CONCORD WEST TOASTMASTERS MEETING No: 1142 – 11th December 2012

S@A Glenn D called the meeting to order and handed the meeting over to Club President Philip for a General Welcome.

There were formal Apologies from: Glen H, Raghar, Nikita and Ua.

Meghan was the Chairman for the first half of the meeting.

Melanie read the Mission of the Club while Tiffany proposed the Word of the Day – Empathetic!

Meghan asked the members consider a Snapshot of the Year in our Introductions before moving on to finalise the Agenda Update and Forward Planner update.

Peter volunteered record achievements in the Leadership Manual Evaluations.

The Toastmaster for the first Speech Session was Philip, introducing 2 speakers;

John presented his final speech in the Entertaining Speaker series and his Advanced Communicator Bronze with a speech entitled: “It’s More Than Just a Piece of Gun Metal” in which he delivered some amazing stories behind four recipients of the Victoria Cross Medal from the four major conflicts that modern Australia has been involved in.

The second speaker was Glenn D with his Folktale from the Advanced Communicator Series – with a speech entitled: “How Not to Treat Your Mother” a amusing but poignant tale from Glenn’s native Indonesia telling the tale of pride and prejudice and the consequences that finally catch up with those who mistreat their Mums.

Paul provided a very considered and encouraging Evaluation of John’s emotive speech while Lyndal provided a very comprehensive Evaluation of Glenn’s Fairy Tale.

The half-time General Evaluation was delivered very succinctly by Mark.

In the meantime John became aware that there appeared to be no action on the ‘food front’ and after making enquiries found that the ball had been dropped with the Head Chef away and our ‘mid-meeting refreshments were not on the Kitchen’s radar. The Club Staff quickly kicked into gear and while they prepared some finger food it was decided to bring forward a planned working session and move the Break back a smidge.

Introduced by Toastmaster for the Second Session Philip, VPE Meghan officiated over a Group Working Session to discuss and contribute toward refinements and suggestions for the Meeting Agenda’s for the year ahead. After a slightly slow start the ideas and comments started to flow thick and fast. Meghan will then report back to the meeting with an assessment of all the ideas we knocked around and how they might be implemented in the near future.

We then went to an extended break to enjoy some hot refreshments and a more social interactive and extended Break to acknowledge the end of a calendar year..

Following the Break S@A Glenn handed the meeting to Peter as Chairman for the second half.

Kimberly presented a very timely Toast on Accepting New Challenges. Something that while very particular to her changing work circumstance related strongly to all Members.

Table Topics was presided over by Heather with very clever series – “The Eight Days of Christmas” in which speakers were required to speak to a set of circumstances that were linked to the well known Christmas countdown. Some fabulous responses ensued.

Evaluations were delivered by Marlowe and Daniel.

Ums and Ahs Count was recorded by Helen in her first attempt at this role.

Grammarian and Word of the Day were duly noted by Tiffany.

The Big Ears challenge was administrated by Dai Fei with considerable aplomb.

Timing was a double-act with Lyndal and Meghan keeping track.

Kymberly rounded of the active part of the evening with a very comprehensive Evaluation of the second half.

New Members L>R: Melanie, Helen and Amelia being inducted into the Club by VPM Mark

VPM Mark then conducted a formal Induction of 3 new Members; Melanie, Helen and Amelia before President Philip delivered his Closing Remarks.

UPCOMING EVENTS

First Meeting for 2013

Tuesday 8th January 2013

Normal Meeting

Tuesday 22^nd January 2013

Special Speeches Only Meeting
Tuesday 29^th January 2013 

CONCORD WEST TOASTMASTERS MEETING No: 1141 – 27th November 2012

S@A Glenn D called the meeting to order and handed the meeting over to Club President Philip with great ‘Presidential Fanfare’ for a General Welcome to a very large gathering that included Visitors; Mughi, Helen, Melanie and Simon.

There were no formal Apologies recorded for the evening.

Mark was the Chairman for the first half of the meeting.

Kimberly read the Mission of the Club and Meghan set up the Word of the Day – Assimilate!

Mark asked the members provide brief Introductions with just a hint of what we had planned for Christmas.

VPE took us through a very challenging Agenda Update with many holes to fill and numerous changes while John took on the Leadership Manual Evaluations, but ended up with none to fill in.

The Toastmaster for the first Speech Session was Paul, introducing 2 speakers;

Philip conducted an Educational on the ABC of Articulation. A very well prepared and professionally presented ‘audience participation’ session in which we learned a great deal about the art of articulation or the power to say ordinary words in extra-ordinary ways.

The second speaker was Kimberly with another of her excellent ‘off-the-cuff” impromptu Speeches entitled ‘Produce to the People’ Kimberly provided a very thought provoking insight into the availability and distribution of fresh produce from the farm-gate to the fridge. A topic Kimberly is clearly well versed in and highly qualified to speak on ‘off-the-cuff.

Lyndal provided a very detailed and meticulous Evaluation of Philip’s presentation while Dai Fei took on the task of providing some excellent observations of Kimberly’s speech

The half-time General Evaluation was delivered very purposefully by Heather demonstrating the usefulness and purpose of this new initiative with clarity.

Following a 10 minute Break S@A Glenn handed the meeting to Philip continuing as Chairman for the second half.

Glenn D presented a very amusing Toast to Batman the super hero of all super heroes.

Toastmaster for the second session of speeches was Dai Fei who introduced Paul with a Speech entitled: “A Walk Through My Life” in which Paul revealed aspects of his life’s journey that were even as yet unknown to those of us who have known him for some considerable time.

Peter was introduced to deliver a workplace related address entitled: ‘The Goodwill Charter – Customer Charter’ which brought to the fore a number of new initiatives and changes that are occurring in his area of the Public Sector. A very insightful look into Peter’s world.

Paul was Evaluated by John pointing out both praise improvement praise in a traditional evaluation format, while Peter was Evaluated by Daniel again with great experience and insight.

Table Topics was presided over by “birthday girl” Marlowe with an excellent and relevant scenario – “Help Me with My Birthday Party” in which speakers were presented with a birthday preparation scenario and had provide some helpful and logistical advice on achieving their task. A very funny and challenging Table Topics.

Evaluations were delivered by Philip and John.

Ums and Ahs Count was recorded by William who always manages to inject a piece of riotous humour.

Grammarian and Word of the Day were duly noted by Raghar.

The Big Ears challenge was administrated by Peter with considerable aplomb.

Kimberly kept track of the Timing for the evening pointing out a number of excesses that had put us over time.

Heather followed up with a very succinct second-half General Evaluation very conscious of the time excesses.

All Visitors provided very supportive feedback in the Guests Comments before President Philip presented his Closing Remarks.

UPCOMING EVENTS 

Final Meeting for 2012

Tuesday 11^th December 2012

To include a longer break with refreshments and socializing.

CONCORD WEST TOASTMASTERS MEETING No: 1140 – 13th November 2012

S@A Glenn D called the meeting to order and handed the meeting over to Club President Philip for a General Welcome to a very large gathering that included Visitors; Yanti, (Glenn D’s mother), Helen, Melanie and Samuel.

Philip also announced that a member of Gourmet Toastmasters he had just won the District 70 Table Topics Competition at the recent District 70 Conference.

Philip also made mention of a special Monday night Club Executive Meeting that had been held the evening before at which some new initiatives were discussed, some of which were being implemented tonight.

Formal Apologies had been recorded from Peter, Nikita, Raghar, Heather and Amelia.

Daniel was the Chairman for the first half of the meeting.

Ua read the Mission of the Club with great thought and pace and John was invited to provide us the challenge of the Word of the Day – Assiduous!

In the interests of time Daniel asked the members provide very brief Introductions while Visitors were asked to give a brief account of what they hoped to achieve from Toastmasters.

Philip stood in as VPE to take us through some minor updates to the Agenda while Glen H took on the Leadership Manual Evaluations.

The Toastmaster for the first Speech Session was Mark, introducing 3 speakers;

Lyndal conducted an Educational on Evaluations. A very well prepared and crafted speech based on a wealth of personal experience while retaining much of the guidelines set down in the Toastmaster’s Club Series.

The second speaker was William with his Ice Breaker. William gave a sterling performance with a narrative that gave us an insight into his journey to Australia, his studies and his early career journey.

The third speaker was Glenn D with a speech entitled; “I Will Smash Them All, Whoever They Are!” in which Glenn set out a very insightful account of the life and times of the former President of Indonesia – President Suharto. Glen called on his depth of knowledge and deep personal interest in Indonesian politics to give us a very balanced account of this man of immense power and influence.

Philip provided a very encouraging and helpful Evaluation of William’s Ice Breaker providing a depth of experience necessary in giving a balanced and informative assessment of this a very important first speech.

Glenn D was Evaluated by Lyndal again calling on a wealth of experience in the role to provide points for praise, improvement and praise.

In a new initiative coming from the latest Executive Meeting John provided a General Evaluation of the first half of the meeting. This initiative will mean that more members will now get the opportunity to both be on their feet for speaking practice, but also to ease into the all important Evaluation roles. John provided a succinct overview of the meeting so far providing feedback for those roles that had as yet not been appraised.

Following a 10 minute Break S@A Glenn handed the meeting to Philip continuing as Chairman for the second half.

Neelan presented his first ever Toast recalling the impact that Michael Jackson had had on society in our lifetime, before Philip stepped into the role of Toastmaster for the Second Speech Session.

Bernard presented a speech based on Getting Comfortable with Visual Aids entitled: “The Next Big Thing” which was a visual feast as Bernard unpacked his very detailed and highly organized plans for a romantic holiday in Tasmania with his girlfriend. Using amusing collaged images of themselves enjoying the adventurous and tranquil vocational opportunities available in Tasmania Bernard had clearly put in a lot of effort and preparation in a highly entertaining presentation.

Mark then presented a speech entitled; “The Graduate” in which he unfolded a story of great drama and pathos revolving around a tragic accident that occurred on a normally tranquil Irish country lane where the story had as many twists and turns as the lanes themselves. Mark built the tension right to the end revealing a surprisingly personal involvement in the tragedy. Maybe it was Mark’s Irish lilt, but the speech was reminiscent of the excellent ghost stories that used to be featured by Irish comedian Dave Allen on his TV shows.

Bernard was Evaluated by Marlowe in her first ever Speech Evaluation with a well-structured and highly observant assessment of Bernard’s presentation that had excellent balance between praise and improvement.

Mark was Evaluated by Glen H with great care and attention leveled at a speaker of significant experience and capability.

Table Topics was presided over by Dai Fei who presented the speakers with the challenge of being eye-witnesses to a variety of somewhat serious scenarios chosen at random by the speakers. This called on the speakers imaginations to build vivid images in the minds of the audience of what they had ‘witnessed’ as much as to respond with intuition to the scenarios they were confronted with. Most of our Visitors took part which is always very pleasing to witness.

Evaluations were undertaken by Neelan and Ua both of whom took on this rather frenetic task for the first time and carried it off admirably.

Ums and Ahs Count was recorded by Bernard.

Grammarian John picked up a couple of outings by the Word of the Day and had both questionable phrases and some articulate phrases to draw our attention to.

The Big Ears challenge was administrated by Tiffany in her first ever attempt at the role.

Fazard kept track of the Timing for the evening in what was again another first for the evening.

Paul provided a very succinct second-half General Evaluation with an expected degree of experience.

Daniel (left) receiving his somewhat belated Area 6 International Speech Trophy from Club President Philip.
Daniel’s name appears a number of times on this Area 6 perpetual Trophy along with a number of other Concord West Club members.

All Visitors provided very supportive feedback in the Guests Comments before President Philip presented his Closing Remarks and officiated over an informal albeit belated presentation to Daniel of his Area 6 International Speech Winners Trophy for 2012, a task which had fallen through the cracks earlier in the year with the premature retirement of the past Area Governor.

UPCOMING EVENTS 

Next Normal Club Meeting

Tuesday 27th November 2012

Final Club Meeting for 2012

Tuesday 11^th December 2012

CONCORD WEST TOASTMASTERS 50th ANNIVERSARY DINNER – SATURDAY 27th October 2012

Following almost 18 months of discussion and planning the day had actually arrived.

On the Friday morning 26^th October, a group of volunteers including; Marlowe, Philip, Paul, Glenn D and John along with assistance from John’s wife Keiko, gathered at the RSL Club and started setting up the room.

Tables were arranged, dressed and set under the expert supervision of Marlowe. Paul ensured the place settings were meticulously laid out and under the tuition of Keiko, Glenn and John were even able to prepare 64 Opera House inspired napkins.

Saturday afternoon Bernie and Rosemary Fisher arrived to start setting up the Sound System and Lyndal and Daniel were on deck to put the finishing touches to lights and flowers.

The RSL Club dining room in which the Club regularly meets looked an absolute treat.

Guests arrived from 7:00pm to be offered Sparkling Wine and Beer along with platters of fabulous finger food.

We were Called to Order at 7:30pm sharp and Paul Viviers officiated as Master of Ceremonies expertly assisted by Kimberley Chapman.

Paul invited long-standing member Peter Crosby to introduce the Table Trivia Quiz that was on every table and encouraged guests to have a go at a variety of general knowledge, local area and Toastmaster questions from the past 50 years.

Club President Philip Bendeich was then invited to deliver the Welcome and in doing so introduced the honoured Guests; Mr John Murphy MP Federal Member for Reid and his wife Adriane, Mayor Angelo Tsirekas, Mayor of Canada Bay, District 70 Governor Jan Vecchio and a long list of Distinguished Toastmasters and former District Governors, as well as the current Philip Division Governor Alex Thomas and his wife Elizabeth and our very own Area 6 Governor Brett Sutcliffe and his partner Kristen.

John Murphy was then invited to address the gathering and as part of an excellent impromptu speech stressed the importance and value of reading and its impact on learning, communicating and speaking in public. Along the way we learned about John’s time growing up in the country and his early passion to have become a musician before entering law and becoming a politician.

Angelo Tsirekas was then introduced to make a very special presentation to the Club on behalf of the City of Canada Bay and Club President Philip gratefully accepted a plaque commemorating the achievement of the Club’s 50 years of service to the local community. Negotiations have since been undertaken to have this plaque hung permanently on display in a learning room at the Concord Library. Angelo also paid tribute to one of the former members of Toastmasters who was with us, a former Mayor of Concord and last year’s Citizen of the Year for his tireless work with Meals on Wheels, Mr Alan Wright, who was a member of the Club in the sixties.

District Governor Jan Vecchio then made another presentation to the Club on behalf of Toastmasters International and District 70 and again the Club is looking at ensuring that these plaques are displayed publicly.

Immediate Past President John Hughson was then called upon to deliver the Toast for the evening. John reflected on his personal knowledge of Ron Routley (a former Mayor of Concord before it merged to become the City of Canada Bay) the man who chartered Concord West Club in 1962, and whom the cricket oval just behind the RSL Club where we now meet is named – in a toast; “To those who went before”.

Dinner was served with a choice of either superbly cooked steak and vegetables or a huge John Dory in what every recipient said was a magical sauce. Washed down with bottles of red and white on every table.

As the tables were cleared our very own Club veteran Daniel Tucker delivered a fabulously morphed speech combining his winning entry in the Club and Area 6 International Speech Contests earlier this year with another classic topic he has presented entitled: “If it wasn’t for Toastmasters”. A truly inspirational demonstration of the essence of Toastmasters – and hugely entertaining as well.

Dessert was then served with a mouth-watering choice of Chocolate Brownie or Carrot Cake but presented in a manner worthy of Master Chef.

We then had a Special Guest presentation by Colin Emerson who had travelled from Canberra just for the occasion. Colin was an Australian Competitor in the International World Championships in the United States earlier this year and was invited by Club President Philip to present a speech at our 50^th Celebration.

Colin paid tribute to the caliber of the Club’s representatives who have spoken and presented thus far before delivering a stirring motivational speech that covered a broad range of benefits and challenges that can be met by Toastmasters. A very impassioned, and highly entertaining speech demonstrating exactly why Colin was a worthy representative in the US.

Peter Crosby was then welcomed back to the floor to put us all out of our misery with the answers to the Table Trivia Questions. Special Certificate presentations were awarded (in true Toastmaster tradition) to the First Place and Runner Up Tables. The VIPs took out First Place while the Sixties Veterans, very appropriately, took out the Runner Up position.

The evening was wrapped up with a highly emotive speech from Club President Philip paying tribute to the broader organisation as well as the Concord West Club membership and finally to the many members who had contributed to the evening’s success.

The final endorsement of what an excellent evening it had been – could be seen in how many people lingered to chat long afterwards. A memorable evening in the history of Concord West Toastmasters.

Special thanks to; John, Marlowe, Mark, Daniel, Peter, Glenn, Lyndal, Paul, Kimberley as well as Bernie and Rosemary Fisher for their planning, assistance and contribution to the success of the evening. And to the management and staff of the Concord RSL.