Goldmine Toastmasters

Goldmine International Speech and Table Topics Contests

2012-02-29T18:15:00.001-08:00

Saturday was Goldmine Toastmaster's International Speech Contest and Table Topics Contest.
Joyce Preston, our always-cheerful President, welcomed all 19 members and 7 guests (WOW!). The room was busting at the seems!

Rajesh Gopalakrishnan led the contests as 1st time Contest Master (and did an absolutely FABULOUS job!). Sam Mullis did a wonderful job behind-the-scenes as the Contest Chairman.

The table topics contest was first. The question was "What sign of spring would you be?" The contestants included: Richard Archer, Steve Boles, Alex Porter, Cynthia Randolf, and Sonny Tolbert. All answered the question well and did a great job!

Winners:
1st place: Steve Boles
2nd place: Richard Archer
3rd place: Sonny Tolbert

The International Speech Contest included the following contestants (in the order they spoke):
1- Alex Porter - "Ain't Right"
2- Steve Boles - "The Gift: A Lesson I Learned in Acting Class"
3- Al Minter- "Start with a Vision"
4- Sonny Tolbert- "Unemployed - Again"
5- Serena Haneline- "Overcoming Fear"
6- Bill Battermann- "A Great American"

Winners:
1st place: Steve Boles
2nd place: Sonny Tolbert
3rd place: Bill Battermann

Members in attendance:
Rajesh, Sam, Joyce, Betty, Matthew, Phyllis, Steve, Kim, Karen, Serena, Jerry, Al, Alex, Insook, Cynthia, Richard, Sonny, Bill and Shyam

Guests in attendance:
Tracy Threatt- President of Yawn Patrol Toastmasters
Ted Thomas- VP of Membership of Yawn Patrol
Glenda Teams- Disctrict Secretary (congratulations on your engagement to Tim Edwards, Area 24 Governor!!)
Ken Miller- Division B Governor (and Chief Judge)
Willie Nodine (most special and beloved guest)
J.D. Collier (first time visitor)
Venkat Raman (Shyam's father)

Special thanks to the Timers: Karen Boothe and Joyce Preston and Ballot Counters: Jerry Weikle and Sam Mullis, as well as Sergeant-At-Arms, Matthew Charity.

UPCOMING CONTESTS:

Area 24 International Speech and Table Topics Contests: Monday, March 19 at Troutman's BBQ in Concord, 7 p.m.
Divison B Contests: Saturday, April 14 at Grace Covenant Church in Cornelius, 12 p.m.
District 37 Contests, Thurs-Sun, May 3-6 at Great Wolf Lodge (Spring Conference)

Please make every effort to attend the above contests either as volunteers (timers, ballot counters or judges) or as part of the audience!

February 18, 2012 Goldmine Meeting

2012-02-19T15:54:00.002-08:00

I, unfortunately, didn't get to experience this meeting, but here is what went down on Saturday.

Joyce Preston opened the meeting as Presiding Officer and Richard Archer shared a Thought of the Day, introducing the Toastmaster of the Day, Sam Mullis. Mike Hall shared a joke as Jokemaster. Other roles filled for the day: Insook Lee as Timer, Karen Boothe as Ah Bell/Ballot Counter, and Sonny Tolbert as Grammarian/Wordmaster (word of the day: "zeal").

Table Topics Master, Matthew Charity gave three interesting table topics.

John Shepherd talked about the following: "Warren Buffet gives you a million dollar and you have to donate 90% of it to charities and keep 10%."
Kim Jackson talked about the interesting topic: "You are feeding popcorn to birds in a park and the birds ask when the movie is being shown."
Sonny Tolbert talked about "If you could travel in time, where would you go and why?"

The following were the prepared speakers:

Cynthia Randolph gave her Icebreaker speech (time: 6:20).
Amy Beam gave her Icebreaker too (time: 7:00)
Phyllis Kombol spoke from the Successful Club series speaking on "Why is Goldmine Called a Distinguished Club?"

Jessica Keyes evaluated Cynthia (time: 3:14)
Shyam Narayan evaluated Amy (time: 2:50)
Jerry Weikle evaluated Phyllis (time: 3:04)

Best Table Topic Speech: Kim Jackson
Best Speaker: Phyllis Kombol
Best Evaluator: Shyam Narayan
Ah Stick: Amy Beam

Meeting ended at 10:07 a.m. Reminder: Next week is our Club International Speech and Table Topics Contest. Come and enjoy. If you can help be a judge, ballot counter, or timer, please let Joyce Preston know ASAP. Much thanks to Jerry Weikle for recording the minutes!

2/11/2012 Goldmine TM meeting

2012-02-15T21:16:00.000-08:00

Members attending this week were Rajish, Serena, Matthew, Phyllis, Steve, Joyce, Al, Jerry, Shyam, Bill, Sam, Sonny, Alex, Cynthia, Insook, and Amy. There were no guests in attendance.

The president, Madam Joyce Preston called the meeting to order at 8:33 PM. Cynthia presented the thought of the day and introduced Rajesh as the Toastmaster.

Serena presented the joke of the day. Shyam kept us all on time, while Jerry carefully monitered our Ahs and other crutch words. Al presented the word of the day: urbane - polite, refined, and ofteh elegant in manner.

Joyce led the table topics:

Matthew, If someone gives the same card as last year, how do you respond? Be thankful for the card and the thought behind it.
Alex: Do you like movies or books where the characters live happily ever after? Alex confessed that he enjoyed chick flicks.
Amy: If you receive the perfect valentine present, what would it be? The perfect valentine gift is a humongous bunch of flowers.
Sam: If your valetine is alergic to chocolate, perfume, and other traditional valetine gifts, what do you give? My valetine loves to eat out, So I take her out to dinner, and give her a gift card tlo Appleby's

The first prepared speaker was Sonny, who defined a leader as a visionary.
The second was Bill who encouraged us all to continue to grow.

Following the break, Insook evaluated Sonny, and Phyllis evaluated Bill.

Jay Johnson and his wife both have cancer.
Betty Walker's husband is in the hospital expecting triple bypass surgery. Betty cannot visit because she has the flu.

Monday Feb. 13, The Mayor of Kannapolis will present a proclamation honoring Jay Nodine for his community service to the city of Kannapolis. Arrangements have been made for a dinner at the Forty Six restaruant following the proclamation ceramony.

We have club contests scheduled for the regular meeting on Feb. 25. Judges, timers, and other contest officials are needed.

The Area contest is March 19th at Troutman's BarBQ.

Jay Johnson who has attended Gold mine as a guest a few months annually for several years (He lives in Florida and visits this area) was voted into the club as a honorary member.

This weeks Awards:
Table Topics: Sam Mullis
Speaker: Bill Batterman
Evaluator: Phyllis Kombol
Ah: Insook Lee.

Minutes prepared by Serena Haneline and entered in the blog by Sam Mullis.

February 4, 2012 Toastmaster Celebration

2012-02-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

What a GREAT day to be a Toastmaster! Not only did we have a fantastic meeting - it was topped with an Induction Ceremony, acknowledgement of Goldminers accomplishments, and Amy Beam, our guest walked out the door our newest member! I had to take a nap when I got home.

Jerry Weikle conducted the Induction Ceremony welcoming Rajesh, Karen and Cynthia. Those Toastmaster lessons are really paying off as he was professional, poised and polished ! Welcome new members.

Sonny graciously filled in as Toastmaster as Al basked in the Florida sun. We love you Sonny but we want to be with Al!

Insook gave us a very insightful Thought of the Day while Cynthia humored us with her frog story.

Karen did a great job explaining the timing and Rajesh warned us about our, well, you know, like, um , oh yeah, the Ahs.

Kim filled one of her favorite roles as Grammarian, a position full of listening challenges.

Jessica, full of caffeine today, took our Table Topics to a full blown Morning at the Improv. (Am I the only one who remembers that show?)

Phyllis - Stan the Karate Man & Insook - the Dancing Robot were in the kitchen discussing their plan to clean the yard.

Tony - Earl the Cowboy & Cynthia - Julie the Party Planner were watching tv, on the roof, on the phone, planning a way to hoist Earl's horse up to join them. They must be watching Mr. Ed.

Kim Jackson - Julie the Party Planner & Amy - Stan the Karate Man had cakes to deliver while walking their dogs, in the rain. I'll never h I don't think that I can take, cause it took so long to make it, & I'll never have the recipe again is still stuck in my head!

The speeches haven't begun and I'm already exhausted. Off for a bike ride!

Serena - To Bike or Not to Bike, That is the Question (Don't do it Serena)

Matthew - William Henry McCullough (What a touching tribute)

Shyam - Being Clueless (then do not, I repeat, do not ride a bike with Serena)

Tony evaluated Serena, Jerry evaluated Matthew and Mike evaluated Shyam. Kim is saying, too much redundancy in that sentence Joyce.

Sonny, Jerry, Serena , Sam and Shyam were honored for their their successful completion of major projects. Thanks for remembering Phyllis! You're very kind!

Who won today? Well everyone who came to Goldmine Saturday and participated in the learning and laughter lab. If you don't believe me, ask our General Evaluator, Sir Richard Archer!

Best Table Topics - Tony & Cynthia

Best Speaker - Serena

Best Evaluator - Tony

Ah Stick - Mike

Next week, Rajesh will be our Toastmaster for the 1st time! They grow up so fast!

Now get out there and speak up!

Joyce

Goldmine Meeting - Saturday, January 28

2012-01-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

Today's meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m.

Members in attendance: Matthew, John, Joyce, Karen, Kim, Serena, Richard, Shyam, Steve, Betty, Alex, Insook, Rajesh, Sonny, and new member Cynthia Randolf. Guests included Barbara Ottavio and Kemp Edwards.

Presiding Officer: Joyce Preston opened up the meeting. New member, Cynthia Randolf, gave a scriptural Thought of the Day and introduced the Toastmaster of the Day, Shyam Narayan. Insook Lee shared a joke. Other roles: Timer: Kim Jackson, Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Sonny Tolbert, and Grammarian/Wordmaster: Rajesh Gopalakrishnan.

Table Topics Master, Serena Haneline, gave the following table topic questions:

Betty Walker answered the question "If you could solve any great mystery, which one would you solve and why?" She said she would solve the mystery of enjoying an appetite without gaining weight.
Cynthia Randolf answered, "If you could go back in time and talk to yourself at the age of 10, what advice would you give?" She said she would tell her 10-year-old self to just go buy the Pepsi and not to spend the extra money her mother gave her on candy.
Insook Lee answered the question, "If you cold bring one famous person back to life, who would it be and why?" Her answer was Gandhi for his nonviolent resistance.

Prepared speakers were:

Steve Boles, from Humorously Speaking manual #4, titled "My Most Embarassing Moment" (time: 6:29)
Alex Porter, from Speaking to Inform #1, titled "Peeler House" (time: 7:25)
Joyce Preston, from Successful Club Series titled "The Importance of Keeping a Commitment" (time: 10:38) - disqualified

General Evaluator, Matthew Charity, introduced the evaluators:

John Shepherd evaluated Steve Boles (time: 3:13)
Richard Archer evaluated Alex Porter (time: 1:49)
Karen Boothe evaluated Joyce Preston (time: 2:42)

Winners:
Best Table Topic Speaker: Betty Walker
Best Speaker: Steve Boles
Best Evaluator: John Shepherd
Ah Stick: Cynthia Randolf

Business Meeting:

Brian Woolf is no longer able to maintain membership at Goldmine due to travel
Bill Battermann had rotator cuff surgery; doing well
Feb. 13: Mayor will give a Proclamation for Jay Nodine at 6 pm at the Kannapolis Train Depot. (Dinner at Forty-Six Restaurant may follow: please let Joyce know if you can attend)
Ralph C. Smedley Memorial Fund award given in honor of Jay Nodine
An award in memory of Jay Nodine to begin (to be given to a Toastmaster who reaches out to the community)
Feb. 25: International Speech and Humorous Speech contests (please let Joyce know if you are interested in participating in the contest or volunteering with it)
Next week's Toastmaster: Al Minter (please confirm roles with him)

Meeting adjourned at 10:12 a.m.

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday Jan 21st

2012-01-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

We had pretty good attendance compared to the last week. We also had 3 guests for the session

Members attendees:

1. Serena

2. Sam

3. Phyllis

4. Jerry

5. Sonny

6. Shyam

7. Karen

8. Joyce

9. Mike

10. Jessica

11. Alex

12. John

13. Insook

14. Rajesh

15. Steve

16. Betty

Our guest, Cynthia Randolf returning for second time was warmly welcomed. Other guests were Ken Miller and Glenda Jeans.

Joyce opened the meeting, welcomed the guests and introduced Mike Hall. Mike Presented the thought of the day, led in the pledge of allegiance, and introduced Sam Mullis as the toastmaster of the day. Shyam entertained us with a great joke about "How one would know if they have been a toastmaster for long". John Shepherd explained his role as timer, followed by Alex Porter who explained his role as Ah Bell/Ballot Counter. Betty Walker presented the word of the day and explained his role as Grammarian.

Jerry Weikle led the impromptu portion of the meeting as Table Topics Master. The speakers were:

1. Insook Lee - Your car is dirty and its raining outside. Should you still wash the car?

2. Glenda Jeans - What is the best way to get the attention of the congress.

3. Steve Boles - Cruise ship you were on capsizes, would you expect a refund?

The three prepared speakers were:

1. Karen Boothe who was giving her Ice Breaker speech. Her speech title was "Dear Brooklyn."

2. Rajesh spoke from the competent communicator manual speech three - make your point. His title was "Six degrees or six clicks of seperation."

3. Phyllis Kombol spoke from the better speaker series - toastmaster education pros. Her title was "Lets keep the train on track and move forward."

All the speakers qualified and were eager to hear the feedback.

Following the break, Jessica Keys led the evaluation portion of the meeting. Karen (4-6) was evaluated by Sonny, Rajesh (6-8) was evaluated by Serena, and Phyllis(10-12) was evaluated by Joyce.

All the evaluators qualified.

Joyce as the presiding officer led a brief business meeting.

a. Ken Miller - Gave a gift certificate to GoldMine from Toast masters International for being a Presidents Distinguished club for consecutive years. He was also standing for Lt. Governor of Education and Training for the next term and asked for support at conference.

b. Phyllis handed out the spring conference registration forms and explained the advantages of attending the same. Also, requested for volunteers for the event.

c. Joyce gave an update on Bill Battermann who had a surgery on Jan 17th.

d. Glenda also requested support as she was standing for Lt. Governor of Marketing.

e. The Tall Tale and Intl. Speech contest was on Feb 25th. All members who have completed 5 speeches can participate.

f. Joyce showed the placard which showed all the Toast Master Leadership and communication awards won from this area. The placard would be placed in the historical society Museum in memory of Jay Nodine.

g. There would be a new members induction on the first sat of February and awards presentation.

Shyam would be the toastmaster for the next meeting and the word for the day is "Abstain"

Alex was called to make award presentations.

Award winners were:

1. Best Table Topics - Steve

2. Best Speaker - Karen

3. Best Evaluator - Joyce

4. Ah Stick - Joyce and Phyllis.

Alex adjourned the meeting at 10:13am .

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Jan. 14

2012-01-21T19:31:00.000-08:00

Attendance was a little low this week because of TLI at Cannon School, but as always many nuggets were shared by all who attended.

Members attending:

1. Serena

2. Sam

3. Kim

4. Phyllis

5. Jerry

6. Sonny

7. Al

8. Shyam

9. Bill

10. Karen

Our guest, Cynthia Randolf was warmly welcomed.

Phyllis opened the meeting and introduced Bill Batterman. Bill Presented the thought of the day, led in the pledge of allegience, and introduced Serena as the toastmaster of the day. Serena's theme was Martin Luther King, Jr. Karen began with a entertaining and humerous joke. Sonny explained his role as timer, followed by Jerry who explained his role as Ah Bell/Ballot Counter. Shyam presented the word of the day and explained his role as Grammarian.

Al led the impromptu portion of the meeting as Table Topics Master. The speakers were:

1. Cynthia Randolf - Imagine you had the power to change anything in the world.

2. Shyam - Imagine you are a genuis

3. Karen - Imagine you are a bird

4. Sonny - Imagine you can make a difference

The two prepared speakers were:

1. Sam who spoke from the CC manual project 10, inspire your audience. His speech title was "Make a Difference."

2. Kim spoke from the advanced manual Humerous Speaking. Her title was "Thank You Dear Deer."

Following the break, Phyllis led the evaluation portion of the meeting. Sam was evaluated by Bill and Kim was evaluated by Karen.

Phyllis as the preseding officer led a brief business meeting, and called Jerry to make award presentations.

Award winners were:

1. Best Table Topics - Cynthia Randolf

2. Best Speaker - Sam Mullis

3. Best Evaluator - Bill Batterman

4. Ah Stick - Bill Batterman.

Jerry adjourned the meeting.

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Jan. 7

2012-01-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Much thanks to Past Secretary Jerry Weikle for stepping in and taking minutes for this meeting!

In attendance:

Sam Mullis
Alex Porter
Insook Lee
Jessica Keyes
Mike Hall
Jerry Weikle
Sonny Tolbert
Lee Johnson
Al Minter
Joyce Preston
Bill Batterman
John Shepherd
Betty Walker
Karen Boothe
Phyllis Kombol
Matthew Charity
Rajesh Gopalakrishnan

No guests present

Presiding Officer: Joyce Preston
Toastmaster: Matthew Charity
General Evaluator: Sonny Tolbert
Thought of the Day: Rajesh Gopalakrishnan
Jokemaster: Alex Porter
Timer: Lee Johnson
Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Jessica Keyes
Grammarian: Karen Boothe (first time! Go Karen!)

Table Topics Master: Bill Batterman
Table Topics Theme: "The Tribe of Goldmine"
Participants:

Sam Mullis answered "What is the collective effervescence of the Goldmine club?"
Betty Walker answered "How does vocal grooming work in the Goldmine club?"
Joyce Preston answered "How does reverse social dominance work in the Goldmine Club?"

Table Topics Winner: Sam Mullis

Prepared Speakers:

Mike Hall: CC #5 "Your Body Speaks": "Improv Imagination" (time: 9:56)- qualified
Jerry Weikle: CC#10 "Inspire Your Audience": "Why Should I Care?" (time 10:30)- qualified
Insook Lee: No manual, a professional speech: "What Is Pastoral Care?"

Best Speaker: Jerry Weikle

Evaluators:

Al Minter evaluated Mike Hall
John Shepherd evaluated Jerry Weikle
Phyllis Kombol evaluated Insook Lee

Best Evaluator: Al Minter

"Ah" Stick Award Winner: Mike Hall

Business Session:

TLI next week (Jan. 14). NEED VOLUNTEERS (Jessica needs help in the bookstore)
Spring conference in May. Sign up online at http://toastmasters-nc.org/conference.
Reviewed next week's schedule: Toastmaster: Serena Haneline. Sign up for roles!

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Dec 31

2012-01-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!!

Our New Year's Eve Toastmaster meeting was awesome as always! 18 people were in attendance today, including our longtime "guest" Jay Johnson, and guest Logan Burchette.

Joyce Preston presided over the meeting as Kim Jackson took on the role of Toastmaster, leading a fabulous and joyous meeting. We learned that a New Year's resolution goes in one "year" and out the other!

Rajesh told his first joke as Jokemaster (great joke!). Betty gave a wonderful thought: "An unexamined life is not worth living...and an unlived life is not worth examining. What would you do if you didn't have to do it perfectly? The answer: A great deal more than you're doing now!"

Serena timed the "events" of the day, Phyllis listened for good grammar and the Word of the Day: "meritorious: deserving of honor," and Insook listened for the notorious "uh" and "and so" as Ah Bell/Ballot Counter.

Lee Johnson led the Table Topics with some simple, yet interesting questions:

Jay Johnson: "What are your New Year's resolutions?"
Sonny Tolbert: "What do you think about the Samoa's decision to skip a day as they change time zones?"
Karen Boothe: "What do you expect in the new year?"
Betty Walker: "What did you accomplish this year?"

TABLE TOPICS WINNER: Betty Walker (who accomplished nothing this year: Go procrastinators!)

Prepared Speakers:

Alex Porter, speaking from AC manual: Storytelling, #2: "It's Good Enough for Me," talked about the technology challenges of today and his adventures with a GPS as he tried to find a restaurant in Midland. (time: 8:54; 6-8 min. speech)
Joyce Preston, speaking from AC manual: Specialty Speeches,#1, "What's A Woman to Say?" spoke off the cuff with the topic: New Year's Resolutions. We learned that New Year resolutions came about in 153 BC by Janus, the two-faced Roman god and that the top five resolutions included sleeping more, eating healthier, and keeping a journal of awesome moments). (time: 7:15; 5-7 min. speech)
John Shepherd, speaking from CC, #7, "Just the Facts on Political Gridlock," talked only on the facts of political gridlock, including the motivation of gridlock, as well as some positives and negatives. We found out politics is 99% votes, and 1% money. (time: 9:14; 8-10 min. speech)

BEST SPEAKER: John Shepherd

Richard Archer evaluated Alex with a time of 1:51
Sam Mullis (welcome back Santa) evaluated Joyce with a time of 2:49
Jerry Weikle evaluated John with a time of 2:53
BEST EVALUATOR: Richard Archer

*No "Ah" Stick winner for the second week in a row! Either our ballot counters aren't listening, or we're getting better with our verbal fillers! (Or maybe a little bit of both?)

BUSINESS SESSION:

TLI: Jan. 14 (Cannon School). Still need some volunteers for set up and clean up. There will be both morning and evening sessions (repeat sessions). Let Joyce know if you can volunteer.
Sonny informed us that Jay Nodine got to see and touch our new banner before he passed.
Reviewed next week's meeting: WE NEED A TOASTMASTER!!! Serena cannot fulfill the Toastmaster role because of having to leave early. If interested, please email Phyllis!

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Dec 24

2011-12-30T15:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry Goldminers! This is soooo late...been a crazy last few weeks.

We had a great time on Christmas Eve at the Goldmine! Betty Walker was our wonderful, peppy Toastmaster with Phyllis as Presiding Officer. Roles included:

Jerry as Jokemaster and Timer
Kim as Grammarian (word of the day: "hypothesis": supposition as a basis for reasoning; assumption)
Serena shared a Thought of the Day: "It's not the things you get at Christmas, it's the Christmas things you do all year through."
Brian as Ah Bell/Ballot Counter (for the first time in Goldmine!)
Richard as General Evaluator

Rajesh was our Table Topics Master for the FIRST time. The theme was "Holidays." Table Topic participants were:

Jay Johnson: "What was your most memorable Christmas memory to date? He said when he was a child in Rockwell and received a play garage with a cool elevator that took your car up to a second story parking lot. Found out this actually exists in New Orleans!
Sonny Tolbert: "Do you have any New Year's resolutions?" He said he has no resolutions until about 30 seconds before midnight.
Kim Jackson: "If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?" Her answer was "where there is snow (but NO skiing please!).
John Shepherd: "If you were given a gift of one million dollars and had to spend it in one day, what would you do with it? He said he would give 10% to family and the rest to charities.

***TABLE TOPICS WINNER: Sonny Tolbert

Prepared Speakers & Evaluators:

Brian Woolf (CC#10), "I Would Be Lying to You" with Serena evaluating
Phyllis Kombol (Specialty Speeches, #2, "Come On, Get Involved with Youth" with John evaluating

***BEST SPEAKER: Phyllis Kombol
***BEST EVALUATOR: John Shepherd
***ENTHUSIASTIC AWARD: Betty Walker
No "Ah" stick today! Yay!!

Business Session:

Goldmine received a Christmas card from Fairfield Inn
Will be accepting donations to Jay Nodine's church (Parkwood Baptist) through Jan. 1
Jan 14: TLI (need at least four officers to attend; open to all)
Dues are DUE by Dec. 30!! $60 per quarter
Reviewed next week's schedule: Kim Jackson as Toastmaster

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Dec 17

2011-12-20T17:41:00.000-08:00

Today was both a joyous and sad occasion as we remembered the late great "Mr. Wonderful": Jay Nodine in our meeting that definitely had us laughing. (Just as Jay would have wanted!)

Members in attendance: Joyce, Presiding Officer and Toastmaster of the Day.
Thought of the Day: Our newest member, Karen Boothe, who shared a poignant Thought: "To everything there is a season...a time to be born, and a time to die...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance."
Shyam, as Jokemaster, shared his son's favorite "Jay Joke" out of Jay's book.
John Shepherd: Grammarian (word of the day: neophyte - which was said quite a bit!)
Timer: Betty and Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Phyllis
General Evaluator: Jerry
Other members in attendance: Serena and Jay Johnson. Special Guests: Logan Burchette and Kemp Edwards (Serena's "boyfriend" - yes, Joyce, he's a real, live person!)

Table Topics Master: Richard Archer gave out some interesting sentences as table topics:

Serena Haneline finished the sentence: "I opened my door and was surprised to see..." Rudolph standing at her door. But lo, and behold, it wasn't Rudolph, after all. It was her boyfriend dressed up like Rudolph!
Jay Johnson's sentence was: "The Highway Patrol pulled up in my driveway because..." an alligator was in his backyard! (This is in his home in Florida, where the alligators play).
Betty Walker finished the sentence, "For the umpteenth time, I screamed, 'Where did you put my...?'" sleigh, screamed Richard Archer! Always losing that sleigh!

Table Topics Winner: Serena! Beating out the Table Topic Champs for her FIRST win! (Jay Nodine: You would have been proud!)

Our speakers for the day shared some humorous stories, befitting the spirit of Jay Nodine. Sonny spoke on "Reindeer Food" and we learned that Rudolph's father was Donner. Who knew? And Kim Jackson talked about "Looking for Gifts in All the Wrong Places." The most meaningful gifts this Christmas are not the ones we put under the tree; it's the ones we find in the most unexpected places. You may be entertaining angels unaware!

Rajesh, first time evaluator, evaluated Sonny's speech, doing a terrific job! Insook evaluated Kim Jackson, also doing a fantastic job.

Best Speaker: Sonny Tolbert (Kim's speech was disqualified for going over time!)
Best Evaluator: Insook Lee
Ah Stick Winner: Kim Jackson

Business Session:

Jay's funeral at Parkwood Baptist Church, 2 p.m.
Visit Jay's Caring Bridge Website and leave a comment at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/JayNodine
We are collecting donations to go toward Jay's church (Parkwood Baptist) this week and next.
Reminder: Dues are DUE by Dec. 30 ($60 per quarter)
Reviewed next week's schedule. Toastmaster is Betty Walker. Please confirm your roles with Betty this week!

2011-12-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

What a difference a week makes. I am quite late in posting the details of our December 10th meeting due to unforeseen circumstances. Or perhaps they weren't so unforeseen, just wishful thinking about different results. Jay, my friend, I know you are at rest and suffering no more. Praise God!

Jessica Keyes jingled her way into our hearts with a Christmas themed meeting - complete with music, cookies and the best looking Charlie Brown christmas tree I've ever seen. Insook added a prophetic thought of the day, as always. The joke was NOT on John as we chuckled our way forward. Serena judiciously served as Grammarian for the day. Rajesh stayed busy counting ballots and Ahs all morning! With Sonny keeping time, how could Santa possibly be late.

We were delighted to have 3 great speeches;

Betty - Right, Wrong & In Between

Mike - Pool Fundamentals

Shayam - I Will Have the Lunch Please (that still cracks me up Shayam)

Our Table Topics Master, Kim, kept the holiday theme going by asking;

Karen - What's a perfect N. C. Christmas?

Rajesh - What's in the Christmas Box?

Sonny - What's your favorite Christmas movie?

Our general evaluator, Brian, introduced the following evaluators;

John

Joyce

Insook

Everyone was a winner as Jessica led us through a perfect holiday theme, complete with elves (her children) passing out reindeer food for the big day.

The voters selected;

The Grinch, uh, I mean Sonny for Table Topics

Betty who kept us right. not wrong, but sometimes in between with her speech

Joyce for her evaluation today

It's great to be surrounded by such a terrific bunch of people - your commitment, fellowship and love are the best Christmas present! Until next time...

Joyce

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Dec 3

2011-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting!

Members in attendance: Sonny, Richard, Rajesh, Serena, Insook, Kim, Jerry, Phyllis, Joyce, John, Betty, Lee and Bill. Guests: Ken Miller and Nathan Taylor.

Presiding officer, Joyce, opened the meeting. Bill gave a thought, Phyllis shared a joke, Jerry took the time, Kim counted the ballots and the "ahs," and Joyce was grammarian for the word of the day, "imperative."

Richard was Toastmaster and introduced Table Topics Master John who asked the following:

Ken Miller answered the question, "If you had a crystal ball, what would you want to know about yourself?" He said he would want to know what was ahead for his four grandchildren.
Betty Walker answered the question, "What is worse: too high expectations or no expectations?" She said the worse was no expectations. She will expect good things in life and accept disappointment, developing new expectations.
Guest, Nathan Taylor, said he would spend his ideal day in Japan site-seeing and watching "kabuki" (Japanese dance-drama).
Lee Johnston answered "If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?" We found out Lee has a vindictive streak as he said his enemies should "watch out!"

Rajesh gave his second speech, "Should We Stop Writing" about analyzing handwriting, which sparked both excitement and anxiety. Rajesh was evaluated by Serena. Insook gave a compelling speech, "What Does a Piece of Paper and Tape Have to Do with Our Life?" Insook took home the Best Speaker award. Sonny evaluated Insook and took home the Best Evaluator award.

Phyllis gave a great evaluation as the General Evaluator.

Business Session:

Youth speech contest (Lee and Phyllis will be judging).
TLI will be at Cannon School on Jan. 14. Need coordinator and other volunteers
Ken Miller announced and gave out Distinguished Area awards to Matthew Charity and Kim Jackson, past area governors. He also reiterated that Toastmasters can get a CC every year for every club you are a member of.
Nathan, 2nd time guest, said that guests are the lifeblood of a group. AMEN!
Reviewed next week's schedule
Reminder to be at the weekly meeting BY 8:15 if you have a role!

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Nov 26

2011-11-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

What a happy Thanksgiving weekend we enjoyed at Goldmine Toastmasters!

Phyllis stepped in as presiding officer to open up our meeting, while John Shepherd did an outstanding job as our Toastmaster for the Day, giving us great facts about Thanksgiving! Sonny shared this thought for the day: "Some people cause happiness wherever they go; and some people cause happiness whenever they go."

Sonny also stood in as our Table Topics Master, centering his questions mostly around names and Alex Porter. Speaking of Alex, he took the first table topic question, "If you could change your name, what would it be and why?" Alex decided he liked his name, then told us of his Uncle Dimple, who changed his name to his middle name (for obvious reasons).

Insook Lee answered the next question: "What name should Alex have instead of his own?" Insook "stole" Sonny's example, "Rice" to say that that name is a good multi-cultural name and would fit Alex well. So from now on, we'll call him "Rice Porter." Our guest (Phyllis' sis, Linda Schmickle) answered the question, "What has your best vacation been?" She said Hilton Head, where her and her sis used to go, but haven't been in awhile. Insook took home the Best Table Topic award.

Our speaker line up on this fabulous day, included Jessica Keyes, whose hilarious "technical" speech "Elf Training 101" had us all in stitches and watching for reindeer poo. Also, Serena Haneline finished her 10th speech in the Competent Communicator Manual titled, "Finding Courage in the Face of Fear." Her inspiring and soul-stirring speech earned her the Best Speaker Award.

The Best Evaluator award went to Betty Walker after she evaluated Serena Haneline so eloquently. Alex (er, I mean Rice) Porter also did a fine job evaluating Jessica Keyes.

Other roles today included Timer: Phyllis (who kept us all on time), Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Rajesh Gopalakrishna (first time Ballot Counter and did a great job), Jokemaster: Betty Walker (always one to make us laugh), Grammarian: Steve Boles (whose word of the day, "faze," had people so fazed, they forgot to use it!), and last but not least, General Evaluator: Mike Hall (first time as General Evaluator and did a FAB job!)

Business:

Reminder to go visit Jay in the hospital (or call or pray or send a card...something!)
Reminder of Matthew's leadership program for youth coming up in December
Hinds Feet Farm program on Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for those interested. Contact Jessica Keyes.
Dues are due last of December/first of January ($60)
Phyllis went over our Distinguished Club goals (need more members...hint, hint).
Jessica made a great suggestion: make copies of Competent Leader list and fill them out as you fill roles (can be working on two Competent Leaders per year)
Reviewed next week's meeting. Toastmaster will be Richard Archer. Please check the schedule and confirm your roles with Richard this week!

See you all next week!

November 19th, 2011

2011-11-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

Yet another "golden" opportunity was had by those attending our weekly Toastmasters Meeting.

Phyllis, whose voice is returning, gave us a simple, yet profound Thought of the Day! Next, Mr. Battermann (aka. retired Preacher Bill), steered us down the shaft as he performed his Toastmaster duties. He introduced Alex the Wordmaster who had us shopping everywhere to use the word of the day, kiosk. Then, Serena had such a funny joke that everyone roared. (May I have a copy please?) Matthew, our Timer did a splendid job of explaining his role to our guests, in a timely manner too! Serena (she deserves a raise) then filled us in on her Ah Bell/Ballot Counter roles.

On to Table Topics and who better to gobble the speakers up than Shyam. With a Thanksgiving theme, Alex, who ran out of turkey, would serve a hamburger or a log of salami. Jerry, being the leader of a dysfunctional colony in 1621, had quite the feast. Last but not least was Karen Boothe, 2nd time visitor, who could invite a famous person to her meal. There must be a disco ball in her dining room because John Travolta himself will be boogieing her way.

With 3 speakers, we were in for an action packed event. First was Phyllis, who gave us an impromptu speech about boomerang kids (they're back home after college).

Her evaluator was Jerry.

Next was shy Steve Boles who gave us the odds of being us rather than being struck by lightening or winning the lottery. If he fails to return, his ticket was 1 in a million! He was harassed, I mean evaluated by Richard.

Finally, I gave an abstract concept speech on customer service. For those of you brave enough to shop on Friday, fill out those surveys about the happy workers you encounter that day. My evaluator, mentor and friend was Mrs. Betty Walker!

John Shepherd brought some class to the day (we were lacking but boy did we laugh) by being our General Evaluator.

Best Table Topics -Mr. Salami, Alex Porter

Best Speaker - Shy Steve Boles

Best Evaluator - The Divine Betty Walker

"ah Stick" - Bill BATTERMANN, BEING THE GENTLEMAN TOASTMASTER THAT HE IS, FORCED HIMSELF TO WIN THIS AWARD. Thank You Bill

Misc. Notes:

Our other guest was Rishi Narayan, whose favorite part of the meeting was watching Steve Boles!

Alex was congratulated on his District Level speech!

1 - 2 judges are needed at 7:00pm on Monday, December 5th for the 7th & 8th grade contest by the Soil & Water Conservation Group. See Joyce for details.

Matthew is planning a Youth Leadership Program and would welcome some support.

Yes Virginia, there is a meeting on Christmas Eve (voted at the meeting) so do let Phyllis know if you are not available to be on the schedule.

Do keep Jay and his family in your thoughts and prayers and have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving,

Your Pres. - Joyce

Goldmine Meeting Report

2011-11-12T15:26:00.000-08:00

Goldmine Toastmasters:

With only eight members today, we managed a good meeting in front of THREE guests: Logan Burchette (who invited his friend, Nathan Taylor), and Karen Boothe.

Many thanks to Al Minter, Toastmaster of the Day, who filled all roles despite low numbers.

John Shepherd shared his thought for the day, even posting said thought on the lectern: "More Wag, Less Bark."

Serena Haneline shared a joke, and Rajesh Gopalakrishna served as our timer for the first time, doing a fabulous job with no trip-ups!

Betty Walker, serving two roles as Grammarian AND Table Topics Master, took off with the word of the day, "wrest," as she shared her very creative table topic questions. The theme was: It is 3011 and a time capsule has been opened from the year 2011. What were these items used for 100 years ago (in 2011)?

Shyam went first with his object (a mouse pad). However, he mixed it up and said it had to be something they moved furniture with!
Then our guest, Nathan, had some insights into a paperweight with a Chinese symbol (something to store some kind of liquid, from another race, perhaps?)
Serena shared her thoughts on the words "Table Topics," which, according to her, was some archaic term used by the Toastmasters cult to describe impromptu speaking.
Karen, our guest, shared her thoughts on an interestingly shaped MP3 player. She said it must have been a tiny drum with a speaker.
Logan, our guest, had to describe a cassette case. As he took out the papers inside, he said they must have tied those papers to a tiny winged creature and the plastic case was where he was put (but it could have been a torture chamber for said winged creature). Hilarious!
Jerry shared his insight into why it was good for Concord for Big Foot to come through the town and rearrange the buildings and Scott Padgett, Concord's mayor, to be missing. He said it was good for taxes, as everything Scott does is good for taxes.

The winner of the Table Topics was Logan, our guest, who was absent when the awards were given. Nathan, his friend, took his award to give to him.

Our speakers for the day included Richard Archer, who spoke from CC #2, "Confessions of a Golfaholic" about the pros and cons of golfing. His evaluator was Shyam Narayan.

Joyce Preston spoke from AC, "Speaking to Inform," a speech titled, "Is Cursive Becoming a Curse?" Her speech wrested some strong opinions on whether or not school kids should or should not be taught cursive writing. Her evaluator was John Shepherd.

The Best Speaker Award went to Richard Archer.
The Best Evaluator Award went to John Shepherd.

Jerry Weikle evaluated our meeting as General Evaluator and Betty gave her Grammarian report, noting only our guest, Karen, who said the word of the day.

All guests were interested in our meeting. Nathan came not even knowing exactly what kind of group he was coming to, until he read the newcomers packet and realized we were a speaking club! Karen said she would be back for sure!

Joyce gave a reminder of an upcoming TLI in January that will be held at Cannon School in Concord (date and more information to come later). Also, can't wait to hear the results of the District 37 Humorous Speech Contest where Alex Porter is participating!

Our meeting ended a little late, but the "Ah" stick award had to be given out. Except today it was the "So" stick award as four members were caught saying that little word over and over. But no one said it quite as much as our beloved President, Joyce Preston! Congratulations on the "So" stick award!

**May want to give a note of encouragement to Jay Nodine, who is still ailing, and to Kim Jackson, who was in a car accident but has been "divinely" spared and is only suffering a broke rib and some soreness!

NOTE: Bill is Toastmaster next week, so check out the Nov. schedule Phyllis gave out and if you have a role, please confirm with him. Also, if you want a role, please let him know!

Saturday, Nov. 5 OPEN HOUSE

2011-11-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

Goldmine Toastmaster's Open House

Guests: Logan Burchette and Doug Staucher

Much thanks for Open House coordinator and Toastmaster of the day, Jerry Weikle! Great job making this day a success!

Joyce Preston started the meeting as Presiding Officer, followed by Sonny Tolbert who shared a Thought of the Day about the value of Toastmasters.

Richard Archer shared a joke, Insook Lee took on the role of Grammarian, listening for the word of the day, "decorum." Shyam Narayan rang the bell as the Ah Bell/Ballot Counter. And Bill Batterman took on the role of Timer.

Table Topics, led by Mr. "Ain't Right" Alex Porter, gave an array of table topic questions. The first speaker, Serena Haneline, talked about what Toastmasters has done for her. Rajesh Gopalakrishna told about an "act of kindness" he has experienced at Goldmine Toastmasters. Kim Jackson, the first "patient" at "Ain't Right Psychiatry," had to say what she saw in this picture. What she saw, a creature roaming about in her house, made her jump on her chair! Alex's second patient, John Shepherd, had to do the same, as the picture was turned upside down (or right side up?). His interpretation included a critter as well, except this one was in the woods and he and Richard were running away from it (John's goal being to stay in front of Richard!)

The winner of the Table Topics was John Shepherd.

Matthew Charity shared his Toastmaster journey speech, aptly titled, "The Journey," to show the guests his anxiety when he first started Toastmasters and how it is indeed a journey to more confidence, better communicator and more!

Al Minter evaluated Matthew on this speech. Betty Walker evaluated the meeting as General Evaluator. Overall the meeting was a great success. Our guests were very interested and may return next week. Be on the lookout for them if you are present next week and make them feel welcome.

Reminder: Next week is the District 37 Fall Conference in Fayetteville, NC. Several of our members will be there, as will our Division Humorous Speech Winner, our very own Alex Porter! We wish him the best.

Al Minter is next meeting's Toastmaster. If you don't have a role, please sign up for one by emailing Al this week!

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Oct. 29

2011-10-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

This week's meeting was small but fun, as usual!

Shyam did a great job as Toastmaster, filling all roles with so few members.
Phyllis not only was the Presiding Officer, she also shared a Thought of the Day and filled in as Timer.
Al Minter shared with us a joke as Jokemaster. Grammarian for the day was Rajesh Gopalakrishna and Ah Bell/Ballot Counter was Jessica Keyes.

Table Topics Master, Steve Boles, asked some diverse table topic questions:
1- If $$ were no object, what kind of car would you drive? Al Minter told us either a Lamborghini (for speed and youth) or a Rolls Royce (as a symbol of wealth).
2- What was your most memorable sports team-related memory? John Shepherd's answer was the Brooklyn Dodgers (a grassroots team that represents the masses).
3- Dogs or cats? Which is your favorite and why? Jessica Keyes told us about her favorite, which is neither a dog or cat, but a skink (half lizard, half snake). Not "skank," but "skink"
4- What would you like to protest and why? Shyam Narayan said he would protest taxes on lemonade stands via online blogs, Facebook, etc.
Winner: Jessica Keyes

Lee Johnson shared about his dog Harley in a speech evaluated by Mike Hall (first time evaluator) who did a great job evaluating Lee.
Richard Archer's speech "The Few, the Proud..." the GPSless had us all in stitches. John Shepherd (who is "pro-GPS" evaluated Richard's speech.
Best Speaker: Richard
Best Evaluator: John

Serena Haneline, General Evaluator, evaluated the meeting, suggesting that Table Topic Masters make sure they choose members with no roles or smaller roles first.

There were no guests. The "Ah" stick went to Mike Hall.
Some business reminders:

Goldmine Pride Basket for Fall Conference (accepting contributions of materials or money (please bring to next meeting, Nov. 5)
Jay Nodine in hospital (NorthEast, Room #4444) He would love visitors!
Open House, Nov. 5. Invite people: We need to reach our new members goals for Distinguished Club!

Saturday, October 22, 2011, at the Goldmine

2011-10-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Kinetic: having much high-spirited energy. Our "Word of the Day" aptly described our meeting this morning! President Joyce Preston enthusiastically greeted 18 members, including our newest member, Rajesh Gopalakrishnan, who inspired us with his thought of the day.

Alex Porter, fresh off his 1st place win at the Area 24 Humorous Speech Contest, took the reigns as Toastmaster and capably led our meeting-- even while wearing mismatched socks.
Jovial Joyce shared a joke which will make us all think twice about going to B-u-r-g-e-r K-i-n-g
and Grammarian and Wordmaster John Shepherd introduced our word of the day, kinetic, which was communicated far more in our behavior than it was used in our sentences. Jay Nodine handled the Ah Bell/Ballot Counting duties and Jerry Weikle manned the timing lights.

Santa Sam Mullis focused on a different holiday with his table topics theme: Halloween. Based on their responses, it seems Sonny Tolbert needs no mask, Phyllis Kombol can't bear to cut in to an innocent gourd, Steve Boles is a personal friend of Dracula, Insook Lee is confident humor and fright don't translate across cultures, and Lee Johnston is not a fan (of Halloween).

We welcomed Al Minter back to our circle of friends and enjoyed his educational and inspirational speech, "Characteristics of Leaders." Jessica Keyes and Mike Hall presented a tandem speech, working together to "Sell a Product," in this case, Lyndt chocolate. The speech and the samples were both outstanding!

Betty Walker evaluated Al Minter; Kim Jackson evaluated Jessica Keyes, and Joyce Preston evaluated Mike Hall. Wordmaster John Shepherd reported on the lack of use of our word of the day, but our stellar use other words and phrases. General Evaluator Shyam Narayan gave the meeting excellent reviews.

Everyone who participated in a timed role qualified for voting. Ballot Counter Jay Nodine awarded Best Table Topics to Insook Lee; Best Speech to Al Minter; Best Evaluator to Joyce Preston and Ah Stick to Mike Hall.

Shyam Narayan will be Toastmaster of the Day for our meeting on October 29th. Please make every effort to support his leadership next week. Several members will be absent in order to attend the Division B Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest which is being held in Hickory at 9:30 a.m. Alex Porter will be representing Goldmine in the Humorous Speech Contest. Sonny Tolbert will be "waiting in the wings" in case the first place winner in our area contest is unable to compete in the Evaluation portion of the contest.

Phyllis Kombol distributed fliers for our Open House on November 5th and encouraged each member to personally invite friends, co-workers, and family members as well as use emails and social media to get the word out so we'll have a good turn out of guests for our Open House.

The meeting officially concluded at 10:06 a.m., but the kinetic conversation continued.

Submitted by Kim Jackson using Jerry Weikle's meeting minutes.

Saturday, October 15th at the Goldmine

2011-10-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

October 15th proved to be a fine time to have a Toastmaster meeting at the mine. Our visitors included Nikki Lee (2nd visit), Preston Porter (Alex's son) and guest (Courtney), and Christina Darnell, a freelance writer contributing to the Charlotte Observer. Kudos Matthew!

Phyllis took the helm and introduced our Grammarian, Jerry, Ah Bell/Ballot Counter, Jay Johnson, Timer, Richard Archer, Jokemaster, Matthew Charity and Daily Thinker, John Shepherd. What a start!

Jay Nodine strolled down (and up) memory lane as he presented Table Topics in a Timely

Manner.

Contestants Jay Johnson - What do you think of Daylight Savings Time? (winner)

Jerry Weikle - Time Travels

Nikki Lee - How do you find time?

Rajesh entertained us with his Ice Breaker and Triple Play ( his life in India, Austrailia and USA)

Serena vividly encouraged us to recycle as she completed CC #9 (they grow up so fast!)(Winner)

Alex practiced his humorous contest, which really paid off as he took 1st place on Tuesday!

John Shepherd and I, under the direction of our Master Evaluator, Betty Walker, evaluated Serena and Rajesh respectively. Everyone added tips to Alex's speech.

The meeting closed as we bid a fond farewell to Jay Johnson (but not goodbye) who's flying south for the winter.

Thanks for a SPOOKTACULAR meeting!

Joyce

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Oct. 8

2011-10-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Presiding Officer: Phyllis Kombol
Toastmaster: Sonny Tolbert
Thought of the Day: Serena Haneline
Jokemaster: Jay Nodine
Grammarian: Rajesh Gopalakrishna
Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Matthew Charity
Timer: Sam Mullis
General Evaluator: Betty Walker

Table Topics Master: Jerry Weikle

FIRST TIME GUEST: Nikki Lee

Table Topics Theme: Events/Holidays
1st Speaker: Jay Nodine - What does Columbus Day mean to you?
2nd: Insook Lee - If you were a Canadian, how would you celebrate Thanksgiving?
3rd: John Shepherd - Oct. 31 is Halloween, what costume are you going to wear?
4th: Betty Walker - All Saint's Day: Who are the saints the day is named after and why?
5th: Matthew Charity - If you won tickets to see the Saints vs. the Panthers, would you go?

Table Topics Winner: Betty Walker

Prepared Speakers:
1- Shyam Narayan: From Humorously Speaker AC, "How to Get that Elusive Meeting"
2- Phyllis Kombol: From Entertaining Speaker AC, "ATC: The Techno Cat"

Best Speaker: Phyllis

Evaluators:
1- John Shepherd evaluated Shyam
2- Insook Lee evaluated Phyllis

Best Evaluator: John

Ah Stick Winner: Sonny Tolbert

Business:

Reminder of Area Contest on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at Cannon School
Have two out of ten Distinguished Club Program Goals
Nov. 5 is Open House: Invite a friend, coworker, etc.!! We need three new members!
Reviewed next week's schedule: Toastmaster is Phyllis. If you can take a role, please contact her!

Goldmine Humorous and Evaluation Contest - Oct. 1, 2011

2011-10-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

Fellow Toastmasters;

Bravo to one and all for a fabulous contest day at the Goldmine! We were exhilarated, evaluated and entertained as Alex won top prize for the Speech Contest and Sonny won 1st place in the Evaluation Contest. Kudos to Matthew (2nd place - Humorous), Joyce (2nd place - Evaluation), as well as to contestants Alex, and Bill (who will be giving tongue twister classes upon his retirement).

Thank You - Jay and Betty - a punctual job well done

- Serena and Rajesh - can't bribe these ballot counters

- Sam - Sergeant at Arms (Mae West would be proud)

-Jessica - always ready lo lend a hand

- Jerry - a 1st time judge who picked some great winners

-John - a poised, polished and professional Toastmaster - a class act

-Phyllis - Our Contest Master who certainly mastered the task at hand

Special Mention to Saint Willie for her artistic talent and Jay for his guidance, leadership and overall dedication to Goldmine and life. We love you Nodines.

Joyce Preston

Goldmine President

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Sept. 24

2011-09-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

Members in attendance: Tony Hinson, Bill Batterman, John Shepherd, Betty Walker, Serena Haneline, Jerry Weikle, Insook Lee, Sonny Tolbert, Matthew Charity, Phyllis Kombol, and Sam Mullis
Guest: Calvin Duncan
New Member: Rajesh Gopalakrishna

Roles:
Presiding Officer: Phyllis
Toastmaster: Tony
Thought of the Day: Bill
Jokemaster: Sam
Grammarian: Calvin Duncan
Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Insook
Timer: Serena

Table Topics Master: John Shepherd

Speakers:
1.Bill Batterman: Why do married folks begin to look alike?
2. Rajesh: Why does summer zoom by and winter drags on?
3. Serena Haneline: Why does the line you get in seem like the longest?

Prepared Speeches:
1. Betty Walker: AC, Humorously Speaking "Big Hair, Polyester, and Bell Bottom Pants"
2. Matthew Charity: AC, Entertaining Speaking, "The Post Office is Always Hiring"
3. Sonny Tolbert: CC, 42, "Rosco"

Evaluations:
1. Phyllis evaluated Betty
2. Jerry evaluated Matthew
3. Sam evaluated Sonny

All speakers and evaluators qualified

BEST TABLE TOPICS SPEAKER: Bill Batterman
BEST SPEAKER:Matthew Charity
BEST EVALUATOR:Phyllis Kombol
"AH" STICK: None

Business Session:

Reviewed Humorous and Evaluation Contests agenda next week

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Sept. 17

2011-09-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

Accidentally skipped posting this week! Sorry!

Members in attendance: Sam Mullis, Serena Haneline, Jessica Keyes, Mike Hall, Jay Nodine, Steve Boles, Jerry Weikle, Alex Porter, Joyce Preston, Sonny Tolbert, Insook Lee, Matthew Charity, Kim Jackson, Richard Archer, and Bill Batterman.
Guest: Rajesh Gopalakrishna

Roles:
Presiding Officer: Joyce
Toastmaster: Sam
Thought of the Day: Alex
Jokemaster: Richard
Grammarian: Sonny
Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Jerry
Timer: Alex

Table Topics Master: Joyce
Theme: "You have Won a Nobel Prize!"
Speakers:
1. Insook: Acceptance speech for Nobel Prize for tap dancing
2. Rajesh: Acceptance speech for Nobel Prize for window-washing
3. Steve: Acceptance speech for Nobel Prize for underwater photography

Prepared Speeches:
1. Serena: CC, #8, "How to Tackle Your Paper Mountains"
2. Kim: AC, Humorously Speaking, "A Tale of Tea Bags and Toothbrushes"
3. Mike: CC, #2, "RC Racing Is Fun"

Evaluations:
1. Richard evaluated Serena
2. Matthew evaluated Kim
3. Jay evaluated Mike

Kim and Matthew were disqualified.

BEST TABLE TOPICS SPEAKER: Steve Boles
BEST SPEAKER: Serena Haneline
BEST EVALUATOR: Richard Archer
"AH" STICK: Jay Nodine

Business Session:

Reviewed contests (local, area, division)
Congrats on Bill Batterman's retirement
"Goldmineathon" - Need to raise funds to purchase a new banner with new logo (asking $5-10 a member)
Reviewed next week's schedule

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, Sept. 10

2011-09-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is quite late...I do need some help with posting the minutes on here, so if anyone is willing to help, please let me know!

Members in attendance:
1. Joyce Preston
2. Phyllis Kombol
3. Bill Batterman
4. Insook Lee
5. Sonny Tolbert
6. Lee Johnston
7. Jay Nodine
8. Kim Jackson
9. Serena Haneline
10. John Shepherd
11. Sam Mullis
12. Jerry Weikle

We had two guests: Laura Porter and Rajesh.

The roles:
Presiding Officer: Joyce
Toastmaster: Jerry
Thought of the Day: Phyllis
Phyllis shared a very poignant thought after revealing that a 19-year-old young woman she knew had died: "Stop living in a past that is gone and a tomorrow that is yet to come. Life is only this place, this time, this breath--right now. Cherish this day! We are none of us promised tomorrow."

Ah Bell Ballot Counter: Sam
Timer: Jay
Jokemaster: Kim
Grammarian: Kim

Table Topics Master: John
Table Topics were centered on "USA Today" sections
Table Topic Speakers:
1- Lee Johnston: "Have you been tempted to run for office/which office?"
2- Sonny Tolbert: "Are you worried, confident, or indifferent about the world economy?"
3- Insook Lee: "Do you have a life secret or what keeps you motivated?"
4- Rajesh: "How techie are you? Or are you stuck in the analog age?"
5- Sam Mullis: "What is one subject you feel strongly?"

Prepared Speakers:
1. Joyce Preston: Spoke form "Speaking to Inform" Advanced Manual, #3, "Reading a Wine Menu."
2. Laura Porter: Guest speaker from United Way of Rowan, "Times Two Mentoring" program

Evaluators:
1. Bill Batterman
2. Phyllis Kombol

Business Session:

Joyce gave reminder of email outlining the upcoming events/meetings
Announcement: WE NEED MORE CONTESTANTS FOR HUMOROUS SPEECH AND EVALUATION CONTESTS!!!!
Reviewed next week's meeting roles

AWARDS:
Best Table Topics: Insook
Best Speaker: Joyce
Best Evaluator: Phyllis
"Ah" Stick: Bill

Meeting adjourned at 10:08 a.m.

Goldmine Meeting Report

2011-09-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

Attending:

Guests: Lee Reith

Serena Haneline
Alex Porter
Jerry Weikle
Jessica Keyes
Mike Hall
Phyllis Hernandez
John Shepherd
Joyce Preston
Bill Batterman
Steve Boles
Sonny Tolbert
Insook Lee
Jay Nodine
Matthew Charity

Presiding Officer was Joyce Preston

Toastmaster: Serena Haneline

Other Roles:

Thought of the Day: Jay Nodine

Jokemaster: Matthew Charity

Timer: Insook Lee

Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Joyce Preston

Grammarian: Mike Hall

Table Topics Master: Alex Porter

Table Topics Contestants:

Matthew Charity: Spoke on his (lack of) plans for Labor Day

Joyce Preston: Spoke on what to tell an 18-year-old who is confused about whether or not to vote.

Insook Lee: Spoke on an act of kindness witnessed (or not witnessed)

BEST TABLE TOPIC SPEAKER: Insook Lee

Prepared Speakers:

Bill Batterman: (A 5-7 minute speech from the “Speaking to Inform” manual. Title: “Which Card?”)

Jessica Keyes: (A 10-12 minute speech from the “Speech by Management” manual. Title: “Let's Prepare for the Expo.”)

Jerry Weikle: (A 5-7 minute speech from the “Competent Communicator” manual, Project #9. Title: “Help Cure Knock-Knee Syndrome.”)

BEST SPEAKER: Bill Batterman

General Evaluator: Phyllis Hernandez

Evaluators:

Steve Boles evaluated Bill Batterman.

Sonny Tolbert evaluated Jessica Keyes.

John Shepherd evaluated Jerry Weikle.

BEST EVALUATOR: John Shepherd

“AH” STICK AWARD: Bill Batterman

Business Session:

Congrats to Matthew Charity on his performance at the Comedy Zone.
Announcements:

Elder Orphan Care Christmas Shoeboxes (Serena). Kim Jackson's ministry, Elder Orphan Care, is collecting items for shoeboxes. For more information, email Serena.
Bill Batterman's retirement service will be Sunday, Sept. 11. For more information, email Bill.
Toastmasters at the Lake (Jessica) are in need of a target speaker for their evaluation contest on Sept. 22nd at 11:45 a.m.
Olde Countrie Fair (Phyllis) will be at All Saints Episcopal on Sept. 10. For more information, email Phyllis.

Area Council meeting will be on Sept. 10 after our regular meeting
Sept. 15: PGT's open house
Oct. 1: Goldmine Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contests
Oct. 18: Area Contest
Oct. 29: Division Contest
Nov. 12: District Contest (at Fall conference)

Meeting ended at 10:15 a.m.

Goldmine Meeting Report

2011-08-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Al Minter for taking the minutes at the Saturday, August 27 Goldmine meeting!

Attending:

1. Sam Mullis

2. Shyam Narayan

3. Alex Porter

4. Jerry Weikle

5. Jessica Keyes

6. John Shepherd

7. Al Minter

8. Jay Nodine

9. Brian Woolf

10. Joyce Preston

11. Insook Lee

12. Matthew Charity

13. Mike Hall

Guest: Jeff Lippard from High Energy Toastmasters

Presiding Officer was President Joyce Preston

Toastmaster: Sam Mullis

Other Roles:

· Thought of the Day: Matthew Charity

· Jokemaster: Sam Mullis

· Timer: Jessica Keyes

· Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Joyce Preston

· Grammarian: John Shepherd

Table Topics Master: Mike Hall

Table Topics Contestants:

Al Minter: spoke for2:06 minutes on Plane or Train?
Jeff Lippard: Spoke for 1:19 minutes on Where would you travel?
Joyce Preston: Spoke for 2:12 minutes on Most memorable trip?

BEST TABLE TOPIC SPEAKER: Joyce Preston

Prepared Speakers:

Shyam Narayan: (A 5-7 minute speech. Title: “The Door is Not Locked.” Time: 7:13-Disqualified)
Brian Woolf: (A 5-7 minute speech. Title: “Price of Success.” Time: 6:38
Alex Porter: (A 5-7 minute speech. Title: “Uncle Nal and His LET” Time: 4:28)

BEST SPEAKER: Brian Woolf

General Evaluator: Insook Lee

Evaluators:

Matthew Charity evaluated Shyam Narayan. Time: 2:13
Jay Nodine evaluated Brian Woolf. Time: 2:49
Jerry Weikle evaluated Alex Porter: Time: 2:53

BEST EVALUATOR: Jerry Weikle

“AH” STICK AWARD: Mike Hall AND Al Minter

Business Session:

Matthew Charity will be at the Comedy Zone on Tuesday, August 30 in uptown Charlotte. There is no admission charge.
Humorous and Evaluation contests are approaching
Fall conference is Nov. 11, 2011 in Fayetteville, NC
Reviewed next week's schedule

Meeting ended at 10:00 a.m.

Goldmine Meeting Report - Saturday, August 20

2011-08-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to Past Secretary Jerry Weikle for taking the minutes at the Saturday, August 20 Goldmine meeting!

Attending:

1. Richard Archer

2. Betty Walker

3. Lee Johnston

4. Insook Lee

5. Bill Batterman

6. Jerry Weikle

7. Sonny Tolbert

8. Kim Jackson

9. Jay Nodine

10. Alex Porter

11. John Shepherd

12. Shyam Narayan

13. Sam Mullis

14. Phyllis Kombol

Presiding Officer was Phyllis Kombol. Thanks for stepping up Phyllis!

Toastmaster: Shyam Narayan

Other Roles:

· Thought of the Day: Sam Mullis

· Jokemaster: Jay Nodine

· Timer: Sonny Tolbert

· Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Betty Walker

· Grammarian: Alex Porter

Table Topics Master: John Shepherd

Table Topics Contestants:

Phyllis Kombol: Spoke for 1:31 minutes on which is more important: intelligence or common sense?
Jay Nodine: Talked for 31 seconds on “if you could do something dangerous, without harm, what would it be?”
Sonny Tolbert: Spoke for 58 seconds on the topic: “would you rather live a week in the past or the future?”

BEST TABLE TOPIC SPEAKER: Phyllis Kombol

Prepared Speakers:

Lee Johnston: (A 5-7 minute speech from the “Entertaining Speech” manual. Title: “Harley.” Time: 6:02)
Jerry Weikle: (A 5-6 minute speech from Competent Communicator manual, #8. The title: “Can You Save a Few Pounds?” Time: 6:43)
Kim Jackson: (A 5-7 minutes speech from the “Humorous Speech” manual. Title: “Case of the Missing Husband.” Time: 6:58)

BEST SPEAKER: Kim Jackson

General Evaluator: Bill Batterman

Evaluators:

Sam Mullis evaluated Lee Johnston. Time: 3:20
Richard Archer evaluated Jerry Weikle. Time: 2:04
Insook Lee evaluated Kim Jackson. Time: 3:05

BEST EVALUATOR: Richard Archer

“AH” STICK AWARD: Lee Johnston

Business Session:

Reminder about dues increase ($60/quarter). Give all dues to Sonny Tolbert as soon as possible so that dues can be paid to Toastmasters International.
New letterhead, new color scheme/logo unveiled from Toastmasters International. Check out their website at: http://www.toastmasters.org/.

Goldmine Meeting Report

2011-08-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Goldmine is back!! With 18 members present and two guests, we were ROCKIN' today! Woohoo!

Our Presiding Officer today was the illustrious Joyce Preston. Insook Lee took over as Toastmaster and did a wonderful job!)

Other roles:

Grammarian: Mike Hall (first time in this role, I think? He did a great job, even though he (barely) beat Jay Nodine out of the "Uh" Stick Award!
Timer: Jerry Weikle
Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Serena Haneline
Thought of the Day: Bill Batterman (delivered a serious thought on not being content to just give charity to the poor, but be willing to help to end poverty.
Jokemaster: Richard Archer (great joke: "I don't have no crayons")

Table Topics Master: Phyllis Kombol
Table Topics Theme: Phyllis kids going back to college

Table Topics Speaker 1: Kim Jackson: Spoke for 1:54 on the last time she moved (which was to Concord, NC and waiting on her luggage that was on the other side of the planet)
Table Topics Speaker 2: Lee Johnston: Spoke for 1:34 on what Phyllis' college-aged kids are doing in their rooms (when he was that age, he was milking cows)
Table Topics Speaker 3: Betty Walker: Talked for 1:30 on what she would do if she worked in a Halloween store
Table Topics Speaker 4: Jay Nodine: Talked for 1:21 on what Phyllis' kids learn in college that she can't teach them (it was an eloquent minute and 20 on Jay as a kid not being allowed to open the basement door (lo and behold, he was IN the basement, go figure).

BEST TABLE TOPICS AWARD: Betty Walker!!

Speaker 1: Alex Porter (Title: "A Blast from the Past" in AC Storytelling, Project #2). Great story-telling about a cannon breaking windows in the back alley of a pharmacy in downtown Concord 40+ years ago! Shhh, it's still a secret!
Speaker 2: Sonny Tolbert (Title: "Fear and Greed" in AC #3). Shared about the stock market; the fear and greed that drives it both up and down and what we can do when it plummets.
Speaker 3: Joyce Preston (Title: "You're Killing Me" in AC Speaking to Inform #2). Joyce shared from her experience the dangers of food-borne bacteria and ways we can be safe when we cook.

*Unfortunately, both Alex and Joyce went over their time. Alex by 10 seconds and Joyce by 47 seconds.
BEST SPEAKER AWARD: Sonny Tolbert (even if it was by default!)

General Evaluator: John Shepherd

Evaluator 1: Jessica Keyes evaluated Alex Porter (time: 3:20)
Evaluator 2: Brian Woolf evaluated Sonny Tolbert (time: 2:55)
Evaluator 3: Tony Hinson evaluated Joyce Preston (time: 3:12)

BEST EVALUATOR AWARD: Tony Hinson!

It was great to have guests, Tim Edwards, our new Area 24 Governor, and Curtis Treece from People Growing Together Toastmasters in Salisbury. Curtis gathered some tips to take back to his Toastmaster group. Tim gave a plug for the annual District 37 camping trip.

Other Business:

Tim Edwards announced that Sonny Tolbert will be the chairman of the Area Council (which is a "meeting of the minds" in which area presidents and VPs of education attend. Other officers are welcome to attend.)
Jay Nodine handed out a Financial Report and made a motion to increase the Goldmine dues to $60/quarter and the new member dues to $20 educational material fee plus $60 member fee (TM International has raised yearly dues and the hotel costs have risen). The motion was seconded by Brian Woolf and was passed by a unanimous vote.
Jay would like for those members who can to pay their dues early (before October 1).
Joyce announced the rebranding of Toastmasters International (new logo, new color scheme, new marketing/advertising plans, etc.) The rebrand will go public on August 17 at the national convention.
Jessica Keyes announced she has inventory from the Toastmasters bookstore that has the old logo that she needs to sell.
An officer's meeting was held after the meeting, in which Tim Edwards attended.

The meeting ended at 10:15 a.m. Minutes were prepared by Serena Haneline, Secretary.

Goldmine Meeting Report

2011-08-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today's meeting may have been sparse, but it was big on laughter.
The following members were present and had the following roles:

President Joyce Preston: Presiding Officer and Thought of the Day AND Evaluator
Alex Porter: Toastmaster AND Timer
Steve Boles: Jokemaster and Ah Bell/Ballot Counter
Jay Nodine: Table Topics Master and Evaluator
Sam Mullis: General Evaluator and Grammarian
Shyam Narayan: Speaker 1
Serena Haneline: Speaker 2
Insook Lee: Speaker 3
Jay Nodine: Evaluator 1
Sonny Tolbert: Evaluator 2
Joyce Preston: Evaluator 3

Table Topics Theme: Favorites
Table Topic Speakers:

Steve Boles spoke eloquently about his favorite meal (of course he was given a few minutes to "think hard" about his topic as Alex figured out he didn't have a stopwatch. Jay came to the rescue with an extra one, as did Sonny with his cell phone as backup.
Joyce Preston talked about her favorite vacation (also given a minute to think as Alex messed up the stopwatch and Jay fixed it)
Sam Mullis spoke about his favorite movie
Sonny Tolbert talked about his favorite place to be

Table Topics Winner: Steve Boles

Speakers of the Day:

Shyam Narayan's speech was out of the Advance Communicator manual, "Persuasive Speaking," Project #2. His title was "Getting to the Proposal." He had a 3-5 minute speech, followed by a 5-7 minute role play, and a 3-5 minute question and answer section.
Serena Haneline's speech was speech #7 out of the Competent Communication manual "Research Your Topic." Her speech was titled, "Hold On a Minute, Got to Get My Phone."
Insook Lee's speech came from the Advanced manual, "The Entertaining Speaker," Project #2. Her speech title was "Some Challenging Moments in Teaching"

All speeches qualified.
Best Speaker Award: Insook Lee (for a very entertaining speech!)

Evaluators:

Jay Nodine evaluated Shyam Narayan
Sonny Tolbert evaluated Serena Haneline
Joyce Preston evaluated Insook Lee

Jay was disqualified for going over time by 17 seconds
Best Evaluator Award: Joyce Preston (of course, doesn't she ALWAYS win Best Evaluator?)

Ah Stick Award: Sam Mullis

Business:
Next week (August 13), Tim Edwards, Area 24 Governor, will be in attendance. There will also be an Officer Meeting next week (Aug. 13). Reminder of the humorous and evaluation speech contests coming up. If you are interested, get a speech ready!

Next weeks' Toastmaster Schedule (please let Toastmaster know if you confirm your roles):
Toastmaster: Insook Lee
Thought of the Day: Bill Batterman
Jokemaster: Richard Archer
Grammarian: Mike Hall
Ah Bell/Ballot Counter: Serena Haneline
Timer: Jerry Weikle
Table Topics Master: Miles Moody
Speaker 1: Alex Porter
Speaker 2: Sonny Tolbert
Speaker 3: Joyce Preston
Backup Speaker: Lee Johnston
Master Evaluator: John Shepherd
Evaluator 1: Jessica Keyes
Evaluator 2: Brian Woolf
Evaluator 3: Tony Hinson

(Absent: Sam Mullis, Kim Jackson)

The Blog is Being REVIVED!

2011-07-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

As the 2011-2012 Secretary of Goldmine Toastmasters, I am reviving this blog to post the minutes of our weekly meetings. If you miss a meeting (or several), and want to know what happened, come here first and read all about it!

I will try not to make them boring, but I'm not promising they'll be as crafty as Kim's were! Please subscribe to the blog or sign up via email so that you won't be missing out on any of our exciting Goldmine extravaganzas every Saturday morning!

If anyone has the urge to help me in keeping this blog up-to-date, please let me know! Also, please feel free to leave comments on here as well.

Thanks!

News from the Goldmine, July 31, 2010

2010-07-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

"I do believe we are on a roll of delectation," quipped Betty Walker. The 18 Goldmine Toastmasters present this morning would whole heartedly agree that we lived our word of the day -- delectation: delight, enjoyment.

President Sonny Tolbert presided over what turned out to be a veritable laughing and learning lab. Sam Mullis, Thought of the Day presenter, challenged us with this profound statement: "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is facing some kind of battle." After the Pledge of Allegiance, Toastmaster of the Day, Bill Battermann, ACG, (A Classy Guy), announced his theme for the day, "Be Kind to Politicians," and we were off to the races....or polls!

Jokemaster Jennie Brasefield presented a compelling case for naming your dog something other than "Coldwater," and Wordmaster Phyllis Kombol enthusiastically introduced both her role and the word of the day: delectation. Richard Archer recognized each "ah" with a ring of the bell, and timer Al Minter kept the meeting on proper pace.

Betty Walker and her Table Topics participants nearly brought the house down with her excellent questions and their exaggerated responses. Let's just say that if a cheerful heart is good medicine, we all had our prescriptions filled today! Her theme, reminiscent of our recent Tall Tales Contest, was "Nothing But Lies." Richard Archer described his "Most Beautiful Day," with a fabricated fish tale; Beth Long had us all "in stitches" as she described the hearts she has broken (she and Freddie had matching freckles and buck teeth, by the way). And now we know that Shyam Narayan would reinvent himself as Ironman/Airforce fighter pilot if he left his current consulting career. Who knew? John Shepherd creatively invented a routine day...as the husband of Oprah Winfrey. We were amazed to hear about Oprah's athletic prowess! Matthew Charity, who thought he had ordered cucumbers seeds, actually received magic beans, and my, the garden he grew! Too bad his Momma thought he was stealing veggies from the neighbors and gave him a spanking... (I hope you all are planning to compete in our upcoming Humorous Speech Contest on August 28th!)

We barely had a chance to catch our breath from all those giggles and guffaws when it was time to hear from our speakers of the day. Miles Moody presented a captivating speech entitled "Nature's Angels," from the project "How to Say It." His word pictures were outstanding as was his use of simile and metaphor. Well done, Miles! And we're glad you're taking aim with camera now, not a shotgun!

Kim Jackson's presentation was "Speaking Off the Cuff," from the advanced manual "Specialty Speeches." This project required her to give her evaluator, Alex Porter, five general topics from which he chose one for her to use for the theme of her speech. Kim developed a thought-provoking presentation from the word "time."

After a brief recess, our evaluation process began with Master Evaluation Lee Johnston leading the charge. Joyce Preston gave an encouraging and helpful evaluation of Miles Moody's presentation. Alex Porter evaluated Kim Jackson's presentation and made several good points worth noting. Instant evaluation is one of the best things about Toastmasters, so thank you, Evaluators!

During the Wordmaster's report, Phyllis Kombol, (who likes to play with words, especially polysyllabic ones) referenced a wonderful resource: the Visual Thesaurus. She also reminded us that in our journey to become better communicators we need to listen for times our tongues become lazy.

During the business portion of our program it was decided to hold our Humorous Speech/Evaluation Contest during our regular club meeting time on Saturday, August 28. If you would like to compete or participate in other ways, see Sonny, Jay or Joyce.

Kim Jackson will be Toastmaster of the Day for our next meeting, August 7th. If you have not confirmed your role, please do so as soon as possible. If you are giving a prepared speech, please send Kim the details of your speech: title, time, manual, project number, goal, whether you need the lectern or not, etc. It looks like a great line up!

Richard Archer concluded today's meeting by announcing that Beth Long won for Best Table Topics, and received the Ah Stick as well. Joyce Preston won Best Evaluator and Kim Jackson as voted Best Speaker.

Thanks to all for another great day in the Goldmine!

News from the Goldmine, July 24, 2010

2010-07-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Rookie Jerry Weikle hit a grand slam his first time at bat as Toastmaster of the Day, and his 15-member team followed suit for a winning meeting of the Goldmine Toastmasters. The playing field was in great shape thanks to co-Sgt-at-Arms, Jennie Brasefield and Lee Johnston, and after President/Coach Sonny Tolbert welcomed members and guests, Jennie led off with a profound thought of the day: "There's a time to live and a time to die; and it's not what you know, but who you know."

Coach Sonny tactfully tongue twisted his way through his joke, while VP of E/Assistant Coach, Joyce Preston, warmed us up with the word of the day: altruism (unselfish concern for others). Pinch hitter Richard Archer ably filled in as "catcher" of the ahs and the ballots. Timer/Scoreboard keeper, Insook Lee, overcame early technical difficulties and rallied to keep us on time and track.

Pitcher/Table Topics Master, Alex Porter, threw a few wild ones before finding his zone. Insook Lee took a swing at his challenge: "What's the most altruistic name you can think of....for a dog?" Serena Haneline hit it out of the park with "If you could be anywhere else right now, where would it be?" Bill Batterman hit a line drive over our heads with his response to "If Goldmine Toastmasters went to Ripley's Believe it or Not, who would they keep?" Kim Jackson followed with a long fly to centerfield, almost to the garden with all the tomatoes she referenced when Alex asked her to describe the best way to eat that summertime treat. Last up in the Table Topics inning was Richard Archer, whose crafty bunt brought Shyam/Jake home for the tying run and a memorable way to remember names....maybe.

Next up were the heavy hitters/prepared speakers. Shyam Narayan, spoke from an Advanced Manual, project number 5, "The After Dinner Speech." He knocked it out of the park with his presentation "Top Five Signs You Might Be in a Worthless Meeting," while giving his team plenty of corporate cliches to chew on. Clean up batter Fred Biggers took care of business by bringing culture in to play with his excellent interpretive reading of "The Merchant of Venice," his project number 4 from an Advanced Manual.

After the 7th inning stretch, Toastmaster/Manager Jerry introduced Master Evaluator/Umpire Sam Mullis to give his take on the game so far. Sam's excellent advice included the challenge that everyone on the team should be able to score by giving a winning introduction at a moment's notice. It was also noted that it is of utmost importance to enunciate our words and project our voices in order to properly communicate with the entire audience.

Next in the line-up, Evaluators/Scouts Lee Johnston and Al Minter gave some colorful play by play on what they saw as the positives in Shyam's and Fred's performances as well as suggestion for improvement.

It proved to be a victorious day in more ways than one for the Goldmine Toastmasters when guest Serena Haneline announced that she wants to join our team! And she has already volunteered to help write this blog--thank you, Serena!

Area 35 Governor, Kim Jackson, asked that the Goldmine team reach out to other Toastmaster Teams in our area to ensure that all will succeed this season. She also announced the Area 35 Humorous Speech/Evaluation Contest will be held Tuesday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m. at PGT in Salisbury. Winners of our Goldmine club contest will represent us there.

Speaking of winners, today's scoreboard shows that Richard Archer won best Table Topics; Shyam Narayan was awarded Best Speaker, and Al Minter came out on top as Best Evaluator. Richard did not "catch" a single "AH", so no tongue depressor was awarded today--another victory for our exceptional team!

Bill Battermann is Toastmaster for our July 31st meeting. Be sure to confirm your place on the team with him early this week!

News from the Goldmine, June 12, 2010

2010-06-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Presiding officer, President Kim Jackson called the June 12th meeting to order and welcomed guest Lisa Trickey, who was invited to attend by member Jerry Weikle. Kim introduced the Thought of the Day presenter, one of the original Jackson Five (herself). She quoted two sources of ancient wisdom: the Old Testament and Victor Borge, in her thoughts about the wonders of laughter.

Professor/Toastmaster Insook Lee then took the helm and guided the Goldmine group through a great meeting. Jokemaster/Stand-Up Comedian Bill Battermann shared a laugh and insights in to his social life. Wordmaster Sam Mullis introduced word of the day, "artifice:" inventiveness, cunning, ingenuity. Ah Bell/Ballot Counter Phyllis Kombol and Timer Jennie Brasefield explained their roles before Rajnish Sharma introduced his table topics, which all related to the oil spill crisis. Lee Johnston, Betty Walker, Sonny Tolbert and Jay Johnson responded with thoughtful ideas and solutions, making the club wish THEY were in charge, not those presently trying to figure out what to do.

In the prepared speech portion of the program, Alex Porter spoke from an advanced manual, the project being: making a cold sales call. His speech was entitled "Looking a Little Squirrely," which he delivered with his usual wit, as well as with able role play assistance from Phyllis Kombol. Mr. Wonderful Jay Nodine delivered an entertaining, humorous and thought-provoking speech, "The Learning Years."

Master Evaluator Mile Moody called upon Jerry Weikle and Joyce Preston to evaluate the prepared speakers, which they did quite capably, pointing out what was well done as well as offering suggestions for improvement. Wordmaster Sam reported that the word of the day was used twice...and once was when he introduced it. Perhaps we can work the word artifice into our conversations throughout the week. Miles gave a "two-thumbs-up" overall evaluation of our meeting, a designation that he deserved as Master Evaluator as well.

During the business section of the meeting, the new officer nominations submitted by the executive committee were approved by club vote:

President - Sonny Tolbert

VP-Ed. - Joyce Preston

VP-Membership - Phyllis Kombol

VP Publicity - Matthew Charity

Secretary - Jerry Weikle

Treasurer - Jay Nodine

Sgt-At-Arms - Lee Johnston - Jennie Brasefield

Webmaster - (Appointed) - Shyam Narayan

It was noted that Kim Jackson and Matthew Charity will serve as Area Governors for the upcoming year.

The recipient of our 2010 Community Leader Award will be Nancy Litton. She will receive her award at our annual banquet, Saturday, July 17 at 6 p.m. at McCabe's Restaurant. Please RSVP to Jay or Kim if you will be attending. Cost is $19.

Our annual Tall Tales/Homemade Ice Cream Contest will be held July 10 in place of our regular club meeting.

Ballot Counter Phyllis presented the following awards:

Best Speaker: Jay Nodine

Best Evaluator: Joyce Preston

Best Table Topics: Betty Walker

Ah Stick: Raj Sharma

News from the Goldmine, June 5, 2010

2010-06-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

(Thank you to Toastmaster John Shepherd for submitting this summary of the June 5, 2010 meeting).

With several Toastmasters away for officer training, Goldmine was nevertheless well represented with 12 members in attendance. Al Minter, DTM, presided in the absence of a current officer and introduced the Thought of the Day presenter, Miles Moody. Miles gave a thoughtful reading that set the mood for the morning, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and then introduced the Toastmaster of the morning, John Shepherd.

Using the month of June as the hitching post for the day, John asked the group what first comes to mind when they think of the month of June. Weddings, of course, came to the forefront, followed by a review of the June issue of Toastmaster magazine, which features several couples who either joined Toastmasters together or met through Toastmasters and later married. Wedding trivia and historical events that occurred in June were also presented at appropriate intervals during the meeting.

After Joke Master Richard Archer entertained the group with a joke that qualified (i.e. as being very good or very bad – we’re not saying which), John called on the Timer, Sam Mullis, the co-Ah/Ballot Counters Betty Walker and Pearl Bank-Williams, and visiting semi-Goldmine Toastmaster Jay Johnson, Word Master, to briefly (there being no guests present) explain their roles. The word of the morning was “mirage”.

Then on to Table Topics, with Sherman Greer serving as Topic Master. In an interesting twist, Miles gave the same question to each participant: “What birthday was your favorite and why?” Pearl Bank-Williams, Sam Mullis and Richard Archer were chosen to respond. Timer Sam later reported that Pearl and Richard stayed within the time limits, but that he himself had gone overtime and disqualified.

Table Topics then gave way to the prepared speech segment of our meeting. Alex Porter, speaking from a project in the Entertaining Speaker manual, told the story of an “extroverted hermit” (whose name this writer has forgotten) who befriended Alex while he was working in a summer camp during his youth. The light and smiling mood of Alex’s story turned heavy and sad as he related with some difficulty how his friend had later been found murdered in his home. Fred Biggers, also giving an advance manual speech followed with a “monodrama”, a dramatic recitation of Hamlet’s contemplation of suicide in “To Be or Not to Be”. Hamlet came alive as Fred, personifying one of Shakespeare’s best known characters, pondered whether he should live or die.

After a break, John introduced Master Evaluator Al Minter who in turn introduced Miles Mood, evaluating Alex Porter, and Rajnish Sharma, evaluating Fred Biggers. Each had insightful and useful assessments, but this writer failed to record the details. Word Master Jay Johnson gave his report, noting that the WOD was sparsely used (in fact itself a mirage) and Timer Sam reported that Fred qualified but that Alex had gone overtime and disqualified.

Al Minter led the business session announcing the plans for the Goldmine Invitational Tall Tales Contest, the Officer Installation Banquet and plans to vote on the Communications and Leadership Recipient on Saturday June 12. John reviewed the program assignments for June 12.

Finally, Pearl presented the awards for the day, with the dreaded “Ah” stick going to Rajnish, Table Topics award to Richard, Evaluator award to Miles and Speaker award to Fred. And that’s no mirage.

News from the Goldmine, May 29, 2010

2010-05-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Toastmaster Al Minter, dressed appropriately in red, white and blue, led 16 Goldminers through a great Memorial Day weekend meeting full of trivia and tribute. Presiding Officer Kim Jackson welcomed "adopted member," Jay Johnson, as well as Division C Governor, Ken Miller.

John Shepherd challenged us with this thought of the day: "We were given two ends: one to sit on and the other to think with. Success depends on which one we use the most." Jokemaster Kim Jackson humorously encouraged great speakers to "lose all their marbles," and Joyce Preston introduced forte as the word of the day. Timer Alex Porter dismissed with formalities and just did his job. Sonny Tolbert served as our "A, B, C, 1, 2, 3," Ah Bell/Ballott Counter.

Table Topics Master, Matthew Charity, asked Jerry Weikle what type of award he might create and award if given the opportunity, so if you ever hear of the Walker Award, Jerry gets the credit. Sam Mullis decided to bring George Washington back to life and ask him a few questions about his relationship with the media. If you watch American Idol next season, be sure to look for Jay Johnson getting his 15 minutes of fame, either as a contestant, or more preferably, as Simon's replacement!

In the prepared speech portion of the program, Sherman Greer presented his second speech and masterfully explained the state of our economy and our part in making it healthier: spend money! Speaker 2, Lee Johnston, presented his speech "Harley and Me" from the Entertaining Speaker, Advanced Manual, "Leave Them Laughing" project. Every time we hear thunder from now on we'll know that Lee is dealing with a 40 pound lapdog.

After a break, Master Evaluator Tony Hinson, capably filling that role for the first time, called upon Shyam Narayam to evaluate Sherman's speech. Shyam crafted a helpful evaluation, praising Sherman for his use of visuals and knowledge of his subject, and giving useful pointers for improvement. We agreed with Shyam that we should all boost the economy by determining to eat ice cream every day!

Jay Nodine presented his evaluation of Lee's speech and noted that although Lee did not elicit belly laughs, his presentation was light-hearted and memorable. He encouraged Lee to use body language when appropriate and praised him for the humorous elements of his speech.

Joyce Preston, Word Master, applauded the club for using "forte" 6 times and challenged us to work that word in to our everyday conversations this week. She also noted unique and creative uses of the English language by our members and guests, and cautioned us to be mindful of using less-than-professional verbage.

Master Evaluator, Tony Hinson, gave an over all evaluation of our meeting, noting that we kept on task after starting a mere one minute late. Tony reminded speakers to get all information to the Toastmaster of the day so that he/she can give a proper, informed introduction.

Presiding Officer Kim Jackson asked guests Jay and Ken for comments. Jay commended our use of the agenda and praised the fact that no changes had to be made at the last minute on it. Ken, who was making an official club visit as a Division officer, said it's always good to be at a Goldmine Toastmasters meeting.

In club business, we were reminded to send our nominations for the Communication and Leadership Award via email to all current members by Monday evening, May 31. We will hold a club vote on June 12, and the award will be given July 10 at our annual awards banquet.

Nominations for 2010/2011 Club Officers are complete and will be presented to the membership for their approval. Officers will be attending TLI East next Saturday. Goldmine Members Matthew Charity and Kim Jackson will be serving as Area Governors for the upcoming year.

Sonny Tolbert presented the following awards: Best Table Topics Speaker: Jay Johnson; Best Speaker: Sherman Greer; Best Evaluator: Shyam Narayam; and Ah Stick Award: Sherman Greer,.

Thanks to John Shepherd for taking on the Toastmaster role for June 5. With all officers attending TLI we need all members present and accounted for next Saturday! Determine that Goldmine Toastmasters is your forte! (an activity that one does with excellence)

News from the Goldmine, May 22, 2010

2010-05-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

(Thank you to Toastmaster of the Day, Betty Walker, for providing today's News from the Goldmine).

Presiding Officer Joyce Preston opened today's meeting and Alex Porter presented the thought of the day. Miles Moody served as Wordmaster, looking for uses of the word "scour", among other notable words and phrases. Al Minter handled the timing as well as the ah and ballot counting.

Table Topics Master, Jerry Weikle, presented "race-themed" questions as follows: "What would you serve as food and drink at a tailgating party?" (Raj Sharma); "What would you do if given a free ticket to the big race?" (Insook Lee); "What would you say to Bruton Smith if you met him coming out of the bathroom?" (Miles Moody); "Would you run to your car after the race is over or wait till the crowd left?" (Alex Porter).

Prepared speakers were Shyam Narayam and Fred Biggers. Shyam spoke from an advanced manual, "The Entertaining Speaker." His project was "Resources for Entertainment," with a speech titled "Thank the Assistant and Drink Black Coffee." Fred also spoke from an advanced manual, "Communication on Television," and his project was "When You are the Host." Fred conducted a television interview with Alex on his TV "show:" Cabarrus Spin with Alex Porter.

Joyce Preston served as Master Evaluator, and Insook Lee and Miles Moody evaluated the prepared speeches.

The winners were:

Best Speaker – Shyam

Best Evaluator – Miles

Best Table Topics – Alex

Ah Stick – Raj

Business and Events:

Community award nominations are due May 31

Toastmasters Leadership Institute June 5

Tall Tales & Ice Cream Contest – July 10, 9:00 a.m.

Awards Banquet and New Officers Installation – July 17, 6:00 p.m.

Al Minter will be Toastmaster for next week’s meeting. Be sure to confirm your role with him for the May 29th meeting early this week so he can plan accordingly for a GREAT day in the Goldmine!

News from the Goldmine, May 15, 2010

2010-05-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

It was a great day at Goldmine Toastmasters, and not just because we got to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jay Nodine!

Toastmaster Sam Mullis and Presiding Officer Kim Jackson led us through 90 minutes of laughter and learning. Alex Porter presented an inspiring thought of the day, while Betty Walker may have involved up to a third of our members in her joke! Wordmaster Phyllis Kombol was on the lookout for "utopia," as well as clever phrases, of which she spotted a few. Table Topics Master (and Birthday Boy) Jay Nodine called on Alex, Phyllis, Jerry and Betty and each enlightened us on a variety of topics.

In the prepared speech portion of our program, Raj Sharma (and the Tortoise and the Hare) inspired us to greater teamwork, while Joyce Kalinowski-Przybyszewski-Preston entertained and informed us about her "Big Fat Polish Wedding." Fred Biggers and Kim Jackson evaluated Raj and Joyce, providing both kudos and recommendations.

Master Evaluator, Lee Johnston, provided an overview assessment of the day's meeting before Ballot Counter, Jerry Weikle, presented Best Table Topics Award to Betty Walker; Best Speaker to Raj Sharma, Best Evaluator to Kim Jackson and the coveted Ah Stick to Fred Biggers.

Betty Walker will serve as Toastmaster for our next meeting, May 22. Be sure to confirm your role with her in a timely manner this week!