I’m looking forward to sharing some of the fun drinks that my favorite coffee shops have to offer next week. But first, let’s recap Wednesday night’s Toastmasters meeting.
It was a hot one Wednesday, pre-wildfire smoke and poor visibility. But I still came out to my Toastmasters meeting that evening. I made sure my hotspot was ready to go after last week and it came in handy this time. Looks like we’ll be using it in the future. I think at my next Laurel Highlands Toastmasters meeting, I’ll bring my laptop to get a jumpstart on planning the agenda. We had our online attendees back with us on Wednesday night, plus one of our guests returned. I’m hoping that we’ll get to hear her ice breaker soon.
On the agenda, we had two experienced speakers. Both of them came up with interesting topics. Our President shared his Toastmasters journey which began in 1982 and not at the Greensburg club, but the Monroeville club. The latter club meets at the library now, but in 1982 the meetings were held at the Denny’s Restaurant on US 22. Our online attendee gave a speech on meditation and talked about what was better: prayer or meditation. The audience all gave interesting answers. I would end up evaluating the speech later on. Our Table Topics centered on the 13 colonies. We picked a state (one of the original colonies) and shared what we know about it. Had I picked New Jersey I’d have talked a good deal about the beach town at the bottom of the state. I’ll be heading down there this Fall during my vacation week for a quick getaway.
Later on we had a very thorough review of the meeting from our general evaluator. Afterwards, I planned our next meeting which is three weeks away on August 5. Plenty of time for preparing that elevator speech. I’ll be reaching out directly to a couple of members to see if they’re interested in roles. I got the agenda prepared as soon as I got home from the meeting and sent it yesterday morning. This is a habit that I’m getting into for both of my clubs.
Some news and notes from our business meeting, and one of those tidbits is a dues increase that’s coming in August. If you want to invest in your future at the same rate you’ve been paying, then pay your dues by August 3 to get the current rate. At our officers’ meeting, we discussed membership practices as we get guests and look for prospects to join our club. Our president (who has served as Vice President Membership) put together some guest packets for those future visitors.
We had nine in attendance with a near 50/50 split between in person and online guests. Our next two meetings are August 5 and 19, and the International Convention is slated for August 19th through the 22nd in Vancouver. Contest season is heating up as well, and we’ll be hosting a contest or sending a member to the event. The fall contest will be Humorous Speech and Table Topics.
The weekend special at Caleese is the Peanut Butter Cup Latte. I saw this and told myself that I have to have this. The feature drink is only available today through the weekend. I’ll make it up there either tomorrow or Sunday (hopefully I can get one at 3pm on a Sunday). When I go, I’ll bring my laptop if I have a blog to finish up. This would be my first time taking the computer out, and I’ll finish up another chapter in ‘The Jazzmen’. Next month, I’ll visit the new location in Export near the Westmoreland Heritage trail. If I’m feeling lucky, I may include breakfast at Wade’s Breakfast and Grille. I discovered them on Instagram this morning.
Fall is coming early to Cutie’s! The Fall menu makes its arrival at the end of August but there will be a sneak peak next weekend. After seeing the choices on social media, I’m debating over what to try. It might be the Caramel Apple Butter Latte.
Bible Study is scheduled for Monday night, weather permitting. The forecast is trending dry but fingers crossed that the air quality will be better than it was today. There is a fall preview, and the new menu rolls out August 29 (with a market in the parking lot). Additional parking is coming soon, along with the new Otterman Square. The Christmas in July flight runs through the end of the month.
Stylish 🍒 