September 22, 2009 Meeting Minutes

Josie filling in here for Nik. What an interesting meeting. We had an unusual theme that worked out very well. Laura did an impromptu 5-7 minute speech by choosing one of 5 general topics she had not known about before arriving. Bud provided the topics, and Laura chose one. She had about 5 minutes to put her speech together. Impressive focus, Laura. Your speech was a great reminder that any club member may cultivate this skill. If you are interested, and it is your turn to speak, be sure to let the Toastmaster of that week know.

Lastly, a member who recently joined EarlyRisers delivered a moving impromptu good-bye speech in addition to his report as Grammarian. Michael, we are going to miss you. Thanks for saying good-bye and closing the loop in person! It was great to have you at our meetings. We wish you the best of luck with the new job, the move, and your new life!

Meeting brought to order at 6:30 AM by Bud

Attending: Bud, Jane, Mark, Michael, Kathy, Theo, Giselle, Tryphine, Kelly, Laura, and Josie.

Toastmaster of the Day: Bud

Theme for the day: The Volunteer Army

The Prepared Speeches at this meeting:
1) Jane, "Proposed 2009 Budget Revision", Technical Presentations manual, project #2, time Speech 8 - 10 min + Q&A time 3-5 min. Actual delivery time: 00:13:00. Evaluated by Tryphine

2) Mark, "My Haircut", Contest Rehearsal, Repeat: Competent Communicator manual, project #8, time 5-7 minutes.  Evaluated by Kelly

3)Laura, "My Mexican Journey", Specialty Speeches, Impromptu Speaking project, time 5-7 minutes. Evaluated by Giselle

All prepared speeches and evaluations were delivered on time.

Other Roles at this meeting:

Inspiration: Kathy 
WordMaster: Bud and  the featured word was flippant
Timer: Tryphine
Ah Counter: Kathy
Grammarian: Michael
Table Topics Master: Josie. Who knew the army as a theme could be so interesting? Thanks for a great discussion. 
General Evaluator: Theo
Joke of the Day: Bud

Awards at this meeting:
Best Table Topics: Tryphine
Best Evaluation: Giselle
Best Speech: Laura 


Club Business: DUES are due October 1st. Please make arrangements to pay the $69 for the next 6 months with Kelly or Tryphine (Make your check out to "EarlyRisers Toastmasters.");  Upcoming Club Contest roles [this event is now in the past]; Attendance "elephant in the room" -- please find your substitute and do your best to communicate; next week's schedule (Theo is TM); new schedule coming up: send your scheduling info to Josie.

Meeting adjourned at: 8:00 AM

POST Toast Meeting: A group of FIVE members (Michael, Mark, Kathy, Laura, and Josie) gathered at Philz Coffee (on Middlefield and Loma Verde -- two short blocks from Unity, where we regularly meet), after the meeting. We enjoyed amazing coffee and friendly socializing. A splendid time was had by all. :) When can we do this again?

September 15, 2009 Leadership Meeting Minutes

Thanks Josie. Just adding to that for the leadership meeting notes:

We also discussed Distinguished Club Program goals and our theme is "Membership, Membership, Membership." We need 20 (that's TWENTY) members to qualify for this distinction as club. Last year, EarlyRisers had achieved 9 out 10 points (the highest score in the AREA), but we did not have the required base membership to qualify. We missed out on receiving an award of $200 TI dollars (good for Toastmaster supplies like ribbons and manuals). But this need for new members also affects how the club runs itself. Now, with only 18 members and the reality of vacation, work and family, it is difficult to have full meetings (as is the case in the upcoming week where we only have 1 speaker slated). So, it's in everyone's interest that we bring in new members.

The four in attendance agreed that we will have a membership drive or event in October.

Also good news is that Kelly Brant has stepped up to fulfill the VP of Membership role through the remainder of the term. As you may have heard in his speech a couple weeks ago, Kelly has a lot going on right now. Thanks for stepping up Kelly!

Josie had a very creative idea of targeting other "early risers" in our area at places we can find them-- coffee shops-- and even suggested holding a membership drive meeting at one of the local coffee shops.

The final suggestion was to have a conference call or meeting to discuss an October event.

Enjoy your day!

Giselle

September 15, 2009

Josie here filling in for Nik who is on a much deserved break! 

This meeting was ONE HOUR long. Yes, EarlyRisers met for one hour this morning. I offer a few comments as Toastmaster of the day: It was a snappy pace. Table Topics in particular had a a crackling- nerve-wracking quality that really made it seem random; because, as you may guess, not everyone had a chance to speak, and Kelly did a good job of both staying on time and selecting people at random.  Two speeches fit comfortably in the time allowed; and we were, honestly, hard pressed to come up with a third speaker/evaluator, given attendance. Nice work and good participation for everyone present.  Immediately following this meeting was a leadership meeting of the officers present. We are in the process of exploring meeting formats that will best accommodate and serve our members. We know that some of you travel serious distance to be here. We so appreciate your dedication to your own Toastmastering skills development as well as to the club. All the same, the 90-minute format has worked well for a lot of you. Is there is a way to make it all work and have it be fun for everyone? Let's keep this question in mind as we find our way to balance and harmony in the club and beyond!

Meeting brought to order at 6:30 M by Club President, Giselle.

Attending: Joe, Bud, Stephanie, Giselle, Kelly, Daohua, Laura, Kathy, and Josie

Toastmaster of the Day: Josie
General Evaluator: Giselle (thanks for your double-duty as speech evaluator, too!)

Table Topics Master: Kelly (quoting Steve Miller Band lyrics on time slipping, slipping, slipping)

Theme for the day: Time. Is there enough or not enough??

The Prepared Speeches at this meeting:
1) Joe, "Time is Life", Competent Communicator, project #7, time 5-7 minutes. Actual delivery time: 00:06:31. Evaluated by Kathy.

2) Bud, "Is it acceptable to force American laborers or employees to be fingerprinted?", Specialty Speeches, "Impromptu Speaking" project, time 5-7 minutes. Actual delivery time: 00:05:42. Evaluated by Giselle.

All speeches were within time. All evaluations were in time.

Other Roles at this meeting:

Inspiration: Laura, who brought us various Shakespeare quotes on the nature of time 

WordMaster: Daohua. The featured word: transitory

Timer: Stephanie (thanks for doing this role again!)

Ah Counter: Daohua and Laura (who got different counts!)

Grammarian: Laura (thanks for a thorough report!)

Joke of the Day: Stephanie had Shakespearean insults to share. How cool is that? We are now ready to insult with class and finesse.....;-)

Awards at this meeting:
Best Table Topics: Laura who shared her thoughts about time and technology (wow! another best table topics, Laura! Way to go!)
Best Evaluation: Giselle (wow! Giselle is getting ready to compete in Area Evaluation Contest!)
Best Speech: Joe (Yesss!)


Club Business: Volunteer Signup for Area Contest went around. Thank you Kelly, Kathy, and Josie for signing up. Area Contest is Thursday, September 24th, 6:30 PM, at the Mountain View Recreation Center. Let's all be there to cheer for our contestants: Mark and Giselle. 

Leadership meeting followed this meeting. President Giselle asked for comments about this short meeting format experiment. Stephanie's thoughtful remark was: "A short meeting format like this leads to fewer speaking opportunities in the long run. Convening the officers immediately after for only 30 minutes does not seem to be enough time to cover all the issues involved in running a club." This has been noted and taken into serious consideration. [Note: officers met for 45 minutes, not 30, that morning.] This issue is to be thoroughly discussed by the officers in an ongoing dialog about how best to "be" and serve this club. As club members, your further comments, thoughts and feedback are most welcome. Please send your comments to President, Giselle or to Vice President of Education, Josie, via email.

Meeting adjourned at: 7:33 AM

Minutes for September 8, 2009

Meeting brought to order at 6:28am by Bud.

Attending: Bud, Josie, Nik, Jane, Kelly, Stephanie, Kathy, Laura, Joe, Mark, Theo,

Toastmaster of the Day: Jane

Theme for the day: Computer Problems and Solutions

The Prepared Speeches at this meeting:
1) [Speaker], "Love Ain't Nothin' 'Till You Give It Away", 5-7 minutes. Evaluated by Nik

2) Kelly, "No Spoon", 8-10 minutes. Evaluated by Theo

3) Laura, "The Winning Proposal", time 5-7 minutes. Evaluated by Josie

Other Roles at this meeting:

Inspiration: Bud
Timer: Stephanie
Ah Counter: Josie
Grammarian: Kelly
Table Topics Master: Joe
General Evaluator: Mark

Awards at this meeting:
Best Table Topics: Laura with her commentary on the benevolent nature of the universe
Best Evaluation: Josie
Best Speech: Kathy (congratulations on her first and much-deserved win!)

September 1, 2009 Meeting Minutes

Josie covering for Nik here.

Meeting brought to order at 6:30 AM by Bud.

Attending: Giselle, Mark, Kelly, Kathy, Josie, Bud, Theo, Laura, Connie, Joe and Josie. Welcome Carl, who was visiting. Carl has had experience as a debater in school, and now he wanted to work on these skills again. A visit to his local Toastmasters is the ticket.

Toastmaster of the Day: Kelly

Theme for the day: Cats

The Prepared Speeches at this meeting:
1) Theo, "Video Evaluation Teamwork: The Recipe for Success", Competent Communicator manual, project #5, time 5-7 minutes. Actual delivery time: 00:00:00. Evaluated by Mark.

2) Stephanie, "Support a California Constitutional Convention", Communicating on Television manual, project #1, time :02:30-:03:30 [minutes:seconds].Evaluated by Laura

Other Roles at this meeting:

Inspiration: Kelly
WordMaster: Kathy, and the featured word: catty
Timer: Bud
Ah Counter: Josie
Grammarian: Josie
Table Topics Master: Connie 
General Evaluator: Giselle
Joke of the Day: Mark

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



Meeting adjourned at: 8:00 AM