Conference Time, Party Time

From Inverness in Scotland to Castletownbere, from Eastbourn in the south east of England to Sligo, and just about anywhere in between, Toastmasters descended on Killarney for the semi-annual conference which was held last weekend.

It was the first time ever that this conference was held in Killarney and was a major achievement for Killarney Toastmasters Club who were the conference hosts.

What can one say about a weekend that had it all? Good food, great friends. A weekend packed with workshops and contests during the day and in the evening singing, dancing, a banquet and craic until the small hours and breakfast while looking out at the majestic Tomies and Purple Mountain on the far side of Lough Leane as deer grazed in the field just across from our hotel, The Gleneagle. And of course the weather…. warm and sunny.

So, what can one say about the weekend? perfect, just perfect.

A toastmasters club spend will many, many months organizing such a conference and to bring over 300 delegates to such an event (and to see that they all get home again) takes huge organizational and leadership skills.

But learning and putting these skills into practice are part of the toastmaster ethos and are on par with public speaking skills which toastmasters international are famous for.

Speak Easy Toastmasters hosted such a conference back in 2001 and is still fondly remembered by conference goers.

Our next conference will take place at the Ormond Hotel, Kilkenny City on November 7-9^th

But this week it is back to club business with our meeting as usual on May 15 with the usual mix of speeches, evaluations and topics.

So why not call in and say hello, you will be most welcome and rest assured that guests are never asked to speak at a toastmasters meeting

If you would like to find out more about Speak Easy Toastmasters and Toastmasters International just visit our constantly updated website at www.speakeasytoastmasters.com where you will find information about all aspects of Toastmasters and also a page of questions and answers where you will find an answer to any questions you may have.

Also, you may contact our club PRO on 086 6054784.

Get Your Motor Running

Thursday, May 1’st saw another brilliant meeting of the Speak Easy Toastmasters Club in the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow.

Indeed it was a special night as the club were hosting the Area Final of the Tall Tales Contest and toastmasters from The Galtees Club in Mitchelstown and Fermoy Toastmasters joined Speak Easy members for an evening of, well, tall tales.

And the tales were indeed tall with a speech from Oliver Reilly from Fermoy Toastmasters entitled, “The Diagnosis”. Dick Lyons from The Galtees Club gave us a speech entitled, “The Real Story Behind the Peace Process” and from Angela Sheehan from Speak Easy, “Get Your Motor Running”.

The judges really had to work hard to choose a winner from the above speeches but in the end it was Speak Easy’s own Angela Sheehan who was declared the winner.

Congratulations, Angela.

As well as giving us an exhibition on crafting and delivering a tall tale, the speakers showed us how they have benefited from their Toastmaster training.

The meeting was presided over by Toastmasters International Area 17 (North Cork) Governor, Pat Duggan and joining him at the top table was Toastmaster/Contest Chair and President of Fermoy Toastmasters, Michael Sheehan.

Topicsmaster for the evening was Sean Corcoran who got many more tall tales during the topics session from those present.

Chief Judge for the contest was Maire Corbett, President of The Galtees Toastmasters and timers were Eamon Rea (The Galtees) and Cáit Murry (Speak Easy)

After the break we were treated to an interpretive reading project speech by John Dillon which was evaluated by Tony O’Regan.

This weekend, as far as Toastmasters are concerned its all roads lead to Killarney, where the Toastmasters District 71 Spring Conference will be held in the Gleneagle Hotel.

Toastmasters from all over Ireland and he UK will be attending for a weekend of contests, workshops and election of officers, not to mention singing, dancing, meeting up with old friends, making new ones and general merry making.

The next meeting of Speak Easy Toastmasters takes place in the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow on Thursday, May 15^th at 8pm and you are invited.

Speak Easy Toastmasters are delighted to welcome guests to our meetings so why not come along and see what we are about.

Rest assured, as our guest, you will not be asked to speak.

If you have any questions on any aspect of Toastmasters International or Speak Easy Toastmasters, why not log on to our website at www.speakeasytoastmasters.com where you will find a comprehensive question and answer (Q&A) section.

If you have missed out on any of our weekly notes, you will find them archived in our continuously updated blog http://speakeasytm.blogspot.com/ which is also accessible through our website.

Don’t forget, our next meeting on May 15’th. Looking forward to meeting you. Further information from our PRO , Sean on 086 6054784