This is my eighth visit to Cranberry High Noon and I came up for their Open House. This meeting was in person and virtual, therefore it was a hybrid meeting.
Before that, I stopped off at Cranberry Mall and shopped at Michael’s, looking at all the neat Christmas items. Great deals too as most of it was 40% off. I even found a Golden Girls cross stitch kit in my travels. I also stopped into Bed Bath and Beyond. Kind of uneventful, especially when I have used that time to shop at the place in the picture. Hello? At least I got five minutes and spotted some great gift ideas for Christmas.
I arrived at the Cranberry Municipal Building at 11:45 and was greeted by club President Linde Riley. It was our first time meeting in person as the other times were on Zoom. We also kept in touch through Facebook.
Melissa McGavick served as the Zoom master for the hybrid meeting. When the internet access was spotty, she quickly switched gears and had the meeting up and running on a different hotspot. Because she was prepared with several wifi options, we started just a couple of minutes late and the rest of the meeting ran well.
Sue Ellis served as the meeting Toastmaster and explained the three parts of the meeting. The speaking, the Table Topics, and the Evaluation. She did it with gusto. She also introduced the roles and who was doing them.
We couldn’t have been more blessed with our amazing speakers. Melissa McGavick was up first with her speech titled “Build a Better You.” She shared success stories of three Toastmasters members from around the world and how we can use the program to improve ourselves.
Willie Mae Starr White is quite motivated in Toastmasters as she is working on four paths right now. Her speech talked about her ability to overcome her struggles with stuttering. She explained some methods to get past it, like reading out loud or even singing. Willie Mae has been a contestant in past district speaking events and it was a joy to hear her speak as well.
Tina Kramer was up next with Table Topics and she worked off the theme asking us our favorite words. My word was Stylish. It’s part of my blog name and how I always dress. I also explained why I dress nice for the umpteenth time. Another word I could have used was icon. I say that because Sara always calls me her icon when we comment on Facebook.
Linde served as General Evaluator and introduced our evaluators. Both excellent Toastmasters and excellent district leaders. Bob Johnson gave excellent feedback of Melissa’s speech and Kim Santillo did the same with Willie Mae’s presentation.
She called on guests to give feedback of the open house and the meeting itself. We had a great turnout for the hybrid with 15 showing up in person and 13 on Zoom. All guests would follow up with Willie Mae and Cristina. The club is at 22 members but is always willing to grow its base, which started out at 29. No better time to get that number up than right now.
Sarah gave me the opportunity to join her and some other Cranberry High Nooners at House of Chen which is just up the road from the Cranberry Municipal Building. It took me no time to say Yes. How often do I get these opportunities to socialize with friends? Maha and Linde would join us as well.
It was my best meal out since we all got together at Jean Bonnet Tavern for my 40th birthday. We got our table, ordered our food, and talked Toastmasters and I even shared my outfit pics, including the sweater dress I’m getting this week. Linde, Maha, and Sarah were quite impressed with my sense of style.
I loved the aquarium in the main dining area. It was fun to look at the fish in their tank. Definitely one of the things that makes this place stand out. Our lunch was great. My Kung Pao chicken had a lot of flavor to it as did my egg roll. Everyone was satisfied with their meals. We had good service from our waitstaff and they got our food to us quickly. They also played a lot of Sarah’s favorite songs. She is a big fan of disco music and there was plenty of it being played while we ate lunch.
Sarah talked about bringing me here and she finally got her wish. We ended the day by taking pictures in front of the restaurant and the fish pond. The lady who took our picture in front of the restaurant is Katina Hunter’s pastor. She was happy to join us in a funny Toastmasters picture in front of the fish pond. Overall grade for Chen’s: A-plus and I will definitely be back.
It was an enjoyable day made worthwhile by great friends and the meeting went very well. This almost became my favorite visit today but December 2019 still stands as the greatest of all time. Till next time Cranberry High Noon.
Bye everyone. ❤️ you.
Stylish 🍒 