MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 18, 2009

Meeting brought to order at 630AM by JOSIE.

Attending: STEPHANIE, VISITING AL, JOSIE, NIK, THEO, KELLY, LAURA, DAOHUA, MARK, JOE, MICHAEL, BUD

INSPIRATION: BUD-- SINGING! THANKS!
Toastmaster of the Day: THEO

Theme for the day: WHAT THE BODY NEEDS AND WHAT THE SPIRIT AND MIND NEED

The Prepared Speeches at this meeting:
1) JOE, "RISE OF COFFEE",  [5-7 minutes] . Evaluated by MARK

2) MICHAEL, "THE HARDEST THING TO DO IN SPORTS", COMPETENT COMMUNICATOR MANUAL, project # 2, time 5-7 minutes.  Evaluated by NIK

3)KELLY, "FEEDBACK LOOPS IN DAILY PRACTICES",  10-12 minutes. Evaluated by DAOHUA

Other Roles at this meeting:

WordMaster: THEO WITH 'COMPLACENT'
Timer: JOSIE

GRAMMARIAN AND AH COUNTER: MARK
Table Topics Master: LAURA 
General Evaluator: STEPHANIE
Joke of the Day: BUD

Awards at this meeting:
Best Table Topics: STEPHANIE
Best Evaluation: MARK
Best Speech: KELLY

Meeting adjourned at: 805 AM

MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 11, 2009

AUGUST 11, 2009

Meeting brought to order at 630am by Josie

Attending: Giselle, Kelly, Daohua, Tryphine, Nik, Stephanie, Theo, Mark, Michael, Laura, Jane, Josie, Eileen

Toastmaster of the Day: Josie

Theme for the day: Find Your Voice

The Prepared Speeches at this meeting:
1) Mark, "And it's a phone too", Competent Communicator, project # 7, time 5-7 minutes. . Evaluated by Stephanie

2) Daohua, "The Last Dream",  project # 4, time 5-6 minutes. Evaluated by Giselle

3) Jane, "Communication Conundrum", non-manual speech,  time 10-12 minutes. Evaluated by Kelly

Other Roles at this meeting:

Inspiration: Nik
WordMaster: Michael with "intrinsic"
Timer: Nik
Ah Counter: Laura
Grammarian: Laura
Table Topics Master: Theo
General Evaluator: Tryphine
Joke of the Day: Michael

Awards at this meeting:
Best Table Topics: Laura
Best Evaluation: Stephanie
Best Speech: Daohua


Meeting adjourned at: 801am

Minutes: August 4, 2009

August 4, 2009

Many thanks to Josie for compiling these notes for this extraordinary session.

Attending: Pieter, Nik, Stephanie, Kelly, Bud, Eileen, Michael, Lisa, Daohua, Kathy, Giselle, Theo, and Josie. 

Introduction

The Moments of Truth presentation is a full program from Toastmasters International that was created to evaluate clubs. There was a presentation of 10 slides on the characteristics of successful clubs. Then, those present broke up into groups of two and three to examine areas where the EarlyRisers club is doing well and areas where the club could improve. 

Bear in mind that the purpose of this Moments of Truth program is to gather feedback, impressions, and thoughts. While it was the intention that those members would be truthful in their words, assessments and recommendations, we all know that some things get lost in interpretation. Given this, please take a look of some of the things that got “captured” at this meeting. Perhaps these points demonstrate or illustrate patterns you’ve encountered already. Perhaps, these points address or describe only part of the story. 

This is a beginning. Consider this dialog a completely new way of looking at the club and being in the club. 

Assessments and Recommendations 

1. Program Planning and Meeting Organization

Assessment: The meeting agendas are currently not publicized in advance. • Some people are not prepared for assignments and roles (example, counting “Ah’s”: some Ah counters have reported accurate counts while others have reported, “Everyone did well today.” What is the role exactly anyway?). • Some evaluations have not been effective or useful. Again, while some people take this seriously, others have done “white wash” evaluations lately.

Recommendation: Set a day for when agenda is due from the assigned Toastmaster. At the moment, this is self-directed and depends on the person assigned to be Toastmaster. Could we agree to have agendas ready by the Thursday before? This gives us a chance to make adjustments as needed. • The club should agree (find a way?) on ways to fulfill role. • For Table Topics Master: Remember to direct the questions to people who don’t have speaking roles and don’t use the name of the person until the end of the question. For anyone responding to a Table Topics question: see if you can refrain from fillers like, “Thank you for the question.” • For evaluations, use the “sandwich model”: start with what’s good, talk about what needs improvement, end with what’s good. 

2. Officer and Membership Retention

Recommendations: All members post flyers for club. Members seek out opportunities to speak at other clubs. A mentor is offered right away (for some people, this has never been the case!).  Member finds replacement and follows through beyond “putting out the call” for a replacement and follows up with the Toastmaster for the meeting in question.

3. First Impressions

Assessment: Follow up is not happening all the time. People are not being asked to join when they first come.

Recommendation: Follow up with contact. Provide a “cheat sheet” on how to log on to the blog, the EarlyRisers website, a brochure. Have a “role” cheat sheet for the first assignment of roles. 

4. Fellowship

Recommendations: Have social events outside the normal club meetings—bring back the holiday party. Host or participate in inter-club events. Make updating the website a collaborative and inclusive process. 

5. New Member Orientation

Recommendations: Club members (VPE, VP of Membership, Mentoring Coordinator) get to know new member to assess learning needs, clarify education and leadership paths, ask about leadership and speaking experience. Have ready a speech that is ready to “give” to new members as an orientation. 

6. Accomplishments

Recommendations: Use a simple progress chart that has meaning for the members—perhaps one that is created by members. Recognize leaders and what they are doing in their role; do this perhaps socially rather than in a speech. Publicize achievements on the club website or to other clubs. Have members of the club discuss and decide on whether to pursue the Distinguished Club Program as a club. As it stands, many members are not sure what this program is or why it is significant. Perhaps it is time to address it, not simply in a speech done by an officer, but through many conversations and demonstrations about what this program means to the club and individuals in the club.