Zhou officiated as Toast Master. He opened the meeting with memories from last year’s Thanksgiving when Zhou and his family, who had just moved to the States baked their first turkey.
Isabella Z. and Justin K. acted as Grammarian and Time Keeper respectively.
The Word of the Day was “ Commemoration”.
Kathy M., the first speaker of the day, presented her eighth speech from the CC manual. In a speech titled “ Patient Centered Care”, Kathy presented the benefits of centering care around the patients in the hospital setting, namely: engagement of patient with health care providers leading to increased satisfaction and better outcomes and cost savings. Communication and words of affirmation are key to Patient Centered Care. Using jenga! As a starting point, Kathy guided three volunteers from the assistance on ways to make affirmative statements.
Matt K. was the second speaker of the day. His speech playfully titled “ What’s the Yellen about?” made a powerful case for keeping Janet Yellen, the current Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in place. Using the analogy of the US economy as a car and Ms Yellen as a skilled driver, Matt gave three examples of how Ms Yellen was able to steady the post recession economy and create more jobs. Because of her successful track record, Ms Yellen should be allowed to finish her 14 year term. “ We are all passengers in this car and we need a steady driver”, Matt said in conclusion.
Matt was presenting project #2 from the CC manual: Organize your Speech.
Regrettably, we know that we are about to get a new driver.
Steven W. was our third speaker. Steven was presenting CC project #8: Get Comfortable with visual aids. Using cleverly mounted family pictures , Steven took the audience on a journey, from his early childhood to his teen years. The son of a decorated paratrooper and a mother with a passion for cheer leading and sewing, Steven and his sister ended up following their mother’s footsteps after his parents divorced. He picked up sewing and tap dance and has pictures to prove it!
Our final Speaker of the day, Yanyan B. presented “ Write it down.” , project #9: Persuade with Power, from the CC manual. Write it down! So that you do not forget, to unload your mental RAM and because that’s a way of thinking on paper. Writing an idea down allows it to take a life on its own, and evolve into new forms.
Bill S. was the table topics master and the subject was Thanksgiving feast food. Matt was voted Best Table Topic and Lara G. Best Evaluator.
Playful end to the meeting
Our next meeting is December 9th, 2017.
What do Mauritius Island, fashion design, Vaclav Havel, Poutine and the Emerald City have in common? Me! All these ways have led me to ( drum roll...) the Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters where friends and great speakers are made! I look forward to sharing my stories with you!
