Travelers Noontime Toastmaster #2532

Meeting Minutes – August 21, 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: Roger Arnold

Toastmaster: Ed Foerster

Timer: Michael O’Brien

Grammarian: Tim Bannon – Today’s word of the day was exalt which means: to praise, glorify, or honor.

Ed’s Toastmaster tip for the day was – be aware of other people’s time. Once it’s gone, you can never it get back so should be courteous of everyone else’s time.

Speaker 1:

Sri Nissankararao, “What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?” (CC#1; 4-6 min.) [Actual Time = 4m 31s]

Today Sri talked to us about what he wants to be when he grows up. He said that this was something that he never really thought about when he was in school. But, before he told us, he explained to us a bit about where he came from. He went to school in India where he really enjoyed playing the game Cricket. His senior year his team was even District Champions! He received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and IT Tech. He came to the US in 1999 and married his wife in 2002. In 2006, they had their first daughter. He moved to CT in 2003 where he worked as an IT Consultant for Phiser. He joined Travelers last September and really enjoys working here and being a part of the TNT club. Even though he has made his career choice, he still has other things in mind as to what he wants to be when he grows up! Sri is sriving to be a good friend, a good worker, and a leader. He wants to always be a team player and the type of person that is good to others. He thinks of life as a treasure hunt, and wished us all the best in finding our own treasures!

Evaluator: Marsha Pritchard [Actual Time = 2m]

Speaker 2:

Lisa Lew, “Nail Broth” (AC Storytelling, No. 1 – Tell A Folktale, 7-9 minutes) [Actual time = 8m 31s]

Lisa’s story today was about a tramp in the forest. The tramp came across a cottage in the forest that belonged to a mean old woman. He started talking to the woman and explained that he had been all over the world and needed a place to stay for the night. At first she refused, but he begged and tried to explain to her that humans were supposed to help each other. She finally gave in but said he had to sleep on the floor and would not give him anything to eat. But, the tramp was a sly fellow, and caught the woman’s curiosity when he explained to her that he could make soup with only a nail. She filled him a pot of water, and he threw in the nail. Little by little he tricked her into providing some flour, beef, and potatoes. When he told her that this could be a feast fit for a King with only some barely and milk, she provided those as well. She then set the table and provided additional food to eat, in order to have a feast! She was in such a merry mood after dinner that she even let him sleep in a bed. The next morning, she gave him a coin before he went on his way because she was so excited that he taught her how to have so much fun with only a nail!

Evaluator: Greg Donovan [Actual Time = 2m 33s]

Speaker 3:

Guest Speaker Rick Kominowski, “Back to School - Again” (Project: Vocal Variety, 5-7 minutes) [Actual time = 6m 39s]

Rick’s speech was all about how success/failure is a point of perspective. He went on to talk about how he was on his 28^th anniversary of being in the 11^th grade and he owed it all to his father! You see, the first time he was in 11^th grade he father asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. He knew that he certainly didn’t want to move out, pay for his own bills, and get a job, so he decided to stay in the 11^th grade forever. He met his wife on his 3^rd year in the 11^th grade, and before he knew it he had a family of 4 living in his dad’s house. His 17^th year, he realized that he had started to pick up all the 11^th grade information via osmosis and was no longer able to fail any of his tests! So, he started to cheat off the dumbest kids in the class so that he wouldn’t graduate. His teachers got so sick of him they created a test even he could pass. There were only 2 questions – your name and your date of birth. Good thing he cheated off the other kid, because he got them wrong .

His 22^nd year in 11^th grade was very special because that was the year his first son joined him. They ate lunch together, and played football together! He has so much fun, he almost considered going onto the 12^th grade with him. But, then he decided to wait another 15 years for his grandchildren. After a while, he realized that if he wanted he could get a job at the school. With all his training – he would be the perfect 11^th grade teacher!

Table Topics:

Chairperson – Prasanthi Lingamallu. For today’s table topics, Prasanthi used the theme of “Clue” (the game). She gave everyone the name of the murderer, the room, and the weapon and everyone had to explain how the solved the mystery!

1. Louis Wou:[Actual Time = 1m 14s]

Louis explained how he went into the study and found a dead body! Next to it, there was a wrench and he remembered that Mr. Green also puts a signature mark on his tools. So he looked and found the mark on the wrench which was how he realized who the killer was!

2. Ed Foerster: [Actual Time = 1m 41s]

Ed was walking around and found a rope that lead to the 2^nd floor. He climbed it and found a body in the hall with a mustard container nearby. He then remembered that his “friend” Kernel Mustard loved mustard, so he performed a citizens arrest!

General Evaluator:

Bob Kirkendall

Bob thought that were good on time today and the meeting setup was good. He also really liked how Roger tied in Bring A Guest with Austin being out. He also liked that Roger gave such a good introduction for the Toastmasters.