A great turnout by our Achievers club today with four exceptional speakers. These women spoke very well. The speeches were well-prepared and had our attention. But first…
Before we began the meeting I introduced our guests and we had a lot of them for today’s open house. Four from McKeesport (Yasmin, Daryl, Anna Lisa, and Vasco); two from Eriez (Mike Cortes and Mukesh); Sarah from Cranberry High Noon; Shanda and Manda from Elk County; Sanchita from Monroeville; and Isabelle and Emily from Woman 2 Woman.
Fred Vornbrock served as Toastmaster and introduced our speakers. Shanda Kelsch was our first speaker. Her speech was titled “Start”. Very powerful and encouraging. Hearing some of the inspiration from that speech, I may want to close off the blog with it. She made great use of the stage and rocked the red dress well. I gave her some small suggestions for improvement and let the round robin evaluators handle the rest. My challenge to her was to use that speech to be a blessing to someone, to be the lift that they need.
Manda Shaw, Sanchita Sarkar, and Yasmin Brown also gave great speeches. Manda shared her amazing journey with us and taught us to party like it’s 1999 (classic Prince song). She taught us to live life intentionally as well. Sanchita used dialogue in her speech and communicated to us well. She talked about a time where she stood up for what was right and was applauded for her direct style of communication. She would make a great mentor to someone trying to find their way in Toastmasters and in life. She was the champion of our Area contest. Yasmin rounded out the speaking portion by telling a personal story. What she spoke about took courage and the club and I praise her for stepping up like that. Check out Yasmin’s books when you get a chance.
All of our speakers hit a home run today with their speeches. The feedback was phenomenal and when I asked for guest comments, I can tell everyone learned a lot, even those who didn’t speak. I heard that a lot of people took notes. Fred addressed the club and our guests and encouraged them to come back. I see some potential new members out of today’s open house. Patti Thor (incoming District Director) promoted club officer training which will take place June 20. I ended the meeting at 5pm. Thank you to everyone who came out today.
Time to close off the blog. In light of the recent protests, I have to commend my city (Greensburg) for how they handled theirs today.
“Greensburg, you are not without your flaws; we are not without our flaws. However, today, you – we – showed up in the most flawless of ways. Today, you – we – breathed life into a peaceful protest. Thank you for your individual and collective voice!!”. Thank you Patricia and Kim. Greensburg set a great example today. I’m think all cities should follow their lead. I love my city.
There are three things in life that are constant. Those are death, taxes, and change. We can only control change. It takes courage to choose to live the life we deserve. We feel that we’re stuck, but we’re not.
Anything is possible. Believe in yourself. Forgive yourself. Love yourself enough to hold people accountable, to express yourself, to follow yourself.
Love yourself enough to say enough is enough. Great speech today, Shanda.
I’m posting to the Greensburg Toastmaster Reporter tomorrow. Look for my stuff there as well on here.
Bye everyone. ❤️ you.
Stylish 🍒 