Meeting of 14 May 2009

The theme of the day was NEWS.  Participants were asked to think about how they get their news and how they foresaw news being delivered in the future (paper, internet, television, radio, etc.).

There were four speeches:

(1)   Ashutosh gave an icebreaker.  He talked about playing soccer and being a soccer fan.

(2)   Warren gave an icebreaker entitled “Better late than never” explaning why he had been a member for eight months but was just now giving an icebreaker.  He discussed experiences in Germany and the Peace Corps. 

(3)   Nick gave a speech entitled “Don’t let the bedbugs bite”, describing how he got bedbug bites living in an apartment in Brooklyn in 2005.

(4)   Benjamin gave a a speech entitled “Goals and how to set them”  He described Brian Tracy’s SMART characteristics of goals, and gave four of sevent steps to setting goals.

Angela was Table Topics master and had some controversial questions based on the recent White House Correspondents’ dinner.  Nick, Warren, James and Ellen gave responses.

James evaluated Warren’s speech, Nick evaluated Ashutosh, Ellen evaluated Nick, and Susan evaluated Benjamin.

Meeting of 20 May 2009

The theme of the day was Transitions.  This was especially timely considering that the previous weekend was Graduation Weekend, a celebration full of fond memories for all.  Courtnay called the meeting to order.  Angela served as Toastmaster of the Day.  Warren introduced the Word of the Day, “INEFFABLE” (incapable of being described in words). 

There was one prepared speech.  Courtnay gave a basic manual speech entitled “The Writing Chef”, where she used a lot of metaphors to compare writing to cooking. 

Susan was the Table Topics master.  She built the questions around the theme of Transitions.  Courtnay gave a response about transitions in communication media.  Benjamin talked about his major life transitions.  Angela discussed the transition in movie ratings (MPAA) over the years.  Warren talked about artistic transitions in music.  James talked about how to make transitions in “small talk” (social conversations) or how NOT to. 

Benjamin evaluated Courtnay’s speech and complimented her on her clever construction.

There were (unfortunately) no guests.

Meeting of 26 May 2009

There was sparse attendance (and prepared agenda) for this meeting.  (Members:  James Scarborough, Benjamin Cukok, and Janet Walmsley; guests:  Gary Wong and Joanna Li). 

James introduced the Word of the day – “Disposed” – meaning having a tendency to do something or to be something.

Benjamin gave a basic manual (persuasive) speech entitled “Get thee from zero to wealth!”.  He used the examples of Omar Perieu from Cuba and his uncle (a candy manufacturer in the Phillippines) as examples of people who worked hard and were resourceful in making wealth. 

James asked some (impromptu) Table Topics on Memorial Day and the beginning of summer.  Benjamin and guests Gary and Joanna gave responses.

Janet evaluated Benjamin’s speech. 

We used the remaining time to discuss Toastmasters’ membership with our guests.

Meeting of 7 July 2009

Alexis Horn (welcome back!) was TMOD.  Her theme of the day was Independence Day (the Fourth of July and what it meant to people).  In attendance were Alexis, Ashley Huffman, Ellen (Bradshaw) Goodman, Benjamin Cukok, Warren and Svetlana, Gary, and Ashutosh Madhukar. 

Ashley’s Word of the Day was “Fiasco” which means a “total and humiliating failure”.

Benjamin gave a speech (#3 Get to the Point from the CC manual) called “My Strategy for Success”.  He recounted his successes in failures in school learning math, and later working as an economist, and now in real estate. 

Ashutosh gave speech #2 from the CC manual and discussed India’s struggle for independence.  He talked about how non-violent means were practiced (Mahatma Gandhi) and gave several excellent analogies to the American struggle for independence almost two centuries earlier. 

Ellen lead Table Topics and the questions revolved around celebrating the Fourth of July and traveling to other countries.  Ashley, James, Warren, Benjamin, and Ashutosh all gave responses.

James evaluated Benjamin’s speech.  Warren evaluated Ashutosh’s speech.  Ashley provided the grammarian/ah counter report and Gary served as timer. 

Meeting of 15 July 2009

James Scarborough was TMOD.  Also in attendance were Alexis Horn, Angela Cherepinsky, Benjamin Cukok, Nick Mandrus, Warren and Svetlana Wilson, Benjamin Cukok, Ellen (Bradshaw) Goodman, Christine Clapp, and Gary Lee.

Benjamin provided a Word of the Day, Serendipity,  meaning a good opportunity.

The theme of the day was the All-Star Game, so everyone was asked to name whom they would have as their “all star”.

Warren (whose all-star was Tom Friedman, a foreign policy correspondent) gave a speech on “Finding the right internship”.  It was a very useful presentation on how to approach the whole internship decision, where to work and what to do. 

Benjamin gave a speech entitled “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem”.  It was a reflection on the difference between those who achieve (or do) nothing and those who have a strategy for success.  The examples from his real estate business were particularly instructive.

Nick gave a speech entitled “Excuse, don’t accuse”.  This centered around an incident with a Metro kiosk attendant over a Smartcard.  It was a great example of frustration in daily life and how people react to it.  Nick gave some good advice on how to deal with that frustration.

Alexis (whose all-star is Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox!) was the Table Topics Master.  The questions (Nick, Ellen, Warren, and Gary responded) included baseball stadiums, life coaching, what President Obama can fix (Ellen talked about DC Public Schools), and what guest speakers we should have. 

Angela evaluted Warren’s speech.  Ellen evaluated Benjamin’s speech.  Christine was the general evaluator, and evaluated Nick’s speech.  Christine reminded everyone of the importance of time, bringing manuals, and reading objectives.

Alexis will be leaving soon for graduate school in Arizona!   Christine presented her with a certificate of charter membership in the club from 2005.

Meeting of 23 July 2009

Susan Tomczuk served as TMOD (or TMOE, since we are an evening club!).  We were honored to be visited by our Area 21 Governor, Vinayak Jha.  Present were Susan, Vinayak, Alexis Horn (her last meeting before moving to Arizona!), Benjamin Cukok, James Scarborough, and guests Giovanna Reonti and Davide Aratti. 

There were no manual speeches.  James Scarborough presented a Leadership Excellence module, “Developing a Mission”, in which he challenged GWU Toastmasters to expand upon the Toastmasters International mission statement and develop and market its unique and rewarding characteristics.

Alexis conducted an extended Table Topics session.  Questions included more on mission statements (Vinayak), going back to college and joining a new club and cultivating a new interest (James), and Alexis’ round robin question about what route to pick in going from Washington DC to Phoenix, Arizona.  Benjamin wanted her to go through Chicago, and James had another set of cities and states to see.  Davide told us all about the cities of Italy.  Susan recounted her trip to Nevada, including the Valley of the Fire, Red Rock Canyon, and Las Vegas.  Vinayak responded to a very provocative question about “news without mercy”, with a very good argument on the value of a free press.  He used one quote (don’t know the source):  “if all the news we read is good, then there are (undoubtedly) good men and women in jail”.