TOASTMASTERS CLUB 1841
AREA 50 <> DIVISION E <> DISTRICT 84
FRIDAY <> AUGUST 12, 2011
KISSIMMEE UTILITY AUTHORITY
1701 WEST CARROLL STREET
KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA 34741
CALL TO ORDER: RON SZASZ
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INSPIRATION AND PLEDGE –
“Some people dream of success… while others work hard at it.”
ANONOMOUS
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT – HEATHER SZASZ, CC
HUMOROUS SPEECH CONTEST – AUGUST 19 – SIGN UP TODAY,
HARRY FIX, CHAIR
GUESTS: NONE TODAY
16 PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE TODAY
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TOASTMASTER OF THE DAY – HEATHER SZASZ, CC
THEME:
“GRANDPARENTS”
WORD OF THE WEEK- HARRY FIX
“COGNISANT”
cognisant – (sometimes followed by `of’) having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception; “was aware of his opponent’s hostility”; “became aware of her surroundings”; “aware that he had exceeded the speed limit”
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FIRST SPEAKER –NEIL ALLEN, ACS
SPEECH # 6 – 5-7
MINUTES – VOCAL VARIETY
COMPETENT COMMUNICATOR MANUAL
“FATHERHOOD… A BLESSING OR A CURSE”
“FATHERHOOD… A BLESSING OR A CURSE”… About 25 years ago, I had a bit of a challenge with my car; it was overheating. The thermostat didn’t work. I
used an expletive deletive “ah… sh….” Off in the distance, I heard my son repeat exactly what I said. We immediately had a sit-down to discuss my language. My dad once told me “I have a wish for you. I hope you have a son just like you.” Now that I think about some of the many things I did as his son and I wonder if it’s a blessing or a
curse. My own sons got into it with one another and one threw the other down.
What did you do? I was mad at him so I turned him upside down and dropped him to the floor, resulting in a slight concussion.
Children do some interesting things. I’m out working in the yard, sweating away. I came in the house to wash my face and I found this wet wash cloth. I proceeded to wipe my face with it but my five year old advised me the odor I detected was from her… “Yes daddy… I washed my poop with that cloth.” I recently became a scoutmaster. The campsite had no cell service or reliable web access. I wanted to wish grandpa a
happy birthday. His response when the message finally got through was “The best gift for me is to know that Neil is serving others as a scoutmaster.”
SECOND SPEAKER – RON SZASZ
5-7 MINUTES
SPEECH 4– COMPETENT COMMUNICATOR MANUAL- HOW TO SAY IT
“SHRIMPING IN THE NIGHT”
“SHRIMPING IN THE NIGHT”… How many of you have eaten shrimp? Lots of us. Let me take you on an adventure. When I was growing up, my dad, my uncles and their friends were all located where I grew up in Miami. One of the most favorite things I did with my dad was to go “shrimping” with my dad and his friends. Miami has a series of
causeways all over the city. The causeways are usually accompanied by catwalks, which are for people who want to fish off the bridge. The beauty of the catwalks is that you can catch almost anything you could catch out of the ocean. You always need certain equipment when you fish, a hat, suntan lotion, plenty to drink and so forth. When you go shrimping, you need a big net. In order to find the shrimp, we would often use a lantern at night so that it would illuminate the water below to indicate where the shrimp were. Since you’re usually doing an “all-nighter,” you need plenty of food, drink and bait. We enjoyed catching “look-down” fish which were silvery with a sloped head. We used to catch and release them, but I later found that they’re good eating.
I saw an eel one time which was so unique that I had to look it up when I got home. I thought it was a deep-water eel but it was actually a “ribbon fish.” I wondered why such a creature was actually on the surface below me. I haven’t done these adventures since I was a child because central Florida lifestyle doesn’t lend itself to that kind of activity.
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TIMER REPORT- NEIL ALLEN
BOTH SPEAKERS QUALIFIED
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TABLE TOPICS –-MARIBEL URREA
Gwen Fix … I knew there was a “Grandparents Day” here in America but I’ve never actually celebrated it other than to act as a surrogate grandparent to others.
Tony Morelli… One of my most treasured experiences was visiting my grandparents who lived right next door to where we lived. The lived in a small house that was always warm and smelled terrific. I’ll always remember those odors. They always had a treat like an Italian cheesecake. Then my grandpa would offer a liquor to chase the cheesecake down.
Michael Aun … blah, blah, blah.
Bill Snyder … Grandparents spoil kids; that’s very true and it’s their job! When a child misbehaves and a grandparent is present, the child always goes to the grandparent because they know they can get away with more from the grandparent than they can from the parent. They’re cognizant of these things. Children are learning and they
have to be tolerated while they learn. I never knew my grandmother’s first name because I never met her.
Larry Mattern … I have two sons but no grandchildren. I’m known as cold and heartless. I always used to shake hands with them when I left. We didn’t hug. Kids want discipline. Maybe if I ever have grandkids, my heart will melt down.
Shon Coleman … You had me at hello… I’m just like Larry, I don’t share emotions. Now that I’m married to a Dominican and everybody hugs and shares. Personal space doesn’t exist. I never knew whether to hug or not. I can remember growing up as an Italian and lots of hugging went on whereas my dad’s side was cold.
Annie Yan … Is being a grandparent an opportunity for a second chance?
First time being a parent we lack experience and we sometimes have regrets. Experience makes us all wiser and makes us more patient and loving to grandchildren.
TIMERS REPORT- ANNIE YAN
EVERONE QUALIFIED EXCEPT GWEN AND
ANNIE, THE TWO TIMERS!
BREAK TIME
MASTER EVALUATOR – SANDY GEROUX, ATMB, CL
EVALUATING NEIL ALLEN, ACS – FRED MOORE
Neil’s presentation today had to focus on vocal variety and he had specific challenges outlined in the manual. On all of the points, I thought he did an admirable job. My challenge as his evaluator is to find something that needs to be fixed. Neil is very good and I’m cognizant of the fact that he’s very aware of himself on the platform. His use of notes was minor. In comedy and performing we suggest that you eliminate facts that are not relevant to a story. They tend to confuse. Your use of pauses is excellent. Those pauses make you want to listen and anticipate your next word. All in all, great job Neil!
EVALUATING RON SZASZ – MARY GUIDONE
Ron’s presentation today was interesting to me because I’m a native Floridian and I went shrimping when I grew up. I really identified with your topic and your speech. You engaged us right away by opening up with a question. I wish you would have been a bit more descriptive, perhaps describing the sounds of shrimping as well as the word pictures. Your words were simple and short gave us vivid descriptions of the situation.
TIMERS REPORT- ANNIE YAN
BOTH EVALUATORS QUALIFIED
AH / GRAMMARIAN – SHON COLEMAN
Likes (Gwen), You-knows (Ron, Maribel, Tony), Ums (Ron), and my favorite of the day, a double very by Sandy: do do!
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WORD REPORT – HARRY FIX
“COGNISANT”
Neil, Sandy, Harry, Ron, Bill, Larry, Fred, Heather all used the word for the day.
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JOKE-MASTER- TONY MORELLI, ACG, ALB
CLOSING AWARDS – HEATHER SZASZ, CC
TABLE TOPICS WINNER: LARRY MATTERN
BEST EVALUATOR: FRED MOORE
BEST SPEAKER: NEIL ALLEN
UPCOMING EVENTS
THE CLUB’S ANNUAL HUMOROUS SPEECH & EVALUATION
CONTEST – AUGUST 19, 2011
NEXT WEEK’S SCHEDULE –
AUGUST 19, 2011
HUMOROUS SPEECH CONTEST
