April 13 20 10 - What Inspires You?

Our guest poster today is Teri Kingston who filled in for our Secretary Brigitte Walker.  But first, a word from our grammarian, Denise Paquette:

The word of the night was indelibly - from  in·del·i·ble [in-del-uh-buhl] 

–adjective

1.  making marks that cannot be erased, removed, or the like: indelible ink.

2.  that cannot be eliminated, forgotten, changed, or the like: the indelible memories of war; the indelible influence of a great teacher.

---

Origin:
1520–30; < ML indēlibilis; r. indeleble < L indēlēbilis indestructible. 

—Related forms

in·del·i·bil·i·ty, in·del·i·ble·ness, noun

in·del·i·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged

Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.

Visit dictionary.com for more information and to hear the pronunciation of indelible.

Thank you Chantal for supplying this information

And now on with the meeting

Present: Chantal Finn-Losier, Joey Losier, Malcolm Robertson, Gian Paulo Bastienello, Earle DePass, Carole Anne Levac, Denise Paquette, Harry Kingston, Teri Kingston, Carole Rainville, Francis Rounding, Ian Cowan.

Regrets: John Anderson, Vince Foy, Theresa Taylor, Chris Semchuk, Kimberley Thompson and Brigitte Walker.

The main highlight of the evening was to welcome back Joey Losier and Chantal Finn-Losier as returning active members. In his usual energetic style, Joey Losier was our acting S@A; he opened the meeting and handed it over to President Harry Kingston to start things off.

Theme: "What inspires you?"  - Club President Harry Kingston opened up the meeting with a great question based on the theme. As usual the answers around the table were rich, in depth and at times profound. Gian Paulo Bastienello's 102 year old father, with his personal motto "don't get upset" was the one that stood out in a great life lesson to us all.

We welcomed two new members to the club. Carole Rainville and Francis Rounding are our newest members.

A new membership list will be circulated shortly with their contact information.

Toastmaster for the evening, Chantal Finn-Losier then took over the meeting with her usual thorough, professional and warm presence at the lectern for an exciting evening of speeches and evaluations. Then, Malcolm Roberson led us through Table Topics all based on the various senses that inspire is in the spring. Ian Cowan gave the evening's best answer with his very detailed and descriptive story of the sounds of spring (peeper frogs and rain on tin roofs).

Teri Kingston gave a 15 minute educational session on speech writing tips using the storyboard technique that is favoured by former World Champion of Public Speaking, Randy J. Harvey. She also thanked the members for helping her succeed at the Division A contest for the International Speech contest.

Joey Losier was the speaker for the evening with a great speech called "Travel Smart", full of tips to prevent travellers from getting their pockets picked when travelling. Full of touches of humour and great use of props, it was evaluated by Earle DePass with his usual standard of excellence.

General Evaluator Harry Kingston led the second half of the meeting.

Special mention goes to frequent guest and almost member Ben Cowan for succinct and thoughtful closing comments.

Business session: President Harry Kingston presented the following items for discussion/decision/information.

1) Acknowledgement of the efforts of VP PR Kimberley Thompson and the many "hits", press releases and overall visibility of Seaway Toastmasters on the intranet and in the local papers. Applause was immediate and warm.

2) Notified the club that John Anderson is stepping down as S@A and member in general for the time being. One of the reasons mentioned was prioritizing his activities due to health issues. Harry asked that members consider sending John notes of encouragement from time to time.

Harry also acknowledged all the hard work that John has done this year, setting up the room for each meeting, helping with the special events and generally supporting the club however he could with excellence of attitude and spirit. He will be missed!

3) Good news to pass along. Teri Kingston won the Division A speech contest and will represent Seaway at the District 61 conference in Montebello on April 30, May 1 and 2nd. She will also represent Division D in Table Topics on Sunday

4) All members were reminded of the Club Awards dinner meeting to be held on June 23, 2010. (Details will follow).

5) The President announced appointment of a new Club Nominating committee responsible for club officer elections. They will present the nominating committee report to the club on May 11 with elections to be held on May 25th.

6) Treasurer's report: All club dues have been paid and the club finances are in order.

7) The dinner and tour of Parliament Hill was discussed with a date to be confirmed at a later meeting.

The meeting ended on a sad note as, during the requests for guest comments, member Earle DePass stood up to say that he is stepping down from the club for the time being. We will miss Earle's knowledge and experience.

Our next Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 27th 

Practice Table Topics at Home