Spruce Capital Toastmasters

If you are someone who wants to step out of your comfort zone, be a more confident speaker and have fun, Spruce Capital Toastmasters will be meeting this Tuesday and every Tuesday at 7:00 pm-8:30 pm. Come be our guest. We meet at the Community Futures building on 7th Avenue in Prince George BC. You can also join us via zoom. For more information visit our website: https://sprucecapitaltoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org/

We look forward to seeing you there!

Emigrants from 2020 and immigrants to 2021,

Let’s commemorate 1 hour and 33 minutes of December 15, 2020 with an email write up from your local Vice President of Membership!

“Rocking 2021” involved a bunch of radically hip cats on a rigidly crafted schedule. Well, sometimes the agenda has a person filling more than one role and we did have that at the meeting … but it was by choice, most roles decided at the previous meeting or through email prior to this meeting. Some of the heavyweights were Leonard (Timer, Joke Master, and Toast), Barb (Ah Counter and Grammarian), and Sandy (Opening Thought and Table Topics Master). The rest of us were single-duty Toastmasters: Jen the Speech Evaluator, Randy the Speaker, Jack the Table Topics Evaluator, Shirley the Joke Master, Sean the Quizmaster, Larry the Guest, and Tom the Chair.

We began “Rocking 2021” with an Opening Thought celebrating just one month prior to 2021 - December 2020 - specifically with the perspective of numerology. Lucky #7 was the result; numerologists would add up the numbers associated with that time - December is the 12th month and the year is 2020, thus 1+2+2+0+2+0 = 7 - and examine the association with spiritual welfare. Believe in numerology or not, please consider 3 things in what has been traditionally a busy holiday season: rest, retreat, recuperate. Look inwards as you look onwards into the new year!

The table topics brought forward 8 responses involving 2021, each response showcasing the 8 individuals associated with those responses. The aspects and items that remain the same in your life as the entire world seems to turn on its head. The opportunities in life due to a retirement brought about by COVID-19.The bittersweet tidings and loss when you face the empty nest syndrome. The challenges of technology as you go through life - and the excitement of tackling those challenges head-on. The ability to go full speed ahead as you meet new people, make new friends, and discover new opportunities in a different social landscape. The waste of time and the greater advantage of being able to sleep in whenever you want. The need for “me time” and the ways to obtain it when your usual avenues are not available. The commemoration and appreciation of what was available prior to 2020. Those were just 8 vague summations of what we anticipate and think about for 2021 - what do you see?

Our speech tonight was Innovative Planning #5-1 - High Performance Leadership: First Speech - “I Am the One”. It laid out the plan for the November 7, 2020 club officer training, to train the executive club officers of Division D for the second term in the Toastmasters year (January 1, 2021 - June 30, 2021). The speech favoured a 3-point structure with 3 S’s as the basis (scenario, strengths, and schedule) with the emphasis on his specific strengths (commitment, confidence, and confirmation) and was not shy about appreciating himself on how he would do a splendiferous job. But did he do a mind-blowing job? This speech was about the vision and goal of his project - the next speech will address what happened, how the project developed, and whether it was completed.

Our recommendations on this eventful evening? Please maintain that enthusiasm and keep that smile on your face. Please use the word “commemorate” more often and incorporate it into your vocabulary. Please let your hands tell a story in conjunction with your voice. Please summarize your speech to solidify the message amidst your audience. Please remember not every suggestion has to be taken and you get to pick and choose what you want out of your own speech.

Our Toast, oftentimes seen as the counterpart to our Opening Thought, asked us to be rockin’ 2021 with less rocking - the word to ponder is “lockdown” - and we really don’t need to elaborate on this word in the context of what has been happened (and been happening) in 2020. Instead, look towards a different word - “resilience” - the solution with and against “lockdown” - the ability to not only bounce back but bounce forward - the strength to storm through unusual times. Raise your glass and give a hearty bellow - to resilience!

Incidentally, are you moving onto Level 4 of your Pathways journey? Before you do so, whether it be soon or at some point in the less foreseeable future, you should probably record any meeting roles you’ve taken, because there are some you have to do before you are allowed to move on (at least on the paperwork side). For more information, click this link: https://www.leadershipsatoastmasters.org/Pathways_Tutorial_Roles.html . Go on - commemorate the time you provided an important contribution to the meeting!

The next Spruce Capital Toastmasters meeting is on December 22, 2020, at 7:00 pm, at the usual Zoom meeting link, under the theme of “Christmas”. Perhaps not the smoothest transitional point, but I thank you all for making Spruce Capital Toastmasters a success and for bringing your charm, your knowledge, and your presence to our meetings - it means a lot to me! See you at the next meeting or some other time; please remember to rest up, don’t be afraid to retreat from the world to look closely at yourself, take some time to recuperate, and find your resilient anchor against tumultuous times.

Kind regards,

Randy (VPM of Spruce Capital Toastmasters)

Pathways Tutorial - Complete other roles (Timer, grammarian etc) - Leadership SA Toastmasters Club Pathways Tutorial - How do I complete other roles (timer, toastmaster, evaluator, grammarian, etc)

Where were you on the night of December 8, 2020?

If it was at the regular Tuesday night Zoom meeting for Spruce Capital Toastmasters, great - you now have an alibi. If you weren’t at the regular Tuesday night Zoom meeting for Spruce Capital Toastmasters, pay attention - these notes may serve as your plausible excuse.

It was a spirited meeting that was attended by 12 - 15 people (it fluctuated) and composed of three clubs: Spruce Capital Toastmasters, the Prince George Toastmasters, and the GITAM Toastmasters Club. The last one is based in India and was represented on this fine night by Abhishek, Prachi, Aarchi, and Purvi.

Making no excuses and maintaining vigilance throughout the meeting, we have our cast: The plucky Toastmaster of the Day was Jen, the brave person in the Timer position was Greg, the intrepid Grammarian and the valiant Ah Counter was Sandy, and the gutsy Quizmaster was Wyatt. The theme: “Excuses”. The word of the day: “Courage”. The other roles on the agenda: “Next paragraph”.

Handling the specialized roles, the Randy dauntlessly handled both table topics and speech evaluations, Leonard fortitudiously opened up our meeting with the Opening Thought, Shirley audaciously grilled 7 of us on our ability to make excuses, a trio of yuk-yuks daringly emerged in the form of 1 Barb, 1 Leonard, and 1 Randy, Tom spiritedly asked and answered if something is funny in his presentation “Is This Funny?!”, and Sandy gutsily lead us into raising our various vessels of beverage into the air.

The tone of the meeting? Why should I tell you? I’ll let the two differing perspectives on excuses handle this one. The Opening Thought asks us to delve into the excusable use of excuses, in particular “the little white lie”; we are not perfect human beings and sometimes, for the sake of everyone’s well-being and self-esteem, we want to minimize the damage. This is not to justify the use of bad behaviour but to buffer against bad feelings all around. The Toast, at the opposite end of the meeting, took the opposite message - “To results we deeply want - no excuses for this club!” - and challenged us to have the courage to move past excuses and to make the changes that are necessary to become a better you.

In a break from the usual agenda setup, we had a business meeting presided by our heroic President of Spruce Capital Toastmasters, Jack. One round of voting, one reading of the Toastmaster’s Promise, one induction ceremony, and not one but two new members to our most venerated club. Gallantly becoming new members to Spruce Capital Toastmasters, our ranks now include Sandy and Barb - welcome, congratulations, and hurray!

Our no-excuse Table Topics Master helped us explore the world of excuses. How do you escape jury duty 5 times? Have a cookbook of excuses - never be satisfied with just having one specific excuse at hand when you can have various scenarios and words ready to go, just in case you find yourself in the situation again and need to “cook up” a different excuse. Have you considered setting your clock to be 15 minutes early? If constantly being late is your problem, you don’t need an excuse if you’ve set it up so you aren’t late … just don’t think too hard on the clock being 15 minutes early and try to forget about it. How about the no-excuse excuse? Taking ownership of your own actions, putting your honesty and integrity front and center, standing firm and being proactive in your demeanour rather than reactive - it might actually be less stressful than blaming the dog or commenting on the traffic. Do you need help? Regardless of what your excuse might be, politeness goes a long way - if nothing else, you haven’t made things worse for yourself, a possibility that emerges when one is not considerate of how other people might feel.

Tom illustrated Peter McGraw’s Benign Violation Theory on whether something is funny or not. Is there a violation of some sort? If so, is that violation benign? Yes and yes - then you have my permission to laugh - or maybe I have permission from you. Humour is culturally dependent and very subjective but, if mastered, yields a plethora of benefits, ranging from being more likeable to keeping your message memorable. When considering humour, there are three major factors at play: psychological distancing, alternate explanations, and non-commitment. There you go - the tools for you to be a comedian - no more excuses - go make people laugh!

I could type more but it is late and past my bedtime. The next meeting is the last formal meeting of Spruce Capital Toastmasters for 2020, looking towards the incoming year with the theme “Rocking 2021”. The clock keeps ticking and the world keeps moving - let’s get ready to rumble!

Kind regards,

Randy (VPM of Spruce Capital Toastmasters)

Good afternoon to people who are not me,

I am here to type to you about a meeting. It happened on December 1, 2020, formally starting at 7:00 pm but some informal networking opportunities occuring at least 10 minutes prior. There were 11 people present, if one was to judge the gallery view function of Zoom or simply look at the number of participants listed on the icon labeled “participants”.

The agenda had been set out ahead of time via email and the roles were mostly filled. The theme was set as “Self-Evaluation” right from the get-go. Those assigned duties that stretched the length of the meeting were Jack as the Chair, Leonard as the Timer, an absentee Ah Counter, Wyatt as the Grammarian, and Barb as the Quizmaster. The theme was properly set by Sandy in her Opening Thought. Randy was the Table Topics Master and 5 people were both the table topics speakers and self-evaluators of their own table topics in accordance to tonight’s theme. These impromptu outputters were Barb, Tom, Greg, Wyatt, and Larry. Greg stood as the Joke Master and there was a few minutes of breather before the meeting resumed again. There were 2 speeches, one by Sean and one by Sandy, respectively evaluated by Jen and Tom. Greg capped the meeting with an appropriate Toast.

The chance to self-evaluate is an opportunity to consider our strengths and weaknesses to allow us to grow as a person. It requires honesty, specificness, and impartiality. It is not always an easy task but is a beneficial task. Of course, all the knowledge in the world might not be of use if it isn’t applied; navel-gazing is not useful if you don’t turn your head up and look to see what you can do. Combining the Opening Thought and the Toast on the first day of the Western advent calendar, the message is thus: Look at yourself with open eyes and assess without trying to justify or explain, then decided on what actions you can take to change, improve, or modify what you want to see versus what you do see. At least, that is my take on their words.

Table topics took a different turn than usual. Rather than having a designated evaluator or a leapfrog evaluation style, we had each speaker evaluate himself or herself … with a Table Topics Master who only wanted to hear the self-congratulations. First, the answers: we should spend more time sleeping, “we just gotta get going” and don’t give up when life is difficult, we have a lot more Toastmasters clubs available to us in this online world, we have at least one fan of Baked Alaskas, and you can find some self-fulfillment when dressing up as Peyton Manning.

When table topics speakers evaluate themselves, what do they applaud themselves upon? A fantastic introduction, which sets the pace for the rest of the answer. The ability to keep talking and let the answer roll off and develop itself. The ability to picture people in the audience naked but more importantly the ability to hit your stride and find your own comfortable zone of audience interaction. The excitement that comes with overcoming instances of being stumped. A concise way of putting one’s thoughts in a matter-of-fact manner.

Our two speeches that night were verbal juggernauts, dominants of dynamic vocals and diaphragmatic control. Sean conducted his speech “New Cars and How We Buy Them” under Presentation Mastery #2-1 (Understanding Your Communication Style) while Sandy conducted her speech “How DARE You?!”under Innovative Planning #1-4 (Research and Presentation).

Sean didn’t tell us about his communication style … he presented it to us through elucidating the acquisition of a vehicle and what it says about us, based around three factors: our emotions, the practicality, and the pricing. He’s been around long enough to elucidate some of the general changes that cars have gone through in the past few decades and his own history with vehicles. Each car we own does say something about us, whether we intend it to or not. A bit tongue-in-cheek, some of the flair of a movie trailer, and dash of autobiography, I conclude this was a speech that made me eyeball those four-wheeled metal contraptions on the roads a bit more closely.

What happens when the world is at your fingertips, dancing to every one of your whims and fancies? Saskatchewan, otherwise known as the removal of adversity leading to a flatline of no peaks and no valleys … and no lasting happiness or value. Sandy emphasized this with the tale of Mr. Smith meeting St. Peter and going to heaven, winning one hundred million dollars each day at the celestial slot machine; one pull of the lever, one hundred million dollars, one eternity of winning every single time without fail. In this scenario of heaven, we have been condemned to hell. How much does your life mean if there are no challenges or requires no effort? Thanks to Sandy, I think I have a better answer to this question than I did before the speech.

The meeting tomorrow is themed around “Excuses”, which I am sure is a novel concept and one which none of us have ever engaged because we are all honest, moral, and upright people. Let’s discover this strange and unprecedented theme together at 7:00 pm on December 8, 2020, yes?

Kind regards,

Randy (VPM of Spruce Capital Toastmasters)

To this generation,

“Imagine a better future for every child,” said Steve, to set an appreciation and understanding for Children’s Day. It is about creating a stronger, happier next generation and overcoming those challenges both big and small. One example of a child leading this world is Malala Yousafzai, for her strides in furthering the education and rights of young girls everywhere. We should consider how our children and how their children can develop - it is the responsibility and privilege of our society, even amidst a world whose pillars are being loosened by a pandemic.

On November 17 we thought about November 20 - Children’s Day - a day established by the UN in 1959 to commemorate the rights of the child. The virtual meeting room known as Zoom brought together Barb, Sandy, Steve, Larry (who kept track of speech patterns), Steph, Sean, Greg (who kept track of trivia), Shirley, Jack, Randy (who kept track of time), Jen, and Tom Ireland (who kept track of the meeting) to express their thoughts and feelings about this date.

Shirley ran the table topics and probed five people on their reflections on Children’s Day. How could you help promote children’s rights? Should Children’s Day be a statutory holiday? What do you do to celebrate Children’s Day? Have authorities overreacted to setting the rights of the child versus the rights of their parents? Are teenagers truly still children and are their rights an excuse to help them out of their behaviours? I thought all five speakers did well to keep their answers diplomatic while still allowing for some personal interjections. How would you respond to any of these questions?

One aspect of all three of our evaluators (Jack, Sean, and Steph) noted was making exaggerated gestures. When we are in front of a we**am, the we**am tends to remain in a static position, and most of us remain in our seats during a virtual meeting. Oftentimes, this means our hands are not in display unless we raise our gestures higher. With the lower portions of our body missing from the video feed and a limited viewpoint provided by our we**ams, our expressive ability is diminished. Therefore, raise your hands higher and don’t be afraid to be more dramatic, sweeping, and emphatic with those hands - let them do some of your communication!

The first speech of the night was a second rendition of Steph’s “Thank God for Toastmasters!”, originally presented on October 20, 2020 and improved upon. She provided the account of how the skills and confidence she developed as Toastmasters helped her through a potentially tricky presentation at work … one which was sprung upon her with no prior warning. Steph conquered it, told us about it, and in the process showcased some of her ability to make it happen no just through her words but her bearing and mannerisms. Encore! Encore!

“A Day in the Life of a Pet Sitter” - in the night’s second speech, Jen showed us it is not just a matter of sitting there and keeping an eye out for the pet. When I use the word “showed”, I meant exactly that; Jen gave a speech about pet sitting but also a very thorough demonstration. The three most important qualities of a leader: problem-solving, time management, and (most importantly) a sense of humour. Jen had three short stories for each one and a different outfit to boot - it really helped with the immersion and feel of the sheer and maybe surprising nuance that comes with the job! It also helped that she had her furry, four-legged friend Parmesan to complete this unique presentation involving “the show” and not just “the tell”.

Come join us as we might or might not engage our more youthful sides under the theme of “Cartoons”. I’m afraid this meeting won’t be in front of your television set on a Saturday morning - we will have to make-do with our usual 7:00 pm meeting time in front of a desktop computer or mobile device on the upcoming Tuesday (November 24, 2020). The world keeps moving and so do we - reach beyond the confines of the home - grant us your voice!

Kind regards,

Randy (VPM of Spruce Capital Toastmasters)

Recollective tidings to you.

Remembering the meeting on the theme of “Remembrance Day” on November 10, 2020, there was an attendance of six. Steve ruled the meeting (and so the agenda was met), Randy regulated the meeting (and so the clock did not intrude), and Jen reminisced about the meeting (and so our minds were kept engaged). A curious set of bookends to the meeting, both respecting items of cultural prominence. Leonard began our gathering with a brief account of clowns, looking at their origins of levity and amusement, their rise as stand-alone acts, and their evolution into a force of terror, darkness, and sinisterness. Randy concluded our rendezvous with a salute to the blood on the metal pins of remembrance poppies - he believes everyone has stuck themselves with those pins at least once in their life and he acknowledges the baptism of pain and blood that comes from adorning those symbols.

Recalling the table topics, Jack pushed forward Remembrance Day as front and centre. We have a history - we are shaped by that history - we have thoughts about that history. What would your thoughts be over the sacrifices others have made and the liberties we take for granted? We had a variety of musings brought about by this subject matter; would you agree, disagree, or further comment upon each speaker’s consideration of Remembrance Day? One, no one comes back from war without some form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two, November 11 is a day we should be supporting our armed forces. Three, there is always time to broaden our knowledge of history. Four, war is there to put money in the pockets of certain individuals. Five, history has to be enforced else it is taken out of context and be used as an excuse rather than a unifying commonality.

Running it home as the centrepiece of the night, “Play Ball!” was the twenty minute presentation that served to highlight Tom Ireland’s own life and lessons we could take from it. It was not a speech but a journey, from a regretful event in his childhood to his eventual discovery and adoption of Toastmasters. Play hardball, he says, and go beyond your usual stomping grounds - visit other Toastmasters clubs and push your limits … maybe discover new limits. In this journey, Tom discovered there is always learning outside of the designated places where we thought we would learn, the surefire way to know if you know something is to try and teach it, and people sense whether you are legitimate or not in your message. Take a gander to that unfamiliar ballpark, step up to the plate, play the game, and you just might strike a home run. Just like the events leading to the formation of Remembrance Day, a better you and a better world require not just a retaining of our history but the ability to use that history to transform idleness into action.

Reviewing the agenda, the next meeting for this collective of continuously self-improving individuals is on November 17, 2020, whereupon at 7:00 pm we will practice our communication and leadership skills under the theme of “Children’s Day” (which itself is celebrated on November 20, 2020, at least in Canada). Let’s get together, form the team, and all take a swing in this particular ballpark - but first remember to be there!

Regards,

Randy (VPM of Spruce Capital Toastmasters)

Hello hairy humans,

Like the Fu Manchu, I’ll try to keep this meeting summary to the point.

“Facial Hair” was the beard that adorned the face of the meeting on Movember 3, 2020. Seven men attended the meeting in what I am sure was only a coincidental occurrence. Steve was the straight razor that kept us in check, Randy made sure to trim off excessive talk, Larry unfurled our verbal snags, and Leonard saw that our thoughts and attention did not become disheveled.

Tom Ireland and Jack functionally styled the meeting’s tone with their respective Opening Thought and Toast. Tom highlighted the individualism one can display with facial hair - it is a matter of style, preference, and personal choice. Plus, it has always been a part of our history and long before then; we can be characterized by our hair. Jack chronicled the experience of the first shave, often a bonding experience between father and son - to that often-treasured memory, a salute to the classic upper lip growth, to the moustache!

It was a highly educational meeting - we learned a lot about facial hair, its cultural impact, its prevalence, and its history. We also learned a fair bit about each other, as it was a night with an extensive amount of feedback, from everyone, to everyone. The alopecia of the meeting seems to be, once again, technology; while facial hair has been a part of humanity since time immemorial, the technologies we employ to host our Zoom meetings are still evolving and changing - so, too, does our ability to make use of it in the way we intend. Keep growing, everyone!

Randy focused on our faces with his table topics questions, combining trivia about facial hair with virtual background pictures - a picture is worth a thousand words but we don’t have enough time for a thousand actual words per question - he employed the technology to varying degrees of bushy benefit. We were all silky-smooth in constructing our answers and hit upon a wide variety of things: No-Shave November (a month-long even raising awareness of men’s health issues), the World Beard and Mustache Competition (held in Belgium in 2019), the grossness of a the “flavour saver” (beer tends not to taste as good once filtered through or left in a beard), the protective aspects of a full and well-kept beard (recommended against the cold, UV radiation, and rubber particulate), Tom Hanks (specifically in his role Cast Away and his character being stuck on an island for 4 years), mustache doodles (juvenile, odd, and satisfying), and facial hair removal (with emphasis on lifting the strands for a smoother shave).

Our speech tonight was fostered and cared for by Greg. He resisted the urge to talk about whiskers, stubbles, and fuzz, instead asking us “Where Does All the Rubber Go?”. We live in a world where vehicles are commonplace and the vast, vast majority of those vehicles have rubber tires … those rubber tires leave rubber particulate and there is a lot of it, comparable to supertankers per year in the amount that our lovely and most cherished planet has to endure. There are a lot of horrors associated with all this rubber in our water, our air, our health - the list goes one and on - ugh, even though Halloween was a few days before this meeting, this felt like the most horrifying presentations we could have heard - because it’s not a fictional tale but a real-life story, one which involves each and every one of us.

Speaking on the notion of involving each and every one of us, on November 10, 2020, at 7:00 pm, we are having our usual Zoom meeting, based on the theme of “Remembrance Day”. Whether or not you can make it to our gathering, please take a moment to reflect on our history, our sacrifices, and our lessons. To end this email with an aphorism from George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

Kind regards,

Randy (VPM of Spruce Capital Toastmasters)

Greetings from the past!

But first, let’s skip ahead to the future - two magnificent dates to keep track - November 3 and November 7. The former: The next Zoom meeting for Spruce Capital Toastmasters under the theme of “Facial Hair”, at the usual time and meeting link. The latter: The next Zoom meeting for the Division D Toastmasters Learning Institute & Club Officer Training, with world-renowned speaker Marilyn Sherman coming in to speak under the theme of “Challenge Yourself Beyond Your Limits!”. The price: free. The seats: limited. The registration: here at https://divisiondtliandcot.eventbrite.ca. This message has been brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood Vice President of Membership.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming!

October 27, 2020 saw one Zoom call host a Toast in honour of 1 hour, or 60 minutes, or 3600 seconds, because all events in our lives can be measured by some amount of time, regardless of whether we are aware of it or not. The best moments of your life, the worst moments of your life, the mundane moments, the eventful moments, the forgotten moments - all moments are not beholden to the clock but they can still be ubiquitously quantified by it.

Before we examine the what of the meeting, let’s examine some of the how. We were a little loose with our lucidity as a smattering of inadvertent verbal fillers and crutches, as indicated and tallied by our Ah Counter; we all had a few stutters tonight, no doubt because of the upcoming Division D Zoom meeting making us jittery with glee. Conversely, we had a fair bit of expansive language - we pushed ourselves to explore our vocabulary, based on the volunteered contributions to the Grammarian position. While we didn’t manage our time so grandly as to travel backwards in time, the Timer did keep the meeting to the agenda and none of us held a graveyard meeting over Zoom. The Quizmaster posed a couple of brain busters orientated around that change of one hour, touching upon chronobiology, the $200 million increase in revenue for golf, and one’s pursuit of work. We had no designated evaluators during the meeting - it seemed like everyone chipped something when it came to the evaluations, a kind of potpourri approach to feedback. For one reason or another, the Land of the Living Skies seemed to feature that night; we apparently feel like taking the occasional potshot at Saskatchewan, the province that doesn’t bother with Daylight Savings Time circa 1959.

Tom Ireland led a workshop to help us interact with each other in this pandemic world. Once upon a time, we could meet a person at a Toastmasters meeting and get to know them through side conversations, an idle observation of their habits, the presentation of icebreaker speeches, and the following of our learned and natural social scripts. Since we don’t have these formerly ubiquitous measures, this workshop helps alleviate the pressure of getting to know somebody … through the fun of drawing and sharing! These are fairly straightforward exercises but it takes an able facilitator to ensure everyone gets a moment to shine - Tom Ireland did indeed allow each of us (Pam, Jen, Leonard, Greg, Jack, Sean, Randy, and Shirley) a solid moment in the spotlight.

The workshop was akin to a table topics session but of course we had the original flavour of table topics as well. Prior to the workshop, the one in charge and a contemporary to the Workshop Leader was Table Topics Master Leonard, who provided us a very thorough look into Daylight Savings Time - its history, its impact, and its continued existence. As time is something ubiquitous that affects us all and this is a situation where time is being changed so, too, do we find ourselves comparing and contrasting our shared experiences or unique perspectives. Leonard weaved together educational blurbs and informative bridging snippets for the better part of half-hour.

What are the individual responses we came up with, between the workshop and the table topics? One of us holds the ubiquitousness of electric lights to counter whether the sun sets earlier or not. One of us holds the plaque as a symbol of achievement. Two of us are adherents to the way of the bicycle but each one comes at it from a distinctly different angle. One of us runs more caffeinated beverages than oxygenated blood. One of us grew up loving cats despite being more of a dog person now. One of us sees conversation as a back and forth exchange of ideas. None of us were among the 24% spike in heart attacks associated with the springtime switch … so far. One of us wants to see Mount Everest and climb Kilimanjaro - yes, that specific wording. Five of us have expressed some degree of annoyance at Daylight Savings Time - one of us has gone as far as saying “ridiculously absolutely moronic situation to have to change clocks”. One of us wants to go sailing, maybe on a trimaran or catamaran. Two of us have referenced Quebec City as the oldest city in North America. One of us wants to journey in the tunnel under the English Channel. One of us has the grand economic stimulus plan of having that extra hour in the evening so we can get all our shopping done. It is not for me to say which person has which belief and which dream - come join us and find out yourself which person is which!

Incidentally, our Opening Thought, besides having planted the insidious seed of Saskatchewan in our poor innocent minds, mentioned his house containing 10-12 timepieces and time-displays, contributing to a ritual of setting them at the right time before the midnight of the day of Daylight Savings Time. This might or might not have an impact on his sleep: in his words, “My life revolves around how much sleep I get”. Speaking of which, if you are reading this email when it was sent, it is now a ghastly hour - stop reading and go to bed! But don’t forget about November 3 and November 7!

Kind regards,

Randy (VPM of Spruce Capital Toastmasters)

Division D TLI & COT with Marilyn Sherman Division D presents Toastmasters Leadership Institute and Club Officer Training, featuring Marilyn Sherman CSP, CPAE