Meeting Recap: June 24, 2015 (Lessons Learned)

Dear APS Members and Guests,

Did you learn any lessons this Toastmasters year? Toastmaster of the Day Georgia Jones reminisced about some of her “Lessons Learned,” and recalled several of this year’s highlights for APS. Having led the club to its most successful year so far, Georgia had no reason to chide any of the members, or especially the learned guests; Sandro Fusco, Jonathan Yu, Carol Bodine, Jamie Tyrrell, Te-Ga Hamm, and Deb Leung. “Chide” was the Word of the Day selected by Grammarian Manuel Saldana.

With APS, Area 44 and District 46 all having attained Toastmasters Heaven, Todd McKinney was wondering “Where Do We Go From Here?” Todd believes the next level for APS will be as a platform to help even more members achieve higher ground, just as Sandro Fusco and Gouri Seetharam have recently done. Speech Evaluator Neerja Purang liked the humor, the message and the timely topic, but thought that the speech structure would benefit from “telling us upfront what you are going to tell us.”

“Where Religion, Science and Technology Meet” describes the life of Wesley Webster, who began as a scientist, then became a pastor and is now a software developer. His quest for truth leads Wesley to believe that for him there is no gap between these disciplines. Harry Aneziris enjoyed Wesley’s fascinating life story and his confident, deliberate speaking style but felt the need for a more exact definition of the word “Religion.”

Kadisha Currie did some interpretive reading in “Perseverance.” Kadisha shared three poems that had given her emotional strength during some difficult times. Marcia Berry thought the poems chosen were perfect for the purpose, but wanted even more vocal enhancement to create drama. Announcing poem titles helped give context, but Marcia also wanted the audience to know the author, who was not mentioned.

Incoming Area 45 Director Deb Leung performed an enjoyable, heartfelt officer installation ceremony for the new 2015-2016 APS officer team. Deb is continuing her Toastmasters journey after serving as a Perfect 10 President of Jade. Employing just the right amount of brevity, Deb passed the gavel to each new officer, only expounding on the responsibilities for incoming President Marcia Berry.

Table Topics Master Barbara Stallworth explored the “Lessons Learned” theme, and got Harry Aneziris to chide the entire APS officer team for not achieving Perfect 11. On a more sincere note, Tatyana Gorbatyuk came to see herself differently after receiving positive feedback when she was a brand new member of the S&P Effective Communicators. Jonathan Yu’s subway lesson is to avoid rush hour if at all possible, while Te-Ga Hamm prefers avoiding subway eye contact. Jamie Tyrrell has learned that the greatest source of unhealthy germs is the door handles between subway cars, but Carol Bodine thinks that food carts and salad bars may be even worse.

General Evaluator Sandro Fusco praised the meeting organization and preparation, and then diplomatically mentioned that during his years as an officer in District 46, APS President-Elect Marcia Berry was his most dependable colleague. Grammarian Manuel Saldana found only a small number of verbal imperfections; however he did chide Timer Harry Aneziris for excessive use of the Word of the Day.

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Todd McKinney

VP Education, Advanced Public Speakers