Tuesday night, we held our Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting. At first, it looked like we might have just three in attendance but people came in at just before six. Our Vice Presidents Education and Membership came in just a few minutes past six with agendas in hand. Zoom wasn’t working in our favor but our President was able to establish an online link through WhatsApp. We started a little late but made up for that start with a quality meeting.
Judging by the theme and the title of my blog, we had a SWEET time at our meeting. Our President gave a wonderful speech about “The Sweet CEO”. I’m referring to Milton Hershey. He went over Hershey‘s life and also discussed his philanthropy. In the blog, I’ll also be highlighting my trip to Hershey from this past November.
In Table Topics, the questions kept with the theme of the meeting. I was asked what I could suggest to make Toastmasters meeting sweet? Our Vice President Education came up with questions but our club president led the topics session. The Table Topics master and Toastmaster switched roles. Our other speeches Tuesday night touched on the five C‘s of Leadership and 3 F‘s we must look at when dealing with rejection.
Some takeaways I had from the meeting, one was from our Vice President Education. The acronyms and stories help us to remember the speeches. Also, WhatsApp is better than Zoom. Dues are due, and I will be renewing this weekend for both Laurel Highlands and Greensburg.
At the meeting I doubled up as speech evaluator and timer. We had a guest in attendance and so I explained my role to her.
Hearing Ryan’s speech reminded me of my past trip to Hershey. Last Fall just before Thanksgiving, our little group of Gaffrons went there to see Trans Siberian Orchestra. We made it a great weekend, and not just because of the concert. Our first night in Hershey we saw the lights near Hersheypark. I took many pics that evening and we saw many neat displays. Getting there is the run and we had to brave and battle the snow and slush-covered roads to get to our destination.
Saturday was the big day. We met up with my cousins and made our way to the Giant Center. The show was great and this was my second time seeing Trans Siberian Orchestra. The first time was a few days before Christmas in December 2019 at PPG Paints Arena. We all know what happened three months later. Following the concert, we ate dinner at the Macaroni Grill. I enjoyed the company and all the food. My cousins picked a great spot for our post concert dinner. I do wish I’d have saved room for dessert too. Maybe I can eat half my dinner next week at Olive Garden and save room for cheesecake and tiramisu.
Sunday was our last day in Hershey before heading home. We spent our last hours in the hotel checking out the arcade and watching the world go by. We ate lunch at Funck’s and it looked very festive inside as the restaurant was decorated for Christmas. As we parted ways with the State College Gaffrons, we stopped off at Chocolate World for an hour. I bought a few things (that Hershey’s Pot of Gold is still upstairs on my counter) and then faced reality. Our trip was over. It was a nice weekend and great mini-vacation even though I got sick just before Thanksgiving.
You can read about my Hershey trip in more detail. Links to follow.
Stylish 🍒 