It is a beautiful evening in the neighbourhood- Let's "WINE” up/down year-end celebration

Submitted by Edith B
Jun 16, 2020 Lingo Advanced Toastmasters had a “delightful” evening at our “wine” down year end event. Much like this year, it was certainly not the norm. With our hand puppet in one hand and our favourite beverages, ranging from Edmonton tap water to wine, of course, in the other, we toasted our achievements. Congratulations to triple crown winner, Kerrianne K-M, on her DTM. What a ride! Congratulations are also in order to Estella M on her pending DTM (paperwork in progress) as she burned the candle at both ends this year. Melanie K also had achievements worthy of noting. Special kudos to Cherry C on being chosen as Lingo’s Toastmaster of the Year. She was particularly noted for getting it all done.

We were also delighted to assist guest, Oksana N, in pursuit of achieving her ACG by opening a spot for her to give a speech entitled “Farewell to Traditional Education” discussing the end of the traditional Toastmaster Program for the new Pathways program. Well done Oksana.

Our outgoing President Dan M, spoke from the “Special Occasions” manual to present “A year in review.” Despite the change in the way we meet and the changes to come, it can be summed up as a very good year. Only good things will come in the future as Bonnie W, outgoing Area 51 Director, and one of two new Lingo members takes up the role as incoming president.

To round out the evening, puppet in hand, Richard M, Div B Director joined us to install the new executive: Bonnie W (President), Dan M (VP Education), Edith B (VP Membership), Cherry C (VP PR), Estella M (Secretary), Shiao X (Treasurer) and Eileen S (Sgt at Arms). Congratulations to the new executive. Thank you to Richard and Congratulations on becoming D99 Club Growth Director for 20/21.

Votes tonight went to Shiao X, Bonnie W, and guest, Oksana N for best Intro/TT response and to Cherry C for most creative hand puppet. Virtual telegrams were created and read by Toastmaster Edith B in paying tribute to all members.

Wow, what a “delightful” beautiful evening in the neighbourhood. We look forward to much more in 2020/21 starting with our “Amazing Race” meeting July 7th. You are welcome to join us then or any first or third Tuesday of the month, 7-8:30 pm via Zoom, for now.

Scentsational … using our senses!

Submitted by Melanie K.


At our last meeting on November 19^th, Toastmaster Melanie K. took us on a mini exploration into the world of scents. Everyone shared their favourite or not so pleasant scent. We learned about how the first recorded perfume was made back in 1200 BCE.

Kerrianne K-M. informed us about public trust and the Canadian agri-food scene, while Eileen S. provided a descriptive speech on her preparations for family who will be home for the holidays.

We became aware of what some of the best jobs are such as sommelier (wine), chocolatier, baker, florist amongst others to some of the most odious jobs such as zookeeper, sanitation and sewage technologists, pathologists and crime scene investigators. Polar bears have the best sense of smell and can smell seals 32 km away! Dog have jobs smelling many different things helping military and law enforcement personnel from bed bugs, landmines, to money, drugs and foreign foods. Melanie brought various scented essential oils and books on aromatherapy. Scented prizes were given to everyone in attendance. A scentsational good time was had by all!

Please join us on December 3^rd as we delve into Workshop Essentials led by Lingo’s President Dan M., DTM! J

Social Media Tools

Submitted by Edith B.

While the weather was cold and icy and the attendees were few, Lingo’s latest meeting was hot!  Eileen S., aptly opened the meeting adjusting the time through colourful TI timer app. 

We learned lots about social media from our participants. Toastmaster Edith B. set the stage by noting even though some say “Facebook is for old people,” she really enjoys the “connections” (knock/knock) she has around the world, especially through the Official Toastmasters International Facebook group. One item she learned was advanced clubs give “MEAN”* evaluations and last night was no exception.  

Estella M., along with Melanie K. as radio host, professionally demonstrated a radio talk interview discussing the use of various video channels as a social media marketing tool. 

Rhys D., resident guru for the D99TM Fan Facebook group, presented an excellent presentation on “Marketing Toastmasters Through Social Media.”  He discussed several social media platforms and only mentioned “the cat” a few times.

Cherry C., efficiently pulled double duty as both Table Topics Master and General Evaluator. Guest Midi (Riverbend TM Club President),  not only won the best Tabletopics speaker, telling us about monitoring social media of her teenage daughter, she also gave a “MEAN” evaluation of Estella’s speech, noting the value of vocal variety especially in a radio talk setting where you are not seen.

”MEAN” - “Meaningful, Educational, Applicable and No-nonsense.”

Melanie K., provided us with a sneak preview of Lingo’s next meeting on November 19^th, promising us a “Scent-sational” good time. I hear “scentsational” prizes will be awarded. Think of your favourite or not so favourite scents and be prepared to share.  You don’t want to miss out!

We also learned that if a meeting does not have food, you may want to stay home and send emails instead.  It’s a good thing Lingo always has food, so please visit us on the  first or third Tuesday of the month at 7 pm at Revera at Riverbend  (103 Rabbithill Court). 

How to WoW up your Workshop

Submitted by Edith B.


We know who knows how to put on a “Wow Workshop.” Lingo Advanced Communicators. On September 3, 2019, Toastmaster Edith B. set the stage for learning what workshops are all about and their relevance to real life. This was done in a timely manner, thanks to Rhys D. keeping track. Several members did presentations exploring the alternatives available for running a workshop (Dan M.), talking about making workshops fun, through Storytelling (Rick L.), reviewing tips on using handouts and PowerPoint presentations (Cherry C.) and enlightening us on the details on putting on Workshops (Eileen S.). General Evaluator Estella M. had several comments on the various aspects presented. Thanks to our guest from Riverbend TM club for attending and giving comments on the various sections of the presentations. They were very much appreciated. Looking forward to our next get together - a meeting September 17th re: “Managing A Difficult Audience” hosted by Toastmaster Estella M. and a workshop on October 1, 2019 on “Evaluating English as a second language” hosted by Eileen S.  Lingo welcomes all guests. We meet at Revera at Riverbend (103 Rabbit Hill Rd) at 7 pm. 

Essentials for being Successful Area Director & Special Guest Speaker - Thierry (TJ) Johnson

Submitted by Estella Mah, ACB, ALB

The June 4^th meeting had a lot of meaningful exchange of information on the essentials for being a successful Area Director. Lingo was honoured to host two renowned presenters, our past District Director Marg Faryna, and District Champion Speaker, Thierry (TJ) Johnson as well as guests, Collin Greene, Von Eric Tandoc and Fong Chua.

Our District Speech Contest Winner TJ Johnson presented his new speech, featuring a romantic comedy and life lessons, show cased the meeting. His story touched the audiences with heartfelt emotions, strong vocal variety, natural gestures, and vivid imagery. He was provided with verbal and written feedback using the contest judges’ ballot.

We were thrilled to have our special guest Marg Faryna, DTM, PDG, who gave an insightful presentation on “Honing the competencies as an Area Director”. Marg engaged dialogue through questions and answers, shared insightful messages from her experience and brought relevancies to individual aspirations for being an area director. Her catch line of “What’s in it For Me?” was a sure way to inspire others in taking a leap to becoming a leader beyond the club. She defined a roadmap for us as she introduced the skills, knowledge, competencies and attributes of an Area Director, and elevated the expectations and benefits, stressing that this role is “more than a body” and “more than two visits”.

Dan McCosh’s speech, “Refocusing Your Leadership as an Area Director,” inspired us through a dialogue of contrasts and similarities between the roles of club President and Area Director. He challenged us to think of interacting with a club that has farther distances with non-regular visits being a game changer and showed us how we can lead with greater success. It was educational and inspiring!

We were happy to have three Lingo members as panellists: Edith Baraniecki, DTM, Eileen Szackacs, ACB, ALB, PSII, and Kerrianne Koehler-Munro, ACB, ALB, to share their insights and personal experiences as past Area Directors.  Estella Mah, another Lingo member, facilitated and moderated the discussion with upbeat and meaningful questions and information.

The meeting concluded with positive comments from guests. President Richard Lebeuf, DTM, managed the meeting with superb organization, flare and enthusiasm.

Note to Lingo members – Our Year End party will be held off location on Tuesday, June 25, not June 18. Further details provided soon. Melanie Kruger ACB, ALB with assistance from Cherry Cheung, DTM will be organizing this celebration and 2019-2020 club office induction.

Loyalty Programs, Time Travel & Club Officer Election ... Oh My!

Submitted by Edith B.


What a team! Lingo Advanced Communicators Toastmasters members did it again! Do we know a thing or two about “time travel” - probably not other than the “Back to the Future” movies we all saw back in the 1980s. However, we certainly do know about our loyalty cards, how to collect points and miles, and where the best bargains are. We were also treated to Rick’s third Pathways speech Level II on Mentoring. He enlightened us on the difference between coaching and mentoring. The highlight of the meeting, besides bargain priced snacks (thanks to Edith), was our elections.  No time travel there, though we did have campaign speeches for President. Congratulations to our newly elected 2019-2020 executive officers:


President Dan M
VP Ed Cherry C
VP Membership Edith B
VP PR Rhys D
Treasurer Estella M
Secretary Kerrianne K-M
Sgt at Arms Rick L. 


Thank you to the outgoing executive officers for all your hard work. 


Come visit us on June 4th, for the Rick and Dan show featuring guest speaker TJ Johnson (Member of GoPro Speakers and Millwoods Vocabulaires Toastmaster clubs), D99 International Speech Champion. Show TJ your support and also hear what Rick and Dan are up to. See you at Revera Riverbend 103 Rabbit Hill Court, 7-9 pm.


Members please note our year-end gathering has been moved to June 25th - details to follow.

A Salute to PechaKucha Summary

Submitted by Edith


Lingo’s “Salute to PechaKucha” Tuesday, May 7^th was a resounding success.  Such a fun-filled evening. Thanks to Kerrianne for the idea, to the eight presenters for your varied and stimulating presentations. We heard about and saw: Big 5, Small 3 and a Bucket, All About Hair, The Beginner’s Mind, The imminent Threat of Global Warming, Life After Retirement, West Coast Trail, Welcome to the Chamber of Commerce, and Edmonton’s Changing Landscape.  Thanks to all those that assisted.  Let’s do it again! 
 

Our next meeting is Tuesday, May 21^st  Edith is the Toastmaster, Rick has signed up for a Pathways speech on Mentoring and Cherry will be leading Table Topics.  It is also our Election business meeting led by Melanie, Past President.  

The theme is “Time Travel/Loyalty Programs.”  I wonder if it takes more Air Miles or Aeroplan points to travel forward in time or back in time? Come join us at 7 pm at Revera in Riverbend.