Toastmasters first quarter newsletter 2015

Downtown St. Pete Toastmasters Club #1505394

First Quarter Newsletter of 2015 Quarterly Recap During the first quarter of 2015, our club achieved an amazing amount of success! The club increased its membership by four. We held exciting events such as the Toby Martini interactive Table Topics session, which brought in over 10 guests along with our winter Contests. Some of this Quarter’s highlights are detailed later in this Newsletter.

We encourage new members to complete their Icebreakers (first speeches) as soon as they can. We look forward to another exciting quarter in 2015.

Robert Wilson, DTM and our Club President shared some more exciting news: “Becoming a distinguished club in Toastmasters is a team effort. It has taken the focus and determination of all of our members who are achieving their personal goals. We currently have 7 Distinguished Club points which makes us a Select Distinguished Club. We are on track to acquire 3 more DCP points by adding one more Competent Communicator and two more Advanced Communicators which will bring our club to 10 DCP points and the distinction of being a President’s Distinguished Club. This is the highest honor for a Toastmasters club.”

Contest Season Kicks Off Cynthia Long earned first-place in the International Speech Contest and Cynthia Jenkins took second place.

Donna Hamel received first-place in the Table Topics Contest followed by Eilish Bel in second place. All four contestants advanced to the Area 10 Contest.

Meet Our Members Karin Wisniewski agreed to the role of Contest Master for the first time with a bit of trepidation just one week before the Club contests (Table Topics and International Speeches).

“Being the Contest Master meant bringing together all the skills I had honed in our Club and applying them in new ways. Everything is just slightly different for a Contest, starting with the agenda which is called a Program. The Contest Master is the emcee for the event and works from a vetted script. You use impromptu speaking to stretch time between program segments or to cover inevitable snafus. Protocols matter, from introducing distinguished guests, to leading speaker applauses, while staying in sync with judging activities.

It was harder than expected to juggle all the pieces at once - at times I had to remind myself to breathe. Then there were the ‘aha’ moments when Club training kicked in and that felt awesome. Looking back, I’m glad I took the plunge to be a beginner in a new role. It reaffirmed learned skills. When you have the opportunity to step up to be Contest Master, do it!” Karin says.

[We appreciate you stepping up as Contest Master on the short notice and we hope other Toastmasters will take on new roles to gain skills.” – Thomas Skidmore, Club VP of Public Relations] ###

Robin Riddell, DTM is one advanced member who we are extremely grateful to have in the club. Recently, Robin gave an inspiring speech outside of Toastmasters.

She presented at a meeting with St. Petersburg Sunset Rotary, a Rotary International club for the young and young at heart. The topic was “Leadership and the Benefits of Toastmasters Clubs.” Don’t be surprises to see Rotary attendees visiting as guests in various local Toastmasters Clubs this Spring. ### Stephen Diasio is a new member and he is very involved outside of Toastmasters with “Project Yachts for millennials”. This is collaboration between The Moorings and the USFSP Kate Tiedemann College of Business. Steve says: “Students are charged with developing strategies for The Moorings to grow its market share for the millennial demographics with the goal of making The Moorings the premier luxury yacht charter provider for this demographic. The students will use the strategic management process and tools to create a platform that communicates The Moorings mission, values, and products to the millennial generation. The project bridges industry and learning in the classroom by providing students with an opportunity to solve problems The Moorings are facing today, giving students real world experience before they graduate.”

Gaining experience in College is extremely important and this project will help students to advance their careers. “Through this collaboration, students will research and present findings about the yacht charter industry as it relates to millennials, apply strategic planning tools to develop new growth opportunities within this market, and gain valuable experience that adds to the student’s portfolio for employment.”

The project is in connection with Dr. Steve Diasio’s Strategic Management course, supported by The Moorings team- led by Maria Badia, Shannon Brennan, and Ian Pedersen. The students will present their ideas to The Moorings over the semester and the winning teams will present to The Moorings’ executives at their Clearwater, Florida headquarters at the end of the semester. Dr. Diasio is also looking for future industry partners for his upcoming courses. Anyone interested in developing a collaboration, please contact Dr. Diasio at sdiasio@mail.usf.edu.

[We appreciate your interest in improving students’ skills and they will be better presenters as a result of your efforts. We look forward to listening to your Icebreaker speech, Steve. - Thomas Skidmore, Club VP of Public Relations]

Leadership Position Available We are searching for a new VP of Public Relations. The person in this position will gain experience in marketing and advertising. This position plays a vital role for the club and is responsible for bringing in guests. Please contact Thomas Skidmore at 352-233-0580 or tskidmore@mail.usf.edu if you are interested in taking over this role. The position will start on May 1s t and you can start training now.

Membership Awards Bob Schlesinger has earned multiple awards and he had this to say, “I received my ALB (Advanced Leader Bronze) in Dec 2014. That’s after I completed my CC, served as Gulfport Toastmasters Secretary in 2013-2014, participated in the preparation of a Club Success Plan, participated in District sponsored Club Officer training (2 TLI’s) and conducted two programs from The Successful Club Series and/or The Leadership Excellence Series.” He is also within 3 speeches of his ACB (Advanced Communicator Bronze). This is 2 advance manuals of 5 speeches each for a total of 10 advanced speeches.

A few members who recently achieved their Competent Communicators were Cynthia Jenkins, Cyndi Long, and Thomas Skidmore.

Upcoming Events Division A Contest is April 11 at the SPC Gibbs campus at 6605 5th Ave N, Saint Petersburg, FL 33710 Toastmasters Spring 2015 District 48 Conference is May 1-3, 2015 at the Tampa Airport Marriott. It is an excellent way to network and improve your skills in workshops. Register now at http://www.district48.org/!

Downtown St. Pete Toastmasters is open to anyone over the age of 18. We welcome guests and new members at all times. We meet from 6:15 to 7:30 PM every Thursday in Room 316 at St. Petersburg College at 244 2nd Avenue N., St. Petersburg.

More information may be found at www.DowntownStPeteToastmasters.com