Wordsmiths Toastmasters - Club #374

What do river stories, personality colors, and ambitious goals have in common?

They all came together at Wordsmiths Toastmasters during our July 13 meeting, themed “Summer Stories on the Mississippi.”

Tom Polachek guided us through Mississippi River history, while Table Topics kept everyone on the water. Guest Sathith Vindika earned Best Table Topic with stories about visiting different bodies of water—and his mother’s dependable question: “Will there be swimming?”

Julie Andrianakos introduced us to personality assessments in What Makes People Tick? By the end of her speech, the rest of the meeting seemed to be conducted in four colors.

Erica Anderson stepped into the General Evaluator role for the first time, and Kimberly Rogers Garcia delivered her first speech as Wordsmiths president. In Building on Top of Better, Kimberly celebrated the club’s welcoming reputation and challenged every member to set meaningful goals—and actually chase them.

🏆 Best Evaluator: Leo Smith
🏆 Best Table Topic: Sathith Vindika
👏 Welcome to our newest member, John Libby!

Our next meeting is Monday, July 20, 2026, at Highland Park Library.

Curious about Toastmasters? Visit as a guest and experience a supportive place to practice speaking, build confidence, and grow as a leader. Message us for meeting details.

🎤 Five speakers. Five surprises. Zero time to overthink it.

That’s the magic of Table Topics at Wordsmiths Toastmasters.

Our speakers stepped up, took the question, and turned a few unexpected prompts into stories, laughs, and memorable moments. Some answers wandered. Some landed perfectly. All of them showed what happens when people are willing to think on their feet and trust their voice.

At Wordsmiths, you don’t need to arrive polished. You just need to show up, give it a try, and let the community help you grow.

Real people. Real stories. Quick thinking. Big impact.

Summer stories are drifting into Wordsmiths this Monday.
Join us for a fun, fast-moving Toastmasters meeting with the theme:
🌊 Summer Stories on the Mississippi
🗣️ Word of the Day: Meander
📅 Monday, July 13, 2026
⏰ 6:15 PM
📍 Highland Park
💻 Zoom: ID 864 5807 9138 | PW 374374
Expect speeches, quick-thinking Table Topics, helpful evaluations, and the kind of supportive community that makes public speaking feel a little less scary — and a lot more fun.
Guests are always welcome. Come listen, participate, or just see what Wordsmiths is all about.
Let your confidence meander in… and leave stronger than when you arrived.
🌐 https://wordsmithstm.toastmastersclubs.org/

✨ Independence in Your Own Voice ✨
Word of the Day: Autonomy
Because great speaking is not about sounding perfect.
It is about sounding real. Clear. Confident. Unmistakably yourself.
Join us for a warm, fun, supportive evening of speaking, listening, laughter, and growth.
📅 Monday, July 6, 2026
🕕 6:15 PM
📍 Merriam Park Library
🎙️ Theme: Independence in Your Own Voice
👋 Guests are welcome! Come see how Toastmasters helps people build confidence one meeting at a time.
🌐 Learn more:
https://wordsmithstm.toastmastersclubs.org/
👍 Follow us:
www.facebook.com/wordsmiths374
Your voice is not waiting to be “perfect.” It is waiting to be used. Join us Monday.

🎤 Two clubs. One great Toastmasters meeting!
Freethought Toastmasters is hosting Wordsmith Toastmasters for a joint hybrid meeting on Monday, June 29, and Wordsmith members are invited to join in person or online.
Come early for fellowship and a shared meal, then enjoy an evening of speeches, evaluations, Table Topics, and connection between our two clubs.
📅 Monday, June 29
🍲 Meal: 6:00 p.m.
🔔 Meeting begins: 6:30 p.m.
📍 Larpenteur Estates Party Room
1276 Larpenteur Ave. W.
💻 Hybrid option available by Zoom
Parking note: Park in the rear of the complex, walk to the gap between buildings near the east end, and take the path opposite garage #69. A sign will point you to the Party Room.
Wordsmith members, please reply with whether you’ll attend in person, online, or are unable to attend.
Looking forward to a fun, supportive, and energizing joint meeting! 🎉

Build confidence. Practice speaking. Meet supportive people.

Join Wordsmiths Toastmasters for our upcoming meeting!

📅 Date: Monday, June 22, 2026
⏰ Time: 6:15 PM
📍 Location: Merriam Park Library
🎯 Theme: Father’s Day
🌟 Word of the Day: Altruistic

Whether you want to become a better speaker, improve your leadership skills, or simply see what Toastmasters is all about, guests are always welcome.

Learn more here: https://wordsmithstm.toastmastersclubs.org/

Come visit as a guest and see how Toastmasters can help you grow.

This keeps the tone warm, clear, professional, and guest-friendly, consistent with Toastmasters brand voice guidance.

The Wordsmiths room had range this week.
Big ideas. Big laughs. Big “Just Don’t Quit” energy.

At our latest Wordsmiths Toastmasters meeting, we had a full night of speeches, Table Topics, evaluations, role reports, and milestone moments.

🎤 Tom Polachek took us Beyond the Horizon with Part 2 of his plan for a Christian children’s story, mapping out a bold creative path from e-book to illustrated book, audiobook, and beyond.

🎤 John Libby brought the fire with “JDQ: Just Don’t Quit,” a motivational speech on persistence, grit, and staying in the game even when the road gets rough.

Then came Table Topics, hosted by Armand for the first time — and the answers went everywhere in the best way:
🍹 Miami Vice vacation drinks
🦬 Buffalo in Mankato
🍩 A Midwest Donut Road Trip
🎶 “In the Summertime” road trip vibes
🪖 And one unforgettable army buddy story involving an MRE, motion sickness, and a Kevlar helmet

🏆 Best Table Topics: Steve
🏆 Best Evaluator: Tie — Julie and Steve

Our Word of the Day was Sabbatical, and by the end of the night, one thing was clear: Wordsmiths is not just a meeting. It is a place where stories sharpen, confidence grows, and people show up for each other.

🏛️ Wordsmiths Toastmasters Meeting Recap: Frank Lloyd Wright Night

This week’s meeting had an ingenious theme: Frank Lloyd Wright — architecture, originality, confidence, and the courage to build something distinctive.

A big thank-you to Tom Polachek, our Toastmaster, for guiding us through an evening inspired by one of America’s most iconic architects, and to Paul Parins, our General Evaluator, for leading the evaluation team.

🎤 Meeting Highlights

Nick Niewinski delivered an educational presentation, “Evaluate to Motivate,” reminding us that great evaluations do more than point out what happened — they build confidence, encourage growth, and help speakers take their next step.

Erica Anderson gave her Ice Breaker speech, “Monsters,” sharing a warm, personal, and memorable look at her family, including her three children and a few beloved bonus pets.

Our Table Topics session, led by Jason Inouye, challenged members and guests to think like architects — answering questions about rules, creativity, confidence, ego, design, and what we would build if our personalities became structures.

We also enjoyed thoughtful evaluations from Anne Fredrickson, Leo Smith, and Keith Hardy, along with strong reports from our meeting roles. Keith even tested our listening skills with a fun quiz that proved people really were paying attention!

👏 A special welcome to our guests Aparna and John Libby, who helped bring energy, curiosity, and thoughtful contributions to the evening.

Next week, we meet at Merriam Park Library with the theme Summer Vacation and Word of the Day Sabbatical.

📍 Merriam Park Library
615 Fairview Ave N, Saint Paul, MN
Intersection of Fairview and Marshall

Wordsmiths continues to be a place where speakers practice, stretch, laugh, learn, and build something stronger together — one meeting at a time.

Before the blueprint, there is an idea.
Before the speech, there is a voice.

This week, Wordsmiths Toastmasters takes inspiration from the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright — an architect known for bold vision, clean design, and unforgettable spaces.

Wright didn’t just design buildings. He designed experiences.

That’s what great speakers do, too.

A powerful speech has structure.
A memorable message has flow.
A confident speaker knows how to build an idea so others can step inside it.

Our Word of the Day is Ingenious (adj.) — clever, original, and inventive.

Come practice speaking in a supportive room where ideas take shape, confidence grows, and every voice has room to rise.

Wordsmiths Toastmasters Meeting
Theme: Frank Lloyd Wright
Word of the Day: Ingenious
Date: Monday, June 8, 2026
Time: 6:15–7:30 PM Central
Location: Highland Park Library — Room 2
Zoom also available
Website: https://wordsmithstm.toastmastersclubs.org/

Guests are always welcome.

Visit us as a guest, join us in Room 2, or message us for the Zoom link.