Welcome, Valerie!

Valerie Mansfield, who coordinates educational and children's and youth ministries at the Unity of Louisville congregation near the old Male High School, was the first of several people to join Peace Speakers in the past month. Welcome aboard, Valerie!

-- Perry

March 3 meeting

President Glenn Lewis opened the meeting at 1:05 p.m., and introduced the invocation leader, Eva Stimson. She read Psalm 25:4–5.

Glenn led the Pledge of Allegiance. He welcomed members and guests, and invited Dave Mattingly, a member of Expressers Toastmasters at PNC Plaza, to introduce himself.

Glenn then opened the business part of the meeting. Perry Chang made a motion that the minutes for the February 18, 2009 meeting be approved as written. The motion was seconded and approved.

Treasurer Ada Middleton announced that five people have paid their membership dues so far. Dues must be sent to Toastmasters International by April 1. Ada has sent invoices to everyone and would like to receive payments ($30 for existing members) by the March 18 meeting.

Becki Moody announced that she had received an e-mail seeking volunteer judges for a student speech and debate tournament April 2–4. Anyone interested should contact Becki.

Glenn introduced Toastmaster Perry Chang to begin the educational program. Perry explained that the photo on the meeting programs, chosen to fit the theme of “love,” was taken in Philadelphia, which is known as “the city of brotherly love.” He invited members of the Evaluation Team to explain their responsibilities: Table Topics—Ada Middleton; Timer—Valerie Mansfield; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Becki Moody; Vote Counter—Eric Darnell

Becki Moody introduced the word of the day, languid (adjective): Without energy, slow, sluggish, listless. Example: I often have a mid-afternoon slump and feel languid.

Perry introduced guest speaker Dave Mattingly (pictured above and below), who gave his “Project #8: Get Comfortable with Visual Aids” speech from the Toastmasters International Competent Communication program. His topic was “The Languages of Love.”

Ada Middleton then led Table Topics, inviting five people (three of them - Eric, Glenn, and Gary - pictured below) to speak on topics related to Valentine’s Day. She asked those present to vote for the best speech on the slips of paper provided.

Perry called for reports from the evaluation team. Speech evaluator Eva Stimson praised Dave Mattingly for speaking without notes and for effective use gestures, body language, humor and demonstrations to emphasize his main points. She suggested he speak more slowly and use separate pages of the flip chart or cards for each main point.

Timer Valerie Mansfield reported the following times:
Dave Mattingly’s speech 7:15
Eva Stimson’s evaluation 2:05
Table Topics:
- Eric Darnell 1:20
- Betsy Blocker 1:15
- Glenn Lewis 3:00
- Joelle Anderson 1:37
- Gary Warren 28 seconds

Ah Counter/Grammarian Becki Moody reported that she counted 33 space fillers, 2 unfinished sentences, and 0 uses of the word of the day. However, the word of the day was used 4 times following her report.

Vote Counter Eric Darnell announced the Table Topics winner: Joelle Anderson. Ada gave her a prize and the trophy to keep until the next meeting.

After closing remarks, Toastmaster Perry Chang turned the meeting back over to President Glenn Lewis, who announced that the next Peace Speakers Toastmasters meeting would be at 1 p.m. March 18 in Conference Room B. Glenn adjourned the meeting at 1:50 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson

Prayers for Becki

Becki, our vice president for membership, is in the hospital emergency room today with pain in her ribs. Let's pray for healing for Becki.

-- Perry

February 18 meeting

President Glenn Lewis opened the meeting at 1:03 p.m., and introduced the invocation leader, Susan EngPoole. She read a selection on “harmony” from the Daily Word. Glenn led the Pledge of Allegiance. He welcomed guests (including Gary Warren - pictured below) and invited them to introduce themselves.

Glenn then opened the business part of the meeting. Betsy Blocker made a motion that the minutes for the February 4, 2009 meeting be approved as written. The motion was seconded and approved.

Glenn announced that there would be a meeting of Peace Speakers officers Tuesday, February 24, from 1–2 p.m. Betsy Blocker said she would reserve a conference room.

Treasurer Ada Middleton announced that membership dues are due to Toastmasters International by the end of March. She said she would send out invoices by the end of the week and would like to receive payments ($30) from everyone by March 4.

Perry said the PC(USA) Human Resources department had asked for a list of the people attending Toastmasters meeting. He suggested that the officers discuss this request.

Glenn introduced Toastmaster Eric Darnell (pictured below), who invited members of the Evaluation Team to explain their responsibilities: Table Topics—Betsy Blocker; Speech Evaluator—Perry Chang; Timer—Becki Moody; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Eva Stimson; Vote Counter—Glenn Lewis

Eva Stimson introduced the word of the day: indulge
1. to give free rein to
2. to take unrestrained pleasure in; gratify
3. to yield to the desire of; humorto treat with excessive leniency, generosity or consideration

Eric introduced speaker Ada Middleton (pictured below), who gave her “Project #3: Get to the Point” speech from the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership program. Her topic was “Yoga Has Shaped My World.”

Betsy Blocker then led Table Topics, inviting four people (including Susan Engpoole - pictured below) to speak on topics related to the theme of Yoga and other ways to relieve stress.

Betsy asked those present to vote for the best speech on the slips of paper provided.

Eric called for reports from the evaluation team. Speech evaluator Perry Chang said Ada Middleton’s speech was very good, and praised her for speaking in a conversational tone and not relying too much on notes. Commenting on the structure of the speech, he said it might have been better if Ada had left out the list of benefits at the beginning, and focused on personal experiences.

Timer Becki Moody reported the following times:
Ada Middleton’s speech 7:38
Perry Chang’s evaluation 2:13
Table Topics:
Susan EngPoole 55 seconds
Glenn Lewis 59 seconds
Deborah Hoff 1:06
Joelle Anderson 49 seconds

Ah Counter/Grammarian Eva Stimson reported that she counted 16 space fillers, 2 unfinished sentences, and no major grammatical errors. Ada Middleton did not use any space fillers in her speech. The word of the day was used 3 times (plus 2 more times following this report).
Vote Counter Glenn Lewis announced the Table Topics winner: Deborah Hoff (pictured below).

Betsy gave Deborah a prize and the trophy to keep until the next meeting.

In his closing remarks, Toastmaster Eric Darnell talked about changes, including the upcoming change of seasons from winter to spring. He turned the meeting back over to President Glenn Lewis, who closed with a story and a reminder that people are watching what you do, particularly young people.

Glenn announced that the next Peace Speakers Toastmasters meeting would be at 1 p.m. March 4 in Conference Room B. Glenn adjourned the meeting at 1:40 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson

Spring dues

I have been sending invoices to each member in hopes that we can pay our dues on time (at the end of March.) For all but brand-new members, dues for the upcoming April thru September are $27 + $3 = $30.

-- Ada Middleton

February 4 meeting

President Glenn Lewis opened the meeting at 1:05 p.m., and welcomed everyone. He introduced the invocation leader, Betsy Blocker, who began by distributing copies of “The True Story of the Patton Prayer,” explaining that she found it when she was looking for a weather-related prayer. She then read a passage from the Presbyterian Church’s Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study about Portland Avenue Presbyterian Church, which was recently destroyed by a fire.

Glenn led the Pledge of Allegiance, then opened the business part of the meeting. Betsy Blocker made a motion that the minutes for the January 21, 2009 meeting be approved as written. The motion was seconded and approved.

Treasurer Ada Middleton announced that membership dues are due to Toastmasters International by the end of March. She said she would be sending out invoices soon and would like to receive payments from everyone by the March 4 meeting.

Glenn Lewis welcomed first-time visitor Cathy Franck and invited her to introduce herself. She told a little bit about herself and her previous experience with Toastmasters.

Glenn introduced Toastmaster Ada Middleton, who invited members of the Evaluation Team to explain his/her responsibilities: Speech Evaluator—Becki Moody; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Eric Darnell; Timer/Vote Counter—Betsy Blocker; Table Topics Master—Eva Stimson

Ada introduced speaker Susan EngPoole (pictured above), who gave her “Project #1: The Ice Breaker” speech from the Toastmasters International Competent Communication program. Her topic was “Be Love. Be Grateful.”

Eva Stimson then led Table Topics, inviting six people to speak on topics related to the theme “Winter Joys and Challenges.” She asked those present to vote for the best speech on the slips of paper provided.

Ada called for reports from the evaluation team. Speech evaluator Becki Moody said Susan EngPoole’s speech was excellent, and praised her for coming out from behind the podium and speaking without notes. She said Susan showed confidence, maintained good eye contact and showed evidence of preparation. She spoke with strong volume and made effective use of pauses. She said repetition of the main points might have strengthened the speech.

Ah Counter/Grammarian Eric Darnell reported that he counted 3 “ums,” 3 space fillers, 1 unfinished sentence, and several run-on sentences, but no major grammatical errors.

Timer Betsy Blocker reported the following times:
Susan EngPoole’s speech 6:31
Becki Moody’s evaluation 1:53
Table Topics:
Eric Darnell 1:24
Glenn Lewis 1:27
Cathy Franck 1:00
Becki Moody 1:09
Betsy Blocker 1:36
Ada Middleton 1:28

Betsy announced the Table Topics winner: Eric Darnell. Eva gave him a prize and the trophy to keep until the next meeting.

After a few closing remarks, Toastmaster Ada Middleton turned the meeting back over to President Glenn Lewis. Glenn announced that the next Peace Speakers Toastmasters meeting would be at 1 p.m. February 18 in Conference Room B.

Glenn adjourned the meeting at 1:50 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson

January 21 meeting

President Glenn Lewis opened the meeting at 1:07 p.m., and welcomed club members and visitor. He introduced the invocation leader, Eva Stimson, who offered a prayer for the newly inaugurated president of the United States, Barack Obama. Glenn led the Pledge of Allegiance without the flag, which was missing from the set-up box.

Glenn then opened the business part of the meeting. Perry Chang made a motion that the minutes for the January 7, 2009 meeting be approved as written. The motion was seconded and approved.

Glenn Lewis announced a change in the agenda, due to the absence of Table Topics Master Eric Darnell, who had a last-minute conflict. Glenn said he would be serving as Table Topics Master as well as Toastmaster.

Glenn introduced members of the Evaluation Team, and each person explained his/her responsibilities: Ah Counter/Grammarian—Perry Chang; Speech Evaluator—Ada Middleton; Timer/Vote Counter—Eva Stimson; Table Topics Master—Glenn Lewis

Perry Chang introduced the word of the day: Transform (verb) With an object: Change in form, appearance, structure, condition, nature or character; metamorphose; convert. Without an object: Undergo a change in form, appearance, structure, condition, nature or character.

Glenn introduced speaker Patricia Longfellow (pictured above), who gave her “Project #1: The Ice Breaker” speech from the Toastmasters International Competent Communication program. Her topic was “Cats.”

Glenn then led a Table Topics competition, inviting four people to speak on the topic of “favorite pet.” He asked those present to vote for the best speech on the index cards provided.

Glenn called for reports from the evaluation team. Speech evaluator Ada Middleton praised Patricia Longfellow’s speech, saying that it was clear and audible, stayed within the proper length and showed evidence of preparation. She gave her high marks for not appearing nervous, and for using props and speaking without notes. She gave one suggestion for improvement: varying her pitch and tone of voice.

Ah Counter/Grammarian Perry Chang encouraged everyone to use index cards to share suggestions and feedback with meeting participants. He reported that the word of the day was used 3 times. He counted only a few space fillers and unfinished sentences. Perry also announced that club member Becki Moody was absent because one of her professors had invited to give a speech elsewhere.

Timer Eva Stimson reported the following times:
Patricia Longfellow’s speech 5:37
Ada Middleton’s evaluation 1:32
Table Topics:
Eva Stimson 2:09
Ada Middleton 1:49
Deborah Hoff 2:14
Perry Chang 1:49

Eva announced the Table Topics winner: Deborah Hoff. Glenn awarded her the trophy to keep until the next meeting.

Glenn Lewis announced that the next Peace Speakers Toastmasters meeting would be at 1 p.m. February 4 in Conference Room B. Perry Chang reminded members of the upcoming officer training at the Kentucky Farm Bureau on Jan. 29, 6:30–8:30 p.m. Glenn announced that the Peace Speakers Executive Committee would be meeting on January 27, 1–2 p.m., in Room 1050.
Glenn adjourned the meeting at 1:45 p.m.

-- Eva Stimson