THE OLDEST CLUB EAST OF THE ROCKIES

 The Historic Record of Orlando Toastmasters Club #28

January- June 2012 Edition, Produced by the office of the VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, Ryan Dick. EDITOR: Kenneth H. Walley, ACG, CL; PUBLISHER and ORLANDO TOASTMASTERS CLUB #28 PRESIDENT: Malita Clarke

 

---

 

CLUB HISTORY & UPCOMING EVENTS (To the right of your screen)

PAST ARTICLES:

2012 WILL BE THE BEST YEAR EVER FOR ORLANDO TOASTMASTERS CLUB #28! I’M NOT KIDDING HERE, FAR BEYOND ANY OTHER YEAR…ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST YEAR IN OUR HISTORY! By Kenneth H. Walley (January 2012)

MAY YOUR HOLIDAYS BE FILLED WITH JOY! By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (December 2011)   

NOVEMBER IS THE MONTH OF OPPORTUNITY! By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL  (November 2011)

RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A TOASTMASTERS VPE By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (October 2011)

 THE ORLANDO TOASTMASTERS CLUB #28 HUMOROUS SPEECH AND EVALUATIONS CONTESTS ARE A SPECTACULAR SUCCESS! By Kenneth H. Walley (September 2011)

IT'S CONTEST TIME AGAIN! HUMOROUS SPEECH AND EVALUATION CONTESTS DATE ANNOUNCED! and other news....By Kenneth H. Walley (August 2011)

A MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW PRESIDENT: "LET'S BE ALL-IN!" By Ryan Dick (July 2011)

CLUB #28 WINS 9TH PRESIDENT'S DISTINGUISHED AWARD! By Kenneth H. Walley (June 2011)

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM BEING A CLUB OFFICER IN TOASTMASTERS!

By Kenneth H. Walley (May 2011)

 GREAT SPEECHES! By Kenneth H. Walley (April 2011)

IT'S CLUB #28 INTERNATIONAL SPEECH AND TABLE TOPICS CONTEST TIME! By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (March 2011)

CLUB #28 ON FIRE!: A MONTH IN REVIEW By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (February 2011)

2011 WILL BE THE BEST YEAR EVER FOR ORLANDO TOASTMASTERS CLUB #28 AND I REALLY MEAN THIS, UNQUESTIONABLY AND DEFINITELY!! By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL  (January 2011)

MAY YOUR HOLIDAY BE FILLED WITH JOY!!! By Kenneth H. Walley (December 2010)

BE A LEADER! EARN YOUR CL! SERVE AS A CLUB OFFICER! By Kenneth H. Walley (November 2010)

 

PAST OFFICERS AND CONTEST WINNERS

PRESIDENT'S DISTINGUISHED CLUB RECORDS, 1999 to Present 

2012 WILL BE THE BEST YEAR EVER FOR ORLANDO TOASTMASTERS CLUB #28! I'M NOT KIDDING HERE, FAR BEYOND ANY OTHER YEAR... ABSOLUTELY THE GREATEST YEAR IN OUR HISTORY!

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL 

Lately, many people have besieged me with comments like: 

“Last year you said that 2011 would be Club #28’s best year ever. I didn’t believe you Ken Walley, but you were right again!  How did you know? I will never doubt your word again!” 

OK, maybe not many people. The cold hard fact is that you can make a great case for 2011 being Orlando Toastmasters Club #28’s BEST YEAR EVER in its almost 80 year history.

• We won our 9^th President’s Distinguished Award in our last 11 years! The President Distinguished Award is the highest award that Toastmasters International can bestow upon a Club. Not many clubs of our size can even dream of reaching such heights. 
• The officers who led the club over the past year were exceptional, Steve Wood and Ryan Dick served as our Presidents and as a result, a record number of members are close to, or have achieved, personal goals such as CC, ACB, ACS, ACG and CL awards. More impressive, was the dramatic individual improvements we saw with our own eyes in communication and leadership skills.
• Ken Blake was awarded the Area 32 Governorship and has taken the “Spirit of #28” to all of the other clubs in our Area.
• The meetings were awesome! They were educational, interesting, fun and entertaining. The same can be said for the incredible speeches we heard in 2011.
• Club #28 had FIVE of its members, Rodney Higgins, Ryan Dick, Jennifer Hensley, Ken Walley and James Waters either representing our club or another club, competing in Area Contests! That is amazing!
• The Club has grown, adding new members almost weekly!

Yep, I was on target... 2011 was the best year we’ve had yet.

So how can we top THAT act? Do I hear you saying that I have gone daffy and that there is no possible way that 2012 is going to be better than last year? What? Do I hear some doubt? Some skepticism?  

Of course not! We all know that 2012 will be even better. 

Why? I am glad you asked.

First of all, under the guidance of our new President Malita Clarke, we have a leader who is imaginative, enthusiastic and dedicated to the success of every member. Don’t forget her remarkable cabinet of able and hard working fellow officers that will be supporting her.

The club is only a few goals away from fulfilling its 10^th President’s Distinguished Award! Incredibly, Club #28 could have that accomplished as soon as February!  

Our new members have given us glimpses of talent that will be painting a bright picture for years to come. With the wisdom of our more established members and the high energy of our new members, it is safe to say that Orlando Toastmaster Club #28 will be a spectacular influence on Area, Division and District Contests, and beyond; starting this year and into the far future! 

Our meetings, great as they are in the past, just keep improving every week. Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 meetings have become some of the best Toastmasters Club meetings to be found anywhere in the world.   

The most apparent reason, really, it goes without saying; that 2012 will be the best year ever for Club #28 is… The caring, understanding, willing and generous nature of the members that already makes up Orlando Toastmasters Club #28. The high quality people that are in Club #28 attract others who truly want to improve themselves and help others as well.  

What a great club. You see, it is very clear why there can be no mistake as to why 2012 will be the best year ever for Orlando Toastmasters Club #28. 

Bet your bottom dollar, without a doubt, unquestionably and categorically…. 2012 will be the Best Year EVER for Orlando Toastmasters Club #28.

                                                                                                                                Positively!     

 

 MAY YOUR HOLIDAYS BE FILLED WITH JOY

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL  (December 2011 Edition)

WOW! It seems hard to believe that the year is almost over and Toastmasters Club #28 has added another exceptional chapter to our long history. Looking back at our 78th year, 2011 was filled with great challenges and even greater successes. This club once again exceeded all expectations! Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 is enjoying a renaissance that can only guarantee that 2012, our 79th year will be our very best ever!

Looking back: We celebrated winning our 9th President's Distinguished Award in the last 12 years in June as well as for the third year in a row. Club #28 again had perfect officer attendance in July at the Toastmaster Learning Institute. This club produced some of the most impressive meetings in its existence along with growing our membership to its strongest numbers in years. It was with great pride that Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 would see one of it's members, Ken Blake, appointed as the Area 32 Governor in 2011!

     Our International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest in March was so popular that we had to add chairs to accommodate a packed room. International Speeches by Barbara Cusack, Ken Blake and Wilner Luders proved that the club has established itself with some of the best speakers in Central Florida. Ken Blake would go on to the Area 32 Contest with his winning speech titled "Where is Shelia?"  Ken, Marietta Bolatete, Malita Clarke, Diane Hart and Carolyn Stapleton all competed in the Table Topics Contest and excelled but Ken Blake also prevailed in that contest. By all accounts it was a triumphant evening for Club #28.

In September, the Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests were held at the Spiritualist Church of Awareness in Orlando so that we could accommodate four Humorous Speeches and four evaluators for the Evaluation Contest. It was another remarkable evening as Jason Howell gave a memorable speech for the Evaluation Contest that was reviewed expertly by Frank Adams, Ryan Dick, Jennifer Hensley and Ken Walley. New Club #28 President Ryan Dick won his first Toastmasters contest trophy and would go on to represent Club #28 at the Area contest. Brilliant Humorous Speeches were given by Adam Heltemes, Rodney Higgins, Walk Jones and James Waters. Rodney's speech, titled "I Don't Think There's a Cure" had everybody holding their sides with laughter and won 1st place. Rodney barely beat out Walk Jones who came in second place with a very funny speech titled "Fish Stories."  Rodney would go on to win the Area Contest as well! Club #28 had no less than 5 of it's members competing in Area Contests, either for Club #28 or other clubs, they were Rodney Higgins, Ken Walley, Jennifer Hensley, James Waters and Ryan Dick.

Some of the best meetings that Club #28 has ever had (78 years is a lot of wonderful meetings) were produced in 2011! Two of my favorites were the "Extreme Sports" theme meeting on January 26 hosted by Monica Walley and the "Words of Wisdom / Great Quotations" meeting that I was the Toastmaster of on August 4th 2011. Other great meetings included the "Dumbocracy" theme meeting with Barbara Cusack which had everyone amazed at the zany antics of crooks, celebrities, tweeters, and other crazies. Malita Clarke's "USA Citizenship" theme meeting of July was very educational besides having an important message. Carolyn Stapleton led the "Talent" themed meeting that showcased a lot of Club #28 talent! "The Great Outdoors" was a theme of one of Walk Jones's efforts as Toastmaster that really made you want to take a camping trip! "Bananas" was a theme for Ryan Dick's meeting that was both entertaining and wonderfully, well...  bananas. Ken Walley's "Fun" theme meeting was a lot of fun as was the excellent "Halloween" meeting presented by Steve Wood. That meeting included four excellent speeches! Wilner Luders came through with a fantastic meeting on October the 5th with the theme of "Unintended Consequences." The best meeting of the year? A good case could be made for Mike King's August 18th "UFOs and Extraterrestrials" theme meeting. By the end of the meeting you almost expected a visitor from Outer Space to make an appearance. Honestly, there were so many great meetings this year, it would be impossible to list them all. See the "past meetings" section of this website and take a fantastic walk down memory lane.

If the meetings were awesome, the speeches were spectacular! Who can forget Adam Heltemes's survival guide to a Zombie Invasion titled "Planning for an Emergency"? Barbara Cusack's "What Goes Around Comes Around" was given at the same meeting! Barbara also inspired many with the speech "Forgiving Yourself". Other amazing speeches included James Waters's "The History of Computer Hacking"; Natalie Mencia's "The Principle of Self-Possession"; Ryan Dick's "Two Words" and "The World's Most Monumental Invention"; Frank Adams's "Strange Instructions" and "Commemorate and Remember"; Jennifer Hensley's "You Get What You Get and It Isn't What You Expect"; Marietta Bolatete's "Flow"; Diane Hart's "Men" as well as "Focus"; Malita Clarke's CC award winning speech "Toastmasters = Success!"; Alan Brent's "Killing and the Law"; Patti Stuart's "The Voice of Meningitis"; Steve Wood's "The Elephant in the Room"; Monica Walley's "At 21" Richard Hendrix returned to the club to give the incredible speech "My Most Memorable Moment" and the haunting and moving Wilner Luders speech titled "Disaster in Motion, Distant Voices Heard"... This is just a small sampling of the great speeches I heard this year at Club #28, the list of excellent speeches just seems to go on forever!

The Ice Breaker speeches were truly amazing! Our first Ice Breaker came on a day in which we had 3 Ice Breakers! Chris August gave a wonderful speech on the "Three Phases of Chris". It was followed by Ice Breakers by Jim Stitt, Sean Dunn, Ryan Dick, David Worsham, Heather Russell, Jennifer Hensley, Patti Stuart, Adam Heltemes, Mike King, Laval Brown, Natalie Mencia, Janet Madden, Michael Whisenant, Demetri Ganoff, Belinda Brown and Jason Price. From the moment that Ryan Dick started his Ice Breaker "The 3 Life Lessons I Learned from Flag Football" everyone in the club knew we had found a speaker with exceptional natural speaking abilities. Heather Russell's Ice Breaker involved stacking plastic cups with "labels from her life" which created an ingenious 1st speech! The Michael Whisenant Ice Breaker "Hobbies" described a man of action which inspired many in his audience. Demetri Ganoff painted with words vivid scenes that let us get to know him. Janet Madden's Ice Breaker speech "The Event That Changed the Course of My Family" told us a triumph- over- tragedy story that gave inspiration and hope to all who heard it.  Everyone has a story to tell and we heard some wonderful stories!

It would be a great mistake to overlook those who served as club officers over the past year and worked so hard to create a truly positive learning environment such as is Club #28. Our two Presidents over the past year were Club #28 "pillars" Steve Wood and Ryan Dick. Both proved that they were leaders of the highest rank. I served as Vice President of Education for the entire year and I enjoyed every second of it. The Vice Presidents of Membership were Frank Adams and Jennifer Hensley. "Getting the word out" as the Vice Presidents of Public Relations were Wilner Luders and Patti Stuart. Handling the money were our Treasurers Barbara Cusack and Frank Adams. Carolyn Stapleton and Mike King served as Secretary during the past year. We also had two great Sergeant at Arms in 2011: Diane Hart and Heather Russell. From all of us members at Club #28 both past and present, we sincerely thank you for your leadership!

I wish everyone at Orlando Toastmasters Club #28, its members, past members, guests, friends and family, along with all of those of the Herndon Library staff, a very merry and a very happy holidays and the most wonderful and joyous of new years!

Merry Christmas & Happy Toastmastering!

NOVEMBER IS THE MONTH OF OPPORTUNITY!

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (November 2011 Edition)

So many great things are happening at Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 this month. It is hard to list them all but I will try!

First of all, Club #28 is growing and we have some great new members joining our club.  Belinda Brown is one of them. She gave a wonderful Ice Breaker speech on October 26th titled "My Only Constant is Change"  which impressed all who heard it. Likewise, another new member, Jason Price, gave his Ice Breaker speech on November 3rd which was titled "The Journey of Jason Price" and it too, was a remarkable 1st speech! Again Club #28 looks as if we have found some hidden talent that is sure to keep us captivated for some time to come. Congratulations Jason and Belinda!

Here are some members that are on the edge of capturing Awards: Ryan Dick, Diane Hart, Steve Wood and Jennifer Hensley. All of them have 7 or more speeches accomplished from the basic manual and should reach their Competent Communicator Awards within the next few months!

Wilner Luders is also coming very close to gaining his Advanced Communicator Bronze award. Stokely Gittens is working on his ACB as well. Rodney Higgins is working on his ACS award.

Among those who are working on their CC awards; Janet Madden, Laval Brown, Natalie Mencia, Patti Stuart, Jennifer Hensley, Demetri Ganoff, Ryan Dick, Belinda Brown and Jason Price are ALL averaging at least one speech per month, most of them even more! Awesome work! WOW! That is something that any Toastmasters club would be proud of.

On November 3rd, Club #28 had 4 speakers at a meeting for the first time in over two years!

Speaking of opportunity, November is a leadership month and by the end of the month, Club #28 must choose a new slate of officers to lead through the January to June 2012 Toastmasters term. We are looking anyone interested in helping Club #28 reach it's 10th President Distinguished Award by serving as President, Vice President of Education, Vice President of Public Relations, Treasurer, Secretary and Sgt. at Arms. If you think that you would like to improve your leadership skills, as well as achieve credit towards your leadership goals by being a Club #28 officer all you need to do is see Club #28 President Ryan Dick. Opportunity is knocking.

I am glad to say that we are back to meeting on Thursday nights until the end of the year. I want to thank all of the Toastmasters who showed up for 3 out of the 4 weeks in October on Wednesday nights due to scheduling conflicts with the meeting room at the library. It it good to see our regular "Thursday night crowd" back as well.

 We will not be meeting on Thursday night, November 24th as that is Thanksgiving. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the members of Orlando Toastmasters Club #28, their families, friends, all of our guests who have visited us during the past year, as well as the fantastic staff of the Herndon Branch Library, a very heartfelt and sincere HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Toastmastering!

RANDOM THOUGHTS OF A TOASTMASTERS VPE

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (October 2011 Edition)

I revisited the Basic Leadership Manual, AKA  "Competent Leadership: A Practical Guide to becoming a Better Leader" and I found it to be a wealth of helpful information that helps both the rookie toastmaster and the more seasoned toastmasters to achieve excellence in many fields that can mean the difference between success or failure at the job, socially or in a number of different facets of life. Why would anyone not want to improve in listening skills, critical thinking, giving feedback, time management, planning, organization and delegation, motivation, mentoring and team building?  These are the very leadership skills you get from completing your Competent Leadership manual.

Many of our members have ALREADY completed most of the Leadership manual simply just by showing up and taking part in the Club #28 toastmaster meetings on a regular basis... but they don't even know it! They have not brought their CL book or even looked at it! I know that a lot of our toastmasters put the emphasis on completing the Basic Communication manual but both of these basic manual goals are designed to be reached together.   

It's a lot easier to reach your CL than you might think. Simply read over the Project Completion Record chart at the front of the manual, bring your manual to each meeting, give it to a fellow member to fill out and get credit for whatever meeting role you are doing that evening. Believe me, as the VPE,  I will be delighted to put down my initials as you complete each project! There is no greater joy for a Vice President of Education than to send into Toastmaster's International a new Competent Leader Award!

OTHER THOUGHTS: Welcome new members to Club #28! Demetri Ganoff, Natalie Mencia, Stokely Gittens and Jason Price all joined our club in September and have already made an enormous impact in our meetings! As the VPE, it was especially exciting when Demetri and Natalie gave some truly awesome Ice Breaker Speeches as well as signing up to do some more speeches in October. Stokely, also a member of the Altamonte Springs Club, has also signed up to give a speech this month. It is always wonderful to hear new voices speaking at our meetings.

Rodney Higgins is appearing Sunday October 9th, 2011 at the Division C Humorous Speech Contest representing Club #28 and Area 32 at the Mayflower Retirement Resort in Winter Park at 2:00PM. Rodney's speech "There is No Cure" is well worth attending the content alone but another Club #28 member will also be competing against him (for Area 33 however and the Uptown Toastmasters Club)... That would be myself. There will also be a fantastic Speech Evaluations contest with Toastmasters representing Areas from all over Central Florida. This is an afternoon for great speeches and evaluations you will not want to miss!

It was great to see so many of Club #28 members competing at the Area 32 & 33 Humorous Speech & Evaluations contests last month, some of them for other clubs and areas, but it does a VPE's heart good to see the participation and enthusiasm as our members compete in contests. Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 members Ryan Dick, Rodney Higgins, Jennifer Hensley, James Waters and myself were all in the running at the Area level. That is a lot of talent to be in any club!

The super-high quality of our meetings has astounded even me lately and as the Vice President of Education I want the entire club to know that the level of teamwork, friendship and a willingness to accomplish great things has been evident every single week! The meetings have been interesting, moving, entertaining, enjoyable, meaningful and a whole lot of fun. I could not think of any place i would rather be on a Wednesday night (for October anyway; except for the 13th, when we will meet on Thursday night) than at a Club #28 meeting! Besides, you can always tape the World Series.

I just want to Thank every member of this club for letting me be your VPE!

It is an absolute pleasure!

Happy Toastmastering!

THE ORLANDO TOASTMASTERS CLUB #28 HUMOROUS SPEECH AND EVALUATION CONTESTS ARE A SPECTACULAR SUCCESS!

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (September 2011 Edition)

 It was a remarkable evening of fun, entertainment and talent on display as Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 held it's Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests at the beautiful Spiritualist Church of Awareness in Orlando on September 1st 2011!

The sanctuary was filled with members, guests and visiting dignitaries for a great turn out! Among the visitors were some of the elite Central Florida Toastmasters leaders and speakers including TM celebrities such as current Area 32 Governor Ken Blake ACG, CL; Past Division C Governor Helen Joseph DTM and Past Area Governors Demetrice Vassar DTM and Diana Estremera ACG, CL.

A number of local Toastmaster Club Presidents were present to enjoy the competitions including Uptown Toastmasters Club #6304 President Jason Howell CC; Orlando Conquerors Club #1066 President Joy Inzitari, ACS, Orange County Toastmasters Club #129 President Mike Masur ACS and Club #129's Vice President of Education Corrina Hoggard. A few guests also joined Club #28 as well as a very strong showing of club members for this unique event.  

Club #28 Sgt. at Arms Heather Russell who deserves our deepest thanks for arranging the contest location at the Church, opened the meeting with a delightfully appropriate humorous invocation and as well as leading us in the Pledge to the Flag. She introduced our Contest Master Barbara Cusack ACB, CL.

Barbara made this evening truly special. She kept the contest running smoothly but even more so, she kept everyone entertained throughout the festivities. Her bubbly personality and clever wit added to the evening immeasurably. It was worth going to the contests just to watch Barbara. She made sure that everyone had a great time. 

The first contest was the Evaluation Contest. The contest featured a remarkable "test" speech by Jason Howell CC the President of Club #28's sister club, the Uptown Toastmasters Club #6304.  Using brilliant word pictures and exquisite personal examples, Jason told us about how to overcome embarrassing situations like the time his father played guitar for him and his classmates as they got off the school bus one day. The speech titled "Overcoming Embarrassment" was very well presented. It was entertaining and even enlightening. The contestants were truly challenged to evaluate Jason's speech. Frank Adams, CC;  Ken Walley ACG, CL; Jennifer Hensley and Ryan Dick all gave invaluable advice and well-deserved encouragement. Frank, Jennifer and Ryan were all competing in their first evaluation contest and Jennifer was giving her first ever evaluation. Everyone did extremely well  and Ryan went home with the first place trophy while Ken came in second.

After a brief intermission, Heather gaveled the meeting to order and introduced Contest Master Barbara Cusack ACB, CL; back to the lectern for the Humorous Speech Contest.

Marvelous humorous speeches were given by all of the contestants. It is a rare contest when all of the speeches reach the high quality that the four speakers achieved during this evening, at any level of Toastmaster competition including the Area, Division or District contests. The speakers kept everyone laughing while amazing the audience with their impressive speaking skills. Jamie Waters, ACB speaking first, turned the subjects of "romance and unemployment" into some very funny material. He made it even funnier with his professional dead-pan delivery and sharp sense of irony. His speech, titled "Better Days Ahead" set the humor-bar very high. Next, Walk Jones CC, CL gave a brilliant performance with his speech titled "Fish Stories" about how a fisherman should "think like a fish". Walk's storytelling abilities were at their peak and he had the crowd completely entranced with a terrific performance. This "fish story" was a great catch for Club #28's Humorous Speech contest!  A "performance"  is the perfect description of Rodney Higgins's (ACB) speech "I Don't Think There's a Cure" as he channeled "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in to a beat-down of a speech about the woes of a Pro Wrestling addiction.  The speech even featured a "fake" power-slam of contest timer Laval Brown! Rodney's speech was simply hilarious! Adam Heltemes also scored tons of comedy points with his speech on the hazards of playing golf titled "Why Golf?" Adam entertained everyone with a very well played tribute to that game's main ingredient: Frustration. All of the speeches were exceptional. Rodney Higgins, ACB will represent Club #28 at the Area 32 Contest later this month. Walk Jones CC, CL came in second place. Congratulations to all of our speakers!

Area 32 Governor Ken Blake ACG, CL was on hand to help award the trophies to our winners. He took the opportunity to announce the upcoming Area 32 Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests, which will be held along with the Area 33 contests, at the Legends Sports Bar on South Orange Ave., across from the hospital. The date has been set for Sunday, September 18, 2011 starting at 4:00 pm. I hope we can have a large following of Club #28 members there to cheer on our winners!

ARTICLE UPDATE: On September 18, 2011 at the Legends Sports Bar in Orlando Club #28's Rodney Higgins won the Area 32 Humorous Speech Contest. He will now go on to the Division C Humorous Speech Contest in October! Congratulations Rodney!

It should also be noted that the Chief Judge for our contests, Demetrice Vassar DTM did a superb job of organizing, briefing and directing the Timers, Vote Counters and Judges. Thanks to her "behind the scenes" efforts, both contests ran smoothly.  

Everyone who attended the Club #28 Contests was treated to a special evening of laughter and wonderful presentations. Much thanks go out to all who made this evening one of the best in our long and fabled history. For a list of those who participated, go to the "Club Articles" section of this website and Click on the Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests article.

DUES ARE DUE: Toastmasters International announced that International dues will be increased from $27.00 to $36.00 starting on October the 1st. Along with the Club #28 dues of $10.00; the semi annual amount will now be $46.00. This is still a fantastic deal! about $200.00 less than a college course and you get so much more in Toastmasters. Toastmasters is still the best deal anywhere. We will be collecting dues in September. Please pay early to our Treasurer Frank Adams.  Dues are collected in March and September of each year and are due to TI by the start of October and April.

UPCOMING AWARDS: Congratulations to Barbara Cusack who earned her Advance Communicator Bonze giving her Graduation speech on August 4th!  This club is truly blessed to have you with us and it has been our pleasure to see you grow so much over the years. You are an inspiration to all of us! Don't stop now! Jennifer Hensley, Steve Wood, Diane Hart and Ryan Dick are all within 5 speeches of their CC awards!

I'll see you all at the Herndon Branch Library, Every Thursday night (except August 11th) at 7:00pm!

Happy Toastmastering! 

IT'S CONTEST TIME AGAIN! HUMOROUS SPEECH AND EVALUATION CONTESTS DATE ANNOUNCED! and other news...

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (August 2011 Edition)

Fellow Toastmasters, my favorite time of the year is here again! The Humorous Speech Contest date was announced as September 1st 2011!

I love the Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 Humorous Speech Contest because it gives me a chance to hear the funniest and some of the best ever speeches given during the year. I always end up laughing, usually to the point of tears, throughout the evening. We have such a great amount of speaking talent in this club this year that the Humorous Speech contest is sure to have me holding my sides with laughter once again.

On the same night Club #28 will also be holding it's Evaluation Contest.

Some Toastmasters prefer watching the Evaluation Contest. I can truly understand why. It is a fascinating competition to see. First, a "test" speaker, visiting from another Toastmasters club, will give a speech. Usually the test speech itself is worth the trip to the meeting. Then all of the Evaluation Contestants will be given five minutes to prepare their evaluations. When the time is up the Sgt. at Arms brings them back to the lectern one at a time to give their evaluations of the test speech.

The interesting thing is that everyone evaluates the same speech and it is amazing to see the different viewpoints that the evaluators bring to light!

Of course, it takes the entire club to put together a successful evening of Humorous Speech and Evaluation contests. The sign up sheet is being passed around at each meeting or you can check the article here at this website (Click on the "Club Articles" section above) and sign up for a role.

CONTEST LOCATION: Because of the initial enthusiasm of our members wanting to participate in the Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests on September 1st, the club will not be meeting at the Herndon Branch library. Instead, we will be meeting only about four minutes away at the SPIRITUALIST CHURCH OF AWARENESS at 3210 North Chickasaw Trail in Orlando. It is easy to get to: Going east on Colonial Drive, turn LEFT on Goldenrod Road. Next, turn RIGHT at the second stoplight, Bates Road. Follow Bates Road until the very end when it dead-ends into North Chickasaw Trail. Turn left, and you will see the church to your left only a feet down the road. Here, we will be able to let everyone compete in what is sure to be one of our best contest nights ever.

NO MEETING: We will not be meeting on August 11th 2011 so that Club #28 can have a brief "Summer Vacation" of it's own but we will be returning on Thursday, August 18th.

OFFICERS ROCK! Club #28 had Perfect attendance at the Toastmasters Learning Institute (TLI) officer training! A number of our officers had to make personal sacrifices to get there including our Treasurer Frank Adams who came in for his officer class even though he had to leave his wife on her birthday. Secretary Mike King juggled a very busy work schedule to make it to his class and Vice president of Public Relations Patti Stuart who had just recently gotten out of surgery on her foot and was severely challenged just to move from one place to another! Thanks also to our other officers: President Ryan Dick, Vice President of Education Ken Walley, Vice President of Membership Jennifer Hensley and Sgt. at Arms Heather Russell! This counted as one-half of a goal for our next President's Distinguished Award! 

NEW MEMBERS: You might notice a few new faces in the crowd. Joining Club #28 in July were Janet Madden,  Laval Brown, Michael Whisenant and Rodney Higgins. Soon-to-be member Tuan Nguyen has pledged to join in August! It is great to see a packed meeting room every week and a hearty WELCOME to our newest members!

DUES INCREASE: Toastmasters International announced that International dues will be increased from $27.00 to $36.00 starting on October the 1st. Along with the Club #28 dues of $10.00; the semi-annual amount will now be $46.00. This is still a fantastic deal! It is about $200.00 less than a collage course and you get so much more in Toastmasters. Toastmasters is still the best deal anywhere. We will be collecting dues in September. You can also pay up early if you want in the month of August to our Treasurer Frank Adams. Dues are collected in march and September of each year and are due to TI by April or October.

UPCOMING AWARDS: Barbara Cusack will be giving her Advance Communication Bronze Graduation Speech on August 4th! Congratulations Barbara! This club is truly blessed to have you with us and it has been our pleasure to see you grow so much over the years. You are an inspiration to all of us! Don't stop now! Steve Wood, Diane Hart and Ryan Dick are all within 5 speeches of their CC awards!

I'll see you at the Herndon Branch Library, every Thursday night (except August 11th) at 7:00pm!

 

A MESSAGE FROM OUR NEW PRESIDENT! "LET'S BE ALL-IN!"

By Ryan Dick (July 2011 Edition)

Friends and fellow Club #28 members, I know your names. I know how some of you make your living. I know where some of you went to college or where you call your hometown.

What I do know is only we are all a part of Orlando Toastmasters Club #28.

We joined this club for a reason. Our motivations for being Toastmasters are different. Friendship. Conquering our fears. Professional growth. It does not matter why. We dedicate an hour-and-a- half  to something; something that makes our world's collide right now.

Regardless of your history with this organization, I'm asking you, when you walk through the doors at the Herndon Branch Library every Thursday night, to be ALL-IN! When you come to a meeting to ask yourself: "Am I prepared to do my best?" Am I ALL-IN?"

Am I ALL-IN with my speech that I am about to deliver? Have I practiced? Have I set out to reach the objective that is outlined for me? I sit in those chairs and I hear fluid, well-planned, entertaining, thought-provoking speeches. Speeches that encourage me and hopefully everyone else in the room, to become better communicators.

I know that these well-prepared speeches do not come easy. But  I know their authors are ALL-IN when they overcome writer's block. When they mold their ideas by revising and editing. I foresee a club filled with well-planned speeches because it's members are ALL-IN. They are committed to stand here and deliver a speech with attention-grabbing openers. They are ALL-IN and tie their points together and leave the audience with a clear message.

Is this club ALL-IN with our functionary duties? Are we maximizing our one-and-a-half-hours together? Are we consistently meeting our mission to develop oral communication skills? I foresee a club that elevates the role of the AH Counter. A club that prides itself in diligently correcting those verbal mistakes we all make. A club that is ALL-IN says "Let's RING that bell for every UM and AH so we can develop our oral communication skills!

To my fellow officers, will you be ALL-IN and make these meetings run smoothly? I foresee a club with meetings that end on time because it's members are ALL-IN. They are dedicated to delivering on their commitments to be here and fulfill the obligations they have elected to do. I foresee a club full of members that are prepared to speak and speak succinctly, from the time we commence our meetings to the time we adjourn promptly at 8:30!

Club #28 has an amazing strength. When someone searches "Orlando Toastmasters" we show up #1 on Google. We have been lucky enough to have a steady stream of curious outsiders, people with different backgrounds and talents we could all learn and benefit from. Together, as a group, let's be ALL-IN and watch our membership grow.

A future Club #28 president may walk through those doors next Thursday just as I did just 5 months ago. I foresee a club that is proud in their dedication to producing stronger communicators and leaders. I foresee a club that is tactfully welcoming to our guests; a club that portrays a bit of swagger and turns those curious outsiders in to people who are banging on the door to join such a dedicated and proud group. 

Fellow Toastmasters, we have a barometer to check if our club is ALL-IN. It is called the Distinguished Club Program. Club #28 has earned the title of President's Distinguished Club honor nine times and, if we are ALL-IN, we will earn it a tenth time!

The criteria for earning the title of a President's Distinguished Club is centered around our newer members earning their Competent Communicator Awards (CC), our established members advancing their education awards, Advanced Communicator Bronze, Silvers and Golds, etc. and gaining new members. These goals will be simple to achieve if, every Thursday, our members are ALL-IN. It will be encouraging for our new members to continue down the path to their CCs when they hear the quality and growth in the speeches of their peers. Established members will see Club #28 as the club to be involved in because they value efficient, interesting and enjoyable meetings. Guests will be converts when they see a group of professionals who take pride on their Thursday nights.

In conclusion, I want to thank my fellow Toastmasters and especially last term's officers for giving me the opportunity to be your next President.

I want it to be clear that I am ALL-IN when I accepted this role.

And I ask you, right now, to be ALL-IN with me! 

 

 CLUB #28 WINS 9th PRESIDENT'S DISTINGUISHED AWARD!

By Kenneth H. Walley  ACG, CL (June 2011 Edition)

ORLANDO Toastmasters Club #28 has reached it's "Sublime #9!" President's Distinguished Award! This is an amazing accomplishment as it marks the 9th time in the last eleven years that Club #28 has received Toastmaster's highest club honor! To achieve this award it takes the efforts of the entire club. Congratulations to all of our Club #28 members for they are well-deserving of this award due to their hard work and the perseverance that goes into capturing such a celebrated club prize!

From the years 1999 to 2005, Orland Toastmasters Club #28 won six consecutive President's Distinguished Awards. After 2005, Club #28 had to overcome some tough challenges but the club was able to return back to the top of the Toastmaster world during the 2008-2009 term. The club repeated the feat last year. Throughout all of this time, the aim of the club has been to produce quality meetings and the creation of a super-supportive environment for its members, giving them the very best chance to succeed with the Toastmasters program.

HERE IS HOW CLUB #28 DID IT!

Between July 2010 and the end of June 2011, earning Competent Communicator Awards were Mark Gumula, Frank Adams, Monica Walley and Malita Clarke. Earning their Competent Leader Awards were Monica Walley and Walk Jones. The Club also had officers trained at the Toastmasters Leadership Institute, sent in the per-caps on time to Toastmasters International and added a club record 25 (as of this writing) new members. The club also selected its officers and sent in the officer list as required. During the July 2010 officer training, all six officers attended the training!

Ruble Nedumkunnel earned his Advance Communicator Bronze award on June 9, 2011giving the club it's final goal needed to earn the award. Malita Clarke earned her Competent Communicator (CC) Award on June 2nd. Adam Heltemes is the club's last new member of the July 2010-June 2011 term, joining the club the last week in June. The Club boasted 29 official members... and growing!

JOINING THE PRESIDENT'S HONOR ROLE:

Still it took a good deal of effort by Club #28 Presidents Wilner Luders CC (July-December 2010) and Steve Wood (January - June 2011) to achieve this award. Wilner saw the club produce some of its best contests ever, drew a number of past members back into the club and revitalized it's membership growth. Steve instituted videotaping speeches, single-handedly saved this website from a number of destructive dilemmas and presided over extremely high quality meetings. Wilner and Steve now join a growing list of Distinguished Award winning Club #28 Presidents:

Ralph Cowell ACB and Dorothy Day (Otis) Fogel DTM (1999-2000)

Helen Joseph DTM and Kenneth H. Walley (2000-2001)

Michael Joseph DTM and Adam Scoggins ACB, CL  (2001-2002)

Adam Scoggins ACB, CL  and Deborah Ryan ACG, CL (2002-2003)

Deborah Ryan and Diana Walley ACG, CL (2003-2004)

Edward A. Carmona ACB, CL and Dr. Ross Thomson ACB, CL (2004-2005)

Dennis Gola* ACG, CL and Barbara Cusack CC, CL (2008-2009)

Edward Dimayuga CC, CL and Deepti Dhiman CC, CL (2009 - 2010)

Wilner Luders CC and Steve Wood (2010-2011)

(*Deceased)

The news just keeps getting better for Orlando Toastmasters Club #28! The new officers for the club were selected in June. They were named as President Ryan Dick, Vice President of Education Ken Walley ACG, CL; Vice President of Membership Jennifer Hensley, Vice President of Public Relations Patti Stuart, Treasurer Frank Adams CC, Secretary Mike King and Sgt. at Arms Heather Russell. This is a strong and capable group of new officers! Already a number of members are marching towards Competent Communicator Awards such as Richard Hendrix, Diane Hart and Steve Wood. More members, such as Malita Clarke CC, Frank Adams CC, Barbara Cusack CC, CL; Wilner Luders CC and others, are now working on Advanced Awards. Indeed, the club has a very good start on it's 10th President's Distinguished Award!

It will be the Club's "TOP #10!"

I'll see you all Thursday night at the Herndon Branch Library at 7:00 pm!

Happy Toastmastering!

WHAT I HAVE LEARNED FROM BEING A CLUB OFFICER IN TOASTMASTERS

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (May 2011 Edition)

As most Toastmasters know, May is "Leadership Month." By the end of this month, most Toastmaster Clubs, like Club #28 have to pick a new slate of officers for the next Toastmasters term from July1st to December 31st, 2011. I strongly encourage all toastmasters to serve as an officer in their club! No matter what position that you might take on, you will develop skills that will make you more organized, effective and productive in almost any job that you might work at outside of toastmasters.

I have served in every officer position at the club level and each time that I have done so, I have learned something new and had an experience that has been both rewarding  and fulfilling. These new leadership skills have help me to deal with unexpected challenges that I have had to face in everyday life. here are some brief thoughts on the different Club leadership positions.

PRESIDENT: This role will train you on how to bring together the different parts of a club and make them work together. The president is like a band director who gets everyone playing in harmony. You are in charge of calling and leading officer meetings and overseeing the "health" of the club. it is a good leadership position to learn to successfully organize club projects and go beyond the club in dealing with issues regarding Toastmasters International at the Area, Division, District and International levels. Being a Club President I believe is a must for those wanting to serve as an Area Governor or as a Division  or District officer. I LEARNED: How to organize, lead and how to delegate responsibility. How to help the club by working with leaders outside of the club.

VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION: By far the most complicated and challenging officer position. The Vice President of Education is in charge of over-seeing the club's progress with the Distinguished Club Program, as well as organizing the Club Contests and other special events. The Vice President of Education also is in charge of putting together the agenda and organizing the weekly meetings. Lastly it is the job of the VPE to assign mentors to new members and help with educational development of the club's members by giving individual help as well as providing club updates on the progress of the club towards reaching it's goals. I LEARNED: How to take on varied projects on a regular basis and how to use my communication skills to be more efficient!

VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS: Is in charge of "Getting the Word Out!" The VPPR works with the club members to help the club to grow and increase it's community stature by letting others know about the club's successes and by offering programs witch might encourage others to join. The VPPR can also help our members to "talk up toastmasters" by making club information available to distribute and by reaching out to other social and community media. I LEARNED: How reach an audience and motivate guests to attend meetings. I gained a great education in salesmanship. I learned how to work closely with other officers.

VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP: Is in charge of growing membership. Working with the VPPR, it is the job of the Vice president of Membership to encourage guests to visit and join the club. He or she is to keep track of the membership roster, to check on those who have not attended recent meetings and to help solve membership issues. It is the job of the VPM (and the Treasurer) to make sure that all new members have been officially registered with Toastmasters International within 24 hours of paying their first dues. I LEARNED: Interpersonal communication skills to strengthen and motivate new members. I learned that each individual member adds something special of their own to the club.    

TREASURER: The treasurer prepares a budget, stabilizes banking procedures and works with the Vice president of Membership and the Vice president of Education to process new member applications. The treasurer collects and send dues to World Headquarters and contacts those members who have not paid their dues. The treasurer also helps to order supplies, along with the Secretary and Sgt. at Arms. I LEARNED: How to keep financial records, how to collect money and how to resolve banking issues.

SECRETARY: It is the job of the Secretary to keep minutes during each meeting, keep attendance records as well as keeping track of the different speeches and titles which can be researched to help members reach their individual goals. It is also the job of the secretary to handle the general club correspondence. It is also to inform the other club officers of any special upcoming events that should be brought to their attention. I LEARNED: How to keep notes and records and how to work with the website editor. I learned how to work directly with the President with correspondence to Toastmasters International. 

SGT. AT ARMS: It is the duty of the SAA to schedule the meeting location and secure the room in which to meet as well as maintain club equipment in working order. Check supplies and make sure that they are ordered through the secretary or treasurer. Set up and break down the meeting room before and after each meeting. Arrive 30 minutes early before each meeting and greet and welcome any visitors as they arrive. I LEARNED: Responsibility, reliability and dependability. I also learned how to be an "ambassador" for Toastmasters!

All of these officers are vital to the growth and success of a Toastmasters Club. We have been blessed with extremely able and dedicated officers in this club. In order to keep on the path of success that we have achieved, it will be important that new leaders emerge and step up to the challenge. With each new member that takes on an officer position, or a new officer role that they have not served in before, our club become stronger. Take up the challenge to be a leader!

I'll see you Thursday at the Herndon Branch Library at 7:00pm!

Happy Toastmastering!

GREAT SPEECHES!

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL  (April 2011 Edition)

I an simply astounded at the high caliber and amazing quality of the speeches that I heard during the month of March at the Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 meetings! Really.... they were UNBELIEVABLY great speeches over the entire month! This might have been the best month of speeches that I have ever heard in the 12 years that I have been a Toastmaster. Some of them were from the club "pros" , including the International Speech Contest speeches that we heard on March 3rd, and, some of the speeches came from 1st time speakers giving their Ice Breakers! Wow. I was truly impressed. Here is a recap:

March 31, 2011: "Welcome to Toastmasters!" by Ken Walley which was a "hip pocket" speech in which I gave instructions on how to perform a Club #28 "New Member Induction Ceremony". The only impressive thing about this speech was that we actually inducted two new members; Jennifer Hensley and Heather Russell as part of the speech! Welcome to the club!

March 31, 2011: "Coffee!" by Ken Blake another "off the cuff" speech. Ken could never make a good cup of coffee. Then one day, as if by a miracle, Ken made the perfect pot of coffee. Everyone raved about how incredibly delicious his coffee tasted! Best cup they ever had! Ken was perplexed. What had he done differently? Then when cleaning the coffeemaker, he found the "secret ingredient." It had crawled into the filter! Ewwwww! ... A typical surprise ending of a Ken Blake speech!

March 24, 2011: "Achievement Unpacked: How Video Games Made Me Who I Am" by David Worsham. An Ice Breaker speech that seemed to flow like poetry and told the story of David's life through the eyes of video game junkie. The "Past Meetings" section of this website referred to this speech as "beautifully written, extremely unique and completely entertaining!" I found myself delightfully surprised by David's awesome talent.

March 24, 2011: "The World's Most Monumental Invention" by Ryan Dick. Speaking for the 2nd time in two weeks, Ryan completely amazed his audience! By using humor, wit and very impressive speaking skills as he made a powerful argument for ... Beer as being the greatest invention known to man! Even while he was educating us about beer, and history, he had us laughing and clapping our hands while totally glued to his every word.

March 17, 2011: "The Three Life Lessons I Learned in Flag Football" by Ryan Dick. This was Ryan's "Ice Breaker" and no one was prepared for his seemingly effortless performance of this brilliant speech. Expecting "first time jitters" instead we got a speech that both inspired us and gave us some insight into the wonderful world of Ryan. If they give out "Championship tee-shirts" for professional speaking like they do for flag football, Ryan might need some more closet space.

March 17, 2011: "Walk Jones" by Walk Jones. This was the "second" Ice breaker speech for Walk who has already earned his Advanced Communicator Silver award. He gave this speech for the express purpose of introducing himself to his new club and it was a real tour-de-force! He covered a full and interesting life in a roller-coaster of a speech that had everyone mesmerized. Here is a man who lives life to the fullest! Scuba diving, golfing, fishing, dabbling in politics and still dedicating his life to God as a Presbyterian minister! He brought this all to life and we ended up happily exhausted!

March 10, 2011: "Sink or Swim!" by Sean Dunn. Another Ice Breaker, but this one was a "true" 1st speech by a man who had never taken up public speaking before or who had even given a speech before. Even so, Sean gave a speech that was well thought out and was remarkably well crafted! He told of his youth which included being brought up in a family with a competitive swimming background and how that would translate into his future. Sean showed us some excellent natural speaking potential that left everyone looking forward to more!

March 10 2011: "St. Patrick's Day" by Alan Brents. Alan reminded the club of just how polished a speaker that he had become. After leaving the club for a time he had moved to New York. Alan re-joined us recently upon his return to Florida. Alan had not given a speech behind the Club #28 lectern for some time. He returned with a wonderful speech about the upcoming holiday. He told us a ton of facts and trivia that included St. Patrick, leprechauns, girls proposing marriage to men one out of every four years, the biggest and the smallest of St. Patty's Day parades, green beer, whiskey and many other things! It was the "luck o' the Irish" indeed that brought Alan back Club #28!

Then there were the three speeches from the Club #28 International Speech Contest.

March 3, 2011: "Disaster in Motion, Distant Voices Heard" by Wilner Luders. The 2011 Club #28 contest started with this speech and everyone knew that the bar was going to be set extremely high. Wilner's astounding speech was by all accounts the best speech that the past Club #28 president had ever given. Relating the fragility of life to the tragic earthquake last year in his homeland of Haiti, Wilner's speech was a brilliant performance as well as a moving narrative about life.

March 3, 2011: "Forgiving Yourself" by Barbara Cusack. This was another flawless presentation from start to finish weaving humor into a very serious subject. The speech was about how Barbara, as is true with most everyone on the planet, had made large mistakes in her life, often leaving her to wonder how she could ever overcome them. She realized that it was the act of forgiving herself that was the key to conquering past demons. The speech was both compelling and inspiring.

March 3, 2011: "Where Is Shelia?" by Ken Blake. Ken showcased his polished skills and exceptional wit in this contest-winning speech. "Shelia" was a wild young woman who seemed destined for nothing but trouble and ended up becoming part of Ken's family. Ken built a story that was relatable to everyone in the room and had his trademark humor, emotional impact and a little twist in the ending.

Honestly, ANY of these speeches was worth the trip to the library to hear them! You can bet that after a month of such great speeches that I will be coming back week after week, every Thursday (except for the week that we will be meeting on a Wednesday) in April because I will not want to miss even one speech for that month either!

BONUS: LOOK AT ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! Welcome to the club David Worsham, Jennifer Hensley, Heather Russell, Ryan Dick, Patti Stuart and welcome back Alan Brents and Tony Betts!  

I'll see you all at the Herndon Branch Library at 7:00 pm!

Happy Toastmastering! 

IT'S CLUB #28 INTERNATIONAL SPEECH AND TABLE TOPICS CONTESTS TIME!

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (March 2011 edition)

WOW! What an incredible night for the 2011 Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 International speech and Table Topics Contest! The meeting room at the Herndon Branch Library was packed and the electricity could be felt everywhere in the room. "High-energy" was the gear for the Contest Master Ken Walley ACG, CL leading the club through yet another legendary evening of great International Speeches and Table Topics.

An number of dignitaries were present including two past Division C Governors, Helen Joseph DTM and Ken Peplow CC, ALB. Returning also was our Immediate Past Area 32 Governor Luvenia Hart ACS, CL and our current Area 32 Governor Elon Horsham ACS, CL. A number of guests also joined Club #28 for this special evening as well as a strong showing of club members

Diane Hart as the Sgt. at Arms called the meeting to order and introduced Malita Clarke who gave the invocation and Pledge to the Flag. Malita mentioned that competition makes us better in life and as Toastmasters, it also creates the groundwork for sportsmanship.

Ken Walley ACG, CL .started off the evening with the Table Topics Contest. This year, Club #28 featured five excellent speakers. Ken asked the Table Topics Contest Sgt. at Arms Alan Brents ACS, CL to lead all of the contestants out of the room except for the first speaker Malita Clarke. He then asked the same question to all of the speakers by requesting them to finish the statement "The most amazing thing I ever saw was..." Malita told us that her parent's deep wisdom and their abilities to overcome setback or challenges was truly amazing. Speaking second was Marietta Bolatete who spoke seeing the "Mountains of 7 Colors" in South America which change color as the sunlight hits the mountain range. Diane Hart remembered the incredible experience of watching a child grow up. Carolyn Stapleton told about making a "statement in art" when she redefined her VW bug by adapting "used cigarettes" to create a "stink bug". Ken Blake ACG, CL spoke about the miracle of watching his children being born. All of the answers were impressive and imaginative! Ken Blake ACG, CL added to his already sizable hoard of trophies by winning first place with his answer. Diane Hart came in second, taking home her first contest prize. Congratulations to all of the brave challengers in this contest who made the task of choosing a winner almost impossible for the judges.

    The International Speech Contest featured three of the best speakers that Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 has ever produced: Wilner Luders CC, Ken Blake ACG, CL and last year's Area 32 International Speech Champion Barbara Cusack CC, CL. Each came through with remarkable speeches. Wilner Luders CC was simply astounding with a speech titled "Disaster in Motion, Distant Voices Heard" which by all accounts was the best speech that he had ever given. Relating the fragility of life to the tragic earthquakes last year in his homeland Haiti, Wilner's speech was a brilliant performance as well as a powerful and moving narrative about life. Barbara Cusack CC, CL also brought her best to the lectern with a speech titled "Forgiving Yourself" which was a flawless presentation from start to finish. She completely mesmerized her audience telling about how she had made large mistakes in her life often leaving her wondering how she could ever overcome them. She realized that it was the act of forgiving herself that was a key to conquering her past demons. Ken Blake ACG, CL gave another trademark speech that showcased his polished skills and exceptional wit. His speech about a troubled youth was titled "Where is Shelia?" Using his most engaging speaking tools, Ken built a story that was relatable to everyone in the room, had humor, emotional impact and a little twist in the ending. All three speeches were brilliant. Ken won his second 1st place award of the evening and Barbara Cusack CC, CL finished a close second. It must be noted that any of these three speeches were not only worthy of winning this competition but that any of them would be strong challengers to win at the Area Contest level.

Saying a few words about the upcoming Are 32 Contest and helping to had out the awards was our Area 32 Governor Elon Horsham ACS, CL.

Our winners will go on to compete at the Area 32 Contest on March 21, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the corner of Colonial and I-4 in Orlando. The contest will be at 6:00pm. I hope that Club #28 can send a big crowd to represent us at Area and cheer on our winners!

I would also like to thank those who made this a truly special evening, those who served as the functionaries: The Contest master was Ken Walley ACG, CL; Chef Judge Ken Peplow CC, ALB; Timers Frank Adams CC and Ryan Dick; Raffle Master Sean Dunn, Vote Counters EJ Jones and Steve Wood; Invocation and Pledge Presenter Malita Clarke and the Contest Sgt. at Arms was Alan Brent ACS, CL! Everyone did a simply fantastic job!

The real winners of these contests were Club #28!

 

CLUB #28 IS ON FIRE! A MONTH IN REVIEW

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (February 2011 edition)

WOW! What a great start to the new year... January was simply magnificent! The cold weather did not dampen the spirit of Club #28, instead, we heated up the Toastmaster world! We were hoping for a few new members but we could not have dreamed of 6 new members between December and February! "EJ" Jones, Sean Dunn, Chris August and returning members Jim Stitt and Brian Wheeler ACB along with a former Club #28 VP of Education Tony Betts CC... all of them signed up! The more, the Better! Welcome all! We had a meeting on January 26th where we had 3 Ice Breaker speeches and we have already seen flashes of brilliance from all of our new members!

All of our meetings in January were winners! Every meeting we had was interesting, educational and, well, just great examples of what an exceptional evening that Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 can produce. The first meeting of the new year was themed "New Beginnings" and it featured Marietta Bolatete's poetic call to action to improve our fitness, vitality and to reach optimal health! Ken Walley ACG, CL gave a speech on how to overcome the Fear of Public Speaking. Both speeches had some really excellent ideas!

The second meeting of the year brought the return of the lectern to Brian Wheeler ACB as the meeting toastmaster with a theme of "It Is OK to Fail Because You Will Be in Good Company!" He did an astounding job as the meeting leader and he had help with two brilliant speeches by Malita Clarke and Wilner Luders CC who gave a clinic in salesmanship with a speech titled "The Selling Process in 5 Steps".It was also good to see the return of Dr. Ross Thomson who gave a winning evaluation of Wilner's speech.

Meeting #3 on January 19th had the theme of "Hoaxes" and was hosted by our Club President Steve Wood and even though it had to be held on Wednesday night instead of our regular Thursday night, it turned out to be a well attended and very entertaining meeting which had Diane Hart giving a command performance with a speech about the importance of "focusing on what you are doing!" That speech had humor, insight and even some wonderful acting! Monica Walley CL also stepped it up with her 9th speech in which she told how Toastmasters had helped her in her profession as a restaurant server.

The last meeting of the month was led by our youngest Club #28 member Monica Walley CL with the thrilling theme of "Extreme Sports". This high energy meeting had three Ice breaker speeches which showed the wide range of personality, speaking abilities and experience of our club members. Chris August showed a natural speaking talent and a great sense of humor. Jim Stitt told the story of a "traveling restaurant manager" and Brian Wheeler ACB, giving a "second Ice Breaker" told how a special little girl who had conquered his heart had made him come to re-think his "complete life". There was a smile on everyone's face as he told about his newly adopted daughter.

We had some of the best ever Table Topics and Evaluations as well in January, most of which were contest worthy. It should be noted that Carolyn Stapleton, Jamie Waters ACB,  Ken Blake ACG, CL and Frank Adams CC excelled throughout the month in both categories. Our newer members bravely stepped up to answer Table Topics questions and made it look easy including EJ Jones, Sean Dunn, Tony Betts, Chris August, Jim Stitt as well as a number of our guests! Our meetings ran smoothly and almost on time (we are not perfect) and were peppered with fantastic imagery, wonderful insights and lots of laughter. Check out the "past meetings" section of this website for much more information about these exceptional meetings. You might say that Club #28's January set the standard pretty high for 2011. Just do not be surprised if February tops even this month. Club #28 has a history, well more of a habit, of creating success.

COMING UP IN FEBRUARY: The date for the Club #28 International Speech and Table Topics Contests has been set for March 3rd 2011, many Toastmasters have commented that the Club #28 International Speech and Table Topics Contests often excels most of the local Area Contests simply because of the high caliber of the speeches and the top quality of the speakers that we have in this club! This year is looking like it will be no exception. We need everyone in the club to take part in our contests in order to make them a success, so please sign up for a role when the Contest Sign Up sheet is passed around at our meeting throughout this month!  

Pay your dues early during the month of February! Dues will be collected in March, But I am sure that our treasurer, Barbara Cusack CC, CL would love to accept an early payment ahead of time.

WE ROCK! We have a very good chance of attaining our 9th President's Distinguished Award! Toastmasters who are coming close to achieving future awards include Monica Walley CL and Malita Clarke for their CC (Competent Communicator) awards. Diane Hart, Frank Adams CC, Steve Wood and others are working on achieving their Competent Leadership awards as well as Wilner Luders CC who is close to his Advanced Communicator Bronze Award! Keep up this amazing work... we are right on track!

 Club #28 is growing stronger every day and seemingly improving with every minute! Orlando is lucky to have...Ok... so i brag a little too much...

On the other hand, I'll be at the Herndon Branch Library every Thursday at 7:00 pm. I'll see you there!

2011 WILL BE THE BEST YEAR EVER FOR ORLANDO TOASTMASTERS CLUB #28 AND I REALLY MEAN THIS, UNQUESTIONABLY AND DEFINITELY!!

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (January 2011 edition)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Amazing but true, another year has gone by and the new year is already here! Where did the time go? It seems that Club #28 was too busy putting together success after success to have the luxury of watching the clock. I know what you are saying. "How COULD a Toastmasters Club have a better year than Club #28 did in 2010? Ken, you are dreaming!" I will admit that I dream a lot...but let me take this moment to completely guarantee with out any reservations that in 2011, our 78th year, we will have our best year ever!

I hear you you are saying "You're Crazy!" How can you say that 2011 will be better than 2010?

Understandably, looking back, in June Club #28 celebrated winning our 8th President's Distinguished Award in the last 11 years as well as for the second year in a row. In what must be for the 1st time, well, ever, Club #28 had perfect officer training attendance for the entire year! We made the Herndon Branch Library our new home and attracted people from all over Central Florida to visit our club. We also helped host the Society of Marketing Professional Services student meeting at the University of Central Florida. That was a very unique achievement. Our International Speech and Table Topics Contests in March were so popular that we had to have the contests on two different weeks so that all of the speakers could be accommodated! Club #28 also had success at the Area 32 International Speech Contest as well with Barbara Cusack winning 1st place and Ken Walley coming in second. In September, the Humorous Speech and Evaluations Contests were held at the Center for Spiritual Living and proved to be another tremendous achievement. There were three superb evaluations of a Daisy Arus speech given by Ken Blake, Mark Gumula and Jamie Waters. Mark was giving his first evaluation ever and end up winning the contest! The Humorous speeches had everyone laughing including a classic speech by Jamie Waters that took 1st place titled "Golfatorium". Again, Club #28 won the Area 32 contest with Jamie's speech! At one point the Club membership grew to over 30 members. In 2010, we arguably held the best meetings ever presented in the club's long history and the list just goes on and on...

yes, yes yes... I know all that, but I am still absolutely 100% confident that 2011 will be a better year. Here is why:

First of all, each meeting seems to get better than the last meeting! I do not know where this massive influx of talent comes from, but it seems to land behind the lectern at the Orlando Toastmasters Club #28! You never know who is going to walk in the door and lately, those who are coming in are coming back because they like what they see and hear. Maybe talent attracts talent, I don't know, but all are truly welcomed!

As the Club International Speech and Evaluation Contests approach our view, we have a number of speakers worthy of being considered some of Central Florida's best. The newer talent in this club has rivaled those who have already made a name for themselves by thriving in the area, division and district contests. It is certainly not beyond reason to think that a Club #28 member might succeed at the highest level of Toastmasters International competition.

Then there has been the incredible improvement of our members! We have seen more than a few people join our club with massive fear and worry about speaking in front of a group. Others are so shy and unsure of themselves that they can hardly speak at all. Now they have new-found courage simply from working at their communication skills. We have seen them become different people. It happens a lot in Club #28. We have seen wonderful, positive transformations many times over throughout many years. If people challenge themselves to work the Toastmasters program they cannot help but improve.

The newly installed leadership team is motivated and committed to doing the very best that they can to see that this club reaches it full potential. They are an inspiring and dynamic group of officers that are always looking for new ideas. Steve Wood is our new president and he brings a refreshing new outlook to the club and a great enthusiasm for success. I am proud to be a part of his team as the Vice President of Education. The other toastmasters who took on the responsibility of leadership: Secretary Carolyn Stapleton, Vice President of Membership Frank Adams, Vice President of Public Relations Wilner Luders, Treasurer Barbara Cusack and our new Sgt. at Arms Diane Hart. It would be hard to come up with a better team to guide this club through the next six months.

Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 is a testimony to the Toastmasters program itself. It works and people improve because of the program. Toastmasters do not rest on their laurels but always look forward towards the future and always in the direction of progress.  Toastmasters will do this as a club as well as as individuals.

That my friends, is why Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 will absolutely and positively, and without any fear of contradiction, guaranteed 100% have the best year EVER in 2011!

No doubt about it.

Happy Toastmastering!   

MAY YOUR HOLIDAYS BE FILLED WITH JOY!!!

By Kenneth H. Walley CG, CL (December 2010 edition)

WOW! It seems that the year is almost over and Toastmasters Club #28 has added another exceptional chapter to it's long history. Looking back at our 77th year, 2010 was filled with great challenges and even greater successes. This club once again exceed all expectations! Orlando Toastmasters Club #28 is enjoying a renaissance that can only guarantee that 2011, our 78th year will be our very best ever!

Looking back: We celebrated winning our 8th President's Distinguished Award in the last 11 years in June as well as winning for the second year in a row. In what may be the first time in, well, ever, Club #28 had perfect officer training attendance for the entire year! We made the Herndon Branch Library our new home and had some of the highest quality meetings here in memory. We also helped host the Society of Marketing Professional Services student meeting at the University of Central Florida. That was a unique achievement.

Our International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest in March were so popular that we had to split up the contests in two different weeks so that all of the speakers could be accommodated! Deborah Ryan served as our Contest Master as Seven club members competed in the Table Topics Contest... which was a new record. Ken Walley took the top prize and Wilner Luders came in second. The International Speech Contest featured five speakers in which Ken Walley took top prize with his speech "Our Future" and Barbara Cusack came in 2nd place with her speech "The Echo". Club #28 also had success at the Area 32 International Speech Contest as well with Barbara winning 1st place this time and Ken coming in second.

In September, The Humorous Speech and Evaluations Contests were held at the Center of Spiritual Living with our host being Barbara Cusack. There were three superb evaluations of a Daisy Arus speech given by Ken Blake, Mark Gumula and Jamie Waters. Mark was giving his first evaluation ever and ended up winning the contest! Ken Blake came in 2nd place. The Humorous Speeches had everyone laughing including a classic speech by Jamie Waters that took 1st place titled "Golfatorium". Coming in second was Ken Blake with a speech titled "Where are My Messages?" Again, Club #28 won the Area 32 contest with Jamie's speech!

Some of the best meetings that Club #28 has ever had (77 years is a lot of wonderful meetings!) were produced in 2010! Two of my favorites were the "Peace" and "Love" theme meetings of Feb. 4 & 11 with Toastmasters Wilner Luders and Ken Walley respectively. Other great meetings included the "Energy" meeting which sure had a lot of energy and the "Diversity" theme meeting both hosted by Wilner. Carolyn Stapleton's "Those Things that Nourish Us!", Barbara Cusack's "Halloween", Ken Blake's "Transportation" meeting all were interesting and a lot of fun. Most amazing was the awesome job that was done by Kayla Sorel-Bazil as her 1st time as a Toastmaster with the theme of "Bad Habits!"  Recently, Steve Wood was the Toastmaster for an interesting "Knowledge Explosion!" theme meeting as well as Mark Gumula's brilliant "Toastmasters" theme meeting. Ken Walley's "Amazing Feats" meeting was really ... amazing! The best meeting of the year? A good case could be made for Malita Clarke hosting the October 6th "Fairy Tales and Folklore!" meeting which featured the story of "Rumplestiltskin". Honestly, there were so many great meetings this year it would be impossible to list them all. See the Past Meetings section of this website and take a walk down memory lane!

If the meetings were awesome...the speeches were spectacular! Who can forget Ken Blake's "The Pomegranate" and "Not Always About the Money"; Richard Hendrix's "Save the 17!"; Wilner Luders's "Laurels in the Mist of Adversity" and "Are the Castles We Cherish Built on Rock or Sand?"; Diane Hart's "Taste!" Monica Walley's "The History of the Telephone"; Frank Adams's "What Makes A Man?"; Steve Wood's "How Do You Know What You Know?"; Carolyn Stapleton's "Human Being vs. Human Doing"; Malita Clarke's "What Shape Is It?" and "I See Numbers!"; Ruble Nedumkunnel's "All That Glitters is Not a Honda" and "The Secret Key"; Mark Gumula's "The Cost of the BP Oil Spill"; Jose E. Lopez gave us "Can You Spare Some Change?" Deepti Dhiman-Sharma's "Mr. Right"; Deborah Ryan had "Your Most Valuable Possession" and "28: More Than Just A Number"; John Hines had two classics this year with "Defiant Street" and "Speech Vis Aids as a Metaphor for Life"... This is just a small sampling of the great speeches I heard this year at Club #28, the list of excellent speeches seems to go on forever!

The Ice Breaker Speeches were truly amazing! Our first ice breaker was not until April when Jose E. Lopez gave an impressive Ice Breaker speech titled "I am Special!" It was followed by Ice Breakers by Mark Gumula, Malita Clarke, Frank Adams, Doug Creveling, Diane Hart, Kayla Sorel-Bazil, Richard Hendrix and Marietta Bolatete who just gave her Ice Breaker on December 2nd. I will never forget the impact that Richard's Ice Breaker Speech had on the audience when he announced that he was waiting for a heart transplant and that the "laptop case" he was carrying was actually a pump to help his heart! His speech "The Newest Member of the Oldest Club East of the Rockies!" was powerful and one of the most moving first speeches I have ever heard. Kayla's speech titled "The Quest" was a determined effort to overcome fear and in the end, she triumphed with a magnificent speech! Malita's Ice Breaker was unforgettable because of the way she "painted" her life with word pictures to create a beautiful portrait. Everyone has a story to tell and we heard some wonderful stories!

It would be a great mistake to overlook those who served as club officers over the past year and worked so hard to create a truly positive learning environment such as in Club #28. Our two Presidents were Club #28 "pillars" Deepti Dhiman-Sharma and Wilner Luders. Deepti moved to Memphis in September and she will be truly missed. Both proved that they were leaders of the highest rank. Serving as the Vice Presidents of Education were John Hines and Ken Walley. The Vice Presidents of Membership were Wilner Luders and Carolyn Stapleton. "Getting the word out" as the Vice Presidents of Public Relations were Ruble Nedumkunnel and Mark Gumula. Handling the money were our Treasurers Ken Walley and Barbara Cusack. Christopher Berns and Malita Clarke held the position of Secretary during the year. We also had two great Sergeant at Arms in 2010: Barbara Cusack and Monica Walley. From all of us who are members at #28 both past and present, we sincerely thank you for your leadership!

I wish everyone at Orlando Toastmasters Club #28, its members, past members, guests, friends and family, along with all of those of the Herndon Branch Library staff, a very merry and a very happy holiday and the most wonderful and joyous of new years!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY TOASTMASTERING

Sincerely,

Kenneth H. Walley ACG., CL

 

BE A LEADER! EARN YOUR CL! SERVE AS A CLUB OFFICER!

By Kenneth H. Walley ACG, CL (November 2010 edition)

This is a challenge for Club #28, a challenge to become successful. To be more precise, this is a challenge of leadership! I am throwing down the gauntlet to this club! I am imploring our members to become real leaders, not only in Toastmasters but in real life!

There are two paths in Toastmasters: One is the communication path. It is the main reason that most people join Toastmasters International. It is very important that we become excellent communicators and that we master public speaking skills.

Nonetheless, there is another track besides the communication path that is just as important and every bit as rewarding as reaching the Competent Communicator award and eventually reaching Advanced Communication Gold status.

That is the leadership track.

We have had in Club #28 executives, managers, supervisors and those who have been put into positions of authority and responsibility. Many of you in this club are headed in that direction in the near future. You are in the right place! Toastmasters is a training ground for leaders! Not to take advantage of the leadership instruction of the Toastmasters program would not only be a great disservice to yourself, but it would also be a missed opportunity to take advantage of a wonderful learning experience. 

The leadership track starts with you earning your "CL" or Competent Leader award. Bring your Competent Leadership Manual to every meeting and when you have completed all of the projects, simply submit your CL application to Toastmasters International. The manual is not difficult to complete, but it does take some determination and effort.

To earn your Advanced Leader Bronze (ALB) award, you must have earned your CC and CL awards, serve as a club officer for at least one term, along with achieving your officer training and complete two programs (speeches) from The Successful Club and/or The Leadership Excellence Series. This is rewarding and not in the least bit impossible to achieve!

To earn your Advance leader Silver (ALS) award you will need to be an ALB, serve a term as a district officer, complete the High Performance Leadership program and serve as a club sponsor, mentor or coach. Thousands of Toastmasters have accomplished this! So can you!

After you have earned your Advanced Silver Award and when you complete the Communication tract requirements; you have reached the highest pinnacle of a Toastmaster: that of Distinguished Toastmaster or, DTM! Congratulations Indeed!

Just earning your Competent Leader award will make you a better resource for your company, more valuable to your boss and you will have created an added confidence to succeed. You will also create a brighter future for yourself, no matter what area of work you might find yourself in.

November is the month that all Toastmasters clubs are looking to fill the new club officer positions for the next Toastmasters term (January - June 2011). This is a great leadership opportunity. If you have never served as a club officer, I urge you to take that step towards leadership. Each club officer position teaches you a skill valuable in today's workplace. It is a fantastic learning experience! If you have already served as an officer, I encourage you to try a position that you have not served in before. The more club officer duties you accomplish, the more well-rounded a leader you become. 

I have served as a club officer in every position from President to Sgt. at Arms and the experience each and every time has been rewarding.. and a goldmine of leadership training!.

You can do this!

I urge, Challenge and plead for you to use Toastmasters to develop fully the leader that is inside of you. You will not regret it!

Happy Toastmastering!

PAST OFFICERS & CONTEST WINNERS

January-June 2012 President: Malita Clarke; VPE: Laval Brown; VPM: Adam Heltemes; VPPR: Ryan Dick; Secretary: Ken Walley; Treasurer: Janet Madden; SAA: Demetri Ganoff. International Speech & T.T. Contest: Contest Master: Ken Walley; Chief Judge: James Waters;1st Pl. Intl. Sp.:; 2nd Pl. Intl. Sp.:;1st Pl. T.T.:; 2nd Pl. T.T.:.

July - December 2011 President: Ryan Dick; VPE: Ken Walley; VPM: Jennifer Hensley; VPPR: Patti Stuart; Secretary: Mike King; Treasurer: Frank Adams; Sgt. at Arms: Heather Russell. Humorous Speech & Eval: Contest Master: Barbara Cusack ; Chief Judge: Demetrice Vassar ; 1st Pl. Hum. Sp.: Rodney Higgins ; 2nd Pl. Hum. Sp.: Walk Jones ; 1st Pl. Eval.: Ryan Dick; 2nd Pl. Eval.: Ken Walley.

January- June 2011 President Steve Wood*; VPE: Ken Walley; VPM: Frank Adams; VPPR: Wilner Luders; Secretary: Carolyn Stapleton; Treasurer: Barbara Cusack; SAA: Diane Hart. International Speech & T.T. Contest: Contest Master: Ken Walley; Chief Judge: Ken Peplow; 1st Pl. Intl. Sp.: Ken Blake; 2nd Pl. Intl. Sp.: Barbara Cusack; 1st Pl. T.T.: Ken Blake; 2nd Pl. T.T.: Diane Hart.

July - December 2010 President: Wilner Luders*; VPE: Ken Walley; VPM: Carolyn Stapleton; VPPR: Mark Gumula II; Secretary: Maltia Clarke; Treasurer: Barbara Cusack; Sgt. at Arms: Monica Walley. Humorous Speech & Eval. Contest: Contest Master: Barbara Cusack; Chief Judge: Luvenia Hart;  1st Pl. Hum. Sp.: Jamie Waters; 2nd Pl. Hum. Sp.: Ken Blake; 1st Pl. Eval.: Mark Gumula; 2nd Pl. Eval.: Ken Blake.

January- June 2010 President: Deepti Dhiman*; VPE: John Hines / Ken Walley; VPM: Wilner Luders; VPPR: Ruble Nedumkunnel; Secretary: Christopher Berns; Treasurer: Ken Walley; SAA: Barbara Cusack. International Speech & T.T. Contest: Contest Master: Deborah Ryan; Chief Judge: Helen Joseph (TT) & Scott Hoehn (Intl.); 1st Pl. Intl. Sp.: Ken Walley; 2nd Pl. Intl. Sp.: Barbara Cusack; 1st Pl. T.T.: Ken Walley; 2nd Pl. T.T.: Wilner Luders.

July- December 2009 President: Jose Lopez+ /Ed Dimayuga*; VPE; Ed Dimayuga/ Ken Walley; VPM: Deepti Dhiman; Secretary: Amber Gudenkauft / Michael Machata; Treasurer: Ken Walley; SAA: Jason Davis/ Steve Wood. Humorous Speech & Evaluation Contests: Contest Master: Ken Walley ; Chief Judge: Linda Ramey / Helen Joseph; 1st Pl. Hum. Sp.: Jamie Waters; 2nd Pl. Hum. Sp.: Jason Davis; 1st Pl. Eval.: Dennis Gola ; 2nd Pl. Eval.: Ed Dimayuga. (+Jose Lopez served one month of term)

January-June 2009 President: Barbara Cusack*; VPE: Deepti Dhiman; VPM: Ed Dimayuga; VPPR: Ebony Langston /Jason Davis; Secretary: Monica Walley; Treasurer: Jose Lopez; SAA: A. Michael Machata. International Speech & T.T. Contest: Contest Master: Barbara Cusack Chief Judge: Gloria Esteban; 1st Pl Speech: Jose Lopez; 2nd Pl. Speech: Deepti Dhiman. 1st Pl. T.T.: Ken Blake; 2nd Pl. T.T.:Dennis Gola. 

July-Dec. 2008 President Dennis Gola*; VPE: Mike Deichen (Ken Walley) ; VPM : Barbara Cusack; VPPR: Paul Hagge (Stephen Bentley); Secretary: Susan Deichen; Treasurer: Ken Walley; SAA: Jose Lopez. Humorous Speech & Eval. Contests: Contest Master: Bob Blaydes ; Chief Judge: Helen Joseph ; 1st Pl. Hum. Speech: Barbara Cusack ; 2nd Pl. Hum. Speech: Ken Walley ; 1st Pl. Eval.: Dennis Gola ; 2nd Pl. Eval.: Ken Walley. 

January-June 2008 President: Ken Walley; VPE: Susan Deichen; VPM: Mike Deichen; VPPR: Dennis Gola; Secretary: Barbara Cusack; Treasurer: Joe Cannazzaro; SAA: Ben Jackson. International Speech & T.T. Contest: Contest Master: Ken Walley; Chief Judge: Roxie Steadman 1st Pl. Speech: Bob Blaydes; 2nd Pl. Speech: Ken Blake; 1st Pl. T.T.: Dennis Gola; 2nd Pl. T.T.: Ken Blake.

July-Dec. 2007 President: Dennis Gola; VPE: Cathy Goonen/ Ken Walley; VPM: Ken Blake; VPPR: Sarah Stack; Secretary: Eddie Selover; Treasurer: Bob Blaydes; SAA: Ken Walley. Humorous Speech & Eval. Contest: Contest Master: Sarah Stack ; Chief Judge: Luvenia Hart; 1st Pl. Hum. Speech: Ken Blake 2nd Pl. Hum. Speech Eddie Selover; 1st Pl. Eval.: Dennis Gola; 2nd Pl. Eval.: Ken Blake.

January-June 2007 President: Angela Abreu; VPE: Andrea McManus; VPM: Ken Blake; VPPR: Sarah Stack; Sec.: Ken Walley; Treasurer: Bob Blaydes; SAA: Scott Waechter. International Speech & T.T. Contest: Contest Master: Ken Walley Chief Judge: Diana Estremera 1st Pl. Speech: Scott Waechter; 2nd Pl. Speech: Ken Blake; 1st Pl. TT: Venkey Allenky:; 2nd Pl. TT: Andrea McManus;

July-Dec. 2006  President: Ken Walley; VPE: Angela Abreu; VPM: Ken Blake VPPR: Darryl Stephens; Sec.: Bruce Wigel; Treasurer: Brian Lewis; SAA: Andrea McManus Humorous Speech & Eval. Contest: Contest Master: Warren Lakhan Chief Judge: Roxie Steadman 1st Pl. Hum. Speech: Ken Walley 2nd Pl. Hum. Speech: Brian Lewis 1st Pl. Eval.: Ken Walley 2nd Pl. Eval.: Andrea McManus.

Jan.-June 2006 President: Laurie Heinitz; VPE: Ken Walley; VPM: Dr. Ross Thomson; VPPR: Ed Carmona; Sec.: Mark Cox/ Ed Morris; Treasurer: Ed Morris; SAA: Angela Abreu. International Speech & T.T. Contest: Contest Master: Ken Walley Chief Judge: Lani Wynne-Hampton 1st Pl. Speech: Brian Wheeler 2nd Pl. Speech: Ed Morris 1st.Pl. T.T.: Dennis Gola 2nd Pl. T.T.: Russell Russ.

July-Dec. 2005 President: Barbara Lott; VPE: Laurie Heinitz; VPM: Joe Bowie Jr,; VPPR: Ken Walley; Sec.: Mark Cox; Treasurer: Dr. Ross Thomson; SAA: J.P. Grace. Humorous Speech & Eval. Contest: Contest Master: Laurie Heinitz Chief Judge: Delsa Deihl-Banks 1st Pl. Hum. Speech: Ed Carmona 2nd Pl. Hum Speech: Ross Thomson 1st Pl. Eval.: Ken Walley 2ns Pl. Eval.: Barbara Lott.

January-June, 2005 President: Ed Carmona*; VPE: Russell Russ; VPM: Joe Bowie, Jr.; VPPR: Barbara Lott; Sec.: Laurie Heinitz; Treasurer: Dr. Ross Thomson; SAA: Mark Cox. International Speech & T.T. Contest Master: Ed Carmona, Chief Judge: Helen Joseph,  1st Pl. Speech: Ken Walley, 2nd Pl. Speech: Phil Sumanpow, T.T. 1st Pl.:Ken Walley,  T.T. 2nd Pl.:Steve Litt.

July-Dec. 2004 President: Dr. Ross Thomson*; VPE: Edward Carmona; VPM: Dr. Paul Layman / Joe Bowie, Jr.; VPPR: Diana J. Walley; Secretary: Laurie Heinitz; Treasurer: Barbara Lott SAA: John Walker/Ken Walley. Humorous Speech & Eval. Contest: Contest Master: Dr. Ross Thomson. Chief Judge: Brenda DeArmond. 1st Pl. Hum. Speech: Ed Carmona. 2nd Pl. Hum. Speech: Joe Bowie Jr.  1st Pl. Eval.: Barbara Lott. 2nd Pl. Eval: Steve Litt.

Jan.-June 2004  President: Adam Scoggins*; VPE: Tony Betts; VPM: Brian Wheeler; VPPR: Diana Walley; Secretary: Ed Carmona; Treasuer: Dr. Ross Thomson; SAA: Chris Moore / (Assistant: Ken Walley); International Speech & T.T. Contest Master: Diana Walley  Chief Judge: Ann Kelly 1st Place Speech: James Webb. 2nd Place Speech: Joe Bowie Jr. 1st Place T.T.: Dennis Gola. 2nd Place T.T.: Sam Ryan.

July-Dec. 2003: President: Adam Scoggins* VPE: James Webb / Tony Betts VPM: Brian Wheeler VPPR: Ken Walley / Diana Walley Secretary: Tseganesh Gudeta Treasurer: Debbe Ryan SAA: Mark Cox Humorous Speech & Eval. Contest Master: Ken Walley; Chief Judge: Jeanine Stroud ; 1st Place Speech: Tony Betts 2nd Place Speech: Joe Bowie Jr. 1st Place Eval.: Dennis Gola 2nd Place Eval.: Steve Litt

Jan-June 2003: President: Diana Walley*; VPE: Adam Scoggins; VPM: Brian Wheeler; VPPR: Ken Walley; Secretary: Tseganesh Gudeta; Treasurer: Debbe Ryan; SAA: Mike Hare; Editor: Ken Walley. International Speech & T.T. Contest  Master: Debbe Ryan; Chief Judge: Richard Gump; 1st Place Speech: Ken Walley, 2nd Place Speech: Adam Scoggins, 1st Place T.T.: Ken Walley, 2nd Place T.T: Dennis Gola. 

July-Dec. 2002: President: Deborah Ryan*; VPE: Diana J. Walley; VPM & VPPR: Ken Walley; Secretary: Tseganesh Gudeta; Treasurer: Robert Murphy ( Assistant: Paul Hagge); SAA: Tony Betts Editor: Ken Walley. Humorous Sp. & Eval. Contest Master: Diana Walley; Chief Judge: Ed Goddard; 1st Place Speech: Ken Blake; 2nd Place Speech Ken Walley; 1st Place Eval. Ken Walley; 2nd Place Eval. Debbe Ryan.

Jan- June 2002: President: Deborah Ryan*; VPE: Kenneth H. Walley; VPM: Michael Joseph; VPPR: Diana J. Walley; Sec.: Tseganesh Gudeta; Trea: Helen Joseph; SAA: Robert Murphy; Editor: Diana Walley. International Sp & TT Contest Master: Ken Blake; Chief Judge: Carree Jewell; 1st Place Sp.: Robert Murphy; 2nd Place Speech: Ken Walley; 1st TT: Dennis Gola; 2nd TT: Ken Walley.

July-Dec. 2001: Pres: Michael Joseph*; VPE: Doug Baggett / Ken Walley; VPM: Dennis Gola / Helen Joseph; VPPR: Ralph Cowell; Sec: Ken Walley; Trea: Helen Joseph; SAA: Dennis Rookwood / Diana Eve Rosenberg; Editor/Web: Diana Walley. Hum Sp. & Eval. Contest Master: Gabrielle "Gabi" Mercier; Chief Judge: Alie Weber; 1st Pl. Sp: Ralph Cowell; 2nd Pl Sp: Diana Eve Rosenberg. Eval. 1st : Ken Walley; Eval. 2nd: Deborah Ryan.

Jan-June 2001: Pres: Ken Walley*; VPE: Michael Joseph; VPM: Ralph Cowell; VPPR: Nancy Cowell; Sec. & Trea.: Helen Joseph; SAA: Robin Knight; Ed: Diana Walley. Int. & TT. Contest Master: Ken Walley; Chief Judge: Anne Marie Burns; 1st Pl. Sp.: Ralph Cowell; 2nd Pl. Sp: Ken Blake; 1st TT: Michael Joseph; 2nd TT: Dennis Gola.

June-Dec. 2000: Pres: Helen Joseph*; VPE: Ken Walley; VPM: Michael Joseph; VPPR: Nancy Cowell; Sec. & Trea.: Linda Buttery; SAA: Dwayne Black / Ken Walley. Hum. Sp & Eval. Contest Master: Ralph Cowell and Michael Joseph; Chief Judge: Gabi Mercier; 1st Pl Sp.: Ken Walley, 2nd Pl. Sp.: Ken Blake; Eval 1st Pl. : Michael Joseph; Eval. 2nd Pl.: Ken Walley.

Jan.-July 2000: Pres. Dorothy Day Otis* / Linda Buttery / Helen Joseph VPE: Scott Greenwood / Ken Walley; VPM: Helen Joseph; VPPR & Sec.: Linda Buttery; Trea.: Wayne Fogel / Helen Joseph; SAA: Ken Walley. Intl. Sp & TT Contest Master: Dorothy Day Otis; Chief Judge: Ali'e Weber; Sp 1st Pl.: Ken Blake; Sp. 2nd Pl: Ash Mahavir; 1st TT: Ken Walley; 2nd TT: Wayne Fogel.

July-Dec. 1999: Pres: Ralph Cowell*; VPE: Helen Joseph; VPM: Michael Joseph; VPPR: Kristen Vennum; Sec: Dorothy Day Otis; Trea.: Nancy Cowell /Wayne Fogel; SAA: Scott Greewood. Hum. Sp. & Eval. Contest Master: Ralph Cowell; Chief Judge; Alie Weber; 1st Pl. Sp: Ralph Cowell; 2nd Pl: Diane Shaheen; Eval. 1st: Michael Joseph; Eval. 2nd: Dorothy Day Otis.

Jan.-June. 1999: Pres. Helen Joseph; VPE: Jeff Shetterly; VPPR: Sandi Alexander; VPM: Michael Joseph. Sec.: Kristen Vennum. Trea.: Hazel Wright.  SAA: Marc Joseph / Ken Blake.

1997: Pres. Maytee Amador (?)

 

July-Dec. 1996: Pres. Sandi Alexander; VPE: Diana Walley; VPM: Judy Holsclaw; VPPR: Tom Permar; Sec & Trea. : Mark Capermeyer; SAA: Steve Wilmarth. Toastmaster of Year 1996: Diana Walley**

 

Jan.-June 1996: Pres. Mary MacNeil; SAA: Steve Wilmarth.

 

July-Dec. 1995: Pres. Tom Permar; VPE: Mike Shamp; VPM: Judy Holsclaw; VPPR: Gloria Kemp; Sec.: Hubert Warner; Trea.: Kaye Robinson; SAA: Steve Wilmarth.

 

* President's Distinguished Club. **Only Year (so far) Awarded.

ANY INFORMATION ON OUR HISTORY & PAST OFFICERS, PLEASE CONTACT KEN WALLEY at kwalley@cfl.rr.com IF YOU HAVE ANY PRE-JULY 1999 CLUB #28 AGENDAS OR LITERATURE PLEASE CONTACT ME SO WE CAN "FILL IN THE BLANKS" THANK YOU!

 

 

PRESIDENT'S DISTINGUISHED AWARDS

 July 1999 to JUNE 2000 Presidents: Ralph Cowell, Dorothy Day Otis.

Goal #1 Two CTMs: Scott Greenwood, Kristen Vennum.

Goal #2: Two More CTMs: Ken Walley, Ken Blake, Wayne Fogel

Goal #3: One ATM: Diana Walley, ATMB

Goal #4: One More ATM: Dorothy Day Otis, ATMG

Goal #5: One CL, AL or DTM: Helen Joseph, CL

Goal #6: One More CL, AL or DTM: Dorothy Day Otis, CL

Goal #7: Four New Members: Ken Walley, Monica Rowskevitz, Rebecca Ballentine, Mary Fitzgibbons

Goal #8: Four More New Members: Mark McDevitt, Tisha Rumph, Roland Ramkassoon, Barbara Armstrong, Shinita Carter, Tom Hereford, Chris Turner, Anne Burns, Dwayne Black, Christy Sanchez

Goal #9: Minimum of Four Officers Trained for Each Period: (7/1-12/31 and 1/1-6/30): COMPLETED

Goal #10: One Semi Annual Membership Report and One Club Officer List Submitted on Time: COMPLETED

 

JULY 2000 through JUNE 2001: Presidents Helen Joseph and Ken Walley

Goal #1: Two CTMs: Linda Buttery, Alex Logiou

Goal #2: Two More CTMs: Nancy Cowell, Robin Knight, Dennis Gola

Goal #3: One ATM: Ken Walley, ATMB

Goal #4: One More ATM: Diana Walley, ATMS, Ken Walley ATMS, Diana Walley, ATMG

Goal #5: One CL, AL, or DTM: Ken Walley, CL

Goal #6: One More CL, AL, or DTM: Ralph Cowell, CL

Goal #7: Four New Members: Michael Joseph, Alex Logiou, Edmond Solomon, Barbara Maynard

Goal #8: Four More New Members: Farooq Akram, Joe Ferra, Joan Durant-Bryan, Jocelyn Clarke, Mark Cox, Jackson Young, Robin Knight, Steve Ashkenaz, Doug Baggett, Juan Tito, Dennis Rookwood, Dennis Gola, Robert Murphy

Goal # 9: Minimum of Four Club Officers Trained for Each Period (7/1-12/31 and 1/1-6/30): COMPLETED.

Goal #10: One Semiannual Membership Report and One Club Officer List Submitted on Time: COMPLETED..

 

JULY 2001 through JUNE 2002: Presidents Michael Joseph and Debbe Ryan

Goal #1: Two CTMs: Michael Joseph (3rd), Tseganesh Gudeta

Goal #2: Two More CTMs: Helen Joseph and Michael Hare

Goal #3: One ATM: Ken Walley, ATMG

Goal #4: One More ATM: Ken Blake, ATMB

Goal #5: One CL, AL, or DTM: Ken Blake, CL

Goal #6: One More CL, AL, or DTM: Debbe Ryan, CL

Goal #8: Four New Members: Debbe Ryan, Diana Rosenberg, Melissa Torres, Steve Jackson

Goal #9: Four More New Members: Tseganesh Gudeta, Michael Hare, Linda Dabney, James Liebl, Robin Knight (Rejoin), Sam Ryan, Paul Hagee, Judith Martin, Richard Gump, Pete Carrion

Goal # 9: Minimum of Four Club Officers Trained for Each Period: (7/1-12/31 and 1/1 - 6/30): COMPLETE

One Semiannual Membership Report and One Club Officer List Submitted on Time: COMPLETE

 

JULY 2002 through JUNE 2003 Presidents: Debbe Ryan and Diana Walley

Goal #1: Two CTMs: Diana Walley (2nd), Adam Scoggins

Goal #2: Two More CTMs: Goal not reached.

Goal #3: One ATM: Mike Hare, ATMB

Goal #4: One More ATM: Ken Walley, ATMB (2nd)

Goal #5: One CL, AL or DTM: Sam Ryan, CL

Goal #6: One More CL, AL, or DTM: Tseganesh Gudeta, CL

Goal #7: Four New Members: Caprice Martin, Vernonika Alexander, Brian Wheeler, Tony Betts

Goal #8: Four More New Members: Adam Scoggins, Mark Cox (Rejoin), Joe Griggs, Joe Bowie, Steve Litt, Hector Amezquita, Ed Carmona, Ross Thomson, Nancy Dunn, Tim Kennedy, Jim Stitt

Goal #9: Minimum of Four Club Officers Trained for Each Period (7/1-12/31 and 1/1- 6/30): COMPLETED

Goal #10: One Semiannual Membership Report and One Club Officer List Submitted on time: COMPLETED.

 

JULY 2003-JUNE 2004 Presidents: Adam Scoggins (Two Terms)

Goal #1: Two CTMs: Brian Wheeler, Tony Betts

Goal #2: Two More CTMs: Dr. Ross Thomson, Mark Cox, James Webb

Goal #3: One ATM: Tseganesh Gudeta, ATMB

Goal #4: One More ATM: Ken Walley (2nd) ATMS 

Goal #5: One CL, AL or DTM: Steve Litt

Goal #6: One More CL, AL or DTM: 

Goal #7: Four New Members: Greg Seibert, Laurie Heinitz, Jannine Ynchaustegul, Earl K. Wood (Rejoin), Barbara Lott. 

Goal #8:  Four More New Members: Chris Moore, Darren Koltow, Eva Garrick, Russell Russ, Dr. Paul Layman, Monique Egelhoff, Darlissa Grifith, Jordan Ellington, Arthur Layman, David Dyrek, Ed Layman. Paul Hagge

Goal #9: Four Club Officers Trained for Each Period (7/1-12/31 and 1/1-6/30): 1ST PERIOD COMPLETED/ 2ND PERIOD COMPLETED .

Goal #10: One Semiannual Membership Report and One Club Officer List Submitted on Time: COMPLETED. 

 

JULY 2004 through JUNE 2005 Presidents: Dr. Ross Thomson and Ed Carmona

Goal #1: Two CTM: Barbara Lott, Russell Russ

Goal #2: Two More CTM: Laurie Heinitz 

Goal #3: One ATM: Brian Wheeler ATMB, Ross Thomson, ATMB

Goal #4: One More ATM: Ed Carmona, ATMB, Ken Blake, ATMS

Goal #5: One CL, AL, or DTM: Ed Carmona, CL

Goal #6; One More CL, AL or DTM: Dr. Ross Thomson, CL

Goal #7: Four New Members: Andy Schrader, Robert Guerrero, John Loblack, John Walker

Goal #8: Four More New Members: Melissa Baldauf, Michelle Crane, Phil Sumampow, David Landers, Dr. Lisa Palmer, Wanda Diaz, Jennifer Mattison, Tamara Blaze, J. P. Grace, Ed Morris, Janet Rodriquez, Serita Morgan

Goal #9: Four Club officers Trained: for each period: (7/1-12/31) and 1/1-6/30): 1ST PERIOD: Pres. VPE, VPPR, Sec., Trea, SAA (Make Up Training 7/31/04)2ND PERIOD: Pres. VPE, VPPR, VPM, Sec., (Planet TM) 

2ND PERIOD:

Goal #10: One Semiannual Membership Report and one Officer List Submitted on Time:   

 

JULY 2008 Through June 2009 Presidents: Dennis Gola and Barbara Cusack

Goal #1: Two CC: Paul Hagge, Barbara Cusack

Goal #2: Two more CC: Jose Lopez, Susan Deichen

Goal #3: One ACB, ACS OR ACG: Dennis Gola, ACG

Goal #4: One more ACB, ACS or ACG:

Goal #5: One CL, AL or DTM: Dr. Michael Dichen, CL

Goal #6: One more CL, AL or DTM: Barbara Cusack, CL

Goal #7: Four New members: Monica Walley, John Bonowitz-Coffey, Stephne Bentley (transfer), Jesse Baker

Goal #8: Four More New Members Ed Dimayuga, Deepti Dhiman, Ebony Langston, Jesus Serrano, Michael Vance, Herman Chahal, Debbe Ryan, Jim Stitt, William Watson, Justin Gay, A. Michael Machatta, Dionne Aiken, Tseganesh Gudeta, Erin Hoaglen, Alison Brooke Briggs, Bori Um, Amber Gudenkauf, Brian Wheeler, Steve Wood. :

Goal #9: Four Club officers Trained for each period: Pres. VPE, Secy. Trea. and SAA (7/08) and Pres. VPE, VPM, Secy. (1/09)

Goal #10: Officer lists reported to TI  for 6/08 and 12/08. Dues reports submitted on time for both periods.

 

Goal #1:Two CC: William Watson, Deepti Dhiman,

Goal #2: Two More CC's: Ed Dimayuga, Ruble Nedumkunnel

Goal #3:One ACB, ACS, or ACG: Ken Blake ACG

Goal #4: One More ACG, ACS or ACG:

Goal #5: One CL, AL or DTM: Ed Dimayuga, CL

Goal #6: One More CL, AL or DTM: Deepti Dhiman, CL

Goal #7: Four New members: Patrice Hatcher, Kami Shahid, Jennifer Barrett, Rob Streeter

Goal #8: Four More new members: Christopher Berns, Sue Park, Ruble Nedumkunnel, Wilner Luders, John Hines, Ron Silva, Ebony Langston, Deborah Ryan, Dana Davis, Jose E> Lopez, Mark Gumula II, Carolyn Stapleton, George DeJesus, Malita Clarke, Tai Johnson.

Goal #9: Four Club officers trained for each period: 1st July/August 09: Pres. VPE, VPM, Treasurer and SAA. 2nd Jan/Feb. 2010: Pres. VPE, VPM, VPPR, Secertary, Treasurer & SAA!

Goal #10: One semi annual percaps & 2 officer lists submitted: Officer lists:6/09 & 12/09 Per Caps: 9/09 & 3/10.

JULY 2010 THROUGH JUNE 2011 PRESIDENTS:

Wilner Luders and Steve WoodGoal #1: Two CC: 1.) Mark Gumula 2.) Frank Adams