| The club meets: | Every Wednesday, noon to 1 PM Bldg. 201 ("Comm") 10501 N. Tantau Ave. (between Pruneridge & Vallco) Rm. 2004 (upstairs in main hall) |
|---|
| President | Jeff Mann |
| Vice President of Education | Ann Hsu |
| Vice President of Membership | Tom Lawson |
| Vice President of Public Relations (Newswire Editor) | Sheila Moore |
| Secretary | Sandy Allen |
| Treasurer | Frank Chen |
| Sergeant at Arms | Open |
Welcome to the September 1993 edition of Tandem Toastmasters Newswire, the on-line newsletter of the Tandem Toastmasters club. This newswire is intended to inform and inspire both club members and potential club members.
If you are an "inspired" nonmember and would like to experience a Tandem Toastmasters meeting firsthand, please come to a meeting -- as often as you want -- as a guest. We will ask you to introduce yourself and ask for your comments at the end of the meeting. We might invite you to participate in Table Topics (the impromptu part of our meeting). We will not pressure you to participate or to join the club.
Tandem Toastmasters meets Wednesdays, NOON to 1:00 PM, in room 2004 of building 201. Building 201 is at 10501 North Tantau Ave. (between Pruneridge Rd. and Vallco Parkway). Room 2004 is upstairs in the main hall -- look for the sign that says "Tandem Toastmasters meets here." Watch third class mail for our weekly agendas (but note that they are subject to change).
Tandem Toastmasters is part of Toastmasters International. In the Toastmasters International organization, Tandem Toastmasters is club #4658, in Area 6, Division G, District 4, and Region 2.
Give NEWSWIRE INPUT to Sheila Moore, Vice President of Public Relations, by e-mail (MOORE_SHEILA), "snail mail" (Loc. 252-30), or phone (285-5234).
For MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION, contact Tom Lawson, Vice President of Membership, by e-mail (CHEN_FRANK), "snail mail" (Loc. 201-01), or phone (285-4194).
To send E-MAIL to the Tandem Toastmasters club and interested persons, address it to LAWSON_THOMAS.TM-DL @TSII. To send e-mail to Tandem Toastmasters club members only, address it to LAWSON_THOMAS.TM-MEMBERS @TSII.
For a list of NETVIEWABLE FILES related to Tandem Toastmasters, see \PRUNE.$FACE.TM.README. Send any corrections to Sheila Moore.
(and you thought it was a "family show")
Tom Lawson's "Grumpy Grandpa Toastmaster," who claims that dirt was good enough for him growing up and is therefore good enough for you "young whippersnappers" with your "cellulite phones," Lamaze births, and other newfangled paraphernalia and cushy services, won first prize at the Area G6 Humorous Speech Contest on September 17 at Measurex in Cupertino. He will represent Area G6 in the Division G Humorous Speech Contest. If you saw either of the two previous incarnations of Tom's character ("Angry Old Toastmaster" in a noncontest speech or "Grumpy Grandpa Toastmaster" in the Club Humorous Speech Contest), you think you how funny he is. But you're wrong: the area contest Grandpa was even more inspired. So you young whippersnappers show some respect and go watch your Grandpa at the Division G Humorous Speech Contest on October 22! Oh yeah -- I think the reason Grandpa had to use a cane Friday night was that right before the contest, Robin Maybury told him to break a leg. Or so Robin said. Honestly, the English have no respect for the elderly.
Second prize went to sequin-lapeled "televangelist" Don Johnson of Macintalkers for "Just Say 'Thank you, Toastmasters!'" Don is pretty funny for a young whippersnapper of 40- or 50-something, and some day he might even be as hilarious as Grandpa.
Griff Bryan of Cupertino Toastmasters won third prize for "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner," a tale of his misadventures on his high school track team.
The other contestants were Harish Mahindrakar of Measurex TM and Joel Berger of Saratoga TM. Harish's speech, "An Obsession," was about his frustrating andfutile attempts to gain weight. Joel's speech, "Be Careful What You Ask For: You Just Might Get It," was about his Navy experience.
The Toastmaster for the Humorous Speech, Wally Bowers of Saratoga TM, was pretty darn funny himself ... for a young whippersnapper of 60-something.
and Wins No-Belly Prize!
Betty Snedaker (who wins the No-Belly Prize for losing weight on sabbatical and looks fantastic) won second place in the Area G6 Evaluation Contest on September 17 at Measurex in Cupertino. Both Betty and first place winner Ned Buratovich of Macintalkers gave dynamic, encouraging, helpful evaluations to the Test Speaker, Glen Norman, for "Mahjong and the Impressionable Child." One difference in their evaluations was that Betty said Glen could have used more vocal variety, while Ned said he had used enough. In my humble opinion (as they say on the Critics SIG), Betty was right; however, Ned will represent Area G6 at the Division Evaluation Contest on October 22 ... unless he breaks a leg or something (don't get any ideas, Robin!), in which case Betty will do it.
Third place went to Rhonda Edwards of Measurex TM. The other contestants were Marianna Tubman of South Bay JETs (a bilingual English and Japanese club), Lynn Wedel of Saratoga TM, and John Tinsley of Cupertino TM.
The following Tandem Toastmasters members participated in the Area G6 Evaluation & Humorous Speech Contest at Measurex on September 17:
| Tom Lawson | Humorous Speech Contestant |
| Betty Snedaker | Evaluation Contestant |
| Robin Maybury | Judge for both contests |
| Sheila Moore | Judge for both contests |
| Frank Chen | Ballot Counter |
The winners of the Area G6 Evaluation & Humorous Speech Contest -- Ned Buratovich and Tom Lawson, respectively -- will represent us (Area G6) at the ...
Division G Evaluation & Humorous Speech Contest
Friday, October 22, 1993
Radisson Haus Inn
1085 East El Camino Real*
Sunnyvale, CA
| * | On the north side of East El Camino Real between Wolfe Road & Lawrence Expressway |
Tickets for the contest only are $5 at the door, $4 if you preregister. Tickets for both the contest and dinner, for which you MUST preregister, are $22. Dinner "includes chicken, pasta, salads, and dessert," according to the preregistration forms, which will be available at our September 22 meeting (or from me, Sheila Moore, or anyone who will let you photocopy one).
Anup Pandey works on "High SNAX." His office is in Building 100.
Marlene Meyer joined Tandem Toastmasters in August, but according to a former coworker, she is "no longer with Tandem." Her former coworker did not say whether she was laid off or left of her own accord.
The bad news is that the following persons are no longer at Tandem:
The good news is that Rich and Renee have decided to stay members of Tandem Toastmasters even though they no longer work for Tandem. Renee's home phone number is (408) 288-6471; Rich's new work phone number is (408) 447-0809. Rich asked not to be scheduled for any roles until November, but he is willing to substitute in a pinch.
Jo Ann Cobb is on personal leave until November 1, 1993. She assures us that she is "not deathly sick." She does not expect to attend any TM meetings while she is out.
Ann has the last three weeks of September off, but before she left, she sent a message that included a reminder worth repeating:
... in future meetings, the Toastmaster and Master Evaluator should sit close to the front because they have to go up and back several times. So the other members please leave the seats closest to the lecturn free for the TM and ME.
For the same reason, the Presiding Officer should also sit close to the lectern.
Sorry, I was just told that Tandem no longer reimburses club employee members for the Toastmaster International Membership dues due to the budget cut as part of the recent "restructuring."
So every existing member will pay the same amount $21.00 for membership renewal. Sorry for any inconvenience I may have caused. I resend the attached message with the new figure now.
Frank
Hi, Dear Tandem Toasties Club Members,
1) We are collecting the next Toastmasters semi-annual dues in September now. For your membership renewal, please pay
$21.00 for all members ($18.00 for TMI + $3.00 for the club due)
(Sorry, there is no reimbursement for employee-member any more! I just found out today.)Please bring check or cash and give it to me in the next three meetings. Or, better yet, send your check or cash to Frank Chen, MS Loc 201-01 now.
Make check payable to Tandem TM Club. These dues are for Oct. to March '94.
We will send in the dues to Toastmasters International on or before Oct. 4. I must receive all of your renewal fees for existing members before then. As a last resort, you must indicate your intent to renew and pay later by Oct. 1 for your Toastmasters International membership to continue.
Hi, Dear Toasties,
Sheila's message reminds me that I am supposed to get feedback/comments on the Tandem Toastmasters Business/Invitation Cards that she made as prototype before she went off for vacation and distributed (by me) to some number of you who were willing to use it and to get back your comments, experience or feedback to her before she makes production quantity.
So for those of you had these card, would you kindly let Sheila or me know what are your comments, experience or suggestions for improvements.
Thank you in advance.
Frank
Regarding the room used for board meetings:
I heard that all but 2 of our upstairs conference rooms/trng rooms are being converted into office space at loc 200. Therefore, I'm trying to prevent a last minute "eviction notice". The remaining TM board meetings will be held at loc 200, anteroom (next to cafeteria) NOT room #2515 as room #2515 is suppose to go away. ...The rooms are signed up under Jeff's name and we have them from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. ...(at least now y'all don't have to climb stairs)
Regarding the new book in the Tandem Toastmasters library:
Hi folks,
Dr. Jerry Brown, Senior Education Manager at Tandem has donated a book to our Toastmasters library at loc 248. The title of the book is "Effective Business and Technical Presentations" by George L. Morrisey, MOR Associates.
I will send this book over to loc 248 for process into our Toastmasters section.
Betty
by Mike Skarpelos
Does anyone out there in Toastmasterville actually wear the ribbons awarded to them at Toastmaster meetings? Does anyone even display these ribbons (e.g. by hanging them on a wall)? I fear some may label me an iconoclast for saying this, but I think we ought to do away with awarding ribbons entirely.
Let me first say that my opinion about awarding ribbons does not arise from having failed to win one. In fact, I have probably won more ribbons than I deserve. At first, I would save the ribbons in a folder along with copies of my speeches. Later I would just throw them away when I got back to my office. Now I simply return them to the box whence they came.
I never joined Toastmasters in order to win ribbons. I joined simply to have a regular forum in which I could practice public speaking. I can see a rationale for awarding ribbons (or plaques or trophies) to winners of speech contests because participants enter those contests with the intent of winning. But I can't honestly say I know of anyone who gives speeches at a regular Toastmasters meeting because they want to compete for the ribbon.
Also, awarding ribbons takes time away from the meeting. Voting and counting ballots cause a minor distraction during the meeting. In all, I surmise we could save 5 to 7 minutes during a regular meeting if we did away with ribbons entirely. We could use that extra time for two more table topics or an extra speech or as a buffer to make sure the meeting ended promptly.
Finally, these ribbons cost money. I suspect they don't cost very much, but in these tough economic times when Tandem no longer reimburses Toastmaster members, every little bit counts.
I love tradition as much as anyone, but not when the tradition has no positive value. Ribbons, in my view, have no such positive value. If you agree with me, please exercise your prerogative the next time you are the Toastmaster of a meeting and simply not schedule any voting or awarding of ribbons.
If you feel strongly either way about ribbons, please send me your opinion and I will print it in the October newswire.
My own opinion is that ribbons are kind of nice, and the ones I have hung in my office do generate questions about TM from nonmembers, but overall I agree with Mike. I would rather we spend their time on Table Topics, which is very important and often has to be cut short.
My apologies for the holes in the following information information. I was on sabbatical and missed several meetings, we lost our Secretary, and several of last month's speakers are on vacation and not available to fill me in. I'll do better next month, I promise :-)
Sheila (VP of PR, Newswire Editor)
| August 4 | August 11 | August 18 | August 25 |
| Toastmaster | Jeff Mann |
|---|---|
| Theme | What I Do to Unwind |
| Guests | Marlene Meyer Anup Pandey |
| Speakers | Linda Kamas, "Justice is Your Responsibility" (Speech #2, Be in Earnest) |
| Evaluators | Tom Lawson (for Linda) Jo Ann Cobb (for Rich) |
| Table Topics Master | Sheila Moore |
| Word of the Day | vegetate |
| Table Topics Speakers | Garry Easop* Bob May* Ray Tanaka Frank Chen* Renee Harris |
| Ribbons | Better Speaker: Linda Better Evaluator: Tom & Jo Ann tied Best Table Topics Speaker: Bob |
* Used Word of the Day
| Toastmaster | Jo Ann Cobb |
|---|---|
| Theme | Our Ancestors |
| Guests | ? |
| Speakers | Renee Harris, "???" (Speech #9, Speak With Knowledge) |
| Ann Hsu, "???" (Speech #???, ???) |
|
| Evaluators | Ray Glasstone (for ???) Bob May (for ???) |
| Table Topics Master | Rich Ladd |
| Word of the Day | ? |
| Table Topics Speakers | ? |
| Ribbons | Better Speaker: ? Better Evaluator: ? Best Table Topics Speaker: ? |
| Toastmaster | Tom Lawson |
|---|---|
| Theme | The Meaning of Life |
| Guests | ? |
| Speakers | Chandra Srivastava, "???" (Speech #1, Ice Breaker) |
| Scott Townsend, "???" (Speech #4, Show What You Mean) |
|
| Evaluators | Mike Skarpelos (for Chandra) Rich Ladd (for Scott) |
| Table Topics Master | Bob May |
| Word of the Day | ? |
| Table Topics Speakers | ? |
| Ribbons | Better Speaker: ? Better Evaluator: ? Best Table Topics Speaker: ? |
| Toastmaster | Sandy Allen |
|---|---|
| Guests | ? |
| Humorous Speech Contestant | Tom Lawson, "Grumpy Grandpa Toastmaster" |
| Evaluation Contestants | Jo Ann Cobb Robin Maybury Betty Snedaker |
| Test Speaker | Ann Krause of Saratoga TM, "Communication That Really Works" |
| Table Topics Master | Bob May |
| Word of the Day | ? |
| Table Topics Speakers | ? |
| Humorous Speech Contest Winner | Tom Lawson |
| Evaluation Contest Winner | Betty Snedaker |
| Present: | Jeff Mann, President Ann Hsu, VP Education Tom Lawson, VP Membership Frank Chen, Treasurer |
| Absent: | Sandy Allen, Secretary Betty Snedaker, Past President Sheila Moore, VP Public Relations Rich Ladd, Secretary |
Rich Ladd is the current Secretary, but has taken a contracting job at HP. We need to talk to Rich to see if he is able to continue to participate in Tandem Toastmasters.
Action: Jeff M. to contact Rich.
This office is vacant for the July-December term. Board members are currently sharing the duties on a month to month basis. Jeff M. was Sergeant of Arms in July, and Ann Hsu was Sergeant of Arms in August.
Action: Tom Lawson has graciously offered to serve as Sergeant of Arms in September.
In the past there has been confusion about who should be contacted by guests and other interested people concerning Tandem Toastmaster membership information.
Action: the Presiding Officer (PO) will ask guests to contact the VP of Membership, Tom Lawson, about membership information.
Ann Hsu is coordinating. This involves speaking or evaluating at at other clubs in the area.
Action: Tom Lawson and Rich Ladd spoke and evaluated at Cupertino Toastmasters, Ann Hsu will speak at Saratoga Toastmasters, and Jeff Mann spoke at South Bay Toastmasters.
It is sad to say that layoffs are occuring, and that layoffs are affecting the club membership. If you know of a club member that has lost their job, please contact the VP of Education.
Ann has asked Jimmy Treybig to be a guest speaker this Fall. She is waiting for his confirmation.
Tom Lawson is organizing a Karaoke night.
Action: Tom: when the tough get going, the tough go Karaoke'ing.
[Unfortunately, Karaoke Night didn't happen in August. For future reference, Jeff Iswandhi has a reply file on karaoke clubs -- \cyclone.$gold.ji.karaoke.]
The area picnic is this Sunday at Ortega Park in Sunnyvale. Scott Townsend is organizing. Bring your hats.
Tandem Toastmasters' hosting a Wednesday noon talk.
Action: this project has been tabled until next month's board meeting.
Cyndi Chin-Lee spoke to Cupertino Toastmasters at Carrows Restaurant on August 31 about her books, "It's Who You Know" (on networking) and "Almond Cookies and Dragon Well Tea" (a cross-cultural children's story). She also had book signings for the latter at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in San Mateo on August 24, Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park on August 28, and East Wind Bookstore on September 11. If you would like distribution information on Cyndi's books, contact Brian Witkowski of Polychrome Publishing (312-478-4455). For author's readings and book signings, contact Roger Dearth (415-589-3353).
Ann Hsu, VP of Education, spoke to Saratoga Toastmasters as part of the Speakers Exchange program on Saturday, August 28, at 8 AM (now that's dedication)! Ann gave the speech that generated so much interest here at Tandem -- "All Chinese People Look Alike, Right?" If you are reading this title for the first time, rest assured that in her speech, Ann answered her own question with a resounding NO.
A few years ago, we didn't think the Berlin Wall or the Eastern Bloc would fall any time soon, but they did. A few weeks ago, we didn't think Israel and Palestine would ever recognize each other, but they have ... so maybe there's hope for whatever else you've been wishing for, but not holding your breath ...