Bergen Toastmasters Club #2581

Bergen Toastmasters Club #2581 Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Our organization has more than 345,000 memberships. Let's Connect!

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President's Distinguished Club status
District 83 - Division E - Area 54 Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 15,900 clubs in 142 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations

Congratulations to our winners from last night's Toastmasters meeting!Keeping the World Cup excitement alive, our sports...
07/23/2026

Congratulations to our winners from last night's Toastmasters meeting!

Keeping the World Cup excitement alive, our sports-themed Table Topics had us thinking like champions. Joe Tanti took home the win with a championship pep talk as team captain. By the end, the whole room was fired up and ready to bring home the trophy! ⚽🏆

Our Best Speaker award went to Joe Schuler, DTM—our longest-standing member (and definitely still young at heart!)—for a speech about the dreaded four-letter "F" word.

Any guesses what it was? Keep it PG, folks! 😂

07/14/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our Table Topics winner, Ellen! 🎉

When asked to think on her feet, Ellen shared a story about a Fourth of July parade in Ridgefield Park—complete with a surprise Santa Claus appearance that left everyone sweating 🥵 and in shock.

Join us at Bergen Toastmasters and see what Table Topics is all about. Whether you're looking to become a more confident speaker, improve your communication skills, or simply enjoy a supportive and welcoming community, we'd love to have you as our guest.

We meet every second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:45 pm, at the Ridgefield Park Civic Center. We hope to see you at an upcoming meeting!

Bergen Toastmasters End-of-Year Dinner Celebration!What a wonderful evening of fellowship, laughter, inspiration, and pe...
06/30/2026

Bergen Toastmasters End-of-Year Dinner Celebration!

What a wonderful evening of fellowship, laughter, inspiration, and personal growth as we celebrated another successful Toastmasters year together!

President Virginia welcomed everyone and reflected on another memorable year, while Gila's touching invocation reminded us that our imperfections—like the cracked bucket in her story—can create unexpected beauty and positively impact the lives of others.

Our Toastmaster of the Day, Puneet, invited us to reflect on the question, "How did we get here?"—a fitting theme as we looked back on the friendships, learning, and confidence we've built together throughout the year.

The meeting was filled with laughter thanks to Chris, our Jokemaster, and Margo challenged us with the Word of the Day: "knackered"—a British expression meaning very tired or exhausted! Andrew kept everyone on schedule as Timer, and Frank led an entertaining Table Topics session that brought out creativity, humor, and thoughtful reflections from members and guests alike.

Our prepared speakers inspired us with a wide variety of topics: Fred shared strategic insights into Texas Hold'em poker.

Virginia offered practical wedding planning advice drawn from personal experience.

Beth demonstrated how positive coaching can help others discover confidence and reach their potential.

The evening concluded with thoughtful evaluations led by General Evaluator Kellen, who praised the outstanding quality of the meeting and the enthusiasm of everyone who participated.

🏆 Congratulations to our award winners!
👏 Best Speaker (Tie): Beth & Virginia
🎉 Best Table Topics Speaker: Kellen

A special thank you to all of our members, guests, and outgoing club officers for making this past Toastmasters year such a success. Your willingness to speak, listen, encourage, and grow together is what makes Bergen Toastmasters such a welcoming and inspiring community.

Here's to another year of communication, leadership, friendship, and continued growth! 🥂

✨ Bergen Toastmasters Annual Dinner ✨A meaningful year of growth, confidence, and community at Bergen Toastmasters.Grate...
06/30/2026

✨ Bergen Toastmasters Annual Dinner ✨
A meaningful year of growth, confidence, and community at Bergen Toastmasters.

Grateful for the voices strengthened, stories shared, and the encouragement that continues to build every speaker’s confidence. Here’s to another year of learning, leadership, and finding our voices together!

❄️ Bergen Toastmasters Meeting – January 14, 2026 Despite the winter weather, we had a fantastic meeting filled with lau...
01/30/2026

❄️ Bergen Toastmasters Meeting – January 14, 2026
Despite the winter weather, we had a fantastic meeting filled with laughter, reflection, and inspiration! Thank you to everyone who attended, took on roles, spoke, and participated—you truly made the evening special.

✨ Meeting Highlights
-Puneet opened us up with a meaningful invocation.
-Fred served as our Toastmaster of the Day, keeping the meeting flowing smoothly.
-Andrew, our Jokemaster, had us laughing with Winning with Lucky 7s—right up until coming in 7th in a horse race 🤣
-Ben introduced the Word of the Day: Nuance, while Sarah clearly explained the Timer role.

🎭 Tall Tales Fun
-Frank delivered a hilarious Tall Tales speech, “My 15 Minutes of Fame,” imagining Taylor Swift and Beyoncé going into a frenzy over him 😂
-Joel cleverly explored the number 67—its origins and the many surprising ways it shows up in our lives 😂
-Joe T shocked us all with an unbelievable moving story… only to reveal it was 100% true!

🎤 Table Topics & Reflections
James guided us through thoughtful questions reflecting on 2025 and looking ahead to 2026. We heard inspiring, funny, and heartfelt shares from many members, including goals, life lessons, personal growth, language learning, dancing adventures, retirement, reading more books, and overcoming fear.

👏 Words of Wisdom & Encouragement:
Members shared advice on growth, confidence, self-compassion, engaging the audience, and continuous speaking. We were also reminded how Toastmasters helps us show up during meaningful moments in life—including speaking at a friend’s memorial service.

🏆 Congratulations!
-Joe S. — Winner of Table Topics
-Frank — Winner of Tall Tales
Well done to both of our proud winners! 👏🎉

📣 What’s Next
Virginia shared updates on the upcoming speech contest, and everyone is invited to attend and cheer on our representative, Frank!

🎯 Area 13 Contest – Volunteers Needed!
📅 Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 11:00 AM
📍 Rutherford Public Library

We’re looking for volunteers and audience support—your presence truly makes a difference for our contestants. Light refreshments will be served!

👉 Register here: https://shorturl.at/aCWsg

It was a great turnout, and as always, it’s rewarding to listen, learn, and grow together. Looking forward to seeing everyone again soon! 👍

12/24/2025

🎄🎶 Bergen Toastmasters spreading holiday cheer! 🎶🎄
Our members came together to perform a fun and spirited rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” From enthusiastic voices to festive sweaters and lots of laughter, this moment captured the joy, camaraderie, and holiday spirit that make our club so special.
A wonderful way to celebrate the season with friends, fellowship, and a little musical flair!

🎄 Bergen Toastmasters December Meeting Highlights 🎄What a festive and fun-filled meeting! From warm welcomes and inspiri...
12/24/2025

🎄 Bergen Toastmasters December Meeting Highlights 🎄
What a festive and fun-filled meeting! From warm welcomes and inspiring words to laughter, learning, and holiday cheer, our December meeting truly captured the spirit of the season.
We enjoyed creative Candy Cane Table Topics, thoughtful reflections on charity, leadership, and community, memorable holiday stories, and an energetic Christmas choir performance of The Twelve Days of Christmas 🎶 (with some impressive operatic talent!).
Congratulations to Frank for earning Best Speaker, Best Table Topics, and Best Singer — what a night! 👏�Special kudos to Tom for his Ice Breaker speech and to everyone who rocked their Christmas sweaters 🎅🧣
Thank you for the delicious holiday snacks and the wonderful fellowship. Another great reminder of why Bergen Toastmasters is such a special community.

Bergen Toastmasters Meeting Recap – November 12, 2025Theme: Thanksgiving 🦃 We had an excellent turnout for our Thanksgiv...
11/27/2025

Bergen Toastmasters Meeting Recap – November 12, 2025
Theme: Thanksgiving 🦃

We had an excellent turnout for our Thanksgiving-themed meeting! The evening was filled with gratitude, humor, and inspiring speeches.

🌟New Members Inducted:
President Virginia proudly inducted our newest members:
Teja, Steven, and Joe T.
Welcome to the Bergen Toastmasters family!

🎤Prepared Speeches
• Joe T. delivered a powerful Ice Breaker about his journey from an insecure childhood to becoming a confident football player—a heartfelt story of transformation.
• Mike shared a vivid and captivating account of his trip to Nikko, Japan, including an unforgettable reenactment of horseback archers.
• Steven delivered his Ice Breaker, reflecting on his career in finance, and his goal to improve at business presentations (and win family dinner table debates!).

🗣️ Table Topics – Special November Days
Our Dinner Table Topics Master Chris served up prompts inspired by lesser-known November celebrations.
• Fred gave a standout response about losing weight and reversing prediabetes by simply deleting the McDonald’s app—and won Best Table Topics!
• Others jumped in with thoughtful and entertaining answers.

😂 Humor & Roles of the Night
• Sarah, our festive Giblet Jokemaster, delighted us with a hilarious story about her father’s mashed-potato “experiments” and a sister who despised them.
• Joel brought charisma and wit as the Roastmaster of the Night.
• Fred, doubling up, also served as the Oven Timer, ensuring none of our speeches were “overcooked.”
• Andrew, our Wordmaster, introduced the word of the day: “Bevy.”
Frank, our Gobble Evaluator, led the evaluation team:
* Ben
* Puneet
* James
Each evaluator offered helpful, supportive feedback.

🏆 Award Winners
• Best Speaker: Joe T.
• Best Table Topics: Fred
Congratulations to all!

A heartfelt thank you to every member and guests who attended. The energy, enthusiasm, and camaraderie truly made it a meeting to remember. 🍁

Looking forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting!

🎃 Bergen Toastmasters Halloween Meeting Recap! 👻What a fantastic Halloween-themed meeting we had! Many members came dres...
10/30/2025

🎃 Bergen Toastmasters Halloween Meeting Recap! 👻

What a fantastic Halloween-themed meeting we had! Many members came dressed in fun and creative costumes, bringing great energy and laughter to the room.

Our Table Topics session was especially lively — members had the option to tell a scary story, and several brave speakers took up the challenge! 😱🕯️

We also welcomed two special guests:
✨ Rich Holmes, our Area Director, and
✨ Steven Drapkin, District Public Relations Manager,
who stopped by to share encouraging words and motivate us to keep growing as a club.

We had a strong lineup of Prepared Speeches:
🗣️ Fred spoke about membership retention,
🔬 Joel shared insights on studying biology, and
☯️ Eugene explored the Yin and Yang of foods.

Congratulations to our award winners:
🏅 Ellen – Best Table Topics Speaker
🏆 Joel – Best Prepared Speech

Everyone enjoyed Halloween snacks, good company, and plenty of laughter. 🍬🎃
It was truly a night that showcased the spirit of Toastmasters — learning, sharing, and growing together! 💬✨

We had another excellent meeting on October 8, 2025. President Virginia opened with exciting news: Bergen Toastmasters h...
10/12/2025

We had another excellent meeting on October 8, 2025. President Virginia opened with exciting news: Bergen Toastmasters has been named a Distinguished Club for 2024–2025—hooray, team! Melina returned from a long sabbatical to serve as Toastmaster and did a wonderful job, kicking off her journey toward Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).

Joe led a lively Table Topics session featuring “mystery objects” from his basement—proof that impromptu speaking is even more fun when you can hold the topic in your hands.

We heard Icebreaker speeches from two new members, Sarah and Nick, and Saurabh delivered a well-organized prepared speech tracing the coffee bean’s journey to an aromatic, energy-boosting cup.

Awards highlight: Sarah scored a double win—Best Table Topics (on Wonder Woman) and Best Speaker of the night. We also welcomed guests Charity, Shalini, Ray, Teja, Joe, Steven, and Try, many of whom bravely jumped into the optional Table Topics and showed great promise.

It was another evening of engaging prepared speeches and sharp extemporaneous speaking. If you’re looking to build confidence and communication skills, Toastmasters is for you—this is where leaders and great speakers are born!

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159 Park Street
Ridgefield Park, NJ
07660

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