November 2020

And we’re back! Well, we technically never left – just a momentary pause in our posts. November 2020 went by quickly and there was a lot to be thankful for! We were especially thankful to Marti MacEwan of Stage Freight. Marti helped us bust the myths of how to conquer impromptu conversation during our first November meeting. Let’s be honest, thinking on the spot during meetings or interviews can be difficult if not frightening. We aren’t born impromptu speakers and those good at it had to work at it. There’s a strategy to consider as it can’t all be talent and yes, we all have fumbled and know how embarrassing it is. However, the Sunrisers are a supportive group when it comes to taking on the challenge of Table Topics. 

We had a great group during our 2nd November meeting – a special shout out to Robert for joining us. Even better, he was a former Toastmaster! Sarah gave us a powerful and truthful ice-breaker about dyslexia. We’re glad to have you onboard Sarah and can’t wait for more speeches! Weihu also provided a second shot on his speech – Managing Unconcious Bias. It was a helpful reminder that we are all human but it’s recognizing our actions and how we move forward. Our last speech was from one of our newest members Polina on What Could Kill Us All? 2020 is doing some damage, but there is a brighter future. Luckily for us, members like Polina have dedicated their careers to the medical field and research!

Our last meeting of the month of November was indeed an attention-getter – ask our Toastmaster Steven. You know something else that’s an attention-getter, boba. I love boba and so does Hannah as she let us know the history of boba. Goes to show that trying something different can be revolutionary. Our VP of Education – Youngjun hooked us with an informative speech about initiating conversations. From networking to gaining other’s perspective,  the more we’re talking the better! Lastly, our Sargent of Arms, Judy, closed out our November meeting with updates on how we can improve the Seattle Sunrisers. I can promise you we’ve heard your request and making strives to push forward. Thanks to all our Toastmasters this month, we are one month away from the new year and it’s going to be a strong close!

Posted in Meeting Summary

September 26, 2020 Meeting Work-Life Balance

Last meeting of the month already. Meeting was led by Toastmaster and Multi-tasker Extraordinaire, Traci.

Word of the day appropriately selected by Grammarian Wei Hu was ” Magnificent” as in : Oh you, Magnificent Strivers and Achievers of Work-Life Balance! Scott W. was our Time Keeper.

As we work from home, the line between work and life can get blurry and that is precisely why it is key to build imaginary walls around our living room desk, put a door that we walk through in the morning and out of after work. Oh, and lock that door after work.

I admit, it’s pretty hard to do but someone said ” No pain, no gain”. It’s true most times, so keep trying!

We had three speakers presenting diverse topics. In her speech titled ” California Sreamin’ ” Hannah gave us an insight on how she got hooked on engineering while riding a roller coaster, Paula presented a proposal for an anti racism initiative and Jovica proudly shared his latest construction project in his speech titled ” Building the Outdoor Gym”. Roller coasters, initiatives and outdoor gyms all illustrate the components of work and life.
Table topics were led by Young.

Welcome to our new members Polina and Jong! Thanks to our guests: Nicole, Sarah and Linxuan for their visit this morning.

Our next meeting will be on October 10th, 2020

Posted in Meeting Summary

September 19, 2020 – Creativity

There are so many ways for us to tap into our creativity – especially during a pandemic!! But what does that do for us? How about alleviating boredom? Or lowering stress? Or unlocking some hidden potential? Or developing new skills? Or solving difficult problems? Honing our creativity can help us do all these things and more!!

As Traci elicited during our Table Topics session, we all have different media through which we draw inspiration to fuel our creativity – whether that be through food, travel or even work. There’s really no limit to where you can draw inspiration!!

We had some incredibly creative speeches from three of our newest members – Weihu, Judy and Mari. Weihu helped us identify, understand and overcome our unconscious biases, Judy took us on a tour of her career path and how she eventually discovered UX Design, and Mari’s Ice Breaker was a very introspective glimpse into her personal journey of self-discovery.

We hope you’ll join us on 9/26/2020 at 7:30am for our next meeting – here’s the link: https://www.seattlesunrisetoastmasters.com/meeting-schedule/

See you there!!

Posted in Meeting Summary

July 25 – September 12, 2020

Apologies for the lack of updates!! But rest assured, dear visitors and guests, The Seattle Sunrise Toastmasters Club has been active and growing throughout the summer. Some highlights include:

Wonderful speeches! Along with speeches given by many of our more seasoned members, we had a handful of new members who gave their very first speech (aka The Ice Breaker) and we still have many more to celebrate. A special ‘thank you’ goes out to our member, Moises, for allowing us to share with all of you a recent speech he gave – please go check it out here.

Awesome guests! We love seeing new faces and we’re so glad that so many of you have chosen to join us (and so early in the morning!!). All of you bring something fun, exciting and unique to the group and it’s been so great getting to meet new people and hear their stories. Special shout-out to our newest members – Mari, Weihu and Polina!!

Fun times! Whether it be a wacky theme, an off-the-wall Table Topics session or the socializing that happens after the meeting wraps up, we’ve all had a blast at each and every meeting and we hope to see more of you in the future. If you’re curious about when our next meeting is, here’s our schedule.

Here are some screenshots from our recent meetings – enjoy!!

Posted in Meeting Summary

Upcoming Events

Aug
8
Sat
8:00 am Seattle Sunrise Meeting @ Hybrid
Seattle Sunrise Meeting @ Hybrid
Aug 8 @ 8:00 am – 9:45 am
Meeting  Time  8:00 am (meeting starts at 8:20 sharp) Meeting Location Hybrid Meeting! If you can join us in person, meet us at The Rita Koontz Community Room in the U District WSECU Building 1121 NE 45th St. Seattle Corner
Aug
15
Sat
8:00 am Seattle Sunrise Meeting @ Hybrid
Seattle Sunrise Meeting @ Hybrid
Aug 15 @ 8:00 am – 9:45 am
Meeting  Time  8:00 am (meeting starts at 8:20 sharp) Meeting Location Hybrid Meeting! If you can join us in person, meet us at The Rita Koontz Community Room in the U District WSECU Building 1121 NE 45th St. Seattle Corner
Aug
22
Sat
8:00 am Seattle Sunrise Meeting @ Hybrid
Seattle Sunrise Meeting @ Hybrid
Aug 22 @ 8:00 am – 9:45 am
Meeting  Time  8:00 am (meeting starts at 8:20 sharp) Meeting Location Hybrid Meeting! If you can join us in person, meet us at The Rita Koontz Community Room in the U District WSECU Building 1121 NE 45th St. Seattle Corner