Minutes of the Last Meeting
For minutes of previous meetings, click the archives link.
Cape Town Toastmasters Meeting 22 October
We've all been waiting for the day...and it finally arrived!!
Following hot on the heels of sister-in-law Lizette, Denise finally took the lead and filled the role of Toastmaster of the Evening on the 22nd. In fact she took to it so naturally that it was a bit of a challenge to extricate her from the lectern - at the end of the evening she proceeded to relieve me of the task of handing out the Awards!! Wondering if I need be concerned?!
Our venue seemed a little empty after some of the huge congregations we've had of late, but in tallying up it seems we had a respectable 17 people present....and in excellent TM fashion EVERYONE (with the relieved exception of our guest Paul Joseph) was called upon to actively participate in one way or another.
The official speaking program consisted of Sean McCauley's Ice Breaker "Who Moved My Cheese?" which he based around the changes in his life - from his impending marriage (his reason for joining up is so that his speaking abilities are up to the challenge of speaking what's on his heart on that occasion!), to his culinary experimentation with sushi-making, to his endeavours in the gym. The line that impressed all of us was when he stated "I LOVE my job - I'm employed to make people happy!" Not a claim that everyone could make with such wholehearted enthusiasm. Evaluator Hugh Solomon gave an all round endorsement to the speech speaking, I think, for all of us when he said that Sean had delivered a cracking CC1 and we look forward to the rest of his TM speaking career.
Anneliese Hofmann then tackled her CC5 entitled "Try Something New This Summer" and surprised us all with what is clearly a knowledgeable and personally experienced insight into the world of Mountain Biking. The idea that one can actually take lessons in how to more gracefully be catapulted over one's handlebars came as yet another surprise, as did the staggering range of "extras" that the acquisitive mountain biker can spend their hard-earned cash on. She left us with the compelling message that we should try to "hurtle down that hill" because it's fun, helps you get fit, and helps you to forget about life's worries (and presumably if you didn't take the above mentioned lessons perhaps suffer total amnesia and forget everything altogether.....but let's not be pessimistic). Evaluator Ruth suggested a few more dramatic gestures might have been in order given the wonderfully descriptive language used, but also commended Anneliese on a task well managed.
Fred showed his Consulting prowess in tackling the Time Keeping task, producing a wonderfully functional timing table that we immediately decided to put into common practice.
As we were running well ahead of time due to the withdrawal of another speaker (with good reason and apology I must add)...Denise roped Craig Strachan in to give us a quick explanation about the roles he and Lois play in the Leadership. To summarise, as Lt Gov Education / Training Craig helps the district clubs and members achieve their goals, and as District Governor Lois is effectively the "CEO" of Toastmasters in SA and the surrounding regions, keeping her eye on what's working, what's not, and finding solutions. The TM ethos of Servant Leadership came through very clearly with Craig emphasising that everything centres on the individual member and making sure that the entire system works to support them and help them grow and develop. Those at the "top" of Leadership are really in service to everyone below them.
The Toast of the Evening was delivered by Ank and went out to Street Sellers. Love 'em or hate 'em, when the oke with the pile of newspapers saves you R5 by telling you on the way home that your wife already bought the paper you have to think twice about what it takes to stand out there every day come rain or shine just to make a living.
After the snack break Brian reprised the Humour Contest speech that he was taking to Minicon as the Divisional Winner in his capacity as a Cape Communicator. We were all invited to offer feedback and a robust session ensued at the end of which we wished him well for the contest. (Late Breaking news...Brian wasn't placed in the Humour Contest finals, but Cape Town Toastmasters won the Club of The Year Award which is a great reflection of his leadership as he was President for 2007/2008!!!)
Hugh Solomon ran a Table Topics segment which called upon all participants to dig into their memories and conclude a thought that he started:
Victor "pulled the car over and....." and told us about the proverbial dark and stormy night in the Cape Town traffic
Nick "heard a strange noise coming from the engine and...." apparently left a rather important bit of his gear box on the highway.
Lois "answered the phone and it was...." her brother - calling from the UK at 2am only to decide it wasn't really a crisis after all.
Morne "heard a thud in the darkness and....." did a quick midnight walkabout before going back to bed.
Leone indulged in a whole lot of retail therapy but had to deal with the consequences when she "opened the envelope and.." realised exactly what it had cost her!
Aletta (who also acted as Sergeant At Arms) "knocked softly and opened the door...." only to decide that it is probably a wiser course of action to remain on the outside of a teenager's room.
Liz "rushed home and...." gave up on the idea that her kids would ever understand the first principles of housework.
The Awards for the evening went to Sean for Best Speaker, Hugh as Best Evaluator, and Leone and Aletta shared the Table Topics award.
Here's hoping to see you all at the next meeting on 12 November.......Bear in mind that our Festive Season celebration plans will be announced soon and that we do take a bit of a break over December / January so make sure you book ahead on the program to get your speaking and leadership slots scheduled to meet your goals by June 2009.
Cheers!!!
Regards
Liz Dewing
President
Cape Town Toastmasters