Thursday, April 24, 2003

24 April

Speakeasy Toastmasters Club.
10Year Anniversary Celebration Evening.
Members and friends of the Speakeasy Toastmasters Club, Mallow will celebrate 10 very successful years with a Celebration Evening in The Hibernian Hotel, Mallow on Saturday 26’th April. The evening will consist of Dinner, a short selection of memorable speeches and a 60’s/70’s disco.
It will be a marvelous opportunity for present and former members from the Speakeasy Club and members of other Toastmasters Clubs in the Division to meet and renew friendships.
Meeting of Wednesday 16’th.
Members and guests attending the meeting of Wednesday 16’th of April experienced, once again, what can only described as a feast of typical toastmasters entertainment as seven highly entertaining and informative speeches were delivered on the night.
President, Pat Sexton welcomed the 40 members and guests and introduced John Dillon was Toastmaster for the evening John explained his role and introduced his fellow officers for the evening, Topicsmaster Mary Buckley, Timekeeper, Ann Buckley, General Evaluator, Jeremiah Roynane and Sgt’s at Arms, Kay Quirke and Elaine O’Donovan.
The first speaker of the evening was Deirdre Linehan with a Stage 2 speech entitled “It’s A Fat Thing”. “We are all consumers and we must all eat to live but have you thought of the facts about what you eat?” began Deirdre, as she wet on to explain to us about the fat content of various foodstuffs.” She explained where to find the nutritional value of foodstuffs using items from a typical basked and more importantly, how to convert figure out the true fat content of an item when only the weight of fat is given and that is, one gram of fat is nine calories.
Michael Walsh evaluated Dierdre’s speech..
Then it was the turn of John Holmes with a Stage 3 Speech entitled “Always Look On The Bright Side”. “Let me take you back to the era of the seventies”, began John who went on to tell us of an incident that happened to him when he was going to college. It was a potentially embarrassing situation, going around the school with a handbag, but the end result was ok.
John’s speech was evaluated by Kay Quirke.
After John it was the turn of Micheál Dineen with a Stage 4 Speech intriguing title of “Let Your Body Do The Talking”.” Communication is not just about what you say, if fact is it far more to do with how you say it”, said Micheál as he went on to tell us the importance of body language as you speak to someone. Examples of non-verbal communications include, eye contact, facial gestures, body motion, body posture and vocal tone.
Micheál then went on to give us some examples of body posture and the different kind of handshakes and what they may mean.
Pat Duggan evaluated Micheál’s speech.
“Who is Paul Kane?” was the title of Angela Sheehan’s Stage 7 Speech. Angela told us of the time she lived in Canada and one day going to an art gallery in Ottawa and seeing works by a painter named Paul Kane. She discovered that he was born in Mallow on Sept. 10’th 1810. He painted many pictures of the native Indians. Angela read 3 excerpts from the book “Wanderings of an Artist”.
Sean Corcoran evaluated Angela’s speech.
The next meeting of The Speakeasy Toastmasters Club is on Thursday 1’st May at the usual venue in The Hibernian Hotel at 8pm sharp
For further information on the Club contact Sean on 086 6054784 or Pat 087 2364240 or visit the Club’s Website at www.clix.to/speakeasy. Email, speakeasymallow@eircom.net

Thursday, April 17, 2003

17 April

Speakeasy Toastmasters Club.
At the Speakeasy Toastmasters meeting in The Hibernian Hotel (Chapel Lane) on April the Guest Speaker, was Eugene O’Connell with a speech entitled “The Last of the Bonesetters” in which he told the story of the Bonesetter and their place in Irish History and the other various roles that they played in Irish Society. Eugene was doing a Stage 7 Speech from “The Communication and Leadership Manual” the objectives of which were “to bring together and apply the communication skills that he has learned in the preceding projects”
Michael Donegan evaluated Eugene’s speech.
The final speech of the evening was by Barry Mc’Carthy and was entitled “The breath of life”. It speech was from the “Speaking to Inform” manual in which Barry spoke about the importance of first aid at the scene of an accident. Barry also gave a very comprehensive demonstration on the correct way to perform CPR using a mannequin.
Joan Lenihan evaluated Barry’s speech.
After the speeches Topicsmaster Kay Quirke entertained us with here topics. “New Time” was the topic she asked Mary Stack who had to speak for two minutes without any preparation. “Your favourite TV programme as a child” was asked of Eileen Corkery. Jerry Mulcahy was asked “Have you kissed the blarney stone”. “Rural Electrification” was what Jerry Mulcahy spoke for two minutes on. “The long finger” for Joan Lenihan and “what would be the qualities of a Rose of Tralee escort?” for Barry Mc’Carthy. Other Toastmasters provided Hilarious “add on’s” which is where members join in a particular topic for a period of one minute.
General Evaluator, Jerry Mulcahy conducted the evaluation session and awarded ribbons to Mary Buckler for “Best Speaker”, Joan Lenihan for “Best Speaker” and John Murphy for “Best Topic”.
Congratulations to Club members, Eileen Corkery and Pat Sexton who came third in the Division A Final of the International Speech and Evaluation Contests, respectively that were held in The Southcourt Hotel in Limerick last Saturday night. A large contingent of Speakeasy members was present to support Eileen and Pat both of whom gave brilliant performances on the night.

10’th Anniversary Celebration
Calling all ex Speakeasy Toastmasters. Plans are well under way for a celebration night consisting of a meal, a short selection of memorable speeches from the last ten years and dance which will take place in The Hibernian Hotel on Saturday 26’th of April at 8.30pm sharp. Tickets are €25 each and can be obtained from any Club member.
This will be an ideal opportunity for members past and present to meet, relax and have some fun.

The next meeting of The Speakeasy Toastmasters Club is on Thursday 1’st of May.

For further information on the Club contact Sean on 086 6054784 or Pat 087 2364240 or visit the Club’s Website at www.clix.to/speakeasy. Email, speakeasymallow@eircom.net

Thursday, April 10, 2003

10 April

Club President, Pat Sexton opened the Speakeasy Toastmasters Club meeting on April 3’rd in The Hibernian Hotel (Chapel Lane) and the welcomed the 40 members and guests promising a lively and entertaining night because as well as the normal programme it was the night of the Tall Tales Contest which was the first time that this was held in the Club.
Pat then introduced the Toastmaster for the night Tim Ahern who explained his function and introduced the other officers for the night. Topicsmaster, Kay Quirke. Timekeeper, Dermot Meany. General Evaluator, Jerry Mulcahy, and Sgt at Arms, Ann Buckley and Kay Quirke.
The first speaker was Toastmaster, John Holmes with a speech entitled “The Importance of Listening” in which he told us of the time he was in Hospital and the other patients that he met there. They each had a story to tell and needed someone to listen to them. John was completing his second speech from the Communication and Leadership Programme in which he had to “Convince the Audience of his earnestness, sincerity and conviction on a subject he thoroughly understood and to confront and control any nervousness he may have” in a time of Five to Seven minutes. William Healy evaluated John’s speech.
As there are no instructors etc in Toastmasters International other Club members provide feedback to the speakers on how they fulfilled the aims of their speech and any improvements that need to be made in the form of an Evaluation.
The next speaker of the evening was Ray Walsh with a speech entitled “The land of Dreams” in which Ray told us of the first attempts to interpret dreams, the theories of Freud and Jung and the research that has taken place since. Ray was completing his third speech in Toastmasters in which he had to “Organize his thoughts into a logical sequence that leads the audience to a clearly defined goal and to build a speech outline that includes an opening, body and conclusion” The time allowed for Ray’s speech was Five to seven minutes.
Pat Sexton evaluated Ray’s speech.
Mary Buckley was completing her ninth Toastmasters speech with the title of “Adults must lead the way”. The purpose of Mary’s speech was “To present a talk that persuades the audience to accept your proposal of viewpoint. To achieve this persuasive effect by appealing to the audience’s self-interest, building a logical foundation for agreement and arousing emotional commitment to your case “ Mary told us of the problems that excessive and binge drinking is causing in Ireland today. She presented facts from her research to us and declared that parents should not leave it to someone else to take action.
Tall Tales Contest.
This was the first time that Speakeasy Toastmasters held a Tall Tales Contest and there were entries from four members.
Deirdre Lenihan with a speech entitled “An Unlikely Love Story”. John Dillon’s speech was entitled “Balls”.
Sean Corcoran, “The Board” and Jerry Mulcahy with “Cobblers”.
Pat Duggan was Chief Judge and the judges were the audience. Pat Sexton explained the techniques of judging and the marking system. After a hilarious half an hour the Chief Judge and Counters, Pat Sexton and Angela Sheehan retired to count the score. While the count was in progress Topicsmaster, Kay O’Keeffe kept the audience entertained with her topics session. The winner of the Tall Tales Contest was Sean Corcoran and runner up was Jerry Mulcahy. Sean and Jerry will represent the Club in the Area Final in Fermoy on Tuesday 22’nd of April hosted by Fermoy Toastmasters.
Congratulations to Eileen Corkery who won the area final of the International Speech Contest and Pat Sexton who won the Area Final of the Evaluation Contest and both of which were held in The SMA Hall in Wilton on Friday 28’th of March hosted by Crusaders Toastmasters Club. Pat and Eileen are now through to the Division Final which will be held in the Southcourt Hotel in Raheen, Limerick on Saturday night 12’th April at 8PM
Best of luck to them both.
10’th Anniversary Celebration
Plans are well under way for a celebration night consisting of a meal, a short selection of memorable speeches from the last ten years and dance which will take place in The Hibernian Hotel on Saturday 26’th of April at 8.30pm sharp. Tickets are €25 and can be obtained from any Club member.
This will be an ideal opportunity for members past and present to meet, relax and have some fun.

The next meeting of The Speakeasy Toastmasters Club is on Wednesday 14'th April

For further information on the Club contact Sean on 086 6054784 or Pat 087 2364240 or visit the Club’s Website at www.clix.to/speakeasy. Email, speakeasymallow@eircom.net

Thursday, April 03, 2003

3 April

At the meeting of the Speakeasy Toastmasters Club in the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow (Chapel Lane) a speech entitled “Ask Not” was presented by Jeremiah Roynane. This was an advanced speech the objectives of which were, “to understand the structure of an effective speech. To interpret a famous speech in 8-10 minutes”. Jeremiah choose a speech that was delivered by the late U.S. President John F Kennedy in the early 1960’s.
He choose it given the situation world wide at present as it is full of ideal, promise and hope but said Jeremiah
“Forty years later the hopes and ideals are as far away now as they were then”.
Barry McCarthy evaluated Jeremiah’s speech.
The final speaker of the evening was Elizabeth O’Brien who was presenting an educational session from “The Successful Club Series”. Elizabeth brought us through the Toastmasters International Education Programme which she said was divided into two tracks, one being Communication and the other Leadership. Toastmasters do not have to stay with one track but can do both at the same time. Elizabeth, using acetates explained in detail what was involved and what the rewards were. It was a very enjoyable and informative session which benefited the more experienced club members as well as the newer ones.
In the second part of the meeting, Topicsmaster, Ellen Broderick kept us entertained with some enjoyable Table Topics. “Would you welcome legislation to ban smoking in the workplace? “ she asked Tim Ahern, who had to speak for two minutes with his answer. Then to Angela Sheehan, “Was it ok for Hello Magazine to take photos of Chaterine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas’s wedding?” This topic proved very popular with other members providing humorous “add ons” (one minute duration). And to Michael Walsh, “Do you agree with the reporting with fraudulent claims?”
General Evaluator, Kieran Buckley, then conducted the “Evaluation Session”. Kieran presented ribbons for Best Speech to, John Murphy. Best Evaluation to Barry McCarthy and best topic to Michael Walsh.
Club Meeting Tonight April 3’rd
Speakeasy Toastmasters Club meet “tonight” in The Hibernian Hotel and it will be the club round of the “Tall Tales” contest. The meeting starts at 8pm Sharp and entry is €4 and members of the public are very welcome to attend. Non Club Members are never asked to speak but may join in the Topics Session if they wish.
10’th Anniversary Celebration
Plans are well under way for a celebration night consisting of a meal, a short selection of memorable speeches from the last ten years and dance which will take place in The Hibernian Hotel on Saturday 26’th of April at 8.30pm sharp. Tickets are €25 and can be obtained from any Club member.
This will be an ideal opportunity for members past and present to meet, relax and have some fun.
Dates for your Diary
Tonight, Thursday 3’rd of April sees the Club holding its Tall Tales Contest.
On Saturday 12’th April the Divisional Final will be held in Southcourt Hotel in Raheen, Limerick.
On Tuesday 22’nd of April there will be a Tripartite meeting hosted by Fermoy Toastmasters which will include the Area Final of the Tall Tales Contest.
For further information on the Club contact Sean on 086 6054784 or Pat 087 2364240 or visit the Club’s Website at www.clix.to/speakeasy. Email, speakeasymallow@eircom.net

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