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

May 17/22 Election results for Lingo Advanced - Evaluating our success/Moments of Truth

                                                      

What a great way to spend a Tuesday evening, “recognizing” our Club’s success or lack of it. I opened the meeting as Sgt at Arms, acknowledging our dignitaries Glenn W, Past D99 Director/guest speaker for the evening and Dan McC, Club Growth Director/fellow Lingo member, as well as fellow members. I then introduced Lingo charter member, our current Area B 51 Director, and a diehard Oiler fan Rhys D as our TM for the evening. Rhys asked everyone to comment on what makes for a good TM meeting. We heard comments like: enthusiasm, being prepared, all agenda roles filled, appearance, professionalism, energy, respect, some fun, friendship and fellowship. All so very important. 

One of the highlights of the evening was Glenn presenting our “Moments of Truth” poll results. Very interesting and a nice way to conduct this important part of Toastmasters - looking at ourselves. There was some discussion concerning the aspects we can work on such as provide guests with a form to complete in lieu of a guest book when meeting virtually, increased mentorship, a way to track/display progress, increased “recognition” of achievements, and the big one, we need to attract more members, perhaps through an open house.  We need to find our niche and let ourselves and the world know we can be proud of our club. Well done Glenn and club members. All that in 34 minutes (I was also timer). Thank you. 

The second highlight of the evening was “elections.” Acting past Club President as well as current President Dan presented the nomination slate with one last minute role taker. No roles were contested.  

Congratulations to Lingo’s 2022-23 Executive:

President - Edith B, VPED - Cherry C, VPMembership - Eileen S, VPPR Dan McC, Sec/Treasurer - Xiao X, and Sgt at Arms - Rhys D.  Go Team Go. 

Dan then asked us in a mini TT session to indicate our goals per our incoming roles for next year. We all have lofty goals which are noted in the minutes. Let’s make 2022-23 our year to shine and be “recognized,” which was our Word of the Day as selected and tracked by Grammarian Cherry. Unfortunately, it was not used as often as our Ahs and ums, which she also noted. We were delighted to have Violet W, our newest member join us and fill the General Evaluator role. She has been and will be a busy girl with her now full time teaching position. Yah, Violet. She thought our meeting was good but suggested that it may have been reordered a little to draw upon the GE sooner so she could have told us what she was looking for during the meeting. Craig B and Eileen had the evening off from taking roles but participated in other ways. 

You don’t want to miss the next few meetings coming up.  See you Tuesdays at 7 pm next month: June 7th - Innovative Planning and June 21st - National Indigenous Peoples Day (with a guest speaker).  We are then kicking off the new TM year by meeting in person on July 5 for a potluck to recognize the last year end and announce any awards. Thanks to outgoing Sgt at Arms Eileen for offering her backyard and home in SW Edmonton. Address will be provided. All are welcome. Can hardly wait. We are also looking to have joint meetings with other clubs this summer again. 

Submitted by Edith B VPPR, Incoming President of Lingo