Friday, October 28, 2005

Updated TableTopics Strategy Workshop Handout !

We ran the TableTopics Strategy Workshop this Wednesday evening at Socially Speaking Toastmasters in Brookfield, CT. If you know anyone in the Brookfield, CT area that is interested in Toastmasters, this is certainly a great club to join !

The evening was alot of fun and we went the the updated TableTopics Strategy Workshop Handout (click here to download a copy). We also used the handouts from the post on TableTopics Strategies back in September (see below).

Let us know what you think of the workshop by leaving us a comment !!!!

Speak UP !

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

"Official" Area Club Visits Soon !

Note to Area A4 Club Presidents,

How is this Toastmaster year (2005-6) shaping up for your club?

While I have been to a number of club meetings already and saw most of you at least once, I still need to, as Area A4 Governor, make "official" club visits and fill out the form for Toastmasters International. (I say "official" in parenthesis since I prefer to keep things less formal and more relaxed.) The deadline for submitting written forms to Toastmasters International is Oct.31st, but we have until the end of November if we submit the information online (which is what I'm going to do).

Just so that you have a preview of the form that we need to fill out, I've scanned it into PDF format (click here to download). If you take a look at it, you will see that it is a little different from past years in that it is organized along the lines of the Distinguished Club Program (DCP) guidelines. Since many of you are working toward making your clubs Distinguished, the form should be a simple review of your progress. The form will also help me make sure that I am providing you with the information and support that you need.

Please let me know if there are any questions or if there is a specific club meeting that you would like me to attend in the coming couple weeks.

See you soon !

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Monday, October 24, 2005

WestConn Toastmasters win Smedley Award !!

Congratulations to Bruce Cornwell and all of the officers and members of WestConn Toastmasters for winning the Smedley Award !

The Smedley Award is named after the founder of Toastmasters and is given to any club who adds 5 or more new members from August 1 – September 30 ! (See copy of the email from District Governor Paul Young below)

We will have to see what we can do to spread the membership building to other clubs !

Speak UP!

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

********************************

District Officers,

It is my pleasure to announce the clubs in District 53 that have won the Smedley Award for adding 5 or more new members to their club from August 1 – September 30;

F1 542 Bethlehem Club - 6
A4 599 West-Conn Club - 5
D2 820 Yale Toastmasters Club - 7
D3 865 Greater Stamford Toastmasters - 9
D1 1628 Brass City Club - 7
B4 2908 Stag Club - 5
C1 3176 Energy Club - 7
A2 7386 BI Club - 7
C6 9213 Rose City Club - 7
F1 764383 NYISO Club – 6

Paul Young DTM
MIND THE GAP
District 53 Governor

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Division A Contest Results !!!! (from an Area A4 perspective)

The general consensus was that it was definitely a FUN evening!

Bruce Cornwell did GREAT and was the first runner-up in the TableTopics contest. On top of that, the winner of the TableTopics contest won't be able to attend the District level contest, so Bruce gets to move on to the next level !!!!!!

The next level of the TableTopics contest is in the morning at the Fall Conference on Sat., Nov. 5th and unfortunately I have a previous commitment that morning and won't be able to get there until the afternoon. Hopefully we can get some other members there to support Bruce !

In addition, the Humorous speech contest was won by Belle Garafola from Barnum Square Toastmasters, so Area A4 will be well represented at the District contests! (The "home court advantage" from hosting the Area and the Division contests must have worked!)

See you at the Fall Conference !

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Webinar ... of interest to Toastmasters????

I came across an online seminar (or "webinar") put on by WebEx.com that may be of interest to my fellow Toastmasters...

Event:
Speak and Get Results: Maximizing Your Impact During Webcasts

Date and Time:
Wednesday, October 19, 20051:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)

Panelist(s) Info:
Danny Slomoff, PhD, Senior Coach and Consultant, Speakeasy

Duration: 1 hour

Description:

You may be an effective communicator, but let's face it, the playing field is changing. Talking -- and doing it well -- is tougher when you're not actually there to connect with your listeners. In this session, we'll cover concepts and tools to help you translate your presentations from a "live" situation to a "virtual" one. Attend if:

  • Time and cost constraints are changing the way you have to communicate -- without changing the expectation for results.
  • You're spending more and more time trying to drive those results through webcasts, online meetings, and telephone conferences.
  • Making an impact when you speak is important!

The link below is kind of long ....
https://webexevents.webex.com/webexevents/mywebex/epmainframe.php?rlink=https%3A%2F%2Fwebexevents.webex.com%2Fwebexevents%2Fonstage%2Fmainframe.php%3Fmainurl%3D%2Fwebexevents%2Fonstage%2Ftool%2Fevent%2Fevent_detail.php%3FEventID%3D277395895%26FirstEnter%3D1%26GuestTimeZone%3D%26SourceId%3Dmp104&Rnd2929=0.5480342311637003

If this link does not work for you, try visiting www.webex.com.

Please feel free to forward this email to other Toastmasters who you feel might be interested in attending. I do not know if there is a limit on the number of people who can attend and, as far as I can tell from signing up myself, it is FREE.

I am also investigating whether or not we might be able to incorporate this type of communication medium for a Toastmasters meeting. So if anyone is interested in learning more about this (or the establishment of an "Advanced Communications" Toastmasters club... preferrably in Greater Danbury area], please send me an email.

Best regards,

Dave Wheeler
Toastmasters Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Monday, October 10, 2005

Division A Contest ----> Wed. Oct. 19 !!!

Just to make sure we are all "on the same page", the schedule for the Division A contest will be the same as the Area A2/A4 contest:

Division A Fall Contests:
Date: Wednesday, October 19th, 2005
Location: Wooster School Library, Danbury CT
Hosted by WestConn Toastmasters, club 599

Schedule:
Contestant Briefings: starting at 6:45pm
Contest Meeting: starts at 7:30pm

We look forward to a GREAT EVENING of exciting TableTopics and a slew of funny Humorous speeches !

Speak UP !

Dave Wheeler
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6