Interview Series - Part1 - Mona!

What a better way to share information about the membership experience in our amazing Toastmasters club, Igniters, than to hear directly from members? Therefore, the idea to do an interview series was born. My first interview is with Mona who joined Toastmasters in 1997 and is a founding member of Igniters. Mona is also our Mentor Coordinator. She brings experience and energy to our club. 

 

This link will take you to our interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=671rwkSnpEI&list=PLOf9a42nhe6A 

 Which member will we hear from next? If you’re interested in checking us out, our next meeting occurs on zoom on Tuesday October 13. 7-8:30pm. Nandini will be leading this meeting with a theme of Around the world in 90 minutes! Email info@igniterstm.ca to get the zoom link. 

Emma VP PR

Speak, Laugh & Connect — What a Night!

Marvin the Toastmaster chose our theme Speak, Laugh, Connect for the October 6 Igniters Open House and we certainly did all three!

We welcomed special guests Area E18 Director Alireza and Division D Director Stanley. We were ready for an evening of fun, learning, and connection.

What Makes You Laugh?

Members shared their answers, and the list included cats, funny friends and those wonderfully ridiculous situations that happen in everyday life. Plenty of laughter followed!

Three Speakers. Three Great Stories.

One of our newer members Yousef, stepped up to give his Presentation Mastery Ice Breaker, sharing two hilarious versions of himself as he learns English. Creative, funny and a wonderful introduction to who he is!

Darlene, an experienced member also began the Vintage Path with an Ice Breaker called “Why?” Her message about lifelong learning and continually growing and developing her skills was both inspiring and energizing.

Our Mentoring Coordinator Mona, on the Visionary Communication Path, Level 2 shared her Toastmasters journey, her first mentoring experience and how the skills she developed have helped her in her business. A great reminder that what we learn at Toastmasters goes well beyond the meeting.

One of the Igniters Advantages is the top-tier evaluations from our seasoned members Glen, Nandini, and Diane.  They offer specific, practical suggestions to help elevate each speech and everyone gets to learn from the feedback and use those ideas in future speeches.

Bonus: you get expert coaching without having to book an appointment!

We also celebrated and sang Happy Birthday to Ali and enjoyed delicious desserts and a special card. 

Awards 

Stanley - Past D42 Club Growth Director 
honors Nandini, Diane, and Ali for their 
dedication to Toastmasters.

Last years, D42 Club Growth Director Stanley, on behalf of the Trio, presented three Division E Of the Year Awards recognizing Ali for Toastmaster of the Year, Nandini for Public Relations, and Diane for Area Director with the cheering members. Congratulations to all the deserving recipients!

Elaine led Table Topics with  thought - provoking questions on the theme. We had unusual results a three-way tie for Best Table Topics Participant between Tyler, Lenore, and Tamil! 

To finish the evening, one clever member Tracey challenged us with a math question based on information shared throughout the meeting. So yes… listening really does pay off!

It was a night full of laughter, learning, celebration and connection and a great reminder of what makes Igniters such a fun, friendly and supportive club.

As our VP of Education Trevor shared in an email - "that was a wonderful meeting last night! I just wanted to echo what Division and Area director said - we are one of the best clubs. That's because of all of us!" 

Come for the speaking. Stay for the laughter. Leave with connections!

Nandini

VP PR Committee

Open House!

We're holding an Open House meeting on Tuesday October 6, 7-8:30pm with doors opening at 6:30pm. It will be at our in-person meeting location, which is located at 3512 5 Ave NW. This is the Nifty Fifties in the Parkdale Community Centre. Come one! Come all!

 See what the excitement and benefits of Toastmasters is all about. You will get to see the main elements of Toastmasters, which includes prepared speeches, speech evaluations, and impromptu speaking, which we call table topics. We have 3 speeches lined up by Trevor, Darlene, and Mona. There will be prizes and food. It will be an evening of fun, food, learning, and growth! Come see why we all love Toasmasters and our wonderful club, Igniters!! 

Emma VP PR

How Do We Make a Great Club Even Better?

What do you get when you put Toastmasters together, divide everyone into groups, ask some important questions and add cinnamon buns?

Moments of Truth at Igniters!

Once a year, we pause our regular meeting routine and ask

What are we doing well? What could we do better? And what makes Igniters such an amazing club?

This year, our members had plenty to say!

Welcome to our new Igniters Yousef, Em, Nathan and terrific Tyler is back! A huge appreciation to all our members who have renewed.

Six Areas. Lots of Ideas.

President Yvonne led our Moments of Truth, with our VP Education Trevor  helping organize a clear agenda.

Members split into groups and tackled six key areas:

1. First Impressions
2. Membership Orientation
3. Fellowship and Variety
4. Program Planning and Meeting Organization
5. Membership Strength
6. Achievement Recognition

Each group discussed what we're doing well, where we could improve, and how we can make Igniters even stronger.

Then everyone came together to share their ideas. There were plenty of suggestions and more than a few we should definitely do that!

Yvonne followed up the next day with a summary. The executive team will add action items to our Club Success Program and review feedback at executive meetings. A great discussion is even better when it leads to action!

Stepping Up and Stepping Forward 

We also celebrated Elaine  with the Most Improved Member Ribbon. VP Education Trevor celebrating with her.

After a bit of a speaking break, she stepped back up and delivered a strong Keynote about immunity and helping others, earning credit for Level 5 in Pathways: Prepare to Speak Professionally.

She's now preparing for a Keynote in front of 100 people in October, with helpful feedback from Nandini who offered her suggestions on how to connect with a bigger audience. Feedback from the members will build her confidence.

Igniters - a safe place to Try it. Get feedback. Improve. Then take the next leap.

Looking Ahead

Our Division G Director Ali also shared exciting news! The Spring Conference will be in Calgary, featuring the International Speech and Evaluation Contests.

And, of course, great ideas are even better with snacks. 

A productive evening? Absolutely. A thoughtful evening? Definitely. A cinnamon-bun evening from Elaine? Even better!

At Igniters: we learn, we support, we celebrate and we keep making a great club even better.

Nandini 

VP PR Committee

More Recognition!

 

You might recall a blog post on August 19, 2026 announcing that 2 members of Igniters were announced as Area Of The Year award winners. To refresh your memory Ali was Toastmaster of the year and Nandini was Public Relations of the Year. I didn’t know at that time that Diane was also selected as Area Director Of The Year. Igniters therefore had 3 members that advanced to the next stage, Division E. And low and behold, all three of our amazing members were selected as Division E Of The Year award winners!

Division E Toastmaster Of The Year:  Ali

Division E Public Relations Of The Year:  Nandini

Division E Area Director Of The Year:  Diane

Igniters is so lucky to have these 3 as dedicated members. They are all active in the club in many ways, in addition to the roles that earned them these awards. They take on meeting roles, deliver speeches, serve on the club executive. Last year Ali was VP Education and Nandini was VP PR. They are also active outside our club. Both Ali and Nandini have lead sessions in Leadership Training. Nandini is the Division E Circle of Gold Coordinator and a member of the Membership and PR Committees. Ali is the Division G Director in our newly aligned District 208. Diane is leading a Youth Leadership Program. I learn from these three often. They are shining stars in Igniters as well as within Division E. Congratulations Ali, Nandini, and Diane!!!

We look forward to cheering them on at the District 42 Of The Year Awards on October 3.

Emma VP PR

 

We’ve all been to an event or work meeting that involved Icebreakers. These are usually silly games to get you interacting with  people so you can network or develop a working relationship. I even went to a dating event once that started with an Icebreaker game. It was interesting to see who was more interested in completing the game versus connecting with other attendees.

Your speaking journey in Toastmasters begins with the Icebreaker speech, which is the first Pathways project where you deliver a 4-6 minute speech in front of your club members. The best part is knowing the subject of the speech – YOU! You do need to narrow it down to fit within the timeframe, but you get to choose what you share, whether it’s about your childhood, family, hobbies, education, career, why you joined Toastmasters, or some mix of what you would like others to know about you. Your Pathways module will help you to organize an effective speech with an intriguing introduction, engaging body, and compelling conclusion.

During our most recent in-person meeting, Tamil delivered his Icebreaker speech titled “One more step.”. He sprinkled humor throughout his personal stories about family, education, and his best year yet. Congratulations Tamil! I am looking forward to more of your speeches!

If you’re interested in improving your communication skills, come visit us at Igniters as a guest to see if you would like to join us as a member to develop your skills. Our next meeting is on zoom on Tuesday Sep 15, 2026, 7-8:30pm. Please email us at info@igniterstm.ca to get the zoom look. We look forward to meeting and eventually helping you deliver your Icebreaker speech!

Emma VP PR

Games Night!

Who says you can't have fun while developing your communication and leadership skills? Certainly not Igniters. During our last zoom meeting, we held a games night and fun was definitely had! Hosted by our Toastmaster (Game Show Host) Nandini, we learned and laughed!

 

We still stuck to the tenets of Toastmasters with a prepared speech by Ali, fun table topics by Marvin, evaluations and twists on supporting roles such as Grammarian and Ah/Um Counter.

 

We certainly had fun practicing facial expressions, as we know that face and visual cues have power. Here's a few moments caught on camera:

Jey - reaction after stepping in something unexpected

 and Marvin - big smile after winning the lottery.

Elaine did an excellent rendition of a pirate while answering the table topics question "What makes for a great weekend, as a pirate?"

Our Grammarian Chamila had us saluting rather than waving our hands when the Word of the Day, Spontaneous or Challenge Word, Tranquility, were used. Our Ah/Um Counter, Emma, incentivized us with a pretend $100 jackpot where every filler word used reduced the jackpot by $5. Our remarkable members finished the meeting with the $100 in tact by mastering the art of the pause rather than using wasteful filler words (ah, um, so, like, ya know).

Overall, we had fun as can be seen by our group pic. 

If you would like to have some fun while improving your communication and leadership skills, Igniters is the place for you! Join us at our next in-person meeting on Tuesday Sep 8, 7-8:30pm. The location is the Parkdale Community Centre located at 3512 5 Ave NW.

VP PR Emma