02-23-06 Meeting Summary

Theme: Don’t miss the boat.

Word of the Day: Maroon – to put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon; to abandon or isolate with little hope of ready rescue or escape.

Jerry, our Toastmaster, missed the boat on not studying abroad.

Kathy, our Wordmaster/Grammarian, missed the boat on not going to homecoming or prom.

Stacia, our Timer, missed the boat by finishing college early.

Mary Ellen, our one Speaker, spoke about travel deals she finds via the internet. She provided great imagery with her choice of words and provided great information about where and how to find these deals. She also injected a fair amount of humor. She ended her speech with a splendid quote from Mark Twain.

Dan, our TableTopicsMaster, missed the boat on cashing in his Defined Benefit plan from his old government job.

Dan asked Eddie which boat would you prefer; a speedboat, a fishing boat, or a canoe. Eddie responded by saying all three boats are fun, but he we would prefer a canoe. In a speedboat you just go and go. He enjoys fishing, but would prefer to go fly fishing. He said there it is more of an art and more skilled is required. He then said his choice would be a canoe because you can as Mark Twain said, “Dream. Explore. Discover.” Plus, you go at your own rate and get to other places other boats can not while you are canoeing.

Dan asked Laura whether port or starboard is on the left or the right. Laura responded by saying port is on the right and starboard is on the left. She then proceeded to tell a story about how Rich and her father sailed down the Mississippi from Minneapolis to New Orleans. They then went into the Gulf and got caught in a nasty storm. Port is actually on the left and starboard is on the right.

Dan asked Betsy if she bought an island, what three things would she bring. Betsy responded by saying would bring food, shelter, and clothing. She would bring pineapples because she loves to eat them. Hopefully, she would not need too many clothes, but would still pack them. She would also like a small, quick to assemble waterproof, windproof tent for shelter. She then decided there would probably already be food on the island and would bring medical supplies instead.

Dan asked Laura what her favorite reality show was and why? Laura stated the first Survivor was. She thought great strategy was involved, it had a lot of tasks (physically and mentally), and she only had one child back then and could sit down and watch it uninterrupted.

Bill, Mary Ellen’s Evaluator, has missed the boat so often he never knew there was a boat. He thought she had great presence and looked comfortable up front. He really enjoyed her opening, thought she had great organization, and used many great personal examples. However, he had difficult distinguishing whether it was persuasive or formal.

Kim, our Inspiration/Humorist, spoke about a friend of hers who needed to forgive her nephew for killing her sister and brother-in-law. She needs to convince the rest of the family, attornies, and the court system to forgive this young man so he can be eligible for parole in 40 years.

Times:
Mary Ellen: 7:20 minutes
Eddie: 1:20 minutes
Laura: 1:54 minutes
Betsy: 0:58 minutes
Bill: 4:40 minutes
Kim: 3:10 minutes

Wordmaster/Grammarian: Word-of the-Day used by Dan and Betsy. She enjoyed Mary Ellen’s imagery throughout her speech.

General Evaluator: Thought we had great humor throughout the meeting and the overall meeting went quite well.

Spirit Award: Mary Ellen Griffith

02-09-06 Meeting Summary

Yesterday’s Toastmaster, Mike C, tried to warm us all up with his theme of Global Warming, but it’s just not working! With the snow falling outside, I’m freezing! Hopefully, typing up this summary will help…

Dan B tried to keep the warmth alive with his word of the day, tropical. Tropical means: Of, being, or characteristic of a region or climate that is frost-free with temperatures high enough to support year-round plant growth given sufficient moisture. His sentence is fitting, “In Minnesota, the weather this time of year is anything but tropical.”

Speaker #1, Jerry V, shared his experiences at ACTS of St. Paul with us in his speech, “ACTS of Kindness”. ACTS of St. Paul is a non-profit organization that strives to empower and equip Hmong youth to succeed and have hope for the future. It stemmed from a play that it’s founder, Gail Larson, produced that explored Hmong in America. Today, they provide summer school (taught by Hmong teachers), a kid reach program (tutoring during the school year), a youth theater arts program (where kids write, direct, and perform plays and songs to build their knowledge of their cultural heritage), and a family learning center (strengthens family bonds, provides financial support, and offers classes, such as English language and Hmong dance). In addition, ACTS of St. Paul gives back to the community by providing school supplies, household items, and uniforms, and offering programs such as dental hygiene to Hmong children. (Timer’s Report: 6:22)

Speaker #2, Eddie K, shared part three of his financial planning series, entitled, “Your Plan Highlights”. In his speech, Eddie provided highlights of Securian’s 401K plan, discussed age and service requirements that must be met (18 years and 1 month, respectively), shared government restrictions, and explained when changes to the plan can be made. Recently, the government changed 401Ks for people over 50 years to allow additional contributions. In 2005, people over 50 could contribute a total of $18,000; in 2006, this total has been increased to $20,000. At Securian, increases or decreases in contributions can be made each pay period and withdrawals can be made, limited to government restrictions (withdrawals can be made at retirement, death, disability, or termination of employment; while employed, loans can be taken out against the plan). Before any of this can be done, however, employees must enroll in the plan, designate a beneficiary, and file a Notification of Rollover Assets form (to roll prior retirement accounts into Securian’s plan). AccuServe Online and AccuServe Access are available to keep in touch with your portfolio. (Timer’s Report: 7:21)

Next, Mike shared some information about global warming. One of the causes is volcanic activity. When a volcano erupts, it sends enough material into the air to cool it 5-10 degrees. In the past 40-50 years, there has been little volcanic activity, so the earth has warmed. Mike’s advice as the earth warms is to stay away from the coastlines and the tropics due to the heat, hurricanes, and rain. He figures that there’s nowhere better than Minnesota to live because we’re in the middle of the continent and cool!

Kelly asked our non-duty holders to respond to questions about global warming. She asked Keri O’Brien if she is enjoying the arm weather or does she prefer the cold? Kari prefers the warmer weather because it reduces heating bills and reduces the number of warm vacation fantasies that Kari has. She also enjoys the visual that comes to mind when she thinks back to a radio conversation that she heard on where Paul Douglas and Dave Dahl sounded like they were ready to physically fight over the weather! Kari’s putting her money on Dave Dahl! (Timer’s Report: 1:32)

Betsy Schaller told us why it’s better to have colder winters. She doesn’t think it is better to have a colder winter, but admits that she would enjoy her dreams of a warm vacation more then and we wouldn’t have to deal with the slop, mess, and dirt then. One of the advantages to a warmer winter that Betsy highlighted is bragging rights when she calls her relatives in Florida! (Timer’s Report: 1:23)

Mark H shared ideas about how the Winter Carnival could be changed so that the warmer winters aren’t a problem, as this year’s was with the ice sculptures. Mark recently spoke with the president of the group that runs the Winter Carnival, who joked that if they ever make a buck, they’ll invest it in global warming! Since the winters have been warmer, though, Mark believes that the Winter Carnival needs to be flexible. For example, where he previously played snow softball, they’re now playing mud softball. Plans for outside activities when it’s cold should consider alternative venues so they can be moved if it’s too warm. (Timer’s Report: 2:05)

Mary Ellen G evaluated Jerry’s speech. Since the speech project was “Your Body Speaks”, Mary Ellen focused on Jerry’s stance, movement, and gestures to determine if she was seeing and hearing the same message. Mary Ellen liked Jerry’s confident and calm demeanor, his eye contact with specific people, and his preparedness. She would like to see even more gestures than counting and nodding, as well as, more purposeful movement. (Timer’s Report: 1:52)

Laura C evaluated Eddie’s speech. She commended Eddie on his great openings in this series of speeches, noting that he’s very good at putting people in a place of tranquility. Laura also thought Eddie was convincing, humorous, and she liked the ways that he came back to the opening at the end of his speech and included everyone with his eye contact. She recommended that Eddie move around the room more, keep his laptop accessible so that he doesn’t have to turn his back to the audience, and try more of an outline rather than a fully prepared script that can lead to stumbling over forgotten words. (Timer’s Report: 4:00)

Reports
Mike Cahn used tropical four times. Mark got credit for 1 ½ times, since Dan only gave ½ credit for tropicalization. He liked Eddie’s “cramming that 15%” and Keri’s “fighting weathermen”.
See times in parenthesis above.

Gadder performed the General Evaluator role for the meeting. Overall, he thought we did a good job. He suggested that Mike talk louder to be more commanding and noted some hand wringing. He thought our other duty-holders did well and especially liked Mary Ellen’s examples from Jerry’s speech and Laura’s use of humor in her evaluation. Finally, Gadder commented on the mood swings in the meeting. Since Mike injects humor into meetings, we began on a lighthearted note. Following Jerry’s speech, everyone was serious and thoughtful. Mike held that mood, then transitioned the mood to prepare us for Eddie’s speech. The Spirit Award was awarded to Jerry Vang.

Business Items
Your Beginnings: Laura C spoke at Your Beginnings yesterday and shared her experience with us. Laura said that she spoke for approximately five minutes at Your Beginnings, sharing how Toastmasters benefited her. She also discussed the three clubs at Minnesota Life (e.g., when and where they meet), the format of a typical meeting, and dues. Finally, she invited everyone to join us as a guest and opened the floor for questions. Laura also brought copies of the recruiting flyer from the I drive and left them at the back of the room. (Note that speaking at an engagement, such as Your Beginnings, can be counted as a manual speech as long as the speech requirements are met and a member of Toastmasters is present to evaluate your speech.)
Speech Contest: Mutual Voices Spring Contest will take place during next week’s regularly scheduled meeting. Please contact Laura Griffith to enter.

02-02-06 Meeting Summary

Theme: Super Bowl

Word of the day: XL (Roman numeral for 40, as in Super
Bowl XL)

Lori G was our toastmaster today. She got us
off to a prompt start and told us of a trip she and
her daughter are taking to Seattle this summer (hence,
she’s rooting for the Sea Hawks this Sunday).

Our timer was Keri O. Keri is going to a baby
shower on Sunday- with a Super Bowl theme.

Our Wordmaster was Kim C.

Jerry V was speaker #1 today. His speech, entitled
“To the West,” was #4 in the communication and
leadership manual. Jerry described a trip he took to
California. After the landing strip in San Francisco
welcomed him with open arms, Jerry went hiking in the
mountains, stopped at a vineyard for some wine
tasting, and lastly went to the beach. He became
worry-free in CA.

Laura G was speaker #2 today. Her interpretive
“Mono Drama” reading, “Postcards from the Edge,” was
taken from O magazine. Laura described the tormented
lives of women in the Congo. She spoke as four
different women and described their experiences.

Stacia S was Topics Master today.
Question 1: “Explain the Super Bowl ring if you
designed it. What would it look like and how much
would it cost?”

Kim answered that she would design a paper ring with
“XL” printed on it because she would want it to be
cheap. She feels professional athletes in the US make
way too much money already and the rings shouldn’t be
expensive.

Question 2: “Who would you have perform at half time?”
Keri answered that she would perform herself- like she
did in 1992 as part of the U of M marching band.
Gloria Estefan was there too- so Keri would invite her
back to perform with her.

Question 3: “What is your favorite thing about the
Super Bowl?”
Mary Ellen answered that her favorite thing is the
sweet treats.
Eval 1: Mark H thought Jerry did a great job with
descriptive words and imagery in his speech. Jerry had
good eye contact and used humor throughout. Mark would
like to see Jerry use more gestures in his speeches.

Eval 2: Dan B thought Laura did a great job with
a difficult subject. He thought she could have used
more vocal variety.

Mike C was our Humorist today. He modified some
“Prairie Home Companion” jokes to fit in with the
Super Bowl theme. We liked his imitation of a parrot
the best.

Bill S was our General Evaluator. He thought we
had a good meeting. Lori did a good job introducing
and adding transitions as our Toastmaster. Good table
topics questions and creative answers.

The Spirit Award went to Laura.

That’s it for this week’s meeting. See you all next
week-

01-26-06 Meeting Summary

Summary Mutual Voices Meeting -- January 26, 2006

Betsy S. was Toastmaster for the first time. Betsy’s theme was parties and celebrations. She did an excellent job of managing the meeting, brought an exuberant crew to order and interesting segues between speeches.

The word of the day presented by Wordmaster Grammarian, Kelly T.,was exuberant, which means full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy; lavish; extravagant, extreme in degree, size or extent, growing producing, or produced abundantly; plentiful. E.g., my neice’s birthday party was attended by many exuberant two-year olds.

Kelly shared how her favorite party is her annual deep-fry party.

Jerry V. was the timer. He shared how he is exuberant about Thanksgiving because of the food. He particularly likes the egg rolls and Hmong flavored stuffing.

Speaker # 1 was Eddie K. who shared that his favorite party was the one he threw in college to which everyone needed to wear a hard hat.

Eddie’s speech was entitled “Developing an Investment Strategy.” Project 4 from the Speaking to Inform manual. The goal for his speech was 5 –7 minutes for the speech itself and 2 –3 minutes for questions. The purpose of the speech was to prepare a report on a situation, event, or problem of interest to the audience. To deliver sufficient factual information in your report so that the audience can make valid conclusions or a sound decision.

Eddie’s speech was a comprehensive presentation on developing an investment Strategy. The topics he covered included the biggest obstacle to investment success; the steps to success; investment classes; risk tolerance; inflation and the fundamentals of investing.

Speaker # 2 was Lori G. Lori’s speech entitled “15th” was # 7 from the CTM manual; the objective was to “Research Your Topic” and the goal time 5 –7 minutes. Lori spoke about the 15th president of the United States, James Buchanan. Lori provided an excellent overview of his life, the environment of the time and the slavery issue.

Keri O. was Table Topics Master. Keri’s first question was “Who would you plan a surprise party for and what kind of party would it be?

Mark H. answered the question by describing how he had planned a surprise party for his wife, when he proposed to her. GE, Laura Griffith noted that Mark rose slowly, which was a good stall, came out strong and changed the question to something he could answer. He used good pitch and vocal variety and vivid descriptions.

Laura C. answered Keri’s second question “If you are going to a world renowned party, what would it be and where? She said it would be in New Orleans because of her grandmother’s origins – she was raised in an orphanage in New Orleans. GE, Laura Griffith noted that Laura C had used an effective story format, and awesome humor.

Keri’s third question was, “If you were going to invent a shower game, what would it be?
This question was answered by Dave B. He answered a really tough question, with an unrepeatable answer (according to my notes), organized as a mini speech.

Evaluator # 1 was Kathy J. She said that Eddie provided a good introduction, excellent visuals and his humor was also good. She thought he did a nice job with the questions. The topics and organization were helpful to the audience. She thought that his speech would have been more effective if he’d added more vocal variety to his delivery. She also thought that Eddie could have made better eye contact throughout the room.

Evaluator # 2 was Kurt J. Kurt said that he loved Lori’s introduction and that she had chosen a good topic. Her speech clearly demonstrated that she had researched her topic. He said that Lori held herself well and took command of the room. Kurt thought that Lori could have added more vocal variety but that she stepped out well and her hand gestures were appropriate. Areas of improvement included positioning herself better so that there was no one behind her, by pushing the table back. He also noted that she had said “um” eight times.

Timer Jerry Vang recorded Eddie’s speech at 7:35, Lori’s at 5:10, both very close to their goal time.

Laura G. provided a very thorough general evaluation of the meeting.