Marleen Geyen ably stepped up to the lectern to call Marshwinds Toastmasters to order at 9:15 AM. Our presiding officer, Lisa Jenks, no less skilled and equally as lively, took helm and eagerly introduced the Toastmaster, Susan Budig.
I, as Toastmaster, urged everyone to Step Up and take his or her calling seriously as a Toastmaster in our community. I reflected on the fact that elephants step up as well, but under the tutelage of a trainer wielding a whip.
Lee Handwerger toasted us all with his speech, “Beer Saves the Day,” which it certainly did for some, but not exactly for us as the product itself was in short supply at our meeting. Very short supply. Pamela Sakayan delivered a performance piece titled, “A Few Minutes with Betty.” The sound of laughter stepped up as we heard either our own accent accentuated or, as in my case, heard my aunties from Wadena, Minnesota magically vocalized at the head of our tables in the guise of Sakayan. Finally, Lisa Jenks brought us back to solemnity with her award-winning (TMD) speech, “The Hardest Thing I Ever Did.”
Deborah Dora zinged us with a delightful round of Table Topics, asking zany questions of fantasy. What would *you* do with a million dollars?
Marleen efficiently trundled us through the educational and affirming phase of evaluation requesting Larry Everett, last minute stand-in Ravi Bakshi, and Tom Schmid to evaluate the speeches. Ruth Fernandez counted our stutters, Lee Handwerger two-stepped as he waxed eloquently on our language, and Pamela Sakayan put a surprised Betty to work as timer.
I remind all that the Saints will be stepping up to the plate in August and we are all encouraged to witness their performance. More on that topic in a minute.
Respectfully submitted by Susan Budig
No comments:
Post a Comment