Summer of Learning

   

Last Tuesday, I attended an Igniters summer meeting and was surprised to find many members there.  It is a summer of learning. As we entered the room, Elaine had ice cream and cones ready for members to cool off on a hot summer day. What a treat!

David presented his Icebreaker speech and had us all laughing with his stories. Congratulations, David!

Luis teamed up with Diane to be Toastmaster for the first time. He had an excellent meeting mentor in Diane and encouraged everyone to pair up with someone if we are nervous about taking on a role. Way to go Luis and Diane.

There were a few other members taking on roles for the first time. Samuel did Table Topics Master and Trish did Quiz Master.

Elaine won best Table Topics with a heartfelt speech in reply to the question “What good has transformation handed to you?”

Thank you, Igniters, for a fun summer meeting! 

Darlene

New Executive! 20th Anniversary!

Congratulations to the new Executive elected on May 21!

Mark - President

Luis - VP Education

Nandini - VP Membership

Darlene - VP Public Relations

Petra - Treasurer

Tracey - Secretary

Elaine - Sergeant at Arms

The new Executive’s term starts July 1, 2024, and ends June 30, 2025. Executive training opportunities, and the handing over of duties from the outgoing executive, will take place throughout June. A reminder that club leadership is not restricted to the Executive; members can always help out on committees to contribute ideas, learn about officer roles, and participate in improving and enhancing Igniters.

A massive thank you to the outgoing Executive for your hard work.

 

2023-2024 Executive

 

Jeff - President

Nandini - VP Education

Yvonne - VP Membership

Mark - VP Public Relations

Jey - Treasurer

Rebecca - Secretary

Devon - Sergeant at Arms

20^th Anniversary

 

Next Tuesday, June 18, Igniters is celebrating its 20th anniversary! It’s also our year-end party! Our potluck, party, and meeting will be held in-person at Nifty Fifties, and the theme is Around the World. Bring and display (and take home again) souvenirs from your travels to the ends of the Earth! We will be starting early at 6:45 but come early (5:45) to help set up the room. 

 

We will also be presenting the Igniting Spirits Award to the club member voted the most energetic, enthusiastic, and helpful in raising the spirits of the club.  Please send your vote to Marvin. 

 

Club members are invited to bring spouses, partners, friends, or co-workers to celebrate with us.

Contest Season

Our club contest was held in person on February 27. Thank you to the organizing team, including the judges and volunteers, for hosting an awesome event, the members and guests for providing the speakers with an audience, and the participants for competing. 

Award winners in the Evaluation Contest:

 

3^rd Place: Petra 

2^nd Place: Jeff 

1^st Place: Mark 

Award winners in the International Speech Contest:

 

3^rd Place: Darlene                                        

2^nd Place: Nandini

1^st Place: Jeff 

 

The Area contest took place on March 25 at Westhills Toastmasters, and was chaired by our very own Igniter Trevor. Congratulations to Nandini, who placed 2^nd in the International Speech Contest, and Jeff, who won 1^stplace in the Evaluation Contest. Thank you to Westhills for hosting, and for all of the Igniters who volunteered and showed up to support the event.

 

Next up is the Division Contest on April 17^th from 6 to 9 pm at SAIT. Be sure to come out and support Nandini and Jeff!

Way To Go Toastmasters!

On January 30, Igniters hosted the Division E Of The Year Awards. We had a fun evening on the virtual red carpet with over 40 Toastmasters celebrating! Igniters President Jeff won Area Toastmaster of the Year and Fola won Division Rookie of the Year!

Current Division E Director Chelsea and Past Division E Director Mary led the recognition for the Area and Division awards. Program Quality Director Daisy shared a speech about the importance of the colour red.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

Toastmaster of the Year - Donna 
Rookie of the Year - Fola 
Public Relations - Sheri 
Division E President - Val 
Area Director - Wendy 

Tall Tales

“We learn best in moments of enjoyment.” – Ralph C. Smedley

 

Igniters had a short but sweet December. Diane and Glen hosted a Christmas potluck on December 8th and Igniters ran a fantastic Tall Tales tournament on December 12^th. All in all, a fun-filled way to finish the calendar year.

 

As there was no district speech contest this year, Igniters held its own, featuring highly exaggerated and improbable stories. As our current club president, Jeff, said, speech contests “create a different environment in which to test and develop your skills ... and also make for great entertainment for the spectators as we watch each other aim to perform our best.” 

 

A huge thank you goes out to the tournament organizers: Jessica, Geetha, and Ksenija. And a special thank you to the tournament officials and volunteers.

Congratulations to all the participants: Glen, Lenore, Darlene, Trevor, Marvin, Jeff, and Nandini.

 

A round of applause for the contest winners:

 

1st Place: Jeff

2nd Place. Nandini 

3rd Place: Darlene 

 

Looking Ahead

 

After a holiday break, we hope you are energized for a new year.

 

This year’s “Of The Year” Awards will be held as an online event hosted by the District team on January 6^th. Fola was nominated for Rookie of Year and Jeff was nominated for Toastmaster of the Year from our Club. Details of the event are below:

 

January 6th, 2:00 PM (MST) / 3:00 PM (SK)

Special guest speaker – Sheryl Roush, DTM, Accredited Speaker

Registration Required – Click HERE to register.

Halloween with Igniters

We had a terrific Halloween meeting led by Pirate of the Caribbean Toastmasterrrrr Marvin and his motley crew! The word of the day was Trick or Treat. It was indeed a treat to hear Speakers Darlene and Jessica. Yes, Table Topics can be a bit scary, but Jeff, Rebecca, and guest Chris all got chocolate for being brave! It was fun to see all the creative costumes and Mark aka Alice Cooper won best dressed!!

Congratulations and Effective Evaluation

Meeting themes in late summer and early fall were Recovery, New Beginnings, Gratitude, Values & Virtues, and Orcas! 

Congratulations 

The following club members completed pathways in the past month:

 

Trevor - Level 4 of Persuasive Influence

Ellen - Level 4 and Level 5 of Dynamic Leadership

Mona - Level 5 of Engaging Humor

Kudos as well to Elaine on leading her first meeting at Toastmaster, club members who signed up in advance for roles, and those who stepped up to fill vacant roles each and every week. A big thank you as well to Jessica for helping with the agenda last month.

Effective Evaluation

 

On Tuesday, October 17, at our in-person meeting, we have a dynamic guest speaker to help strengthen our evaluation skills. Christina Kruis, DTM is a passionate and inspiring leader and evaluator. She is the Past District 42 Director for 2020- 2021 and an enthusiastic member of the Feedback Team for the D42 Circle of Gold. She has competed in many contests including winning the D42 Evaluation Contest in 2008.

 

Through evaluations we support and help people improve as communicators and presenters. Effective evaluation can inspire speakers to success. It is worth spending time to learn how to give valuable feedback and be a part of the success of others.

 

Sign Up!

 

It’s always a great time to book a speech or role. Challenge yourself by committing to a role you’re less familiar with or set a date for your next speech and work towards your goal.

 

Go Igniters!