"TABLE- FOOD, REFRESHMENTS & TOPICS!"

Today's meeting of Pania Toastmasters was the last for 2018 and we celebrated with a mixture of food, refreshments and off course Table Topics! President Marc led the festivities with the use of some topics from a game provided by Carol.

"50 SHADES IF ICE BREAKER WHITE WEDDINGS!"

50 Shades of Ice Breaker White Weddings.

Laurel was the Toastmaster at Pania's meeting on 29th November and conducted a well-run meeting with good linking between segments.

"HALLELUJAH- IT WILL STILL BE SUPER!"

"Super"  "Wonderful" "Perfect" "Hallelujah" these were some of the words used at our Pania meeting on 6th December - read more

"THIS IS ME- TED X!!"

Toastmasters     22^nd November

‘As you can tell I am destined to be on time’…

As Toastmaster Graeme, called the meeting to order he declared ‘as you can tell I am destined to be on time’ which set the tone of the meeting.

Lou read the mission statement, confidently and clearly.

There was lots of energy and lots of acknowledgement.  It was beautiful to have Maori spoken by Paula and Jennifer.

Noel was warmly welcomed and received his Competent Communicator award .   

Marc acknowledged Paula for choosing to use her speech as professional development on her ‘MCing’ for the TED X Salon Event in Napier last Saturday on the future of education.  Marc commended her for embracing it as an exciting opportunity, he was very positive in his feedback and mentioned use of Maori, her research of speakers and gave her helpful ‘fine tuning suggestions’.

Jennifer’s Icebreaker - ‘This is Me’ introduced her through her mihi, in Maori and talked about her European and Maori ancestry.  She also discussed the purpose of a mihi.  She used great humour and took us on a journey as a new mother, she had to give presentations and had to travel with work going through a ‘very hard dark time’, then rebuilding and now being in a stronger place.  Jennifer won the best speaker award and showed real courage and strength in being vulnerable.

Linda’s Table Topics – were totally unique.  Having taught English in Iran for a few years, she chose the word idiom as the theme and gave examples – e.g. ‘barking up the wrong tree’, ‘a dog doesn’t recognise its owner’ (things are chaotic). Noel was given ‘My hand to your skirt, I beg you’. Noel nailed it with his own story of Iran.  With ‘I rub salt on my stomach’ Jen talked about her stomach a LOT and Christmas time.  With ‘they made me bald – driving me crazy’– Lou talked about workers in her garden, with a great sense of humour, and won the best table topic award.  Finally, with ‘I would eat your liver – I love you so much’ Trish also used humour about her mother in law, with effective use of gestures.

Craig presented Noel with his Competent Communicators Certificate – saying they were amongst the best 10 speeches he has heard Noel give.

Graeme finished the meeting with enough time for another 2 table topics!!!

To Graeme -  ‘Thanks for being here’ and on time!

'THE 'C' WORD AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN!"

The C word and the garden of Eden

Anna was the Toastmaster for the day, with a well-organized and run meeting infused with tongue twisters and pursuing excellence with pronouncing T’s.  She warmly welcomed our visitors. We all expertly repeated the mission statement together and apologies were accepted. Linda did the honours as our Grammarian – word of the day “Appreciation”.

"NAKED WISDOM or HOW TO TRAIN A PUPPY!"

Well, what a fantastic meeting we had last Thursday 8th November.

Lou was our Toastmaster and she did a wonderful job, kicking the meeting off slightly early just to keep everyone on their toes. A well-prepared agenda from one of our toastmasters that always continues to blossom.

"FIND THE EYE OF THE TIGER on GEOCATION!"

Pania Blog – Thursday 18 October 2018

Lazy Long Weekends

With a day to go to the start of a long, lazy weekend for the citizens of Hawkes Bay, our meeting today was anything but lazy!

Toastmaster of the Day Tamara brought her usual high energy to this meeting, ensuring that we were swept along with her enthusiasm. Sincere congratulations must be given to Tamara, considering this was her first time as chair.

"GOING,GOING-GONE!"

Another fab meeting for Toastmasters Pania on Thursday November the 1^st.

Our experienced Toastmaster for the day was Jen who ran the meeting with a general theme of gratefulness - with some snippets about the many gifts of life and the things we have to be happy about. One of our newest members Jenny read the club mission statement for us - it is always good to be reminded of the over-arching goals for our time at Toastmasters.

Sandy gave us a warm introduction to our first speaker for the meeting - Linda. It was great that Sandy gave us some background information into Linda's journey through Toastmasters as well. Linda's speech titled “Going, Going, Gone” took us through an at times personal journey of dealing with loss - accompanied by a handout with some practical steps for us all to take home and think about.

Sandy's evaluation covered a common issue for evaluators - to step outside of the speech to be able to evaluate it. It’s so easy to become engrossed in the many great speeches we get to listen to. There were no recommendations for Linda, but Linda had asked for Sandy to look out for her speech structure and she had some good positive feedback around that.

We had some extra time for table topics today and Heather therefore lead 5 questions around people's experiences and memories about their school days and we learned a little more about the pasts of Jenny, Lou, Graeme, Sandy and Mike. Paula evaluated the 5 table topic speakers and had commendations for everyone and a few recommendations as well.

Mike did a reading from a book of editorials by columnist Joe Bennett - an English man, living in Christchurch who has a brilliant use of the English language and is quite funny to boot! Mike caught a case of the giggles and so did the audience - a great choice for us all to sit back, relax and enjoy listening to.

Time Keeper Julie finished off with an update on how we ran, and then after a quick general evaluation of everyone we finished our meeting for another week.

Best Speaker : Linda
Best Evaluator: Sandy
Best Table Topic: Mike

"HAS WONDER WOMAN RETURNED @50?"

In a meeting of many 'firsts' our Toastmaster of the day, Linda ran an excellent program at Pania Toastmaster's meeting on 11th October. Well drawn up, clear, uncomplicated program and a  wonderfully warm welcome assisted Linda to make the meeting an excellent one! We had two guests (who were there for the third time,) Julie & Jenny, next time they may be Toastmasters!! It was also great to see Jane & Russell back with us after their winter break.

'WILL GENDER EQUALITY EVER BE ACHIEVED?"

This was the very interesting topic for Pania's Table Topics Contest held at out Thursday lunchtime meeting. The Chairman, Laurel, handled the Contest with extreme professionalism and this enabled everything to run smoothly.

In this Contest each contestant draws for speaking order and then one by one come into the room to answer the same topic for between 1 and 2 minutes. We had five contestants and all of them without exception spoke extremely well to the subject and within the limited time available to them had some excellent ideas both for and against. It seems from the general consensus of the speakers that we will struggle to achieve gender equality certainly in out lifetime, but things are getting better!! One speaker (a male) even felt that we were getting to the stage of males being pushed aside to the preference of females!!

The Contestants in speaking order were, Marc, Carol, Mike, Darryl and Paula so we had a mixture of plenty of experience with the first four and then Paula, who has only been with the Club since June.However, as mentioned, all performed really well, to what turned out to be a very good topic for them and they can all feel justifiable proud of giving it a go and performing so well.

As in any Contest there needs to be a winner and first place  (for the second year in a row) went to Marc, while Carol was placed second and Mike 3rd.
Our special thanks to those who made the effort to enter the contest (after all it does not require much preparation) also to Laurel for her excellent running of the Contest and for thinking up the Topic, and to the Judges and other assistants, particularly Steve & Christine from Napier Club.

We do hope that our two guests (Julie & Jennifer) there for the second visit enjoyed the slightly different meeting.

Marc now goes on to represent the Club at the Area R3 Contest on 3rd November , when he will come up against the winners from the other five clubs in the Area.,We wish him well!!

Napier Club are holding their Table Topics Contest (and their Humorous Contest) on Monday 8th October at the Greenmeadows Community Centre, Tait Drive and everyone is welcome for what will be a great night's entertainment.(and its' free!!)

"CAMPERVANS and OTHER JOURNEYS"

“Campervans and other journeys”

What a wonderful meeting we had on Thursday.

Our Toastmaster was Anna, who ran the meeting with great energy and enthusiasm after trying to convince us she was grumpy from a recent break-in.

"KNOWING WHO IS GOING TO CONFORM IN YOUR AUDIENCE"

Knowing who is going to conform in your audience!

Marc was the Toastmaster for the day, with a well-organized and run meeting infused with humour. Heather expertly read the mission statement and apologies were accepted.

"HATS OFF TO THE HUNTSMAN v. THE KIDS!"

It was a miserable day outside when we gathered for our weekly Toastmasters meeting . But, the atmosphere inside was warm , welcoming and friendly . For an hour we all forgot our other lives and shared in a convivial , entertaining hour . A BIG WELCOME to our newest member, Heather, who did extremely well with her Table Topic.

"Chose Toastmasters & Learn about Iran!"

Well what a great meeting we had at Pania Toastmasters on Thursday 23August!   Lou our first time Toastmaster started exactly on time at 12.05 and did her chairperson role very well indeed.  Our two speakers had rather intriguing speech titles "Desert mountains and join toastmasters".    Read more.

"SEEING GOALS MATERIALIZE!"

A clear vision on good leadership brings happiness!

Again we had what I enjoy so much at Toastmasters: the fabulous mix of a humorous, but also informative meeting at the Pania Club! There was a long list of apologies, but nevertheless we had a very successful meeting, including time to catch up over lunch after the official part was over.

Jen was our Toastmaster, leading into the meeting with an account of her recent most horrific day with a computer system crash – which she presented in her typical earnest way, but never failing to make us all laugh and giggle and see the quirkiness in the situation.

First speaker Graeme was introduced warmly by Tamara, who informed us that the objective of Graeme’s speech was to use visual aids. Matching the objective in a double sense, Graeme talked about his trip to an optometrist. Wittily, he weaved through his speech the mystery behind the acronym OPSM, also jesting about the staff and his interpretations for his poor eye sight, but then lead to the discovery of his eye problem that needed hospital treatment. Everything came to a positive end – but with us still pondering about OPSM. In her evaluation, Tamara summarised that the speech’s objectives were met and gave a clear analysis of the speech’s structure and how the message was conveyed.

Trish was Table Topics Master with the theme Happiness, and we learnt of the existence of a world happiness day in August, which was then expanded to the whole month of August.

As the first Table Topic speaker, Trish asked Marc to talk about what excites him most in life. Marc, in two minutes packed with energy, vocal variety and gestures told us he likes to be challenged and this is why he loves Toastmasters and specifically Table Topics – to make something up on the spot –even if it’s lies. This earned him the award for the best Table Topic Speaker. There were three more table topics on the theme of happiness, answered by Sandy remembering past and current volunteer work; Mike, who talked about the joy of picking up ukulele lessons as an adult; and Patrick who told us that ending up lonely at old age is nothing to be afraid of, as there are many happy things one can do at a later stage in life.

Lou evaluated the Table Topics session in a comprehensive way, by offering commendations and recommendation to each speaker.

The second speaker Laurel was introduced by Patrick. He explained that the goal of Laurel’s speech was to learn and review researched matter. Laurel presented on the research done by an Auckland professor on social and psychological aspects of corporate leadership. The core message was that in order to achieve goals, there is a high need to capture voluntary cooperation and willingness of the employees, which Laurel explained by using the example of the Toastmasters organisation. She also visualised a conceptual model on courageous conversation on the board and touched on the background vita of the professor. Patrick evaluated the speech and highlighted the quality of research, structure and content. With all this Laurel was providing an extremely informative talk.

Toastmaster Jen led through the meeting smoothly, and keeping it on time, cordially shaking every participant’s hands as they were called on stage.

I (Sandy) finished the meeting with the general evaluation, noting that a lot of my recommendations I would give to myself, too, while I was realising the difficulties in this role. The time keeper Linda kindly shortened her report to a few seconds to rescue the general evaluator going significantly over time – some room for improvement here, but in the end, that’s why we are here!

We all finished the meeting with upright humour and moved to a shared lunch to catch up with each other.

Best Table Topics – Marc

Best speech – Graeme

Best evaluator - Patrick

"FEELING AT HOME WITH THE WALTZ!"

FEELING AT HOME WITH THE WALTZ.

Graeme was the Toastmaster for the day, with a well-organized and run meeting.

Jen was the Grammarian and introduced her word of the day – Rejoice.

Jen also asked that each speaker explain their roles for the benefit of guest Nikki. (Everyone did)

Craig introduced Patrick, who gave a speech titled “We Feel at Home in New Zealand”. He told us about a recent trip back to the Netherlands. He had very good gestures, vocal variety, humour and a good speaking rate. He spoke a little bit of Maori, but admitted that he doesn’t really understand the language.

In his introduction, Craig gave us some information about Patrick and explained that this was a Pathways project and gave the objectives. In his evaluation he explained that under Pathways the evaluator is required to look for improvements from the previous projects. He gave good commendations and recommended that Patrick start the presentation with the Maori quote and to use more pauses to reduce the ums and errs.

The next speaker was Marc who was introduced by Linda, who gave some background information about Marc. Linda told us that Marc’s presentation was about ballroom dancing, but didn’t give the objectives or title.

Marc told us about going to dancing lessons and learning ten new dances. He also gave an excellent demonstration of waltz steps. 1-2-3, 1-2-3. He had a good speaking rate, good eye contact, used visual aids well and had good light humour.

In her evaluation, Linda commended Marc for his demonstrations and visual aids etc. and recommended that Marc have less reliance on notes on the lectern and use gestures more to reduce hand clasping.

General Business. – Marc was announced as the Pania Club Toastmaster Of The Year.

Table Topics. – Noel was the last minute Table Topics Master. He didn’t know until he walked in the door. He used cards with a career written on each. Each speaker chose a card and spoke about the career. Because of time constraints, the Table Topics were limited to one minute each

Graeme – Baker. Spoke about cream cakes and his problem with them.

Jen – Dentist. Would hate to be a dentist and thinks it is a creepy job.

Darryl – Librarian and Politician. He picked up two cards and combined the roles.

Darryl was also the Table Topics Evaluator. He thanked Noel for stepping into the role and gave good evaluations of Graeme and Jen, and evaluated himself by role playing his dual Table Topic.

Best Table Topics – Jen.

Grammarian’s report. Jen reported on the use of the word Rejoice and other words and phrases used during the meeting.

Timekeeper’s report. Paula gave a competent report. Quite softly spoken on this occasion. Recommendation – Speak a little louder to make sure everyone can hear what’s being said.

Best Speaker – Patrick.

Best Evaluator – Craig.

"FOREST GUMP ON A RIVER ADVENTURE!!"

Today’s meeting got off to a good start with our Toastmaster Laurel expertly running the proceedings. 

The first speaker was Jen and she was ably introduced by Noel. Her speech ‘My Forest Gump Moment’ was a heart-warming story about a young boy with a disability who kept going and won a sailing race with unfailing enthusiasm and the support of the other boys. Despite a dislike of the water Jen helped her husband with Sea Scouts for a number of years and it was clear that she got as much from the experience as they undoubtedly did. The story was peppered with funny anecdotes and a clear moral message which was the aim of the speech.

Our second speech was by Lou and introduced by Graeme. This was a ‘How to say it’ speech using rhetorical devices. I for one was pleased that he took the time to tell us what these were as this helped us to appreciate the structure of the speech. The title was ‘River Adventure’. Lou started by recounting the fun of family holidays by the river with descriptive detail that had us all yearning for long hot summer days. However, things took a dramatic turn when her daughter was pinned under water in her kayak, a warning to us all not to be complacent around water.

Sandy took us beyond our shores with her Table Topic session.

Paula – ‘What does travel mean?’ Naturally fun, adventure and food. Who could argue with that cocktail. The buildings, colour and culture delight the mind in ways that are easy to appreciate in foreign countries and this also includes the beer.

Heather- ‘Which travel experience still makes your heart sing?’ She told us about Dubai, as this is totally different with the richness of the culture, the extravagance of the shopping and the hot, sand laden air.

Noel – ‘What is your favourite means of travel?’ A bicycle of course. The perfect vehicle to see a country, to meet the locals and to throw in a bit of exercise as well.

Laurel – ‘What trip relates to a memory?’ The ship that brought her to NZ started off inauspiciously with soggy toilet paper, few well-wishers, and driving rain with an unsteady rolling gait due to poor weight distribution. Surprisingly things became more adventurous and fun as the ship continued around the USA and Canada, through the South Pacific and finally to New Zealand. This is a trip that if finances allow she would repeat in a heart-beat.

Craig gave all the participants positive feedback and even though Laurel had the only recommendation she also received the best TT award.

Linda, completed the meeting with an excellently structured and comprehensive General Evaluator's report ably assisted by the first-time Timekeeper Trish. Well done to both! (ED)

Another great meeting with insightful speeches and the warmth and laughter of people enjoying a shared experience. Looking forward to next week.

Best Speaker – Lou

Best Evaluator – Graeme

Best Table Topic - Laurel

"MOON STRUCK!"

What an interesting meeting!  Started off with Carol our Toastmaster giving us an insight with regard to current Lunar activity.  Loved your agenda.  This theme was apparent throughout the whole meeting.  Thanks Carol.  Your efforts were very much appreciated.

'TO USE (BODY LANGUAGE) OR NOT THAT IS THE QUESTION!"

Our meeting last Thursday , was as warm and friendly as the weather outside . 

Toastmaster Noel , provided us with a very nice agenda and a warm welcome . 

Kerry Howley paid a visit and as our new Area Director it was  a triple pleasure , an ex member, the presidents wife and Area Director ! 

Heather came along for the first time and we hope she will come again. 

"ICE BREAKER IN SIBERIA!"

The meeting of 12 July was attended by 12 hearty souls and we were pleased to have Barbara  back as a visitor, but quickly had a role as Mission Statement reader. Toastmaster Graeme welcomed all with bright yellow agenda and took a long list of apologies which was accepted with due process.

First speaker Paula was introduced by Craig. Paula explained in her icebreaker, entitled "A Soundbite and a wee insight into Paula!" her role as a paid and volunteer motivator and skills coach and then described the goals she wished to fulfil in her Toastmaster's membership. As Craig evaluated this was a “top bracket” icebreaker by Paula with her attention grabbing start, dynamic gestures, and passed on a sense of enjoyment that all added to gaining and maintaining attention. Craig struggled to find just one recommendation but suggested that Paula limit the number of items to be introduced and discussed, which applies to all 5-7 minute speeches. Excellent Ice Breaker, well done Paula!

Carol introduced Tamara who gave her third speech about her recent trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Mongolia. She illustrated her address with photos using the television the club now has on tap. Her description of a Siberian sauna sounded like it was almost an actual ice-breaker! Her descriptions of the landscapes and experiences were fascinating. Carol’s evaluation was very positive and mentioned how standing in the right location when using screens needs to be carefully considered.

Lou introduced table topics with a theme of “making time to help” in which Marc Barbara and Paula were asked to describe different instances of helping by themselves or by others. All three responded very well as evaluated by Mike who was unable to identify recommendations. He judged Marc’s as the best table topic.

Noel rounded off the meeting with a very efficient General Evaluation assisted by Sandy, who  gave a comprehensive timekeepers report and Noel gave awards for best speech to Paula for her Ice Breaker and best evaluator to Craig. A great meeting well coordinated by Graeme.

"FOOTBALL- MY OTHER WORLD!"

Football - My Other World.

Yet another interesting, informative and fun Pania meeting on 5th July.

Craig was the Toastmaster and had the Football World Cup as his theme, with flags and balloons to emphasize the festive occasion.

New member Trish read the Mission Statement.

Craig was also Linda’s evaluator.

Linda, gave a presentation titled My Other World, about her experiences in Iran. She made use of the club’s new TV and showed a Power Point of photos of her life in Iran. Linda also got dressed appropriately for Iran.

In his evaluation, Craig gave the objectives of the project and recommended that Linda position the TV further forward and look at the laptop screen rather than back at the TV and therefore maintain better eye contact with the audience. He also recommended that Linda quote her research sources.

Craig had some commendations for Linda, but they could have been promoted a little more to give a more balanced evaluation.

The next speaker was Marc, who was introduced and evaluated by Graeme.

Marc presented his Pathways Icebreaker, which coincidentally matched the theme of the meeting and was all about football and Marc’s successful history as a player, referee and coach. Marc wore a football shirt and had a number of personal, football related visual aids.

In his evaluation, Graeme gave good commendations, such as use of visual aids, speaking rate, eye contact.  His suggestions (Graeme prefers suggestions to recommendations) for Marc were to give himself more speaking space and to move the visual aids table closer, so that he didn’t need to walk back and forth as much.

Graeme overlooked stating the project objectives and the speech title.

Table Topics was presented by Darryl who had a sports theme that was complementary to the meeting theme and interspersed the topics with shouts of Goal and Strike.

Tamara - Spoke about playing an underwater sport and chose underwater hockey. Tamara knew something about underwater hockey because her brother used to play it.

Trish – Favourite sport as a child. Trish spoke about growing up on a farm and riding horses, so Equestrian was her favourite sport and still is.

Noel – How to combine cycling, skiing and soccer in one sport. Noel avoided directly answering the topic but spoke about rugby and soccer.

Darryl summed up the session with a shout of We Won.

Patrick was the Table Topics evaluator and gave good commendations for each speaker but not many recommendations, except for Trish to use her hands for gestures, rather than clasped.

Mike, as General Evaluator, summed the meeting up well with suggestions for some of the Evaluators and many commendations. He was assisted by the Timekeeper, Carol, and we finished pretty well on time.(Ed)

We then had the first of a possible monthly nibble/chat session for those that could stay so that we had some social time with the other members. I believe this was worthwhile and could well be continued, even perhaps bi-monthly! (Ed) 

Best Speaker – Marc 

Best Evaluator – Craig 

Best Table Topics - Trish

"PARTY IN YOUR HEAD!"

"Party in your Head" was the intriguing title of our only speech today at Pania Toastmaster's weekly meeting and what an interesting presentation it was!
The meeting was opened by 'first time Toastmaster' Sandy, who did a wonderful job of keeping the items connected and also utilised the theme of a 'full moon' to advantage. A colourful and well set out program set the scene, well done Sandy!

After a unfortunately long list of apologies, supplemented by the presence of two guests, Trish and Tina ( who  capably read the mission statement) we were underway with the speech by Carol, "Party in Your Head!" introduced by Darryl.Carol brought along her Yoga Mat as a prop and explained to us about the 'vagus nerve' (Google it if you have not heard of it) and the importance that it has on the well being and health of individuals. Three interesting points emerged for me from this presentation,1. You cannot frown with a pen in your mouth!! 2. It takes 66 days to form a habit!! 3. Touching is good for your health (just be careful where you touch!).Carol presented this informative speech in her usual bright and cheerful manner and it also contained plenty of humour, which was one of the objectives set. Who is going to do 'that' exercise for the next 66 days when they first get out of bed in the morning??
Darryl praised Carol (rhymes eh!!) for her presentation and also had some worthwhile suggestions for her but overall thought it was an excellent presentation.

With only one speech we had an elongated Table Topics session run superbly by Mike, during which six members (including guest Trish) gave their  varied opinions on subjects gained from song titles and words from some of Mike's favourite singers. Mike was even encouraged to sing some of the words (but one must do what one must do!!). The subjects ranged from Moon Dancing to being positive about the rain to being swallowed in the bowells of the earth to liking where you live to changing times and finally to shopping in second hand stores. Great answers came from Graeme, Paula,Linda,Jen,Noel and Trish.
Jen evaluated the Table Topics session and had many commendations for all the speakers and also for Mike, who she actually was able to utilise part of her time during table topics to give us a few lines from Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. 'hallelujah!!!'

During the business session our latest member, Paula, was 'officially inducted into the Club' and we know that she will be a great asset to us. Craig , briefly discussed the Distinguished Club Plan and the fact that we had achieved 5 goals but required another member to make our membership 20  by 30th June and 'officially' be recognised as a Distinguished Club, when one of our guests Trish, volunteered as that member and signed up after the meeting. Well done everyone on achieving "Distinguished Club" status.

Craig, as General Evaluator, wrapped up the meeting with the assistance of Lou (standing in for the arranged Timekeeper, Noel). We do it all again next week, when we will have the first of the 'President's Lunch meetings', where, after our normal 55 minute meeting, those than can will stay for a quick bite to eat and some socialising until 1.30. This will be once a month and advised in advance.

Best Table Topic ; Trish
Best Evaluator; Jen
Best Speaker; Carol

"NO FISH!! FEELING S.A.D.?"

Baby it’s cold outside!’ crooned Frank Sinatra in the 50’s, and the same could be said for the meeting today with the winter solstice upon us. While the meeting theme was wintertime, the welcome from our Toastmaster Craig to our three guests and members was as warm as ever. Craig also took on the grammarian role with the word ‘EXTREME’.

First up was an inspirational speech by Lou, and she was warmly introduced by Carol. Using the objectives as a guide, Carol prepared the audience by informing them of what she was looking for and I’m sure this helped our guests to appreciate that there is much more to speechmaking than just standing in front of an audience. ‘No Fish’ was the title and the role of plastic in causing the death of marine life both fish and birds was well-delivered by Lou, as were the steps we can take to limit the use of these death traps in our own lives. I particularly liked the way she told us how she walks the talk of creating a greener, safer world.

Carol suggested that Lou review her main points at the conclusion of her speech. This would help the audience retain the information and the useful steps that we can take to reduce our own environmental footprint. A second recommendation ‘not to be nervous’ may be harder for her to follow, but this will definitely rectify itself with continued speech practice.

Marc introduced our second speaker Laurel with the apt description ‘illustrious’. ‘Feeling SAD’ was the title of her speech. Laurel suffers from Seasonally Affective Disorder during the drab winter months. Her story of her particularly difficult first few days of life in the bleak winter of 1946 was a poignant introduction to why she dislikes the cold so much. This winter affliction affects many people and I’m sure that members felt warmed and informed by her well researched information. ‘Brain freeze and low sex drive’ are just some of the ways our bodies react to the cold.

There were some difficulties identified by Marc with managing the labels as they were applied to the whiteboard. But it was an interesting method to illustrate the myriad of ways that the body is affected by short, cold winter days. I really appreciate it when members try new ways of delivering information.

The Table Topics session was very professionally managed by Tamara. It followed the theme of the Winter Solstice and the natural rhythms of the earth, and she had excellent topics to challenge the participants.

First up was Graeme - What types of winter activities do you enjoy? - For a man who grew up in the bottom of the South Island, he finds the mildness of Napier a breeze to cope with, so he doesn't find any problems in winter that he needs to surmount.

Paula - Your favourite celebration? - This took a little while to get off the ground as she told us about the horrors of Christmas, but she soon warmed to the theme and chose Easter for relaxation and family time.

Carol – How do you relax? – She revelled in warm soapy water, candles and bath salts, followed by clean white sheets in bed with no children or watching a movie with her husband, ah bliss….

Mark – What is your vision for the future? – Never one to let an opportunity pass him by, Marc shared his vision for a stunning TM conference to be held in Napier in two year’s time. Sounds great!

The Table Topics session was ably evaluated by Sandy who executed a skilful commend/recommend format and gave all participants good feedback.

The meeting was summarised by Linda, The General Evaluator, who in the limited time available aptly gave good feedback to the Evaluators, and said "read the Blog" for more details!! She was assisted by the Timekeeper, Graeme, who it is fair to stay pointed out that we were running close to time part way through the meeting. Toastmaster-take note!!! (Ed)

Best Speaker; Laurel

Best Evaluator; Sandy

Best Table Topic; Paula (our newest member!)

"THE MAGIC OF BELIEVING!"

The Magic of Believing.

Tamara was the first time Toastmaster and had a well laid out and colourful programme with the theme The Magic of Believing. She also had a new and very practical room lay out, although the TM’s table could have been set further back to enable the speakers to include everyone.

Sandy was the first speaker with her informative presentation about the consequences of global warming. Sandy was introduced and evaluated by Lou. Her first time as an evaluator. Lou did a very good job and told us a little about Sandy in her introduction and read the speech objectives. She referred to the objectives again in her evaluation and spoke in the third person. Her recommendation for Sandy was to slow down a little.

Graeme was the second speaker with a presentation from the Competent Communicator manual. For the eighth time apparently! Graeme told us about his trip around the lower South Island on his new motor bike when he was just 21. He sent telegrams (a pre-internet email) to his Mum at every stop and was home in time for tea.

Graeme was evaluated by Darryl who commended his vocal variety and picked up on Graeme’s phrasing of a sentence and found a flaw in Graeme’s time and distance calculations.

Craig was the Table Topics Master and kept to The Magic of Believing theme. He quoted words from the I Believe song, but didn’t actually sing. The four Table Topics were all about belief. The afterlife, self-esteem, Santa Claus and is NZ all it is promoted to be?

Table Topics were evaluated by Marc with good commendations and recommendations.

The meeting was well summarised by the General Evaluator, Mike, who had stepped in at the last minute and he was assisted by the Timekeeper, Linda, who was a little late arriving but got us finished on time!!(Ed)

Best Speaker – Sandy

Best Evaluator – Marc

Best Table Topics - Linda 

"CYCLING & THE COMMUNITY"

CYCLING AND COMMUNITY

On a wet and chilly Thursday lunchtime there was a gathering of Pania Toastmasters.  All those fulfilling roles were … except for the Toastmaster or the Day!  Fortunately Graeme stood in and kicked off the meeting, until our schedule Toastmaster for the Day, Carol, arrived after battling heavy traffic. An excellent colourful program was provided (if a little late!) with a June theme.
 Our first speaker was Noel speaking from the old classic Competent Communicator manual.  His talk about the chess like game of cycling pelotons was entertaining and informative.  In his evaluation, Mike congratulated Noel on ‘stepping outside the box’ of a traditional speech and using voice, props, and actions did something that was different to other speeches Noel has done.
  Next up was Table Topics presented by Laurel.  Each ‘victim’ got 4 random cards with pictures on them and were required to make a story from them.  Craig talked about building houses with a garden; Tamara talked about travelling and eating food; Carol talked about her travels to the UK and a possible Russian adventure; and Mike was just being a clown.
The second speaker of the day was Craig who talked about the Napier City Patrol which supplemented the police in providing patrols of the Napier area in an effort to reduce crime.  It was Tamara’s first evaluation and she did well praising Craig for his presentation and even providing recommendations, always a challenge when evaluating an experienced speaker.
  Table topics was ably evaluated by Linda who was able to cheerfully provide both commendations an recommendations to all speakers.
 Darryl summed up the meeting extremely well, in the extra time that he had available and was assisted by the Timekeeper Graeme, who managed to keep us ahead of time!! (Ed)
Speaker of the day was Noel; Evaluator of the day was Tamara; and Table Topics Speaker of the day was Carol.
We do it all again next week with Tamara as the Toastmaster, I am sure we are in for an excellent meeting!
—

"BIODIVERSITY ROASTING!"

Today's Toastmaster's meeting at Pania Toastmasters was well led by Toastmaster, Mike in a friendly, relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

Linda's  introduction of the first speaker, she introduced two people! Linda also explained the speaker, Darryl, would perform ‘The Roast’ that would poke fun at a particular individual in a good-natured way with Patrick as his ‘subject’.

Darryl roasted Patrick in a very funny way and started with a well preformed mimic of Patrick’s Dutch accent followed with references to his body length, tech savvy knowledge and how Dutch spouses love to call each other “poopie”. Yes, that indeed does refer to: poo! Bah! At the end of Darryl’s roast he rhetorically questioned why Patrick is always smiling and  full of energy. Of course Darryl already knew the answer: Cookies! The authentic Dutch cookies. With some additional plant extract purchased from the well known 'coffee' shops!!

In Linda’s evaluation she commended Darryl on his humour and the way he performed The Roast in an very organised manner, without upsetting his subject!!

Graeme introduced Anna's speech, about a speech contests for children that she is organising, with regards to Biodiversity. Graeme prepared the audience to act as the aimed audience: 10 year old’s.!!

Right from the start of the speech Jen and Darryl were able to meet the criteria with ease, like this was the first moment to unleash all the saved up feelings from the moment they turned 11. Entertaining, but foremost interesting, to experience.

The main act, Anna’s speech, did explain to us what biodiversity is, how to involve people with biodiversity and how to speak about biodiversity. To assist her with the speech Anna handed out the beautiful designed A3 stencil with all the information she is using to give insights about how to plan a great talk, biodiversity speech topics and reference to more information.

Graeme’s evaluation of Anna's speech did give Anna a few recommendations which she is probably  able to use to refine her speech and he also commended  Anna on her interesting topic and the use of her abundant knowledge.

The Table Topics for today was presented by Jen and she picked the Queen’s birthday as theme.

Graeme was very upfront that he was thinking it would be a disaster when Charles takes over the sovereignty. After that Graeme shared his reflection about all the things Charles actually did that had not made it to the news and did change his mind to be sure Charles will do very well as new King.

Tamara was asked about what preparation she would do and receive when she’ll meet the Queen and Tamara is very keen on wearing a bright pink dress and also rehearsed how she would move and to be even more polite.

In his representation for New Zealand Craig would wear a Maori feather Korowai with a suit and would state that he is perfectly capable to represent New Zealand because he really IS the average Kiwi. He also would welcome the Queen to visit Napier. Craig was able to give a twist on the subject and also expressed his concerns about the ‘social climber’ Camilla.

With his Dutch background Marc was asked about the Royals of The Netherlands and he was clear that the only reason he would visit The Netherlands is when he was Knighted. The only problem with that is the bad shape of his knee and therefore Marc demonstrated when and how he would do the warm-up just before the King would tip him with his sword.

In this Table Topics we also had two persons new to table topics and performed their first Table Topics ever:

Paula was asked about her opinion if a country wanted to move away from The Commonwealth and Paula promoted that strongly. She did add, with reference to Brexit, that it would be very sensible to make that decision only if sported by a majority of their inhabitants.

In her reflection on the Royal Wedding Liz answered that she watched the wedding at her friend's place, the bride herself. Together with some good friends, all famous people of course. A wonderful experience, although she was a bit worried about the excessive speed the chauffeur was driving her friend ‘Meg’  to Windsor Castle. Well done to our two guests , who were asked and agreed to take part in Table Topics.

Kristy’s first evaluation was this Table Topics Evaluation. And what a job she did! There were a lot of speakers and for each and every speaker she had at least some commendations and her recommendations were also perfectly pitched with her explicit reason why she thinks improvement is possible. With this first evaluation Kristy made us look  forward  to the next time we are being evaluated by her when making a speech.

Meeting was wound up by General Evaluator , Patrick and Timekeeper, Laurel with their well presented reports.

Today, a swag of impressions, information and jokes, all within the 55 minutes a week  Pania Toastmasters  stands for. 

Trophies:

- Best Speaker: Anna

- Best Table Topics: Paula

- Best Evaluator: Kristy

"SCUBA DIVING AT BIRTH!"

Open Water Diving / Birth Repercussions" These were the two intriguing titles of Pania's excellent meeting held on 24th May.  Read more:

Linda chaired the meeting beautifully.  Not only did she give a very friendly greeting but also reminded us of Saturdays Royal Wedding.  A nice touch appreciated by everyone.

Darryl  introduced Tamara by outlining the speech objectives and what a speech it was!  Her enthusiasm and knowledge was outstanding.  The detail gave everyone an insight as to what under water swimming is all about.  Well done!   So was the explanation of the sort of  qualifications one requires.  Tamara should feel proud of her efforts.  After all this is only her second assignment!

Darryl showed his experience with a very thoughtful evaluation.  Darryl gave a nice balance by placing more emphasis on praise with some suggestions for improvement.   This included aspects such as speech rate.

Marc introduced Kristy by following a similar path to that of Darryl.  Interesting that Kristy was also presenting her second assignment.  So good to have another person setting herself such a high standard!  What an easy to relate to subject.  So true to life - that of getting hand me downs!  Wow!  What a story. Brought back memories for me that's for sure.  Seemed like the audience felt much the same.  Liked your use of humour.  Well done Kristy!

Marc is a very experienced evaluator and his feedback was a lesson for us all.  The explanation he gave for his comments gave clarity as to why he said what he did.  Kristy would have benefitted from such inciteful comments.

Pania is lucky to have people like Darryl and Marc as evaluators.  Come and see for yourself!

Table Topics were provided by Patrick.  He chose to ask the speakers subjects relating from Queen Victoria's day (from way back in 1819) and relate it to NZ as it is now.  Wow!  Sure got us thinking!
Especially Lou, Mike, Linda and Craig.
For one brief moment I wondered if Patrisk didn't really like us.
Very good effort from those taking part and thanks Patrick.  I looked at all the questions and appreciate his efforts.

Noel evaluated Table Topics and provided each speaker with worthwhile comment.  Noel always sets himself a high standard and today was no exception.  Thanks Noel.

Craig gave his timekeepers report. Short, sharp, succinct.  Thanks Craig.

Linda concluded the meeting on a very positive note by thanking all those taking part.

Best speaker -  Tamara
Best evaluator - Marc
Best table topics - Linda
 

              

"The AGM was Under Milk Wood"

Toastmasters meeting 17 May 2018:

A quick Annual General Meeting Under Milk Wood

Today's Toastmasters was an historic one.

Not only because we listened to a beautiful bard, and had excellent evaluation's, it was the Pania's first and fastest (ever?) AGM!

First of we started with the very intense radio drama presented by Mike from poet Dylan Thomas called "Under Milk Wood."

A marvellous well presented bard echoing the silence of a small town in the dark of the night.

Because we all know Mike as an expressive speaker, this bard with all it's whispering, voice pitches and pauses was an exemplary performed, beautiful story.

Noel evaluated Mike's bard with good analytical quality together with a useful and well explained recommendation, next to all the rightful comments.

Next up was our AGM (Annual General Meeting) presented by our current and   next President of Pania Toastmasters: Marc.

Within a short time frame, Marc was able to get through the Executive Reports, Financial Report, Election of Officers and our upcoming Club Social Dinner at the right pace throughout .

Also present this meeting was the Toastmasters Area Director, Christine , she used this opportunity to have a short talk about the challenges for the Toastmasters 'community', splitting of the Districts into two smaller ones with the advantage to be more visual. She spoke also about the introduction of the Pathways program, gave special thanks to the current and new executive officers and Christine ended her talk with the reference of AI and computers taking over a lot of different jobs, except the jobs with high degree of personal communication, and for the same reason (sales was one of the lowest occupations expected to be taken over by automation) she praised Toastmasters for the ability to improve the personal communication so important in the sales process of one to one.

Our Table Topics was presented by our colourful Laurel. She introduced the magnificent colours in the rainbow and gave all the colours present, in the right sequence(ROYGBIV). The table topics were related to one of the colours each contributor was allowed to pick.

Kristy went for the things that makes you see Red and revealed some spicy private matters and her Red busy work life.

Greame picked the Blue for the question if we have sufficient Blue police with our growing violent society. And for a long time...Graeme actually answered a Table Topics question! With a firm NO. He also questioned if the huge amount of people we do need would be able to meet the high demanding profile and mentioned he has a lot of respect for police officers.

Tamara stated she likes the positive influence of Orange that much she would like to encourage people to take more advantage of the Orange traffic lights. Why not?

Linda's Violet with the reference to roses and violets was asked how she'd handle rude and objective people. Linda answered that question from her profession as psychologist and stated that anger is an primal emotion we need to take control of our self and the best way to start is with a lot of marshmallow-control!!.

Christine picked the NZ clean Green country question and stated that NZ is not that green as we think it should be and asked to mind our and others behaviour in throwing away rubbish.

Laurel ended the superb Table Topics with the question for all of us: "Where does your Yellow brick road lead you?" An excellent session with some colourful answers!

Last and certainly not least was the first Table Topics Evaluation from Lou. And in exactly 3 minutes she was able to make very good commendations for every speaker and she did also made some good recommendations. Evaluations at Toastmasters is one of the most challenging parts and Lou did make a very good impression with added value for this and her upcoming evaluations.

Patrick completed the meeting with his General Evaluation assisted by the timekeeper Darryl, who advised that we started early, but the Toastmaster of the day, Craig, said it was the Toastmaster's prerogative and we had a very full program to complete, which we managed on time.

Best Speaker; Mike

Best Evaluator; Lou

Best Table Topic; Graeme

Officers selected for the Upcoming Toastmaster's Year commencing 1st July 2018 were;

PRESIDENT; Marc

V/P EDUCATION; Patrick

V/P MEMBERSHIP; Jen

V/P PUBLIC RELATIONS; Tamara

SECRETARY; Craig

TREASURER; Carol

SGT at ARMS; Graeme

That's how we roll at Toastmasters Pania.

"IF YOU ARE HALE & HEARTY YOU CAN DO ANYTHING!"

"Celebration Time !! Ah Ha!"

Celebration was the theme for today's Pania Toastmaster's meeting well run by Anna, Toastmaster for the day, who connected the items together in a celebratory manner with her usual enthusiasm and exuberance!!

While a smallish number of members attended we had an excellent meeting, with one guest, Barbara (Laurel's sister), two great speeches and Table Topics. First up was Patrick, introduced by Laurel, Patrick was doing his second speech from the Pathways program 'Motivational Strategies' entitled "I can do anything!" He went on to prove that even with his serious accident many years ago-he probably still can do anything. Spoke about a walk/run that he did last weekend of 28kms, including uphill sections and tackling mud!  A long day (over 6 hours-but who is counting?), the point is he completed the course on track for a triatholon!! Patrick's (for whom English is a second language) is coming on extremely well and this speech was no exception.
In her evaluation, Laurel, rightly praised Patrick for his many good points and was able to give him a couple of excellent suggestions for improvement, particularly how he could go about implementing those suggestions. Well done to both Patrick and Laurel.

Next speaker was, Linda, introduced by Carol, Linda's speech was again from the same 'path' as Patricks, again the second assignment and was entitled "Hale & Hearty!" Linda explained the need for good health both physically and mentally drawing on her work as a Psychologist in four areas (Sleep, Nutrition,Exercise and Stress). A very well constructed speech and while some technical terms were utilised the material was presented in such a manner to enable the 'layman' to understand.Congratulations, Linda, interesting and educational, and well put across.Carol , in her evaluation, had excellent structure to it and and many compliments for Linda, plus a couple of worthwhile suggestions. Excellent.

Table topics was run  by Jen, and she prewarned members that they would be based around our theme of Celebration. Mike ,Anna & Carol were the lucky recipients of questions and all answered well with good structure and humour. A really fun session!!
Graeme evaluated Table Topics in his usual efficient and humorous manner, with some 'tongue in cheek' suggestions to the speakers all taken in good heart.(must have been a flow on from Linda's speech!!)

The business session by Craig covered the Conference in Auckland last weekend, where unfortunately our Marc went overtime in the Evaluation Contest!!! Timing is important. Past member Kerry is to be our new Area Director (we will be in Area M2 with Palmerston North/Whanganui).Also when doing a speech from the Pathways program, the speaker must bring along a copy of the Evaluation form for the evaluator to complete.

Craig wrapped up the meeting with a quick General Evaluation assisted by the Timekeeper Lou.

Best Speaker; Linda
Best Evaluator; Laurel
Best Table Topic; Carol

We do it all again next week, come along and enjoy!!

"SPEAKING OF THE DANCING QUEEN!!!"

What a welcome Pania toastmasters got to their meeting on Thursday , our resident Dancing Queen……. Carol, took us on a journey back in time , when ABBA commanded the airwaves.

Carol had produced a bright cheery programme. She had done a good job of briefing other contributors to the meeting of her them for the day .

With two exceptions ,we could all remember the ABBA days and to the two members  who don’t ……….bad luck !!! It was a great era.


Mike introduced Anna who spoke about filling your life and living your dreams .In a beautifully crafted speech we learned what some of Annas dreams are .

Mikes evaluation was well done , he re visited the objectives, spoke in the third person , had a lot of commendations for Anna intermingled with his recommendations .

A great table topics session by Tamara , she presented some curly thoughts that had meters thinking and even got Craig singing .

The next part of the meeting was devoted to the explanation of officer roles ,where we hope we can whet the appetite of a few new members or even not so new to serve on the committee , its not hard work in fact its the easiest  committee you will ever serve on .
Two changes that will make a difference though , are that Craig understandably no longer wishes to hold the role of VP Education . This is a vital role any one interested should spend time with Craig prior to his or her taking the role. .

During the general business a round of applause was given to Craig who seems to walk on water when it comes to his bouncing back  !! Most people take more than one week off after a heart attack and subsequent surgery !!

The general evaluation,by Jan , included the time keepers report by Patrick,( a lesson in brevity .) followed.

The table topics were evaluated by Darryl , with good commendations given to speakers and to the Table Topics master .

A big thanks to our dancing queen, Carol, for a great meeting .

Best Speech; Anna
Best Evaluation: Darryl
Best Table Topic; Kristy

"FACING DEPRESSION TAKES TEAMWORK!"

What an enthusiastic group of Toastmasters we had at out meeting on 26^th April. Mike was the Toastmaster of the day and kept the programme ticking over very nicely. “Facing Depression Takes Team Work” gives a hint as to what today’s two speeches were all about!.

"A SWIM TO THE 'BURNING MAN'!"

19^th April 2018

Today’s meeting was a lively affair, orchestrated by our Toastmaster of the day Craig. With two excellent speeches and four Table Topics there was plenty of mental stimulation for all. He also did a good job acknowledging the achievements of Mark and Mike in the recent International speech contest. 

"BEING MUM; THE BIRTH OF A NEW IDENTITY!"

Patrick was the Toastmaster with an easy to follow programme and good linking between the sessions. Emma was a guest and introduced by Carol.

The first speaker was Kristy with her Icebreaker and was warmly introduced by Graeme. Her speech was “Being Mum. The Birth of a New Identity”. This was an excellent first speech and of course well evaluated by Graeme. He commended her on her use of vivid word pictures, vocal variety and humour. Two suggestions were to use hand held prompt cards and make more use of gestures.

The second speaker was Jen, who presented Project 5 from the Storytelling Manual. Bringing History To Life. Jen told us about and played the part of Mary McIntyre, a British convict who was shipped to Hobart, Australia. Another excellent presentation with lots of harrowing details about the voyage and her life as a convict.

Jen was introduced and evaluated by Marc, who itemised his evaluation and had many commendations for Jen’s presentation. His recommendations were: More eye contact with the audience, more vocal variety and that the use of Cockney slang would have been appropriate for Mary McIntyre’s voice.

Because Marc is representing Pania and the Area at the Division Evaluation Contest in Taupo on Saturday, the audience gave him feedback on his evaluation of Jen’s presentation. His evaluation was very well structured and there were helpful comments from the audience, but no major suggestions. Although his evaluation time was very close to the contest limit.

Update: Marc won the Evaluation Contest in Taupo and will now go on to the District Contest in Auckland next month. Congratulations Marc.

Next was Table Topics, presented by Lou, who was TTM for the first time. Her subject was the Commonwealth Games. There was only time for two speakers.

Patrick spoke about his favourite sport – Cycling and medals and getting gold.

Graeme was asked if we should be a member of the Commonwealth, which, of course he didn’t answer. But said that he went to the Perth Games and saw Murray Halberg and met Precious McKenzie who was even shorter than Graeme!!

Table Topics were evaluated by Carol , who had commendations and suggestions for both speakers.

Tamara was the Timekeeper for the first time and gave a very good report on everyone’s use of time in assisting the General Evaluator, Mike with his wrap of the meeting.

Mike also represented the Club and Area in the International Speech Contest in Taupo for the Division D award, but unfortunately went overtime and was disqualified!!.(Ed)

Awards:

Best speaker - Kristy

Best evaluator - Marc

Best Table Topic - Graeme

"TODAY BROUGHT HUMOUR ALL THE WAY!"

HUMOUR ALL THE WAY!

It’s well known in Pania circles, that we love humour and fun, while also being serious about what we do. Our meeting on 5 April was no exception as both speeches today were specifically humorous, which seemed to infect our members with the laughter bug.

"DYNAMIC DAVID-AN EASTER TREAT!"

Pania's meeting today was "Special" for two reasons.  Firstly it was "David" day and secondly Carol our Toastmaster chose Easter as her theme by providing a fantastic programme most of which was in colour.  Amazing !
Read more.

"SINGING ALONG WITH MACRO INVERTEBRATES!"

Wow! who knew what a fun meeting we were going to have when we arrived to a well set up meeting today (22/3/18).?

Our guest Jen two was a most welcome addition to our many new members .We hope she will come again .

"SUCCESS, SWEET SUCCESS!"

On Friday 16th March, The Area Contest finals were held in Hastings. The five Clubs in the Area winners of their respective Club finals, compete for the honour of representing this Area D2 at the next level of Competition, Division.

"THE IDES OF MARCH!!!"

And the couch surfing award goes to: the shy Julius Caesar!

Thursday afternoon and, again, an enjoyable Pania Toastmaster's meeting.

Our Toastmaster, Laurel welcomed us and introduced the theme of the day: Gaius Julius Caesar. He was assassinated by a group of rebellious senators on 15 March 44 BC.(the ides of March).

'BUILDING and BIRTHING'

For the first Toastmasters meeting of Autumn the weather certainly delivered!  Both rain and wind hardened our resolve to get the the weekly Pania Toastmasters meeting.  And it was such a good turnout - 16 people, including two out of town guests (Helen & Mike, Toastmasters from Auckland who have moved to 'the Bay') and one prospective member.(Tamara).

"THE POWER CUT- IT'S UP FOR DEBATE!"

Today's meeting of Pania Toastmasters was very ably run by the Toastmaster of the day, Patrick, who had an excellent program organised and he ran the meeting efficiently and almost to time!

"CONTESTS!! THE ANT v THE ELEPHANT!!!"

Thursday, 22nd February Pania Toastmasters held there Contest night at Greenmeadows Community Centre with the Evaluation and International Prepared Speech contests held in front of an enthusiastic audience from Pania & Napier Toastmasters Club.

"ART DECO PERSONIFIED"

What a wonderful meeting we had today ,as we joined in Napier's commemoration of Art Deco. We are richly blessed to live in this region where we celebrate Art Deco every year……..President Marc had flagged this meeting almost a year ago ! The meeting was ably led by Marc in his pin stripe jacket, dark pants , bow tie and bowler hat ……barely reccognisable !

"A WILD EDUCATIONAL DAY!"

The meeting of Toastmasters on 8 February was a Wild Educational day.

We started of with our Toastmaster David and a warm welcome. David also did brought a huge box with all kind of books (mostly educational) for us to take(apparently someone in the house decided on a de-clutter!). What a kind and knowledgeable offer!

"PACE, PAUSE,THE BIG MOON and LOTS OF STORIES!"

Toastmasters 1^st Feb!!

Pace, Pause the Big Moon and lots of stories

What a great way to start the new year with Noel as the Toastmaster and he kicked off referring to the amazing blood and blue moon.

He asked Helen to introduce Lou who came back again and is keen to join!  Noel seamlessly introduced the participants and the meeting flowed well. 

"REFLECTING ON LIFE AS A WORKING HOLIDAY!"

Pania Toastmasters got underway for 2018 today with an 'Impromptu MeetImping' arranged and chaired by Craig.
Members were given a task as they entered the room and all achieved their respective roles with aplomb.This was a great way to get the year underway and was enjoyed by a good turnout of members and a guest, Lou.