January 7 meeting

President Glenn Lewis opened the meeting at 1:05 p.m., and welcomed club members and visitors. He introduced the invocation leader, Eric Darnell, who shared a quote from Benjamin Franklin about New Year’s resolutions. Glenn led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Glenn then opened the business part of the meeting. He announced that the Peace Speakers executive committee would be meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 1:00 p.m.

Perry Chang explained a new system of assigning the leadership roles for meetings. The various roles will rotate among club members, so that members will know their responsibilities for the next 6 months. Glenn asked members to look at the spreadsheet of meeting dates and leadership assignments sent out by e-mail and give feedback to Perry.

Betsy Blocker made a motion that the minutes for the December 3, 2008 meeting be approved with one correction. The motion was seconded and approved.

Glenn Lewis introduced Toastmaster Eva Stimson to begin the educational program. Eva introduced members of the Evaluation Team, and each person explained his/her responsibilities: Table Topics Master—Glenn Lewis; Timer—Becki Moody; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Patricia Longfellow; Vote Counter—Betsy Blocker.

Patricia introduced the word of the day:
Pedestrian (adj.) 1. Commonplace, prosaic or dull: a pedestrian commencement speech 2. a. Going or performed on foot; b. of, relating to, or designed for walking: a pedestrian mall

Eva turned the program over to Glenn Lewis, who led a special Table Topics competition.
In Round 1 he invited five people to speak on various topics related to “Looking back at 2008.” In Round 2 he invited five people to speak on topics related to “Looking ahead to 2009.” After each round those present voted for the best speech and Betsy Blocker counted the votes. She announced that Ashish Parekh won Round 1, and Perry Chang and Eva Stimson tied for best speech in Round 2.

In Round 3 Glenn invited the three winners of the previous rounds to speak on their choice of topics related to 2008 and 2009. After a vote, Betsy announced the overall Table Topics winner: Perry Chang. Glenn awarded him the trophy and a gift certificate to Subway.

Glenn then called for reports from the evaluation team. Ah Counter/Grammarian Patricia Longfellow reported that the word of the day had not been used by any speakers. She counted 17space fillers in Round 1, 7 in Round 2, and 6 in Round 3.

Timer Becki Moodi reported the following times:

Round 1:
Becki Moody 1:31
Perry Chang 2:04
Betsy Blocker 1:18
Ashish Parekh 1:59
Eric Darnell 1:11

Round 2:
Eva Stimson 1:31
Patricia Longfellow 1:52
Betsy Blocker 46 sec.
Perry Chang 2:20
Eric Darnell 1:21

Round 3:
Ashish Parekh 1:49
Eva Stimson 1:28
Perry Chang 2:01

Toastmaster Eva Stimson invited Ashish Parekh, Area 37 Governor of Toastmasters International (pictured above), to make a few remarks. He encouraged Peace Speakers members to participate in these upcoming events:

• Jan. 29, 6:30–8:30 p.m. Officer training at the Kentucky Farm Bureau
• March 10, 5:15 p.m. Area Speech Contest at Humana Conference Center, Room 2A (this will include a contest on evaluating speeches)

He also encouraged working toward becoming a Distinguished Club, by setting goals for membership and for having members complete the Competent Communication manual.

Toastmaster Eva Stimson thanked Ashish for his visit, and then turned the meeting over to President Glenn Lewis, who adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson

Healing thoughts

Let us send healing thoughts to Susan (our former president) and Ada (our treasurer). Both have been coping with New Year's health problems. We hope you get well soon.

-- Perry

December 3 meeting

Participants gathered for a holiday potluck lunch at 12:45.

President Glenn Lewis opened the meeting at 1:25 p.m. Eva Stimson led the invocation, reading an Iroquois prayer of thanksgiving from The Treasury of American Prayer. Glenn led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Glenn welcomed participants, and then opened the business part of the meeting. Betsy Blocker made two corrections to the minutes of the November 19, 2008 meeting. She suggested that the definition of the word of the day be included in all future minutes. Betsy then made a motion that the minutes be approved as corrected. The motion passed.

Glenn announced that the December 10 meeting had been cancelled. The next meeting will be January 7 in Conference Room B.

Perry Chang said he would order a new Table Topics trophy to replace the one that was taken home by a guest and never returned.

Treasurer Ada Middleton announced that she had collected $45 from members for the plant purchased for Susan Abraham. The plant cost $65. Glenn said the remainder could be taken out of the club treasury.

Glenn announced that the Peace Speakers Executive Committee had decided to rotate the role of toastmaster at meetings among the club’s six most experienced members.

Glenn then introduced Vice President for Education Perry Chang, who led a special educational program on “Confronting Nervousness in Public Speaking.” After a brief introduction, he divided participants into pairs to discuss fears and possible coping strategies, following the instructions given on a handout. Each pair then shared a coping strategy they had discussed.

Perry called attention to another handout that listed strategies for confronting nervousness recommended by Toastmasters International. He said the strategies were also listed on page 72 of the Competent Communication manual. After briefly explaining each strategy, Perry turned the meeting back over to Glenn Lewis.

Glenn thanked Perry for leading the educational program. In his closing remarks he told about a WalMart employee in New York who was trampled to death by a mob of shoppers looking for bargains the day after Thanksgiving. He said the incident was a wake-up call, illustrating how greedy and self-centered our society has become. He encouraged everyone to look for opportunities during the holidays to hold a door open for someone, or let someone else go first in line.

Glenn then adjourned the meeting at 2:10 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson

Potluck pictures

November 19 meeting

President Glenn Lewis opened the meeting at 1:05 p.m. He introduced invocation leader Perry Chang, who read selections from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study, focusing on Lebanon and the power of prayer. Glenn led the Pledge of Allegiance. He welcomed club members to the meeting.

Glenn then opened the business part of the meeting. Perry Chang made a motion that the minutes for the November 5, 2008 meeting be approved without corrections. The motion passed.

Glenn announced that Peace Speakers officers would be meeting November 25, from 1–2 p.m. There was a discussion about whether to have a Christmas potluck, and whether to have one or two meetings in December. This will be decided at the officers’ meeting. Glenn reminded members to give donations to treasurer Ada Middleton to help pay for the plant she bought for Susan Abraham. Eva Stimson read a note from former member Annette Wimsett, thanking the club for sending her a gift of appreciation for filling in as sergeant-at-arms and treasurer.

Glenn introduced Toastmaster Perry Chang to begin the educational program. Perry explained that the program would feature a special Table Topics Smackdown Competition, with four rounds of short, impromptu speeches on the theme of “Geography and Space.” Perry introduced members of the Evaluation Team. Each person explained his/her responsibilities: Table Topics—Perry Chang; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Glenn Lewis; Timer—Patricia Longfellow; Vote Counter—Eva Stimson.

Ah Counter/Grammarian Glenn Lewis introduced the word of the day: opine.

Perry then invited the three others present to speak on various countries (round #1); states (round #2); Kentuckiana neighborhoods (round #3); and a mixture of all three (round #4).

After each round, those present were invited to vote for the best Table Topics speech. Vote counter Eva Stimson reported the following results:

Round #1: Tie between Eva Stimson and Patricia Longfellow
Round #2: Tie between Patricia Longfellow and Glenn Lewis
Round #3: Winner Patricia Longfellow
Round #4: Winner Eva Stimson

Perry Chang awarded the grand prize for the competition to Patricia Longfellow.

Timer Patricia Longfellow gave the following times to Secretary Eva Stimson to be recorded in the minutes:

Round #1: Glenn Lewis (2:00); Eva Stimson (1:27); Patricia Longfellow (1:36)
Round #2: Glenn Lewis (1:53); Eva Stimson (1:39); Patricia Longfellow (1:24)
Round #3: Glenn Lewis (1:57); Eva Stimson (1:11); Patricia Longfellow (2:00)
Round #4: Glenn Lewis (2:12); Eva Stimson (1:38); Patricia Longfellow (2:01)

Ah Counter/Grammarian Glenn Lewis reported that the word of the day was used 2 times during the meeting.

Toastmaster Perry Chang returned the meeting to President Glenn Lewis, who encouraged everyone to invite friends to visit and join Toastmasters. He reminded everyone that the next meeting was scheduled for December 3 in Conference Room B. He then adjourned the meeting at 2:00 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson