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NOTABLE
Notable Northgaters #6949, District 2, Area 23-B 5:30-6:45 p.m. Wednesdays at Olympic View Church, 425 N.E. 95th St., Seattle, WA	April 15, 2001
NORTHGATER _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Ó 2001 by Notable Northgaters

 

RAY ROMAN, CTM

That was one of my questions when I first joined Notable Northgaters. I remember being befuddled about how the President was different from the Toastmaster. After all, they both stood at the lectern and both seemed to be in charge, but. . . I even remember phoning the President once with questions about my role for that week when it turned out that I should have called the Toastmaster. After that, I understood that while the Toastmaster is responsible for managing the main portion of an individual meeting, the President has the task of leading others and guiding the Club in general. Later I found out that the President guides the Club toward meeting Toastmasters standards and becoming a Distinguished Club. Toastmasters standards for Clubs are as follows.

²        Meetings are "showcase" events. Smoothly run meetings with well-prepared  participants are key to the Toastmasters educational program.

²        Club officers are effective. They are trained, dedicated to helping the Club and the members, and execute well.

²        Membership recruitment is ongoing. The Club combats natural turnover and gains new ideas and leadership through recruitment.

²        New members are inducted, oriented and matched with a mentor. New members need to get a firm start in order to become active, supportive, and enthusiastic team members.

²        All members are working in the communication and leadership tracks and achieving educational awards.

²        All members are trained in effective evaluation. Evaluations are neither "whitewashes" nor overcritical. Evaluators offer specific suggestions for improvement as well as encouragement.

²        Members are quickly recognized for their accomplishments so they are encouraged to set and achieve higher goals.

²        Members are all working to help the Club become a Distinguished Club. Members are familiar with the Distinguished Club Program and how the Club plans to achieve its goals.

²        Administrative work is handled promptly.

In order to make certain the Club meets these benchmarks, Toastmasters charges the President with certain tasks.

President's Duties

At the Club meeting

The key duties of the President during the meeting are as follows:

l         Ensure that meetings start and end on time

l         Ensure that guests are welcomed and taken care of before and after meetings

l         Keep the members mindful of the Club Mission

l         Discuss the Distinguished Club Program and the Club’s progress toward Distinguished Club status

l         Recognize member achievements

Outside of the Club meeting

The President’s main responsibilities outside of the Club meeting are as follows:

l         Ensure that Club officers meet prescribed performance standards

l       Oversee the Club’s plan to achieve Distinguished Club Program goals

l       Encourage members’ educational development by promoting the achievement of CTM, ATM, CL and AL awards

l         Ensure that the Club has an ongoing membership building program

l         Attend District, Regional and International meetings or give proxy to a Club or District representative

l         Oversee the administration of the Club in compliance with the Club Constitution and Bylaws

l         Maintain relationship with the District and with Toastmasters International

l         Schedule and chair monthly Executive Committee meetings

l         Search for leaders, ensure all Club offices are filled for the succeeding term, and ensure timely elections are conducted

l         Prepare successor for office

l         Attend Club officer training.

Impressions

Being President this year has been an exciting experience. At first the task seemed daunting: so many things to look after! But I found that it has been easier than it seemed. Two key reasons are that (1) most tasks are in fact delegated to officers or other members, according to the design of the Toastmasters program, and (2) plenty of guidance is available from a myriad of sources: fellow officers, past Presidents (especially Sheila Dixon, ATM, Immediate Past President), the Area Governor, Toastmasters materials and headquarters staff, and even, the accumulated wisdom of Toastmasters throughout the world via the World Wide Web.

Being President has also been exciting in a number of ways. For one, it is a chance to try out being a "manager" in a relatively low-risk way. For another, it is like being an impresario -- the executive producer of 52 weekly shows. Every week, there is a new show to anticipate with pleasure. The cast members and their roles will differ slightly, but the same high quality will come out. Finally, there is the pleasure of watching individual members grow in the Toastmasters program. Knowing that the program your team is helping promote is assisting individual members to reach their personal growth goals is infinitely gratifying.

A Moment for Membership

GABRIELA REMOW, ATM-B

Vice President Public Relations

 

It’s time to give congratulations to our Club Treasurer, Michael Suver, for his successful efforts in collecting our Club’s semi-annual dues and submitting them on time to Toastmasters International (TI).  Our President, Ray Roman, CTM, is also deserving of congratulations for his part in submitting the required paperwork to TI, which is an important component of our Club Success Plan (see below).

At the end of March, our Club’s membership stood at an all-time high of 31.  But, inevitably, as the end of the month (and the semi-annual period) rolled around, we lost three members who did not renew, reducing our ranks to 28 – still a good, strong number.

Our membership number is healthy, and it remains so due to our continuing efforts to build membership.  Attrition is a constant factor that will always remain, as people’s lives, jobs, and interests move them along and out of our Club.  So we must maintain our high standards, in order to keep a steady flow of new members coming into our Club.  TI recommends adding a new member each month.

By persisting in our PR activities, making our Club known and bringing in guests, we make a good start.  We must also continue to have high quality meetings, our greatest selling point, in order to turn our guests into members.  We’ve been doing a great job, and our efforts have shown up in our numbers – so far, 10 new members have joined since July 2000. 

So, let’s continue to do our utmost to bring in guests with solid PR, and then hook them on Toastmasters with great meetings.

 

Welcome Aboard!

 

One of our newest members, Eric Beattie, joined Toastmasters in March.  Eric is an engineer, working for a consulting firm, Cascade Engineering.  Eric works on mechanical design of heating and pump systems.  When he’s not working, Eric likes to ski, travel, do photography, and visit some of the great pubs around town.

Eric is that rare species known as a Seattle Native (there are a few in our Club – do you know who?).  Though he grew up in Burien, for the past four years he was in Montreal and Los Angeles.  He returned to Seattle about six months ago and is glad to be back because he missed the trees and the rain.  One of Eric’s favorite places in Seattle is the Volunteer Park Conservatory, “especially on a gray day this time of year,” says Eric, “because it is so bright inside and everything is blooming.” Eric’s first impression of our Club was that is was fun and that he could learn a lot.  He hopes to become better at public speaking and making presentations.  Welcome, Eric!  (By DEBORAH FERBER)

 

Our newest member, Mary Mulcahy, was born in County Cork, Ireland and has lived and worked in Italy, Germany, and Canada.  Mary arrived in Seattle in March 1993 where, she says, “My first official duty was to carry a banner down 4^th Avenue in the St. Patrick Day Parade.” 

Mary was a member—briefly—of a Toastmasters Club in Vancouver, British Columbia.  She recalls that, “I progressed to being timer once, but never made it to the podium.”  She learned of Notable Northgaters through a notice in the Seattle Press and joined to pursue a long-standing goal of speaking well in public.

Over the past few years, Mary has run her own business, providing transportation/cargo claims consulting.  Currently at what she describes as “a fork in life’s road, examining which road to take,” Mary is looking for temporary work. 

In her spare time, Mary enjoys travel as well as reading papers, magazines, and books, and of course the occasional round of golf.

Mary, welcome to Notable Northgaters!  (By MADELEINE KOLB)

 

Gloria Buce, Master Composter

 

BY MADELEINE KOLB

On March 14, Notable Northgaters held its Club-level International Speech and Evaluation Contest. According to the archives on our Web site, “There were no contestants in the Speech Contest, but we had a full crew of evaluators.”  That crew— Marta Boyle, Gloria Buce, and Eric Thompson—each evaluated a speech given by guest speaker Alida Schuyler from Chamber Club #540.

The winner was long-term Toastmaster Gloria Buce, who went on to represent Notable Northgaters at the Area 23 Contest held on March 24.  Gloria took first place in that contest also.  Her husband Jack, competing in a different Area Contest, won both the Evaluation and the Speech Contest.  Gloria and Jack each went on to the Division B Contest.  While Gloria did not win at the Division Level—and Jack did—Gloria swears that the contest was an excellent experience.

Gloria is a real pro at presentations.  Her job for Peopleware, a software company in Bellevue, involves a great deal of travel to train people throughout the US and Canada.  Gloria enjoys the training, if not the frequent travel.  Her most recent speech to Notable Northgaters, “Adults Just Want to Have Fun,” provided a tantalizing glimpse of Gloria’s strengths as a trainer.  She demonstrated how to give lively presentations by getting our attention right at the outset and holding it throughout, even tossing candy rewards to Club members from time to time.

Besides work and Toastmasters, Gloria enjoys cross-country skiing and cooking, specializing in what she calls “gourmet ethnic vegetarian dishes.”  Despite her hectic travel schedule at work, she enjoys foreign travel with her husband.  The two are currently planning a trip to Spain.  She also finds time to study Italian and do some gardening.  It was her interest in gardening that led the multi-talented Gloria to become a Master Composter (a certification given by the City of Seattle to those who complete an arduous 3-month training program) in 1986.

(For more on Gloria’s latest exploits, see below!)  

Meeting Awards & Reports

Great job, everyone!  Keep up the good work!

We have now achieved 8.5 of the 10 Distinguished Club goals (see below)!

Membership Anniversaries:

Madeleine Kolb - Apr. 2000.

Congratulations to Steve Kwan, for presenting your ice breaker speech on March 21!

 

Congratulations to Michael Suver, Madeleine Kolb, Michelle Rupp, Fred Coutts, and Ashley Kantor, for earning the Half-CTM award!

A Proud Day for Notable Northgaters

 

Sheila Dixon, ATM: March 24^th was a proud day for our Club!  The Area 21 and 23 International Speech and Evaluation Contests were held that morning.  I attended to support Gloria Buce, ATM, winner of our Club Evaluation Contest.

I was delighted to discover that Fred Coutts was the Toastmaster; Ray Roman, CTM, was the Sgt.-at-Arms; Gabriela Remow, ATM-B, was the timer; and Michelle Rupp was the greeter!  Marta Boyle and I sat back and enjoyed watching our fellow Club members do an outstanding job. The added bonus was that Gloria was the winner of the Area 23 Evaluation Contest.  Congratulations to all!

Gabriela Remow, ATM-B: I had expected the event to be an organizational nightmare, with difficulty finding people to fill in all the tasks.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  In fact, there were plenty of people, more people than tasks!  Our Area Governor, Walter Carlisle, ATM-S, did a fine job.  It was a lot of fun, and we saw and heard some outstanding speeches and evaluations.  We had seven members of our Club present, so I felt right at home.  And of course, all the other Toastmasters from other Clubs were friendly and fun to meet.

Fred Coutts: I was surprised at the turnout. I was told to expect 15 or 20; it was more
like 40! I was impressed with the talent of Toastmasters; that was the first contest I've attended.  As for my role as Toastmaster, the most challenging time for me was the one minute of silence for judging after each contestant. Those minutes seem like an eternity when you’re standing up there in front of folks who like to talk.  That said, I think we should have this same minute of silence when we write our comments and judge in our Club. This way, when the Toastmaster begins to speak again, others are not talking.

Michelle Rupp: This was my first Area speech contest.  I continue to be awestruck by the warmth of everyone you meet involved in this organization. I attend many, many events and meetings and NEVER do people introduce themselves with such ease and confidence.  It is a joy.  The speakers and the evaluators were all excellent.  I learned a great deal in just two short hours.  Walter, our Area Governor, is also very welcoming, witty and just plain nice.  I enjoyed myself immensely.  If you have a few hours, just stop by any Area contest, it will be so worth your time!

P.S.  I met Betty Eisenzimmer, who founded Notable Northgaters.  She was just tickled to hear how vibrant our Club is.  It is always fun to pass on gratifying information.

This is Gloria receiving her trophy from District 2 Lt. Gov. Education Larry Hussey, ATM-S, alongside Area Governor Walter Carlisle, ATM-S.

Gloria Buce, ATM: I thought the contest was exceptionally well run under Fred's able (and witty) guidance and with the participation of many of our Club members. Thank you so much to all of you who were out there in the audience! It was so nice to look out and see my Notable Northgater friends in the audience. It makes speaking at a contest so much easier.

Marta Boyle: I was very pleased to support Gloria as she competed in the evaluation portion of the contest.  Hearing the different speeches and seeing a variety of styles of speeches was helpful for me.  I enjoyed listening, observing and supporting as a member of Notable Northgaters. I look forward to attending more of these as my schedule permits.

Ray Roman, CTM: In addition to being fun and stimulating, an Area, Division or District speech contest is always a great chance to savor and learn from the vast array of speakers and speech styles within our own local area. This time I was privileged to see some very able competitors. Especially impressive were the formidable entrants from Toastmasters Extraordinaires Advanced #2148, but all put on a good show! I am looking forward to May 5th, when the best speakers and evaluators from the five Divisions in District 2 compete at our semi-annual conference -- Toastmasters Fiesta!!

 

More Congratulations!

 

In addition to all this, Gloria earned her second CTM award on April 11, 2001, with her speech titled, “Become the Answer.”  This achievement moved our Club one step closer to our goal of being President’s Distinguished, giving us 8.5 of 10 goals achieved (see below).  Congratulations, Gloria!

And finally, on April 7^th, Gloria competed in the Division B evaluation contest, and represented our Club and herself admirably in a tough competition.  Gloria – well done!

Ray, Sheila, Gloria, and Gabriela at the Division B Contest

 

The Secretary’s Corner – Club Business

MADELEINE KOLB

Club Meeting 3/28/2001

The Club voted unanimously to accept Mary Mulcahy as a new member.  She was duly sworn in to the Club by President Ray Roman, CTM.

Executive Committee 4/04/2001

The following officers were present: President Ray Roman, CTM; VP Education Fred Coutts; Secretary Madeleine Kolb; Sgts-at-Arms Lisa Smith and Gina Coluccio; and Immediate Past President Sheila Dixon, ATM.  They reviewed and updated the Club Success Plan, noting that all goals have been accomplished except the 4 CTM awards.  All four candidates are on schedule to complete the award.  Sheila has received some nominations for Club officers for next year (July 1, 2001-June 30, 2002), and expects more; voting will occur in May.  The meeting was adjourned.

 

Repetition

A Powerful Rhetorical Technique

GABRIELA REMOW, ATM-B

 

Have you ever heard someone speak, and then wonder, “What was his point?”  Or have you ever felt that you didn’t get your own point across in a speech?  Repetition of a thematic phrase or word is a solid method to make sure the audience gets your point. 

As an example, consider the following passage from a speech.

“Most poor people are not on welfare.  They work every day.  They take the early bus.  They work every day.

“They care for other people’s babies and they can’t watch their own.  They cook other people’s food and carry leftovers home.  They work every day.

“They are janitors running the buffing machines.  They are nurses and orderlies wiping the bodies of the sick.  A loaf of bread is no cheaper for them than it is for the doctor.  They work every day.

“They put on uniforms and are considered less than a person.  They change beds in the hotels.  Sweep our streets.  Clean the schools for our children.  They’re called lazy, but they work every day.  They work in hospitals.  They mop the floors.  They clean the commodes, the bedpans.  They work every day.  No job is beneath them.  And yet when they get sick, they cannot afford to lie in the bed they’ve made up every day.”

-The REVEREND JESSE JACKSON, campaigning for the Presidency in California, May 1988.

 

So - did you get the point of that passage?  Do you think you’ll remember it?

You probably see already how effective it can be to repeat a key phrase throughout a speech.  As Jeff Scott Cook says in The Elements of Speechwriting and Public Speaking, “Repetition is the oldest device known for getting something into memory.  It has the effect of unifying long blocks of spoken words.  The chosen phrase itself serves as a focal point for the audience’s approval and, if appropriate, applause.”

This is just one of the many techniques we can learn and master as we progress in Toastmasters.  The more techniques we can use effectively, the better speakers we will become.  So let’s do it, and let’s have fun doing it!

 

 

 

 

Club Success Plan

Notable Northgaters #6949

July 1, 2000 - June 30, 2001

Updated 4/11/2001