hank.

First, special thanks to Vern and Harriet for hosting the evening.  Vern had placed the Toastmasters meeting sign at the end of the lane way so finding the location was a breeze.

As well, Vern had transformed his garage into a meeting room that closely resembled our regular location.  There was ample seating room, as well as the Toastmaster banner and improv lecturn.

The evening itself started on time with Vern calling the meeting to order.  Our newly appointed VP of Membership Tony was the Chairperson for the evening.  A job well done, including dressing the part of a farmer with a pair of coveralls.  With the heat, though, the coveralls did not last long.

Joke of the day was done by Vern and brought scores of laughter.  Next, our toast and timer for the evening, Leo, gave the Toast to Canada.

Our grammarian for the evening, Diane, gave us the word of the evening "Mewl" meaning to whimper or cry weakly. 

Next, Literary corner was done by Jane.  She read a fun poem entitled "Country Mouse and City Mouse" from the book "100 Famous Animal Poems".  Sorry, I did not catch the name of the book's author.

Next on the Agenda was Table Topics.  Keith Stoltz had done an excellent job of preparing for this.  Everyone was involved and lots of laughs were shared.  There were three sections to the Table Topics.  The first was that everyone got to explain what the liked about Vern and Harriet's farm, with the answers varing greatly.  Next, everyone got to pick and write down a farm animal.  Next, your answer was passed to the left with that person having to explain why they liked being that animal on the farm.  The last portion had pairs of people going to the front, one being a reporter, the other being the person being interviewed - always named Vern.  Random topics were picked with the two having to conduct an interview on that topic.  In the first round Vern got to play Vern.

Next up was the general evaluator, John, who called for the reports from the Timer, Grammarian and Table Topic Master. 

Next, Heidi probed everyone's memory with the quizmaster report.  This was followed by the report from the General Evaluator.

Last, the Chairperson, Tony, called for anything for the good of Toastmasters, followed by the closing remarks.

Tickets for the upcoming murder mstery were also distributed by Keith Stoltz before and after the meeting.

Refreshments were provided by Vern and Harriet.  The evening ended with a fun social and a guided tour of the farm.

Next meeting location and theme are to be determined.

June 28, 2012 Tall Tales Contest

Tall Tales Speech Participants

 Back Row (left to right); Audrey Orth, Leo Brisebois, Vern Noseworthy, Brent Jemmett.
Front Row (left to right); Area Governor Gregory C.N. Smith, Tony Galvao.

Tall Tales Contest Winner 2012

The winner of the Tall Tales speech contest was Tony Galvao with his speech entitled "River Monsters".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brenda Karges Trophy Recipient

 Right; Brent Jemmett (Sergeant at Arms) presents Leo Brisebois (President) with the Brenda Karges trophy for the work done and accomplishments made by the club for the year.

June 28, 2012 Theme: Tall Tales Contest

Thursday, June 28th was our "year end" pot luck/pizza party and also the night for our annual Tall Tales Contest.
Guests in attendance were; Dorothy Reid, Dorothy Dennis, Marge Seawright (all from the Mount Forest Motivators), Holly Brisebois, Harriet Noseworthy and our Area Governor Gregory C.N. Smith.
Our meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm by our chairperson, Keith Stoltz. An invocation was given by Jane Stoltz and all in attendance enjoyed the potluck/pizza meal.
The Tall Tales Contest began at 7:20 pm with chief judge, Diane Bender reading the rules of the contest to all in attendance. Five members were entered in the contest and the contestants were; Leo Brisebois, Tony Galvao, Brent Jemmett, Vern Noseworthy and Audrey Orth.
We heard five excellent speech presentations and they were all very well done! The judges had a difficult time making a decision for the top three speakers.

The winners of the hilarious Tall Tales Contest were;
First place: Tony Galvao
Second place: Vern Noseworthy
Third place: Brent Jemmett

The winner, Tony Galvao, will be presenting his winning speech at the Mount Forest Motivator's Tall Tales Contest as well.

An induction ceremony was held by Area Governor, Gregory C.N. Smith. Firstly, Gregory dismissed all current club executive members from their roles and duties effective midnight on June 30, 2012.
Gregory C.N. Smith also inducted each of the new club executive members into their roles effective July 1, 2012.

The 2012-2013 Executive Officers are; 
President:  Keith McCluskie
Vice-President of Education: Val Hummel
Vice-President of Membership:  Tony Galvao
Vice-President of Public Relations:  Brent Jemmett
Secretary:  John Van Meeteren
Treasurer:  Jane Stoltz
Sergeant-at-Arms:  Vern Noseworthy

The Brenda Karges award was presented by Sergeant-At-Arms, Brent Jemmett to the club president, Leo Brisebois for his hard work and club accomplishments during the 2011-2012 term.

Anything for the Good of Toastmasters;
Area Governor, Gregory C.N. Smith announced that effective July 1, 2012, Area 66 will be dissolved and all clubs that were part of that area will now become part of Area 65.
With the start of our summer time schedule, Linguists of Listowel meetings will be held every second week during the summer. There is opportunity for the meetings to be held at club members residences if they wish or the meetings will be held at the regular church meeting room.
The next Linguists of Listowel meeting will be Thursday, July 12th at the residence of Vern and Harriet Noseworthy. Watch for details to follow.

Meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.

June 21, 2012 Theme: Music To Our Ears

The meeting was called to order at 7:21 p.m.  Sharon was Chairperson for the evening and talked about the different types of sounds that are music to our ears.  Sharon also provided the Joke of the Day with a joke about a Bag piper who gave a fitting tribute to the burial of a septic tank.  Brent handled Literary Corner and read an amusing excerpt from the autobiography of comedian Russell Peters.  Leo was Toast and Timer and led the group in a toast to Canada.

Four speeches were presented.  Marg confidently gave her Ice Breaker speech and completed Project 1 of the Competent Communicator Manual.  Congratulations Marg!!!  Jill had a touching speech called “Bringing our Daughter Home” and completed Project 3 of the Manual.  Heidi completed a monologue called Horticultural Operation and completed an assignment in an advanced manual.  Keith Stoltz educated members on the Responsibilities of Being an M.C. for Project 7 of the Manual.  He also received an award and a round of applause for completing all 10 speeches in the Competent Communicator Manual a second time.

Sharon filled the role of Table Topics Master and had members describe sounds that are music to their ears.  Many different types of sounds were described.  Evaluations were next with Jane evaluating Marg, Vern evaluating Jill, George evaluating Heidi and Keith McCluskie evaluating Keith Stoltz.  This provided the people who gave speeches with immediate feedback on their presentation.

Reports were next:  Leo gave his Timer’s Report.  Vern was declared the winner of Table Topics for his description of the sound that a casino slot machine makes when it gives a rather large payout.  Audrey was General Evaluator for the evening and provided comments on the meeting.  She reminded members who are giving speeches to write an introduction for their speech and give it to the Chairperson before the meeting starts.  Things for the good of Toastmasters were announced including the bad news that the Club’s new banner had gone missing (it was later found by Bloodhound Brent).  Val advised there was a sign-up sheet in the kitchen for the June 28^th Tall Tales Contest and Potluck contributions.  Brent reminded members that the Stratford VON was looking for a speaker for July 18^th and the topic is “speaking to seniors”.  Keith Stoltz also advised that the poster for the Club’s 20^th Anniversary Murder Mystery event was available for review by members before it goes to print.  Since there was nothing else, Sharon adjourned the meeting.

Submitted by Val Hummel, Club Secretary

June 14, 2012 Tenth Speech Completion

Marie McCutcheon (left) presents Val Hummel with a certificate of completion after Val presented her tenth speech from the Competent Communicator manual.
Congratulations Val!

June 14, 2012 Theme: Generation Differences

The meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m.  Marie was Chairperson for the night and talked about the different types of generations:  Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and the Millennials.  She said people blame their parents for the first half of their lives, and their children for the second half.  Heidi then provided Joke of the Day about a $300 payment to a pizza delivery person.  Vern was in charge of Literary Corner and read an article about paradoxes that was creatively written by comedian George Carlin.  Brent was Toast and Timer and led us in a toast to Canada.

Two speeches were presented.  Val gave a speech titled “Just Like Sally Field”.  It was her 10th speech and Marie presented Val with a Certificate of Achievement.  Jane gave a speech called “Shake Rattle and Roll” and called upon members to save their pennies and donate them to cancer research.  Keith Stoltz was Table Topics Master and he had half the members act like teenagers and the other half act like grandparents.  There was good back and forth comments between the generations! Next were evaluations which provide the speech givers with immediate feedback.  Tony evaluated Val’s speech and Audrey evaluated Jane’s speech.  Leo was General Evaluator and commented on how the meeting ran smoothly.  Reports were next.    Keith Stoltz announced Keith “Gramps” McCluskie as the winner of Table Topics.  Brent gave his Timer’s Report and Keith McCluskie announced there were 90 laughs during the meeting!

For the good of Toastmasters:

Resolution regarding Tall Tales/End of Year Celebration:

MOVED BY Leo Brisbois

SECONDED BY Keith Stoltz

THAT Club funds be used to purchase pizza for the End of Year celebration and Tall Tales Contest scheduled for June 28, 2012.

…CARRIED

Manual Exchange

Members were reminded to always bring their Competent Communicator manuals to each meeting and to get someone to evaluate them on tasks completed.  Tony suggested it become part of the meeting agenda to have members pass their CL manuals to someone else for evaluation.

Meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m.

Submitted by Val Hummel, Club Secretary

June 7, 2012 Award and New Sign

Tony Galvao (left) completed his sixth speech from the Competent Communicator manual and was presented with a certificate of achievement from Jane Stoltz.
Congratulations Tony!













The Linguists of Listowel purchased a new Toastmaster sign and it was placed out in front of St. Paul's Lutheran church for the first time on June 7th.

June 7, 2012 Theme: Summer Holidays

Leo called the meeting to order at 7:17 p.m. and introduced Jane as Chairperson.  Jane spoke of all the delightful things we associate with summer including barbeques, going barefoot, backyard parties, beaches, boating and camping.  She introduced Keith McCluskie who got the meeting off to a fun start with Joke of the Day.  Keith’s joke was about Age-Related Attention Deficit Disorder and a full day spent being active without any progress.  Marg then provided Literary Corner and shared a fun poem called “Grandma’s Shoes”.   Jill was Toast and Timer for the evening and led us in a toast to Canada.  Keith McCluskie was Grammarian and Laugh Counter.  The word that he asked members to use as many times as possible during the meeting was “bosh”.  Bosh is a noun meaning absurd or foolish talk. 

Speeches were next.  Tony handled Project 7 and researched his topic for a speech called “The Great Outdoors” about how nature deficit disorder can be cured with camping.  Members learned many things about camping including the importance of always taking a lot of water with them when riding bikes on the trails:  you never know when you’ll have to share it!  Keith Stoltz also did Project 7 and his speech was called “Summer Weather”.  He had everyone thinking hard about why it gets warm in the summer and cold in the winter.  The answers are not always as obvious as one would think!

There was one presentation to be given out, and an induction ceremony.  Tony received a Certificate of Achievement for doing 6 speeches from the Competent Communicator manual.  Marg was inducted as the newest official member of the Linguists of Listowel.  Welcome Marg!  Jane will be acting as Marg’s mentor.

Val managed Table Topics and had everyone describe the sights they would see if they were given money for a 2-week all-expenses-paid summer vacation.  Evaluations were next with Sharon evaluating Tony’s speech and Audrey evaluating Keith’s speech.

Reports were up next.  Keith McCluskie counted 81 laughs in the meeting and the word “bosh” was used 10 times.  Jill gave her Timer’s Report and Val announced Tony as the winner of Table Topics for his description of travelling to eastern Canada and eating lots of lobster.  Vern was General Evaluator and provided some overall commentary on the well-run meeting.

Jane then asked if there was anything for the good of Toastmasters and the following items were noted:

·         Members were asked to think about getting their RSVP’s for the Tall Tales Event and Potluck to be held on June 28^th.  Members wishing to participate in Tall Tales should be prepared to speak for 3-5 minutes. 

·         On behalf of the club, Jane expressed appreciation to Sharon for all the work Sharon did for the club’s booth at the Home and Lifestyles Show held recently.  Thanks Sharon!!! 

·         Jane noted that Officer Training will be held in Guelph on June 9 and in Hanover on June 16. 

·         Appreciation was expressed to Vern for the sidewalk sign he had made for the club.  It will sit out at the sidewalk in front of the church each Thursday meeting and catches attention by announcing that the meeting starts at 7:14 p.m.  Thanks Vern!!

·         A meeting of the Executive will be held following the June 14^th regular meeting.

With all business complete, Jane adjourned the meeting with a whack of the gavel at 9:02 p.m.

May 31, 2012 Theme: Acronyms

George called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m. and introduced Leo as Chairperson.  Leo spoke on the proliferation of acronyms in our lives and also explained what word truncations are.  They are shortened words such as Tues. and Wed.  Tony provided Joke of the Day and it was a story about the acronym T.G.I.F. (Thank Goodness It's Friday!).  Brent carried out the role of Toast and Timer, noting the many acronyms used in the world of baseball.  Audrey was Grammarian for the evening and used T.G.I.F. as the acronym of the evening. 

Speeches were next.  John gave a speech called “It Could Have Been Worse” which was about his experience hitting his father’s horse with his car.  Luckily, both horse and driver survived.  The car was not so lucky, and the horse wouldn’t come near John for months.  It was Project #4 for him.  Then Jill gave Speech 2 titled “Dog Gone” and told us a stirring story about the family dog that went missing for 4 days and how Jill searched for it.  Faint barking was finally heard and the dramatic discovery of the dog at the bottom of a 6 foot catch basin was the happy ending.  Val gave her ninth speech called “Pumped About Pompeii” and described Pompeii, Italy as the titillating highlight of a recent Mediterranean Cruise.  Leo provided an interesting educational module that involved a review the roles that members fill at each meeting and also of each position on the executive.

Vern managed the meeting as Table Topics Master and had everyone present use their last names as acronyms and assign a word to each letter of the name.  It was harder than expected but everyone rose to the challenge!

Next were evaluations which provide the speech givers with immediate feedback.  Keith McCluskie evaluated John, Sharon evaluated Jill and Keith Stoltz evaluated Val.  Everyone did a great job according to the evaluators.  Brent gave the Timer’s Report and Audrey gave the Grammarian’s report noting that T.G.I.F. was used several times during the meeting.  John even incorporated it into his speech twice!  Audrey said there were very few ums and ahs during the meeting.  Tony gave the Laugh Counter’s report and stated it was a busy night for him:  he counted 91 chuckles, laughs and giggles during the meeting.  There were no guffaws.  Vern declared Audrey as the winner of Table Topics and presented her with a bright and shiny trophy.

Jane was Quiz Master and quizzed members’ listening skills by sharing interesting quotes from members.  Heidi was General Evaluator and noted that there was a full house at this meeting.  She encouraged everyone to learn the role of Timer and she also thanked everyone for helping to make a successful meeting by coming out and filling all of the roles.  Chairperson Leo concluded the meeting and adjourned at 9:15 p.m. 

Submitted by Val Hummel, Club Secretary

May 24, 2012 Theme: Garage Sales

Jill called the meeting to order and introduced Chairperson Keith Stoltz.  In Keith's Chairperson's Welcome, he shared the secrets to getting good deals at garage sales and the dangers of garage sale parking.  Val provided the Joke of the Day with a list of 5 fun but mean things to do at garage sales.  Tony was the Toast and Timer for the evening and led members in a toast to Canada before settling down to time speakers.  Heidi was Grammarian and Ah Counter and her word of the evening was "exorbitant" which is an adjective meaning "goes beyond the limit" or "excessive". 
Speeches were next with Jill giving a touching Icebreaker speech called "I Am A Country Girl".  Vern was next and smoothly presented Speech 4 titled "Useful But Annoying" and had members laughing with his thoughts about his wife's overloaded keychain, paperclips and straws.   
Jane handled Table Topics and had each member pick a garage sale item out of a box and then explain why it would be perfect for the person sitting next to them.  Evaluations were next with Jane evaluating Jill, and Val evaluating Vern.  Reports were next with Tony giving the Timer's report; everyone did well with their time limits.  Heidi gave the Grammarian's Report and said the word of the evening was used 4 times.  Val reported there were 22 laughs at the meeting.  Jane announced a tie in the Table Topics competition and announced Tony and Keith McCluskie as the joint winners.  Marg was Quiz Master and tested members on their listening skills by having them identify who said certain phrases during the meeting.  Keith McCluskie acted as General Evaluator and provided comments on the overall operation of the meeting.   
With the majority of the meeting completed, Keith Stoltz asked if there was anything else for the good of Toastmasters and Vern provided an estimate for the cost of a sidewalk sign that can be placed outside at the front of the church on Thursdays to let people know when Toastmaster meetings are to be held.
MOVED BY Val Hummel, SECONDED by Keith McCluskie that the Linguists of Listowel purchase a sidewalk sign from Burrows Signs in Elmira.
Discussion on the motion:  Members fully supported the purchase of the sign and provided some input on sign content.  However, members were comfortable leaving the final decision on wording up to the members involved with the purchase. MOTION CARRIED
  
With the sign purchase discussion finished, Jane filled some roles for the next meeting (although some roles are still up for grabs!) and Keith adjourned the meeting at 8:51 p.m.
 
Submitted by Val Hummel, Club Secretary

May 17, 2012 Theme: Positive Thinking

The meeting was called to order by Keith Stoltz at 7:15 pm for a group of 12 people in attendance. Keith introduced Tony Galvao as the chairman of the meeting. This was Tony's first time taking on the role of chairman. Tony gave his opening remarks on the theme of positive thinking, reviewed the agenda and welcomed our newest member Marg VanDonkersgoed and her husband Hank as a guest.
Brent Jemmett provided the Joke of the Day and filled the role of Laugh Counter. Keith McCluskie provided the loyal toast to Canada as part of the role of Toast and Timer.
John Van Meeteren filled the role of Literary Corner and read a poem about positive thinking. Vern Noseworthy was the Grammarian and Ah Counter. Vern provided the group with a new word of the day "Collusion" which means a secret agreement between 2 or more parties to commit illegal dealings or stealing.
Heidi Menzi was the Table Topics master and tested our speaking ability with the theme of sales of products (the products to sell were given to each member by Heidi).
Jane Stoltz introduced a new agenda item to the meeting named "3 Minutes" which is a form of Table Topics. Two teams of 3 people each were formed and the first, second and third speaker had to be selected. Each team had to speak constantly for 3 full minutes. The opposing team was to look for faults such as "um's", "ah's", pauses that were too long, repetitive phrases and/or change the topic completely. If this occurred, the opposing team would challenge that speaker and that speaker couldn't speak again during that 3 minute segment. Once a team was challenged, the speaking role was passed over to the other team to speak for a 3 minute segment. The team with the most speakers remaining won or the team that was successful in speaking for the full 3 minute segment was the winner.
Keith McCluskie provided reports from the timer. Vern stated that the word "collusion" was used 4 times during the meeting. Brent Jemmett reported that there were 33 laughs during the general meeting and 25 laughs during the "3 Minute" agenda segment. Heidi Menzi reported that Marg VanDonkersgoed won Table Topics with her 1 minutes sales speech. Marg was presented with a gift of an umbrella that was donated by Val Hummel.
George Nichol was the General Evaluator. George liked how everyone introduced themselves to our newest member Marg. George also liked the new agenda item "3 minutes" and felt that we should add this to the agenda again.
Closing remarks were given by Tony Galvao who did a great job being the chairperson of the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.

May 10, 2012 Theme: May Day

Jill Wagemans called the meeting to order right on time and welcomed Leo Brisebois as our chairperson for the meeting. We welcomed our three guests; Marg and Hank Van Donkersgoed and Barry Heinmiller to the meeting as well as 12 of our regular members and our Area Governor Gregory C.N. Smith.
Vern Noseworthy got the laughs started with Joke of the Day. Audrey Orth gave a patriotic toast to Canada and kept the meeting on time by filling the role of Toast and Timer.
Jane Stoltz was the Grammarian and provided us with a great new word "Esoteric" to use during the meeting and throughout the following week. Esoteric is a word meaning "beyond the understanding of the average mind".
Heidi Menzi delivered a speech from the Storytelling manual and did a great job. Keith Stoltz delivered a voice variation speech from the Competent Communicator manual and also did a great job by using props and lots of laughter.
An induction ceremony was conducted to induct both John Van Meeteren and Tony Galvao as our newest members to the Linguists of Listowel.
George Nichol provided us with the Table Topics portion of the meeting. Jane Stoltz and Marie McCutcheon were the speech evaluators and did a good job providing the speakers with glow points and a grow point.
Reports for the evening resulted in the word "Esoteric" being used three times during the evening, grammar and proper use of the English language was very good for the evening. Hank Van Donkersgoed was the winner of Table Topics.
Tony Galvao was the General Evaluator and did a great job for his first time filling this role!
Area Governor, Gregory C.N. Smith announced that after June 30, 2012, Area 66 will change to become Area 65. This change will now include the following clubs into one area; Listowel, Mount Forest, Hanover, Owen Sound and Kincardine.
Next meeting will include a business meeting to discuss more details about the upcoming anniversary in the autumn.
Leo adjourned the meeting on time and everyone enjoyed snacks and fellowship afterwards.

May 5, 2012 Listowel Home and Life Styles Show

Lorna VanderPloeg at the Listowel Home and Life Styles Booth.