Fellow Toastmasters,

Maybe most of you were standing in line to buy Spurs playoff tickets...maybe you were home watching the Pope's visit on TV....maybe you were driving around looking for gas under $3.30 a gallon!    Whatever the reason, only the faithful few assembled Friday at Taste of China Restaurant. For the majority of you who didn't attend, you missed a fantastic meeting nonetheless...let me tell you about it...

Vice President of Education. Roz Chavez, opened the proceeding...ably filling in for the absent Club President Humberto Vela. Next, our Queen of Club 9434, Carol Jeannin offered a wonderful prayer, giving thanks for the opportunity to meet and, too, the bountiful rains the evening prior.

We had an exceptionally "distinguished guest" present on Friday....District Governor and DTM Paula Tunison. Just 2-months ago, Paula succeeded former District 55 leader, Jeff Stoddard. Given that Paula has hundreds of clubs among her district, that she'd grace our club with a visit was most extraordinary! Thank you Paula!

Speaking of DTM's, Dan Jackson volunteered...last minute...as our 90-Second Educator. As always, Dan put before us some pearls of wisdom re: point of order. Thanks always to Dan for mentoring the flock as he always does!

From there, Roz turned things over to everybody's favorite Toastmaster of the Day,Area Governor Jack Hathaway. Jack's theme today was the upcoming Club Elections on May 2nd. He gave us a preview of coming attractions. Barring unforeseen circumstances, it appears to shape up like this...

-Club President -- Scott Avery
-Treasurer -- Carol Jeannin
-Vice President of Education -- John Kacher
-Vice President of Membership -- Raji Ramankrishnan
-Vice President of Public Relations -- Keith Engleke

The one role yet to be filled is Sergeant at Arms. Interested parties should let Jack know asap!

Jack then offered one "major announcement" -- that our club may be the first ever to have three -- count 'em -- three Area Governors among its ranks!  Starting in the new club year -- July 1st -- John Kacher, Humberto Vela and Becky Tranthum will all fulfill that distinguished role!  Congratulations to this awesome threesome!

Next, it was time to learn a new word and, for that assignment, Pat Hollis stepped forward. With great brevity, Pat fulfilled her role and, from there on, would be listening for uses of the word, in addition to monitoring our overall grammar during the meeting.

Moving on, John shared a most appropriate tale as Jokemaster today. John -- given the intensely tough Table Topics he's "terrorized" our group with -- has been dubbed, by some, "John Bin Laden Kacher." So, here was John today weaving a yarn, the object of which was his name sake -- Osama bin Laden! Actually, the story centered on three bin Laden look-alikes. In the end, the doubles learned they still had a job....at the price of losing a few body parts. Sound crazy?? Well, I just can't tell it like John did!!

We next moved on to our one and only speech for the hour. John, who's been been fast tracking through his communication and leadership manuals, offered, "Overcoming Fear: At the Poker Table and In Life." This was John's second speech from his Advanced Story Telling manual, and his goal  was to share a real-life account with some sort of point...using vivid language, etc. For the next several minutes, we learned about a poker tournament in which John participated -- the end of which resulted in victory, money and a valuable life lesson. To help tell his story, John laid out stacks of poker chips on the table...each representing a player in the tournament. Before speaking, John showed us a diagram of how all the players were seated at the table..thereby creating a real "you are there" experience for the audience..most effective! Looking completely relaxed and genuinely enthusiastic, John re-lived the experience for us. As the stakes got higher and higher, John confessed some of the fears he felt in competing against the others. But, what he learned is his competitors were just as fearful...if not more so. In the end, John won the tournament and a pocket full of cash. Most importantly, he shared the lesson he was taught and how we, as Toastmasters, can learn too -- that most of us entered into Toastmasters with all sorts of fear. What we forget, however, is everyone else has the same level of anxiety and, by remembering that, we can overcome our own inhibitions! Overall, this was a wonderful speech...one of John's very best!

Jack asked for a Timers report and Carol announced the good new...that John easily qualified!

With loads of time remaining, we had ample opportunity for Table Topics. Dr. Fred Duhl had been assigned to that role, but a tender back prevented Fred from fellowshipping with us Friday. Hence, Dan Jackson graciously offered to fill in for the good doctor. Dan must be a former Boy Scout, because he always comes "prepared" -- today was no different. In his hand was his infamous hermetically sealed envelope filled with profound quotations.
 
And first, a very exciting moment as Dan -- a DTM -- called upon another DTM -- Paula.  She was asked to comment on, "Choice..not chance determines our destiny." Said Paula, that's a very true statement, as we find ourselves in situations by chance, but then it's our choice as to what we do with the opportunity presented to us.

 

Next, a rarity, when Jack Hathaway volunteered as Dan's next victim. He drew, "There's always room at the top.." Looking poised as always, Jack explained there's always room at the top because, very often, those at the top are deficient in skills, thus being removed / replaced by others more qualified. Said Jack, he always makes it a point to mentor and build relationships with coworkers because they might be at the top some day.

Becky Tranthum took a swing at Dan's next pitch -- "Problems are opportunities in work clothes." According to Becky, she can totally relate to that statement based upon circumstances at her job. Becky would be returning shortly to serve as General Evaluator.

Next, Roz boldly stepped forward as the next participant. She drew a quote from Alexander Graham Bell -- "When one door closes, another door opens. So true, said Roz -- doors close and open all the time. But, she cited, it's much like Paula explained -- we must make the "choice" to walk through the open doors.

Last Carol Jeannin turned the timing lights over to Roz as she accepted the challenge of Dan's Table Terrorizers. The quote was, "Since better is always possible, then good is not good enough..." Carol said the quote is quite true -- that we can always do better, but we must make a conscience effort to exert ourselves to make that happen.

Wow...five Table Topics in all! Great job by all!!

Time was running short, and we moved to the Evaluation portion of the meeting. Jack turned the lectern over to Becky who introduced me as Evaluator of John's speech. This was a unique experience, as I was evaluating my second John Kacher speech in just two weeks. I started out by proclaiming "Overcoming Fear..." was an infinitely finer speech than John's last effort -- when he spoke about General Grant. In that speech, John's delivery was stiff, and the speech sounded memorized. But Friday's speech, I pointed out, was a vast improvement...John was at his best -- natural, funny, spontaneous, unrehearsed, etc. The reason, I said, was that John was speaking on a topic for which he's passionate -- poker -- and it really showed. I credited him for excellent body language, using effective gestures to help tell his story. I also congratulated John for his close, as he explained to us what we could all learn from his victorious experience at the poker table. My only suggestion for John was to remember he's talking to a lay audience who may be ignorant of poker. Hence, such terms as "fold" / "blind" / "suit connectors" etc. may have little meaning. Beyond that, this was one of John's great efforts since joining our club in the winter of 2006.

Next, Becky returned and asked for reports. I spoke within my time limit...as did all the Table Topic participants. Roz did a fantastic job as Ah Counter and meticulously explained every "ah" / "um" etc. uttered during the meeting (as I recall, I was the worst violator!). Following, Pat Hollis reported some bad news..that none of the hour's speakers used "brevity." However, that was quickly corrected as Jack, Roz and others cited at least 3-4 instances when the word was used.      Becky closed by saying we had a "good meeting," as she congratulated John on his outstanding speech and thanked Dan for, last minute, volunteering as 90-Second Educator and Table Topics Master.

Finally, Jack returned to award, as he calls them, the "ribbons of love." John won Best Speaker for his terrific speech, while I -- as the only contestant -- walked away with Best Evaluator. The excitement, however, was awarding Best Table Topics...since everyone was so good. In a tight race, District Governor Paula Tunison took that prize!

By now, we've all learned that becoming better communicators....better leaders...doesn't happen by virtue of simply being a Toastmaster. Rather, growth in those areas is achieved by attending...by participating. Next week is yet another opportunity! Look for forthcoming emails seeking volunteers for vacant roles. In the meantime, let's all plan to assemble at Taste of China next week. I look forward to seeing you all!

Sincerely,
Scott Avery