For our meeting this week, I selected the theme of “Toastmaster 101.” I felt it would be a great refresher for our established members and a timely introduction to our two newest members, Loretta Newton and Andrew Robertson.

We also had a guest, Maureen Alvord, who is the wife of Gem City Forum’s president, Jim Alvord. It was wonderful to have Maureen with us as we always welcome visitors!

To begin the meeting, we discussed the history of Toastmasters. Here are some of the interesting details:

Toastmasters is 85 years old It began in the basement of the Santa Ana, CA YMCA It is a nonprofit organization Toastmasters has nearly 250,000 members in 106 countries We also examined the flow of a Toastmaster’s meeting and what it offers participants: Toamasters offers a proven – and enjoyable! – way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills. It is a learn-by-doing workshop – members are assigned roles, so we can all practice the different aspects of communication There is no instructor – We all take turns as evaluators and administrators. Besides making speeches, TM develops skills in listening, giving feedback, decision-making, delegating and mentoring There are two program paths to earn award designations– Communication and Leadership – and you can do both Programs are self-paced and rewards are offered at different level

Gem City Forum welcomes all visitors who would like to learn more about Toastmasters. Come and watch/ participate in one of our meetings – we meet every Tuesday at 5:30 PM at the Macon County Library. Meetings last approximately 60-80 minutes.

Observe and you will see a well-organized and welcoming atmosphere – from our friendly smiles as we approach the lectern to our handshakes as we leave it, our members strive to represent Toastmasters fundamentals.

Barbara Cook

VP Education  |  Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club