We are an open Toastmasters Club and invite all of you interested in polishing your public speaking and presentation skills to come and check us out!
We have club members from all over Portland and World, involved in diverse range of industries.
See what Mike Reed, Area Governor, thought of the Electric Toasters:
- Club strengths:
The club has a very active membership with friendly, supportive and experienced members. The club actively supports member involvement in club officer positions and Area and higher officer positions as well. The Club was home to the most recent international president, Gary Schmidt, as well as last year's Area 71 Governor, Jason Kent.
- Areas needing attention:
The club needs no attention that I can see, other than being recognized for having a super club atmosphere with a very experienced and supportive membership.
- Recommendations for action:
I would recommend this club as one of the more outstanding clubs in Area 71 for the year 2010-2011.
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization currently has more than 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries. Since its founding in October 1924, the organization has helped more than 4 million men and women give presentations with poise and confidence. For information about Toastmasters, please visit Toastmasters International.
Meet our ET Club Officers:
President: Ania Osińska-Bulloff
Job title, Company: Project Manager and Recruiter, Rubicon International (education software consulting firm)Passion: Art, traveling, backpacking!
How I became a Toastmaster: I wanted to network with other professionals and polish my presentation skills. I wasn’t alone: the Electric Toasters are all about that (and much more) and put a spell on me!
Favorite Toastmasters meeting:
Favorite Toastmasters meeting:
- Every time I stand behind the lectern and know the quadruple mega espresso shot with extra whip this morning is not going to waste!
- Every time I hear a passionate speaker.
- Every time I have a minute or two to speak and… 3 seconds to get ready! Phew!
- Every time I learn something new, which is all the time, whether it’s recycling plastic bottles and saving energy, New Years customs in Russia, lives of the most inspiring leaders of the world, or the healing powers of napping. You name it.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: If all the above has not convinced you yet, come meet us. We’re all about speaking and listening after all, and we are excited to meet you!
VP of Education: Jason Kent
Job title, Company: Water Resources Engineer/Project Manager, Tetra Tech, Inc.Passion: On weekends, usually.
How I became a Toastmaster: Shortly after my fingers left indentations on a lectern during a speech at the annual meeting of the Idaho-Utah American Fisheries Society Chapters in Pocatello, Idaho.
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: Any one of the frequent Electric Toasters meetings that highlight the intercultural experiences of our international members.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: Since I joined Toastmasters, lecterns are finally safe and no longer have to worry about finger indentations from me. Will they be safe from you?
How I became a Toastmaster: Shortly after my fingers left indentations on a lectern during a speech at the annual meeting of the Idaho-Utah American Fisheries Society Chapters in Pocatello, Idaho.
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: Any one of the frequent Electric Toasters meetings that highlight the intercultural experiences of our international members.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: Since I joined Toastmasters, lecterns are finally safe and no longer have to worry about finger indentations from me. Will they be safe from you?
VP of Membership: Sarah Skinner
Job title, Company: Business Analyst, NW Natural
Passion: Snowboarding and making my own clothing from design to execution
How I became a Toastmaster: I ran out of excuses for not joining
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: Speech #4 - the feedback from the group was constructive, inspirational and motivating. I hope every member gets to experience it.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: It’s the most fun and supportive place to work on communication skills!
Passion: Snowboarding and making my own clothing from design to execution
How I became a Toastmaster: I ran out of excuses for not joining
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: Speech #4 - the feedback from the group was constructive, inspirational and motivating. I hope every member gets to experience it.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: It’s the most fun and supportive place to work on communication skills!
VP of Public Relations: Jeff Brooks
Treasurer: Steve Wilcox
Job title, Company: Vice President, Kidder Mathews
Passion: A) Helping others achieve their goals. B) Challenging myself outdoors, especially with endurance events.
How I became a Toastmasters: Totally bombed an important presentation early in my career. It was so bad I expected to be fired on the spot by my manager, who witnessed the event. Instead he directed me to take a speech class, which eventually led to discovering Toastmasters.
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: Ania Osińska-Bulloff's ice breaker speech.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: Great people help you achieve great things. You can practice speaking anywhere. At Electric Toasters you can do that plus learn a great deal about life through the speeches and stories of the diverse group members. We are folks from all backgrounds and walks of life that have fascinating stories to tell about how we came to be where we are today.
Treasurer: Steve Wilcox
Job title, Company: Manager, Geffen Mesher & Company, P.C.
Passion: Oregon State Beaver anything (especially college football), golfing, spending time with my two daughters.
How I became a Toastmaster: I have no epic speaking failures like some, it was just suggested by my bosses to join so I visited a few clubs and found this to be the best fit for me.
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: I think either my first or second meeting in which Jason had a speech contest instead of our normal routine and it was incredible hard and scary but ended up being a lot of fun.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: I think our group is so great as you have such a diverse group of people, very encouraging and really get to practice speaking in front of significant size room.
Passion: Oregon State Beaver anything (especially college football), golfing, spending time with my two daughters.
How I became a Toastmaster: I have no epic speaking failures like some, it was just suggested by my bosses to join so I visited a few clubs and found this to be the best fit for me.
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: I think either my first or second meeting in which Jason had a speech contest instead of our normal routine and it was incredible hard and scary but ended up being a lot of fun.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: I think our group is so great as you have such a diverse group of people, very encouraging and really get to practice speaking in front of significant size room.
Sergeant at Arms: Mike Fajen
Job title, Company: IT Business Analyst, PGE
Passion: Personal/spiritual growth, biking, business ideas
How I became a Toastmaster: Like most TM’s, I’ve had mixed results in my spoken communications, especially with superiors, but also in group settings. Sometimes I spoke well, other times I’ve embarrassed myself. I finally joined Toastmasters when I got fed up and determined that I need to do whatever it takes to reach a consistently high level of composure in work audiences. Over the past year, I’ve found my comfort level has increased overall and I’m a better communicator most of the time.
Favorite Toastmasters meeting: My favorite meetings are meetings with Icebreaker speeches, because that’s when I get to learn about our new members and hear their fascinating backgrounds.
Why should you join Electric Toasters: Electric Toasters is a safe and supportive group of professionals who are intent on helping each other improve in our spoken communication skills. Although it can be unnerving at first, it becomes much easier over time, and many of us look forward to each meeting.
