December 2 meeting

President Eva Stimson commenced the meeting at 1:02. Eva invited Ada Middleton to lead the invocation; Ada gave a prayer, and then asked the group to join her in reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Eva opened the business meeting by asking everyone to review the minutes from the November 4 meeting, which were then approved as written. Eva reminded people that the next Peace Speakers club meeting will be a Christmas potluck, and that people should come at 12:45 on December 16 to fill their plates before the meeting begins at 1 p.m. A sign-up sheet for the potluck was passed around at the meeting.

Eva introduced Joelle Anderson as Toastmaster, who invited members of the evaluation team to explain their responsibilities: Speech Evaluator #1—Glenn Lewis; Speech Evaluator #2—Eric Darnell; Timer—Valerie Mansfield; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Perry Chang; Vote Counter—Bethany Furkin; Table Topics—Vince Patton.

Perry Chang announced essential as the word of the day:
Essential
Uh SEN shul
Adjective: Absolutely necessary; indispensable
Noun: Basic element; chief point

Joelle introduced Deborah Hoff, who gave her Competent Communication Project #2 speech titled “The Thirty-Six Days of Christmas.” In this speech, Deborah shared tips on how to be less stressed during the holiday season.

Joelle then invited Patricia Longfellow to give her Competent Communication Project #2 speech, titled “Finding Silence.” Patricia discussed the various types of noise present in our lives, and the importance of making time for silence in the midst of this noise.

As Table Topics Master, Vince Patton asked questions about various things people do during the month of December.

Joelle called for reports from the evaluation team.

Glenn Lewis thought that Deborah Hoff’s speech had “a lot of value,” offering practical tips to avoid the holiday stress that everyone struggles with. He also noted that Deborah was well-prepared for the speech.

Eric Darnell found Patricia Longfellow’s speech to be “clear.” He noticed that she gave equal time in her speech to explaining each of her main points, evidenced preparedness, and varied her vocal pitch throughout the speech.

Timer Valerie Mansfield reported the following times:

Deborah Hoff’s speech 8:32
Patricia Longfellow’s speech 6:07
Glenn Lewis’s speech evaluation 3:06
Eric Darnell’s speech evaluation 3:44

Table Topics:
- Debbie Belt 2:01
- Glenn Lewis 2:23
- Bethany Furkin 1:26
- Eva Stimson 1:52
- Perry Chang 1:14

Ah Counter/Grammarian Perry Chang counted 9 uses of the word of the day, as well as 38 space fillers.

Vote Counter Bethany Furkin announced that Debbie Belt won Table Topics.

Joelle Anderson made her final remarks as Toastmaster, and President Eva Stimson ended the meeting at 1:59 p.m.

- Joelle Anderson