Congratulations, officers!

Earlier this month the club elected officers for the 2010-2011 Toastmasters years.

Elected were:
- President - Becki Moody
- Vice President for Education - Eric Darnell (second term)
- Vice President for Membership - Kim Kaberle
- Vice President for Public Relations - Jessica Holman
- Treasurer - Linda Patton
- Secretary - Joelle Anderson (second term)
- Sergeant at Arms - Bethany Furkin

Also serving on the club Executive Committee between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, will be Immediate Past President Eva Stimson.

Congratulations, Eva!

Club President Eva Stimson is going out (June 30) with a host of accomplishments under her belt. She’s only the second Peace Speakers Toastmaster to ever complete the Toastmasters Competent Communication – and the first person to do so exclusively within our club – with an inspiring speech last month on what we can all do to combat climate change.

Eva also presided over a year during which the club membership spent most of its time hovering just under the magic number of 20, making this the largest Peace Speakers club, except for the very first few months. And, in leading the Nominating Committee this spring, Eva helped put together a slate of candidates for office that, if elected Wednesday, will represent the first set of Peace Speakers officers elected (not counting Immediate Past President Eva Stimson) that will be totally devoid of club charter members. Hence, Eva has helped usher in a whole new generation of leaders. Good going!

-- Perry

May 5 meeting

At 1:04 p.m., President Eva Stimson commenced the meeting, and invited Betsy Blocker to give the invocation. Betsy read a poem about spring, and shared a blessing/prayer in tribute to all mothers.

Eva led the Pledge of Allegiance. During the business meeting, Becki Moody made a motion to approve the prior meeting’s minutes as written; Betsy Blocker seconded the motion--the minutes were approved as written. Treasurer Ada Middleton announced that all dues had been paid, and noted that the club lost one member. The current club balance is $262.56. Perry Chang mentioned that the next round of Toastmaster competition speeches was to be held on Saturday, May 15, in Sellersburg, Indiana. The winners from this round of competition will travel to the district competition in Lafayette, Indiana. Eva Stimson passed out the proposed slate of officers for the upcoming Toastmasters year, and reminded people that new officers would be voted in at the next Peace Speakers meeting. Officers will assume their positions on July 1, 2010. Perry Chang also asked PC(USA) employees in the club to send Secretary Joelle Anderson their home email addresses, so the club can keep in touch with them in the unfortunate event they are laid off on May 14.

Kim Kaberle assumed her role as Toastmaster and invited members of the Evaluation Team to explain their responsibilities: Speech Evaluator—Debbie Belt; Timer—Joelle Anderson; Table Topics—Eric Darnell; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Faith Aeilts; Vote Counter—Jessica Holman.

Faith Aeilts chose spectacular as the word of the day.

Kim Kaberle introduced Bethany Furkin, who gave her Competent Communication Project #2 speech entitled “Behind the Counter: How to Be a Courteous Customer.” Bethany gave three tips on how to be a good customer, based on her experience working in the retail world.

Eric Darnell led Table Topics, asking people to describe a vacation to a randomly chosen continent, utilizing a randomly chosen mode of transportation.

Kim called for reports from the evaluation team.

Debbie Belt enjoyed the sense of humor Bethany displayed during her speech, which she found to be brimming with “good advice that all of us can use.”

Timer Joelle Anderson reported the following times:
- Behany Furkin’s speech 6:21
- Debbie Belt’s speech evaluation 2:35

Table Topics:
- Becki Moody 1:48
- Faith Aeilts 1:21
- Perry Chang 1:08
- Linda Patton 0:50
- Ada Middleton 1:45
- Jessica Holman 1:03

Ah Counter/Grammarian Faith Aeilts counted 33 space fillers and 3 sentence shifts. The word of the day was used 6 times by the end of the meeting.

Vote Counter Jessica Holman awarded Faith Aeilts with the Table Topics victory.

Kim Kaberle concluded her time as Toastmaster, and President Eva Stimson ended the meeting at 1:48 p.m. with a reminder to vote at the next Peace Speakers meeting.

-- Joelle Anderson

Why stay active

With layoffs looming at the Presbyterian Center, where half of Peace Speakers Toastmasters work, it’s time to consider why Toastmasters members who get laid off ought to consider staying active in the club.

First, Toastmasters activity gives us a chance to maintain contact with some former Presbyterian Center colleagues, the ones who were active in the club. It lets us keep one foot in the Center door.

Second, being active in Toastmasters continues to help us sharpen our job skills, interviewing, and job search skills, at a time – during a job search – when we need those to be at their best.

Third, connecting with Toastmasters regularly provides us with networking opportunities, as we share job tips and job leads before, during, and after meetings, and in between.

Obviously, the prospect of going back to the building where we worked and then were rejected may be hard for some of us. And job search and family responsibilities may take a few of us out of town. But I hope, for those of us who will be walking out of the building next Friday with our boxes packed, it may not be for the last time, as we may return twice a month for Toastmasters meetings. See you on Wednesdays!

-- Perry

April 21 meeting

At 1:03 p.m., President Eva Stimson commenced the meeting, and asked Becki Moody to give the invocation. Becki read the poem “As I Ventured to the Wood” by Mark Raymond Slaughter, in honor of Earth Day.

Eva welcomed people to the meeting, and asked the three guests present to introduce themselves: Ann Thomas works in the Presbyterian Center, and Megan and Melissa are students at the University of Louisville, graduating this spring.

Eva led the Pledge of Allegiance and opened the business portion of the meeting. Linda Patton made a motion to approve the prior meeting’s minutes as written; Ada Middleton seconded the motion--the minutes were approved as written. The members present officially welcomed Jessica Holman as a new club member. The nominating committee will provide a slate of officers for upcoming year at the next Peace Speakers meeting. The club will vote to elect new officers at the May 19, 2010 meeting, as the new officers need to be in place by July 1, 2010. Perry Chang attended the area speech contest recently, and mentioned that the next round of competition will be held in Sellersburg, Indiana, on the morning of May 15. Kay Chambers was unable to make it to the meeting, but asked that the speeches be audio recorded. Eva noted that she will record the meeting’s speeches, and also discussed possibly videotaping the speeches in the future.

Joelle Anderson assumed her role as Toastmaster and invited members of the Evaluation Team to explain their responsibilities: Speech Evaluator #1—Vince Patton; Speech Evaluator #2—Betsy Blocker; Timer—Ada Middleton; Table Topics—Patricia Longfellow; Ah Counter/Grammarian—Debbie Belt; Vote Counter—Perry Chang.

Debbie Belt announced invigorating as the word of the day.

Joelle introduced Eva Stimson, who gave her Competent Communication Project #10 speech entitled “Save Our Planet”--sharing ways in which people can help combat climate change.

Joelle then introduced Jessica Holman, who gave her Competent Communication Project #1 (Ice Breaker) speech. Jessica spoke of how she seeks to live by Don Miguel Ruiz’s Four Agreements in her professional and personal life.

Patricia Longfellow led Table Topics, asking people to make sales pitches for advertisements taken out of the phone book.

Joelle called for reports from the evaluation team.

Vince Patton deemed Eva’s speech “excellent” and “relevant” to Earth Day. He also thought she did an “outstanding job using stories.”

Betsy Blocker found Jessica to be both “confident and comfortable” in front of the audience, and noted that she spoke on a topic that kept listeners interested.

Timer Ada Middleton reported the following times:

Eva Stimson’s speech 9:00
Jessica Holman’s speech 7:05
Vince Patton’s speech evaluation 1:56
Betsy Blocker’s speech evaluation 1:06

Table Topics:
- Becki Moody 1:37
- Linda Patton 1:11
- Eric Darnell 2:04
- Debbie Belt 1:09

Ah Counter/Grammarian Debbie Belt counted between 37 space fillers and 4 sentence shifts/grammatical errors. The word of the day was used 5 times by the end of the meeting.

Vote Counter Perry Chang pronounced Linda Patton the Table Topics winner.

Joelle Anderson concluded her time as Toastmaster, and President Eva Stimson ended the meeting at around 2 p.m.

- Joelle Anderson