Elk County Toastmasters hold monthly meeting

The Elk County Toastmasters meet the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. through a hybrid model. Participants can attend in-person at the St. Boniface Social Hall in Kersey or by joining on-line through a Zoom meeting link. The club welcomes people from the community who are interested in our mission of providing a supportive and positive learning experience in which members are empowered to develop communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

James Tate opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and introduced Shanda Kelsch as Toastmaster for the evening. Shanda chose ‘gifting’ as the theme for the meeting. Shanda then introduced those with meeting roles. Anna Smith was Joke Master to lighten the mood, Timer JoAnn Stockman kept the meeting on track, and Cory Straub revealed the Word of the Day, “mindful” and challenged members to use this word throughout the evening. Shanda then led the Table Topics session with various questions about gifts given and received. This activity encouraged quick thinking for formulating a response and articulating it thoroughly within a limited time.

James Tate was the first speaker for the evening with a speech titled “The Race Against Pollution” and was evaluated by Cory Straub. This was a speech about the amount of garbage humans produce. Tatiana Likhatchev was the second speaker with her speech titled “Remedies and Household

Tips” evaluated by Monica Schloder. Tatiana’s speech highlighted the home remedies she has compiled throughout her lifetime to care for aliments such as the common cold, a sore throat, or achy muscles.

Cory Straub, Quiz Master, quizzed the members about details mentioned throughout the meeting to help improve everyone’s listening skills. JoAnn Stockman gave a general evaluation about the meeting and called for reports. The Timer noted that both speakers were over their allotted times while all other segments ran within time. Grammarian noted the word of the day was used several times throughout the meeting along with a few “filler words“noted by the members. The evaluation and reports served to remind and challenge members of the importance of keeping within time limits and avoiding the use of words that distract from the meaning of our everyday speech.

To conclude the meeting, President Monica Schloder led the group in a discussion on club business. Topics discussed included observations made while visiting another club, the recent District semi-annual conference, and the importance of following Toastmasters International rules for speech delivery. Time was used to explore various parts of the Toastmasters International website.

The next meeting will be January 4, 2024, at 6:30 p.m.. Guests and new members are always welcomed. Please visit www.elkcounty.toastmastersclubs.org.