Celebrating Achievements

Pathways achievements

Level 1, Visionary Communications - Chamila 
Level 1, Engaging Humour - Darlene
Level 5, Strategic Relationships - Ali

Reaching Out in D42

Ellen - new member of D42 Dispatch Team
Nandini & Marvin - Pathways Education Team
Fola - Area 6 Director

Turning Pages achievements

Darlene - online presenter for Turning Pages with Kelly Kaur, 

                "Bring Your Book to Life"
              - participated in her first book signing event with Turning Pages

                 Her book Laughter Makes You Stronger, based on her

                Toastmaster speeches, was published in 2024.

Congratulations Igniters!

Humour Tournament a Success

Our final open house in November was the funtastic November 26 Humour Tournament. 

We were delighted to welcome our new member, Emma. Welcome also to the guests who assisted us with roles, applauded enthusiastically and enjoyed the fellowship and the snacks.

Our Tournament Master, Mark led us adroitly through the tournament with an amazing eight humour contestants: Ali, Marvin, Glen, Trevor, Jeff, Jey, Diane and Elaine.

They all had uniquely funny stories to tell. Will we ever forget Marvin crawling through his cat door, or Diane demonstrating the attributes of a perfect outhouse, or Elaine's husband's prosthetic leg sticking out of the pool while they tried to rescue him? Every speaker had a story that tickled our funny bones and left us giggling, chuckling and laughing out loud.

                    And the winners are:

                    1st place - Trevor

                    2nd place - Jeff

                    3rd place - Diane 

All eight contestants gave us a gift of laughter - a royal treat indeed. Congratulations all!

Time to Laugh!

On Tuesday November 26, Igniters Toastmasters will be holding a much awaited Humour Tournament. 

Members will delight us with a 5-7 minute humorous speech and compete for the top prize - perhaps Royal Jester? It will surely be a night of smiles, giggles, and guffaws.

Competitors can practice speaking, complete a speech requirement for a pathway level, or test your power to be funny, all within the welcoming, supportive Igniters environment. This is an unofficial in-club contest, meaning the winner doesn’t qualify for an Area-Level Contest, nor do the speakers have to satisfy any requirements in order to be eligible to participate. 

You can be involved and have a great time too! We need volunteers: jesters (competitors), Toastmaster, judges, ballot counters, timers. The more members involved the merrier. 

Members, please contact Mark Samcoe, our club president, to sign up now. 

Guests are welcome to come and enjoy the fellowship, the laughter and hilarity. Guests may also volunteer in roles that support the tournament. Please email info@igniterstm.ca to let us know you are coming.

Dust Off Your Funny-bone

Is there anything more fun than laughing with your friends while you listen to a hilarious speech? 

Being the one to help them laugh!

Give the gift of a smile, a chuckle, or a guffaw to your fellow members in our upcoming club Humorous Speech Tournament on November 26. Start now. Dust off your funny-bone, and start writing your funny 5-7 minute speech. We will be glad that you did!

More details are coming soon. 

Halloween Spooktacular

On a dark and fateful October 31 evening, witches and pirates and gangsters gathered. There was a pumpkin, a werewolf, a devil and a hula dancer, a giant spiderman, and more. The music started and they all began to dance — and eat — at the sumptuous buffet. 

A man with an eerie black cape banged a gavel on the lectern. Suddenly there was order and the meeting began. It was Toastmasters after all! We were happy to welcome six guests to our Open House event and welcome our new member, Jeremy to our club.

Ali was our Toastmaster. Darlene shared humour tips to help us tell funnier stories. David and Chamila inspired us with their Pathways speeches on rising like a Phoenix and coping with traffic in Calgary.

Best costumes were: Bentley the gangster, guest Rebecca the Pikachu, and Nandini and Marvin the friendly pirates. Scary Table Topics was led by Wizard Trevor.

Next Open House Event: Tuesday Nov 5 Games night on Zoom and our inspiring guest speaker Meghna Bhagat who will share tips on how to be a stronger speaker.

To come as a guest, please RSVP info@igniterstm.ca.

Toastmasters 100th Anniversary

With our 100th anniversary backgrounds and some brilliant smiles, our members sparkled in our Zoom celebration. Jeff gave a speech about how he found his courage to speak in public, Marvin shared highlights of  Toastmasters 100 year journey, and Nandini gave a thoughtful toast to an organization that has helped us all to learn and grow. 

Our table topics led by Ali revealed interesting facts about our members: we have two couples who met and fell in love in Toastmasters meetings, a member whose name means a flower blossoming, someone who has a shoe collection. Welcome to our guest Jeremy who cheerfully participated in table topics!

Congratulations to Chamilla who partnered with Marvin to take on the role of Toastmaster for the first time. Other members taking on a role did so demonstrating great listening skills, insight and a dash of humour.

An inspiring evening!  Next week is the Halloween Party! :)

Special events coming

Fun, fellowship, and great learning opportunities!

Toastmasters is celebrating its 100 Year Anniversary - October 22, 2024! 

To mark the occasion, Igniters Toastmasters has planned a number of special events in October and November. We look forward to seeing everyone. Guests are very welcome, please just let us know ahead so that we can welcome you. Details are in the poster below. 

 Amazing Igniters,

Watch this blog for upcoming events in October and November.

Hallowe'en party, open houses, special guest, Humor event and more.

Igniters is Thriving and Growing

 Welcome to our new member, Barbara!

Thank you for joining us and thank you to all the members who renewed before the Oct 1 deadline. Many thanks to our treasurer, Petra, for gently reminding us to pay our dues. Igniters is a strong club with 30 members who love to learn, grow, encourage and have fun.

 Members reaching beyond the club:

Ellen as Area Director for A27, Fola as Area Director for E6, Marvin as the District Online Chief Judge. Many other members are doing presentations at the District level in leadership and communication. Congratulations and thank you for sharing your skills and knowledge.

 Are you a hammerhead, jellyfish, dolphin or a Dora?

During the October 1 meeting, Bentley gave a thought-provoking speech on leadership styles using those imaginative and aquatic terms. It certainly got us talking! Our master Toastmaster Ksenija asked to share aha moments in our introductions which led to some beautiful insights and funny stories.

On Tuesday, October 22, we will be celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Toastmasters! Stay tuned!

Igniting Your Spirits!

Division E Awards

Sept - Congrats to Trevor as Div E Area Drector of the Year!! Let's cheer him on at the District Awards Sept 28. Yvonne won the E6 Toastmaster of the Year!

Igniters have been having fun developing their leadership and communication skills. Lots of opportunities for growth at the weekly meetings every Tues evening at events around the city.

Karaoke and Leadership Training 

Sept - A chance to have fun and friendship and practice your vocal variety skills at Karaoke. 

August - District 42 held an in person officer training. Ksenija trained Treasurers and Nandini helped teach VP of Membership. Ali helped with a Demo Meeting and Marvin participated in learning to give a Keynote.

Olympics! Teamwork and Collaboration

August - Luis our VP of Education planned a fun meeting! We were in Teams participating in four Olympic Games. Build a Pyramid, Blow the Ball in the Goal, Stack Bolts with Chopstick, and Eat Oreo from your forehead! We also celebrated birthdays for Marvin, Mona, and Yvonne.