Happenings in the world of City Speech Toastmasters Volume 3, Number 1 — January 2021 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meetings: Tuesdays @ 7:00pm. Virtual, Fremont Contact: info@CitySpeechToastmasters.org — 510-270-5517
2020 CLUB OFFICERS President Mary Perez, LD5 VP Education Tony Zhang, DL1 VP Membership Shue Xiong, PM1 VP Public Relations Abhishek Chaturvedi, CC, CL, PM4 Secretary Michael Gwinner, PI4 Treasurer: Venkat Raman, DTM Sergeant at Arms Praveena Raman, EC3
APPOINTED CLUB OFFICERS VP Pathways Praveena Raman, EC3 Mentorship Chair Michael Gwinner, PI4 Newsletter Editor Praveena Raman, EC3
EDITOR'S NOTE
Dear Toastmasters,
A Very Happy New Year! Even though we are at the end of January I am taking the liberty of sending you these good wishes as this is the first issue this calendar year.
We are sorry to see our President, Mary Perez, leave the area. She is moving to Texas. Mary has resigned from her position, as President, but will continue to be a member of City Speech Toastmasters. Please read her farewell message as President. Mary's achievements in the past 18 months as a member has also been spotlighted in this issue.
We have introduced two new columns in this issue, Vocabulary Builder and New Member Welcome. We also continue to spotlight our members. Also dont forget to read the Old is Gold column. this special article will adds to our education and growth.
Among other news we have highlighted a new District 57 program, the Speakers Bureau. This program will give you opportunities to speak at events beyond our club. You will find additional District News in the District Newsletter that was sent by email on January 24. Everyone should have received it.
I echo the sentiment that District Newsletter Editor, Venkat Raman, had conveyed in his Editor's Note: even though the threat of COVID-19 is still present, it has provided us a virtual environment that we can use wisely to go through our educational plans and execute on them steadily and relentlessly.
It is with a heavy heart that I send you this letter of resignation as President of City Speech Toastmasters. Some of you know I recently bought a house in Waco, Texas and will be moving there the first week of February. With it has come many responsibilites and headaches! It is for this reason that I will be resigning as of January 17, 2021.
I have loved both being a member of City Speech and your President. In the short 18 months I have been with the club, I have grown both as a speaker and as a leader. Becoming President, turned my view of the club around from being a participant into being more of a leader. One who truly cares for the people under their "roof". I must credit those on my team: Abhishek, Michael, Venkat, Tony, Praveena and Shue, for making me always look good!
Now it is your turn to search for the next President of City Speech. The position of President is open to all members who would like to run for this office. It will teach you leadership skills and responsibilities. Are you ready? Yes, you will see my mug again once I have arrived in Waco, unpacked and settled in. I look forward to congratulating the person who will take my place as your President. You have my full support!
God bless you all!
Mary Perez, LD5 President. City Speech TM
CLUB NEWS
Interim President By Venkat Raman, DTM Treasurer, City Speech TM
We are delighted to inform you that Luz Flores has stepped up to be the Interim President of City Speech TM. Luz will be inducted on February 2, 2021 at the City Speech Club Meeting at 7:00 pm.
Please attend this meeting to convey your support and best wishes to Luz in her new role.
Member Spotlight A huge shoutout to new memberShankadeep Das for his spot-on evaluation of my presentation on the resurrection of the City Speech Blog. I have incorporated his feedback in the article (Food for Thought section) that I posted on the blog. Kudos to Mary Perez for having completed all 5 levels of the Learning Development Path and leading as Club President for 7 months. During this period she made Table Topics fun by introducing Pillow Fights and themed dress up topics from DIsney to Halloween and more. Praise to Luz Flores for stepping up to lead the club as Interim President. We look forward to learning from your past experience in the Toastmaster Club in Mexico. Applause to Abhishek Chaturvedi for creating the New Member form so that we can gather some information relating to their interests and make them feel more welcome. TIP: If you would like to spotlight any new or veteran City Speech TM member, please send a paragraph containing the member's name and what they are commended for to City Speech News Editor at news@cityspeechtoastmasters.orgby February 15, 2021.
Welcome to City Speech TM Family By Abhishek Chaturvedi and Praveena Raman
Recently a new member introduction form was created with the following 4 questions to enable us to get to know our family members better: What's your favorite cuisine and a restaurant you want to recommend? What is your favorite pastime during stay-at-home situation? What was your favorite pastime before pandemic started? What holiday destination you want to visit when travel restrictions will be removed?
Please find below the answers that our recent family members provided.
Amit Kamble: I love Thai food and would recommend Sala Thai 2 in Fremont. My favorite pastime during the pandemic has been playing board games with family and before the pandemic I enjoyed reading and listening to music. I would love to visit Europe once the travel restrictions are lifted.
Janice Francisco: My favorite cuisine is Japanese and I would recommend Aniki's Sushi in Fremont. During the pandemic I am enjoying cooking, baking pies and staying fit by working out at home. Before the pandemic I loved traveling, hanging out with friends and trying out new restaurants. Once the travel restrictions are lifted I would love to visit Hawaii and Philippines.
Vineet Aggarwal:I enjoy Thai food. During this pandemic I have been enjoying myself with various Netflix series. Prior to the stay-at-home order I loved traveling and would love to visit Paris once the travel restrictions are lifted.
Thank you for Amit, Janice and Vineet for sharing your interests with us. For those of us who have been with City Speech longer than our new members, I would love to know and share your interests too. With that in mind we might be including a new question - what is your birth month? and then showcase members during their birthdays, have some fun and strengthen our relationship.
TIP: This might be a fun column for anyone who enjoys writing or would like to hone their writing skills. The Editor would love to have some help in compiling this column every month. If interested, contact the Editor atnews@cityspeechtoastmasters.org. Additionally you will be able to earn some OATM points. What is OATM? Please click here to read about member awards that you can earn during your Toastmaster journey.
Contest By Venkat Raman, DTM Treasurer, City Speech TM
City Speech TM Club Evaluation Contest took place on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 and the results were announced that same evening. The winners are: Abhishek Chaturvedi in first place; Kristian Widjaja in second place, and Michael Gwinner in third place. Congratulations to the winners!
After checking with our Area Director, Jeffrey Young, about the logistics of advancement of the contestants, here is my understanding:
Abhishek will advance to the next level. If he can't make it for some reason, Kristian will represent us. If both Abhishek and Kristian are unable to go, Michael will be able to represent City Speech TM.
Thank you to all the volunteers for making this event possible.
Area I-33 News
Area I-33 International Speech and Evaluation Contest
The contest will take place on Saturday February 13, 2021 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Abhishek will be representing City Speech in the Area contest.Also volunteering for the club are Jeff Cheang as Timer, Amit Kamble as Sergeant-At-Arms (SAA) and Praveena Raman as Toastmaster. We hope all of you will attend the Area Contest and support our club members as well as cheer all the contestants.
Did you read your D57 Newsletter that was delivered to your mailbox on January 24, 2021, with the subject line - Speaking opportunities in the contest season D57 Contest Schedule: International Speech and Evaluation Contests Club Contests – held in January Area Contests – held in February Division Contests – held in March District Contests at the District 57 Annual Conference – April 25, 2020
D57 Speakers Bureau The Speakers Bureau is a brand new program at Toastmasters District 57 (D57) (our club falls under this D57) that is currenlty being set up. This program will provide opportunities for interested speakers beyond the club level not only in the Toastmasters program but also in the global community.
Praveena Raman and Gary McKinsey Co-Chairs D57 Speakers Bureau.
Upcoming D57 Event:
The Nitty Gritty of Pathways – February 4, 2021, February 4 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST. This is a free District 57 pathways training. Register here for the link
Toastmasters International News
City Speech Members who have renewed their membership by Dec 2020 - Sign up for your free path by March 2021.
Confidence is unique because it cannot be taught but is gained in every path.
Pathways Training and Tips at the Club and beyond. By Praveena Raman, VP Pathways
In her Managing Events: Tips for a Successful Pathways Project, blog post Mary Perez, writes about her Level 5 project in the Leadership Development Path and gives 3 tips for members who might have the same or a similar project: Start early; Choose people who are reliable; Come up with an event theme. Kudos to Mary for completing her Leadership Development Path in 18 months.
I will be presenting the second Pathways training for this year on Tuesday February 2, 2021. It will cover logging into Base Camp and selecting a Path for New Members. This will build upon the Introduction to Pathways program Pathways to your Goal that I had presented in October. The article will give you a synopsis of the program and also a link to the video and slides in Member Resources.
Additional Pathways resources are available on D57 Pathways Learning Zone. Please read the announcement of the next D57 Pathways Training in the District News section of this Newsletter.
TIP: If you have a questions about your Path or the Pathways program please schedule a half hour 1:1 with me by sending me an emailatvpp@cityspeechtoastmasters.org.
Vocabulary Builder:
Words for Ever:
Every week at our meetings we are introduced to a Word of the Day (WOD) by the Table Topics Master. We try and use it in our speech at that particular meeting while the Grammarian keeps count of its use. How many of us actually use it then and afterwards? Most of us tend to forget. In this monthly column I am going to list the words that we have been exposed to that month so that we can refresh our memories and use these words weekly, monthly and so on until it becomes a natural part of our daily vocabulary. Use in your prepared speeches and see what happens!
The following article is worth reading to get tips on how we can make WOD more useful and valuable in our language expansion and growth -
Feature City Speech Blog: Why Now and What Next? By Praveena Raman
In this article I explain why I decided to revive the City Speech blog after a hiatus of 2 years and how it has been supporting this Newsletter with content. The City Speech blog is a club blog open to all City Speech members. I end the article with calling for participation by all members - A blog and newsletter can only be interesting and successful if it is a team effort. I request you, City Speech Toastmasters, to start thinking about contributing your thoughts and learnings in the form of short articles or posts. You can start by spotlighting a member and giving kudos, welcoming new members or submitting your prepared speeches. Read the complete article
TIP:If you are interested in contributing to the blog and newsletter please see Call for Articles below.
Reflections on a Decade of Toastmasters By Jeff Young, ACB, ALB, Area I-33 Director
About 10 years back Jeff was told by his manager that he couldn't communicate clearly, "You tend to stumble over your words. You speak way too fast for me to follow. You're disorganized and I can't tell where one of your points starts and where it ends, and I think you overshare information." The same manager also introduced him to Toastmasters. Here he reflects on his journey as a Toastmaster and tells his readers how the program has helped him in strengthening his leadership and speaking skills. At the 2020-2021 Toastmaster Leadership Institutes he was one of the best speakers. Motivate yourself by reading his article.
Old is Gold By Praveena Raman
Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man - Francis Bacon in his essay "Studies" in 1625.
The above quotation opens the article Write for EXACTNESS(Toastmaster Magazine. February 1955; v21(2):p5) where the author has extolled the importance of planning and writing speeches before presentation. the author goes on to say that one of the disadvantages of extemporaneous (impromptu) speeches is that we can become careless in our thinking and use of words. One of the best ways to discipline one's thinking is to put it in writing. The author (I am going to assume it was Dr. Ralph Smedley as he was the Editor-in-Chief and was known to write most of the articles himself) gives the whole process from developing to delivering a worthwhile speech, something that can be preserved. Writing promotes the exactness of expression, which is a desirable quality for every speaker.
I would encourage everyone to read this 2 page article as it gives valuable information to develop ourselves from being a speaker to become a communicator.
TIP:Toastmasters International has archived Magazines/Journals from 1930 onwards available to the public. There is a plethora of information to use as we improve our communication and leadership skills.
DID YOU KNOW? Venkat Raman, DTM is the guest author for this column.
Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) is an annual tradition that trains club officers twice each year, typically in July and January. We have just completed the January administration of the TLI on the 16th. To make sure club officers are inclined to attend this training en masse, our district has sweetened the pot a little this year.
Any club that trains all seven of their officers in the TLI session in January, earns 50 District Bucks that can be used to defray club expenses! While it can be a challenge to have 100% training in this manner due to schedule conflicts for officers, we have achieved it. We'll be collecting 50 District Bucks for this achievement!
In fact, we have trained all seven officers in four consecutive training periods (twice last year and twice this year). Well done folks!
Call For Articles
We seek articles from members touching upon various issues and tips that would benefit our fellow Toastmasters. These timeless messages will find a home on our website for durable use. You will have a published article with your byline and that can earn you points towards your OATM award.
You can be proud of making a difference in many lives.
Please email your article ideas to Editor at news@cityspeechtoastmasters.org. After defining the scope, you will be able to write and submit them.
I look forward to your ideas to strengthen our website and newsletter with relevant content.
If you are submitting for inclusion in the next issue of City Speech News, final articles should be sent to me by February 15, 2021.
If you have enjoyed reading this newsletter, please consider forwarding it to someone you think may be interested in the Toastmasters program and City Speech Toastmasters.
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