I have to say that I agree with my predecessors. It is indeed a very interesting, educational and rewarding role. I recommend it to all Toastmasters.

When I look back at Area 71 this year I see an area where lots of people made a significant difference. Six loosely defined Area Action teams totaling 31 people helped out throughout Area 71 with speeches, workshops and other Toastmaster activities as we worked to help struggling clubs and to build new ones.

We’ve also had impressive growth in the area. Membership numbers are up 144% over where they were at the start of my term and the number of clubs has increased by 150%, going from six to nine clubs. The Area has also achieved President’s Distinguished status with all the requirements that come with that.

Several aspiring future Area Governors have expressed a solid interest in becoming an Area Governor in the future. This Area played a strong supporting role in helping Division S to become a President’s Distinguished division and District 86 to become a Distinguished District this year.

I believe that Area 71 and Division S is looking forward to another fantastic year. We have a wonderful new Area governor in Gail Gustin. If you haven’t met Gail yet believe me when I say that she is one of the most supportive, kind and helpful people I know. Within Division S we have a new Division Governor and four wonderful Area Governors who will help this division raise to an even higher level. I look forward to watching them help us to “soar to success”.

Area 71 next year will be a different area. Dynamically Speaking will transfer to Area 72 and Oxford Orators will transfer to Area 73. Charismatic Communicators will transfer from Area 73 to Area 71. This leaves Area 71 with eight clubs for our new Area Governor.

In looking back over the year, for me the real success of this Area comes from the people. People stepped out of their clubs and their comfort zones to make a difference for other clubs and for other Toastmasters. These are the people who really made the Area so successful and in my last message as Area Governor I thank them specifically for the success that this area has enjoyed.

~Jamie N
“Share the power of YOUR example”
Governor, Area 71
2009-2010
ACG/ALB

Attendance at this session is highly recommended for all club officers that haven’t yet been trained. Comments in a recent LinkedIn Toastmasters Group discussion revealed several statistical studies that show a clear connection between officer training and the overall  success of a toastmasters club.

During the training take advantage of the opportunity to meet officers from other clubs that hold the same role. These people may be able to assist you throughout the Toastmasters Year.

All Toastmasters are welcome to attend the training.

For further information please contact Division S Governor, Rick Moore.

Preparing a contest

• Contest Overview
• Ordering the Speech Contest Kits
• Contest Preparation Handout by Judy Suke
• Online Toastmasters Contest rulebook
• How to chair a contest by Deborah McGrath
• May I compete and judge in the same contest at different clubs?
• How many rules should the Chief Judge share with the audience?

Area 71 Contest dates

(Information about the Area 71 clubs on this page can be located here).

• January 25, 2010 – London Western – International Speech and Evaluation
• March 6, 2010 – Area 71 – International Speech and Evaluation
• March 26, 2010 – Division S – International Speech and Evaluation
• April 17/18, 2010 – District 86 – International Speech and Evaluation

Contest dates in other nearby areas

If you know of a contest happening near Area 71 please let me know so that I  can post the information here.

Well if you had been at Oxford Orators tonight you would have discovered that what you do is have a great meeting.

To remedy the lack of speakers we turned the meeting into an impromptu night with the theme being “change”.

The night started off with the “How to prepare a speech in only five minutes” workshop. During the actual discussion of the workshop the participants prepared one speech. When we reached the five minute timed portion of the workshop everyone prepare d a second speech. This meant that everyone had at least the outline of two speeches.

At this point a request was made for volunteers to give a speech. Two Toastmasters gave speeches using one of their two templates. This left them with another speech already prepared for a future meeting. The people who didn’t speak had two speeches prepared for the future.

Of course you can’t have a speech in a Toastmasters club without an evaluation so we had round robin evaluations for both speakers. This gave the speakers an enhanced evaluation of their speech while also giving everyone in the room another speaking opportunity.

After both speakers were evaluated then it was time for Table Topics. With only five people in the room it was possible to give everyone a chance to provide  extended Table Topics speeches. Timing was green light at 1.5 minutes, amber light at 2.0 minutes and red light at 2.5 minutes. Table Topics were announced using the Table Topics Contest format where speakers are told their topic as they enter the room and they are only allowed the time it takes to reach the lectern to prepare their speech. Topics included “Lions, tigers and bears”, “The cat came back the very next day”, “The cow jumped over the moon” and “Ouch, it bit me”.

The chairperson was given a special challenge since they were leading the impromptu speaking workshop and it was time to demonstrate the technique with an even tighter starting time. With the chairperson positioned at the lectern each of the other four people in the room provided a topic. The challenge was to provide a Table Topic that was coherent and included all four of the provided topics in the speech.

At the end of the meeting our two guests rose to provide their feedback. Guest number one was actually from a Timmins, Ontario club located in Division N who was down visiting his family. He expressed how much he enjoyed the meeting and he couldn’t wait to tell his home club about the experience.

Our second guest had visited Toastmasters once before. He enjoyed participating throughout the meeting and announced that he wanted the signup forms so that he could become a member immediately.

So what do you do if only five people are in a meeting and two of them are guests? Well you provide opportunities to learn and to support each other while having a great time!

Five minute to prepare a speech workshop

Six speakers from other clubs visited the St. Thomas club to support some new evaluators while also taking the opportunity to speak outside their usual club environment.

Three of the six evaluators gave their very first evaluations.

Here’s how it worked:

- Chairperson warms up the audience.
- Six speakers provide speeches after being introduced contest style with their name and speech title only
- Timer provides speakers times
- Mentors are assigned to the brand new evaluators and asked to help them prepare during break
- 10 minute break occurs
- Evaluators provide evaluations
- Timer provides evaluation times
- Speakers formally introduced in full
- Mentors sit down with evaluators and provide/receive feedback

The end result was six wonderful speeches and six great evaluations. The added bonous was seeing the looks of surprise and excitement when the evaluators realized who the speakers were. We heard speeches from six club officers representing four other division clubs. Among them were a Division speech champion and four Area speech champions. It’s kind of hard to worry about your next evaluation when you’ve already evaluated that caliber of speaker eh?

All in all it was a great night. Our guests seemed to really enjoy themselves too!

The workshop started by discussing what is meant by the word quorum and how it is used during a business meeting.

The next section included a copy of the club constitution and a lively discussion of several areas was held.

Next came the practice motions starting with a very simple one with no amendments. This was followed by a much more complex motion.

The evening ended with a discussion of several procedural things that you could do including recalling a question.

Overall this workshop was well done and included several pieces of information that I would have found useful at a recent business meeting that I attended.

At the conference I was provided with two minutes for an acceptance speech. In actuality my speaking time was likely under 30 seconds. What I had to say was heartfelt and to the point. Here’s my best recollection of what I said:

Standing here I am reminded of something that Craig Valentine, the 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking, said during our last spring conference. He said that the person you become is largely controlled by the people who you surround yourself with.

Looking out at the audience I see many of the people who chose to invest in me during my time in Toastmasters and they, in turn,  have helped me to become the person that I’ve become.

THANK-YOU very much!

It’s a very short acceptance speech and yet it does reflect very clearly how I feel. Becoming a Toastmaster has helped me to unlock my potential more fully then ever before. As people mentored me I grew. I also developed a need to repay the kindness of others by following their lead and also investing in others. Everything else grew from those simple acts of kindness and support. They were the spark that started the fire!

After the acceptance speech I received an unexpected standing ovation. As I walked through the audience to return to my seat I felt like I should be the one standing and clapping for them.

Thank-you to all my mentors, club members and fellow Toastmasters.

~Jamie N

Gail Gustin, Lambton Toastmasters and Charismatic Communicators Advanced Club, won third place at the Humorous Speech contest with a delightful speech “Welcome to the mom’s club”. Gail had mentioned to me in the past that only the year before she was amazed at the quality of speeches that people give at the district level and she never saw herself giving a speech at that quality level. Well this weekend she successfully gave a great speech in front of at least 300 people. Her speech provided laughter and a real message that the audience connected to. Congratulations!

Lance Mercer, Toast of Queens and Podium Pros, won third place at the Table Topics contest with his impromptu speech about “Heroes”. His thought provoking speech based on the topic gave us all something to consider along with a number of opportunities to share some smiles and laughter.

Congratulations to Gail and Lance for representing themselves and their division so well at the district.

~Jamie N
Governor, Area 71
District Toastmaster of the Year

This meeting was a celebration of 20 years of success as a club. Everything in the meeting emphasized the success this club has achieved over the years by presenting a time line of speakers taking the audience through from modern day with the presentation of an Ice breaker speech to the action spark that ignited the original decision to form a club with four wonderful speakers who were there during those times and in many cases still are members today.

Nice food and supportive speeches were present in the room. What I enjoyed the most was the genuine joy that was shared by all club members as they celebrated this wonderful milestone in club history.

Division S Competitions will be held in Room B206 in the Main Campus Building of Lambton College, Friday, October 23rd.

Participants and contestants can ignore the signage regarding parking. That evening they can park in any lot irrespective of its designation. There will no fee for parking that evening.

A cost-recovery stipend of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) will be collected at the door. Snacks and beverages will be supplied at no additional cost.

Volunteers, judges and contestants should be in the room by 6:30 p.m. for briefing. The competition will start at 7:00 p.m. sharp!

The Contest Chairperson is Barb Paul. She is diligently seeking volunteers. If your members are already attending and would be willing to help out, please contact Barb Paul directly at bpaul5@cogeco.ca

DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS:

Exit from Highway 402 at Exit 6 (Highway 40 Southbound.)

Landmark – While travelling south on Highway 40 you will see the UWO Research Park under construction on your left and Lambton College will be visible on your right.

Turn right at the first Stop light (Wellington Street). Travel west approximately 200 metres.

The main entrance into the College will be on your right.
As you access the entrance into the College grounds turn left at the first fork.

Park in the lot of your choosing and as close as you wish to be to the main entrance to the school. However, please respect the handicapped sections for those entitled to its use.

Directions to the room will be well marked from inside the main entrance.

Special reminder:

Originally, the membership was advised that this event would be held in the north campus building. The venue has been changed from the original notification.

The contests will take place in Room B206 in the Main Campus building.

29 people attended the contests. We had four competitors in each contest. Tons of donated food and drinks were available as well.

Table Topics Contest:

Chairperson was Mark Phipps from London Western chairing his first Area Contest
Chief Judge was Janet Henry from London Western

Competitors included:

Blake Fleischacker from Campus Communicators
Dale Constable from Dynamically Speaking
Jim Foster from London Western
Sandra Billson from Clinton Communicators

Blake Fleischacker was the first place winner. Jim Foster came in second. Both will be representing Area 71 at the Division S contest this Friday in Sarnia.

Humorous Speech Contest:

Chairperson was Colby Ohlhausen from Campus Communicators chairing her first Area Contest.
Chief Judge was Megan Popovic from Campus Communicators

Competitors included:

Dale Constable from Dynamically Speaking
Jimmy Chien from Campus Communicators
Rick Storie from London Western
Sandra Billson from Clinton Communicators

Rick Storie was the first place winner. Jimmy Chien came in second. Both will be representing Area 71 at the Division S contest this Friday in Sarnia.

Overall

Dignitaries included District 86 Public Relations Officer Karen Reese, Division S Governor Rick Moore, Area 74 Governor Fraser Parry and Area 73 Governor Danny Morrison. Numerous past district, division and area officers were also in attendance. We also had the 1978 – 1979 District 60 Toastmaster of the Year, two time World Championship of Public Speaking participant, Doug McCarthy visiting the contests.

The Clinton newspaper covered both contests. Hopefully the story they write will be positive and syndicated to Blythe, Exeter, Goderich and Seaforth providing the current club membership campaign with a strong assist in attracting future members.

Thank-you to all who assisted at the contest. Your help was greatly appreciated!

Please congratulate all of the participants, the contest winners, the chief judges and the extremely effective contest chairpersons the next time you see them!

~Jamie N
Governor, Area 71

Further details can be found here.

We are hoping to attract Toastmasters from all Area 71 clubs plus non-Toastmaster visitors from the Clinton area.

In order to have a good set of contests we need your help as well.

We need

• The names of your club competitors. For those clubs who did not have contests you are allowed to appoint a competitor for each contest. If the appointee is unaware of what contests are like they are welcome to contact me and I will walk through what a contest entails in advance.

• A judge from each club in the area. This makes sure that all clubs are represented

• People to be our counters and timers.

Please send the names of the competitors and role volunteers to jnoble@area71.org. I need this information immediately in order to verify contestant eligibility with Toastmasters International.

Mark P from London Western is chairing the Table Topics contest. His chief judge will be Janet H from London Western

Colby O from Campus Communicators is chairing the Humorous Speech contest. Megan P from Campus Communicators will be the Chief Judge

I am looking forward to seeing you all at a very enjoyable Area 71 contest.

~Jamie N
Governor, Area 71

The club members greeted me warmly along with the two guests who were present. Printed agendas were present and club President Dale Constable got us into the meeting by giving us some remarks about Toastmasters and making several corrective changes to the agenda.

One of the unexpected and very pleasant changes involved club member Stella who delivered a prepared speech about “losing weight”. After her delightful speech she received an evaluation that seemed to leave her happy and smiling.

The Table Topics was based around the word “Gadabout”. The stories that came as a result of that word were quite interesting and seemed to leave many of us laughing and smiling.

The thirty minutes of the meeting seemed to go blazing by. I look forward to my next visit to this club.

Toastmasters are well known for their warm greetings when you appear at the door and today was no exception. At least four people made a point of shaking my hand including Area 74 Governor Fraser Parry.

The contests were very competitive with five contestants in the Humourous Speech contest and seven contestants in the Table Topics contest.

The table topics phrase was “The United Nations has provided you with a grant of $100 million to work on solving the world’s greatest problem. Tell us about what you are working on.”

The Table Topics contest had a few interesting variants which are apparently how the former district organized the contest. The first contestant is called to the front of the room and selects their topic by picking an envelope. The contest chairperson then reads the topic to them twice and then steps out of the speaking area. Subsequent contestants are called to the front of the room with “contestant name – contestant name” and then once they arrive at the front the contest chair reads the topic to them twice.

The Humorous Speech contest was won by Frank Gustin a club member in both Area 73 (Charismatic Communicators Advanced Club) and Area 74 (Lambton Toastmasters Club). He will be representing Area 74 at the Division S contest.

In an interesting twist, Frank’s wife, Gail Gustin, also a club member in both Area 73 (Charismatic Communicators Advanced Club) and Area 74 (Lambton Toastmasters Club), won the Humorous Speech contest in Area 73. She will also be competing, against Frank, at the Division S contest. This should be interesting!

My congratulations to the members of Area 74 and Area 74 governor Fraser Parry for a well organized contest that treated the contestants fairly while providing the audience with opportunity for laughter and smiles!

I look forward to my next visit to Sarnia for the upcoming Division S contest.

Last night I visited London Western in my official role. As with all of my previous visits this one also featured smiling faces and a supportive environment.

One interesting item was that there were five speakers making the meeting similar to a speech marathon. Unlike any of the other speech marathons that I’ve seen this one had two speakers then two evaluators then three speakers and finally three evaluators.

Three non-toastmaster guests were present and all three expressed happiness at how well the meeting exceeded their hopes and expectations.

I also enjoyed the meeting and the area governor report reflects this. I look forward to my next visit to London Western.