Michele Hubbs introduces Emperor Norton 1st

September started off with a Bang at gem City Forum Toastmaster’s Club. First Phil Drake educated us on memory and how easy it is to make it work for us. He also used the Library’s overhead to project a powerpoint to emphasize his points and make it easier for all of us to visualize what he was talking about.

Then Jim Alvord taught us about RC airplanes and how they work. Jim brought several of his planes for show-and-Tell and explained their specialties and demonstrated how the radio moves the control surfaces to make the planes perform their unique specialties.

All of the planes were of the newer electric flying variety and included a Fokker DVII from WWI, a Millenium aerobat that is a super lightweight fully aerobatic stick plane, a Miss 2 trainer with a polyheidral wing for stability, a LARGE Electro Kaydet that’s one of his favorites for all round control and functions like a work-horse as well as an aerobat, and a foamie “Combat” plane used in aerial combat streamer cutting matches. It was very informative and entertaining.

This past week Michele Hubbs introduced us to a speech about America’s only Emperor, Norton !. Yes there really was an Emperor in San Francisco in the mid-eighteen hundreds. Google it if you don’t believe it, like I didn’t.

He was quite a character and Michele had us all following Norton through the streets of San Francisco as he Knighted good deed doers, attended the Theatre with his two dogs, and paid for his purchases with his own Imperial Promissory money.

At the end of her speech she actually presented everyone with a copy of Norton’s 10 dollar notes. Michele used pictures of the Emperor and his bicycle, and in his official regalia uniform to make believers out of us all. And she even stayed within the time limit!!  Congratulations Michele on a very enlightening and entertaining presentation.

If you’re not coming to the Gem City Forum Meetings, you’re missing out on a great time as well as some very good speeches and lessons in how presentations should be done.

Hope to see you at the next meeting, Tuesday September 16th at the new Macon County Library at 5:30PM.

Where else can you learn how to be an effective public speaker with a group of friendly and supportive fellow club members, and know that you’ll get help and pointers to make your presentation better – for your own good without getting heckled or laughed at when you’re first starting out.

Besides – it’s a lot of FUN and we always have a GREAT time.

Til next time – the floor is yours!!

Jimbo