Hunger Walk October 19

If you will be joining Terry Meiners at the 30th Annual Hunger Walk & Run, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 19 at Waterfront Park's Festival Plaza at 2 p.m., please register on line at https://mail.pcusa.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=5c37e243805244eb91d55d92aede144c&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.thehungerwalk.org.

After registering please send an email to me at ada.middleton@pcusa.org. If you register before Oct. 14, the cost is $25. I hope our club members (and friends) will be able to participate in this worthy event.

-- Ada Middleton

October 1 dues deadline

Today I received the Dues Renewal Invoice for the period of Oct. l thru March 31, 2009. The dues are due by Oct. 1 so that gives existing club members about two weeks to get the payments to me and I can pay our dues in a more timely manner.

If by chance you paid your dues for the period prior to this one and have not been inactive, may I use this opportunity to invite you to use your money more wisely and become a better speaker in return for your investment and time. Pls. know that you are missed, and YES we want you back. We have a new slate of officers and are looking forward to a most productive year.

Your consideration is so appreciated. Questions pls. let me hear. Thanks.

-- Ada Middleton

September 3 meeting

President Susan Abraham opened the meeting at 1:00 p.m. and welcomed club members. Eva Stimson led the invocation, a litany called “Blessing of Hands.” Susan led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Susan then opened the business part of the meeting. Betsy Blocker made a motion that the minutes for the August 20, 2008 meeting be approved as read. The motion passed.

Susan invited Perry Chang to give a report from the Peace Speakers nominating committee. Perry presented a proposed slate of officers to serve through June 30, 2009.

On the slate as presented, Susan Abraham was listed as Sergeant at Arms as well as Immediate Past President. She withdrew her name as Sergeant at Arms and nominated Betsy Blocker, who agreed to serve if elected. There were no other nominations from the floor. Each officer on the following slate was approved unanimously:

President: Glenn Lewis
Vice President for Education: Perry Chang
Vice President for Membership: Becki Moody
Vice President for Public Relations: Eric Darnell
Secretary: Eva Stimson
Treasurer: Ada Middleton
Sergeant at Arms: Betsy Blocker
Immediate Past President: Susan Abraham

Susan introduced Vice President for Education Perry Chang, who led a special educational program on “Selecting a Speech Topic.” Using a workshop format, he asked participants to pair up and discuss questions on a handout about selection a speech topic. Then each participant shared with the whole group a possible topic and how/why he or she chose that topic. Perry listed on newsprint the strategies that were suggested. He said he would talk about strategies for selecting a speech topic suggested by Toastmasters at a future meeting.

Perry turned the meeting back over to Susan Abraham, who noted that this was her last meeting to serve as president. She thanked all those who have served as officers and kept the Peace Speakers club going over the past year. She closed with a quote from Dale Carnegie. The meeting was adjourned at 2:01 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson

Congratulations, officers!

Earlier this month the Peace Speakers Toastmasters Club elected as 2008-2009 officers:

Glenn Lewis - President
Perry Chang - Vice President for Education
Becki Moody - Vice President for Membership
Eric Darnell - Vice President for Public Relations
Eva Stimson - Secretary
Ada Middleton - Treasurer
Betsy Blocker - Sergeant at Arms

Susan Abraham will serve as Immediate Past President. (Pictured above is Glenn Lewis.)

Peace Speakers offers training and support for public speaking and leadership development. The club meets between 1 and 2 p.m. on the first and third Wednesday of each month. The next meeting will be next Wednesday, September 17, in Conference Room B., at the Presbyterian Center, at 100 Witherspoon Street, in downtown Louisville (near Waterfront Park). Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Becki Moody at (502) 569-5139 or at BeckiMoody@gmail.com

-- Perry Chang

Talking about tragedy

Speaking with child abuse victims or with parents who have lost children as infants may sound tougher than giving a Table Topics speech about your favorite teacher in high school. But Dell deBerardinis, who speaks professionally about child abuse topics, says many of the same principles apply: connect with the audience and make them feel comfortable.

“I maintain eye contact, involve the audience when I can, and I honor and respect them,” deBerardinis told Toastmasters magazine in an article in the March 2008 issue titled “Speaking about the Unspeakable.”

DeBerardinis sometimes injects humor or her own personal stories to help establish a bond with the audience. Speakers approaching a challenging topic such as this, deBerardinis said, must always start out by educating themselves more about that topic and preparing themselves to talk about solutions.

To read the whole article, click here and go to page 7: http://www.toastmasters.org/ToastmastersMagazine/ToastmasterArchive/2008/March/March08ToastmasterPDF.aspx

-- Perry Chang

August 20 meeting

President Susan Abraham opened the meeting at 1:03 p.m. She welcomed club members and guests, and noted that one of the guests, Kevin Guerrero, is Vice President of Public Affairs for the Humana Speaks Up Toastmasters Club. Susan invited all of those present to introduce themselves around the table.

Susan introduced the invocation leader, Perry Chang, who shared a reading on the theme of partnership. Susan then led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Susan opened the business part of the meeting. The minutes for the July 16, 2008 meeting were approved without corrections.

Susan introduced Toastmaster Betsy Blocker to begin the educational program. Betsy introduced members of the Evaluation Team. Each person explained his/her responsibilities: Table Topics—Eva Stimson; Speech Evaluator—Glenn Lewis; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Eric Darnell; Timer/Vote Counter—Perry Chang.

Eric Darnell introduced the word of the day: ruminate.

Betsy introduced the speaker, Becki Moody, who gave her “Organize Your Speech” Project #3 speech from the Competent Communication Program. Becki’s topic was “In the Line of Fire: The Role of the Secret Service in the 2008 Presidential Campaign.”

Betsy introduced Table Topics Master Eva Stimson, who invited six people to speak on topics related to the theme “Back to School.”

Betsy then called for reports from the evaluation team. Speech Evaluator Glenn Lewis said he had read and enjoyed the speech ahead of time, but thought the spoken version was even better. He gave Becki Moody high marks for preparation, speech value, presentation, and use of transitions. He said the speech might have had more impact if it were more concise, focusing on only one of the three points included.

Ah Counter/Grammarian Eric Darnell reported that Becki used 2 space fillers in her speech; Glenn used 9 in his evaluation; there were 2 used during the first part of the meeting, and 8 used during Table Topics. The word of the day was used 4 times.

Timer Perry Chang reported the following times:

Becki Moody’s speech was 8 minutes, 16 seconds.
Table Topics— Eric Darnell (55 seconds); Susan Abraham (1:42); Betsy Blocker (1:22); Glenn Lewis (1:00); Kevin Guerrero (36 seconds); Perry Chang (2:14)

Vote Counter Perry Chang announced that he and Glenn Lewis had tied for best Table Topics speech. Eva Stimson gave them prizes. Glenn already had the trophy at home and will keep it until the next meeting.

Betsy Blocker turned the meeting back over to Susan Abraham. After a few closing remarks, including an inspirational quote from Helen Keller, Susan adjourned the meeting at 1:48 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson