Click here for a printable version of this newsletter - To access this file you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you don't have it, follow the "Get Acrobat Reader" link to obtain a copy of the software.

[Home]  [More Newsletters]

Part II

Theresa Collier, ATM-B

Yes, it's that time again--time to make resolutions for the New Year. While you're making your list, don't forget to make a few as a member of the Notable Northgaters Membership Committee (if you are a member of Notable Northgaters you are automatically a member of this prestigious committee). Following are 3 easy resolutions that I'm making this year. If every member of our Club joins me, we'll be guaranteed another great year!

Born in Manila, the Philippines, Carina came to this country as an infant. She grew up in a house just a block away from the Olympic View Church, where Notable Northgaters holds its meetings. Currently, Carina works for AT&T Wireless Services as an Indirect Account Executive. In her spare time, Carina enjoys the company of her husband as well as making jewelry, and—like many Notable Northgaters—"reading as many books and magazines as I can get my hands on".

Deborah Ferber, Marlo Mytty, and Karen Weber-Millstein - Jan. 2000.

Congratulations, Carina Sauerzopf, for presenting your Ice Breaker speech on 12/27!

Madeleine Kolb

Notable Northgaters continues its blistering pace in meeting the goals of its Club Success Plan. Theresa Collier - the out-going Vice President Membership - has achieved both her ATM-B (Advanced Toastmaster-Bronze) and her CL (Competent Leader) awards, and Gabriela Remow - the Vice President Public Relations—has achieved her CL award.

Theresa met the ATM-B requirements by completing five speeches each from the Professional Sales Person and the Special Occasion Speeches manuals (both are Advanced Communications and Leadership Program Manuals).

Of the first manual, Theresa says, "I really liked it. It had a lot of good information for someone in sales." One of the things she liked most was the chance to work with others in NN on presentations. For example, she collaborated with Sheila Dixon and Mary Ann Schroeder to make an entertaining and motivational presentation designed to get club members to run for Club offices. Theresa describes the experience as "Really fun. I liked getting to know people outside the Club, and I enjoyed getting together with Sheila and Mary Ann to prepare our presentation and to practice it."

Of the second manual she selected for her ATM-B speeches, Theresa enjoyed the variety of short speeches for occasions such as "roasts." Theresa gave one speech from that manual outside the club to a group at work. A co-worker from the Green River Toastmasters Club did the required evaluation. (In order to receive Toastmasters credit for a speech, it must be evaluated by a member of Toastmasters.)

Theresa completed the final requirement for her CL award by giving two module speeches in the "Successful Club" series. One, called "Closing the Sale", was an inspirational speech which she presented at an NN meeting just after Christmas.

Theresa suggests that one way to keep momentum in meeting one’s goals is to make a commitment to someone else. As she points out, "If I commit to someone that I’ll give a speech, it gets done. Otherwise, it’s too easy to put it off." A bit of nagging—diplomatically done—may help too. Theresa credits President Ray Roman, CTM, for example, with prodding her by email to complete her ATM-B requirements within the schedule set. "It was good that he did that," Theresa acknowledges.

For Gabriela, completing the requirements of the CL award involved an enjoyable mix of serving as an officer and giving speeches. "Making things happen—like the newsletter and the Web site—has been fun," she says. Gabriela has poured time, energy, and creativity into developing and maintaining the Club’s Web site and newsletter, both of which have become invaluable resources.

Gabriela has been equally prodigious in her output of speeches. Her two module speeches from the Successful Club series were "The Toastmaster’s Promise" and the recent "Meeting Roles and Responsibilities." Currently working on her ATM-B award, Gabriela has an innovative way of getting promising ideas for her speeches. She listens to books on tape, something she can do while doing something else, such as driving or cooking dinner. Gabriela estimates that she listens to 50 to 100 books on tape per year, choosing them from published lists of good books. She makes notes on the things which interest her, and there are many of them.

According to Gabriela, "That’s what makes it fun. I get to pick the topic, and I have a huge backlog of interesting things to talk about." A recent example was an exceedingly poignant speech Gabriela gave from Mark Twain’s autobiography, which she had listened to on tape. She was moved by the final chapter and in turn gave a wonderfully moving, but understated, account from the point of view of Mark Twain as a man near the end of his own life, whose 29-year-old daughter dies suddenly.

Congratulations and thank you to Theresa and to Gabriela for your awards and your contributions to NN!

On a rainy Saturday morning (Dec. 16, 2000), four of our Club’s officers were in attendance for District-wide officers’ training. As a result, our Club earned a point in the Distinguished Club Program (DCP), moving us one step closer to our goal of accomplishing all ten Toastmasters objectives (see the Club Success Plan on page 4). Our officers were treated to an entertaining show, led by District 2 Lt. Governor of Education Larry Hussey, ATM-S. Then two Club officers who were experts in the DCP put on an excellent presentation – they were Kevin Roche, CL, and Christopher Harner, ATM-B of Rhetoracles #5092.

Larry Hussey, ATM-S, said afterward, "We trained 87 officers! That is the largest attendance for an officer training session in recent memory, which spans about a decade. Our old record was 68 for our training this past July. All of our trainers were ecstatic to have so many officers to train."

Here’s what our Club’s officers thought about the training:

President Ray Roman, CTM: The DCP presentation by Kevin Roche and Christopher Harner was fun, exciting and useful. At the training, I learned a program for ensuring that the educational goals of the DCP are attained: "Project, Target, Encourage and Enforce." Project the progress of Club members toward CTMs, ATMs, CLs and ALs; target individual members to achieve their educational goals within the July 1 - June 30 cycle; encourage members to achieve their goals; and enforce the Toastmaster regulations on educational achievements by making sure manual speeches are given and processing award applications carefully and promptly. I enjoyed brainstorming with other Club Presidents in solving Club issues during the breakout session. At every District training, I pick up new tips, meet with colleagues and get energized about the mission and process of Toastmasters.

VP Membership, Eric Thompson: The challenge was finding a seat, initially. Also challenging was the amount of work which needs completion to obtain "Select Distinguished" or "President’s Distinguished" Club status. The friendly atmosphere was lots of fun, and the information was presented in a fun way. We had good group discussions. I learned a lot about the DCP and I got some good information on VP Membership roles and responsibilities. I got a lot of information in 2 hours. I think this is a perfect amount of time for training. The training will serve as a good guide for me as I start my duties. The breakout groups gave people an opportunity to hear from other Club members in District 2. We found out what worked and didn't work well for other Clubs. I thought this information was paramount to hear - especially the avenues to getting new members which were explored. 

VP PR Gabriela Remow, CL: I also enjoyed the DCP presentation, and I was surprised to learn that the experts think getting CTM’s is the easy part of the educational goals. In our Club we have had the opposite experience, where ATM’s and CL’s have come easier than CTM’s. They also said that getting the points for attending officers’ training is a "no-brainer" – something that should come automatically, since every officer should understand that attending training is part of the job description. That’s something we can improve on in future years. And they said that getting new members is a real question mark, out of their control. But in our Club, it seems that if we put on good meetings and do good PR work, the guests will attend and join. In the breakout session, I learned valuable tips about press releases and flyers. After attending the training, I was "all pepped up" and ready to conquer the world. It’s a great motivational and learning experience.

Secretary Madeleine Kolb: I enjoyed the initial session on the Distinguished Club Program and learned a lot from it. What made a particular impression on me was the emphasis on planning - as distinct from the Club Success Plan itself - to provide focus and direction. I found the discussion of specific strategies for meeting the education goals of the plan - Project, Target, Encourage, and Enforce—quite helpful. The session for Secretaries and Treasurers was useful also and gave me a chance to get an answer to one of my questions. All in all, the officers’ training was a fine way to spend a miserable, rainy Saturday morning.

MADELEINE KOLB

The Club affirmed that Eric Thompson will be taking over as the new VP Membership, effective Jan. 1, 2001.

All officers were present: President Ray Roman, CTM; VP Education Fred Coutts; VP Membership Eric Thompson; VP PR Gabriela Remow, CL; Secretary Madeleine Kolb; Treasurer Michael Suver; Sgts-at-Arms Gina Coluccio and Lisa Smith; and Immediate Past President Sheila Dixon. They voted to approve the minutes of the November 1, 2000 meeting. Ray reported on the status of the Club Success Plan. The officers discussed the type of meeting to hold during Toastmasters Week (our January 31 meeting) and the need for help in writing, editing, and printing the newsletter. There was also a lengthy discussion of the focus and tone of evaluations given in the weekly meetings.

The Club voted unanimously to accept Steve Kwan as a new member. He was duly sworn in to the Club by President Ray Roman, CTM.

January 28, 2001 through February 3, 2001 is the week that local and state officials will formally recognize Toastmasters. What does Toastmasters Week mean for our Club? It means guests will be coming! These guests are potential new members who can help make our meetings more dynamic, interesting and fun!

Do you remember when you came to your first Toastmasters meeting? Did you find it unfamiliar or uncomfortable? By making our Club user-friendly for our guests, they will feel more comfortable and be more apt to keep coming back.

The meeting is the selling point of Toastmasters. Meetings are where people first begin to improve their communication and leadership skills. Therefore it is important that our meetings are well run and well organized. By doing this we will give our guests a good first impression of our Club.

Make sure each member on the program explains his or her role such as the role of the timer, tallymaster, grammarian. This will help guests understand what is going on during the meeting. Ask guests for comments at the end of the meeting. Ask guests if they want to participate in the meeting. Ask them to join the Club.

Jan. 17^th, regular Club Meeting, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 24^th,, regular Club Meeting, 5:30 p.m.

Jan 31^st, Toastmasters Week! Special Club Meeting, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 7^th, regular Club Meeting, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 9^th, newsletter deadline.

Feb. 14^th, regular Club Meeting, 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 15^th, next newsletter publication date.

Sat. Feb. 24^th, Last Chance District-wide Officer Training, 9:00 - 11:00 am, Fairview Church, 79th NE and Roosevelt, Seattle. Parking one block north on 79th. Coffee and donuts.

Tues. Feb. 6^th & 13^th, at UW, "How to Prepare a 5-Minute Speech. . . in 5 Minutes!" 6:30-9:30 p.m., only $23 for Toastmasters and UW students ($35 general). Call 68-LEARN to register for course #2523.

Apr. 21^st, Deadline to register for the Toastmasters Fiesta (Spring Conference) on Cinco de Mayo

Notable Northgaters #6949

July 1, 2000 - June 30, 2001

Updated 1/10/2001