August 13, 2008
Turkey, scuba diving, and committee presentations were the three hot topics presented by our three speakers.

Having just returned from an 11-day trip to Turkey, Alexis Horn presented a speech about the secularism of Turkey as outlined by Mustafa Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.  Ataturk modernized Turkey by switching the written language from Arabic to Roman.  He also attempted to limit displays of religious beliefs in public.

Andrei Volk presented a speech about his hobby, scuba diving.  Although still a bit of a novice having only gone diving three times thus far, he wowed the audience by mentioning that he was a certified diver and had even gone diving in Thailand.  He loves the angelic creatures of the ocean and the tranquility that one feels when he or she dives.

Nick Mandrus spoke about the utility of Toastmasters in his work presentation.  Having recently been named to serve as organizing chair of the sports committee at work, Nick welcomed this challenge and took not only it on but also five other committees and presented a briefing to 200 managers at his firm.

June 19, 2008

As Toastmaster of the Day, Ellen Bradshaw was charged with organizing the meeting.  To liven the meeting up, she choose a funky theme for the night: previous jobs that make our faces glow red at the sheer mention of them because of their embarrassing nature.  In her introduction, Ellen blissfully recounted her days as a dishwasher in Kansas.  She often got into trouble at this job because she would fling soap across the kitchen for fun.

In an effort to expand our vocabulary as Toastmasters, we often present a word of the day.  Today’s word was “defenestrate” which means to throw out the window

There were two, 4-7 minute speeches tonight.  Benjamin Cukok, a veteran speaker, presented the topic of his experiences with public speaking.  He mapped out his early days as a speaker when, at age 12, he competed in an elocution contest in Mandarin.  The experience did not scare him off such that the next year, he tackled the competition in English.  Over the years, he has participated in plays and Toastmasters clubs and his interest in becoming a better public speaker has never abated. 

James Scarborough evaluated Benjamin’s speech.  Among the positive notes that James mentioned, he highlighted Benjamin’s animated state and use of gestures which added excitement to the topic.  James offered some constructive advice as well: he suggested that Benjamin include more anecdotes in his speech so that people will be able to become even more engaged in the topic.

Nick Mandrus was our second speaker of the night.  Also a veteran speaker, Nick presented the short-lived careers during his high school years.  From ages 16-18, he held six jobs.  He was a library page, camp counselor, dishwasher, fast food drive through specialist, a gas station attendant, and an amusement park official. 

Christine Hanson Clapp gave an evaluation of Nick’s speech.  Among her positive comments, she noted that she liked how Nick’s speech was well defined.  He clearly stated the parameters of his topic by specifying that he would only speak about his high school jobs.  She also liked his sense of genuineness and his conversational style of speaking which made the audience warm to his topic.  A few areas of improvement included increasing his volume which he spoke and refraining from grabbing the lectern, two actions that distract the audience.