Change!

Seventeen members and four guests gave us the largest attendance in several weeks as we tried a few things different.

Cat Grant shook things up a bit by trying out a new format, in which the theme is revealed beforehand, and "Opening Remarks" is replaced by a "Humorist" !


The changed format involved having a Humorist instead of Opening Remarks. Here is Arnie Buss as the first NPS Humorist:


Betsy Larkin was Table Topics Master,

and Moyara Ruehsen gave the best Table Topics response:


The first speech was Suad Ali's #3 entitled Foreign Aid and Why It's Not Working. Suad was voted both Best Speaker as well as Most Improved Speaker:


Suad was evaluated by Wendy Goody, who was selected Best Evaluator:


Art Testani gave the first of several speeches in support of his High Performance Leadership project:


Art was evaluated by Carl Thormeyer:


TMoD: Cat Grant
Humorist: Arnie Buss
Ah Counter: Tom Shih
Word Master: Ramez Andraus Jr
Grammarian: Jim Burlison
Vote Counter: Paul Salevski
Timer: Paul Salevski
Table Topics Master: Betsy Larkin
Table Topics Speaker #1: Moyara Ruehsen
Table Topics Speaker #2: Juliette Ferguson
Table Topics Speaker #3: Jim King (guest)
Table Topics Speaker #4: Cathy Lee
Speaker #1: Art Testani
Speaker #2: Suad Ali (Best, Most Improved Speaker)
Evaluator #1: Wendy Goody (Best Evaluator)
Evaluator #2: Catherine J Lee
Evaluator #3: Carl Thormeyer
General Evaluator: Rolf Ridge

The Accidental Toastmaster

Fifteen members eventually made it to our Toastmasters room for one of the more unusual meetings in many a year.

Club President Moyara Ruehsen inducts newest member Ramez Andraus, Jr:

Glenn Woodson doing his creative best as TMoD, turned the meeting format topsy-turvy with "The Accidental Toastmaster" theme.


The meeting functionaries explained their roles in a round-robin, manner, taking several times around to get them all. From left to right: Glenn Woodson, TMoD; Margaret Stevens Wordmaster; Moyara Ruehsen, Ah Counter; Michele Banazwski, Vote Counter:

Table Topics was even more different. All four Table Topics speakers were called up at once by Table Topics Master Fred Sadler. From Left to right, Art Testani, Jim Burlison, Fred Sadler, Paul Salevski, Rolf Ridge:

They then had to answer each question as a pair using the props they were issued. Here, Paul and Rolf prepare their response:

Art and Jim contemplate a question:

They had to begin their response from the back of the room:

Here, Art and Rolf had to give their response from a sitting position, while Jim looks on with perplexed amusement:

General Evaluator Arnie Buss tries to make sense of it all:


Tom Shih's Storytelling speech "The Folk Tale" entitled How Chinese Foot Binding Came About


Carl Thormeyer's evaluation:

Pets

With 16 members and two guests present, Cathy Lee led an exciting and fun-filled meeting with the theme of Pets. Former member Charlie Ahciarliu from Romania returned for a second straight week before returning home.

Elizabeth Mitchell achieved her Competent Leader award and announceed the winner of the August Membership Contest, Juliette Ferguson.



This was Elizabeth's last meeting with us, since she will be returning to her Old Kentucky Home. You will be missed! Thank you for your many gifts to Club #2032.

Arnie Buss gave Opening Remarks:



Carl Thormeyer was voted Best Table Topics Speaker:


Paul Salevski gave his #3 speech entitled Tesla and tied for Most Improved:


Paul was evaluated by Elizabeth Mitchel, who was selected Best Evaluator by GE Jiom Burlison:


Art Testani gave an impassioned toast to former President George W. Bush and was voted Best Speaker as well as tied for Most Improved:


Art was evaluated by Betsy Larkin:



TMoD: Cathy Lee
OR: Arnie Buss
WM: Tom Shih ("cynophile")
Ah: Michelle Banazwski
G: Joe Tacker
T: Margaret Stevens
VC: Carl Thormeyer
TTM: Rolf Ridge
TT1: Mark (guest)
TT2: Tom Shih
TT3: Carl Thormeyer
S1: Paul Salevski
S2: Art Testani
S3: Wendy Goody
E1: Elizabeth Mitchell
E2: Betsy Larkin
E3: Fred Sadler
GE: Jim Burlison

2 guests

Winston Churchill

NPS Toastmasters welcomed back former member Cantemir "Charlie" Ahciarliu and his son Titus, who were visiting the United States from their native Romania. Charlie, who is a full Colonel in the Romanian Air Force working for the Ministry of Defense, earned his CTM at NPS Toastmasters in the early 2000s. Titus is attending Kent University in England. Total attendance at the meeting was 13 members and five guests.

Newest member Michelle Banazwski was inducted by president Moyara Ruehsen:


Tom Shih gave opening Remarks:


TMoD Jim Burlison's theme was "Winston Churchill". Jim filled the meeting with fascinating and at times obscure quotes and facts about the 20th Century statesman.



Table Topics was won by a former member and returning guest, "Charlie" Ahciarliu:


Fred Sadler channeled the Phantom of the Opera in a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber and was voted Best Speaker:


Fred was evaluated by Rolf Ridge, who was selected Best Evaluator:


Arnie Buss gave a #6 speech from the CC manual, Matching the Energy:


Arnie was evaluated by Art Testani:
The Area A1-A2 contest will be held on Saturday September 25 from 1 to 5 pm at the Agricultural Center in Salinas. We will be represented by Wendy Goody (Evaluation) and Jim Burlison (Humorous).