Advanced Toastmasters of Asheville

Toastmaster Deb Lee introduced the theme of autumn colors, and even if weather dictated fall colors not as spectacular as for some other autumns, the stage was already set for a spectacular (word of the day) meeting.   What makes an advanced Toastmasters club spectacular is the quality of the speakers, speakers so good that evaluators are hard pressed to give meaningful grows.   John Bowen’s speech was an invitation to “Dinner at John’s house.”  As hospitable a host John was, his power point slides gave images that looked like vegetarian garbage, which in fact was the fare.  The audience was to play the role of compost worms.  And John delivered in great humor our three job descriptions:  eat, shed worm castings, and make babies.  As John said, it was all a win-win in the worm bin.  His project was level two, project two in Presentation Mastery Pathways, Effective Body Language. Alicia’s speech, titled, “Bet You Didn’t K...

Toastmaster Rei Fuller introduced the theme of the 1970’s.  Katherine Alford, as grammarian, supplied “chill” as the word of the day and supplied various props to usher in the spirit of the 70’s.  Tim Edwards was timer and Alicia Hughes was ah-counter. Karen Alexander spoke on  “Directionally Challenged.”  She directed her audience in stories of delivering refreshments to a TLI with an unexpected detour, departing from a husband that was the nicest guy, and deciding that a Toastmaster that was an alcoholic was too much to take.   Her speech was the Pathways Leadership Development Project 2, Part 2 (Evaluation and Feedback). Doug Brown spoke on “History— The Greatest Story Ever Told.”  He began with Hammurabi, known for his code of law of ancient Mesopotamia dating to about 1754 BC.  Then he went to Moses and found parallels with Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome.   He concluded by saying our own stories could be added to the ...

      Dada Maheshvarananda  and Linda Pierce both showed off their colorful garb in the opportune lighting provided by having the new lectern face the door.  It was all to face the Brave New World of Pathways.  Dada quoted classic masters of mentoring to underscore Linda’s presentation on Base Camp 101.  The basic theme was that advanced Toastmasters need to dig into Pathways in order to mentor, to be awakeners, to kindle the fire, to coach to create the stars in others.       Supporting roles were filled with Doug Brown as Grammarian, Rei Fuller as Ah Counter,  and Alicia Hughes as Timer.       Linda Pierce interspersed her 45 minute presentation with insightful information to enhance her handout and answer questions raised by an avid audience of present and future mentors.  Some basics included the thought that tutorials, the key to base camp, are delivered by people that talk fast, so be prepared to pa...

      Mike Kesselring felt right at home as Toastmaster and also in filling in as Sergeant at Arms.  His theme was “Going Home.”  Mike inducted the new officers by passing along his crystal gavel and reading out the duties:   President, Rei Fuller; Vice President Education, Deb Lee; Vice-President Membership, Alicia Hughes; Secretary, Stan Coss; Treasurer, John Bowen.  (Absent were Sergeant at Arms, Tres Magner; Vice-President Public Relations, Glenda Teams-Edwards).       Supporting roles were introduced with John Hayden as Ah Counter,  Brian Woolf using “unique” as the Word of the Day and as Grammarian,  and Karen Alexander as Timer.       Rei Fuller presented the Facilitating Discussion Project One on the topic of “Renewable Energy.”  She served as moderator for three distinguished panelists:  Dr. John Plant (John Bowen) on Biomass; Dr. Windy Blade (Alicia Hughes) on Wind Power; Dr. Sunny Brow...

Toastmaster Fern Webb got the meeting off to a rousing start with members singing a fresh rendition of Cohan’s “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”  The theme of Flag Day was unfurled for every transition of this spirited, full-fledged meeting.  Supporting roles were introduced with Rei Fuller as Ah Counter, Stan Coss “proclaiming” the Word of the Day and as Grammarian, and Beth DeLap as Timer. Toastmaster Fern Webb got the meeting off to a rousing start with members singing a fresh rendition of Cohan’s “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”  The theme of Flag Day was unfurled for every transition of the spirited meeting.  Supporting roles were introduced with Rei Fuller as Ah Counter, Stan Coss “proclaiming” the Word of the Day and as Grammarian, and Beth DeLap as Timer. Phyllis Kombol spoke on “Succession Planning is Like Discharge Planning.”  Succession planning meant talking one on one to recruit prospects for officers early on.  She said to start with the ending in mind...

Rei Fuller, the Toastmaster spearheading the establishment of the advanced club, opens the meeting with jubilation. Rei Fuller was elated.  Her dream of a local advanced club had come to fruition.  Toastmaster Alicia Hughes set the stage.  She was decked out in a velvet tuxedo to inspire members to step beyond their Comfort Zone.  With that theme at the forefront and her flair and operatic music for transitions, it was clear this inaugural meeting was set to be a step above the normal Toastmaster meeting.  Supporting roles  were introduced with Tim Edwards as Ah-counter, Glenda Teams-Edwards as Grammarian/Word master, and Rei Fuller as Timer. Deb Lee spoke on “Communication and Leadership, a Winning Combination.”  She described Dr. Daniel Goleman’s leadership styles:  Visionary — with goals a team would want to follow; Coaching — with focus on the strengths of each member;  Affiliate — with managing by doing;  Pacesetting — with pushin...