November 2006 Newsletter

Dear Lexington Toastmasters,

The days are getting noticeably shorter and it seems that naturally we are settling down to be inside and start planning our holiday season. This is our third newsletter and I am s-l-o-w-l-y getting a hold of how to produce it, but I must admit, the final product is pretty cool, so I think it is worth spending the time on it up front.

October was a busy month for Lexington Toastmasters! We had of course the "Humorous Speech Contest" where I ended up third place in the third round. I shared with you earlier the feedback I got from one of the seasoned Toastmasters who said that you always should know your audience! Well of course he is right, but..... upon my reflections of this feedback I had to write down some of my own thoughts, and yes, with a chuckle. I thought I would share a few with you. To bring you into context, I spoke about "Zoomer Woman" and the frustrations in finding stylish clothing for a woman my age. Here are some of my reflections:

• Should I be kept in the dark when talking about slits in dresses and guys not understanding the meaning of that? Aren't slits designed so that guys can adore them?
  
• Who mostly describes women as rubenesque and wearing frumpy suits? Men or Women?
• Do men not understand the 3-dimensional shape of a woman, really?!!

Okay, so maybe the audience should have been more of a metrosexual one for my speech, as one of our endearing Toastmasters pointed out, but I really did not have a choice! Needless to say, it was a fun experience and I really, really learned something from this process. Gentlemen, watch out for my next speech, you will be properly addressed!

In October, we also had our first party of the year! We had a great turnout, close to 40 members and their guests brought wonderful food to share. Kumiko introduced a game and Carolyn sang "Amazing Grace" with Mary on the piano. We mostly laughed together. These parties are a wonderful way to get to know each other better and at a more personal level. Our next celebratory event will take place on Thursday, Dec 21 during and after our noon meeting with goodies and holiday cheer.

Now for some formalities.....

Snow Day Policy for Toastmasters Meetings
The snow policy for the Lexington Toastmasters Club is that the club will not meet on days when the Lexington Public Schools are closed due to snow. To check for school closing you may:

• Check local TV stations, such as channels 4, 5 and 7, which will announce school closings on snow days.
• Go to the Town of Lexington website and click on Public Schools in the left column. That page should indicate whether or not schools are closed.
• Call the Lexington Schools at 781-861-2580. This number will have recorded information about school closings.

"Speak-Outs"
This upcoming event will take place on Wed, Nov 29th downstairs at the Cary Memorial Library in Lexington from 7:00-9:00pm. You still have an opportunity to participate in this event. Please email Duncan Stewart and let him know how you would like to take part.



Accolades
Many thanks to David Carnes for introducing the idea of contests to our club, starting with the Humorous Speech contest. Several Lexington Toastmasters also participated in the follow-on contests as timers, counters and judges. What a nice representation of our club, thank you to all. Kudos go to Peter Deng for videotaping our own contest. If you are interested in a DVD, please contact me.

Our party planner and organizer Kumiko Suzuki deserves many accolades for her stellar know-how in preparing and running a party! She did not leave any i's undotted and any t's uncrossed! Heartfelt thanks go to Kumiko and her husband who made the party so successful and easy going throughout the evening.

Special thanks go to Eric Shen, our treasurer, who mastered the monumental task of "Dues Collector" during the month of September. It is no small task to collect from over 50 members in a limited timeframe. Congratulations for keeping our club in excellent standing.

Hall of Famers 2005-2006
Congratulations to the following Toastmasters who completed specific programs last year:

CTM (now CC) - Eric Shen, Steve Silva and Kumiko Suzuki
CL - Christine Pinney and Steve Silva
ATMB - Carolyn Kingston

Many of you are working on completing one or two programs this year. If you have any questions in terms of which track you should consider or how to best move forward, feel free to give me a call. I also have a pocket guide to the new Educational System which I will continue to hand out in the upcoming meetings.

Calendar

Sat, Nov 11 Fall Conference, District 31 at Bentley College in Waltham, MA - see District31 link in the right column for more information and to register.

Thu, Nov 23 THANKSGIVING DAY - no meeting

Wed, Nov 29 "Speak-Out" at Cary Library in Lexington
7:00-9:00pm

October 2006 Newsletter

Dear Lexington Toastmasters,

Now that we are all settled back into our fall routines, many cleaned up our gardens, or "put it to sleep" as my mother would call it, you may have closed all the windows and turned on the heat! The days are getting noticably shorter; all signs of Fall. At Toastmasters however, we manage to keep quite a buzz around our activities, our members and yes, our upcoming party!

Party - Saturday, Oct 14th at 7pm!
Not signed up yet, it is not too late! Call Kumiko Suzuki at 617-484-3720 home or 617-347-2673 cell. Join us for good food and good company!

"Speak-Outs"
The month of September was indeed a busy month for Toastmasters. We organized another "Speak-Out" where six members gave speeches. Our next event will be on Wednesday, November 29th at 7pm downstairs at Cary Library in Lexington. Sign up for a speech or help out with one of the tasks by emailing Duncan Stewart at f.duncan.stewart@gmail.com

Accolades
Mev Barton, our Sergeant at Arms, created "Name Card Tents" for everyone. This makes it easy to address all club members and guests appropriately and if you have been lingering for a while and may not know the new members, the name cards will help you. Thank you Mev for keeping up with this task; it makes the club very professional!

Accolades go to our five contestants who participated in our first Humorous Speech contest:

Robert Isenberg - Dilip Mathur - Rudi Scheiber-Kurtz -
Steve Silva - Duncan Stewart

The combination of contest and humor brought the speech delivery to a higher level of public speaking for most of us. Stay tuned for additional constests in the near future!

The winner, me!, went on competing against two other clubs early October and won that competition. I will be representing the club on Tuesday, October 24th in Westford for the next round of competition.

My speech is called "Zoomer Woman", a better definition of the boomer age! I hope some of you can attend this contest, not only for some good laughs, but also for assisting with the event as timer, judge and counter. Send David Carnes an email at david@opfocus.com if you are able!

Club Stats:
Nationality:
Our club represents many countries, in fact over one third of membership has moved to this country as the first generation. They represent the following countries:

China - India - Japan - Turkey - Finland - Former Soviet Union -
Norway - Sweden - Switzerland

Speech Backlog:
Our backlog for speech availability has shortened from a ten week waiting period to a 5 week wait, a fifty percent reduction. This means that the opportunity is upon you to schedule your next speech; we will not disappoint you!

Calendar:
Saturday, Oct 14 (7pm) Party at Rudi's House
Tuesday, Oct 24 (7pm) Humorous Speech contest, Westford Library
Saturday, Nov 11 (10am) Fall Conference, Bentley College, Waltham - see district link
Wednesday, Nov 29 (7pm) "Speak-Out" at Cary Memorial Library, Lexington

Photo:
A Monarch Butterfly and Bee feeding on Wild Mint in Vermont, by RSK in October 2006!
Click on the picture to enlarge!