Downtown Division Contest Results

When an Electric Toaster competes, we all win. David Jamieson competed his socks off in the Downtown Division TableTopics contest last Friday, October 11^th. "I am proud to say I came in third place.  Maybe not proud, but not unhappy," said Mr. Jamieson. 

The question he responded to was, “I just turned on my TV and found out the zombie apocalypse is going to begin on Sunday, October 13^th, what is your plan?” 

"Naturally, my plan involved ammo, weapons and running shoes," David remarks. It just goes to show you, all you really need to succeed at Table Topics are three fingers on which to count three distinct points to talk about.

Congrats, David. We thank you for representing our group.

Notes of Frugality

The Electric Toasters Oct 9 meeting took on "Frugality" as a theme, and "Winnow" as our word of the day.

Our esteemed guest was Taseen who presented his speech "Go Back," in his preparation to present the talk before a larger audience. His speech took us on a journey that focused on two specific traits of a leader. Leaders, Taseen demonstrated to us, both lead by example and learn from their mistakes. With his trademark excellence in story telling, gesturing and eye contact, the speech's impact was felt through the room. Thank you, Taseen, for visiting The Electric Toasters.

The day's Table Topic questions brought out the frugality in all of us. Jeff Brooks was chosen as the winner in the Table Topic section of the meeting, with his retelling of a nearly disastrous holiday to Death Valley with his wife and friends. Sometimes frugality is best left at home.

Let us take this opportunity to welcome Richard, our newest Electric Toaster. It appears as though the faint rays of sunshine from our window view have tempted him to make his move from California permanent--welcome, Richard.

Downtown Division Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contest

Here's your chance to cheer for our very own David Jamieson as he competes to win in the Table Topics competition. 

Please join us for what promises to be an entertaining evening as all clubs in the Downtown Division compete!

Date:            Friday, October 11, 2013                                                            

time:             6:00 p.m. — Contestants and judges arrive
6:30 p.m. — Contest begins

Place:         Good Samaritan Hospital Auditorium
GS Building 2
1015 NW 22nd Ave
Portland, OR

Details:     Light snacks will be provided.

If you have questions, contact:

·         Downtown Division Governor Eldred Brown at DGF@D7toastmasters.org

Electric Toasters Set to Compete

The results of last Wednesday's humorous speech contest are anything but laughable. The Electric Toasters Toastmasters Club is exceptionally lucky to be sending two top-notch contestants to the Area competition in September:

-Ashley Micciche will entertain people in the Humorous competition.

-David Jamieson will wow the other Table Topics contestants.

It will be a great competition and we can support our fellow Electric Toasters by attending the competition:

Tuesday, Sept 17th
6:15 - 8:00
OHSU Hospital Campus - DCH Vey Auditorium
700 Southwest Campus Drive
Portland, OR 97239

Weekly Recap: "Analog" - June 19, 2013

Getting Started:

Club President Mike introduced our Toastmaster, Sushanah.  Here theme for the meeting was "analog" which she defined in its wave length form and related how our meeting would be a series of transmissions.   Clever.

October 10^th’s ‘Word of the Day,’ imperative, was given to us by Grammarian Ryan. Imperative is defined as something absolutely necessary or required; unavoidable. Jeff found himself having quite a lot of fun with this word. I believe in his grammarian report Ryan chalked Jeff’s usage to four counts (to me it felt closer to twenty).  

SPEAKER 1: Anna M. – “All Fired Up”

Anna's speech about range fire was well researched and educational.   She focused on the problem of the noxious weed, cheatgrass.   The early-season growth habits of cheatgrass provide a competitive advantage by allowing it to grow tall and abundant before native species emerge.  Cheatgrass turns brown and dies by early summer leaving behind thick, continuous dry fuels and creating extreme wildfire hazards.

Though several components can affect flame length and fire spread, a typical cheatgrass fire on flat terrain with wind speeds of 20 miles per hour may generate flame lengths up to eight feet in height; the fire can travel more than four miles per hour. Grass fires are dangerous because they move quickly and grasses act as ladder fuels igniting larger and more volatile vegetation.

Great job Anna!

Here's what it looks like:

And here's what it does:

SPEAKER 2: Mike F. – “Father of the Groom”

Mike's son is getting married soon.  Toastmasters provided the perfect venue to practice his "toast" for his son and soon to be daughter-in-law.  Mike provided specific examples of how well he and his family have gotten to know the bride as the couple live with them now to save money for their life together.  Mike kept his composure and provided an uplifting speech.  Great job Mike with your Toast!!

EVERYTHING ELSE:

The week’s Table Topics was provided by Topicsmaster Karen Groth, who gave us some great questions about kinship.  Evaluations were then delivered by Eric who evaluated Anna, and Chris who evaluated Mike's speech. Tyler served as General Evaluator. Jeff B delivered to us his Timer’s Report, and () did the same as our Ah-Counter.

THIS WEEK’S AWARDS: 

•  Best Speaker Awarded to Anna.
• Best Evaluator Awarded to Eric.
• Best Table Topics Awarded to Gerard.

Open House Wed 4/24/13

Although every meeting is essentially an Open House for visitors, this week is our formal Open House Meeting.  The theme of the meeting will be "Resolution Status Check."

We'll be meeting in the Plaza Conference Room on the ground floor of the 2 World Trade Center building from Noon to 1pm.

Visitors are encouraged to attend as they will be in good company!