Thursday, July 27 2006 Meeting
The theme of our meeting last week was friendship. Our Toastmaster, Kathy, asked duty-holders to tell the club about their longest-lasting friendship. Kathy said, “I don’t have any friends…I do have a sister, though!” Laura, the Timer, told everyone about a friend from high school; their sons are the same age, so everyone gets together a few times each year.

Speaker 1 was Betsy, who presented Vacation! Betsy’s speech focused on vocal variety and her topic lent itself well to that! She told us about her upcoming vacation to Pine Wood Lodge on Potato Lake where she plans to go on her three favorite options for boats: speedboats, sailboats, and canoes. Speedboats are full of energy as they zoom and roar. Betsy takes her nephews tubing before trying out some waterskiing herself. Sailboats are exciting, but not so loud as they zip across the lake, sails flapping and water lapping the hull of the boat. Usually, Betsy also hears hysterical laughter when she goes sailing because they don’t know what they’re doing and usually end up in the water! Canoes provide Betsy with calm serenity after dinner when the lake is quiet and still. She goes out to relax, hears the dip of her paddle, the loons, and the water trickling against the boat. She likes to paddle through the reeds, sit and watch the fish, and find the rocks that she hit with the propeller of the speed boat. It’s a great way to slow down, calm down, and relax from a day of boating fun. (Time: 5:37)

Speaker 2 was Bill (Bill recently ran into a friend from the 80s at the Farmer’s Market.), who presented Building Walls. Bill explained the purpose, materials, and techniques for building retaining walls. First, the purpose is to level off a hill, cut into a hill, control water and erosion, and for cosmetic reasons (e.g., create a planting area). Second, the materials that can be used are rock, blocks, or wood timbers. Bill prefers blocks, which range in dimension and weight. He doesn’t like wood timbers because they rot and don’t look as tidy and he doesn’t like the look of rocks. In addition to the materials to build the wall, for blocks you also need class five gravel for the base, ½ inch rock to put behind the blocks so the water can drain (otherwise water will get behind the blocks, freeze and thaw, and push the blocks out of place), drain pipe, and geo-grid for walls over four feet tall. Third, Bill suggests that you begin on a 95 degree day to really add to the enjoyment of building the wall. Then, you need to dig a hole deep enough for ¼ of the wall, add the class five gravel and bury two blocks. Once that’s level, you stack the blocks upward and add the rock and drain pipe behind the wall for water to escape. If you have any questions, you can call bill to ask questions, but don’t ask him to come over! (Time: 8:24)

The Table Topics Master was Mark (Mark has some old friends from high school and college, but they really only keep in touch via e-mail and Christmas cards.) who selected his victims carefully. Mark asked Lori G to convince him that man’s best friend is a dog. Lori calls her dog, “Royal Pain in the Neck”. He follows her around every morning. While she gets ready for work, she throws the ball and the dog fetches it. She use to have a cat that was stand-offish and only came around when it wanted to be petted. Since dogs are more friendly and outgoing, and still greet you at the door even when you yell at it, dogs are man’s best friend. (Time: 1:18)

Eddie K told us about his first childhood friend and why he was his best friend. Eddie’s best friend was Brian E, who went to kindergarten and played baseball with Eddie. Eddie remembers him playing with objects on a table, then throwing up all over the table—Eddie gave him his bucket. They had many adventures. Brian’s dad built a playhouse that smelled just like their house—stale dog. He also remembers going to the gas station with Brian for 25 cent pop. In high school, they went their separate ways when Eddie got in trouble for skipping baseball with Brian. They still played hockey together, but haven’t seen much of each other recently since no one likes Brian’s girlfriend. (Time: 2:15)

Evaluator 1 was Mary Ellen (Her best friend is a girl named Jari that Mary Ellen met in college). Mary Ellen commended Betsy on her voice volume and pitch. She also liked Betsy’s conversational manner and the fact that she came out in front of the lecturn. Mary Ellen suggested that Betsy slow down when talking about the sailboat and canoe and use more pauses, such as when talking about the loons, to convey relaxation to the listeners. Mary Ellen also liked Betsy’s vocal variety and body language.

Evaluator 2 was Keri (Keri met her friend Jen in 6th grade and they still bake cookies together every Christmas; last year they baked 20 dozen!). Keri liked Bill’s word selection and arrangement. She applauded his organization, which was clear and structured, and humor. Even though it was a dry topic, Bill’s sense of humor made his speech entertaining. She encouraged Bill to bring in some props, such as cardboard blocks or a sample, to help the audience understand exactly what he was talking about.

Mark was our General Evaluator. He commended Lori on her kickoff, intros, clapping, and explanation of duties, but reminded her to introduce guests. Mark liked Kathy’s word and explanation and Laura’s explanation of timing, but reminded Laura to explain why we time speeches. Mark suggested that Lori structure her stream of consciousness up-front to turn her good answer into a great one, and noted that he will miss Eddie’s “Eddie-isms”. For the evaluators, he liked Mary Ellen’s balanced evaluation and objectives, but suggested more specific examples. He liked Keri’s introduction, humor, structure, and specific suggestions. The Spirit Award was given to Betsy.