June 21/22 - National Indigenous History Month

We had a wonderful evening recognizing “National Indigenous History Month” as we learned more about the “culture” of the Indigenous Peoples on this special day.  Sgt at Arms Cherry C welcomed guest speaker DTM Glenda Sheard to give an acknowledgement regarding meeting on Treaty 6 land. We also welcomed guest DTM Peggy Z.  Our TM for the evening was Eileen S, who always comes very well prepared for any role she has.  For our introductions many of us touched on our experiences with Indigenous peoples and some noted that the “learnings are an ongoing journey.”

We were honored to have Glenda as our speaker regarding National Indigenous History month. As the grammarian, I was mesmerized by the number of descriptive words and terms that rolled off her tongue: discrimination, marginalized, biases, diversity, respect, 60’s scoop, Indspire and more. She certainly helped enlighten us.  

Next on our agenda was Dan Mc, outgoing President, presenting the 2021/22 awards. We all received a certificate for some recognition, including our newest members yet to be inducted, Miles G (returning to TMs), Richard M (22/23 D99  District Director), and Violet W (our second token Millennium to Timer Shiao X).  Guess what award Rhys D received? Think horns and giant spoon (yes goofy).  The rest of us fulfilled many of the key roles of TM, Table Topics Master, Coordinator and Speaker many times and had great attendance so were duly recognized.  Cherry and I were noted for our Triple Crowns as well as my blogs and dedication to the Club, as I sit in Fairmont BC attending on Zoom from there. Cherry won the top award of Toastmaster of the Year. Congratulations to all and especially to Cherry, whose Toastmaster of the Year form will also be sent to the Area B51 Director to be considered with other clubs in Area B51. 

Tabletopics Master Rhys had some tough questions but Glenda handled her question with ease indicating which Indigenous person she most admired from the entertainment world. She indicated Chevi Rabbit winning best TT response. Craig B for his evaluations was impressed by all the responses. 

Dan asked us to raise our glasses and he gave a Toast to the Club and the obstacles we have overcome.  It was a great meeting to close out the 2021/22 year.  Eileen reminded us that the next meeting is Tuesday July 5/22 in her backyard for a Potluck so please sign up for a dish. It will be a joint meeting with Fabulous Facilitators, Riverbend, and Golden Mountain TM Clubs. The theme will be “In the good old summer time.”  See you then Edith B VPPR (Incoming President)

Lingo Advanced Communicators: June 7/22 - Innovative Planning

There was nothing “status quo” about our meeting which was WOD selected by Grammarian Cherry,  Sgt at Arms Craig B introduced Xiao as TM of the evening who asked us where we wanted change in our lives. Most got on the “weight management” bandwagon through more activity to get rid of the muffin top or spare tire while one member wanted to rewire minds to get rid of the negativity in the world.  

We had three very different presentations:

1. I presented “Innovation is everywhere” - a more light hearted look at my life and one place in particular that I frequently describe itself as innovative - Freson Bros Grocers. (Presentation Mastery L1 - Icebreaker)
2. Cherry C presented “Creating an Innovative Environment” describing a workplace setup (Google) that is innovative and quite different than our previous workplace settings, especially Government. In an interactive approach, she left us with three “I’s” and two “C’s” to take home: interaction, inspiration, independence, collaboration and curiosity. (Motivational Strategies L4 elective - Managing On-line meetings)
3. Dan Mc presented “A Leader’s Role in Innovation” where he used a whiteboard to solicit ideas regarding Toastmaster leaders. He gave us food for thought. (Team Collaboration L3 elective- Inspire your  audience.)

All three of us has some technical glitches before we got going and we were probably a nightmare for timer Eileen S as all were longer speeches than our 90 minute meeting usually has. I won best presentation, maybe because it was shorter and people liked the $1 coffee and $1 ice cream. 

We have an exciting meeting coming up June 21/22 at 7 pm: Theme:  National Indigenous History Month with Guest Glenda Sheard, who is a multi-dimensional entrepreneur, transformational coach, mentor, community-builder, motivational speaker, Radio Show Host and a Compassionate Leader. Be sure to join us.  

Submitted by Edith B, VPPR