Janesville Toastmasters

Meeting Notes: April 21, 2009

2009-04-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

The meeting began at 7:06 pm.

Bob Jackson presented the invocation. Brian Allen lead the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.

President Tom Carlson remarked on stories of people who are constantly making improvements and urged all members not to lose their commitment.

Alvin Wire served as the meeting’s Toastmaster. As an introduction, members were asked to say their name and what they plan on doing just as soon as they get the time and the weather is nice.

General Evaluator Karl Herbst directed that voting would be by placement.

Michael Tunks spoke first. “Humility Trip” was his sixth speech.

The second speaker was Brian Allen with “Love, Compassion, and Honor.”

Nicole Hilbelink spoke third, presenting an award for Forensics MVP.

The final speech, a roast of Norm Aulabaugh, was given by Tom Carlson.

New member Irina Zelenskaya evaluated Michael; Phyllis Bickford evaluated Brian; Norm Aulabaugh evaluated Nicole; and Rick Brunton evaluated Tom.

Rick took the lectern as Education Master, teaching the club how to use notes and visual aids effectively.

Hien Tran served as Table Topics Master, asking questions related to perspectives of various professions. Tom Carlson, Nicole Hilbelink, and Alvin Wire were called upon to answer. Nicole’s response earned “Best Table Topics.”

Norm Aulabaugh was Joke Master, reminding members of the importance of using humor in creating a connection with the audience.

Karl returned to the lectern to evaluate the meeting. He acknowledged Noah Davisson as timer, Bonnie Smith as ‘Ah’ Counter, and Dan Bekta as Grammarian for their importance to the evaluation team. When choosing the Evaluation award, Karl recognized all the new members who took on roles: Irina, Noah, Bonnie, and Dan.

Toastmaster Wire presented the Best Speaker award to Tom Carlson.

President Carlson asked the evening’s guests to share his comments.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:31 pm.

Meeting Notes: April 7, 2009

2009-04-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Janesville Toastmasters

Meeting Notes from Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Norm Aulabaug filled in as Master Host and began the meeting promptly at 7:00 pm.

Tom Carlson led the club in the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance.

Tom’s presidential remarks were a report summing up what has happened for the last couple of weeks. At the time of the remarks, we were a Select Club. After Nicole Hilbelink completed her final Competent Communication Manual speech, the club would officially be at Distinguished Club status. Tom mentioned that he would do his best to complete enough speeches to bring the club to President’s Distinguished Status. President Carlson also gave the sad news of non-renewing members.

Norm asked each person to introduce himself or herself by giving his/her name and how he/she learned of Janesville Toastmasters. Norm then went on to discuss what Toastmasters is all about-selling lectern time.

Alvin Wire served as General Evaluator and informed the club that speakers would be evaluated by betterment.

Michael Tunks was the first speaker, presenting his manual speech, “Summer Bliss,” which was focused on “How to Say It.”

Nicole Hilbelink delivered her final CC project, “The Perfect Gift,” the purpose of which was to persuade.

The third speaker was new member, Noah Davisson, who blew us all away with his powerful Icebreaker, “Snapshots.” His presentation earned “Best Speaker.”

Michael was evaluated by Karl Herbst, Nicole was evaluated by Ross Quinn, and Noah was evaluated by Dan Bekta. Ross Quinn walked away with the “Best Evaluator” award.

Ross Quinn also served as Education Master with an excellent presentation about connecting with the audience and becoming a great speaker rather than an average speaker.

Alvin Wire took the lectern as Reading Master, sharing an article from the Timber Producers Association Magazine titled, “Memories of the 1980 Forest Fire.”

As his Commentary, Karl Herbst encouraged all members to embrace the Toastmasters program.

General Evaluator Alvin Wire told the club that the meeting had a very professional feel, so his comments were very particular.

Norm moved to adjourn the meeting, and the motion was seconded by Alvin.

Meeting Notes: March 31, 2009

2009-04-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Janesville Toastmasters

Meeting Notes for Tuesday, March 31st-Speechathon!

The gavel sounded at 7:04 pm with Karl Herbst at the helm as Toastmaster for the evening.

Tom Carlson opening the meeting with a Toast to Janesville Toastmasters, club 1983.

Jim Moses presented his third manual speech, “Get to the Point,” reminding us that we can never overcommunicate new information.

Alvin Wire took the lectern with a speech of praise from the Special Occasion Manual. Alvin honored Rick Brunton.

Rick was next, and delivered a presentation about striving for excellence.

Tom Carlson once again spoke, this time from the Public Relations manual. This was project 3, focusing on the Persuasive Approach, and his speech was title, “If Mountains were Smooth.”

The sixth speaker for the evening was Phyllis Bickford, who presented project four from the Competent Communicator manual, “How to Say It.” Her speech was titled “The Three R’s.”

Finally, the club was honored by the triumphant and inspiring return of Robert Jackson, who delivered a presentation about his traumatic experience and overcoming his own mountain.

Following all the speeches were evaluations: Phyllis Bickford evaluated Tom Carlson’s toast; Nicole Hilbelink evaluated Jim Moses; Hien Tran evaluated Alvin Wire; Diane Young evaluated Rick Brunton; Michele Lindauer evaluated Tom Carlson’s persuasive speech; Rick Brunton evaluated Phyllis Bickford; and Tom Carlson evaluated Robert Jackson.

Jim Moses shared the timer report.

As Hien Tran tallied the votes for best speaker, long-time member Don Warnloff shared a few ice-breaking remarks.

Jim Moses won “Best Speaker” for the evening. Congratulations!

These are a few key ideas that stuck out to me throughout the evening.
“Man is only truly content when he challenges himself through competition.” ~Rick Brunton
“If mountains were smooth, we could not climb them.” ~Tom Carlson
“You can never overcommunicate new information.” ~Jim Moses

Meeting Notes: March 17th, 2009

2009-04-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

Janesville Toastmasters

Meeting Notes from March 17, 2009

Masterhost Brian Allen began the meeting promptly at 7pm and welcomed the evening’s two guests.

Club President Tom Carlson was unable to attend, and Rick Brunton stepped in for the remarks, reminding us that dues are due at the end of the month. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, March 31, a Fifth Tuesday Speechathon.

Rick Brunton served as Toastmaster for the evening.

The evening began with a manual speech by Jim Moses, called “Spring Yard Care.” He was evaluated on betterment and won the “Best Speaker” trophy.

Karl Herbst and Nicole Hilbelink both participated in the club contest, though Karl did plan on moving on to the next level. Because she stayed within the time limits, she will represent the club at the Are C-4 competition on Saturday, March 28.

Phyllis Bickford evaluated Jim Moses, and Michele Lindauer evaluated Karl Herbst. Nicole Hilbelink received Round Robin commentary for her contest speech.

Norm Aulabaugh presented an educational session about the function of General Evaluator.

Michael Tunks presented Table topics. Nicole Hilbelink, Brian Allen, and guest Noah Davisson answered questions, and Noah was presented “Best Table Topics” for his response.

Phyllis Bickford served as Reading Master, sharing an excerpt of Mark Twain’s “From Eve’s Diary.”

Rick Brunton took the lectern with a brief commentary urging members to compete in contests.

There was no formal verbal motion to adjourn the meeting. It was over because Rick said so.

Humorous Contest

2008-10-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Photos courtesy of Toastmaster Monica Wahlberg

Nicole, talking about hiding in a box

Areas C-2 & C-4 Contestants

Nicole, receiving award from Tom

Our friend Diane Young, kicking the event off.

Tom presenting a participant with his award.

Tom, serving as Contest Master.

Tom, interviewing a contestant.

Tom, learning how to hug

Lori, preparing to judge (in the back left)

Michele, signing people in at C-1 & C-3 event

Tom, presenting an award

Tom Carlson in Business Week

2008-10-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the following link to read what Mr. Carlson has to say about how small business owners are affected the by the current economic climate:

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2008/sb2008103_938929.htm?chan=smallbiz_smallbiz+index+page_top+small+business+stories

Press Release

2008-10-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

JANESVILLE TOASTMASTERS CLUB HONORS EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP AND SPEAKING

July 30, 2008

Janesville Toastmasters, Club of Champions, recently held “Toastmaster Tributes”, an event honoring the successes and achievements of the club in the past year as well as the overall history of the club.

The Past President Award was presented to Yuri Rashkin for his service as President for 2007-2008 by current President, Tom Carlson. The club received the honor of President’s Distinguished Club for 2007-2008. The following honors were also awarded:

Competent Communicator: Yuri Rashkin, Alvin Wire

Advanced Communicator Bronze: Norm Aulabaugh, Michele Lindauer, Alvin Wire

Old Competent Leader: Norm Aulabaugh, Rick Brunton, Tom Carlson, Yuri Rashkin,
Alvin Wire

High Performance Leader: Karl Herbst, Michele Lindauer

Competent Leader: Karl Herbst

Advanced Communicator Gold: Karl Herbst

Triple Crown Award: Karl Herbst

Distinguished Toastmaster: Karl Herbst

The Janesville Toastmasters club meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month in the public meeting room at Hedberg Public Library. The meetings begin at 7:00 pm sharp and last until 8:30 pm. Toastmasters gives people the opportunity to learn about effective leadership and communication skills. Guests are always welcome.

Toastmasters-September 2, 2008 and Subsequent E-mail

2008-09-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

The president will contact the toastmaster well in advance of the meeting to make sure this position is covered. Then the Toastmaster will contact all participants (e-mail is fine) to encourage participation, advise each participant to arrange for their own substitute, if necessary, and obtain information related to the assignment e.g. introduction desired, speech time, title, and manual assignment being completed. Being the Toastmaster is an educational experience on how to plan for a good meeting as well as conducting an effective and time efficient meeting.

CONTEST NIGHT
Assignment (time) Sep 16 th Oct 7 th Oct 21st
Invocation/Pledge Ken Wolter Alvin Wire Nicole Hilbelink
Toastmaster Rick Brunton Nicole Hilbelink Tim KIenbaum
Commentary (2-4) Lori Frison Tim Kienbaum Michele Lindauer
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) Ross Quinn Michele Lindauer Kori Sagen
Reading Master (2-3) Michele Lindauer Tracy Torres Yuri Raskin
Education Master (1-3) Kori Sagen Brian Allen Tracy Torres
General Evaluator Brian Allen Rick Brunton Hien Tran
Humorous Contest (5-7) Nicole Hilbelink
Speaker (5-7) Kori Sagen Lori Sagen Rick Brunton
Speaker (5-7) Tim Kienbaum Lori Frison Alvin Wire
Speaker (5-7) Yuri Rashkin Ross Quinn Ken Wolter
Evaluator(3-4) Club Evaluation Karl Herbst Norm Aulabaubh
Evaluator(3-4) Jeff Winchell Hien Tran Lori Frison
Evaluator(3-4) Tom Carlson Ken Wolter Ross Quinn
Timer & Grammarian Tracy Torres Jeff Wichell Jeff Winchell
Business Meeting (5) Tom Carlson Not scheduled Tom Carlson
Not Able To Attend Norm Aulabaugh Norm Aulabaugh
Karl Herbst
Hein Tran

The Sep 16th Meeting
September 16 will be our Humorous Speech Contest. Nicole will enter the contest. If any others wish to enter, please call the Toastmaster ASAP. If no others enter, Nicole will be our official entrant and use the Sep 16 meeting as a practice run with full club evaluation. The other designated speakers will give their speaking slot to any other contest entries or will give non-contest speeches and be evaluated by another member. Hopefully they will give manual speeches. There is much merit in having a speech ready to go as a fill in for a vacant speaking slot.
TELL ME IN WRITING
Some members asked me to schedule them as speakers so they can work towards completion of their manuals. SORRY, but please make that known to be by e-mail. I am not proficient at taking/making notes on the fly. So please go back to square one and tell me how often you would like to give a speech, via e-mail, please. Then I will have a hard copy to guide/remind me in setting up the meeting schedule.
READ YOUR MAIL
And that brings up another issue. Evidently some do not monitor their IN BOX daily. As a result, I get a “Sorry” reply very close to the next meeting date. In some case, I find out on meeting night that someone will not be able to fill their assigned role. Unfortunately, that does not work well nor is it exhibiting one of the tenements of Leadership.

IT’S TIME CONSUMING
I am sure Lori and Norm will agree with me that it takes a lot of time to set up a meeting schedule. I am keeping a record of what role you have previously filled and when. So when looking for a Table Topics Master, I look back to see what roles you have or have not filled. Then I try to work someone into the schedule so they have that experience. Now the meeting schedule becomes a puzzle and if I am told ahead of time that you prefer to not be scheduled for anything on a specific meeting date, my time will not be spent in vain. When I am not told or told at the last minute, the meeting can become chaotic.
DO IT THE RIGHT WAY
The proper and most efficient way to handle not being able to fill an assigned role is to look on the schedule and see who does not have a major role (i.e. Speaker or Toastmaster) and find who could fill your role. Contact that person and if that does not work, contact another. DO NOT SEND AN EMAIL to the entire address list because that gets confusing, everyone assuming that someone else has/will respond. That just does not work. When you get a sub, either you or the sub should contact the Toastmaster, ok to copy me in.
IN A NUT SHELL
IN SUMMARY: Tell me how often you want to give a manual speech. What dates you know you will not be at a meeting. Find someone to take your assigned role. Inform the TM and copy me in.

Karl just found out he will be unable to attend on the 16th and because it is a contest night, I have assigned Rick Brunton to fill that role. If you have to find a substitute please e-mail that info to Rick ASAP and copy me. Don’t tell Rick you can’t attend and then expect him to find a replacement.
That’s not the Toastmaster’s responsibility.

WOW! There were 4 guests on the 2nd. An edited version of the Toastgram will go out to them and previous visitors. No need to load them down with housekeeping matters.

Our Last Meeting (Sep 2) and other Toastmaster News
Present: Brunton, Frison, Herbst, Hilbelink, Allen, Carlson, Rashkin, Wire, Sagen
Absent: Torres, Kienbaum, Lindauer, Quinn, Tran, Wolter, Winchell

Meeting notes courtesy of Kori Sagn who wrote: “In honor of the presidential campaigning going on we had a Presidential meeting Tuesday! Our own Brian Allen opened the meeting welcoming our guests and introducing each one of them. We hope to see Jim Moses, Jessica Zimbalman, Deb Blazer and Alex Blazer again in order to get to know them better (I apologize for any misspellings). Our very own President Tom Carlson said the invocation and led us all in the Pledge of Allegiance after touching briefly on our presidential candidates speaking abilities.

Toastmaster for the evening was Lori Frison. Lori shared a wonderful story about an Indian girl and related it nicely back to how sharing and group efforts help everyone in Toastmasters. Karl Herbst shared a commentary with us about “Teddy the Toastmaster” that was very enlightening. He gave us insight into why Teddy has been so successful in achieving his goals in Toastmasters. He then introduced us to his best friend “Willie Wastebasket” and told us what his contribution was to success!!
Yuri Rashkin stepped up and filled the spot of Table Topics Master at the last minute and he did a fine job coming up with questions for Kori Sagen, Brian Allen and Norm Aulabaugh. Brian walked away with the Best Table Topics award for the night with his discussions of a skateboarding park!

Alvin Wire decided to fill in at the last minute for the Education Master. He provided some insight for the guest on what Toastmasters is all about. Thank you Alvin – hopefully between your education presentation and Tom’s speech we will see all of our guests again!

We learned what “Fight Fire with Pepsi” was all about in Nicole Helbilink’s speech. Brian Allen enlightened us with information on “What is there to do in Wisconsin” and finally Tom Carlson presented his upcoming speech to help start a new Toastmasters club on “Life On The Toastmaster Highway”! Thanks to everyone who gave a speech. Nicole walked away with the Best Speaker Trophy for the night.

Norm Aulabaugh was our General Evaluator and he awarded the Best Evaluator to Kori Sagen.”

Thanks for a great night! Submitted by the club's Secretary, Kori Sagen THANK YOU, KORI.

Update

2008-08-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

At our last meetings, the Janesville Toastmasters held a Table Topics Contest. Brian Allen was the winner, with Tracy Torres taking the 2nd place. Congratulations to all who participated!

Toastmaster Tributes Honorees

2008-08-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of people who received their awards during Toastmaster Tributes on July 29, 2008.

Competent Communicator: Alivn Wire, Yuri Rashkin

Advanced Communicator Bronze: Norm Aulabaugh, Alvin Wire

Old Competent Communicator: Tom Carlson, Alvin Wire, Yuri Rashkin, Rick Brunton, Norm Aulabaugh

Advanced Communicator Bronze: Michele Lindauer

High Performance Leader: Michele Lindauer

Competent Leader: Karl Herbst

Advanced Communicator Gold: Karl Herbst

High Performance Leader: Karl Herbst

Triple Crown Award: Karl Herbst

Distinguished Toastmaster Award: Karl Herbst

President's Distinguished Club: Janesville Toastmasters

Opportunity to Show Off

2008-08-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

I recently received information regarding Artsfest, and I thought it might be a great chance for community exposure. I will definitely be involved if we think it is a good idea. Let me know what you think!

A Call for Artists & Crafters & Performers

ARTISTS & CRAFTERS: You are invited to share hands-on artistic demonstrations of your work to an audience of children of all ages, and to the community at large. Artists and crafters who demonstrate on Friday are invited to sell their wares on Saturday; there is no fee for this participation. Artists and crafters who only want to sell their work may set up a display on Saturday for a $20 booth fee.

PERFORMERS: Performers are needed for the United Arts Alliance (UAA) 3rd annual ArtsFest. If you can sing, play an instrument, tell stories, or find other ways to entertain our family audience, you are welcome to apply. Celebrate your cultural and ethnic heritage through your performance! All performers will be allowed to sell their CDs and DVDs.

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008, from 11:00 - 5:00 PM. Indicate preference of performance times and length of your set.

WHAT: ArtsFest '08, produced by the United Arts Alliance, in collaboration with the Janesville Schools' Core Values Team & Human Relations Clubs. ArtsFest '08 is a celebration of our many cultures through visual and performing arts, crafts, and food!

WHEN: Fri., Oct 3 from 1:00 – 8:00 PM and Sat., Oct 4 from 11:00 AM – 5 PM

WHERE: Janesville Performing Arts Center 408 S. Main, the Hedberg Library, & the Riverfront Park next to JPAC and the library.

TO REGISTER: contact Edie Baran, ArtsFest Coordinator by phone: 608-879-9280, or email: unitedartsalliance@gmail.com For artsits, registration deadline: Sept. 15, 2008.For performers, application deadline is Sept. 10.

ArtsFest '08 committee reserves the right to approve all participating artists' works, and it reserves the right to schedule performers as needed.The United Arts Alliance is a consortium of visual and performing arts organizations and individual members; its mission is to promote and make the arts accessible to all in the Rock County community. For a list of members, and other UAA information, please go to: www.rockcountyarts.com

Toastmaster Tributes Follow Up

2008-07-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a great night at World Buffet! If you left last night not feeling inspired, then you must not have been listening. Karl Herbst has certainly given us all a view of what is possible when you devote yourself to something with all that you have. I am not sure that I will be winning several awards in one year any time soon, but I know I feel that I want to do as much as possible for myself and for the club.

Kudos to all the members who worked so hard this past year and earned new levels in their Toastmasters experience. Thanks to Tom Carlson for his inspirational words and to Rick Brunton for a fantastic job as Toastmaster.

I encourage everyone to make comments about the evening. I did not grab a program, though I wish I would have, otherwise I would list the individual achievements. Hopefully, someone else will be able to do that. My bad.

Thanks again to everyone who attended. I had a great night, and I hope everyone else did, as well.

Toastmaster Tributes, July 29, 2008

2008-07-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

On July 29th, 2008, Toastmasters will be coming from a 50-75 mile radius to celebrate and pay tribute to Janesville Toastmasters club 1983 and its members for achievement's made in the last year.

One Toastmaster in particular wants to be known as A Team Player rather than be named. In the year 2006/7 he put our club "on track" and set us off to a destination known as Distinguished Club. We got there on time. It was obvious that TM Club 1983 was on track.

A new member, Yuri Rashkin, saw the potential in Toastmaster membership and his enthusiasm put him smack in the engineer's seat when elected president for the year 2007/8. During his term he took the club to new destinations, namely the Speakers Series he organized in conjunction with Hedberg Library.

When a club is building up speed, it needs energy and during Yuri's term that energy [steam] was generated by Karl Herbst who drives from Rockford to attend our meetings. One could say that Karl was pushing each member in the direction forward. As a result, July 29th date was set aside to recognize the accomplishments of over 10 Toastmasters.

Our club is also known as The Club of Champions and as this is being written, research is verifying that TM Club 1983 has produced 38 members who have placed or won at District, Regional and International Contests.

I have the privilege of serving as President of The Club of Champions in my 30th year of membership. This will be my 3rd term in this office and look at this a payback time for all the benefits I have enjoyed because of Toastmasters.

Any Toastmasters wishing to attend this event should contact me at my office weekdays at 608-755-7700 or evenings at my home at 608-752-8903.

Word

2008-07-13T17:46:00.001-07:00

I have a link to this blog from my own blog, which is titled "Word." If you are interested, the address is http://houtrowp.blogspot.com/

I write random thoughts on the blog, and I also post the text of some of my speeches, as well. Please feel free to take a gander.

See you all Tuesday.

July 15th Meeting

2008-07-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the line up:

Assignment (time) July 15st
Invocation/Pledge Tracy Torres
Toastmaster Lori Frison
Commentary (2-4) Alvin Wire
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) Norm Aulabaugh
Reading Master (2-3) Jeff Winchell
Education Master (1-3) Kori Sagen
General Evaluator Nicole Hilbelink
Speaker 1 (5-7) Ross Quinn
Speaker 2 (5-7) Ken Wolter
Speaker 3 (5-7) Tim Kienbaum
Evaluator 1 Yuri Rashkin
Evaluator 2 Rick Brunton
Evaluator 3 Hien Tran
Timer & Grammarian Brian Allen
Business Meeting (5) Tom Carlson

Be sure to contact the TM, Lori, to let her know whether or not you will be able to fulfill your role. If you are unable to make, take the time to find someone to replace you.

See you on Tuesday!

Greetings and Salutations

2008-07-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

As the VP of Public Relations, I have asked Yuri to allow me to contribute to the Toastmasters blog. He has consented, and I am now making some comments and posts. I am hoping that members of the club will use the blog as a resource for communication as well as for information. I have a link from my personal blog to this blog, and I am hoping to help steer traffic here in that way.

Please feel free to leave comments, ask questions, and make suggestions as to how I can best serve the club as the VP of Public Relations.

Karl's Video

2008-04-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here is a video by Karl Herbst

DSCF6887.mpg

Janesville Messenger features Toastmasters!

2008-01-20T16:31:00.001-08:00

Thank you to Sarah Zeller and the Janesville Messenger for the great story that they did about the Speaker Series and the Janesville Toastmasters!

As some of you know, we have a very exciting event coming up, which will feature leaders from the community speaking on the art of public speaking.

This series is sponsored by the Hedberg Public Library and the Janesville Toastmasters and we are excited to invite anyone in the community who would like to learn about becoming a more effective communicator and leader to attend our first presentation. The speaker will be Dr. Tom Evert, Superintendent of Janesville School District. This event will take place on January 29th from 7 until 8 pm.

Here is a brief excerpt from the story in the Janesville Messenger:

“We want to get someone like Dr. Evert and not talk to him about teacher negotiations, but about the mechanics of what he does, because he has to talk to different groups of people every day,” Rashkin said.

Longtime Janesville Toastmasters member Rick Brunton, who will speak in March, credits the organization for his success in giving keynote presentations, seminars on weight loss and speeches about smoking cessation.

Brunton joined Toastmasters before he began speaking in public, and said it made a difference as he adapted to a practice that makes many nervous.

“I became very comfortable very quickly,” he said. “(Toastmasters) is Rock County’s best-kept secret.”

His favorite part of public speaking, he said, is when someone tells him that his speech has helped solve a problem.

“The real reward of a speaker is being able to reach people on their level,” Brunton said.

To read the complete story, please follow this link and scroll down until you get to the story.

Speaker Series

2008-01-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Janesville Toastmasters have joined up with Hedberg Public Library for a major event coming up and we hope to see all of you there!

Presenting a unique learning opportunity for Toastmasters, and for all who are interested in becoming better public speakers!

Public Speaking Pointers from Community Leaders
Selected Tuesdays, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Free.
Hedberg Public Library, 316 S. Main St., Janesville, WI (608) 758-6588.

Good communication is the key to personal and professional success.

Each month, from January to April, a different skilled speaker will talk about the activity many people fear more than snakes and skydiving: SPEAKING IN PUBLIC. Come hear stories of personal progress and learn helpful techniques from Janesville Superintendent of Schools Tom Evert (Tuesday, Jan. 29), Atty. Margery Mebane Tibbetts (Tuesday, Feb. 26), corporate trainer Rick Brunton (Tuesday. March 25), and State Rep. Mike Sheridan (Tuesday, April 22).

This is also a great opportunity to promote Toastmasters, so it is extremely important to have the best possible turnout for this event. Please plan to attend this event and to bring as many people with you as you can. These are great speakers and you will have a great time while learning!

Questions? Please contact Janesville Toastmasters club president Yuri Rashkin at (608) 754-2424, or email at ServiceFirst@gmail.com. These presentations are a Nancy Parker Adult Program and co-sponsored by the Janesville Toastmasters Club.

Rick Brunton's Speech

2008-01-02T10:21:00.001-08:00

Rick Brunton is an amazing speaker and we are lucky to have him. Here is his most recent speech. It is presented here in two parts as the whole speech is about 11 minutes long.

Enjoy!

Latest Videos

2007-12-29T09:41:00.000-08:00

Here are the videos from the December 18th 2007 meeting of the Janesville Toastmasters.

First is Nicole Hilbelink

Hien Tran

"5 Minutes of Fame" Pictures

2007-10-18T10:49:00.001-07:00

While we wait for the video to get finished, here are some photos from the last Tuesday's meeting entitled "5 Minutes of Fame!"

Toastgram for November 6th

2007-10-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

Toastmasters Club # 1983
Toastgram for November 6th, 2007
Janesville Public Library, 316 S. Main St., 7:00 to 8:30 pm

The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!

Club website: http://janesvilletoastmasters.tm35.org

Assignment (time) - November 6th
Invocation/Pledge - Don Warnlof
Toastmaster - Yuri Rashkin
Commentary (2-4) - Rick Brunton
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) - Lori Frison
Reading Master (2-3) - Karl Herbst
Education Master (1-3) - Tom Carlson
General Evaluator - Jeff Perrigo
Speaker 1 (5-7) - Norm Aulabaugh
Speaker 2 (5-7) - Michele Lindauer
Speaker 3 (5-7) -Alvin Wire
Evaluator 1 - Karl Herbst
Evaluator 2 - Nicole Hilbelink
Evaluator 3 -Bruce Bradshaw
Timer & Grammarian - Lori Frison
Business Meeting (5) -Yuri Rashkin

Our October 16th Meeting and other Toastmaster News

We enjoyed having Brian Allen as our guest at the meeting. Interestingly, he said he had an upcoming interview he was getting ready for! We hope that watching all of the interviews during the meeting helped you prepare for your interview. We welcome you back anytime.

Hien Tran was also a guest at the meeting, and better yet, he has completed a membership form! Hien, we are so pleased to have you as part of our club. Welcome aboard.

The “Your 5 Minutes of Fame” meeting was a nice change of pace from the regular meeting agenda. Look for the videos to be posted on the blog. Let us all give Norm Aulabaugh a big round of applause for being in charge of all the filming. His effort and experience made the filming possible, thank you Norm.
During the business meeting, Yuri Rashkin reported that the Toastmasters Distinguished Speakers Series event is organized and the speakers are lined up as follows:
January – Superintendent of Janesville School District, Dr. Thomas Evert
February – Partner at Brennan Steil & Basting, Margery Mebane Tibbetts
March – Our own Rick Brunton.
April – State Representative, Mike Sheridan
Our Toastmasters club may be eligible for an award for hosting such a series.

There was discussion about the possibility of our club organizing and presenting a one-time educational “mini-course” about public speaking at U Rock. Proposals are due by November 1st. Yuri will complete the application. Let Yuri know if you’d like to participate in this great opportunity.

Yuri was recognized for his accomplishment in the Humorous Speech Contest. Yuri represented the “Club of Champions” at the C4 District level on October 10th where he took second place. Congratulations to Yuri for a job well done. Yuri was also acknowledged by Karl Herbst for all of his recent contributions of time and talent that he has given to the Rockford Toastmasters Club.

Toastgram for October 16th

2007-10-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

Assignment (time) - October 16th
Invocation/Pledge - Tom Carlson
Toastmaster - Lori Frison
Commentary (2-4)
Table Topics (1-2 x 3)
Reading Master (2-3)
Education Master (1-3)
General Evaluator
Speaker 1 (5-7)
Speaker 2 (5-7)
Speaker 3 (5-7)
Evaluator 1
Evaluator 2
Evaluator 3
Timer & Grammarian - Karl Herbst
Business Meeting (5) - Yuri Rashkin

Our October 2nd Meeting and other Toastmaster News

We enjoyed the company of four guests: Area C4 Governor and Keynoter’s member Kerean Povich, Mrs. Warnlof (yes, with Mr. Warnlof!), Jeff Gackstatter, and Chris Brown. We hope you had a good time and we welcome you all back anytime.

The meeting was well organized by Madam Toastmaster Michele Lindauer who introduced the club to a new agenda format. As always, Michele is willing to share information about this with anyone who is interested.

The best speaker trophy was awarded to Yuri Rashkin who delivered his Humorous Speech Contest Speech. Yuri is prepared with this one. He has adjusted his material and delivery. The next level of competition will take place on October 10th; meet and greet at 5:30pm, contest starts at 6:30pm. It will be held at American Family in the cafeteria, building A, follow the signs.

Best Evaluator went to Michele Lindauer and Best Table Topics Response went to Lori Frison.

An update on the Distinguished Speaker Series was given by Yuri Rashkin during the business meeting. Yuri confirmed that Dr. Tom Evert, Janesville School Superintendent, will indeed be our first speaker in the series. He is scheduled for the 5th Tuesday in January to be held at the Janesville Public Library. The following month’s events will be held on the fourth Tuesday of the month (February, March, April).

The next meeting will be another special event meeting as previously presented by Yuri. The theme is “Your 5 Minutes of Fame”. The meeting will be a series of interviews conducted by the Toastmaster of the evening. Members who want to participate should prepare by thinking of something;
o they would want to become famous for (can be completely fictional) and
o what questions they would want to be asked during the interview, (up to 5 questions, follow up questions may be asked if time allows).
This information would ideally be sent via email to the Toastmaster for the evening ahead of the meeting time, however if the information was simply brought to the meeting that would also work. For example, Yuri’s email might say….. a) he got famous for his “Ask Yuri” relationship advice column, and b) then he lists up to 5 questions he would like to be asked (with 5 minute total limit).

Janesville Toastmasters New Videos

2007-10-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the videos from the Janesville Toastmasters meeting on October 2nd of 2007.

First is the video of a speech by Bruce Bradshaw entitled "The Experiment".

The Experiment

Second is the speech by Lori Frison entitled "A Million Under The Mattress".

A Million Under The Mattress

As always, your comments are encouraged and appreciated!

2007-10-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a video of a speech by Karl Herbst. Your comments are encouraged and appreciated.

Voting Rights For Washington DC

In the interest of full disclosure: while Karl is a member of the Janesville Toastmasters, this particular speech was given outside of the club.

Toastgram for October 2nd

2007-09-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Toastmasters Club # 1983

Janesville Public Library, 316 S. Main St., 7:00 to 8:30 pm

The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!

Assignment (time) - October 2nd
Invocation/Pledge - Alexis Kuklenski
Toastmaster - Michele Lindauer
Commentary (2-4) - Tom Carlson
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) - Jeff Perrigo
Reading Master (2-3) - Yuri Rashkin
Education Master (1-3) - Rick Brunton
General Evaluator - Karl Herbst
Speaker 1 (5-7) - Bruce Bradshaw
Speaker 2 (5-7) - Nicole Hilbelink
Speaker 3 (5-7) - Lori Frison
Evaluator 1 - Rick Brunton
Evaluator 2 - Tom Carlson
Evaluator 3 - Michele Lindauer
Timer & Grammarian - Don Warnlof
Business Meeting (5) - Yuri Rashkin

Our September18th meeting and other Toastmaster News

A big warm welcome goes to Jeff Winchell who officially joined Toastmasters Club #1983. Welcome to the club, Jeff!

The club was pleased to have Mrs. Wire attend the meeting as a guest. She and Alvin traveled all day across several states before coming to the meeting, now that’s commitment.

Michele Lindauer received the trophy for Best Table Topics Response with a heart warming description of her childhood birthday parties. Nicole Hilbelink took the trophy for Best Evaluation with a detailed evaluation of Yuri’s contest speech which included specific suggestions for improvement.

Many laughs were enjoyed as Yuri Rashkin delivered his speech for the Humorous Speech Contest. He spoke about an advice column, “Ask Yuri”, which he intends to start writing after his career as a mortgage broker goes sour. The column is for men who are experiencing relationship challenges. He did a great job of poking fun at relationships and marriage. He will be advancing in the Humorous Speech Contest. Congratulations Yuri! The next level of competition will be the Area C4 event which has not been scheduled yet but will be held by October 11th .

During the business meeting, Yuri encouraged members to CC him in on emails regarding assignment changes so as to improve communication of who is filling what role. He also gave an update on the status of the TDSS, Toastmaster Distinguished Speakers Series. The JPAC requires a fee of $100.00 per event and therefore Yuri has begun looking for an alternate space. He discussed the project with the staff at Hedberg Public Library and the event will be held there, however not until January. The name of the event will also be changing.

Once again, dues are due. The deadline is September 30th which will be here before you know it. Checks are to be made out to Janesville Toastmasters in the amount of $27.00. Members can mail them to the care of Tom Carlson at;
Fairview Florist
1634 E. Racine Street
Janesville, Wisconsin 53545-4281
This might be fun! The second meeting in October will be another special event meeting as previously presented by Yuri. The theme is “Your 5 Minutes of Fame”. The meeting will be a series of interviews conducted by the Toastmaster of the evening. Members who want to participate should prepare by thinking of something
o they would want to become famous for (can be completely fictional) and
o what questions they would want to be asked during the interview, (up to 5 questions, follow up questions may be asked if time allows).
This information would ideally be sent via email to the Toastmaster for the evening ahead of the meeting time, however if the information was simply brought to the meeting that would also work. For example, Yuri’s email might say….. a) he got famous for his “Ask Yuri” relationship advice column, and b) then he lists up to 5 questions he would like to be asked (with 5 minute total limit).

New Videos

2007-09-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the videos from the Janesville Toastmasters meeting on September 18, 2007.

Presenting for your viewing enjoyment:

Table Topics (extemporaneous speaking) -

Nicole Hilbelink - Table Topics Master

Response by Michele Lindauer

Response by Karl Herbst

Lori Frison - Reading Master

Humorous Speech - Yuri Rashkin

Toastgram for September 18th Meeting

2007-09-08T06:19:00.000-07:00

Toastmasters Club # 1983
Janesville Public Library, 316 S. Main St., 7:00 to 8:30 pm
The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!
Club website: http://janesvilletoastmasters.tm35.org/

Meeting Assignments for September 18th meeting

Assignment (time) - September 18th
Invocation/Pledge - Karl Herbst
Toastmaster - Bruce Bradshaw
Commentary (2-4) - Michele Lindauer
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) - Nicole Hilbelink
Reading Master (2-3) - Lori Frison
Education Master (1-3) - Norm Aulabaugh
General Evaluator - Tom Carlson
Speaker 1 (5-7) - Rick Brunton
Speaker 2 (5-7) - Yuri Rashkin
Speaker 3 (5-7) - Open
Evaluator 1 - Alvin Wire
Evaluator 2 - Jeff Perrigo
Evaluator 3 - Open
Timer & Grammarian - Brian Brown
Business Meeting (5) - Yuri Rashkin

Our September 4th Meeting and other Toastmaster News

Two guests attended the meeting, Hien Tran and Jeff Winchell. We hope you both enjoyed the meeting and consider joining Toastmaster’s. You are welcome back at any time.

Bruce Bradshaw received the trophy for the best Table Topics response. Meanwhile, the trophies for best speaker and evaluation were left sitting idle as the presentation of these two trophies was simply overlooked. The club enjoyed the speeches of both Tom Carlson and Karl Herbst.

Two members were recognized for their club participation. Nicole Hilbelink has made a talented addition to the Club of Champions. She received her membership pin. Also, Rick Wooley was respectfully presented with a plaque in appreciation of his excellent leadership of the club during last year’s Presidential term.

Yuri Rashkin made two announcements. He invited any club member who would want to share information related to public speaking to write a post for the club’s blog. Posting to the blog is easy and club member contributions would enhance the blog’s content. Yuri also summarized the plan for the Toastmaster’s Distinguished Speaker Series (TDSS), questions were answered, and Yuri requested ideas for potential speakers for the series. Please contact Yuri if you know of any distinguished community members who might want to participate in the TDSS by speaking about their experience with public communications.

A friendly reminder, September is the month in which we submit our club dues for the period of October 1st thru March 31st. Checks are to be made out to Janesville Toastmasters. Members can either submit payment to Tom Carlson on the two meeting nights in September (4th and 18th) or by mailing them to Tom at;
Fairview Florist
1634 E. Racine Street
Janesville, Wisconsin 53545-4281
Deadline is midnight on September 30th. A non-paying member becomes an inactive member at that point. Dues are $27.00. Thank you.

New Toastmaster Videos

2007-09-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here are two videos from the last meeting of the Janesville Toastmasters. The first one features a commentary by Nicole Hilbelink

And the second video is a speech by Tom Carlson

Both Nicole and Tom are fine speakers, so enjoy!

Toastgram for our September 4th Meeting

2007-08-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

Toastmasters Club # 1983
Janesville Public Library, 316 S. Main St., 7:00 to 8:30 pm

The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!

Club website: http://janesvilletoastmasters.tm35.org

Assignments for September 4th

Assignment (time) - September 4
Invocation/Pledge - Lori Frison
Toastmaster - Karl Herbst
Commentary (2-4) - Nicole Hilbelink
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) - Norm Aulabaugh
Reading Master (2-3) - Alvin Wire
Education Master (1-3) - Bruce Bradshaw
General Evaluator - Rick Brunton
Speaker 1 (5-7) - Don Warnlof
Speaker 2 (5-7) - Tom Carlson
Speaker 3 (5-7) - Open
Evaluator 1 - Yuri Rashkin
Evaluator 2 - Michele Lindauer
Evaluator 3 - Lori Frison
Timer & Grammarian - Rick Brunton
Business Meeting (5) - Yuri Rashkin

Our August 21st meeting and other Toastmaster News

The “Speaker Special” turned out to be a smorgasbord of smiles and laughter. The format allowed ample speaking experience as well as an opportunity to learn from the strengths of famous speeches of the past.

We were honored to have the presence of two guests; Amy Mercer and Katie Kuznacic. Amy joined right in the action and gave a speech as part of the Speaker Special! She expressed interest in joining and we hope she does. The Janesville Toastmaster’s welcomes both of you back anytime.

The Humorous Speech contest is fast approaching! Members who want to enter will present to the club during the 2nd meeting in September. Participation holds a lot of benefits and is sure to be a riot.

Club President Yuri Rashkin is pondering another special meeting format for us. The theme is “Your 15 minutes of Fame”. We would once again trade-in the standard meeting agenda for a series of mock interviews. During the interviews, the speaker would be asked questions about something they became famous for. Please keep in mind that this is your opportunity to shine. Think of something that you WISH you had become famous for, or perhaps something you are working on as a small project that has finally propelled you to fame. Possible example: Mr. Norm Aulabaugh’s book reaching #1 on the NYTimes list of non-fiction bestsellers list. And now imagine that Brian Williams/Katie Couric/Charlie Gibson, etc, are interviewing you for the national broadcast. Hmm…Perhaps you would rather appear on a late night show? Think of the possible questions that you would be asked. The projected time-frame for this meeting is sometime in October.

Expanding club membership is a standing goal. Yuri is looking to form a committee that will increase and promote Toastmasters exposure in the community. He has been working on putting together a “Toastmaster’s Distinguished Speakers Series” where well-known speakers from the community would talk about the art of public speaking. He is requesting the names of potential speakers for this event. If you know of someone you think would be interested in participating as a speaker, please let Yuri know as the event is being planned to begin in October. The Performing Arts Center is available for the project and the Gazette would provide coverage. Wonderful exposure for both the speakers and Toastmaster’s!

Michele Lindauer talked about the Distinguished Club Program and the rigors of reaching such a designation. She then presented Yuri Rashkin with the Distinguished Club Ribbon which the club earned in 2006-07 under the excellent leadership of past president Rick Wooley.

A reminder that club officer training is taking place in Rockford next week Tuesday.

Toastgram for August 21st Meeting

2007-08-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

Assignments for our August 21st Meeting

Assignment (time) / Member
Invocation/Pledge - Michele Lindauer
Toastmaster - Lori Frison
Commentary (2-4)
Table Topics (1-2 x 3)
Reading Master (2-3)
Education Master (1-3)
General Evaluator
Speaker 1 (5-7) - Karl Herbst
Speaker 2 (5-7)
Speaker 3 (5-7)
Evaluator 1 - Norm Aulabaugh
Evaluator 2
Evaluator 3
Timer & Grammarian - Bruce Bradshaw
Business Meeting (5) - Yuri Rashkin

Our August 7th Meeting and other Toastmaster News

Don Warnlof attended! Even more exciting news, he has requested to give an Icebreaker speech so as to re-introduce himself to the club. We look forward to having Don attend more meetings and to hearing him speak.
Amy Mercer attended as a guest and she said she actually had more fun than she thought she would. Yes, Toastmaster meetings can be fun! She also expressed an interest in coming again. We hope that she does.

Yuri Rashkin was awarded the Best Table Topics Response trophy. Well, sort of. He would have received it had he remembered to bring it but, as life happens; Yuri forgot to bring the meeting props and supplies. The meeting continued on and substitutions were made in true Toastmaster fashion.

Nicole Hilbelink gave a remarkable Icebreaker speech, a gripping and entertaining speech about all of the times she has been bitten by dogs. Rick Brunton commented that it may very well be the best Icebreaker he has ever heard. We will be blessed with Nicole’s speaking talent in the future as she has officially turned in her application to join the club. Welcome Nicole.

It’s a tie! Nicole was awarded the Best Speaker trophy along with Norm Aulabaugh who spoke about the book he wrote, The Park. Norm makes good speaking look effortless.

Karl Herbst earned the Best Evaluator trophy for his detailed evaluation with specific tips for improvement.

Michele Lindauer spoke of a change in Toastmasters educational programming during the Education Master portion of the meeting. As of January 2007, all new members will be sent both the Competent Communicator (CC) manual along with a manual for Competent Leadership (CL). The CL track gives credit for filling regular meeting tasks as long as those tasks are evaluated in the manual. The CL manual is available for purchase for members who joined prior to January 2007.

Clarification was provided for the next meeting’s Speaker-Special format. Members are to come prepared to present a 4-5 minute speech written by someone else, although, if you would rather present your original material then you are welcomed to do so. Also, Karl Herbst has made a request to complete a manual speech and his request will be accommodated. Please feel welcome to ask for further information if you would like it.

The deadline for the Humorous Speech Contest is coming up September 27th.

Finally, a total of four officers attended the Officer Training which provided excellent information on how we can grow and maintain the strength of our club. Engage one of the club officers in a conversation about the training and learn more about how we can all work together to continue to improve our club’s quality.

Toastgram for August 7th

2007-08-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Assignments for our August 7th Meeting

Assignment (time) /Member
Invocation/Pledge - Don Warnlof
Toastmaster - Tom Carlson
Commentary (2-4) - Lori Frison
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) - Alvin Wire
Reading Master (2-3) - Brian Brown
Education Master (1-3) - Michele Lindauer
General Evaluator - Bruce Bradshaw
Speaker 1 (5-7) - Nicole Hilbelink
Speaker 2 (5-7) - Yuri Rashkin
Speaker 3 (5-7) - Norm Aulabaugh
Evaluator 1 - Rick Brunton
Evaluator 2 - Open
Evaluator 3 - Rick Wooley
Timer & Grammarian - Jeff Perrigo
Business Meeting (5) - Yuri Rashkin

Our July 17th meeting and other Toastmaster News

Two guests were in attendance at the meeting, Ray Sawyer and Katie Kuznacic.

Ray told the club a story about getting two tractors stuck in the mud forty years ago. Apparently, Ray promised the person who helped pull his tractors out that he would attend a Toastmasters meeting. So forty years later Ray fulfilled his obligation! Ray was uncertain if he would be attending again.

Katie expressed interest in attending again and possibly joining! We hope that both guests enjoyed themselves and decide to come again.

We all know that Yuri Rashkin has talent and during this meeting he demonstrated his ability to juggle……….several roles at once that is. Many assignments were unfilled due to absences. Yuri worked several positions simultaneously and all with a smile. He led us through almost seamlessly. The meeting was a good reminder that we are a team and a team needs all of its players to be effective. Thanks for taking up the slack Yuri!

Alvin also stepped up to fill an open position as speaker. He did a dramatic reading and it was absolutely entertaining. Karl Herbst was given the Best Evaluator trophy for his evaluation of Alvin’s speech.

Lori Frison was awarded Best Table Topic Response and the Best Speaker trophies. Members who were not present should actually be thankful to have missed Lori’s speech and those who were present know why! (Lori’s topic was gratitude.)

The business meeting was brief. Rick Brunton announced that he is putting together a press release for the Janesville Gazette. He will include Yuri’ s election as club President and recognition of Rick Wooley’s excellent leadership of the club to the status of Distinguished Club. Rick B. requested info about any other accomplishments to be mentioned.

The format for the second meeting in August will be an All-Speaker format. The meeting will be opened as usual followed by each member presenting a short speech. Afterwards, there will be a round-table discussion of favorite speakers and speeches. Please come prepared to give an approximately four minute long speech. As promised, Toastmasters is providing all members with ample opportunity to improve their speaking skills

2007-08-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here are the videos from the meeting last night. First speaker was Nicole Hilbelink, who was giving her Ice-Breaker speech entitled "Bite Me!" detailing her experiences with dogs in her life. Here is the video of her speech (hard to believe it is her first one!)

Nicole Hilbelink.wmv

Next speech was given by Norm Aulabaugh. And since I have just posted another speech by Norm (and because his connection to the internet does not allow Norm to watch his performance anyway), here is a photo of Norm giving a speech. Just to be clear, Norm is a master speaker, and if you are looking for the best book written about the Peninsula State Park, Norm's book titled "The Park", is a must read!

The final speech of the night came from Yuri. Titled "Matryoshkas and Your Future" it explained the factors that go into making up one's credit score, using Russian Nesting Dolls.

Yuri Rashkin.wmv

2007-08-08T09:05:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, August 4th, Norm, Lori and Yuri attended a Toastmaster training session in Madison. With Alvin having attended a previous training session held about 2 weeks ago, our club is staying on track to once again reach our goal of being a Distinguished Club.

Toastgram for July 17th

2007-07-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

Janesville Public Library, 316 S. Main St., 7:00 to 8:30 pm

The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!
Anyone is welcome to join us!

Club website: http://janesvilletoastmasters.tm35.org

Assignment (time) July 17
Invocation/Pledge Erin Engler
Toastmaster Alvin Wire
Commentary (2-4) Rick Brunton
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) Karl Herbst
Reading Master (2-3) Jeff Perrigo
Education Master (1-3) Open
General Evaluator Yuri Rashkin
Speaker 1 (5-7) Open
Speaker 2 (5-7) Lori Frison
Speaker 3 (5-7) Brian Brown
Evaluator 1 Bruce Bradshaw
Evaluator 2 Tom Carlson
Evaluator 3 Gina Hall
Timer & Grammarian Don Warnlof
Business Meeting (5) Yuri Rashkin

Our Last Meeting and other Toastmaster News

Who needs fireworks when there are Toastmaster meetings like this one? The Table Topics format was a huge success! The questions ranged from serious to silly which made for an interesting mix of humor and opinions. Everyone present had the opportunity to think quickly and speak on their feet more than once.

When all was said and done, Rick Brunton left with the Table Topics trophy and Jeff Perrigo with the Best Speaker trophy.

Yuri Rashkin presented the possibility of having the second meeting in August be a series of short speeches. Similar to the Table Topics theme, each person would prepare and present an abbreviated speech of their choice.

Toastgram

2007-06-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

Toastgram for July 3rd, 2007
Janesville Public Library, 316 S. Main St., 7:00 to 8:30 pm

The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!

Club website: http://janesvilletoastmasters.tm35.org
Club blog: www.janesvilletoastmasters.blogspot.com

Assignment (time) July 3rd
Invocation/Pledge Alvin Wire
Toastmaster Yuri Rashkin
Commentary (2-4) not assigned
Table Topics (1-2 x 3) not assigned
Reading Master (2-3) not assigned
Education Master (1-3) not assigned
General Evaluator not assigned
Speaker 1 (5-7) not assigned
Speaker 2 (5-7) not assigned
Speaker 3 (5-7) not assigned
Evaluator 1 not assigned
Evaluator 2 not assigned
Evaluator 3 not assigned
Timer & Grammarian not assigned
Business Meeting (5) Yuri Rashkin

Our June 19th Meeting and other Toastmaster News

Welcome to President Yuri Rashkin who has presented an innovative idea for an entire meeting based on Table Topics. As you noticed, there are no assignments for the next meeting. The meeting is to be a series of Table Topics questions and responses. Each Club member should come prepared with three Table Topics situations. Members will take turns asking their questions, responses will be given, followed by evaluations.

Norm Aulabaugh ended up taking the Table Topics trophy with a hilarious bit about his experience among aliens. Yuri Rashkin received the Best Speaker trophy with a speech about how he plans to make the upcoming year as President a special one. And, the Best Evaluator trophy was awarded to a guest Toastmaster, Robin.

Alvin Wire deserves mention for his unique speech which gave us all exposure to something new. He gave a speech as an old-time radio broadcaster about wind-towers. He sat with his back to the group as a way to set the tone for his delivery. It was a creative approach and a definite opportunity to focus on developing the use of voice during speeches.

Nicole Hilbelink completed her application to join the Club. Nice to have you aboard Nicole! She stepped up to fill the Reading Master position and demonstrated talented use of voice and gestures. It was an entertaining piece. Way to jump in Nicole.

Many congratulations went out to Rick Brunton for his efforts in the Region V speech contest. Rick provided excellent representation for our Club at this event. It is apparent that we are all very proud of you Rick and we believe in your capacity to succeed with your personal goal of securing the World title. Go for it!

A reminder: officer training is scheduled to take place in Madison at American Family on July 21st through the Toastmaster Leadership Institute, TLI. This training is open to ALL Club members. There is a make-up session scheduled for August 4th. If these dates do not work for you, consider attending an alternate session. There are several of these trainings taking place at various locations and times in the area.

2007-06-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here are two videos from the Janesville Toastmasters meeting on June 19, 2007.

Norm Aulabaugh delivered a commentary, in which he talked about the Region 5 Toastmaster competition, where Rick Brunton gave an excellent speech, but unfortunately came in second to Rory Vaden.

Rory Vaden was clearly an excellent speaker who, no doubt will go very far. Currently 24 years old, he wants to become to youngest person ever to be the World Champion at the Toastmaster International Speech Competition. Please see a link to Rory's website on the right-hand site of the webpage for more information. Good luck in the finals, Rory!

And Yuri Rashkin (that's me), gave a speech from the CTM manual entitled "A Special Year".

Toastgram for June 19, 2007

2007-06-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

by Norm Aulabaugh

Rick Brunton will be competing in the Region V International Speech contest Saturday June 16 at the Cliffbreakers in Rockford. Information concerning the conference can be found at http://www.region5tm.org/. The contest will be held as part of the dinner banquet on Saturday evening. Registration for the contest only is $10 – but hey – why not enjoy a good dinner as well as the contest or better yet, sign up for the whole conference – you will learn good things!

UPDATE: There's been a change in schedule. Here's the new schedule:

Contest 6pm
Dinner is next
Followed by Biographics
Final, Announcing the winner

Also please note we had some cancellations for the June 19 meeting and now have open slots for a speaker and reading master. So if you want to practice these skills, just come to the meeting prepared and the assignment will be yours! Just let Toastmaster Jeff Perrigo know that you will be taking the slot.

*******

Our Last meeting and other Toastmaster News

Janesville Public Library 316 S. Main St. 7:00 to 8:30 pm

The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!

Club website: http://janesvilletoastmasters.tm35.org

Assignment (time)
Invocation/ Pledge Rick Brunton
Toastmaster Jeff Perrigo
Commentary (2-4) Erin Engler
Table Topics (1-2 * 3) Don Warnlof
Reading Master (2-3) open
Education Master (1-3) Lori Frison
General Evaluator Norm Aulabaugh
Speaker 1 (5-7) open
Speaker 2 (5-7) Alvin Wire
Speaker 3 (5-7) Yuri Rashkin
Evaluator 1 Erin Engler
Evaluator 2 Bruce Bradshaw
Evaluator 3 Tom Carlson
Timer & Grammarian Norm Aulabaugh
Business Meeting (5) Rick Wooley

Nicole Hilbelink attended as a guest and wants to join the club. Welcome Nicole! Nicole left the meeting with an application in hand and we’ll certainly help her complete that application at the next meeting.

Tom Carlson was awarded the best table topics and best evaluator trophies. Best speaker went to Michele Lindauer.

President Rick Wooley is having some more surgery and will not be able to attend his last meeting as president on June 19 but he can take great comfort in knowing that he has once again led this club to the coveted distinguished status. Congratulations Rick and we hope that your stay in the hospital is very short.

And, it is with no sadness that your bulletin editor bids you farewell as Lori Frison has volunteered to take a turn at the helm of this renowned publication. Thanks Lori, this editor needs a break! It’s good to rotate assignments to allow the injection of new ideas.

Mark you calendars. July 21 is officer training in Madison. This is an opportunity for new officers to get acquainted with their duties. But also, don’t neglect that booklet that incoming president Yuri Rashkin gave to you at the last meeting. It’s the “When you are the (officer position you hold.) “ These books are EXCELLENT. READ YOURS! If you do, you will learn how to help you club grow and prosper!

Toastgram for June 5, 2007

2007-05-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

by Norm Aulabaugh

Janesville Public Library 316 S. Main St. 7:00 to 8:30 pm

The first and third Tuesday of each month – bring a guest!

Club website: http://janesvilletoastmasters.tm35.org

The president will contact the toastmaster well in advance of the meeting to make sure this position is covered. The Toastmaster will contact all participants (e-mail is fine) to encourage participation, try to arrange for a substitute if necessary and obtain information related to the assignment e.g. introduction desired, and for speeches the time, title, and manual assignment being completed. Being the Toastmaster is an educational experience on how to plan for a good meeting as well as conducting a good meeting.

Assignment (time) June 5
Invocation/ Pledge Rick Brunton
Toastmaster Yuri Rashkin
Commentary (2-4) Rick Wooley
Table Topics (1-2 * 3) Gina Hall
Reading Master (2-3) Brian Brown
Education Master (1-3) Alvin Wire
General Evaluator Lori Frison
Speaker 1 (5-7) Rick Brunton
Speaker 2 (5-7) Erin Engler
Speaker 3 (5-7) Bruce Bradshaw
Speaker 4 (5-7) Michelle Lindauer
Evaluator 1 Tom Carlson
Evaluator 2 Norm Aulabaugh
Evaluator 3 Barbara Wien
Timer & Grammarian Karl Herbst
Business Meeting (5) Rick Wooley

Our Last meeting and other Toastmaster News

On Tuesday last we had a particularly productive meeting. While we did have a few no-shows we were able to put together a full slate of presentations. The business meeting was long but for a good reason. Due to the absence of a quorum we voted to suspend the rules to accomplish the nomination and election of officers for the 2007-2008 year (sounds just like Washington, doesn’t it?). The Officers for next year will be: President-Yuri Rashkin, Treasurer-Tom Carlson, Secretary & Bulletin Editor-Lori Frison, Vice President of Education-Alvin Wire, Vice President of Membership-Rick Wooley, Vice President of Public Relations-Rick Brunton, Master Host-Norm Aulabaugh.

Lori Frison spent the night in pursuit of small trophies and walked away with two, one each for Best Table Topics Response and Best Evaluator for her evaluation of Rick Wooley’s speech on Brain Power, which also won him the Best Speaker trophy.

The highlight of the evening was when Michelle Lindauer officially joined our club and qualified us for Distinguished Club status. Welcome aboard Michelle!

Rick Brunton has requested a meeting on the fifth Tuesday of May, that’s on the 29th, to practice his speech for the Regional competition. The Janesville Library is closed on the 29th for some computer upgrading. More info on a location will follow shortly. (Submitted to the bulletin editor by Rick Brunton)

2007-05-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

At the last night's meeting, we saw the battle of Rick W vs Rick B. And to no one's surprise, Rick won.

Here is Rick Brunton's speech entitled "And the Winner Is..."

And here is the speech by Rick Wooley entitled "Brain Power". Because this speech went over 10 minutes, I am posting it as part I and part II.

rick wooley brain power ii.wmv

2007-05-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here's is the Toastgram for May 15th meeting. It is put together on bi-weekly basis by Norm Aulabaugh.

Rick Brunton took first place in the International Speech contest at the District 35 convention in Madison on Saturday, May 5. Rick now advances to the Region V contest to be held in Rockford Illinois on June 15 - 16. Of the four International Contest speakers, all were good, three were excellent, but Rick was a length ahead of the pack.

The Tall Tales contest likewise had four excellent speakers; three were top notch including our own Yuri Rashkin. Unfortunately, Yuri did not place in the contest. A Tall Tales contest speech must be of a highly exaggerated, improbable nature and have a theme or plot. Humor and props may be used to support or illustrate the speech. Yuri had the pack beat by 200% when it came to belly laughs and the improbability in his material. His delivery was flawless. The only thing this reporter can surmise was that the judges were looking for more of a plot to the tale than that embodied in Yuri’s tale. No matter where you place in a contest, you always come out a winner. Getting the opportunity to perform in front of a large audience, under the tremendous pressure of a contest, really helps you grow as a professional speaker. We thank Yuri for all the effort he put into his speech and the joy it brought us at meetings and the subsequent two contest levels when he made us laugh and thoroughly delighted us with his TALL tale.

Press Release

2007-05-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Two members of the Janesville Toastmasters Club 1983 The Club of Champions, continue to successfully compete in the Toastmasters International Contests. Rick Brunton of Beloit has competed in the competitions in the past and is considered to be one of the top 9 Toastmaster speakers in the world. In this year's competition he has won the area and division contests and will be competing on the district level (district 35 includes Wisconsin and Michigan UP). Yuri Rashkin of Janesville has entered his first competition with the Toastmasters International and is also heading to represent the Janesville Toastmasters at the district level after winning the area and the division levels in the Tall Tales Contest.

The District part of the competitions will take part on May 5, 2007 at Crowne Plaza hotel in Madison, as part of the Toastmasters International Convention, scheduled to be held in Madison on May 4-5.

2007-05-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a speech Karl Herbst gave last night. Per manual instructions (we use them for guidance), it was suppose to be a 15-20 minute speech. Unfortunately my camera battery was not prepared for such a development, and so here is Part I of that speech.

2007-05-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a speech by Yuri Rashkin (yup, that's me). I will be giving this speech one final time on Saturday, May 5, 2007 at the District level of the Tall Tales Competition. Here it is as recorded at the Area level of the competition about a month ago.

2007-05-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a prize-winning speech given by Tom Carlson on April 17, 2007. Tom has been with Toastmasters for 38 years (am I right?) and has originally performed this speech in 1992.

2007-05-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a speech given by Alvin Wire on April 17, 2007. Alvin has been with Toastmasters for a few years, and the next time I talk to him, I promise I will find out exactly how many years it's been!

2007-05-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

For the next video, here is Lori Frison in her Ice-Breaker (that's the very first speech one gives in Toastmasters)

And here's a small part of Lori's second speech titled "Lessons From the Room of 1000 Demons" that she gave at the club meeting last night.

2007-05-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

I would like to start by posting a video of a speech by Brian Brown. Besides being a member of the Janesville Toastmasters, Brian is a professional blogger. That means he helps others set up and operates blogs. A few weeks ago Brian gave a speech (his second) about the need for our club to have a blog. I thought it would be perfectly appropriate to have his speech be the first one posted.

Brian Brown

Welcome!

2007-05-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here begins the Janesville Toastmasters blog.

Its purpose is to provide members of the club an opportunity to:

1. Introduce ourselves and the club to a wider audience. Whether you may have heard of the Toasmasters or not, chances are you have not seen a Toastmaster club in action.
2. See ourselves on video and to help us improve our public speaking skills.
3. Express our thoughts about the Art of Public Speaking and share ways in which being a Toastmaster has benefitted us.

We take public speaking seriously and we hope that you will join us!