Our theme was “A Belated April Fool’s Day” and Toastmaster Ted introduced each speaker with some information about them, perhaps embellished just a bit. Our Grammarian Kathleen’s Word of the Day was Veracious, or Veracity.

Nick’s time management Tip of the Day was to set an egg timer for how long a task should take, to keep track of how much time it really takes.

Don, our Jokemaster, told a family story about a mother with four sons and their holiday presents, especially the parrot.

Karen told us about working for the Space Telescope Science Institute, getting married and traveling for six months around the world, volunteering for the West Seattle Food Bank, Steve Jobs’ thought that you have to trust that the dots will connect going forward, and through it all, wove the theme of vision and perseverance.

Sherry talked about having core values for relationships that give you a moral compass and guide your internal conduct and relationships with the outside world. Toastmasters’ core values are respect, service, integrity, and excellence. She gave us a personal core values checklist for inspiration in using these values for our own decisions.

Franni told us about her family law practice and her passion for her work. She told a story about her dad John and his passion for words, and her law dad Bob and his passion for the law. She said if you find yourself battling, embrace that which you care about, and it will make you stronger.

Judy asked us to choose a book and a question. She said that the audience does not have to accept the veracity of our story! Don Gorman, Laura Grove, Nick Webb, and Jacqueline McCarthy all contributed a story that may or may not have been true.

We welcome visitors to join us for jokes and speeches! Toastmasters is the perfect place to start improving your public speaking skills.

Laura, Club Secretary

For our March 20^th meeting, Toastmaster Franni’s theme was Spring Ahead!

To open the meeting, Laura as Jokemaster told a few one-liners about Daylight Savings Time. In her opinion, DST is just a secret plot on the part of morning people to make night people get out of bed an hour earlier.

Amie described the roles in the meeting and the officer roles with assistance from members of the club who have performed those roles. Amie’s dog, Rikka, made a guest appearance in the PowerPoint illustrating many of the officer roles.

Mark explained that dogs use their senses of smell and hearing before their sense of sight. They have a wide field of vision to the sides, but not binocular vision to the front. If you learn how your dog sees, you can take better care of your dog. Mark’s dog is Pip, a Westie.

Kristine told us that adverse drug reactions to properly prescribed medications kill a 747’s worth of people every 34 hours. Genetic factors play a role in how each person metabolizes medications. It’s a major problem but solvable, and your doctor can do pharmacogenetic testing for you.

Nick asked a selection of members some questions about time. Lisa, Sherry, Karen, Patrick, Bridget, and Kathleen all took a minute to respond.

Our guests said that it was interesting and detailed, and that we were warm and welcoming. Please join us at our next meeting on April 3^rd!

Laura, Club Secretary

For our March 6th meeting, Toastmaster Judy’s theme was “It’s Super Duper Tuesday!”

Bill spoke about being on vacation in Mexico. Seeing a poor child asking for money reminded him of Blake Mycoskie, who founded TOMS shoes. TOMS is a One for One company that gives away a pair of shoes for every pair sold. So far they have given away one million pairs of shoes. Next time you buy a pair of shoes, please consider TOMS!

Mark reminisced about his trip to Italy with his wife Kay. Their tour guide, Gabriella, showed them the Vatican. Mark says a leader is a person who says, “I found this cool place; I’ll take you there.” A leader is enthusiastic and communicates that enthusiasm to us, to show that the journey might not be easy but it will be worth the effort.

Karen showed us a list of recent elections for Table Topics. She asked us to choose one and describe whatever recollections it evoked. Laura, Lisa, Mark, Sherry, and Amie each told a story.

One of our guests said that she didn’t know what to expect and that she was really impressed with what all we do.

We love guests, please visit our club!

Laura, Club Secretary

Meeting highlights:

Bill, our Toastmaster, had us sharing wild, wet, snowy, or tropical weather anecdotes throughout the evening.

Nick’s Table Topic questions were tough but fun: “In a rainstorm, your car stalls on I-5 just before your exit during the morning rush hour. How do you feel? What do you do?” Yikes.

In her speech, “The Florestine Collection,” Amie told us the story of experimental filmmaker Helen Hill. Helen’s chance discovery changed the course of her life. Go here for Helen’s story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Hill

Bridget’s “New Year’s Resolutions” speech gave us reasons why we make them. For one thing, we have time off work for the holidays and get a chance to reflect. An insight for better success is to avoid “punishment” resolutions that we later rebel against – even though we’re rebelling against ourselves. My resolution was “I’ve GOT to lose 10 pounds,” but now it’s “How can I add more fruits and vegetables to each meal?”

We had four guests. For the benefit of our guests, all our speakers enjoyed giving a quick explanation of their meeting roles. We love guests.

Our next meeting, February 21, 2012 will be a Club Contest. Come see what a contest is like.

Save the date: March 6 is the first meeting in March.

Sue, Past President

Our January 17th meeting (on Benjamin Franklin’s birthday) was rescheduled to the 31st because of the snowstorm.

Here are some highlights: Mark’s Tip of the Day included a handout that lists books and websites on how to use PowerPoint to do amazingly cool things. Franni’s speech had fun with a book on “How to do Anything,” and pointed out “stuff we’ve already learned on our way to becoming a person.” Jacki’s speech got me motivated to pull out my wallet to help save our Victorian gem, the Conservatory at Volunteer Park.

Lisa’s Table Topics used Ben Franklin’s sayings to make us think on our feet. Don, our Toastmaster for the evening, kept things lively.

Don’t miss our next meeting, February 7, 2012.

We had two guests. We love guests.

Save the date: 832 Club Contest, February 21st

Sue, Past President