July 27 Meeting Summary
Dan B, our Toastmaster opened the meeting at precisely high noon. He
shared that his theme of 'Summer Slipping By' was inspired by his recent
thoughts about all that he still wanted to accomplish and do with his kids
before the end of summer. We had one guest, Matt P who works in Human
Resources.

Wordmaster Grammarian Jeff S shared that the Word of the Day was
persevere. He chose that word because he is training for the Twin Cities
Marathon and has been trying to "persevere on my long runs."
Our only speaker, Mary W shared her Ice Breaker. She shared that she is
a positive, upbeat person with lots of energy. Her personal mission is to
make a positive impact in others' lives. Mary told us about her career
journeys, starting with her work at Minnesota Mutual Life when it was
located at 345 Cedar. After her daughter was born, Mary left MML to pursue
a career in fitness and personal training at the YMCA. After a period of
time she accepted the Director of Fitness position at the downtown YMCA.
Mary also practiced what she preached and even entered a bodybuilding
contest where she finished 3rd in her age category and 4th in her weight
class.

Two months after getting divorced and becoming a single parent, she lost
her job at the YMCA. Realizing she didn't want her kids raised in
day-care, Mary turned to a profession as a Sales Consultant for Mary Kay
Cosmetics. Mary informs that Mary Kay is "more than pink Cadillacs and
lipstick" and that the values of the company very closely align with her
personal values. Her position at Mary Kay allowed her to be a good role
model for her kids by demonstrating hard work, a positive outlook and
living the Golden Rule.

She returned to ML (now Securian) a couple of months ago. She is happy to
be back and feels that the experiences she has gone through in the past
five years have been more challenging than any other part of her life. But
she wouldn't change those experiences because she believes that your life
experiences shape the person you become.

Mary Ellen G was our Table Topics Master and she asked Bill S what his vacation plans were for the rest of the summer. Bill informed
that he doesn't have time for a vacation. He took time off to do some
landscaping in 90 degree weather (doesn't sound like much of a vacation).
He shared that if he did have time, he would like to take a vacation
somewhere in the desert (maybe Las Vegas).

Laura G was asked to tell us about her favorite summer activity.
Laura shared about the planned community she lives in, Stone Mill Farms.
They have Music in the Park and recently she and her family and Mary Ellen
and her husband went to hear Boogie Wonderland. She talked about how fun
and relaxing it was to let the kids run around and be able to relax and
visit with family and neighbors.

Jeff S was asked to share about a summer project that turned out
well. Jeff shared that he and his wife decided to finally hang some
pictures (family was coming into town). The project was deemed a success
because the pictures made it on the wall, stayed on the wall and no one got
hurt. Jeff also said that he was attempting to keep his lawn alive during
the scorching sun and unrelenting heat that we have been experiencing.

Mark H was asked to share a project that didn't go so well. mark
shared about a project to replace the garage door opener at his house. He
asked Dave B to assist him. As it turns out the model of garage door
opener that he bought wasn't an exact match to the old one in terms of
size. Much chaos ensued when the new opener didn't fit and there was
discussion about how to make it work. Dave slyly asked if Mark had read
the directions which did not meet with much approval at the time. Several
years later Dave asked Mark to help him replace his garage door opener and
he did buy the exact model he was replacing and he did read the directions.
Things went much more smoothly at Dave's house.

Laura B was our Inspirationist. She shared photos she had taken
of animals at the Minnesota Valley Humane Society. The pictures were being
used for postcards that will be sent out to potential donors for their new
capital campaign to build a new building.

Marian J evaluated Mary's speech. She spoke about how Mary's speech
"underscored her uniqueness". She felt the title reflected thoughtfulness
and preparation. She said that Mary's voice was pleasant to listen to.
She felt the storytelling structure that Mary used was appropriate for her
Ice Breaker and felt that the more formal speech structure would come with
experience. She concluded that it was a great first speech and she was
excited to hear more from Mary.

Keri O provided a two-part General Evaluation. She praised Dan for a
job well done and Jeff for providing a word that was easy to use. She then
realized that Dan had forgotten to have the Timer and Wordmaster give their
reports so she took a brief pause in her General Evaluation so these events
could transpire. Upon resuming, she noted her appreciation for the
structure of the Table Topics respondents and felt that Marian provided
good suggestions and positive examples in her evaluation.

The Spirit Award went to Mary W for her outstanding Ice Breaker speech.
A good time was had by all in attendance. If you missed this meeting, know
that you were missed. You have another chance to join us on Thursday,
August 3. Hope to see you all there.