The EGG Returns Home
Like an old friend, the EGG (Ellusive Gilded Gavel) has returned home to the Hutchinson II club.
In the photo, Hutchinson II members are shown capturing the gavel from the Prime Timers. Left to Right: Bob Anderson (A64 Gov), Jean Gallagher, Chuck Shoeneberger (VP-E), Bob Lea (VP-PR) and Mike McInerny (Pres), steal the gavel from Greg Kasper (Pres), Jason Saari and Dave Walden of the Prime Talkers club in Bloomington.
Prairie Division Fall Speech Contest
Congratulations to Jean Gallagher and Bob Lea who finished second in the Evaluation Contest and third in Humorous contest respectively. Also attending from our club was Bob Anderson, the Area 64 Governor, Vickie Shoutz and Sarah Lea. Former Hutchinson II member, Anne Groetsch, served as contest Toastmaster.
The photo shows Diane Windingland, Prairie Division Governor, Jean Gallagher, and Stephen Shaner, District Six Lt. Governor of Education and Training.
The next event ist the District Six Fall Speech contest on October 23 at Ruttger's Sugar Lake Lodge in Grand Rapids.
Area 64 Fall Speech Contest
Our club hosted the Area 64 Speech Contest on Saturday, Sep 19th. Our club members had a strong showing with Jean Gallagher taking first place in the Evaluation Speech and second place in the Humorous speech. Bob Lea took first place in the Humorous speech contest. Also pictured is John Norman from the Tri-County club who took second place in the Evaluation Speech and Area 64 Governor, Bob Anderson (third from left). Prairie Division Governor, Diane Windingland, served as the Chief Judge.
The Prairie Division contest will be held on Saturday, October 10th at 9:30 AM, at Creative Memories in St. Cloud. The cost is $6 for Toastmasters and free for guests. Please plan on attending to support our club members.
President's Distinguished Club - Again!!!
Toastmasters encourages clubs to grow and advance the goals of their members. The report card for progress is the Distinguished Club Program. This year under the leadership of President Vickie Shoutz, the Hutchinson II club received the President's Distinguished Club award - the highest award in the program. This marks the fifth consecutive year for the President's award and shows the Hutch club is active, healthy and helping its members to become better leaders and communicators.
Speechcraft
What do Mary Jo, Don, Margi, Shari and Mike all have in common? Besides being busy professionals, they are graduates of a six-week Speechcraft course sponsored by the Hutchinson Toastmasters II club. Each individual presented five prepared speeches while overcoming the anxiety of being the center of attention. One key thing they learned is that the audience wants to be informed and entertained and are hoping that you can communicate effectively. They also participated in dozens of table topics which improve their ability to sound intelligent while answering questions "off the cuff". Special thanks goes out to Jean for acting as coordinator and Mike, Robert, Kay, Dan, Vickie, Chuck, Raymond and Bob for acting as advisors to ensure the success of the course.
It's Come Home
The EGG, District 6's Elusive Gilded Gavel, is returning to our club where is spent most of last year. Sarah, Bob Lea, Jean, Bob Anderson and Vickie attended the Datamasters meeting in Chanhassen to make the capture. Shown on the right are Karen Fevold, Jeff Henke, Chris Amborn, Joana Gross and Kristin Smith of the Datamasters club.
The EGG is a District Six Lt. Governor of Marketing program to encourage visitation between clubs.
Mark's Toastmasters Rap:
Our 2008-2009 Prairie Division Governor Mark Ziegler introduced everyone at the District Six Spring Convention (2008) to the Toastmasters Rap. To listen, click on the player below. Mark joined Toastmasters a second time about two years ago, to develop better leadership skills. Mark works for the City of St. Cloud, and in his free time enjoys both songwriting and Toastmasters, so the song was just a natural outcome!
Click on the Play button below.
Prairie Division Spring Speech Contest
Hutchinson II hosted the Prairie Division contest on March 28th at Hutchinson Technology's Development Center. Area 64 Governor, Jean Gallagher served as Contest Master. The Hutchinson II membership came out in force to support the event by serving in various roles that ensured the success of the contest. There was also a strong showing from the District Six leadership and Region Four International Directors.
Pat Gallagher from Area 65 took first place in the Table Topics contest. Sue Dressen from Area 64 took second place. in the International Speech contest, Karen Phlepsen place first. Bob Lea of Hutchinson II's club placed second and is shown with Prairie Division Governor, Mark Zieglar and District Six Governor, Joan Watson.
The contest season continues in April with the District Six Spring Conference being held on April 24-25 at the Bloomington Holiday Inn Select.
Area 64 Spring Speech Contest
Our club had strong representation in the Area 64 Spring speech contest. Area 64 Governor, Jean Gallagher, acted as Chief Judge. Mike McInerney and Pam Kern served as timer and receptionist/ballot counter respectively. Bob Anderson and Steve Toperzer competed in the Table Topics contest. Bob Lea and Chuck Schoenberger competed in the International Speech Contest and placed first and second respectively. Shown in the picture is Jean Gallagher, Area 64 Governor, Chuck Schoenberger, Bob Lea and Mark Ziegler, Prairie Division Governor.
The EGG Captured
All good things come to an end and so does our relationship with the EGG - the Elusive Gilded Gavel. It has been in our possession for 4 months, but the Hi-Tech Talkers from Brooklyn Park brought five members to capture it. With our usual crowd, two visitors and the five Hi-Tech Talkers, we had a full house. It was a lot of fun and we're looking forward for another opportunity to capture the EGG.
October is Toastmasters Month in Hutchinson
Mayor Steve Cook proclaimed October as Toastmaster's month before the Hutchinson City Council.
Toastmaster's month is recognition by the leaders of a city that the local Toastmasters club and Toastmasters International organization assists people in the community to become better leaders and communicators. The Hutchinson Toastmasters II club was chartered nearly 24 years ago and has beem going strong since. Hundreds of people have taken advantage of the Toastmasters training program through the local club.
Prairie Division Fall Speech Contest
The Prairie Division Fall speech contest was held on October 4th at the Creative Memories headquarters in St. Cloud. Our club made a strong showing by five members attending and serving in roles to facilitate the contest. Bob Lea competed in both the Tall Tales and Humorous speech contests winning first place in Tall Tales and third place in Humorous. Bob will go on to represent the Prairie Division at the District Six Tall Tales speech contest on October 24th at the Kahler Hotel in Rochester. Plan on attending to hear some really "tall tales".
Area 64 Fall Speech Contest
The Area 64 Fall Speech Contest was be held on September 13th at the Hutchinson Technology Development Center. Our club hosted the event and Area Governor, Jean Gallagher, acted as Contest Master. Prairie Division Governor, Mark Ziegler, acted as Chief Judge.
Bob Lea won the Tall Tales contest. Bob Lea and Woody Borg competed in the Humorous contest finishing one - two respectively. Both Bob and Woody are from the Hutchinson II club. The next event is the Prairie Division contest to be held on October 4th, at Creative Memories, 3001 Clear Water Road, in St. Cloud. The contest registration starts at 9:30 AM and contest begins at 10:30 AM. The cost is $7 which includes lunch. Come out and enjoy a funny morning of Tall Tales and Humorous speeches.
Club Vision Statement
King Solomon said, "Without a vision, the people perish." We are looking to improve the club, so we took the king's advice and created our own club vision. The next challenge is to make sure the club is living up to the vision. President Vickie Shoutz is asking everyone to complete a survey form which will be complied and evaluated by the leadership team to determine where to direct efforts for improvement.
Mastering Table Topics
Bob Lea shares some tips on delivering a winning Table Topic speech. Bob's article was published in the April 2008 Toastmaster magazine.
Capturing The EGG
What is the EGG? The Elusive Gilded Gavel or EGG belongs to the District 6 Director of Marketing. It's purpose is to encourage members from one club to visit another club and "capture" the EGG. Jean Gallagher, Bob Lea, and Bob Anderson are shown receiving the EGG from the Eagan Communicators members, Dale Phelps, Yvonne Cecchini and Daryl Henderson (pictured on the left side).
It was fun to see how another club conducts their meeting and even simple things like meeting over noon rather than early morning affects the character of the meetings. We are looking forward to another club's coming to capture the EGG from our club.
Not Enough Excitement In A Club Meeting?
How about having a tornado warning go off 2/3 of the way through the meeting? On July 31st, Toastmaster Bob Lea just gave our resident political opinion member, Bob Anderson, his Table Topics question. Just then, the alarm went off forcing everyone to scurry to the designated shelter. Fortunately, Bob Anderson got to finish his Table Topic question on what he would like to write into Senator Barack Obama's next speech on the economy. It was a fun meeting even though the weather forced a change in the agenda.
A Job Swap
How would you like to swap jobs with another person - for a year? That's what happened to Vickie Shoutz (left) and Jean Gallagher (right) of the Hutchinson II Toastmaster club. Vickie served as the 2007-2008 Area 64 governor having oversight over three Toastmasters clubs in Hutchinson, Victoria and Watertown. Jean served as the 2007-2008 President of the Hutchinson II Toastmasters club. Both are coming off an outstanding year of setting goals and inspiring their people to exceed those goals. As of July 1st, they are switching jobs. It's a new challenge for each of them, but they won't have to turn far to ask for advice.
In addition to improving one's communication skills, Toastmasters helps you to improve your leadership skills. This is important because in a modern work place, a project team is often made up of people who are not working directly for you. Being able to focus their ideas and energy to accomplish the goals of the team is an essential skill. Learn more about how Toastmasters can help your succeed in your career at the next meeting, 7:00 - 8:00 AM on Thursday at HTI’s Development Center.
President's Distinguished Club - Again!!!
Toastmasters encourages clubs to grow and advance the goals of their members. The report card for progress is the Distinguished Club Program. This year under the leadership of Past President Jean Gallagher, the Hutchinson II club received the President's Distinguished Club award - the highest award in the program. This marks the fourth consecutive year for the President's award and shows the Hutch club is active, healthy and helping its members to become better leaders and communicators.
Summer Picnic
The annual summer picnic was held on Thursday, June 26th, at Mason's (behind the Victorian Inn). The picnic took the place of the regular Thursday morning meeting. John Schafer supplied the beef to grill and everyone else brought a dish to share. Friends and family were welcomed to attend. During the meeting, the 2008-2009 officer team was installed. Here's the schedule:
- 5:30 PM - Social activities
- 6:00 PM - Pot luck supper
- 6:30 PM - Meeting and officer installation
Area 64 Spring Speech Contest Results
Carver County Communicators hosted the Area 64 Spring Speech Contest on March 13th, 2008. Area 64 Governor, Vickie Shoutz, acted as Contest Master and Prairie Division Governor, Tom Butz, acted as Chief Judge.
From left to right, Area 64 Governor, Vickie Shoutz, first place in the International Speech Contest, Jean Gallagher from Hutchinson II, second place, Susan Dressen from Carver County Communicators, and Prairie Division Governor, Tom Butz..
From left to right, Area 64 Governor, Vickie Shoutz, second place in the Evaluation Speech Contest, K.J. McDonald from Tri-County, first place, Jean Gallagher from Hutchinson II, and Prairie Division Governor, Tom Butz..
Demo Meeting - February 7th, 2008
Every wonder what goes on at a Toastmaster's meeting? You have special opportunity to find out on February 7th when the Hutchinson II club will hold a demo meeting. During the demo meeting, each participant's activity is explained so that you can fully understand what is going on. It's a lot of fun and good way to start a Thursday morning.
Our special speaker will be Kathleen Skarvan, Vice-President and President of Disk Drive Components Division at Hutchinson Technology. Kathleen will be talking about the importance of communicaiton skills in her role at Hutchinson Techology. Here's her bio:
Ms. Skarvan was elected Vice President and President of the Disk Drive Components Division in April 2007. Ms. Skarvan was initially elected Vice President of Sales and Marketing in October 2003, and was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Disk Drive Components Division, from November 2005 to April 2007. Ms. Skarvan was a strategic business unit director at HTI from September 2002 to October 2003, and a Group Vice President at Phillips Plastics, a manufacturing company, from March 2000 to August 2002. Ms. Skarvan joined HTI in 1980 and held management positions in manufacturing, human resources, communications and materials at HTI between 1985 and 2000.
Summer Picnic
Our annual summer picnic was held at the Riverside Park on July 12th at 5:30 PM. Our new officer team was installed and everybody had a good time with the theme, "A Day At The Circus". Click here for pictures.
President's Distinguished Club - Again!!!
Under the guidance of President Tom Moore and his officer team, the Hutchinson Club earns its third straight President's Distinguished club award. This award highlights strong leadership to implement the well proven Toastmaster's Communication and Leadership development programs. For each individual member, it means that the opportunity to grow and improve their own skills is the foremost purpose of the club.
Hutchinson II Open House
Marc Vaillancourt, Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce President, will be the guest speaker at the Open House meeting on January 25, 2007.
Many people have heard about the Toastmaster program, but don't know the benefits of joining. The Toastmasters program helps you to:
• Develop better speaking and
presentation skills
• Learn to think quickly and
speak clearly on your feet
• Build strong leadership abilities
The Toastmasters program will help you to develop your communication skills and open doors in your personal and professional life. To learn more about Toastmasters and our unique communication and leadership skills, plan on attending the Open House.
The meeting will begin promptly at 7:00 AM and last one hour. Click here for directions. Bring a friend and attend the Open House to find out what the Toastmasters program can do for you.
Sanjay Bids Farewell
Toastmasters is an international organization with clubs all over the world. When Sanjay G. took on a contract IT project in Hutchinson, he transfered his Toastmaster's membership from his home club in India to the Hutchinson II club.
For over a year, Sanjay actively participated in club activities and made friends in Toastmasters. We'll miss his English accent cheerfull smile. One thing is for sure - he'll have plenty of stories to tell at his home club about his adventures in Minnesota.
Area 64 Fall Speech Contest Results
The Area 64 contest proved to be exciting and competitive. Six prepared, practiced and polished speakers performed professionally making the judges decision challenging. First place winner in the Humorous speech went to Rick Holtmeier of the Carver County Communicators. Second place to Jean Gallagher (left) of Hutchinson II. First place winner in the Evaluation Speech went to Rick Holtmeier. Second place to Vickie Shoutz (right) of Hutchinson II. Rick will go on to represent Area 64 at the Prairie Division speech contest on October 7th.
Thanks to the Carver County Communicators of Victoria for hosting the speech contest and to all the clubs who participated.
Club Speech Contest Results
On August 31st, the club held its Fall Speech Contest. The contestants really rose to the challenge of presenting the best speeches possible. As one member put it, "I just loved today's meeting... Inspiring to say the least!"
Tom Moore and Jean Gallagher were the first and second place finishers in the Humorous Speech Contest. Vickie Shoutz and Jean Gallagher were the first and second place finishers in the Evaluation Speech Contest. These three will go on to complete in the Area 64 Fall Speech Contest to be held on September 14th at the Lake Auburn Moravian Church in Victoria. Registration starts at 6:30 PM and the contest at 7:00 PM. The cost is free, so please come out and support our club members as they compete!
Area 64 Toastmaster of the Year
Past Area 64 Governor, Rick Holtmeier presented Bob Lea with the Area 64 Toastmaster of the Year award at a club meeting on August 3rd. The award recognizes Bob's contribution to the success of the Hutchinson II club and to Area 64.
At the same meeting, Rick Holtmeier was also recognized as Prairie Division Area Governor of the Year by Past Division Governor, Anne Groetsch.
Hutchinson II Earns President's Distinguished Club Program Award
Doctors have EKGs and dentists have dental charts. To measure the health of a club, Toastmasters International uses the Distinguished Club Program as the gauge. This year, the Hutchinson II club scored 10 out of 10 points necessary to earn the President's Distinguished Club award. Lively club meetings, a strong membership and a dedicated officer team made this award possible. Over 140 speeches were given to earn the needed award points. This marks the second year in a row receiving this award. Thanks to every member and officer who made this award possible.
As nice as it to receive the award, the true treasure is in the hearts, the thinking, the communication skills and confidence level of the membership who have grown greatly throughout the year.
Summer Picnic - July 13th, 2006
This year's picnic was held at 5:30 PM at the riverside park in Hutchinson. Hamburgers and brats were provided as well as many delicious pot luck offerings. The club meeting started at 6:30 PM and featured the installation of the new 2006-2007 officers and some entertaining speeches.
President’s 2005-2006 State of the Club Report
Here's a list of accomplishments for the year.
- We started out the year with a great picnic
- Hosted the Area 64 Fall Speech contest
- The city of Hutchinson declared October as Toastmaster’s Month
- Hutchinson Mayor Steve Cook came to speak at our club
- We had a joint meeting with another club
- Celebrated out 1000th club meeting.
- We were in print several times in the Hutch Leader newspaper
- We put up a web site and received an award for it
- We held a demo meeting
- We met our officer training requirements and even provided training to others.
- We had two finalists in District’s 6’s Fall and Spring Speech competitions
- We are in sound financial condition
- We had a net gain of seven new members including the Division Governor
- We heard 113 manual speeches and offered feedback to those many speakers
- We gave at least 18 non-manual and contest speeches
- We have earned eight CTM, ATM and CL awards
- We received the President’s Distinguished Club award for the second year in a row
- We have learned and grown as individuals
- We have motivated and encouraged one another to reach beyond our limitations
- We have had a lot of fun.
Club Elections
As the Toastmaster year draws to an end on June 30th, our club has elected a new set of officers. Tommy Moore will become the club president on July 1st, replacing Bob Lea. Bob will become the Governor of Area 64.
Hutchinson II Wins Best Web Site Contest
At the 2006 District Six Spring conference, the District awarded the Hutchinson II club the Best Web Site award. Hutchinson II member and Prairie Division Governor, Anne Groetsch (left) is shown accepting the award from Lonnie Yohannes (center), District Six Public Relations Officer. The award is presented annually.
Prairie Division Table Topics Winner
Bob Lea, member of Hutchinson II Toastmaster Club, is presented with the first place trophy for the Prairie Division's Table Topics event. Anne Groetsch, Prairie Division Governor, is making the presentation. Bob will go to compete at the District Six contest on May 12th, 2006. See the Area 64 contest photos.
Bob says that being a spontaneous speaker is difficult for him, but using techniques he learn through Toastmasters, he's become much better at speaking on his feet.
Joint Meeting
Our club will have a joint meeting with the Carver County Communicators (North Of The River Gang) on January 12, 2006, at the Lake Auburn Moravian Church on County Road 11 in Victoria. Bring a dish for a pot luck at 6:30 PM. The meeting starts at 7:00 PM and ends promptly at 8:50 PM. Please plan on attending. We will have our normal meeting at 7:00 AM on the 12th.
Toastmasters Month 2005
October is Toastmasters month in the city of Hutchinson. Mayor Steve Cook made the proclamation and attended the meeting on Thursday, October 20th, to make the presentation to the club's President, Bob Lea (on right). Mayor Cook described the importance of public speaking skills in his position as mayor and how he overcame the challenge to be a better speaker.
Dr. Ralph C. Smedley held the first Toastmasters meeting on October 22, 1924 in the YMCA building in Santa Ana, California. Dr. Smedley worked for the YMCA developing educational programs and saw a need for young men to develop speaking and debating skills. By 1930, there were 30 clubs, mostly in Southern California. This October, Toastmasters is 81 years old.
Fall Speech Contest 2005
Congratulations to Cyndy Abramson for participating in the District Six Humorous Speech Contest. Her performance was a personal best and she appealed to the audience with her funny and insightful look at life in her speech, "Cinderella Lessons 101." She proved that she is one of the top ten best speakers in Minnesota and Ontario.
Cyndy Abramson won first place at the Prairie Division Humorous speech contest and Bob Lea finished second in the Tall Tales contest. Cyndy represented our club, Area 64 and the Prairie Division at the District Six speech contest at Madden' s Resort near Brainerd on October 14-15, 2005.
Hutchinson II Toastmasters club hosted Area 64's Humorous and Tall Tales speech contest on September 10th, 2005. Check out the pictures and the results