09-15-05 Meeting Summary

Gadder F, Toastmaster for the first time, did an outstanding job of
leading an educational, informative and entertaining meeting. His theme
for the day was “Comedy Routines.” Gadder introduced the theme by talking
about his favorite routine, “The Three Stooges.” He recalled how his
father would keep his brother up late as children to watch the show on
television. His transitions between segments of the meeting were
meaningful and personal.

Mark H, our Wordmaster/Grammarian, chose the word guffaw as word of the
day. His precise count of “ums” and “ahs” left us all vowing to do better
next time.

Speaker # 1,Keri O, delivered an off-the-cuff speech about the Death
Penalty. This topic was selected by Laura C from a list of several
topics that Keri had prepared. Keri described how her thoughts about the
death penalty have changed as she has matured. When she was young, she
said, she was adamantly for the death penalty. As she has grown older and
since becoming a lawyer, her point of view has softened. She now
understands that cases are not always about right or wrong but about
winning and getting a conviction. She talked about how the Innocence
Project, which uses DNA evidence to shed new light on old cases, has shown
just how many innocent people are convicted. As a final thought, Keri
asked the question “Do we want to be a society that kills innocent people?”

Speaker # 2, Kelly T, delivered a speech entitled “Uh-Oh” to try
help the non-technical members of the audience like myself understand the
topic of “Object Oriented Programming.” In describing this kind of
programming, Kelly used an analogy with the method an author might use to
develop story characters and a plot. It was a very interesting
presentation that came close to giving me a grasp of this type of
programming -- at least while I was listening to Kelly’s speech.

As Topicsmaster, Jerry V almost left Kim C speechless with his
question “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Kim recovered well and her
response included the ideas that the chicken was looking for better organic
food and looking to escape danger. Jerry’s second question to Dave B
was “What is your favorite joke and why?” Dave explained that while he had
a dry and almost non-existent sense of humor, his preference was for clever
jokes that make you think.

Laura C, Evaluator # 1, described Keri as brave for taking on such a
tough subject. She noted that Keri’s facial expressions were appropriate
for the subject and her gestures were good. She said that Keri’s thoughts
flowed smoothly but that her speech could have benefited from a little
tighter structure.

Mike C, Evaluator # 2, said that Kelly did an excellent job presenting a
technical topic without overwhelming the audience. He noted that Kelly’s
tone, speed, mood and humor were right on target.

Laura G provided a very thorough overall evaluation of the meeting.
And last but not least, Kelly T received the Spririt Award.