Toastmasters look back on another eventful year at AGM
SEAN Corcoran presided over last week’s Speakeasy Toastmasters AGM and reviewed another eventful year for the club.
It was a year with many highlights, meaningful meetings and community involvement. It was also the year of awards. In December, Deirdre Linehan received an Award at the Cork County Council Mayor’s Reception. This Award was in recognition of Deirdre’s achievement of competing at the World Finals of Public Speaking in Chicago.
In March, Speakeasy Toastmasters received a Club Achievement Award at the Mallow and District Sports and Leisure Council Gala Banquet. This was in recognition of Speakeasy’s continued contribution within the community over the past twenty-five years.
In November, the Club held it’s Annual Schools Public Speaking Competition. The winning speaker was Grace O’Brien of Scoil Mhuire, Kanturk who presented a powerful presentation on the dangers of sugar - “Alcohol to a child”. The Best School Award went to Nagle Rice College, represented by Sharon Campbell and Conrad Werner.
Another memorable highlight was the Club’s Annual Theme Night which focused on the magic of books. Eight speakers interpreted the works of famous Irish writers like Brendan Behan, Frank O’Connor, Maeve Binchy and Joseph O’Connor. The evening also featured tributes to former members, Máire Welford and John Dillon.
On alternate Thursday nights Speakeasy held it’s usual meetings, where members, both new and experienced, acquired and developed their communication skills. “Learning by doing” is the approach used in Toastmasters. Over the past year, a very high standard of meetings ensured that members learned most in moments of enjoyment.
As always, Club members participated in the various competitions and enjoyed a fair degree of success. In the Humorous Speech Contest, Kieran Butler and Claire O’Connell reached the Division B Final (Munster) with Kieran achieving a Third Place finish.
In the International Speech Contest Pat Sexton and Brendan Foley were among the contestants who reached the Division Final. Sean Corcoran and Pat Sexton participated in the Division B Final of the Speech Evaluation Contest, with Pat going forward to compete in the Irish and British Final in Norwich. In the Table Topics Contest, Ray Ryan and Pat Sexton were successful in reaching the Division Final.
Ultimately, Pat Sexton reached the District Final and was placed in second place.
Speakeasy were enthusiastic participants in Kanturk Arts Festival in March. Liam Flynn, Bobby Buckley and Gerry O’Callaghan regaled a full house at O’Callaghans Showroom. At the Drama Night in The Edel Quinn Hall, Sean Corcoran and Kieran Buckley were part of a strong and varied programme.
The following officers were elected for the coming year - President - Theresa O’Reilly ; Education Officer - Rachel Liston ; Membership Officer - Don McSweeney ; PRO - Pat Sexton; Secretary - Ann Nyhan ; Treasurer - Máire Fitzpatrick ; Hospitality Officers - Claire O’Connell, Susan Hegarty and Verna Byrne.
The next Speakeasy Toastmasters meeting takes place on tonight Thursday, May 30 in the Hibernian Hotel commencing at 8pm. Guests are always welcome. For more information, please check out the website speakeasytoastmasters.com or on Facebook.