It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of February already! January just slipped by without any time to post an on-going saga of Gem City Happenings, so I’ll try to catch everyone up to this point.

After taking the Christmas and New Years period off, Tax Season started and ate up my almost every waking moment for a couple weeks. We had some outstanding meetings and speeches that I have to say, I’m sorry you missed them. But here’s some of the highlights:

Michele Hubbs set a new standard as Toastmaster as a Pick Pak’n Parley Presenting Gem City Prospector who educated us on what “COLD” really is like. Everyone who’s been attending has done a speech or two with constant and noticeable improvement in presentation skills and delivery poise.

Mentionables – John Becker’s speech on Grandpahood stands out as a truly memorable tear jerker for both laughter til our sides hurt, as well as drama and depth of compassion unrivaled. Our own Brian Rhodes just put the cork on his final speech to qualify as “Advanced Communicator Silver” at our last meeting. Phil, Martha, Barbara, Dwayne, all have stepped up and covered the lecturn in previous weeks to keep the momentum going. Although Dan Adams, John Becker and Bill Hanger have been absent due weather, Childbirth (John’s daughter’s), and travel respectively – when they returned each has filled the assigned jobs with purpose and professionalism.

As the current president of Gem City Forum, I’m humbled and proud of our group for all their hard work and perseverance. To our other members who are too busy to make it during Tax Season, thank you for your moral support and “energy in absence” that you send us each week. We miss you and want you back as soon as you can possibly make it!

It’s a great club that we have, and I encourage all of you to bring a friend, invite a neighbor or co-worker, or kidnap your spouse and bring them to a meeting. What we have is something that EVERYBODY needs. Let’s share it and watch our friends and family grow and improve as we do.

It’s a big world out there – and knowing how to express one’s self is paramount to success.
Let’s share it!!

Sincerely,

Jim Alvord
President
Gem City Forum Toastmaster’s Club # 296
Franklin, NC

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

I hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving day with your family and friends! This will be a short post as Moe and I are moving this weekend.

Dan Adams gave his second speech on one of the two forbidden subjects for public discussion according to the late great George Carlin “POLITICS”. (the other one was ‘Religion’  )   Lisa, Dan’s wife was there for support as he masterfully moved us all from disbelief to “Oh My God” reality of where our political representation has taken us without our knowing or at least being fully aware of. Homeland Security is not at all what the name implies and both halves of the word WELFARE are major oxymorons! It’s truely unbelievable. Dan definitely opened our eyes.

Both Brian Rhodes and Area Governor, Mike Kesselring were present from Silva and assisted in manning the participants posts.  Thank you both! Brian is our soon to be newest member at Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club.

Mike then entertained us all with a true story of his visitation by the Bear who came to visit and broke into his home several years ago. As always, Mike can spin a story and draw you into it right along with him, as he relived the adventure.

Bill Hanger was back as the Toastmaster after missing a few meetings due to traveling. Good Job Bill.

The group voted to NOT have meetings on December 22 & 29 due to family and travel plans over the Christmas and New Years Holidays. So you’ve only got 3 more meetings this year to get your final fix of Toastmasters, ‘Gem City Forum Style’ before sliding into 2010.

Hope to see you all there!!

Sincerely,

Jim Alvord | President

Don’t tell me you missed our meeting last night! Another exceptional night of fun, laughter, sharing, and great speeches were liberally sprinkled with Holiday Cheer and topped off with a Stocking gift from our ‘First-time-Toastmaster’, Dan Adams.

Yep – if you weren’t there you missed a ‘Good-Un’.

Our Area 11 Governor, Mike Kesselring dropped by and volunteered to help out in a couple positions that were vacant do to missing (imagine that) members. We have a number of members currently traveling for their jobs, and they are sorely missed. Thank You Mike, for stepping in and sharing with us a new word “chrysalis” and for evaluating Alan’s speech. Your experience was very useful for us all in giving a good speech evaluation.

Dan did a remarkable job for his first time as Toastmaster. He communicated his thoughts and family traditions for the Holidays. With some memories and tidbits from his families’ past of ribbon candies and favorite family events he ended with sharing a stuffed stocking to each member and guest present. We were all in the Spirit of the Season from then on.

Then our own comedian, John “Baldhead’ Becker had us hurting from laughter as he recited actual classified ads from around the country, that had been extremely distorted in meaning by word placement or choice. But they sure were funny! And remember – ‘Stay away from Isle 13′!

Dwayne Philips then took command with Table Topics that stretched the thoughts and speaking skills of his three victims, but Kathy Clifton, Jim Alvord, and John Becker were up to the task and showed us how it should be done.

Michele Hubbs continued in the theme of the evening with her speech on Christmas Traditions but ended it with a twist in suggesting that we all look for the “Free-for-All” aspects of the Holidays with our families. As always, Michele made a professional presentation with movement away from and behind the lectern using appropriate gestures and vocal variety to get her message across. She made excellent use of tempo or voice speed to convey the rush – rush – rush of modern day shopping, partying, function participating, etc. Then she slowed everything down giving us time to think as she suggested the Free side of watching a favorite Holiday Movie (“Black and White are still the best”), making a contest out of cookie decorating, driving around and looking at Christmas Lights Displays, and in general taking time with your loved ones. Great Job Michele!

Next it was Alan Keling’s turn at the lectern for his ‘Ice Breaker’ speech. Alan has a ‘Secret’ and he delivered a masterful speech about it. NO I can’t tell you what it is – It’s a Secret after all. You had to be there! But I can tell you Alan had us all in AWE of how well he delivered his first speech. His word pictures and continually repeating theme introduced us all to a different Alan, that we are fortunate enough to have found in his speech. Alan used humor, personal experiences , and family situations to carry us all through his family album of snapshots from his past verbally. Alan, you are a wonderful addition to our Toastmaster’s Club. Thank You for sharing!

Our meeting participants reported on our progress and performances and we adjourned on time at 6:50 PM. I know I speak for everyone when I say “A good time was had by All”. What a way to start off the Holidays.

Submitted,

Jim Alvord, President

Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club # 296

It was another memorable night at the Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club meeting this past Tuesday 11/3/09. Our Sargent-at-Arms, John Becker introduced our Toastmaster, John Becker who started us thinking about the theme “Bachelorhood”. Loosely translated, ‘How I miss my wife when she’s out of town’ or ‘Who’s going to do up all those dishes in the sink – anyway?’

As we all tried to collect our wits from the throws of laughter, (thanks John – we needed that)Dan Adams brought into some thought provoking table-topics when he had Joe Parker try to sell us on the benefits of going back to the 50’s. When Joe had finished Dan asked Bill Hanger to convince us why we should stay here in the present.

Which would you prefer?

Next it was up to our first speaker, Jim Alvord to “Inspire The Audience” with the benefits of ‘Meditation and it’s place in the Modern World.’ This was Jim’s final speech for his Competent Communicator level and from the feedback – a favorable argument and facts delivered left everyone wanting to know more. There will be more in-depth speeches in the future based on the interest level from everyone.

After all, who wouldn’t want to live healthier and longer with ‘No Effort’ and only a few minutes a day of relaxation?

Then it was Phil Drake’s turn at the lectern – and in his usual humorous style of story telling – he had us all rolling with his continuation on the theme of ‘Bachelorhood’ with “No No No – A Thousand Times No!’ Does anybody out there remember what the “Sniff Test” was when you were single?

You get the idea! Sorry there’re no pictures – I was laughing too hard!

After a little over seven minutes of side splitting laughter, the meeting was handed off to our General Evaluator, Alan Keling. This was Alan’s first time in this role, and he called upon the evaluators for the speeches and the participants reports in a flawless series of repartee’s.

Then Alan gave his Evaluation of the meeting starting off with a keen observation of how similar our Sargent-at-Arms and Toastmaster looked. Nothing escaped Alan’s observations of the meeting and a great time was had by all.

Our President then closed the meeting after some comments regarding the District Conference coming up this weekend in Asheville, and the emails that have been forwarded to the membership.

A special thanks to Brian Rhodes who traveled down the mountains from Sylva and volunteered to be our ‘Ah-Um’ counter for the evening. Brian is helping our Area Governor, Mike Kesselring to rebuild the “Mountain Messengers” club in Sylva. To stay active and in practice during this phase Brian has been regularly attending our meetings, and we’re very glad to have him! Thank you Brian.

See what you missed if you weren’t there? Join us next Tuesday night at 5:30 in the Childrens Meeting Room of the Macon County Library and see what Toastmasters, Gem City Forum style can do for you!

Respectfully Submitted,
Jim Alvord | President
Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club # 296

This past Tuesday night was an unusually good meeting, which speaks volumes since we always have Great Meetings. What made this meeting so special was the presentation of our first Competent Communicator ( CC ) awards to new members since we revived the club in November 2006.

And there wasn’t just one winner – there were FOUR!
CONGRATULATIONS to you all.

From L to R: Kathy Clifton, John “Baldhead” Becker, and Nancy Porter.  Unfortunately Lacey Crowe was unable to attend but was there in spirit none-the-less.

We also had a very intense speech from John ‘Baldhead’ Becker, on “Alpha Male – Alpha Dog, Yeah Right!” John was his usual highly animated and expressive self as he explained the accumulation and subsequent interaction of his family and their dogs. It was entertaining and quite funny.

Then Michele Hubbs gave us a Dramatic Reading of a story written by her, from stories her father had told her. She masterfully used her voice to express the word pictures her Dad had described in the story of his youth in upstate New York in the winter. We were all leaning forward on the edge of our seats as the story developed in the cold frigid moonless night after the game.

Our meeting participants performed flawlessly, and a special thanks and congratulations to Alan Keling for successfully completing his first speech evaluation of Michele’s reading and also to Dan Adams for his fine job as the General Evaluator.

We all had fun with John Beckers grammarian word of ‘Chic’ or “Chique” whichever you prefer. Joe Parker was our Toastmaster of the evening and kept everything flowing in a timely fashion after setting the tone/theme for the meeting of Halloween.

Our Topics Master, Bill Hanger gave awards to the topics speakers for their original renditions of “To Be Determined” yet in their lives. “Yes” we do have a good and interesting time at Toastmasters in Franklin, NC.

Respectfully Submitted,
Jim Alvord | President
Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club # 296

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.

Kathy covered not only the Nuts & Bolts of times and topics, but she also covered the greeting and special handling of Guests and then offered a special group Congratulations to our Competition Participants Barbara Cook and John Becker.

Our Speakers offered more lessons through their presentations!

Barbara Cook shared through talk and example some of the lessons she’d taken from her competition this past Saturday, and generous feedback she’d received from some of her fellow competitors taht we all could use to improve our presentations.

Barbara skillfully showed how much more powerful a speech can become simply by moving out in FRONT of the lectern. She also showed examples of gestures both behind and in front of the lectern, proving through example how much more open and useful the same gestures can be when combined with a full body presence not hidden by the lectern.

Our second speaker for the evening, Dwayne Phillips again entertained and challenged us through his masterful story telling speech modal.  Dwayne has enetertained us many times by sharing experiences from his past for simple enjoyment purposes. Last night he added a new layer to his story by using it to inspire us all to stand up for injustice in support of others.

Dwayne told of moving from the city to the rural country life at a young age, and how he became the target of the school bully. He skillfully used comedy and positive feedback throughout his story to assure us that this was not a sad or distressing childhood but merely the way things were and despite the school stresses – he actually believes that he had a great childhood. 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.

The meeting ended on time and we all went home with a lot to think about and a satisfaction of being a better person and a better speaker because of the lessons we had learned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Jim Alvord | President

Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club # 296

Gem City Forum Toastmaster Club Local Winners Place 3rd at Division Competition!

On Saturday October 17th several members of the Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club # 296 from Franklin, NC attended the Division A ‘Humorous Speech’ and ‘Evaluation’ competitions in Hendersonville, NC.  It was a cool rainy morning drive over the mountains for the participants and support members who made the pilgrimage.

This competition was the culmination of Gem City Forum’s first sponsored Humorous Speech and Evaluation Competition in recent years. Both of our qualified winning members John “BaldHead” Becker for the Speech Competition, and Barbara Cook for the Evaluation Competition showed up in Hendersonville at 9:30AM with support staff in tow, to give the rest of  Division A the best we had to offer.

John and Barbara were masterful in their  execution and when the smoke had cleared they had secured Third Place Wins in both categories! That’s very impressive considering it was the first competition for both of them outside the local club, and they were up against highly skilled competitors with many years of experience and seasoning under their belts. The level of competition was amazingly intense and extremely close for all participants in both categories and the effects of Toastmaster’s training was clearly evident in all the presenters.

CONGRATULATIONS John and Barbara for proudly facing the fierce competition and coming out in the Top 3!! We’re extremely proud of you and your accomplishments.

I’d also like to thank our Division A Governor, Michael Beach and the Hendersonville and Asheville Toastmaster’s Clubs for hosting the competitions and to the “Lake Point Landing Senior Community Center” for the fabulous accommodations and hospitality they provided.

Special thanks to Kathy Clifton, our own VP of  Membership and Public Relations who was one of the 2 Timers for the events and Jim Alvord our club President who was one of the 5 judges for the competitions. I’d also like to extend a “thank you” to our Franklin Area support group who made the trip to cheer for our participants including John’s wife, Elise Becker, Barbara’s husband, Chuck Cook, and Barbara’s parents, Mike and Rita Houston whose support is very much appreciated.

In closing, We at Gem City Forum Toastmasters want to Congratulate our Division Winners; Karen Strange who won the Speech Contest, and Keith Challenger who won the Evaluation Contest. We feel very confident in our representation to the District 37 Competitions next month in Asheville and wish both Karen and Keith “Good Luck” to win at the District Level.

Jim Alvord | President

Gem City Forum Toastmasters Club # 296

Franklin, NC    28734

Swine Flu Kills A Couple Hundred… Just How Bad Is It?

Most of the time when listening to news broadcasts, one will get an out of balance perspective of what is being spoken… Last night, Bill Hanger brought this phenomenon to our attention at the Gem City Forum Toastmasters meeting in Franklin, NC.  Mr. Hanger explained to us in his gentle and direct manner, that although there is a great sadness for victims of epidemics such as the Swine Flu who’s victims number in the low hundreds, that there are other epidemics currently ravishing the masses in America and around the world which are responsible for thousands of AVOIDABLE deaths daily.

Specifically, Mr. Hanger spoke about the numerous types of cancer which have and are claiming the lives of thousands of people on a daily basis. All of this which he said could be avoided easily by a change in diet. “The body is an amazing SELF-HEALING organism” said Bill. “All it needs is the proper fuel and it will do the “self maintenance & healing” job it was created to do”. But the fuel mixture must be correct, or this Human Machine will not function properly and as experience has taught us, we will contract sickness & disease.  “The right food is the correct fuel” said Mr. Hanger.  The best food choices for optimum health are ones that are rich in nutrients, or better called, “Nutrient Density Food” such as Raw Vegetables, Cooked Greens, Fresh Fruits and Non-Green Vegetables (mushrooms, eggplant, tomatoes and such). Bill Hanger quoted Dr. Joel Fuhrman as saying “Nutrient density is the key to good health”.  Mr. Hanger proceeded to explain how cancer and other killer health epidemics could be avoided by the proper care and feeding of the body with nutrient dense, high volume, high antioxidant capacity foods.  At the end of his presentation, Bill gave the Gem City Forum attendees a comprehensive handout sheet that contained a listing of many of the healing foods recommended for thwarting a health “terror” attack on the body. It surely was an excellent speech with rich content given by a man who knows what he is talking about. Bill Hanger is a cancer survivor who avoided the ebb & flow surgery route by eating and feeding himself the proper fuel for optimum health.

I wish I could say I was more mature! Seriously, Martha Holbrook made me very hungry speaking about the intricacies of biscuit making.. Not just any biscuits, but SOUTHERN NATIVE STYLE biscuits. If you ever attend a meeting such as we had last night and you had the least tinge of hunger going in, I promise, after listening to Mrs. Holbrook describe these southern delicacies you would be on your knees begging biscuits! And drooling at the same time! Martha has a passion for this food which has been passed down from 3 generations of her family. She told us about her grandmother making these fat free (yeah sure) love biscuits and how she used lard in the mix! Oh, she said, “why you can make biscuits and gravy, ham & egg biscuits, cheese biscuits and a multitude of other kinds of biscuits with your favorite toppings!” Martha told us the deep and shrouded family secret of a great biscuit.. and it all had to do with the “cutting” technique. She explained that unlike a cookie cutter, where one presses the cutter down into the dough and turns it in a circular motion, that the secret to a great biscuit is to push the cutter down into the dough and bring it STRAIGHT UP without turning it.  She went on to tell us that with biscuit dough, if you turn the cutter, you seal the sides and therefore, the biscuit will not “rise” .  Mrs. Holbrook gave a great speech complete with a contagious smile and biscuit PHOTOS, and don’t let me forget to mention that she gave all the attendees a sheet with her favorite biscuit receipe! (do you really think she’d give us her family secret biscuit recipe?) Yes, this lady is an angel and I’m sure the recipe is authentic! Hmmm, what’s that strange sound.. it seems eerily familiar to the rumble I heard in my tummy last night at Toastmasters!  Martha!! ?? Where are you?

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