Spring Contest District 42, Division E, Area 41 Winners

INTERNATION SPEECH CONTEST

      Contest Chair:  Kathy Young
      Contest Winner: Ellen Pelletier
      Contest Toastmaster: Nandini Venkatesan

 EVALUATION CONTEST                                     
                                                                           Congratulations ELLEN !!!!!! 
  Contest Chair:  Kathy Young
  Contest Toastmaster: Ben Knochel

  Contest Winner: Ellen Pelletier






Come out and support Ellen at
Division E Contest
Thursday, April 20
Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association
1320 5 Ave NW, Calgary

SPRING CONTEST 2017 - THANK YOU

• Igniter's were thrilled to host the 2017 Spring Contest on April 4, 2017.  This contest could not happen without many volunteers. 
• We would like to say thank you to the following.
• Contest Chairs:    Kathy Young & Brenda Jones,
• Toastmasters:       Nandini Venkatesan & Ben Knochel
• Chief Judge:         Marvin Henry 
• Timers:                 Ksenija Crnogorac & Chris Crooks
• Ballot Counters:    Mona Cooley, Val Erickson & Diane Fox
• Sargent at Arms:   Marion Butcher & Muhannad Nouri:
• Test Speaker & Judges:     to remain anonymous
• A big thanks to those that brought food and drinks.  Once again members and guests left the Igniter's hall with their food craving satisfied as we have a large variety of  appetizers and deserts. 
• Apologies to anyone I missed in this THANK YOU.  Everyone that came and shared in the evening helped to make the contest memorable.

          

SPRING CONTEST District 42, Division E, Area 42

INTERNATIONAL SPEECH CONTEST

Once again our competitors did an awesome job presenting their speeches.  The audience was treated with five very different orations, all of which were entertaining and informative.
Contestants : Brandon Felty, Ellen Pelletier, Julie Wright, Julianna Barabas and Ken Schatzke chell Contest Chair - Kathy Young  Toastmaster - Nandini Venkatesan

  EVALUATION CONTEST

We appreciated and enjoyed our test speaker that shared a life experience that many of us could relate to.  Our Contestants: Geetha Nicodemus, Ellen Pelletier and Supun DeSilva each brought their our style to the evaluations and as an audience member I appreciated and learned from their appraisals.   Toastmaster: Ben Knochel

Club Contest March 2017 - Participation, Challenge and Success

All participants in the Igniters Club Contest were acknowledged by President Marion who personally thanked everyone for their participation.  The contest organizers spend weeks making decisions that produced a rewarding experience for contestants and the many guest.

Evaluation Contestants: Stephen (SSA), Ellen, Anne, Marion (TM), Chris

First Place Winner Ellen

International Speech Contestants:  Ellen, Malcolm, Yvonne, Margaret, Marion (TM), Mona (SAA)

First Place Winner Ellen

Test Speaker during Workshop

Nandini's Evaluation Workshop created a full house with 18 guests.  Her presentation was informative and interactive.  Michelle volunteered to be the Test Speaker for our evaluation practice.  "The Act" was well researched and challenged our thinking about food choices, especially our fast food treats that sneak into our meals.  It is always a treat to see the collaboration between two speakers in one meeting!

Igniters Toastmasters – “Power Up Your Evaluations!” Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Do you want to find tips to be a stronger evaluator?

Are you interested in competing more effectively in the Spring Contests?  

Would you like to be a better speaker?

If you answer yes to any of the questions – this fun and interactive workshop is for you! Join two - time District 42 Evaluation Winner, Nandini Venkatesan DTM who will share her experiences and help you become a stronger evaluator and speaker. For Toastmasters at all levels. She will share advice and tips she learned from mentors, competitors, and Toastmaster friends.

Location: Parkdale Community Association, 3512 - 5th Avenue NW
Time: 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Registration: 6:30 pm
Cost: $5 for materials

Free Parking: In the community lot or street parking.

* Preregister by: Monday, March 6, 2017  

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EvalWorkshop_07Mar2017 

Hope to see you there!

Open House Meeting - February 28

Igniters is having an Open House meeting on February 28.  Guests are encouraged to come to our meeting to experience the benefits of public speaking. 

Toastmasters provides a positive environment for developing communication and leadership skills:

➤ Give better sales presentations
➤ Hone your management skills
➤ Work better with fellow employees
➤ Develop and present ideas more effectively
➤ Offer constructive criticism
➤ Accept feedback more objectively

Igniters is especially focused on mentoring to ensure a positive experience that is respectful.  Check out our Mentoring Resources!

Got a Sales Pitch?

Rob had a business idea and his sales pitch was given in CC#8 with visual aids.  The lead in story was captivating, the middle part was technical but not too technical then we had to provide our input about whether we would buy it to avoid a catastrophe due to lack of this innovative technology. Igniters has listened to a few speakers who were working on their sales pitch or interview pitch and we want to hear more.

Christmas Party 2016...Good Time Together

We celebrated our Christmas party together at Glen and Diane's home.  Many Igniters were able to attend to enjoy the lively conversations in our last meeting of 2016.

Holiday Break from Meetings

Igniters will be away from the Parkdale Community Centre on December 13, 20 & 27 due to celebrating the Christmas Holiday Season.  Meetings will resume on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 and guests are welcome to attend.

Awards, Awards, Awards...

Brenda - Public Relations of the Year

Mona - Advanced Communicator Silver

More Area Awards were presented by President Marion on behalf of Area Director Kathy.  Our members are enthusiastically completing their roles and goals with support from Igniters.  Brenda received Public Relations of the Year and Mona was acknowledged for completion of Advanced Communicator Silver.  We can't wait until next year to see who is called to the podium to celebrate their success!

Commitment and Dedication in Table Topics

Raholn exemplified the meeting themes of commitment and dedication with his Table Topics speech. He has been paying attention to our not-so-secret formula for success to be prepared with an award winning answer!

Area Awards Ceremony

Area Director Kathy presented awards to Igniters for individual contributions and Igniters accomplishments in 2015-2016. President Marion accepted the club ribbons for Open House and Go Getter awards.

Malcolm - Humorous Speech Contest

Anne - Rookie of the Year

Diane - Competent Communicator

Marion - Competent Leadership

Glen - Crown Pin for Sponsorship

Marvin - Crown Pin for Sponsorship

Mona's stunt double - Advanced Communicator Silver

Membership Continues to Grow

Ralohn was inducted into Igniters by our VP Membership Rob. We affirmed out commitment to each other's progress and mentoring is available as coordinated by Mona.  Check out our new online mentoring resources!

A Spooky Good Time at the Meeting

Nandini, our Toastmaster, didn't let our meeting be hijacked by pirates unless we needed to fill the role of grammarian or Ah-counter.  Costumes were encouraged, but not required, and some were udderly entertaining, especially during Table Topics thanks to Frode.  We celebrated Halloween as the meeting theme and it was a spooky good time!

Stay Connected

Communication is key to health, relationships and engaging others. Communication was an area I had to change in my life or lose out on having great relationships in my life. Habits were formed that were not effective. I was put to the test of my communication skills when my daughter challenged me. Consistently, I reacted with a strong comment and getting to the point was easy. When Candace told me, mom you don't listen - I thought I was. Definitely not!! Communication has a ripple effect on health, relationships and engaging others. You want a ripple of inspiring, honest and engaging connection.

Ripple one - you say: life is challenging however I trust my abilities I can get through them
Ripple two  - this comment tells the brain, life is manageable and will be okay - stress free
Ripple three - positive thoughts to family, friends and others will have them wanting to engage
                       with you

This example gives you one idea of how your communication can effect you and others. I am not naive about life having difficult conversations. Real conversations test you. How you handle them will tell you what outcomes you will have whether negative or positive. When dealing with a difficult situations, ask the question - What is happening? This allows the other person to say what they want and you respond using words that they said. This tells the other person you are paying attention and hear what they are saying. This is a gift when someone feels heard. This relaxes others and you can express your thoughts with less tension. How much time do you take to listen to someone or is your brain too busy thinking what to do next.

Igniters, we are in the business of communication. How are your communication skills? At Igniters, it is important we connect even if we are unable to be at the club. I know I am in this position as my business is demanding more of my time and I will be missing some Tuesdays. I am challenging myself and all Igniters to stay connected by sending a note to say I will be away for the month, or congratulating someone on their success or sharing what is happening in your life. We care and we want to hear from you. Stay connected by staying in touch with us. The Dali Lama has put a challenge out to the world. I am asking you to join me to "be a force for good for health, relationships and engaging with others..." Stay in touch and communicate with care and compassion.

Area 41 Contest

The contestants were ready and excited to uncover the humour and provide thoughtful insight to Table Topic questions.  Brenda, Malcolm and Ellen had practiced in the weeks leading up to the Area 41 Contest.

Igniters sent their cheering team for encouragement during the contest. 

Area Director Kathy congratulated all contestants for their contribution towards a successful contest.  Good luck to the winners at the upcoming Division E Contest on Wednesday, October 26 at Rosedale Community Hall with Registration starting at 5:30pm.

It's a Tie !

We did the vote and there was a Table Topics Tie!  Seema, Malcolm and Margaret followed the secret recipe to success in answering the Table Topics questions from Rob's Google Top 60 Fill in the Blank questions with the theme of thankfulness and mindfulness. Their evaluator Diane did recommend using more personal stories to increase the impact in Q & A situations.  We can't wait to see and hear more success from our members and guests.

New Member Induction

Malcolm was inducted into Igniters tonight.  It is an important occasion for new members and existing members to acknowledge their responsibilities of positive mentorship to everyone in the club.  Rob as VP Membership and Marion as President coordinated the induction ceremony.

Theme Building or Team Building ?

The synergy was obvious for the dynamic team of Stephen and Casey as our Toastmasters.  Their commitment to teamwork was experienced by all at the meeting.

Table Topics also became a teamwork endeavour as Rob guided the teams to develop questions based on our interests.  The winning questions were determined through voting to experience the value of decision-making as a team.