July 31, 2024 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Steve and Alex opened with the Rotary song.
Our guest today was Will Hanna. If all goes according to plan, he will be inducted as a club member at next week’s meeting.
The 50/50 was won byTony, who donated it to Tom.
Steve won the chance to draw for the card game, but did not select the ace of spades. The game continues.
Tony’s shared his famous NH trivia: NH Places and Names edition.
We received a thank-you email from Matty for renewing our membership in the Chamber of Commerce. We also received a note from Whole Village for donating to Pac-a-Pac. The packing event will be on August 21 at noon at Whole Village.
Tonight is the fundraiser for Cruise Night with Grotto. The Plymouth Parks and Rec department will decide at 1:30 if the event will go on as scheduled. NOTE: THE EVENT WAS RESCHEDULED FOR THE RAIN DATE OF NEXT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7. Cars will arrive at 3 PM on Green St. You can park at the Senior Center lots. Rotarians should arrive at 3:30, and the event will be held from 5-6:30. There will be food, other events such as the 50/50 drawing, and a small concert. At least 2 Rotarians will need to go up to the Common to announce 50/50 winner at 7:30.
We received an invitation from the Rotary club of Charlotte-Shelburne-Hinesbury, VT to a hike on Mt Philo. This short hike will be held on Saturday, August 17 at 9 am (rain date August 18). All Rotarians in the district, and their families, are welcome. Cost is $5 per adult. They suggest bringing a snack to eat at the top. There is also a paved road, so people with mobility issues can also attend. For more information or to sign up, contact Nancy Danforth at ndanforth@gmail.com or club co-president Amanda Vincent at amandarosevincent1@gmail.com.
Mike is looking for input on what should be on our front page of website. Please let him know if you have any thoughts on this.
The Chamber of Commerce event a couple of months ago was held at the Owl’s Nest. Lots of people were excited about our styrofoam project. Bill Powers, the president of White Mountain Toastmasters, attended the event and Mike invited him to be our speaker today. Note that Rotary has established a partnership with Toastmasters as of 2019.
Bill’s purpose in speaking to us was to let us know that Toastmasters exists, and why. He explained that people communicate with stories, so he his talk started with a story. A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The story he told us has 2 beginnings, a middle, and no end.
The first beginning is Bill’s entry into Toastmasters. He worked as an employee in many different industries and got good at following directions. He retired from being an employee in 2002, and in 2004 he and his wife bought a house in Hebron to open the Coppertoppe Bed and Breakfast. He also owns an IT consulting business, Orenthal Consulting. As a business owner, he began to recognize the limitations of his own communication skills. At the urging of his wife Sheila, who has been a member of Toastmasters since 1974, he joined the Toastmasters in 2019.
The second beginning is the origin of Toastmasters. Toastmasters is an international organization, started 20 years after Rotary and only 20% of the size. Each meeting starts with a reminder of the values of the organization: too provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which people have a chance to learn oral communication skills. The experience helps people to maximize their potential, enjoy personal growth and build self-confidence and self-awareness.
The group works with individuals to improve their communication skills. They have table topics, in which the table master gives a question at random and the participants have to offer a response in 1-2 minutes. They also have prepared speeches, with specific topics and criteria for evaluation. They give critiques to evaluate each speech, reviewing what’s good and what is in need of improvement. People are given the opportunity to speak but are not required to speak.
Bill has found the experience to be helpful in many ways. One skill he has learned is public listening. People need to learn how to listen for pauses and filler words like “um,” “ah,” and “so.” (Such words are discouraged.) They have an “ah” counter at the meeting. Bill learned to focus on what people need to hear, not just what he wants to tell them..and the only way to figure out what people need is to listen to them.
The middle part of the story is making sure that people understand what he is trying to do.
The non-ending: Learning is ongoing and constant, and involves both learning from others and teaching them. Mentorship is a big piece of the organization. People can be mentors even if they have not completed the entire program.
Toastmasters is a resource. Meetings are held from 6:30-8, on the first and third Wednesday of each month. They also have Monday dinner meetings at Common Man Inn in the Pemi Room. Rotary focuses on action, getting people to accomplish community goals, and none of that can be done without clear communication. Toastmasters can help us accomplish that. Meetings are held on line so they are easy to get to. He recommends that we look at Toastmasters, and look at our own lives and see where we have communication needs. Rotary has a number of courses developed in conjunction with Toastmasters at the learning center. Go to My Rotary account. (If you don’t have one, get one.) Go to Rotary International, go to My Rotary, and look for the learning center. If you type in “Toastmasters”, the 8 courses will come up in the list. They also have some great handouts that help you build a project and collaborate with other team members.
Business: Penny Sale: Lora sent out the email committee listing; please notify Alicia and Tony as to which committee you want to join. October 16 is setup night; if that doesn't work, we can do the 23rd, and the event is Nov. 2. Bring your items to the gym on the 16th from 4-6. We need four $1000 sponsors and Tony will be looking to Bill from Toastmasters as to how to convince business owners or individuals to become sponsors. He will also need to communicate with Ken Evans who is heading up the sponsorship committee.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary