Capital City Toastmasters

Welcome to Capital City Toastmasters!! You obviously have an interest in our association or you wouldn’t be here on our page, but you might ask, “What is Toastmasters?” Toastmasters is an association that thrives on helping individuals reach their full potential by honing their speaking and leadership skills.

Every single day we have to communicate and lead others . . . Toastmasters can help you perfect those skills to be successful in your career and personal life . . .

Our Emperor was our Toastmaster today and our theme was “Charisma: Letting The Inner Light Shine.”

When Amber opened with an invocation defining charisma as a state of caring about others, Albert realized he had unwittingly picked a theme that focused on others, rather that on his majestic self!  How did this happen!

(By the way last week’s recap was wrong.  Amber won the Best Table Topics ribbon last week.  Sorry.  Go Amber!)

Stuart was our Topic Master.  Unfortunately no one seemed to want to master his charismatic topics.  Wendy went rogue and talked about her peeing dog,  Robin told jokes he’d heard recently (which were stellar) and Amy spoke not on whether charisma is innate or learned, but rather on how it can be un-learned.  Robert tap danced around an answer, and finally new member Brenda eloquently addressed one of Stuart’s actual topics, and walked away with the ribbon.

If you missed the meeting, this is honestly honestly true, ask anyone who was there – Cynthia did a full-on speech about vomit.  In answer to the searching question, “What’s Up Chuck?” she spoke of vomiting after drinking, vomiting from amusement park rides, and virtual vomiting after no more vomit was left to be vomited.  And what did she do for a finale?  Displayed an actual bag of vomit.  Cynthia.  You have guts!  And we saw them!   Evaluator Heather, undaunted in her first evaluation – delivered a clever, insightful and brilliantly constructive evaluation, cleaning up quite nicely after Cynthia.  Both ladies cleaned up: Cynthia with the Best Speaker ribbon and Heather with two ribbons - Best Evaluator and Most Enthusiastic.

Louis did a speech about Tiny House.  Not the Tiny House or a Tiny House.  Just Tiny House.  He’s building one. He outlined good reasons for doing so, yet never explored Tiny House as a resource for teenager  management. As Evaluator Carol pointed out, the Tiny House speech could have been bigger. More volume, more visuals.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Brenda
• Best Speaker: Cynthia
• Best Evaluator: Heather
• Most Enthusiastic: Heather
• Best Use of Humor: Carol

An All Girl Ribbon Sweep!!

See you next week!

Our July 7th meeting was outstanding. Our Toastmaster was Brendan and our official theme was The Radio.  We learned that Brendan deeply loves the radio.  We were taken on a tour of every radio selection button in his car, what it is programmed to, and why, and even how.

Cynthia urged us to eat organic meat rather than meat produced by its evil, money-hungry, not-at-all-animal-friendly, meat industry monopoly counterpart. And other organic food as well.  We will be healthier if we eat organic, and we will not be supporting politically incorrect business practices.  Cynthia was well organized and most enthusiastic.  Her evaluator Amy pointed out that sadly, even when we know the facts, we still have the tendency to continue to eat what we want to eat.

Keith came to the meeting!  And delivered a speech on UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship. It’s all about guys getting almost pummeled to death while other guys watch on TV, and it rocks! And it all takes place in The Octagon.  Anything can happen.  Arms can break.  Skulls can get fractured.  And guys love it.  It doesn’t cost a lot of money if you partake of this spectacle at Pluckers.   Louis as Keith’s evaluator gave Keith a hard time about not being committed to one purpose, because it seemed Keith could not decide whether it was an informational speech or a humorous speech.  Keith punched Louis in the nose after the meeting.

Carlos did some great Table Topics.  All the speakers where great.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Robin
• Best Speaker: Cynthia
• Best Evaluator: Amy
• Most Enthusiastic: Keith
• Best Use of Humor: Keith

June 30th was a great day to be a member of Capital City Toastmasters.  It was a meeting full of celebrations and milestones.

It was the end of Rey’s term as president, and her last meeting with us before her move to Washington.  The tears started right away when our Invocator Patrick led us in “You are my sunshine.”  Our theme was Thank You, because Rey has done so very much for our club.  We were blessed to have you as our president.

Corky, our Toastmaster, demonstrated his skill by all at once honoring the sentimental tone of the meeting, keeping it moving at a lively pace, and welcoming guests to make them feel immediately at home.

During Table Topics, Eric did a tongue-in-cheek tribute to Rey, recounting all the ways Rey got on his nerves: her hatred for animals, her history of puppy-kicking, and her draining downbeat attitude.  Taline tried bravely not to cry while describing the ways Rey has been supportive and generous to Taline and Taline’s whole family.  No surprise there, as we have seen that Rey is a loyal friend and advocate to all. Maureen raved about Rey’s ability to bring the positive energy, and the wonderful way she has set the tone for our club, like a … wait for it …Rey of Sunshine.

Wendy did a serious speech today, and quite a thought-provoking one at that. We were asked to ponder the fates of criminals and schizophrenic children – how much sympathy is in order, and what role are we expected to take to be of assistance?  Evaluator Lora applauded Wendy for leaving her comfort zone by confronting a difficult topic, and for responding gracefully to the technical difficulties in the video presentation portion of her speech.

Carlos completed his tenth speech, earning the Competent Communicator certification, giving our club 10 out of 10 goals for the President’s Distinguished Club award.  In our second uncharacteristically serious speech of the day,  Carlos talked about the atrocities of animal cruelty, including seal clubbing, dog fighting, and the oil spill’s tragic impact on wildlife.  Especially fascinating was the section on Michael Vick, who now speaks to kids about how wrong animal cruelty is.  Evaluator Robin pointed out the unintentionally funny aspects of Carlos’ Power Point Presentation, and lightened up the mood in the room, while making some insightful points about maintaining consistency in the tone of a speech.

Stuart did a humorous, witty, self-effacing speech about weddings, taking one last opportunity to poke fun at the ever-good-natured Rey.  Brian did an exemplary evaluation, shining a spotlight on Stuart’s easy charming demeanor, his comfort in front of the group, and the fine job he did on presenting a well-organized speech.  It’s always a challenge for an evaluator to find ways Stuart can improve: Brian suggested that Stuart experiment with moving around more and tapping into his more tender emotions for future speeches.

New officers were installed, and that was that.  We love you Rey!!!
Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Eric
• Best Speaker: Stuart
• Best Evaluator: Brian
• Most Enthusiastic: Rey
• Best Use of Humor: Robin

Looking forward to seeing you all next Wednesday to kick off a new Toastmasters year with our new President Corky!

In one of her last meetings before heading west for the adventure of her lifetime, Rey was our Toastmaster and the theme was, aptly, ”Adventures.”

It’s not an urban myth.  It’s true.  Louis ate a rat.  You’ve heard the rumor.  This time it came directly from the man himself.  And what a perfect topic to include in a speech for our June 23th meeting all about Adventures.  Louis also covered several things we never would have guessed about him, such as his experience as a school teacher and a knife salesman.

While Louis’ speech addressed perhaps the epitome of a manly man adventure, Cynthia’s speech addressed the female version of the ultimate adventure: Shopping!  Discounts!  How low can you go?  Goodwill!  Estate sales! Be a squeaky wheel!  How many ways can you essentially find extra money in your wallet?  Cynthia was on fire!

Table Topics got Lora talking about her love of travel and her wishes to continue seeing exotic places.  Li confessed to being pursued in a high-speed chase on a jet ski, and Amy just likes to lie on the couch. Make that loves to lie on the couch.  My apologies to the other topic presenters. Once I start daydreaming about my couch…nothing else registers

We had a bevy of visitors. They were surely impressed and will surely come back. Because Toastmasters is an adventure!!  And it was great to see several of our members we had not seen for a little while: Robin, Maureen, Carlos, and Mark.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Li
• Best Speaker: Cynthia
• Best Evaluator: Brendan
• Most Enthusiastic: Carol
• Best Use of Humor: Louis

At least I think that’s who won the ribbons. Once I start daydreaming about my couch…

Looking forward to seeing you all Wednesday!

Amy

Our June 16th meeting was dedicated to Dads.

Table Topic Master Lora came us with some excellent questions. Cynthia said that if she could have any TV dad, it would be Andy Taylor from Mayberry RFD. Albert did a majestic and thought-provoking commentary on the perhaps misguided choice made by many modern dads to be a friend to their kids, rather than an authority figure worthy of respect. Mark shared a life lesson learned: what happens on the golf course between men stays on the golf course.  And Russell shared a story of getting busted in a joking-yet-knowing way by somebody else’s dad, and his regret at not having such a cool dad himself. The ribbon went to Keith, who shared that the best Father’s Day gift his kids could give him would be their absence from his day.

Stuart was our man of the hour, completing his last speech for the Advanced Communicator Silver certification. Stuart inspired us to dig in and take on all of the various meeting roles, in order to be the best, most well-rounded and elucidated Toastmasters we all can be. Not only did Stuart achieve a personal goal, his completion of this certification enabled our club to reach President’s Distinguished Club status, and just in the nick of time. Stuart brought guests, including the lovely Janis (his trophy wife) and some relatives named Carroll and Darroll – not kidding!

Li did a speech about the Master Cleanse and its many benefits.  Li was organized, funny, and informative.  And she looked marvelous.  And she finished her speech on time.

Carol brought a new twist to the Grammarian role: bribing members to use the Word-of-the-Day with candy.  And many fell for it.  And thanks to Carol, we will never forget the meaning of the word “elucidate.”  Carol, thanks for the sunny light you always bring to our meetings.

Thanks to all who attended for a great meeting, and hats off to all our dads.
Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Keith
• Best Speaker: Li
• Best Evaluator: Louis
• Most Enthusiastic: Carol
• Best Use of Humor: Stuart

Who can lead us through a meeting that includes three terrific speeches and five Table Topics and doesn’t go overtime?  No surprise – it’s Patrick.  It was a fun, fast-paced roller-coaster ride of a meeting.

Did we get to know her?  Do we love her?  Yes, and yes.  Heather’s Ice Breaker was outstanding.  A hilarious accounting of growing up with hippie parents who coaxed her out of her shy ways by encouraging her to take on challenges and face her fears. It was funny, endearing, inspiring, and superbly written.  The only question is: How is she going to improve after starting out with a sparkling jewel like this one?

Jim’s speech led us through a quickie session reminiscent of 8-minute dating, pairing us up and having us engage in quality active listening exercises.  It was actually a practice run for part of a meeting he will be facilitating and he used us as guinea pigs.  Jim was charismatic and led the exercise effectively, but his evaluator Stuart pointed out he didn’t quite exactly meet the manual objectives for the project on the organized speech.  Though we all had a great time and got to know one of our fellow Toastmasters better.

Wendy told a completely wonderful story of reconnecting with an old boyfriend.  When he came to town, she had a blast with this blast from the past, showing him all around the famous Austin spots, including a clothing-optional environment. Her speech ended with some touching and soul searching thoughts about relationships.  Very well done, Wendy, though evaluator Corky pointed out she can’t exactly be committed to the whole undercover thing any more.

Table Topics, led masterfully by Robert, led to some surprising stories. And more nudity. Li had us in stitches, with her story of explaining to her young son that some people have a wee-wee and others no-wee-wee.  Brian surprised his son, Lora surpised herself, Carlos cried when a surprise party was thrown for him, and Neil surprisingly has no aspirations to run for public office.

Congratulations to our ribbon winners!

• Best Table Topic: Li
• Best Speaker: Heather
• Best Evaluator: Stuart
• Most Enthusiastic: Patrick
• Best Use of Humor: Li

See you next week!

Capital City Friends,

Brendan is back! Pranks and Practical Jokes was our theme, and the meeting had Brendan’s name written all over it.  Brendan knows how to bring it, especially when he is the Toastmaster.

Rey was our Topic Master.  Corky waxed nostalgic, sharing the old move-the-outhouse-without-telling-the-homeowner trick. Cynthia waxed nostalgic with the old bra-in-the-freezer trick.  Carol described her favorite Practical Jokes and Bloopers TV show film clip, which featured a birthday cake and projectile vomiting. Robert told of having his car hit by someone he thought might have been a practical joker, but he was actually just a horrible driver.  Maria…just what did he Maria do up there?  We may never understand, but we were thoroughly entertained.

Darron did his third wedding speech today, which he felt guilty about, but Stuart pointed out it was a small transgression compared to Brian’s four speeches about magnetic tape.  Darron will be a married man next time we see him.  Go Darron.

Amy glued three table topics together to make a last-minute speech about practical jokes.  Amy offers this tip to other Toastmasters: next time you are at a party and people start telling stories, one after the other, on the same general theme, steal three and turn them into a speech.

Li did a wonderful invocation about laughter, Albert did a wonderful evaluation about himself, and Keith, whatever his role was, managed to shoe-horn in a priceless story about a practical joke his family played on him.

A fine, fine meeting, chock full of vomit, poop, property destruction, and socially unacceptable behavior. Vintage Capital City!

Congratulations to our ribbon winners:

• Best Table Topic: Carol
• Best Speaker: Amy
• Best Evaluator: Stuart
• Most Enthusiastic: Brendan
• Best Use of Humor: Amy

And am I done now?  No. The recap of the May 26 CCTM meeting was LOST as an homage to the finale of the TV show LOST. Highlights are offered here though: Carlos was our Toastmaster, the theme was Gambling and Betting, Carlos is extremely good-looking, Keith got called for a Table Topic even though he was an Evaluator, and we had an excellent Ice Breaker speech from Mark, who is going to do very well at Capital City Toastmasters.  His speech was clever, touching, and hilarious – apparently he is obsessed with goofy movies, and he tortures his family with quote after quote, but they obviously love him all the same. Patrick did an evaluation that brought tears to our eyes it was so motivational and supportive.  Welcome Mark!

See you all next week!

Amy