"Friends" - August 10th Meeting Recap

We had an exciting meeting Saturday with all the elements of a Golden Gavel meeting except one.

Everyone was enthusiastic in greeting each other and our two guests. We were excited to welcome Rey back. Our colorful table tents made the room more festive as DeAnna, our presiding officer, opened the meeting right on time. Our Toastmaster, Shannon, had the meeting well arranged and with only two agenda changes we were off!

As Marshall set up props for his speech from the Speaking to Inform manual, there was some movement in the audience away from the center of the room. Honest, cross my heart, to those of us in the back, it looked like he might be hitting that long ball right down the center aisle! Instead, Marshall showed us all the components of “How to Hit the Long Ball” without ever actually hitting the ball. His speech was delivered and received with enthusiasm as he entertained and educated us.

When Jeff, our scheduled 2nd speaker, was unexpectedly unable to attend, I was excited to have a speech already prepared with handouts and visual aids ready to go! My speech, “Building a Team” from the Leadership Excellence series, had some good ideas we can all use in our growth as leaders. This speech included what the benefits are and how to select, organize and train a team.

With the theme of “Friends” provided by our Toastmaster, how could Table Topics be anything but interesting? Ana had questions that had us all thinking, “Pick me! Pick me!” I enjoyed hearing about how Judy, Aparna and Cindy make, keep and value friendships.

Thomas and Jodie provided evaluations that were both supportive and helpful with relevant and constructive suggestions for Marshall and me.

We began our meeting wrap up with positive comments from our guests Megan and Jessie. Our short business meeting included the information that our club contest is scheduled for September 13th with Anne Brown as our Contest Chair. Contestants and team helpers were encouraged to volunteer. And, at last, ribbons were awarded for the Best Speaker - Marshall, Evaluator - Jodie, and Table Topics - Judy!

You might wonder with such an outstanding meeting what element was missing from a Golden Gavel meeting. We were two members short of the 15 necessary. Kudos to DeAnna for reminding us to check!

Sandra Price, DTM

Photo Credit: SoulSense [Oscar Ordenes] via Compfight cc