Sept 18 - Summary of Meeting Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Toastmaster Eileen S. took us on a journey of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, opening the meeting with how do you feel about composting? The views were much in the favour of great for others, but not my thing!

 

Warm welcome to Rafena A. who will be officially joining Lingo on October 1st. 

 

Dan M. presented an educational entitled The Perfect Setup. Sounds dubious and was a great reminder to all Toastmasters regarding the protocol for drafting introductions. The goals of having a great introduction is to create focus and interest to the audience who will be listening to your speech. A good reminder was to not leave your introduction until the last minute to give to the Toastmaster time to practice your introduction, prior to the meeting. Don’t forget to include your TM credentials. We’ve all heard the mumbled introductions that do nothing for the speakers. Ugh, bored and the speaker hasn’t even said one word, yet!

 

Dan’s helpful tips for drafting a good introduction include:

• Approach - Give the audience a bit of a description regarding what you are going to talk about.
• Clarification – What you will be discussing in your speech.
• Length – 30 seconds to one minute for speeches, a bit longer for an educational (though no set guideline).
• Delivery – Provide your introduction to the Toastmaster ideally one to two days ahead of time, so s/he can practice before the meeting.

Conclude with your speech title and include “join me in welcoming name, designation ….”

 

Melanie K. enlightened the audience with a radio interview on Pet Central regarding the Hervey Foundation, the only no-kill , volunteer-based cat charity in Alberta which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. Their mission is to rescue, rehome, and educate while caring for hundreds of abused, abandoned and neglected kitties and cats each year. The Hervey Foundation spends in excess of $5000 per month for an astounding 450 pounds of dry cat food, 75 cases of we cat food, and 800 pounds of cat litter! For further information about the Hervey Foundation, cats, volunteering or donating go to http://herveycats.com/.

  

Best Table Topics went to Matthew M. who entertained us with why Reduce, Reuse and Recycle would be good names for dogs. Best Evaluator went to Rafena A. with her excellent powers of observation.

 

Please join us at our next workshop on October 2nd at St. Augstine’s Anglican Church (6110 Fulton Road - our home away from home), where Melanie K. and Dan M. will journey into the where and how of igniting new ideas to spark interest and perhaps revival for you, your club or your workplace. No, you don’t need to be creative in order to participate. This workshop is about learning to think and view things in entirely different ways! There is a $5 cover charge. Seating is limited. Please register in advance https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ideation-workshop-how-to-ignite-toastmasters-tickets-50152725151.

Sept 4 – Summary Pathways & Beyond Boot Camp

Submitted by Melanie Kruger

Approximately 35 people participated in the Pathways & Beyond boot camp held at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church. Attendees learned not only more about the ten pathways and 5 levels, but also what core competencies are required for each level as well as the electives available within each level. Rhys Davies, DTM, guided participants with his presentation on Charting Your Course. Attendees had an opportunity to review and chart their own potential paths and seek clarity; especially for Toastmasters who belong to more than one club.

 Pathways Guide, Alex Bandjak spoke about the roles and responsibilities of Base Camp Managers (VP Education, President & Secretary), guiding participants through an interactive online session, where many logged into their profile as Base Camp Managers for the first time.

Both presentations and handouts can be accessed on Lingo’s website in Public Downloads or by clicking here.

Thank you to all volunteers for their assistance: Eileen Szakacs, Dan McCosh, Estella Mah, Kerrianne Koehler-Munro, Cherry Cheung, Matthew Mercredi, Edith Baraniecki, Rick Lebeuf, Melanie Kruger and attendees for their help with cleaning up.  

Upcoming Meeting/Event/Reminder:

Our next meeting is September 18 @ 7pm – Theme: “Life is a Playground.” Toastmaster Eileen S and club members warmly welcome guests to join us in “our playground” at Retirement Living by Revera in Riverbend (103 Rabbit Hill Court, Edmonton).

On October 2, Lingo will be hosting an Ideation workshop which will be facilitated by Melanie K. We will delve into turning ideas into practical actions that can be used for home, work, play and volunteer. The workshop will be held at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church (6110 Fulton Road, Edmonton). Please register in advance (seating is limited) on our Eventbrite link (coming soon). $5 will be collected at the door to cover costs. Contact Melanie Kruger @ lingoadvtm@gmail.com for further details.

August 21 - Summary of "The Winning Ticket"

Submitted by Edith B.

Our last meeting could be labelled “The Winning Ticket” just like the theme. Toastmaster Edith B led a fun filled evening describing our winnings regarding trips, dollars, prizes and one member even told us about winning “their ❤️.” We dreamed about “what ifs” and much more.

We had two speeches, both from Pathways, level one. Eileen S went one step further with the theme, giving her first speech on her big winnings or so she thought. Based on the feedback by her evaluator, Von Eric T, she will give this speech a second time incorporating the feedback especially in using the whole stage. Rick L gave his second speech on the not so handy handyman in replacing the bathroom fan. PS, it now “purrs” like a kitten. He won best speaker and his evaluator Rhys D won best evaluator describing how pleased he was with Rick’s progress in using the stage but encouraging Rick to maintain eye contact in doing so.

Our table topics master, Estella M, followed the theme of the evening in asking us about preferences and reactions to winnings, plans for big jackpots and ways to win. Peter K won the best table topics in his three point-animated response including blasting the number picking machine. Not sure the lottery would ever be the same.

Matthew M led the evaluation team in giving very descriptive evaluations emphasizing the 3, 2, 1 method of evaluating. He talked about meetings being fun (it was) and professional. He encouraged resuming the roles of grammarian for both good and bad uses of English and the “ah” counter role.

We ended the evening with a draw for a lottery ticket labelled “win pigs fly” a play on winning when pigs fly, which is the likelihood of winning big, despite TM Edith’s lottery analysis (for those who are curious you have a one in 14 million chance of winning). Estella was the winner but the “pigs did not fly”! More importantly, we enjoyed our meeting and had fun.

In a mini business meeting led by VP Education Dan M, we voted to move our regular January meeting schedule dates due to our first workshop falling on New Year’s Day. Ten club members were present. Melanie K made a motion, Edith B seconded and the motion was carried to change the meeting dates. We will be meeting on January 15 (workshop) and January 29 (regular meeting) at our usual meeting place (Revera).

Wishing our best to District Champion Mahlon Kitching, in the Speech Contest today. We look forward to hearing about the International Convention in Chicago from those who attended (Dave C). In the meantime, you can watch the Toastmaster Convention on demand (for a fee) at https://www.onlineevent.com/toastmasters/product_bundles.

We look forward to seeing everyone in September when Toastmasters is back in full swing! 

Upcoming Events/Meetings/Reminders:

On September 4, Lingo will be hosting a Pathways & Beyond boot camp for all Toastmasters, though especially for base camp managers who want to learn about their role. Facilitator Rhys D (and other TBC DTM Toastmasters) will discuss “Pathways and Beyond” at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church (6110 Fulton Road, Edmonton). Please register in advance (seating is limited) on our Eventbrite link Pathways & Beyond boot camp. $5 will be collected at the door to cover costs.

Our next meeting is September 18 – Theme: “Life is a Playground.” Toastmaster Eileen S and club members warmly welcome guests to join us in “our playground” at Revera in Riverbend (103 Rabbit Hill Court, Edmonton). 

Lingo membership fees ($160) are due to Treasurer Kerrianne KM before September 30.

August 7 – Summary of DTM Boot Camp

Submitted by Melanie

Dan M. and Eileen S. facilitated and organized the District’s DTM Boot Camp on August 7, 2018 at St. Augustine’s Church. About 35 people prospective DTMs attended.

Several 10 minute presentations covered all of the major components towards completing a DTM, included: 

• Club Coaching (Lorraine Wheatley)
• Sponsoring and Mentoring Clubs (Marg Faryna)
• District Officer (Fern Hardie on behalf of Glenn Walker)
• High Performance Leadership (Dan McCosh)
• Youth Leadershiip (Karen Tober)
• Speechcraft (Rafena Ally) 

Crystal Douglas provided the attendees with several resources to help guide them into drafting and implementing a plan to DTM completion. Hard to believe, but there is only 22 months left until the traditional program expires. Let’s show each other what we’re made of!

If you weren’t able to attend this session, please contact Dan McCosh  (dandtm@telus.net) who will put you in touch with resources, including a mentor to assist in keeping you accountable and on track towards the completion of your DTM!

Special thank you to Eileen S., Sergeant-at-Arms for the yummy variety of snacks and to St. Augustine’s Church for the use of their beautiful facility.

Our next regular meeting is August 21 with the theme, "The Winning Ticket".

Lastly, check out Lingo’s website (https://lingo.toastmastersclubs.org/) for our next boot camp on Pathways & Beyond taking place on September 4! This boot camp will be of extra interest if you are currently a President, VP Education or Secretary of your club.

July 17 - On Your Own but NOT Alone!

Submitted by Cherry

When Lingo Advanced is not conducting workshops, we hold regular meetings. Our theme on July 17, 2018, was "On Your Own but Not Alone.”  Meeting started at 7:01pm with a jaw breaking joke by Toastmaster Cherry.   Because there were three speeches, we did a rapid-fire introduction around the room. Each person was asked to say a line or two of:  "One thing that they don't like to do alone.” Through this exercise, we got to know more about one another.

Estella M delivered a 15 minute educational on "Evaluate to Motivate.” Estella had an ice breaker speech from Pathways almost ready to go.  When asked, she decided to challenge herself to prepare an educational in less than a day notice referring to TM International Speaker Lance Miller’s thoughts. Way to go Estella!   

Second speaker Kerrianne's speech was from the Speaking to Inform manual titled: “What's on your plate tonight?”  She informed us about what kinds of food Canada and especially Alberta produces.  e.g., Alberta beef, eggs, meat, honey, canola, and different kinds of pulses as alternatives to meat.  We are Toastmasters and we love information!  

Third speaker Rick delivered his project 2 from Level 1 of the Dynamic Leadership Path titled: “The Bathroom Fan.” He described himself as a "Not so Handy" handyman.   If you want to know how his Bathroom Fan project went, he will be delivering the same speech again for project 3 at our next regular meeting on August 21. The three speech evaluators were Edith, Estella and Rhys.

Table Topics Masters Master Eileen told us the theme, “On your own but not alone” may have some spiritual implication thus we are not alone at all.  She also asked questions on mentoring and leaving home for the first time. Table topics speakers were Rhys, Melanie and Edith. Evaluator was Dave, who stressed using the whole stage and ensuring proper salutation. 

 Winning awards were: 

-Best speaker: Rick

-Best evaluator: Rhys

-Best table topics speaker: Edith

Thank you Melanie for tabulating the awards plus keeping us on time and providing us with a full report at the end of the meeting so we may better control our time.

Dan gave us a thorough General Evaluation report for things we missed and things we can  improve to live up to being a professional advanced club.

Thank you to all for attending, I could have tried to hold this meeting on my own but I was not alone.

However, stay tuned for upcoming details about the DTM Boot Camp held on August 7 that replaced our regular workshop schedule and location.

Lingo June Updates

I bet you wondered what Lingo Advanced Toastmasters Club does in the summer besides admiring the beautiful landscapes of Edmonton and surrounding areas where members live like Drayton Valley, Sherwood Park and Red Deer. 

Well the club met June 5/18 and discussed “Goal Setting” led by Von Eric, the incoming Division B Director.  While it was a deep subject for the start of summer, a guest Colin G, last years District International Speech winner, responded wonderfully in agreeing with this tabletopics question: Do you agree that you should state each goal as a positive statement – Express your goals positively – for example “Execute this technique well" is a much better goal than "Don't make this stupid mistake." We also had the pleasure of hearing this year’s D99 District Speech Contest Winner Mahlon K give his speech to our club so we could offer suggestions.  We wish Mahlon all the best in Chicago at the International Convention in August.  

Lingo President Melanie presents Mahlon with a good luck charm.

On June 19/18, we had our year-end celebration in Treasurer Kerrianne's gorgeous yard, We were happy to have guest, soon to be new member, Barry M practice a presentation he is planning to do and to officially welcome Esteall M. (2018-2019 Finance Manager) as a new member.

Next year’s executive were inducted by Area Director Tolu and incoming Division B Director Von Eric, also a member of Lingo Advanced. 2018-19 executive: President Rick L, VP Education Dan M, VP membership Cherry C, VP Public Relations Rhys D, Treasurer Kerrianne K-M, Secretary Edith B, and Sgt at Arms Eileen S.

2017-18 President  Melanie noted she only had 11 days left. Guess who is counting?? Well Secretary Edith presented her with a bottle of wine labelled 362 (11) to mark the occasion.

Incoming President Rick said while Lingo strives to have 20+2 members to be designated,with insurance, what is more important is to have quality meetings and provide support to our members and other Toastmasters in achieving their DTM under the old program or to move onto the new Pathways Program.  

We had our first meeting of the 2018/19 Toastmasters year strategically situated between Canada Day July 1st and July 4th American Independence Day.  Was it a coincidence that our workshop was on “Facilitation”?  I think  perhaps these two countries could use some help with facilitation. President Rick and VP Education Dan did an excellent job of presenting this workshop and the preliminary results seem to confirm our club is on the right track.  We would love to have all CC’s or higher or Pathways level two join us as guests or even better members to promote our club in helping Toastmasters achieve their goals.  Come check us out any first (a workshop meeting) or thirdTuesday (a regular type meeting) of the month at Revera in Riverbend at 103 Rabbit Hill Ct NW, Edmonton, AB. PS: we have comfy club chairs in a beautiful setting. 

Next meeting July 17th.  VP Dan has some great themes picked out for our next meetings like “A winning ticket” in August and a profound statement from Dr. Seuss. 

Let's Talk Royal

Submitted by Edith

“Let’s talk Royals” was the theme chosen by Toastmaster Edith for Lingo’s May 15/18 Meeting, and we did.  Not only did the true Royals in England get mentioned, we often heard members being referred to using Royal titles. However, we did have royalty among us.  Present were the outgoing (Dave) and incoming (Von Eric) Division B Directors and incoming District Financial Manager Estella, all members of Lingo. Estella is the newest member of the club. We also had two old/new guests, Bert and Darryl.  As is our tradition (knock/knock), we gave them a rousing welcome and then put them to work in evaluation roles.

Rick self claimed himself as “King Richard, Lord of the Wasps” in doing his Pathways Icebreaker under the Dynamic Leadership Path.  He certainly reigned over and conquered the multitude of wasps at his place.  He had outstanding pictures proving his wasp hunting skills. Congratulations Rick in completing Lingo’s first Pathways speech and Dave and helpers Rhys (eyes) and Darryl (ears) in doing the first evaluation.  I particularly like the evaluation part where a challenge is thrown out to the speaker, and that was to publicly share his pictures.

Cherry led the tabletopics session with some thought provoking “royalty” questions.  We heard some very passionate responses especially from Darryl as he explained his feelings about “Cottonelle” over “Royale” winning best tabletopics.

Our business meeting and elections were efficiently chaired by Melanie.  Congratulations to the newly elected officers for 2018/19: President Rick L, VP Education Dan Mc, VP Membership Cherry C, VP Public Relations Rhys, Secretary Edith B, Sgt at Arms Eileen S, and the yet to be confirmed Treasurer. Currently the Treasurer is Kerrianne K-M.

During our break, we snacked in true English style with tea and scones plus strawberries on a “Lady” bug dish. Thanks Eileen for setting up the room in a horseshoe and then putting it back. 

Von Eric is Toastmaster for our next meeting on Tuesday June 5/18 which will feature District 99 International Speech Champion Mahlon Kitching as speaker.  Our year-end celebration is June 19/18.

Yummy British Goodies.. so Elegant and Fancy!!