Growth is Falling into Place!

 Why does Toastmasters work? Practice. Every week you have an opportunity to practice your skills.
SAA Chris has taken on this leadership role and speaks every week and jumps at the chance to speak during Table Topics (impromptu speaking). Members see him speaking more confidently and clearly sharing his ideas. Thumbs up!

Georgi gave an entertaining &  persuasive speech #9 and shared 3 reasons to get a smart phone. Do you have these apps? - Red Laser, Shazam, RunKeeper.

Fall Conference - Keynote - Curling Silver Medalist - Cori Morris
What an inspiring keynote! She shared her values: Passion for figure skating & then curling, Phun (Fun) with Family, and Perspective - "Silver is the New Gold" - She felt like a winner with her silver and her team was celebrated by Canadians from coast to coast. What else helped her achieve her dream?

Press Play for this and more!

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Igniter Sizzle in the Contests!

J41 Area Contest - Thurs. Oct. 21
Governor Rosario organized a good contest filled with fun and laughter. Igniter Marvin was the capable Chief Judge and former member Darlene was terrific as the TT Master. The Igniters made up a small yet enthusiastic group!

Host Club: Speakmasters - Univ. Calgary
Results TT Contest                                        
1. Dolores  (Speakers Edge)                              
2. Carole   (CTI Techtalkers)

Humorous Contest
1. Garrett (Igniters)
2. Val (CTI Tectalkers)  
                        
Division J Contest
Come support Garrett for the Humorous Contest! Yes, you may see another familiar face in the T. Topics Contest too representing her advanced club. It will be filled with a fun night of laughter and impromptu speakers. Igniters continue to sizzle in leadership with Div. J Gov. Keith in charge! If you can volunteer - let Keith know.

Date: Friday Oct. 29, 2010
Time: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Thorn Hill Baptist Church
                128 Tache Avenue NW

Igniters Sizzle in the Summer

August 10 - Theme:  What is on your Bucket List? Great turnout!Welcome to newest Igniter - Amanda!

TM Nandini was inspired by Terry, 29 an Australian who had made a bucket list and one of the items was to deliver a baby. A friendly Canadian woman in Regina invited him to help with her third child. The baby was overdue and Terry got to go to his first Roughriders Football Game. Want to hear the latest and find out what else Terry has achieved besides running with the bulls, breaking a Guinness World Record, and cycling through Cuba. www.100things.com.au It might help give you ideas about how to live your best life!
Keith gave an inspiring speech  about the Toastmasters Program.

Aug. 3 -Theme: Slang
Yo wicked TM Russ was in the house!  We had a fun time LOL, ROFLOL as TTM Mona had a list of slang words 2 teams had to try and speak on  the real meaning. Know what a nifty is? Or a face card?
You do want it! Nifty = 50 bucks and face card = $100.00. We learned lots!

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July 27 - Hats! TM Diane looked sharp and led a creative evening. You should have seen what some Igniters had on their heads!  July 20 - Igniting Miracles - Joint Oudoor Meeting! Check out photos.
Thanks to Pres. Miracles - Dana for some of the pics! Esperanza & Dave gave powerful thought provoking speeches on 3 steps to communication & landmines.

Igniters Celebrate Success

Congratulations Igniters - Select Distinguished Club! Way to go Garrett, Terri, Mona & Victoria for your educational awards. You are in our hall of fame - look at right menu (Educational Achievements)
Annual Igniters Spirit of Success Awards. Drum roll......
Who won the membership contest this year? Who was inducted into the new Executive by Area Governor Rosario? Who has the famous traveling tea lite candle? Press play and find out!

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Elections & Leadership

Igniters Soar to Excellence

Great turnout at our June Election Meeting. Boy did we have some fun & laughs! Who will second that?!
Thanks to our current Exec. for sharing their passion and descriptions of the roles. Past Pres. Russ conducted elections and Pres. Garrett had an extra incentive for those joining the new Exec. - chocolate!
Thanks to all our members for nominations, voting, and helping out.

Congratulations to New Exec. Going to be a dynamic year!!
2010-2011 Executive

Pres. - Dave
VP Ed - Dawn
VP Membership - Terri
Public Relations - Nandini
Treasurer - Garrett
Secretary - Tammy
SAA - Chris
Past Pres. - Garrett

Officer Training June 12 & June 18. Go to Calgary Toastmasters for more info.

Welcome to Newest Member John P! Great to have you!

What can you Learn from Contests?

The Division J Contest on April 16 was inspiring, funny, and entertaining organized by our Div. J Gov. Keith and the Area Governors. It was a full house! Russ Small gave an insightful, well organized, and creative evaluation.Thumbs up!

Contests at the Club, Area, and Division allowed members to develop their skills & take risks through judging, assisting as contest officials, competing, and organizing. Igniters hosted Area Contest on March 30 with members Eden & Glen stepping up as Toastmasters.  On March 16 - big thanks to Club Contest Chair Tammy, Chief Judge Marvin, TM Terri and many Igniters.
Press Play - Igniters Up in Big Lights - you all deserve it for your dedication and commitment to keep growing. What will you try next?!

Evaluation Contest
1. Stu Schultz - Palliser
2. Harvey Taphorn - CATs
3. Russ Small- Igniters

International Speech Contest
1. Stu Schultz - Palliser
2. Scott McRae - Golden Gavel
3. Mary Jane McGrath - CTI Techtalkers
(We are delighted she visited and Igniters
 offered feedback for her speech.)

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Igniters is Five Years!

What a celebration! In honor of the past 5 years - Igniters recognized members and opportunities to develop their skills.

5 Reasons to Join Igniters -
1. Leadership
2. Communication
3. Innovation
4. Creativity
5. Growth

Mona received credit for Chairing a Club Special Event” and new member Murina "Organize a Club Special Event” –  in the Competent Leader Manual. Great Leaders!
Terri created a Special Edition Newsletter - click here
Special thanks to Igniters, Guests, and the Anniversary Committee. Great job! Thanks to Spencer & Marvin for photos

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Feb. 2 2010 - How to Pump Up the Energy!

It was cold & wintery outside and very warm and friendly inside at our joint meeting! High energy and learning - great combo. Thanks Keith for snapping photos.

Want to know how to write a memorable speech?

Tip: Put Your Own Spin On The Material. You may block your creative juices if you think everything you say has to be original. Don't worry about being unique, just put your personal spin on it. The audience wants to hear your personal point of view. Tips & Photos - press play.

Source: Bill Cole, MS MA Ten Top Tips For Writing A Memorable Speech: Winning The Mental Game Of Presenting http://www.mentalgamecoach.com/articles/SpeechPreparation.html

Marlene from Miracles posed intro question: If you were going to be an Olympican champion what sport would it be?
The opening number could be Olympians Diane and Glen ice dancers or could be Miracles & Igniters Celebrating too!

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How Will You Grow?

Brian M - a newer member shares tips for giving a first speech. Who else has done their icebreaker

in the past few months? More of Brian's tips inside!

"Joining a group of like-minded individuals who are trying to learn the fear- plagued skill of “public speaking” is the only way to go forward in an atmosphere of support and trust." (Go Igniters!)

Educational Awards - Igniters recognized for their accompolishments by da Big Guy at the Gangster Theme Mtg.

85 Stories Project - Keith L & Igniters share how Toastmasters has made a difference. Check out Calgary Toastmasters Website for more info.

Tips on Listening (Bob G) & Energizing Your Club (Mona & Panel - Marvin, Darlene, Peggy, & Nandini)  from Jan. 30 TLI (Toastmaster Leadership Institute) Sessions.

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Twas ten days before Christmas,

And through Diane & Glen's House

Igniters were not stirring,

And were quiet as a mouse.

Wait a minute.... I meant to say Igniters were having a fun & festive night. That sounds more like us! During Table Topics - creative stories were shared about gifts being given to members. Oh you should have heard the stories!

What tip will you use in your next speech? Press play.

Creativity Rules! ABBA & Backwards Meeting

Evaluations - You may have heard of the sandwich method (strengths, improvements, best) or the COD method (Content, Organization,Delivery). Have you heard the ABBA evaluation?!
Nov. 24 - ABBA meeting - a creative, fun filled, retro cool night! Check out the photos.

What can you learn from music to help you be a better speaker?

Tip: Music creates an instant connection and rapport.



How do you connect with your audience?

Nov. 10 Backwards Meeting 

This idea - from a book “The Crazy Dog Guide to Lifetime Happiness” by Brian Walker.The book was inspired by the Crow Indian practice of shaking up the routine in their lives to gain perspective.

We started by closing the meeting! Agenda

Read more on how to grow by shaking things up!
Article: by Igniters Members

Backwards and Upwards!

If you want to have your own backwards meeting. Try it. Have fun! Tips to have a meeting - side menu.

Using Toastmaster Skills in your Professional Development

In Nov Tammy gave two presentations to Engineering Students  working for the University of Calgary. She gave a power point presentation on Expectations and Etiquette. Tammy receieved credit for her CC speech #8 Working with Visual Aids.

Are you fitting your life into your speeches? How can you  get credit for what you are already doing at work, in the community, or in your personal development.

3 Lessons Tammy learned:
1) When you give the same presentation twice  in a short period of time - great opportunity to learn and make the second presentation stronger! Assess your strengths and areas to improve.

2) Practice helps! She reviewed all her material for the 2nd presentation.

3) Know your slides. This way you can look at the audience rather than at the screen.

Why Add Humor to your Presentations?

Georgi shares advice:

Even if you have the greatest content in your presentation, the attention span of your audience is not that long and at some point individual people will start drifting off mentally.

In order to keep people engaged throughout your presentation, it’s a good idea to give them a mental break every couple of minutes by telling a joke or a humorous story that provides the listeners’ minds with a temporary relief.

After they had a chance to laugh at your joke, the audience will be mentally reinvigorated and will continue listening to you with renewed, focused attention.

Nov. 17 - Build Your B.E.S.T. Relationships

Would you like to -

• Attract and retain more members
• Achieve successful mentoring relationships as a mentor or mentee  
• Meet member needs more effectively 
• Energize your Club 

Then, this training is for you!

 

Nov. 17 Workshop

Great to see all the enthusiastic mentors and mentees from clubs across Calgary! Participants worked on the 4 stages of developing stronger mentoring relationships.                        

What are your goals? Have you started working on them?!!

Have you taken your action step this week?

For more information on how to build a mentoring program in your club - refer to Mentoring Guide in the resource section.

More Growth for Igniters!

Oct. 8 - J41 Area Contest - Shannon and Dave represented Igniters with class and laughs! Thanks to all of you for your helpful feedback for the contestants.
Fantastic news! Russell - recognized by Area Gov. Colleen as J41 Toastmaster of the Year for 2008_2009.

Oct. 17 -Division J Gov. Keith organized a successful contest. Mona, Russell, Dave, Marvin, & Nandini helped with the contest. Keith creatively recognized his team members with postcards depicting their strengths.

More great news! Wendy - editor and the Igniters Informer won Division J Newsletter. 2 Yrs. in a Row! Awesome!

Division J
Humorous Speech Contest:

1st place – Darlene D(CTI TechTalkers)
2nd place – Geoff K (Bow Valley Toastmasters)
3rd place – Harvey T (Literally Speaking)

Table Topics Contest

1st place – Chuck R (CanOrators)
2nd place – Bill P (Speakers Edge)
3rd place – Tyler M (Palliser)

Igniters Sizzle in the Fall

Sept 22 - Fantastic Fall Contest! Fun, funny, and friendly!
Eden, Victoria, Shannon, & Allison TT's took us to Hawaii,Venice,S. Pacific, & Africa.We laughed at the humorous stories of David's BBQ in Japan, the Bane of Hair of Garrett, and Georgi helped us look for vitamins in our fruits and veggies.
Thanks to all the judges, officials, contestants, and of course the enthusiastic audience. Results below.

Sept 8 - Judging and Table Topics Workshop
Division C Chief Judge Marvin shared his experience and expertise in helping others learn to be effective judges. He shared tips on barriers to effective judging, judging criteria, and filling out forms. What is one of the fastest ways to become a better speaker? Judge at contests of course! You learn about speech development, effective organization, delivery, and more!
Tip: Pick a winner. Best speaker at this contest on this day. No ties on ballot form!

2007 District 42 Table Topics Contest Winner Nandini shared tips and stories to help others prepare for thinking on your feet more quickly for contests. Tips: 1) Answer the question. Focus. 2) Be passionate & enthusiastic 3) Support your position. Press play for more tips

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Club Contest

Table Topics	Humorous Contest
1. Eden	1. Dave
2. Victoria	2. Garrett
	3. Georgi

Summer

“Earth and sky, woods and fields,
lakes and rivers,the mountain and the sea,
are excellent schoolmasters,
and teach some of us more
than we can ever learn from books.” John Lubbock

What quotes do you have in your backpocket to add impact to your speaking?

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Igniters Sizzle!

Year end celebration of personal goals, Spirit of Success Awards, and as a President Distinguished Club. Course we like to celebrate good food too! Thanks to Graham and Ted for slaving over the hot BBQ. Appreciate Wendy for hosting a fun meeting.

Dawn gave a passionate icebreaker speech about her love for the Pittsburgh Penguins. What some people did to get an autograph! Who knew?!

Thanks to Past Pres. Marvin and his committee for organizing awards. Our Spirit of Success award winners share 1 word how they felt recieving the awards. Can you imagine this at the Oscars?!!

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Achieving Your Goals

What goals are you working on?

Georgi one of our new members just gave an humorous and informative ice breaker sharing 3 key points to remember about Bulgaria. What has he already learned from giving his 1st speech?

· Don’t turn your back to the audience
· Don’t walk around the room too much – it can be distracting to the listeners
· Make eye contact with people from all parts of the audience
· Include more personal content in the presentation

Garrett and Russell hit milestones too. Press play for tips!

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Tips on Leadership

by Mona Cooley, DTM
This convention was inspiring as I had the pleasure of observing how a leader, like Jana Barnhill, DTM is so successful in her business, as a leader of International and interactions with others. This has inspired me to have the COURAGE to raise the bar of leadership, Presence with Others, no matter whether it is in my family, business or personal goals.

What I learned:
1. Look people in the eye with sincerity.
2. Talk to others as if you are chatting one on one.
3. Communicate energizing others to challenge themselves.
4. Speak with a presence of ease and authenticity.
5. Know the 10 tips of being a leader (Refer to May 10 entry)
6. Role model demonstrating leadership at it’s best.
7. Have the “courage” to conquer your fears.
Press Play (below) to read more insights and tips Mona shares about spending time with our International President. How can you be a more inspiring leader?

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