Meeting Minutes – July 10, 2008

Our Mission: The Travelers Noontime Toastmaster (TNT) Club is dedicated to helping individuals improve themselves by sharpening their speaking, listening and thinking skills, all of which are necessary for success at work and at home. We provide a supportive environment with opportunities for public speaking and leadership development.

Chairperson: Austin Matulis

Toastmaster: Tim Bannon

Timer: Lora Ashcraft

Grammarian: Patrick McDermott – Today’s word of the day was inveigle which means: incite, fool, or trick someone through beguile or flattery.

Tim’s Toastmaster tip for the day was – Don’t worry, be happy! He told us that most of our worries come from assuming something is going to happen. This is a waste of time and energy! Instead, focus on what is and what you have control of.

Speaker 1:

LaTasha Smith, “Changes” (CC #1; 4-6 min.) [Actual Time = 5m 33s]

This was Latasha’s ice breaker speech – and boy did we really learn a lot about her J . LaTasha took us through all of the big changes in her life – from high school all the way through the present. She started by giving us 3 adjectives to describe herself: outgoing, determined, and fun. We then learned that in high school Latasha was a cheerleader, gymnast, and member of student government. She told us about prepping for college in her junior year, and how senior year was full of many special memories to her. She then went on to tell us about her college experience and how she was a cheerleader, a member of a sorority, an RA, and Director of Orientation (incidentally, the leader of the “red hats” who had made her cry freshman year!). She graduated with a double major in Finance and Insurance and a minor in Communications. LaTasha worked at Cigna before joining Travelers last year as an Underwriting trainee. Currently LaTasha is a member of HYPE, a volunteer at the Boys & Girls club, and is training for a 5K! To wrap-up her speech, LaTasha reminded us to “be the change you want to see”! Overall, a very inspirational speech!

Congratulations on completing your Ice Breaker!! J

Evaluator: Michael O’Brien [Actual Time = 3m 24s]

Speaker 2:

Kristi Bathgate, “Step Out” (AC-Silver: Uplift the Spirit; 8-10 min.) [Actual time = 10m 23s]

Today Kristi talked to us about the benefits of stepping out of our comfort zones. She began by referencing back to Lora’s “Get Back Up” speech a couple of weeks ago. She explained that when we are in tough situations are 1 st instinct is to stay down and our 2 nd instinct is to run away. She explained how this applied in her own life recently when she was having a tough conversation with her manager. She then told us how she fought the urge to run away and instead ran right towards the problem and found a way to fix it. She then explained how we could apply Lora’s 4 questions (from her previous speech) to our work life and our personal life. When explaining how to apply them to our work life, Kristi used the example of being in a meeting. When explaining how to apply them to our personal life, she used the example of a long-term relationship. She explained that if we can all just get out of our comfort zones we will feel a sense of accomplishment. We will feel like we have added value in our lives (or someone else’s). We will gain a sense of confidence, and feel included in what is going on around us. Kristi’s speech reminded us all that we are in control and we should all just get out and get going!

Evaluator: Art Spada [Actual Time = 2m 53s]

Table Topics:

Chairperson – Jade Tran

1. Stephen Peterson: My favorite ethnic food is…. [Actual Time = 48s]

Today Stephen told us that his favorite ethnic food is lasagna because it just tastes so darn good! In general, Stephen really enjoys any Italian food.

1. Tracy Miranda: My favorite restaurant is…. [Actual Time = 1m 01s]

Today Tracy told us all how watching the Food network has really made her a restaurant critic! But, a restaurant she really loves is the Grant because it is so beautiful and elegant. She said the food looks so good she almost feels bad eating it!

1. Sid Yudowitch: Fruits or vegetables?… [Actual Time = 48s]

If the world could only produce fruits or vegetables – Sid wants veggies! He told us today how much he loves to eat salad, onions, peppers, and tomatoes (despite the salmonella).

1. Bob Kirkendall: One thing we can’t guess about you….[Actual Time = 1m 13s]

Bob informed us all that it would be hard to come up with something people don’t know about him since he tends to talk a lot! But he did come up with one thing…Bob is afraid of heights. He explained that this weekend he got really nervous when he had to climb a tree to hang his daughter’s swing set. Funny thing is – Bob’s a pilot and frequently flies at over 1000 feet!

General Evaluator:

Lisa Lew

Overall today, Lisa thought we had a great meeting. She thought everything was well run, the setup was good, and she enjoyed how Austin opened the meeting with an inflatable gavel! She also thought that Tim had a great tip of the day and we all had good introductions. Finally, Lisa really loved both of the speeches that were given today!

Club Business:

1. Austin told us that we are once again going to be counting points towards Toastmaster of the month. Starting today, an attendance sheet will be placed at the back of the room so please sign in and get credit for the meetings! Other ways to earn points include giving a speech, taking on a meeting role, and using the word of the day.
2. Sid informed us that next month we are going to be holding our speech contest! So start working on your humorous speech or your evaluation skills so you can participate!
3. Lisa requested that if we have any ideas for contributions to the upcoming newsletter that we e-mail her. She is looking for new participants – so please consider volunteering if you have never contributed before.

Next Meeting: June 26, 2008

1. Chairperson: Frances Lui
2. Toastmaster: Roger Arnold
3. Speaker 1: Austin Matulis
4. Speaker 2: Marsha Pritchard
5. Speaker 3: Michael O’Brien
6. Table Topics: Ismat Mahmood
7. General Evaluator: Ed Foerster
8. Evaluator 1: Greg Donovan
9. Evaluator 2: Holly Gaspar
10. Evaluator 3: Dan Guinan
11. Timer: Garen Mirzoian
12. Grammarian: Sid Yudowitch
13. Quiz Master: ***OPEN***

If you change your availability for your assigned roles, please e-mail VPE Bob Kirkendalland let him know .