Wednesday, June 13, 2012

REMINDER!!!

This Thurdays meeting (6/14/12) will be held at Empire Beauty School.
16800 East Mississippi Avenue Aurora, CO 80017 MAP

Start time remains 7:00 pm

See you there!!

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Monday, June 11, 2012

End-Of-Season Backyard Carnival June 21st, 201219428 E. Crestridge Circle, Centennial, CO 80015 MAP
RSVP: 720-870-1242


Be part of the CELEBRATION! We will have our President, Tom Marrs, give out awards, honoring many of our member’s achievements over the past year.
 
Toastmaster and VP of Ed, Cybele Antonow, will host our BACKYARD TALENT SHOW!!!!

•Come with your zany talent to the backyard carnival Extravaganza!
•Behold some of the most Entertaining and Hilarious acts!

•Let’s get silly!

A Grill-meister has been hired to grill up some hot dogs and burgers for us! Chairs are provided as well as a stage! Plates/cups/utensils and DESSERT!

Bring: a food item (we have a sign-up list) and an UMBRELLA in case it lightly rains. (if a big storm comes in we will go inside)
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Simply Speaking Bloggers: Remember to let your group know you created a blog post.

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End-Of-Season Backyard Carnival June 21st, 201219428 E. Crestridge Circle, Centennial, CO 80015 MAP
RSVP: 720-870-1242


Be part of the CELEBRATION! We will have our President, Tom Marrs, give out awards, honoring many of our member’s achievements over the past year.
Toastmaster and VP of Ed, Cybele Antonow, will host our BACKYARD TALENT SHOW!!!!

•Come with your zany talent to the backyard carnival Extravaganza!
•Behold some of the most Entertaining and Hilarious acts!

•Let’s get silly!
A Grill-meister has been hired to grill up some hot dogs and burgers for us! Chairs are provided as well as a stage! Plates/cups/utensils and DESSERT!
Bring: a food item (we have a sign-up list) and an UMBRELLA in case it lightly rains. (if a big storm comes in we will go inside)


Tuesday, June 5, 2012


Simply Speaking Minutes
May 31 2012

Theme: Finish the Race
Word of the day was persevere – to maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.  

What a great meeting we had Thursday night! We were a little late at the starting gate, but Toastmaster Tom Marrs kept the meeting moving at a steady pace. Dale Jenkel called the meeting to order, reminded us to turn off our wireless appendages, and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Inspirator Felecia Arambula inspired us by getting us up on our feet and moving and getting our blood flowing. What a great way to start a meeting!

Speaker #1, Lois Kamga introduced us to Angels and Doves Foundation, a non-profit organization he is vice president, of that works to bring fresh water, provide education, and eliminates gender disparities in poor and rural areas of Cameroon. Fresh, clean water is not available in the rural areas, education is lacking, and women have little or no education. Check them out at www.angelsanddoves.org.

Speaker #2, Marcy Brack kept us laughing with stories of her mother’s favorite tools – a shoe and a butter knife. The shoe came in very handy driving a nail to hang pictures or crack open nuts. The butter knife was great as a substitute for a screwdriver. 

Speaker #3, Kathy Fortune told us of her weekend in Chicago several years ago when she met a celebrity her friend Gloria described as a great “hunk of dark chocolate” , who turned out to be Mohammed Ali. She shared some of her pictures with him, including one of the last ones he autographed.

Table Topics Masters Connie Akins brought several of us up to participate in Table Topics. We had a list of words we had to use, including the word of the day – persevere. Participants included guests Ricardo, Vibi, and Davorka, as well as members Mauricio, Diane, David, and Pete. We weaved quite a story to entertain the audience.

General Evaluator Darryle Brown introduced the evaluators, as well as evaluated the meeting. He evaluated the evaluators, noting how they all skillfully used the sandwich approach in their own personal styles. 

Timekeeper Anne Tacznosky, (in her first role as timekeeper) reported that all speakers and table topics participants were in time. Great job as a first-time timer!

Evaluator #1, Cybele Antenow provided feedback for Lois. His illustrations using bullet points and pictures of Cameroon supported his message of the work his organization does.

Evaluator #2, Joel Weismann gave great feedback to Marcy on her speech. This was his first time as an evaluator and he now has an idea for new tools for around the house.

David Bounds was evaluator #3 for Kathy Fortune. In his own comical way he provided feedback and noted her terms “great hunk of dark chocolate” and “Dark Gable”

Ah Counter Kreg Lyles and Grammarian Deborah Frauenfelder did a great job of counting our filler words and language usage. Quizmaster Sherry Thomas tested our listening skills, and our memory.

Tom Marrs presented the awards before making a few announcements.

Best Table Topics: Davorka

Best Evaluator: Joel Weismann (not bad for a rookie!)

Best Speaker: Kathy Fortune

Simply Speaking also received the Talk up Toastmasters ribbon for adding five members in February and March!!

Guests include Ricardo, Vibi (who is re-joining), Davorka, and Zelimir.

Members present included Kathy Fortune, Anne Tacznowsky, Cybele Antenow, Tom Marrs, Connie Akins, Alan Swartz, Joel Weismann, Margaret Seyer, Darryle Brown, Maura Thompson, Diane Nuss, David Bounds, Marcy Brack, Felicia Arambula, Deborah Frauenfelder, George Maestas Pete Hazlet, Sherry Londo-Thomas, Lois Kamga, Mauricio, and Kreg Lyles.








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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Meeting minutes from May 24, 2012
Theme "Paying Tribute to the Armed Forces"
Word of the Day: Sacrifice


What a great meeting we had.  This was the first time Danae Deal served as the Toastmaster, and what a wonderful job she did. We  had Joan Janis from Cherry Creek Toastmasters as our esteemed guest.

There were a few last minute substitutions and role filling, but that didn't slow us down.  Margaret Seyer led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by our inspirator, Cybele Antenow.  Cybele asked us what Toastmasters means to each of us.  She chose oppurtunity as we make a promise to ourselves to become better speakers, better leaders, take ourselves to new levels.

Maura Thompson kept us laughing with her dream speech of winning the Division 26 speech contest, helping Obama win a second term and marrying him.

Speaker #2 was Cybele Antenow, relating the worries and concerns of any parent when their child learns to drive.  Watch out for anyone turning left on a red light from the right turn lane!  It could be her daughter!

Our third speaker, Darryle Brown, gave a toast to Ian Humphrey, Gigi DeGala, and Kathy Fortune for their successes in some of the speech contests.  He especially recognized Deborah Frauenfelder, now a Division Governor for Toastmasters. Congratulations, Deborah!

Deborah Frauenfelder payed tribute to those who have served in the military and using that theme for the Table Topics questions. 

We had some great evaluations from Kathy Fortune, Will Osagiede, and David Bounds. General Evaluator Tom Marrs mentioned that the meeting started on time and roles were filled, but there will be an effort to! inform people sooner to sign up for roles a couple weeks in advance so people have ample time to sign up.

Let's congratulate our winners from last night:
Best Table Topics: Joan Janis
Best Evaluator:      David Bounds
Best Speaker:        Cybele Antenow

See you next week!

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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

March 15, 2012 Meeting Minutes

Theme:
“The Day Fear Was Lost and Courage Was Found…Is This YOUR Day?”

Word of the Day:
Nemesis



Dale Jenkel, Sergeant-at-Arms called the meeting to order and led the Toastmasters and guests in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Darryle Brown, our Toastmaster for the evening, greeted everyone with a warm “Hello Simply Speaking.” Darryle opened the meeting in a celebratory manner as he stated, “This is your day. We are going to celebrate you losing your fear.” With the usual Darryle energy, he exclaimed, “This is one of my favorite roles and it is a pleasure to serve you today.”

With a “let’s get ready to rumble” feel, Darryle introduced Inspirator, Deborah Frauenfelder. Deborah told everyone to close their eyes and forget all of the people in the room. Deborah stated, “Hopefully, tonight we will forget the fears.”

****

Darryle introduced the first speaker of the evening, the magnificent, Maura Thompson. Maura presented her speech “Curveball”, from the Competent Communication Manual – Getting Comfortable with Visual Aids – Speech #8. Maura presented a question to the audience, “Have you ever had something catch you off guard, totally by surprise that you would never forget it?” As everyone began thinking of that one thing we would never forget Maura shared a story that included her nemesis, Orlando. One sunny afternoon, while distracted by music, Orlando hit Maura with a softball. Maura pulled us into her story using visual aids to help us follow the chase that I am sure started immediately after she was hit with the softball. Maura noted that she was not paying attention and provided 3 ways to not get hit. First, pay attention! Second, be prepared and third; always keep your eye on the ball.

The second speaker of the evening was introduced as the fabulous and courageous, Connie Akins. Connie’s speech “The Red Dress Syndrome” is from the Advanced Communication Manual – Speaking to Inform – Fact Finding Report – Speech #4. Connie stepped out as the lady in red. She shared a story with us of a lady named Sally that was trapped in the red dress syndrome. Connie passionately stated, “The red dress syndrome starts in our childhood.” Connie was the littlest girl in her home and felt less important and less valuable. She felt stuck and felt that she let her dream slip away. “Maybe you have been trapped in your nemesis role. Are you sick and tired of being someone else?” stated Connie as she looked directly into the crowd. Well we learned that Connie was sick and tired of being someone else and sick of wearing the red dress! Connie decided to let her true light shine and with a quick jerk, off came the red top she was wearing. Before you get the wrong picture in your mind, she had on a black blouse under the red blouse. We learned that we have a choice and that every day we can get up and disown dysfunctional family roles.

We put our hands together for the sensational Cybele Antonow, our third speaker of the evening. Cybele presented “Motivating People” from the Leadership Excellence Series, Speech #1. Cybele helped us to discover the secrets of motivation. She stated, “A motivated team is committed and successful.” She explained that good leadership motivates others. Cybele stated, “Don’t think anyone here would complain about some praise.” Cybele motivates herself by taking the initiative of taking on multiple roles. She discussed several motivators such as money, praise, and public recognition. More responsibility was also mentioned as a motivator. Cybele noted that some may feel more motivated by more responsibility while others may view it as a nemesis. Cybele left us with these encouraging words, “I hope when you come to a Simply Speaking meeting you leave more motivated than when you came in.”

****

Darryle provided us with an illustration before our ears were pleasantly served by outstanding Table Topic speeches. Darryle balled up a piece of paper and told us to think of it as fear. He then tossed the paper across the room and introduced the absolutely terrific Table Topic leader, Tien Pham. Tien opened the floor to volunteers that spoke about courage and fear. They shared fears of sneaky bees, speeding tickets, speaking in front of an audience and the misbehavior of Curious George. We also learned that we should never trust an animal that cannot “potentially” wear shoes.

Table Topic participants: Maura, Kumu, Kathy, Lori, Deneen

****

Evaluator #1: David Bounds evaluated Maura’s speech. David stated that it was a wonderful speech. He was not surprised that Maura was a tom boy. In David’s words, “You being a tom boy was certainly no stretch.” He remarked on the great use of printouts during the speech. “Overall, the fact that you told it (the story) perfectly well and so prepared made it a wonderful speech,” stated David.

Evaluator #2: Gigi de Gala evaluated Connie’s speech. Gigi compared Connie’s speech to a bowl of Asian fried rice; you just can’t get enough of it. She expressed how Connie creates depth and goes to the next level. Gigi stated, “You are the most credible speaker to deliver that message.” She explained how Connie took us on a journey.

General Evaluator: Dale Jenkel provided an overview and re-cap of the meeting. Dale stated, “My personal nemesis is my voice was not as loud as Darryle’s.” He noted that the two evaluators were exceptional. He acknowledged the great job that Tien did in the Table Topics role.

****

Ah Counter: Kathy Fortune

Quizmaster: George Maestas

Grammarian: Craig Lyle

****

Applause is in order for the following winners:

Best Speaker: Connie Akins

Best Evaluator: Gigi de Gala

Best Table Topics: Kathy Fortune

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Please confirm your roles for tomorrow night 11/10/11

Hello fello Toasties,

Tomorrow night will be a great meeting.  Please confirm your roles.

The theme is: Staring Fear straight in the Eyes and the WOD is Audacious:


1. Fearlessly, often recklessly daring; bold. See Synonyms at adventurous, brave.
2. Unrestrained by convention or propriety; insolent.
3. Spirited and original: an audacious interpretation of two Jacobean dramas.
I would love to keep the theme within the meeting.  If the tabletopics master and inspirator could use the theme and WOD in there presentation.  Extra kudos if the speakers can use the WOD in their speeches. 
1st speaker:  Lois Kamga -  Louis please let me know what book you are working out of, the speech title, objectives and time
2nd Speaker: Will Osagiede
3rd Speaker: Maura Thompson
Back up speaker:  is assigned -  If there is someone that has a speech prepared, please let me know
Evaulator 1:  Gigi de Gala
Evaulator 2:  Keith Ahrens
Evaulator 3:  Sherry Thomas
Back up Evaulator: Netia Ingram
Inspirator; Travis Ostrom
Ah Counter: Tom Marrs
Grammarian: Vanda Simpson
Timer: Lori Bibeau
Table topics Master: Connie Akins
Thank you,
Marcy Brack

Saturday, August 20, 2011

An Electrifiying Get Together at Dawn's For S.S.'s Team Building!

What an amazing time at Dawn's for Simply Speaking's first team building event of the year! The afternoon started with great food, friends and members bringing family for a time of BBQ, Volleyball and Karaoke. The event kicked off very well with special guest stars, Elinora, Betty, Abigail and Michelle making an appearance, followed by a BBQ cook off by master chefs Titanic Tom Marrs and Wild Will Osagiede. Judges were called upon to judge their dishes based on four categories. They competed against each other in preparing beef brisket in very close race in which Tom won by a point or two. Both should be very proud because their masterfully prepared food was not only delicious but gone within minutes of being served in the party.

Michelle Bires and Gigi De Gala kicked off the karaoke event, which became an unexpected hit when it was discovered that many karaoke songs could be pulled directly from YouTube! Everyone joined into the act to include an amazing Patsy Kline rendition by our newest member Jacqueline Shaw. The volleyball event was a rip roaring good time as everyone played on different teams during each game and one team made an amazing comeback to win a game from a 6 point deficit. Many guests were impressed by the camaraderie expressed between Simply Speaking toastmaster members.

Simply Speaking Team Building events do exactly what they are designed to do-- deepen relationships betweeen members whcih carry over into the nature and culture of our meetings. If you missed it, make sure you go to the next one, because you will have a great time. It's team building events like these that make me so proud I am a part of The Club of Champions, Simply Speaking Toastmasters!






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Friday, May 27, 2011

Here are some more pictures of our super fun Bowling Night 100_0522.JPG

Friday, May 20, 2011

Club Contests, Team Building- Bowling, and New Members...What an AMAZING Couple of Months!

Simply Speaking's International Speech and Table Topics Club level Contests. Every year, we have members of the club competing in the top four contests the Toastmasters organization offers. Members from this club have won three of the top four contests in the past four years, to include Ian Humphrey going all the way to becoming a finalist in the World Championship of Public Speaking last year. This talented and high caliber club is poised to win all four by next year, fully earning the title "The Club of Champions"!



Belinda Corleyturnipseed (with contest chair Rod Gamblin) went all the way to becoming a finalist at the District Championship. As her mentor, I am personally proud of her accomplishments in the club in a very short time.



Champion speaker Ian Humphrey (with contest chair Rod Gamblin) became a finalist in the Division Contest against his toughest competition to date by a very close vote.



International Speech Contest Club level contestants: George, Ed, Dale, Cybele and Ian




Table Topics club level Contestants - Deborah, David, Travis and Belinda




Simply Speaking President Marcy Brack serving as Club Contest Toastmaster, interviewed contestants after an amazing performance by the speakers.
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Life in the meetings of Simply Speaking!




Simply Speaking Toastmasters, The Club of Champions! New inductees were added, making this club once again the most diverse club in District 26!





I am posing with "Lady Luck" Toastmaster Deborah, who led the festivities for the St. Patrick's Day club theme. She made it a lot of fun and I made sure I wore green so I wouldn't get pinched. lol
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Team Building - Bowling Night! Great times to be had by all. Team Building activities are a key ingredient in the success of the Simply Speaking Toastmasters Club, designed to build relationships with club members, boost morale, and just have a good time! Will you join us next time?



Me and Abigail!!




Gigi, Connie, Margaret, Cybele and some of the rest of the gang in the background.




Alan, Connie and a guest talking bowling strategies, I think.




Abigail, Lee and Marcy hanging out, having a blast.




Gigi and Cybele socializing.




Deborah, Me and Belinda living the dream.

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