Vamoosed!!

Toastmaster for the evening Joyleen called the meeting to order promptly at 7:00 and warmly greeted all present.  Along with apologies and a reading of the Mission Statement by guest Matt, General Evaluator Jan was invited to the front to introduce her team.  GE Jan noted that she was undertaking dual roles – as GE and Grammarian – and invited Timekeeper Greg to present a brief introduction of his role.  The word of the day was "vamoose" (which ended up being utilised at least 7 times!).

We then moved into prepared speeches and enjoyed three speakers: 

First up was Bella, who was presenting her Ice Breaker speech entitled "My journey to New Zealand".  Bella’s calm and confident style caught her evaluator Graeme by surprise, and he was duly impressed with her determination to not have the lectern available for notes.  Graeme subsequently provided Bella with an encouraging and supportive review with a couple recommendations for her to consider for her next project.

Next up with Paulo, introduced and evaluated by Ros.  Paulo’s speech "Born or made?" intrigued us from the start and he provided food for thought about the leaders around us and what traits they can naturally have but also what traits they can learn and develop.  Ros’ evaluation was warm and encouraging (she loves those question marks in speech titles!) but also gave Paulo some points to consider and possibly incorporate in his next speech. 

Finally, our third speaker, Will, took the floor to share his expertise with "How to select a bottle of wine".  Introduced and evaluated by Peter B, Will showcased his extensive knowledge of the wine industry but also gave two handy tips for wine connoisseurs, experienced or not, in narrowing down their choices from among the hundreds of options on the shelves.  Peter also provided Will with an uplifting review that included a solid recommendation or two for Will to consider. 

Peter M then took us into a timely Table Topics session where all the topics revolved around Civil Defence and the recent earthquake/tsunami warnings we have experienced this week.  Each topic was easy for the speakers to grab onto and expand upon.  It was great to see each of the speakers – Craig, Greg, Tony, James, Joyleen and Matt – speak to, or just over, the allotted 2-minute limit. 

After supper break and the prepared speech evaluations President Karen held a brief business meeting – highlighting upcoming events (Area competition via Zoom on Friday, 12 March and Regional competition via same Zoom link on Saturday, 20 March) as well as requesting all members to report to her directly this week regarding their current Pathway and Level, and what they hoped to achieve in the next few months.  Treasurer Craig reminded members that subs were due this month (any questions or concerns, please contact Craig directly). 

GE Jan and Timekeeper James gave their final wrap of up the meeting and awards were presented with the meeting finishing a few minutes early! 

Best speaker – Bella

Best Evaluator – Peter B

Best Table Topics – Tony

Best Contribution – Greg 

Next meeting – 22 March 2021