Have You Ever Been to a District Conference?

Have you ever considered going to a district conference?

Why not?

This year our very own Sara is the educational co-chair. This means she has helped pick the sessions you can go to through the day. There will be sessions on building better teams, how to use Toastmasters to advance your career, improving external communications, or finding your true passion.

This year the Keynote Speaker is Mary Cheyne. Mary won second place in Augusts World Champion of Public Speaking competition. She represented District 31 and started out at her club's International Speech Contest last Spring. Learn how she did it!

This year we are trying an Evaluation-a-thon. For one hour there will be nothing but other members (and maybe you) giving speeches. Verbal evaluations will be given by members of the district's advanced clubs. These are more indepth evaluations and are fantastic ways to help you set goals.

What about all the people you can meet! Participants will be members from all over Rhode Island and Eastern/Central Massachusetts. This is a great way to see other speakers and make connections. There is always time to network at these events.

Find out more about the conference at http://www.district31.org/conference_2009Fall_home.html including registration information, an agenda and more. Still want to learn more about it? Ask Sara, Rene, Peter, Yvette or Maggie about their experiences at conferences!

Funny People

Try not to laugh, but some Toastmasters have a sense of humor. I've known one or two to crack a joke. If don't believe it, then you probably weren't at the division speech contest. On October 6, 2009, three division clubs convened in a basement conference room at Fidelity Bank to vote on the funniest among them. Yevette Moquin, division governor, mastered the ceremoies and ushered us through the battle of wits. Four contestants competed and one will go on to compete at higher levels and maybe even participate in the international contest. Our contestants were, in order of appearance, Ernest Schreiber, Mike Kornik, Todd Chapman, and Rene Roy.

Ernie coaxed from each of us our latent genius, that apple chomping, over perspiring little savant that we all know has been yearning for freedom. Mike wanted to introduce us to the language of the British, and how it will get you in trouble if you try to us it in America. Todd's story of a winged nocturnal invader evoked the spirit of Halloween and Rene recalled his days as an eager young navy man. The judges voted and awarded Todd Chapman the golden first place ticket. Congratulations Todd!

I'd like to invite you to the next level of competition, the Division A and Division B humorous speech contest. It will be held on October 14, 2009 from 6:30-9 PM at the Raytheon facility in Tewksbury MA. Email for more details.