We had a room full of guests. Welcome everybody! We hope you had a wonderful time. Would the person who took home the guest sign-up sheet get in touch so we can get in touch with all of you?

We had two terrific speeches from two very experienced speech makers. Anna Lien, our brand new co-president, told us why her mother calls her a trouble-maker. If you know Anna you know why most of us found this hard to believe, but the imagery in her speech was fantastic, and she had us all smiling as she told her story.

Jim Fox, a long time member, but a guest last night, talked to us about the Krupps family dynasty. We all got a fascinating history lesson going back to the Franco-Prussian War. Fun fact number 1 – the British licensed the bomb technology they used in the first world war from this German company. Fun fact number 2 – to collect on this licensing agreement, the Krupps had accountants on both sides of the water counting bomb blasts. They matched their figures and agreed upon the amount the British owed the Germans for bombing them.

Michael Simpson was our Toastmaster, he kept the meeting moving along smoothly, and he had at his side Tim Ryan as Jokemaster. Tim, a British ex-pat, told us a joke about the Irish, involving beer and libraries. We are eagerly looking forward to a response from our Irish ex-pat….

Table Topics was especially lively this week (thanks to Michael Guerin), as we heard some great stories involving New Year’s Eves past – both biggest regrets and best nights ever. Keith Hoang gave us some great predictions for 2011, if it’s even half as good as Keith promises, we are in for a pretty spectacular year.

Thanks to all who showed up and if you were a guest and are thinking of joining us, just jump in. The hardest part is the anticipation, each speech gets easier, and the sooner you join, the sooner you’ll be a better public speaker.

See you all next week, Thursday, January 13th 2011.

New member Brian Cutter filled us in on the Golden Gate Bridge – not just the real reason it’s red and not gold, but also what design elements we should be looking for when we cross it, and why they are significant.

Anna Lien updated us on a project she completed last summer – successfully coaching three Toastmaster presidents to achieve their club goals. With this speech, Anna completed her High Performance Leadership project. She is on her way to attaining her DTM (Distinguished Toastmaster), the highest level in TM. Congratulations Anna!

You may already know how bad bottled water is for the environment, but did you also know that it consistently loses to tap water in blind tastings? Michael Simpson’s speech gave us the statistics to back us up when we are making the sustainable choice.

Table topics were all about preparation for the new year. Matt McCabe, another new member, kept the questions interesting. One or two of us even answered the question as it was asked.

Toastmasters Steve Aitkins and Tim Ryan ensured a lively meeting – we heard about Tim’s Mom’s excellent holiday planning skills involving a turkey and an outhouse. We also learned that outhouse is British for porch.

And for those who were interested, Steve Aitkins had a video of his infant son taking a bath.

Steve and Anna Lien were elected co-presidents, Matt McCabe stepped up as Treasurer, Tim Ryan will take on a piece of the PR work and I seem to be writing these updates.

Please join us at this week’s meeting Thursday January 6th -

Katherine Florio
Secretary
Sierra Speakers

But we will be having a club social after work on Wednesday, Nov. 10. Please come out for happy hours drinks and pizzas on us from 6pm – 8pm at Palomino.

And we’ll make a last toast to a member who is moving away from the area for his work / career. We’ll all miss his upbeat, friendly spirit. Please come out and say your goodbyes to Matthew Walsh.

Sierra Speakers’ Happy Hour!
No speeches, just toasts!
Cocktails, beer, wine, pizza and socializing.

FREE for members and guests*

WHERE:
Palomino Restaurant & Bar
(On The Embarcadero between Folsom & Harrison)
345 Spear Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

WHEN: 6pm – 8pm, Wednesday, Nov. 10

RSVP: president@sierraspWe will have several tables for our group. But since we can’t make reservations in the bar area or patio we need your RSVP so we know how many spaces to hold.

Even if you can’t get there at 6pm, come at 6:30 … 7pm … or whenever you can make it. But please let us know as we need an accurate count.

Hope to see you all there … even if you can only drop in for just one drink.

And please bring a friend who might be interested in joining the club.

Please RSVP to presidentsierraspeakerscom

Vladimir “The Great” Gostrer gave us a lively opening in his inaugural Sergeant at Arms performance before handing over to the dynamic duo Toastmasters, followed by the evaluations introduction but our General Evaluator, John Angelico.

Then the main event of the evening – the organized speeches.

Kathy Fiorio gave her second speech at Sierra Speaker, entitled “Crossing Cultures”. With a level of speaking far beyond what her speech number would suggest, Kathy regaled us with stories of near death experiences and singing policemen in Beirut.

Next up we had Valdimir back up, giving us his third speech entitled ‘Jungle Boogie’. A nail biting and hilarious tale of river rafting, jungle trekking, injuries and jubilation all in the dead of night in Laos!

For our final speech, we were honored to have Tony Saccardi give us his  Division winning “How I learned to love the bomb” humorous speech in which he had us in stitches over his ant battling, date wrecking antics. Tony is an advanced speaker who made great use of vocal variety and physical gestures to enhance his speech and it was great to have him visit Sierra Speakers. Good luck in the District contest Tony!

Table topics gave some of our guests a chance to speak, as well as some old hands (good to see our ex-President Helen back in action!)

Andrew Reed, Keith Hoang and Shaun Abram were the speech evaluators and Matt McCabe, Brian Cutter and Tim Ryan rounded out the evaluation team in the the functionary roles.

Thanks to everyone for coming and a special thanks to all our guests including Claire Solomon, Susie Ansaldi, Norma Rivera and Kourosh Zamanizadeh.

We have no meeting next week due to Veteran’s Day, but keep an eye out for an email from Prez Steve about drinks on Wednesday night…

Shaun
VP of PR

Before the meeting, Amanda collected “firsts” from everyone with a role and used the information to introduce those people, including a humorous description of the first time general evaluator Helen Chao went rock climbing. Amanda looked very comfortable in her role and kept the meeting fun and lively.

Our first speaker was Anna Lien, who told the story of her dinner at Opaque, a San Francisco restaurant where food is served in pitch-black darkness. Anna set out to give a humorous speech and she delivered, describing the pitfalls of eating in the dark – which for her included accidentally swallowing a large chunk of butter. She even managed to include the word of the day, “maiden.”

Steve Aitkins gave the second and final speech, a thoughtful look at how to offer someone services without turning into a stereotypical salesperson. Elizabeth Cruz participated in the speech, playing the role of a homeowner deciding whether to accept the services Steve was offering. Afterward, he dissected the interaction and explained his tactful, no-pressure approach.

I was the evaluator for Anna’s speech, and Keith Hoang evaluated Steve’s speech. Helen Chao added some helpful suggestions for the speakers and gave a strong overview of the meeting.

John Angelico led a great Table Topics session in which brave newcomer Dominique Jones fielded a question about “firsts” in travel, and used it to lead into a story about the time she moved to East New York, Brooklyn.

Our two other guests, Mayank Johri and Aida Shoydokova, shared their stories of how they ended up at a Toastmasters meeting.

Magnus Johannson kept us all on track as timer; Willerie Razote monitored our use of the English language as grammarian; and Vicky Cheng thoroughly logged our crutch words as “ah” counter.

Great job, everyone!

Melissa McRobbie, Club Secretary

Next to Happy Donuts. Look for the big gold numbers “1455″ over the revolving door.

TONIGHT – Monday, August 2. 6pm – 8pm
5:45pm-Registration

Cost: $8 pre-registered before 7/30; $12 at the door

Pay with Cash or Check payable to Division E Toastmasters at the event sign-in desk.

Bank of America Building
1455 Market Street
(between 10th and 11th Streets)
San Francisco 94103

Be trained by the Division E All Stars! Prepare yourself for the next 6 months with the tools & resources you need!

Please pre-register here: http://eguv.wufoo.com/forms/q7x3p3/

More details here: http://www.d4tm.org/Events/trainingSchedule.php

Thanks!

I’ll see you there.

– Steve

Thursday’s meeting was another fun one, with humorous speeches, a number of guests and funny anecdotes from our Toastmaster, Keith Hoang.

Matthew Walsh stepped in at the last minute as Sergeant at Arms, opening the meeting and introducing Keith, who did a fantastic job of keeping the tone steady and tying the elements together for a smooth flow.

Our first speaker was Magnus Johannson, who engaged us right away with several questions, including “Who has ever gotten married in Las Vegas?” That led into his own story of his Vegas wedding at a chapel conveniently located between a strip club (for the bachelor party) and a fast-food joint (for the reception). He had the audience laughing throughout. This was Magnus’ icebreaker speech and he did an amazing job!!

I gave the next speech, titled “Dancing Your Way to Success.” The speech drew on my own rocky experiences as a beginner dancer in salsa, tango and West Coast Swing, with the message that patience, perseverance and a sense of humor are the key elements in success as a blossoming dancer. This was my third speech and I used notes, which I’m sure will be an anomaly

John Angelico then delighted us with “Long Walks on the Beach,” a humorous speech based on a short story by Italian writer Italo Calvino. John took on the persona of a man strolling down a beach past a nude woman and grappling with the ethics of whether to look at her or ignore her. The speech had us all in stitches.

Michael Susko led us through a great Table Topics session with questions like how you would tactfully correct someone who got your name wrong when introducing you, and why “ahs” and “ums” are called “crutch words” when, unlike real-life crutches, they serve no useful purpose?

As general evaluator, Nori Yoshida led a strong team of evaluators that consisted of Vladimir Gostrer, Andrew Reed and Matthew Walsh.

Steve Aitkins was our timer; Christine Blanchet our grammarian; and Heather Dickson was a very thorough “ah” counter.

Thanks everyone for another great meeting!

For any aspiring dancers in the group, here is a moment of inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGA3OZc_Iu4&playnext_from=TL&videos=mmnm3FhQkC8

(A young pro couple performing a West Coast Swing routine)

Have a great weekend!

Melissa McRobbie, Club Secretary

Our three speakers delivered, with Vicky Cheng opening with the speech “Tips from an Expert Beginner,” in which she ran us through various martial arts techniques including by demonstrating a few moves with the help of volunteer Helen Chao. It was Vicky’s second speech and she did great!

Christine Blanchet then switched to the topic of travel – more specifically, how to pack efficiently for our next vacations – in a speech titled “How to Pack it in.” Her well-thought-out tips were delivered clearly and engagingly, from recommending that women pack a shawl for night outings to warning men against the fashion faux-pas of wearing socks with leather sandals.

Helen Chao then inspired us with “Bringing History to Life,” a look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s life and accomplishments. She opened with a strong quote, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” and overcame technical difficulties to give us a broad perspective on this amazing woman’s achievements.

Club president Steve Aitkins led a unique Table Topics session in which speakers were given four phrases and 30 seconds to brainstorm about how to string them together in a story before speaking. Highlights included a flamboyant Gavin Newsom on a Pride Parade float in John Angelico’s story and international leaders pillowfighting in Vladimir Gostrer’s tale.

Shaun Abram gave thoughtful, well-rounded and constructive feedback to all participants as our general evaluator, and Corito Sevilla was a sharp and efficient timer. Matthew Walsh was a tough grammarian, finding no gaffes but raising the bar for impressive use of the English language, and “Ah” counter John Angelico dutifully logged all of our crutch words.

Evaluators were Melissa McRobbie, James Birkelund and Michael Susko, and we were honored to have a number of guests in attendance, including Donald Thomas, Nelson Lau, Jason Mack, Robert Chan, Eric Wong, Stephanie Hall, Mary Michelle Van Noppin, Andrew Kitirattragarn, Andre Rubin and Mel Kreitz.

Have a great Fourth of July and see you at the next meeting!

Melissa McRobbie, Club Secretary