Preston Persuaders

The end of the year is soon upon us….time to take stock of our goals and re-evaluate what we want to accomplish for the new year!  That was the theme of tonight’s meeting and it was very apt, great job Toastmaster Ed!  Venkata reminded us all that it’s all too easy to be hacked, so unless you want your ACCESS DENIED, it’s always good to do proper research before purchasing electronics and to routinely change your passwords to keep our on-line lives safe!  During Lisa’s speech she reviewed the roles during the meeting which was a great refresher for established members as well as a fantastic source of information for new members and guests.

Happy Fall y’all!

Monday night’s meeting was very energetic - we had a full house! With Toastmaster Son Nguyen leading the way with some great food for thought from a book called The Slight Edge (which was also our theme of the day), we transitioned to the prepared speeches only after setting the tone with some great laughs from our Joke Master Valerie Harris. 

Did you know that in Chinese culture, the number 8 (pronounced Bah) is considered auspicious because it rhymes with the character for making money (pronounced Fah)? In fact, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China started at 8:08:08pm on August 8th, and in Hong Kong, a license plate containing the number 8 sold at an auction for $640,000. These are just some of the fun tidbits about the alluring number 8 that we learned throughout the evening of 8/8. Fittingly, the theme was “8” and the word of the day was “Infinity” ∞.  

Hello friends and fellow Toastmasters!

We had another fun-filled, high-energy meeting last night! There were many new faces in the crowd as we opened the night with the theme: “What’s Your Brand?”

Last night was both fun and inspiring. Our Joke Master Claudia kicked us off with a hilarious airline video that left us in fits of laughter before we transitioned into our two prepared speeches of the evening. The first speech by Ravi M. called upon us to “ask for it” in order to get what we want in life, and the second speech (by yours truly) was about gratitude and ownership of one’s circumstances. During Tabletopics, Eric had each person pull a mystery item from a bag (including a wallet, an iphone, and a rubber duckie) to use as the prompt for their one minute impromptu speech, and Mays creatively turned a standard listener report into a full on game of jeopardy!

Welcome to a new year of Preston Persuaders!

Life is a wayfaring journey with many destinations along the way. Once we land in one destination, life continues and we have to plan for the next destination. If you’re not doing what you love then learn to love what you do because life is a journey.

If you couldn’t tell “Life – The Journey” was the theme for tonight’s meeting. We had a packed room tonight full of members and guests. The word of the day (WOTD), “wayfaring [wey-fair-ing] – traveling, especially on foot” was very appropriate and the word was used brilliantly throughout the evening.

Our helpers were on top of their game tonight. Sameera used an especially fitting quote for her listener role. The quote was from Stephen Covey who said:

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply…”  - Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (pub. 1989)

Also tonight we were privileged enough to have three new applicants who were voted in as members. Special congratulations to our three newest members voted in tonight!!! Congratulations and welcome to the best club in town (or anywhere)!

As you can see (read), here at Preston Pursuaders we learn and grow into decorated, experienced speakers and leaders.

Ribbon Winners

5 Star Helper: Sameera
Best Evaluator: Jeff
Best Table Topics: Eileen
Best of Big 3: Chris
Best Speaker: Paree
Sparkplug: Mark

Another fantastic meeting tonight with lots of guests. The theme was "taxation" and hopefully everyone had a better experience than I did with your taxes, LOL!

Our speakers were Don, Alpa and Ann. The word of the day (WOTD), “onus” – used to refer to something that is one's duty or responsibility.

Toastmasters is a invaluable program to improve not only your public speaking but also overall communications and leadership skill. Here you will gain the tools and knowledge to succeed in anything, at any organization.

Our helpers will assist you in identifying opportunity areas and recommend ways to improve or take advantage of your existing strengths.

We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting Monday (4/20).

Ribbon Winners

5 Star Helper: Sheri
Best Evaluator: Jyo
Best Table Topics: Eileen
Best of the Big 3: Max
Best Speaker: Ann
Sparkplug: Susan