Presidential Brief for January 2018

BeGes President’s Newsletter January 2018
“Helping Others, Helps Yourself” 

 

Beges,

We come to Toastmasters because we have trouble with public speaking. It’s usually terrifying to give our first icebreaker. Looking back, my the first few months were a blur of trying different roles and having absolutely no idea what I was doing.

Eventually I was able to contribute to the group, becoming an officer and helping 'behind the scenes', and mentoring others.

One of the things I’ve learned is that in helping others, you help yourself. It’s pretty clear when we mentor a new member how they’re benefitting. Yet, the other day I was at a meeting with a newcomer and in assisting them with their questions, it reminded me of things I’d forgotten, which helped my own progress.

But what if I’m still a newbie, how can I help? 

Showing up for meetings and taking on a role helps that meeting happen. Even coming and observing and participating in Table Topics, enhances the meeting. When you think beyond what you want to get out of Toastmasters for yourself, and focus on what you can give to the group, you gain so much more!

Joan Newcomb

BeGes President 2017-2018

NEW OFFICERS

Jennifer Fisher is our new V.P. Of Public Relations - Jennifer has already been contributing as a PR Committee member for Social Media (if you've noticed more about us on Facebook, it's thanks to her). We're excited to see what she creates in this expanded role!

Steve Garvin has stepped up to be Treasurer. Steve has served, in the past, as Secretary and VP of PR, he's bringing his professional experience in accounting to this new role. Thanks for stepping up!

(Mel West, has a new job in Seattle, so can no longer make the meetings. He's been our Treasurer for the last 1.5 years, and an invaluable asset to our club. Congratulations on the new position - we miss you!)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Officer’s Meeting - This coming Friday, January 19th 1:10pm - all members are invited; come learn about the behind-the-scenes working of our club!

Toastmasters Leadership Training. You don't have to be an officer to attend this training, (although all officers really *should*). Last Summer's training had a presentation on Marketing. This weekend will have a presentation on Membership Building. Please preregister so they know how much refreshments to provide!

Saturday, January 20th in Tacoma
Where: Center for Urban Waters, 326 E D St, Tacoma, WA
Sign-in: 8am - 8:30am Training: 8:30am - Noon
Pre-register here
Contact: Lori Zboralski LZBORALS@ci.tacoma.wa.us 253-468-4093
The training is also being held on other dates in Silverdale and in Pacific. For more information, go here.

Upcoming Contests

February 23  is Bege's International Speech Contest

March 2 is our Evaluation Contest.

Stay tuned for more info!

BeGes Presidential Brief, December 2017

BeGes President’s Newsletter December 2017

Compare and Despair!

BeGes,

When we first come to Toastmasters, it's usually because we're not comfortable with speaking in public. We listen to other club members stand up and talk, and can never imagine that we'll ever be as good as they are.

This extends when we step into roles. How can I ever be as good a - grammarian, evaluator, toastmaster, (fill in the blank). 

It's not useful to compare ourselves to others. It's like mentally tying our shoelaces together. It will only trip us up in our own progress.

Stepping into leadership positions, even if you're capable of fulfilling the requirements, the titles of president and vice president are daunting ones. It can take some time to get into the swing of things.

It's comforting to realize that in learning organizations like Toastmasters, we aren't expected to be automatic experts. We're in positions to learn and grow. 

Toastmasters has a couple of mottos, one is "Practice makes Perfect", and the other is "Where Leaders Are Made".  I'd like to offer another one - Progress Not Perfection. Because even though we're aiming at Perfection, any experienced Toastmaster knows you don't ever reach it.

We come to Toastmasters from different backgrounds, and each have different goals. The best comparison, I've found, is my current Toastmaster self with who I was when I first came to BeGes. I am so much better at pretty much everything now. And still have lots of room to grow.

Joan Newcomb

BeGes President 2017-2018

Next Officer's Meeting
Friday, October 8th 1pm. All members are welcome, come check out what happens behind the scenes and beyond the meetings that help to create our group!

Come See our Past President and Current VPE and new Region 1 International Director Mary Morrison! The Sound Advice Advanced Leadership Club is hosting a meet and greet on Thursday, December 21, 2017 at 6pm in Tacoma.

Mary will be leading an interactive workshop entitled “Leading with Heart and Hunger”. Mary’s career with the city of Tacoma and her Toastmasters journey have brought her to this pinnacle of leadership. Come hone your leadership skills with advice from District 32’s finest! http://d32toastmasters.org/mary-morrison-leading-heart-hunger/

BeGes Presidential Brief, November 2017

BeGes President’s Newsletter November 2017

Giving And Receiving

BeGes!

It's that time of year where we express gratitude for what we are given (or for what we are about to receive). We rarely think about what we're actually giving. 

Giving doesn't have to take a lot of energy. Sometimes our mere presence is a gift. For instance, we wouldn't have Toastmaster meeting if people didn't come to meetings. Signing up for a role definitely contributes to the event, but showing up without a role gives the Table Topics master someone to call on!

That being said, I do want to acknowledge one of our newest members, Jen Fischer, for stepping into the role of Social Media coordinator. She's helping our VP of Public Relations by getting the word out on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn. I've noticed more BeGes on Facebook than ever before, thanks to her!

Please join us on Social Media, if you haven't already done so. The more Facebook "likes", Twitter followers, or Meetup members we have, the more we get noticed by new people. We've already had folks come in from our Meetup page. 

There's an article in this months Toastmaster's Magazine on why and how to use Social Media with your Toastmasters Club.

When you go to a meeting, you can "check in" on Facebook, or RSVP on Meetup. Be sure to leave a review or response as well!

Joan Newcomb, CC, CL
President, BeGes Toastmasters 2017-2018

Upcoming Events

This Friday, Nov. 17th  we are having our monthly Officers Meeting. All members are welcome to sit in and see the 'behind the scenes' work it takes to create a great club!

December 1st we are having a Mock Contest! It's to give members an experience of a contest without the pressure of real competition ;) If you'd like to give a speech, email Eric. 

Presidential Brief for October, 2017

BeGes President’s Newsletter October 2017

Progress Not Perfection

Hello, BeGes!

My topic this month "Progress Not Perfection" in no way contradicts the wonderful advanced club "Pursuing Perfection". If anything, it may actually be in agreement!

When we first join Toastmasters, it's not uncommon to feel a bit overwhelmed. Speaking in public might be terrifying. Tackling any role, whether Ah Crutch, Grammarian, or Timer, might feel daunting. Everyone else in the club seems so much more competent than we feel we are.

It's helpful to realize that, even though we have contests, we're not really in competition with anyone else. We are each individual, and our growth path with Toastmasters is unique, even if we're following along the structures laid our in our Competent Communicator and our Competent Leader manuals. It may be suggested to give your Icebreaker Speech within the first month that you've joined, and to try to do a speech every 6 to 8 weeks, but everyone has their own pace, and their own style of learning.

Toastmasters provides a lot of support, from speech evaluation to mentorship, but you're ultimately in charge of measuring your progress. There's no assumptions that you'll be performing in an International Speech Contest in a year or raking in six figures as a professional speaker... unless *you* want to do those things!

We can easily get paralyzed by our own expectations. If you remember "progress not perfection", you can focus on the next speech, the next project, and not be frozen with fear of failing.

People join an advanced club (which may only meet monthly, in addition to their regular weekly club meeting) when they have completed the Competent Communicator manual and want to take their skills to the next level. But *pursuing* perfection does not imply that you're *attaining* it. No one, not even a winner of an International Speech Contest, hits an end point with working on their abilities. 

However, it is noticeable how quickly people improve when they join Toastmasters. They may stutter and even burst into tears during their first Icebreaker speech. That initial nervousness does wear off, and within a short time they're effortlessly leaping up to respond to Table Topic questions.

~Joan Newcomb, BeGes President 2017-2018

Welcome to our new Vice President of Education: Mary Morrison!

Mary is our immediate past president and has graciously stepped into the vacant VP of E position. Go to her for any questions you may have with working your way through your manuals. VPE Committee member Raylene Ewing is working on the Mentorship program, go to her if you haven't been assigned a mentor yet, or if you have questions about working with your mentor (or mentee).

Want to help get the word out about BeGes on Social Media? Our VP of Public Relations, Steve Garvin, could use a Committee Member to post to our several Social Media accounts! This task takes probably less than an hour a week and can be prescheduled on our Hootsuite or Buffer accounts.

Our Next Officers Meeting: Friday, October 20th 1pm (after our regular meeting)

All members are invited to our Officers Meeting, you can learn about what happens 'behind the scenes' to make our club run smoothly and successfully!

Presidential Brief for September

BeGes President’s Newsletter September 2017

The summer is over, it's time to get back to world. We've been on vacation and other aspects of life may have come up that's kept us from coming to our BeGes meetings.  

It's common, at this time, to question whether to keep going to Toastmasters. Maybe we're forgotten how much fun they are. Maybe we have gained skill from answering enough Table Topics questions to think we don't need to do any more speeches.

We've attained our initial goal of overcoming of discomfort with speaking in public, so why renew our dues?  Here's the thing -

There's levels of mastery and leadership to strive for, that we didn't even know when starting at BeGes. Toastmasters is so much more than just speeches.  There are great things to learn going through the Competent Leadership Manual - you get credit for every role you sign up for from Timer to Toastmaster. 

There's a great article on Leadership in the September TM magazine, "Leadership, It's Not About You" which clearly illustrates what you learn at Toastmasters beyond just speaking contributes to your success in all aspects of your life!

Joan Newcomb

BeGes President 2017-2018

Next Officer's Meeting
Friday, September 29th 1pm. All members are welcome, come check out what happens behind the scenes and beyond the meetings that help to create our group!

What Storms Are You Facing

Toastmaster: Mario Lorenz

Mario Lorenz led this week's theme "What storms are you facing?" He had in mind all the many storms the country has been encountering recently.

We all face storms in life. The theme was somber. The mood was light, though. Many laughs throughout the meeting.

View from the Skybox

Joan Newcomb with Eric Heller

Joan Marjorie Newcomb was our first speaker. She led Eric Heller through a practice discovery session. (Joan is a transformational coach.)

During the abbreviated session, Joan helped us all look on the playing field of life from the deluxe seats in the skybox.

Navigationally Challenged

Mary Morrison

Mary Morrison was our second speaker. She confessed to be navigationally challenged. While recounting her experiences of being lost, she helped us see to take courage and press forward.

Another great meeting where we found direction through life and through the streets.

 Select Distinguished Club 

On another note, we received our ribbon recognizing BeGe's as a Select Distinguished Club.

Join our Toastmaster's club 

Every Friday at noon. 1101 S Fawcett, Tacoma. You'll be sure to have a great time.

Presidential Brief For August

BeGes President’s Newsletter August 2017

Hello, BeGes!

I came across the following quote on Richard Branson's Twitter feed:

It made me think of our brave band of Toastmasters. Every Friday a handful of us fill the required roles, Toastmaster, Grammarian, Ah Crutch Counter, Timer, Table Topics Masters, Speakers, Evaluators, General Evaluators, but the meeting wouldn't be complete without guests and members who don't have roles (but can be called upon for Table Topics). The more people there are, the more fun and laughter there is!

But our meeting wouldn't happen without our Officers, who contribute behind the scenes - our Sergeant At Arms, who ensures the room is set up for us, our Treasurer who manages receiving dues and our expenditures, our Secretary who maintains our records and roster, our Vice President of Public Relations, who gets the word out into the community that we're here, our Vice President of Membership, who helps transform our guests into members, our Vice President of Education, who oversees the schedule, contests, and members progress, and the President who gets to open the meeting and bang the gavel!!

BeGes wouldn't exist without members, and our meetings wouldn't happen without people showing up. Every one of you contributes to our wonderful group simply by your unique presence.

Speech Contest

This Friday, August 11th, is our Humorous Speech Contest! Let our Contest Chair, Raylene, know if you'd like to compete, or help in any way.

OFFICERS MEETING

Friday 8/19, 1pm (after our regular Toastmasters meeting)

Come to our Officers Meeting! All club members are invited.

We’ll be hearing from each Officer their successes and challenges, (those who can’t attend please email a brief report), and looking at our Club Success Plan checklist!

Officers Training
If you missed the scheduled trainings, there will be a makeup one on Monday, August 21st from 5:30-9pm at the Auburn KCLS Library, 1102 Auburn Way S., Auburn, WA 98002. It's strongly recommended for officers (and our club gets points on our success plan if you go)! They provide invaluable info for club officers, and all members are welcome to attend. Register here: http://d32tli-auburn2.eventbrite.com

VP of PR needs a Social Media coordinator

Our VP of PR, Steve Garvin, could use someone enthusiastic about Social Media to tweet, post, share, and organize! Let him know if you're the one to do it!

VP of Membership needs a backup!
Our VP of Membership, Jing, could use a backup to support members on the Fridays she can't be there! Let her know if you're the one to do it!

VP of Education needs support!Our VP of Education stepped down due to work commitments, and her team members are shouldering all the tasks. It's a big job! If you'd like to lighten their load, let us know!

Have any questions, concerns? Let me know ~ my inbox is always open!

Joan

BeGes Prez 7/2017-6/2018