Central Toastmasters Weekly Bulletin

February 26, 2003
Worcester, MA

President:     Peter Hoag        Treasurer:       Karen Lefebvre
VP Education:  Filomena Didiano  Sgt. at Arms:    Fred Nathan
VP Membership: Rob Koenig        Secretary:       (Position Open)
VP Publicity:  Joe Bellil        Bulletin Editor: Al Wheeler


Attendees: 16 members - Fred Nathan, John Capuano, Al Wheeler, 
Peter Hoag, Joe Bellil, Helen Valinski, Dan Abraham, 
Roseann Waterhouse, Gene Brady, Tom Quaranta, 
Filomena Didiano, Wayne Dupont, Carl Lakes, 
Rob Koenig, Dick Brady, Kathy Siminsky - 2 guests

BUSINESS SUMMARY 
ATTENTION club members! When you attend, please remember to at least 
meet the $5 minimum dinner purchase to maintain the room availability. 
The Sergeant At Arms must collect $5 from any member that does not. 
(This does not apply to any guest.)

Remember to bring a blank VHS tape, if you want to record and review 
your performance of your prepared speech. 

Leading role participants, President, Toastmaster, Topicsmaster, and 
General Evaluator with undetermined time to speak are asked to be 
mindful of tailoring their words to fit the available time. The 
meeting starts at 7 PM and ends at 9 PM. All member s in attendance 
must be accorded time to speak. There is no exception to this rule. 

The role of Secretary is open Vinod Chaku has returned to India, 
so we need a volunteer for this important role.

Dues are due! It is time to think about paying dues again. Club dues 
are $36.00 semi-annually, $18 goes to International and $18 to Central. 
The dues are due to Central by April 1. Checks should be made out to 
"Central Toastmasters". For additional information, please contact 
club treasurer, Karen Lefebvre, at 508-871-7010.

UPCOMING SPEECH CONTESTS
Central Toastmasters International Speech Contest will be held on 
Wednesday, March 12. Speeches must be between 5-7 minutes long. 
Speeches can be dramatic, serious, inspirational, humorous, 
entertaining, or any or all of the above. It's a great idea to 
take a speech you've already done, work on it, and give it again 
for the contest. Of course, you can do an entirely new speech.
 
We will also have a Tall Tales Contest on Wednesday, March 19. 
(There is no Table Topics Contest this time around.) Speech must be 
between 3-5 minutes long. A Tall Tale is a highly exaggerated, 
far-fetched, improbable speech. It's often humorous, can use puns, 
twists, and surprises.
 
Winners of both contests will participate in the Area Contests; 
those winners will then go on to the Division Contest, and on to the 
District Contest held at the Spring Conference. The District Spring 
Conference is Saturday, May 4, at Bentley College Conference Center, 
Waltham. (A great conference site!)
 
We will also need 3 judges and a chief judge, Timers, Counters, and 
Topicsmasters, for each contest.

TOPICS SUMMARY
The topics of the evening were based on "Could You Write or Benefit From"  " for Dummies" or "The Complete Idiots Guide to ".


PARTICIPANTS
Meeting Chair      Peter Hoag
Toastmaster        Carl Lakes
Invocation         Filomena Didiano
Topicsmaster       Peter Hoag
Thought            Roseann Waterhouse
General Evaluator  Wayne Dupont
Joke               Rob Koenig
Timer              Tom Quaranta
Grammarian         Al Wheeler

Word of the evening: perfidious, adj. Treacherous, violating faith.


SPEAKERS
Speaker       Gene Brady
Evaluator     Helen Valinski
Speech Title  "Work a Four Hour Day!"
Summary
Gene spoke about the reality of our increasing work hours and stress 
and informed the audience on various methods of time management. 

Speaker       Joe Bellil
Evaluator     Dan Abraham
Speech Title  "Is There a Disability Culture?"
Summary
Joe defined "culture" and addressed two themes: oppression and 
resilience in the context of disabled individuals. He analyzed and 
explained the society and culture of the disabled community as a part 
of the diverse cultural mix of Americans.

Speaker       Kathy Siminsky
Evaluator     John Capuano
Speech Title  C&L#1, "Getting to Know Me"
Summary
Kathy highlighted several memorable events in her life when she felt 
most nervous including the first day of kindergarten and her piano 
recital.  She introduced us to her family and friends as she revealed 
the moments of hardship and perseverance that has 
made her the woman she is today.


AWARDS
Best Impromptu        Dick Brady
Best Prepared Speech  Joe Bellil
Best Evaluator        John Capuano


UPCOMING MEETINGS 
                March 5, 2003       March 12, 2003      March 19, 2003
                                    International       Tall Tales Contest
                                    Speech              (First half of Meeting)
                                    Contest

Contest                             Filomena Didiano    Filomena Didiano
Organizer                           978-422-5269        978-422-5269

Toastmaster     Kwabena Afriyie     Contestmaster       Filomena Didiano
                508-887-9990        Needed              978-422-5269

Invocation      Ray Belsito         Joe Mewhiney
Thought         Dan Abraham                             Kathy Simisky
Joke            John Capuano                            Sheila Gant

Topicsmaster    John Hanlon         John Capuano        Karen Lefebvre
Gen. Evaluator  Paul Anderson       Chief Judge Needed  Al Wheeler
Grammarian      Bill Perkins        N/A                 Kwabena Afriyie
Timer           John Hanlon         Fred Nathan         Helen Valinski
Timer #2        N/A                 Second Timer        N/A
                                    Needed

Speaker 1       Tommy Williams      Rob Koenig          John Keeton
Speaker 2       Roseann Waterhouse  Dan Abraham         Rob Koenig
Speaker 3       Sheila Gant         Filomena Didiano 
Speaker 4                           Paul Anderson
Speaker 5       N/A                 Wayne Dupont
Speaker 6       N/A
Speaker 7       N/A

Evaluator 1     Tom Quaranta        Judge Needed        Wayne Dupont
Evaluator 2     Karen Lefebvre      Judge Needed        Joe Bellil 
Evaluator 3     Joe Mewhiney        Judge Needed


* We meet every Wednesday from 7-9 PM at the Regency Suite.  
  Directions are below.
* Members who are interested in speaking outside the club, 
  please contact Dan Abraham at 508-757-3855 for information 
  about the "Speaker's Bureau".
* The toastmaster of the evening and the Sergeant of Arms are 
  responsible for arranging the tables suitably for the meeting.
* Fred Nathan, Sergeant at Arms, will collect $5.00 from any member 
  who has not met the minimum dinner purchase requirement that 
  maintains the room availability.
* A 15% gratuity is mandatory to insure proper service.  
  You may, at your discretion, give more.
* It is a sign of courtesy to be quiet while 
  a speaker is at the podium.
* Proper dress for the dinner meeting is business casual at a minimum.
* To sign up to receive district 31 headquarters e-mail and news, 
  go to the WWW and visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/d31tm .
* Notice to all Club Officers - please have a speech ready at all 
  times so we can replace any no shows. This is a good practice 
  for all Toastmasters as well - BE PREPARED!
* Be sure to contact Filomena Didiano (VP of Education) if you want 
  to get on the schedule for a role or speech. Filomena's phone is 
  978-422-5269 (home) and her e-mail is cardid@telegram.infi.net (home) 
  or filomena.didiano@genzyme.com (work). 
* If you have an e-mail address (home or work) and are still 
  receiving the Weekly Bulletin via regular mail please contact 
  Al Wheeler ("Alfred.J.Wheeler@Verizon.net ") so we can add you 
  to the e-mail distribution. 

Directions to our location at the Regency Suites:
From 290 East bound
Exit 13 Kelly Square: Take a left off the exit ramp to Kelly's Square. 
Take a left onto Madison St. (between the two gas stations). 
At the second light turn right and you are there.  
It is next to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

>From 290 West bound
Exit 13 Kelly Square: Take a right off the exit ramp to Kelly's Square. 
Take a left onto Madison St. (between the two gas stations).  
At the second light turn right and you are there. 
It is next to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.