Gem City Forum Last Meeting of 2009, Dec. 15th
What a way to end the year! We had our last meeting on this past Tuesday evening with a small but enthusiastic group.Our SAA, John Becker started the meeting with one of his eloquent introductions of this week’s Toastmaster, Barbara Cook.
Barbara’s theme was “Holiday Fun” and her opening got us all in the Holiday Spirit. Because our Area Governor was in attendance and we had a new guest ‘Katherine’ with us to see what Toastmaster’s was all about, our participants gave a thorough job duties description so that everyone was on the same page as the meeting progressed.
After introducing our participants for the evening Dan Adams took over with Table Topics, and put his own twist on the evening with three wrapped gifts and asking for three volunteers. Only after the volunteers stepped forward,
did Dan reveal that each person was to give a gift to someone else in the audience, and after it was opened the giver had to explain why they gave that gift to that person. Talk about having to think on your feet – great fun was had by all.
Then it was time for our speakers to take over the show. Dan Adams started us off with a speech on ‘Christmas Carrols’. His speech included stories, real life examples and ended with him conducting a sing-along with everyone accompanying him and his guitar.
Next Bill Hanger gave a demonstration and speech on juicing with raw fruits and vegetables for better health. Bill discussed how he and his wife Beth came to following a raw food diet, and how the recent entrance of the “Green Smoothie Girl” had started them into juicing with raw foods. Bill used his ‘Vita-Mix®’ to whip up an apple/kale/ginger/banana smoothie for all of us to try. “It was very good – in spite of what it looked like!”

Then our Area Governor, Mike Kesselring entertained us with an original story on the origin of the “Humbug” associated with Christmas. It seems that way back in the beginning in the stable by the manger there was a cricket with a broken chirper that sounded more like a mild ‘HUM’.
Let your imagination run wild and you’ll have the basis of the Christmas Humbug. Thanks Mike! Inquiring minds had to know.
After the evaluations and suggestions for our speakers, our General Evaluator, Martha Holbrook called in the reports from the participants and gave us our synopsis of how the meeting had transpired. It was another wonderful evening of friends and guests having a great time and learning more about leadership and public speaking. 
then it was time for our President – Jim Alvord to close the meeting with a wish for a happy and safe holiday season for all and a promise to return in January for a fresh start to 2010!
Merry Christmas everyone and have a Happy New Year – see you again in 2010!!!!!
Jim

Last night the Gem City Toastmasters Club gathered for our weekly Tuesday night meeting. This turned out to be no regular meeting as right from the outset our Toastmaster, Kathy Clifton explained the ‘Theme’ by teaching us the general how-to’s of a Toastmasters Meeting.
We all laughed when he explained how he had ‘Yellow Fever’ (an self induced allergic reaction to school buses) to try to get out of going to that stressful place in his young life.
