Luke, Thank you for the accolades! Those of you that were at the meeting might appreciate this PSA compliments of Jefferson County Sheriff Dept! Thank you! Lori From: frtm-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:frtm-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Luke Vesely Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2011 8:05 PM To: frtm@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: FRTM - 8/18/2011 FRTM Meeting Recap Hello Toastmasters! How's the weekend been? I enjoyed one of the most fun meetings I've been to in a while this Thursday. Thanks to Toastmaster Lori High for an amazing "Meeting in the Park"! Nothing but the highest accolades (WOD courtesy of Pat Haugse) to you, Lori. We met at Woodglen Park in Thornton. It was a neat setting, complete with snacks, drinks and a gorgeous Colorado evening. I run through that area on a regular basis and will always think of our meeting on August 18th when I see that pavilion. We must turn "Meeting in the Park" into an annual event:) We have our Humorous Speech and Evaluation Club Competition scheduled for September 22nd! Mark your calendars, and stay tuned for more updates from co-chairs Lori and Kathy. The two speeches on Thursday made an already memorable night even more memorable! Feliks Melamed gave his Ice Breaker called, "Coming to America." Feliks told us that he was born in Odesa, Ukraine, and moved to the U.S. when he was 3 (and was nearly kidnapped by gypsies while on a stopover in Italy!). He grew up in Aurora and as a kid was a regular Howie Mandel--very talkative--but that got him in trouble and hurt his grades in school. Thanks to scheduling problem, Feliks ended up taking an accounting class in high school and that set him on his current professional path. Shoulders back, head held high! The second speech of the night was given by Rayna Kittredge, in a speech called, "PRESENCE." Wow, very polished Rayna, as always! She first reminded us that "presence" is holding yourself in a dignified manor...something that most Toastmasters do very well. For many, though, exuding confidence and presence is not as easy as it sounds. Rayna's message was that what we as speakers make the audience see and feel is what they remember. Congratulations to Feliks for taking home the Best Speaker Ribbon! Lori had a very creative intermission in which she asked us to write down a question that we might commonly ask a stranger, and a question that we might ask ourselves. It was a great lesson in how you approach someone, how you respond to certain questions, and commonality of questions. Lori, I loved how you got all of us involved in this exercise--audience interaction is a surefire way to have a great TM meeting. Kathy Barrett was our Table Topics Master and proved that the simplest TTs are usually the best. Kathy gave us the opportunity to get on our soapbox and talk about anything we wanted. Congratulations to Pat Haugse for his winning Table Topics on firefighters...who, according the Pat, are not all they're cracked up to be:) Very entertaining Pat! Earl Allen was General Evaluator, assisted by evaluators Kate Kielsmeier and Adam Vesely. Excellent feedback everyone, and kudos to Adam for winning Best Evaluator. A final thank you to Inspirator Luke Vesely, Ah Counter Amelia Autrey, Quizmaster David Hassler, and Timer Dirk Kittredge for helping make this meeting a night to remember. A special congratulations to Lori, Dirk, Rayna, Luke and David for not getting any "ums/ahs"! It's a pleasure to be part of such a great organization with you. See everyone on Thursday! Luke