Atomic Windbags Toastmasters

Congratulations to our Table Topics Award winner, Vangie Hill, presented by Ghyrn Wakefield. We enjoyed your heartfelt speech! Thank you and great job, Vangie!

We had a full house at our Toastmasters meeting today at Atomic Windbags! We had no scheduled speeches for a change today, so we improvised and gave everyone a chance to shine with our Table Topics segment! We enjoyed some creative, improv speeches!

Our Toastmaster, Blair Brown, started us off with the topic, “Can You Picture Things in Your Mind? Aphantasia”. She asked us to picture a scene in our minds: a rocket ship crash-lands on a planet, and an alien approaches the spacecraft. What do you see in your mind when you visualize this scene (see the picture behind Blair Brown)? When she showed us the picture of the five options and asked us what picture we visualized. We imagined the scene differently in our minds. Aphantasia is the inability to voluntarily create mental images, meaning seeing blank when asked to visualize. We learned the opposite is hyperphantasia which is the ability to see vivid images.

Next, Ghyrn Wakefield was our Table Topics host and did a wonderful job! Thank you, Ghyrn! We picked from a variety of topics from the theme of “Seasons of Transition”. which several of our guests, including first time speakers, stepped up to give some great responses. It was a hard decision to make because we had a lot of great, spontaneous speeches! Congratulations Vangie Hill for picking the theme of a ‘New Weird Chapter in Life’ to speak about. She talked about her journey of becoming a grandmother!

We truly have an exceptional group of fun and supportive people committed to personal and professional growth. You are welcome to join us at our next meeting on Thursday, June 11 th from 11:45a-12:45p at Kenco Logistics off Amnicola Hwy. Hope to see you there!

Our Toastmaster group really is a great group of people! Our members really step up when life doesn't go exactly as planned! It’s a busy time of year and sometimes our plans can change at the last minute - for all of us! Thank you to everyone who stepped up to make our meeting go smoothly.
Today, Vangie Hill, our last-minute Toastmaster, led our meeting with the topic of, “My 2026 Misogi Challenge”. She shared with us about how she wanted to challenge herself this year and how an opportunity arose through helping an orphanage in India through the Grace Kennett Foundation. This challenge pushed her to the limit physically, mentally, and emotionally. She shared photos and stories of her amazing trip of how she helped to photograph and videograph these special babies and those caring for them. She shared a few of her travel challenges and how she’s so glad she took her dad’s advice to take peanut butter packets on this trip!
Our first speaker, Trever Ehrlich, spoke about “Lego Robotics”. He talked about what the Lego Robotics program is in the school systems. He shared with us what leaders and students do at a Robotics meeting and how to start a STEM Lego Robotics group in a school system.
Our next speaker, Chrissie Holland, spoke about, “Making candles for Love’s Arm Candle Cafe”. She shared with us the process of making candles. We learned it involves more science than one would initially think. It actually involves math to calculate the wax to scent ratios! She took us step-by-step through the process of making the candles. She told us these candles are for a great cause to help women through the Love’s Arm Outreach organization here in Chattanooga.
Each meeting we have the opportunity to learn different roles to help us become more comfortable with speaking. Sandy Vecchi stepped up last minute to be a Speech Evaluator. Wonderful job, Sandy! The role of a Speech Evaluator is to provide constructive feedback on a speaker’s speech by highlighting strengths, offering suggestions for improvement, and encouraging growth. This role also encourages us to fine tune our speeches by looking at areas such as organization, delivery, vocal variety, body language, and effectiveness of the message. This is a very supportive and encouraging tool to help us become better speakers.
We hope you can join our encouraging group of people committed to personal and professional growth. Our next meeting is on May 28th at 11:45am-12:45pm at Kenco Logistics off Amnicola Hwy. We would love to have you join us! Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to our Table Topics Award winner, Bryan Bunch. He did a great job presenting a spontaneous and inspiring speech. Great job, Bryan!!

We had a wonderful Toastmaster meeting this week at Atomic Windbags! Our Toastmaster, Justin Grierson, presented some inspiring information about, “Dale Carnegie”. He shared with us the timeless wisdom of the four Practical Habits that Mr. Carnegie taught. These included, 1. Become a Friendlier Person, 2. Win People to Your Way of Thinking, 3. Be a Leader, 4. Fundamental Principles for Overcoming Worry. We learned a lot about these important habits and how helpful they are in Toastmasters, as well as in life success.

Sue Wickstrom gave a wonderful presentation on “Why Are You Here?". She shared with us some of her personal journey of what brought her to our Toastmasters group and how it relates well to her Life Coaching mission. She shared some of her early experiences that helped shape her career. She left us with an impactful thought, of, “When you step outside your comfort zone you create great things”.

Our Table Topics was led by Sandy Vecchi. She chose a few challenging questions for our members to give thoughtful spontaneous speeches. Our group stepped up to meet this opportunity. It was a hard choice to decide who got the Table Topics award with all of the great responses given. Congratulations to Bryan Bunch on winning the Table Topics award!

Our Toastmasters experience offers several rolls at each meeting for everyone to participate, if they wish, in a supportive environment. One example is to be a Timer. The Timer at our Toastmasters meeting tracks each speaker’s time and signals to them when they reach their speaking time limit. At the end of the meeting, the Timer presents the speaker’s times. This helps us to better estimate our speech timeframe and gives us a chance to practice keeping our time commitment.

We have a wonderful group of fun and supportive people who are committed to personal and professional growth. Our Toastmasters group also has great Mentorship opportunities available for new or returning members. Our meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month from 11:45a-12:45p at Kenco Logistics off Amnicola Hwy.

We welcome you to join us at our next meeting on Thursday, May 14th from 11:45a-12:45p. Hope to see you there!

We had a very full schedule of speakers at our Atomic Windbags Toastmasters meeting this week! We had four speakers today and didn't even have time for Table Topics! We are grateful our group is growing in numbers, comfort and skill levels!

Vangie Hill led us as Toastmaster today. She did a great job of keeping our busy meeting organized and on track. Thank you Vangie!

Our first speaker, Sandy Vecchi, gave an inspirational speech on, “How to Get a Standing Ovation Without Saying Anything”. This speech was a tongue in cheek lead-in to what makes a great talk. She covered six points, with the overall theme being great talks don't just sound good and earn applause, they stay with the audience!

Our next speaker, Christopher Lyon, gave an interesting and helpful speech about “Patience”. Chris shared with us a presentation that he will be delivering to an EPB leadership group who have customer facing roles.

Our third scheduled speaker, Dana Howe, delivered a very proactive speech on, “ Uh Oh, What’s Next?! Job loss & Seeking in the Modern Job Market”.

And our final speaker for today, Chrissie Holland, presented a meaningful speech on, “All about me & Love's Arm”. She was able to share with us a practice run for giving presentations on behalf of the Love's Arm Outreach organization. We learned about this valuable organization and she concluded with a call to action.

We truly have an exceptional group of fun and supportive people who are committed to personal and professional growth. You are welcome to join us at our next meeting on Thursday, April 23rd from 11:45a-12:45p at Kenco Logistics off Amnicola Hwy.
Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to our Table Topics Award winner, Ghyrn Wakefield (left), presented by Brad Bingham. We enjoyed your creativity! Thank you and great job, Ghyrn!

We had a full house at our Toastmasters meeting today at Atomic Windbags! Every seat in the room was taken!

Our Toastmaster, Trever Ehrlich, started us off with the topic, “Spring Break”. He shared some amazing photos and highlights of his family spring break vacation in the New Mexico area.

Our first scheduled speaker, Zane Hamilton, gave a speech on, “Leadership Lessons”. He shared with us three main lessons. First, he pointed out that you don't have to be afraid to say you don’t know, people just need to know you care. Trust is built through caring, wanting to help, and willing to help members find answers. The second lesson he shared was that leaders don’t inflict pain - they bear it. You can get a lot of criticism, it is a cost of leadership. A natural reaction is to deflect it, blame someone else or inflict pain on someone else. And thirdly, he spoke about how the group culture has to have buy-in from a few members, it can’t just come from one person.

Our next speaker, Shedrica Holmes, gave an inspiring speech of “Moving from Survival Mode into Structured Stability”, that she has prepared for an upcoming event with the Lupus Foundation. She shared part of her motivating story. She shared how she helps women through the HER technique - Heal, Establish stability, Rebuilding life. She also developed a Rebuild Era program that includes: Faith, Mind & Identity, Body & Energy, Home & Time, Relationships, and Financial Stability. Thank you, Shedrica, for sharing your journey with us!

Adam Szczuka, our third scheduled speaker, shared a bit about what he does at, “Cornerstone Tech Group”. He shared with us how Cornerstone helps clients through the entire process to find the right solution. He explained how Cornerstone offers solutions and products in: motion control, sensory & safety, and process visualization. He shared how they provide different technology and can connect with a variety of vendors as needed. He explained how it’s not just about the product, it’s about the custom tailored solution!

We had a fun Table Topics section today led by Brad Bingham. He created a Silly Debate theme. We enjoyed some fun and engaging speeches! Thank you all! Congratulations to our Table Topics Award winner, Ghyrn Wakefield! We enjoyed your creativity! Thank you and great job, Ghyrn!

Please check out our supportive group on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 11:45am-12:45pm at Kenco Logistics off Amnicola. Our next meeting is on April 9, 2026. We would love to have you check out our welcoming group! Hope to see you there!

Congratulations to our Table Topics Award winners. We had a tie today with two of our first-time guests! Way to go Chrissie Holland and Shedrica Holmes! Wonderful speeches from both of you. Thank you and great job ladies!

We had a great Toastmasters meeting today with a lot of great energy! We had several new guests join us. Welcome!

Blair Brown led our meeting as Toastmaster and shared with us information about the, “Pathways" on the toastmasters.org website. She helped us learn more about how the Toastmaster Pathways application works. She shared information on how this online tool helps members learn how to speak by providing tips and tricks, outlines, and a plan for our speeches. One can work on improving body language, voice tone, and other parts of an effective speech. It also provides a way of keeping track of our progress.

Next, Lanny Windgrove presented an interesting speech on, "An Introduction to Wine Making". We learned about the tools and equipment used in the process, the importance of sanitizing to help make the wine, and the process of fermentation. He talked about how he creates a variety of wines and what an enjoyable hobby it is to share with family and friends!

We had a fun Table Topics section today led by Sue Wickstrom who created a St Patrick's Day theme. We picked questions she made that we picked from a gold treasure chest. We heard from five of our members. We enjoyed some fun and heartfelt spontaneous speeches! Thank you all!

If you're looking to gain confidence in your speaking ability in a friendly and professional environment please check out our supportive group on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 11:45am-12:45pm at Kenco Logistics off Amnicola. Our next meeting is on March 26, 2026. We would love to have you check out our welcoming group! Hope to see you there!