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We opened the meeting by greeting our guests (David and Stephanie) and having everyone introduce themselves. Today’s meeting emcee (“Toastmaster”) was Amara D.
Toastmaster Amara started out by explaining why she chose the theme A Blast from the Past. She has just moved into 1920’s-era house, complete with all the charms and challenges of an older dwelling. Amara then introduced the Timer (Nicole B.) and Ah Counter/Word of Day person (John N.) to explain their roles. Our Word of the Day was “duplicitous.”
SPEECHES

Diane describes work life in jail.

1. Speaker 1, Diane B., “I Did My Time in the King County Jail.” Project No. 4 from the Competent Communication manual, How to Say It. Diane shared her experience working for three years as a counselor inside the jail. We learned in precise detail how regimented and controlled life is inside the slammer. Diane’s caveat: if you can avoid jail, you are better off!
2. Speaker 2, Beth G., “What have you been up to?” Project No. 3 from the CC manual, Get to the Point. Beth shared her recent adventure with time-tracking — the process of recording and analyzing how much time one spends on the various activities of daily life. Beth’s advice: you can more effectively achieve your goals if you understand what you spend your time doing from day to day. Beth shared a handout that detailed her research results.

TABLE TOPICS

Listeners were spellbound by jail tales.

First-time Topicsmaster Raj ran with the “past” theme to ask members and guests questions on topics including going back in time, changing the past and reincarnation. The Best Table Topic award went to guest David for his answer on reincarnation.
EVALUATIONS
Joel H. and Lisa L. gave feedback to Diane and Beth, respectively. First-time General Evaluator Dave E. gave the speech evaluators feedback on how well they suggested improvements to the speakers and commented on the meeting as a whole. 

President Dave prepares to speak.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

1. Lisa is off to spend the summer in Africa working in public health nursing. Take care, Lisa!
2. The club received $50.00 in gift certificates for TI goods from District 2 for our achievement in gaining four new members during March.
3. Officer elections. June is time to elect officers for the next Toastmaster year, which starts July 1st. As training for new officers will be June 18th, we will elect officers at the first meeting in June.  
4. Next Meeting is May 21st. Meeting Roles:

President Dave E. opened the meeting by greeting all guests (Ben, Mary and Nagisa) and having all present introduce themselves. He then introduced the meeting emcee (“Toastmaster”) Lisa L.
First-time Toastmaster Lisa launched the program with remarks on her favorite pastime of world travel. She then introduced the Timer (John N.) and Ah Counter/Word of Day person (Diane B.) to explain their roles. Our Word of the Day was “ubiquitous.”
SPEECHES

Joel’s body language wows them!

1. Speaker 1. Ray R., “Do Us a Favor.” Project No. 10 from the Competent Communication manual, Inspire Your Audience. Ray urged members to help the club continue its membership-building program by taking everyday opportunities to spread the word.
2. Speaker 2. Joel H, “Important Rules for the World Traveler.” Project No. 5 from the CC manual, Your Body Speaks. Joel worked on body language with a tongue-in-cheek primer on world travel. Advice included this helpful tidbit: “If a cab driver starts walking away with your backpack, do not be alarmed.”

TABLE TOPICS
Amara D. led the spontaneous-speaking practice session with queries on world travel. The winner of Best Table Topics was John, who described his ideal road trip: rambling from baseball stadium to baseball stadium in an RV with his son.

EVALUATIONS
Nicole B. and Dave E. gave supportive suggestions for improvement to Ray and Joel, respectively. General Evaluator Scott C. pointed out how the speech evaluators might give better feedback and commented on the meeting as a whole.

GRADUATION
John was recognized for his completion of the recent Speechcraft course.

President Dave presents certificate to John

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1.  Ben and Mary both joined the club! A hearty welcome to you both!
2. The big spring conference of Puget Sound Toastmasters is coming up on April 30th. A great time and lots of learning are guaranteed, so see this link for more info.
3. Next meeting’s roles:

Our closing meeting of Speechcraft kicked off at 7:45 AM. Toastmaster Dave brought Beth to the lectern to practice introducing a speaker.
SPEECHES

• Beth introduced Diane, who gave a speech on the Be in Earnest theme. Diane gave an animated talk on a movie she feels passionate about — Jaws, the 1975 aquatic thriller. Diane’s enthusiasm for this blockbuster was very evident!
• Dave then introduced regular member Beth, who spoke on the Organize Your Speech theme about something she clearly felt just as passionately about: voice mail! As in, please don’t! Voice mail, explained Beth, is a relic of a bygone era in asynchronous communication, so reliance on it is not recommended for important messages. Thanks for the wake-up call, Beth!
• Diane then introduced Nicole, who delivered her Be in Earnest speech on a topic she feels strongly about: organic produce. We were introduced to when and why to go organic. Thanks, Nicole!

TABLE TOPICS

• Spontaneous speaking practice followed. Topic master Ray lobbed questions on the theme of “A Good Start.” Several too questions, including guest Ben. The show-stealer was guest Norma, who used her 1-minute answer to share the secret of a marriage getting off to a good start: have a good fight! Go Norma.

EVALUATIONS

• Our three speakers received 1-2 minutes of feedback, including suggestions for improvement.
• Guest General Evaluator Norma gave helpful suggestions to speech evaluators and our guest speaker Jerry.

SPECIAL APPEARANCE

• Special guest Jerry W. spoke to Speechcraft participants about how the Speechcraft process begins the process of learning better listening, thinking and speaking skills, which continues in the regular meetings of a Toastmasters club. He used concrete examples of how Toastmasters builds competence, which leads to confidence. Thank you, Jerry!

CONGRATULATIONS!

• Two Speechcrafters who completed the course, Nicole and Diane, were presented certificates from Toastmasters International marking their achievement. Good going!
  

NEXT MEETING

• We meet again on 4/16 at 8:00 AM. Speechcrafters Raj and Dan are expected to finish up their final speeches and receive their graduation certificates along with John, who returns from an absence. Please check our TurboBase.com page for scheduling.