Let’s go back to 2000. It’s my senior year at Hempfield Area High School. I’m thinking about the next phase of my life, which is likely going to be college. I just don’t know how I’m going to go about it. While I looked at schools like Robert Morris and Point Park, they were going to be a little bit out of my price range. There was also the option of attending WCCC for two years in order to save money. In fact I remember one morning, as I walked the halls, talking to Mr. Clougherty about my future plans and mentioned WCCC. He was all for it and said it was a smart choice.

My OVR counselor and I went over the options one morning. One was to go to WCCC and then maybe transfer to a four year school. Now we had talked about this school in Johnstown that I was going to be overqualified for. But we would have a couple of opions tied to going to school there. I would attend the Hiram G. Andrews Center and get my education there or attend one semester before transferring to the local Community College to get my Associates degree. I learned that students at “the College” could live at HGA while attending classes at the college. That last option was going to be the plan we agreed to.

My mom and I looked at articles about HGA and she thought it was a good idea for me to go to school there. She wanted me to learn to be on my own. Community college and being close to home is a nice start when you’re 18 or 19, but I think we had my best interests in mind here. I would study Accounting (once I transferred to the community college). I would start out in Pre-Baccalaureate classes at HGA to prepare myself for the next step.

May 8 was the day we would take the tour of Hiram G. Andrews Center. I was excited but a little nervous thinking about the next chapter of my life. We got lost looking for the place. I think we wound up in Cambria City at one point looking for the school. We found our way though and signed in as visitors. We met our tour guide in the lobby of the center and we were on our way.

We saw where the dorms were located. One of them I was going to call home later this Summer. There was a dorm dedicated to students with physical handicaps (H-Dorm or the Transitional Living Dorm). We saw the cafeteria next. Students that study Culinary Arts (one of the degree programs) work in the cafeteria along with the staff. Lockers were located on the other side for commuters who attended the school. We saw the gymnasium, which had tinted windows, and across from there was the rooms that students would go to for Occupational or Physical Therapy. From there we found the Student Union (or the Annex as I would affectionately refer to it) and the student stores where Retail students attended classes and worked. Outside was the “Courtyard” where students hung out on their break if the weather allowed for it.

We then turned around and walked back down the hall. We saw the classrooms, three wings each. I was going to the first wing on the right for my classes. At the end they had a room for the Watch and Jewelry Repair students (these majors have since been eliminated). The Medical students also attended classes in this wing. We found where the counseling department was located. There were classrooms at the far end for drafting and building maintenance students. The OVR District office and Seminar Theatre was located here too. Let’s not forget the Driver’s Ed classroom. I’d be seeing a lot of that room and the instructors in the future. I’ll talk about the Rec Hall in a future blog. This was my hangout after classes most days.

Mom and I left the school confident that I was going to do well here and being on my own. It was going to be scary but we knew I’d make the most of my time here. My 18 year old self had butterflies thinking about it though.

We ate lunch at Eat’n Park on Scalp Avenue in Richland. We talked about HGA, my upcoming graduation, and we planned my graduation party. Then we visited my cousin who was living in Johnstown at the time and we talked about the tour. My mom is always close to her family, especially her nieces. She loves being the aunt to all my cousins though. I miss the picnics and parties we used to have, especially in summer.

Can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I graduated high school and went off to college. That’s what’s motivating me to do better for myself now.

Time to close off the blog. While today is the anniversary of my HGA tour, it’s also graduation week for most college students. Of course this year is awash but I remember attended Slippery Rock graduation on this day in 2004. It was a better day than today is. Ed Rendell was the keynote speaker (in 2004 he was governor of Pennsylvania). As you virtually accept your diploma this weekend, I give you the best of luck in the next phase of your life. I attended for a friend of mine who was graduating with her education degree. Of course Slippery Rock is a great school if you want to go for that field.

Remember today and this weekend to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. I put ROCK in all caps for as reason. I’m proud of my green and white Alma mater. Think of the places you’ll go as you graduate and decorate that mortarboard 🎓 with something nice. I know it seems different this year but it’s still graduation 🎓.

Share the love today and every day.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you. X’s and O’s.

Last night we had our last Financial Peace University. One in person meeting and then the last five were via Zoom. We still got it done and we had a lot of great interaction with everyone. Our facilitators did an excellent job keeping everything going. I made the most of my money and the website. Time to take advantage of my membership and use it. Time to use that everydollar.com app as well. The class will be offered again in the Fall.

Eventually I’d like to be a small group leader. Ed and Pam have done it for a long time and with me coming back to my roots academically, I’d like to take the lead someday. But I also need to practice what I preach too. That’s why I really want to get this working on the budget down pat, plus I need to be serious about having money put away for retirement every month. Maybe it’s time to take Dave’s advice and put some of that money in mutual funds.

Deb Close commended me for participating in FPU as well as sticking with it when the lockdown hit. I commend all the leaders for making me feel welcome and for having a vast knowledge of the subjects. I would have been happier with more time dedicated to the budget (two classes worth learning about it would helped those novices in the class). I think my favorite part of the course was Dave Ramsey’s humor in helping us live like no one else, hearing Chris Hogan give a completely different spin on how millionaires live, and Rachel Cruze’s passion for doing the monthly budget.

You’ll see why I went with the title I did today as I return to the routine of work this Saturday. I got word that things were going to be starting back up on the 9th. But with us coming back, rules are going to be put in place to keep our customers and us safe. I can abide by that. For one thing, masks and gloves will be mandatory. Vans and equipment will need to be sanitized and only eight people to a van. Most of our crew drives anyways except for Uniontown. I came back briefly in late March and early April to help out Rite Aid with stocking their shelves. For my safety, I abandoned it on Good Friday and for the last month, I’ve been off. I miss my coworkers even though they haven’t reached out to me and I’ve done the same. But I’m sure they missed me regardless. However, there are things I haven’t missed being off for this extended time.

First off let me say I’ve seen a lot of personal growth in my life since I haven’t been going anywhere. I’ve grown spiritually for one. I’ve taken time in the morning to read the Scriptures along with some inspirational reading. I’m even taking to the time to pray before I begin my study. With the virtual Toastmasters meetings and the luxury of having the Zoom app at my disposal, I’ve had the opportunity to attend multiple Toastmasters meetings and not have to go anywhere. But I make it seem like what if in the blogs. Therefore I’m growing socially in addition to spiritually.

Mentally, I’ve read a lot more books on my time off. For example, I’ve looked at Chris Hogan’s “Everyday Millionaire” and Rachel Cruze’s “Love Your Life Not Theirs”. I’ve learned a lot from those reads and they’ve tied in to the lessons I’ve learned in Financial Peace University. I’ve built a routine that I’ve honored the last few weeks. I’m not going to go into detail but I encourage you to do the same. I’m interested in learning more from John Maxwell too. I always find something positive to close off these blogs with, so that helps me out mentally and it should help you too.

As jobs return to my schedule, I’m happy to get out of the house. But at the same time I don’t want my growth of the last few weeks to be impeded by old habits. I’m not looking at the schedule anymore than once a day or every couple of days. This will lessen the worry a bit over who confirms and who doesn’t. I’m just going to do my work and at the end of the day move on. I will also respect the social distancing guidelines.

What I’m worried about is becoming complacent. Being off has put things into perspective for me. I didn’t have an effective ground game in place when I was applying the first time around. With me approaching 40 (scary I know) I want to better myself academically. That’s why I want to come back to my roots. It’s never too late to correct a mistake. Not that my professional life has been a mistake, but I know I can do better. I saw that in myself yesterday afternoon when I opened an old accounting textbook. I CAN do better. Obviously the content will get harder but if I felt as confident as I did last night I know I can continue to prosper at this.

It’s time to embark once again on this journey. This time it’s for real.

I missed the Midday meeting because of technical issues with my iPad but I got them worked out for tonight’s Greensburg meeting. We had a great turnout tonight with 14 people showing up. Four speakers participated and the speeches ranged from serious to downright funny. It made for a good flow.

Michelle Teague led a great Table Topics session asking us the question “Never Have I Ever…”. Those who participated gave great answers. I took part in the discussion as well. Never Have I ever purchased an Xbox or PlayStation. I’m a Nintendo guy.

Our evaluators did a great job and provided great feedback. Diane Svec’s topic was very important and her message should be conveyed to everyone. Other groups would benefit from hearing what she has to say.

We have great news that Jim Teague shared with us and that is we have achieved President’s Distinguished status in Greensburg. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we need to get our membership up to be recognized for it. We’re scheduling an Open House on June 17. I remember the last one we had. I achieved my Distinguished Toastmaster at that event on October 2 of last year.

Time to close off the blog. I’m experiencing personal growth but to maximize it, I need to get out of my comfort zone. I’m off to a good start as I come back to my roots. But I need to stay focused. I’ve come too far in this time off to look back and to go back to the way things were. I’m worked too hard for that division lead to give it up now.

Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. Faerie Grace taught us to laugh tonight with her speech. Make tomorrow lovely and don’t forget to rock the heart shades ❤️ ❤️ . That will help you share the love.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you. X’s and O’s.

I attended my ninth Cranberry High Noon meeting this afternoon. This includes six in person meetings as well. Before I elaborate on today’s meeting and look ahead to Friday’s milestone blog. Let me tell you a little bit about myself.

This is my 98th blog on the Stylish Traveling DTM. The milestone is coming very soon and I’m excited to share it with all of you. One thing I want you all to know about me is that, in addition to Christian and Country music, I am also a fan of late 90s pop music. That includes boy bands. It all started in early 2000 when I bought both Backstreet Boys albums (self-titled and Millennium). I am also a fan of 98 Degrees and Nick Lachey. I wish I’d have attended that concert in Spring of 2001 because I would have enjoyed myself. Then there was that My2K tour in summer of 2016.

My country music CDs came today as well as some books that I’m interested in reading. I’ve made the switch over to country music in the last few weeks. It started with Rascal Flatts and Martina McBride and then moved on to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. I’m into the classic country but one of these days I’ll get into the modern country hits. What better to make use of my CDs than take a road trip and listen to them on the way? All of them are gems. Funny little story but “Carlene” by Phil Vassar was the song I woke up to my first morning at college in August of 2000. It still sounds good 20 years later. My mom used to have the Collin Raye CD and I got hooked on it during my college years. Now on to today’s Cranberry High Noon visit.

Today’s Cranberry High Noon meeting almost didn’t happen. I wasn’t feeling it and didn’t want to be a burden. Like every meeting before today’s that I’ve attended, it was a blast. The theme today was Welcome Guests! I know I’m always a welcome guest at this chapter and every other Toastmaster club I visit. The Word of the Day was Genial. The members of Cranberry High Noon are very genial. My last in person visit in December definitely exhibited these traits. Every Toastmasters club should follow this example.

Dipali Gupta served as Toastmaster and introduced the role players. They gave a description of their roles. Afterwards, Dipali introduced Rashmi Tavate as the first speaker. Rashmi spoke from the traditional manual. Her speech was from Communicating on Video, titled “CHN TV, Where Positivity Never Ends!!!!”. Rashmi interviewed Dipali on her “show” and the subject was homeopathic medicine and all things COVID 19. One of the questions that was brought up was “How are folks handling the quarantine?” and “How long before the vaccine comes in?”. Dipali talked about ways to stay positive. For me, I’ve been staying positive by blogging, taking walks, and having a routine in place. I shower every morning, find time to grow spiritually by reading the Bible and something inspirational, and rock a nice outfit instead of lounging around in sweatpants all day. I’m also watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix. One piece of advice that Dipali had was to cut down on the amount of news you watch every day.

If CHN-TV was a real channel, I’ll definitely take a job there. I’d love to produce or report for them. CHN-TV… where positivity never ends!!! I love visiting this club and I love my Cranberry High Noon family.

Judy Wang was second up and her speech was titled “21 Day Habit”. I learned from her speech that it takes 21 Days to Make or Break A Habit. Let me elaborate on my routine which has become my habit. Since I’ve been off, I usually wake up around 7:30. I get some breakfast (which is a bagel or cereal 🥣 and my usual cup of coffee ☕️). I need my coffee like I’m Lorelai Gilmore. I then either spend time with Jesus in his Word and with an inspirational read or I shower first and get dressed. Most of you have been wearing your favorite sweatpants or gym shorts, I was lounging for the first part of my layoff. After I took my second layoff and heard a good speech from Christina in my Achievers club, I followed her lead. I put together a nice outfit and rock it all day. For me, that’s a colored V-neck top and jeans, but sometimes I’ll throw in a leather jacket and boots 👢)

Judy gave some great tips to create a good habit or break a bad habit. Can you form a good habit in less than 21 days though?

Both speakers did an exceptional job with their presentations. Now I’m really glad that I decided to come to today’s meeting. It only gets better with every visit. I look forward to the next time I can make an in person visit).

Rahul Bagal served as Table Topics master. He had six questions prepared for those who were interested. All six contestants did really well with their answers. The messages they conveyed were of good use too. “You get knocked down, but you get up again”; Learn to be courteous of others”; If you don’t report someone for performing something illegal, I feel you are going to be held accountable for letting that person get away with murder.

Our evaluators did well and gave great feedback. A lot of positive energy in the speeches. Speakers were attentive. Tina Kramer commended Judy for being very genial in her speech and for giving useful information. She offered good suggestions for improvement as well. In her evaluation of the meeting, Diana Lomelin suggested we could improve on greeting our guests. But after nine visits I’m not a guest anymore. I’m a member of the Cranberry High Noon family. Tina Kramer went over education awards in the club. Ale Perez completed her level 2 in Effective Coaching, Shawndra Holmberg completed her level 3 in Visionary Communication, and Tina Kramer completed her Presentation Mastery Level 5, and Dynamic Leadership Level 1. Earlybirds has helped out too with her successes. A speakathon is coming up soon in the club.

Let’s talk about 💯. My blog on Friday will cover my tour of HGA from May of 2000. It’s 20 years since I graduated high school and started college. The school is still special to me despite its faults. I still remember taking a tour of the place all those years ago. Since it’s Mother’s Day weekend, I’ll talk about how my mother had a hand in planning my future. Why did we decide that this was the place for me to go instead of say, WCCC?

I’m also going to hit on some past Mother’s Day memories that I have. We’ve had many traditions over the years and many fun picnics. It’s not the same now that we’ve lost many loved ones and we’ve all grown up and started families of our own. I’ll take you to my favorite places and show you some of our games we used to play.

Remember to live your best life this week. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Sometimes in life you will get knocked down. It’s your job to get back up again. Be courteous of others. If you feel something is wrong, don’t do it even if it makes you the laughingstock of the group.

Collage coming soon for 💯 blogs.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you. X’s and O’s. Stylish DTM.

What a great day to go for a walk. I did about 3.5 miles at Twin Lakes this afternoon. I also ran into a fellow Toastmaster on the trail. Michelle Teague and I elbow bumped and took a selfie. She’s so excited for my 💯 Stylish DTM blog this week. I don’t know what will get the 💯 treatment yet. I have something in mind though. For now let’s take a look at the week ahead.

It’s another off week and that means more Toastmasters Zoom visits. I’m looking at another Cranberry High Noon visit tomorrow plus my Greensburg meeting this Wednesday evening. I will be attending Midday’s open house in the afternoon and Elk County this Thursday night. I’m hoping to do a third Earlybirds visit Saturday morning. I’ve got this down.

In addition to Toastmasters Virtual meetings, I’m wrapping up Financial Peace University on Tuesday night with the rest of my group. The leaders have been very friendly and helpful. I’ve taken it a little more seriously than I did back in 2008. Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else. The final session will cover real estate and mortgages and giving. Dave Ramsey says it’s wise to pay off your home early (15 year mortgage instead of a 30 year mortgage).

It may be back to work soon for me at WIS. I’ve spent the last few weeks at home (I was off for a week and a half before temporarily helping Rite Aid stock shelves). Since Good Friday I’ve been home. I’ve got a little routine going but we’ll get to that in a minute. I think this recent round of time off has put things in perspective for me.

While I’ve been off, I’ve grown spiritually. I’m taking time to read the Bible every morning. I’m also studying John 15 and learning about the True Vine and the branches. I also started The Daniel Dilemma (part of my Saturday morning bible study). I’m also reading books related to Financial Peace University by Rachel Cruze and Chris Hogan. I’ve started listening to country music 🎸 Plus I’m catching up on season five of Gilmore Girls. You jump I jump Jack. In omnia paratus.

I shower every morning in addition to studying the Bible. I now change into a nice outfit instead of lounging in sweatpants all day like most have being home all day. I find time during the day to walk too. Sometimes I go to Twin Lakes, but occasionally I do head up to Ligonier. If I’m feeling lucky I’ll drive up to Westmont. Nostalgia trip I know.

I’ve changed mentally. I’ve gone back to my roots and remembered where I came from and what I studied. I fear that I’ll lose all that and go back to my old habits once I get back into my old work routine. There’s going to be new rules in effect to keep everyone safe and healthy, which I understand. I don’t seem as emotionally attached as I once did. I feel I’m on a different path than everyone else and I feel I need to move on for good this time. It almost happened in 2018 with Giant Eagle but it didn’t work out. I think I need to have a better game plan in place. I have my reasons for wanting to leave but I’m not sharing them in this blog out of respect for myself and my coworkers.

Some of the things I want to highlight in the blog this week include my tour of HGA from May of 2000. It’s 20 years since I graduated high school and started college. The school is still special to me despite its faults. I still remember taking a tour of the place all those years ago. I want to explain the reasoning behind why we decided that this was the place for me to go instead of say, WCCC.

I’m also going to go back in time and hit on some past Mother’s Day memories I’ve experienced. We’ve had many traditions over the years and many fun picnics. It’s not the same now that we’ve lost many loved ones and we’ve all grown up and started families of our own. I’ll take you to my favorite places and show you some of our games we used to play.

Time to close off the blog. I can’t believe we’re closing in 💯 blogs on this page. Thank you all for your support of the Stylish Traveling DTM. I couldn’t have done it without you all encouraging me. Lots of 20 year celebrations this year with graduating high school, starting college, and the premiere of Gilmore Girls.

Remember this coming week to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. Life happens, coffee helps. What makes you different makes you stand out.

Bye everyone. Love you. X’s and O’s. STYLISH DTM

I just came off two Toastmasters meetings in under 24 hours. This Zoom app has been a godsend as much as the social distancing aspect has been a bummer. I’ve been able to visit meetings without leaving the house and still see my D13 Toastmaster fam. I’ve also been able to complete my Financial Peace University class as well despite not meeting in person.

What I’ve missed about not being able to go out is that I was becoming more social at my favorite hotspots (White Rabbit, Sun Dawg, Majesty). I enjoyed talking to a couple of women over a matcha 🍵 latte that morning at the Rabbit. What started out as a disaster when my friends ghosted me turned into a great day. I was also building my friend base at Cornerstone, getting to know some great people. My friends I’m taking FPU with have become more like family as well and I would usually see them at church. Let’s talk about the Toastmasters meetings then we’ll look ahead.

I attended my second Next Step meeting. The attire for the meeting involved wearing a robe or pajama top. With a five second walk to my room, I changed into my pajamas and enjoyed a great meeting. Lisa Leonard served as Toastmaster and introduced her husband Michael as the first speaker. Speaking from the Professional Speaker manual, he gave an entertaining but serious speech. Alicia Kordistos did a Research speech on San Jose, a ship that wrecked off the coast of Colombia in 2015. We took a few minutes after the meeting to talk about the speech and the buried treasure that went down with the ship. It made up for the socializing that I’ve missed not attending these meetings in person. Next meeting will have a Cinco de Mayo theme. Following the Next Step meeting, I reached out to Patti Thor and Michelle Teague about us planning a special memorial time for Charlie Wilson at the May Achievers meeting.

I was up this morning at 6:15 to get ready for the Dawn Patrol meeting. I got showered and fixed breakfast and logged in at 7:11, a few minutes before we started. Jackey Collier welcomed me to the meeting as did Mac and Doug. Jackey gave a award speech for her Division Director of the Year award. She thanked all her area directors for their hard work in helping her achieve her goal. She also thanked Stephanie Scott (longtime Toastmaster and Past District Governor) for her encouragement. We have some dedicated leaders and Toastmasters in the Pittsburgh area. Division Dynamic. Tim Tallon gave an impromptu speech about the Four P’s of losing your phone in your house. A funny speech yet it’s something we always do. Pocket, Purse, Pedestal, and Pain were those four keywords in the speech.

We did evaluation next and one of our guests was local (Aliquippa) but had since moved to Washington D.C.. She also served as a speech evaluator for Tim’s speech. We finished with Table Topics (first time Ive attended a meeting where we evaluate before we do impromptu speaking). The theme was looking ahead. After this break, let’s take a look ahead.

Stuart Strickland served as our Table Topics Master and his questions centered on looking ahead. I answered a couple myself on what I plan t do when things are back to normal and what will happen in a few years. This is what I plan to highlight in today’s blog.

Next week, I plan on attending my own meeting as well as Midday’s open house (they meet in Oakland) and Elk County’s meeting next Thursday. In terms of blogging, I’m going to take you back 20 years to my high school graduation and when I made a decision on college. It still seems like yesterday to me. I plan to dedicate ate those blogs to my good friend, and my former teacher, coach, and mentor, Kevin Clougherty. I’m wrapping up Financial Peace University Tuesday night and I’ve seen myself grow over the last few weeks. I just hope that the growth doesn’t get lost due to old habits.

Work is starting back up soon and new procedures will have be in order to keep everyone safe and healthy. I hope this rollout is pain free but I doubt it. Over these past few weeks of being at home, I’ve had a taste of freedom not traveling. I’ve missed some of the people I work with. But as I make my way back, I want to show that I’ve changed. Part of that change may mean it’s finally time to move on. We’ll see what the summer holds.

Last fall was great but to me it also set the table and built a new foundation for the next phase of my life. I’m approaching 40 and not only do I want to grow professionally, but socially and emotionally. I’m longing for someone to spend my life with and it showed last fall.

When everything opens back up, I plan to support small businesses. I look forward to having a burger and a beer at Oliver’s Pourhouse with Mr. Clougherty. I want to enjoy a matcha latte at White Rabbit and breakfast at Sun Dawg. I want to buy books at Majesty or Second Chapter Books. I want to shop in my own little Stars Hollow (as you can tell I ❤️ Gilmore Girls). What will the impact of COVID 19 have on our shopping malls and department stores? We’ll have to wait and see there.

Time to close off the blog. As I said I want to grow professionally, but in this time off I’m also starting to grow spiritually. I’ve been taking time in my Word reading inspirational books (I look forward to the Daniel Dilemma). I’ve started off my mornings in Scripture and learning about the True Vine in John 15.

The weekend’s here. Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. Remember that your smile is your best accessory.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.

I got the sad news last night after my church prayer meeting. In an email for the Achievers club from Patti Thor, I got word that our loyal club member, Charlie Wilson, passed away from a brain aneurysm.

The loss of a longtime Toastmaster, district leader, and mentor is big for District 13. Charlie Wilson was always a regular at the speech contests, advancing to the District finals every time. You always learned something from Charlie every time you saw him. He also advanced all the way to the World Championship of Public Speaking.

Charlie was a two time District Governor (in the mid 1990’s and early 2000’s). Mike Dalton, another longtime Toastmaster and faithful Greensburg member, was great friends with Wilson. Both served in the District Trio at one point. I also had the opportunity to serve in the Achievers club with Charlie. Both him and Mike had a wealth of knowledge to share with us in their long Toastmasters journeys. Mike will celebrate his 30th anniversary in Toastmasters and in the Greensburg chapter this November.

Charlie was always proud of his Penn State education and was a fixture in State College. He represented multiple clubs in the area as well as in District 38, where he also competed in contests and served as a member in their respective clubs.

The passing of Charlie Wilson is devastating to District 13, State College, and even in theatre 🎭. He was involved in many plays in addition to his work in Toastmasters. Reading through the posts last night and this morning on Facebook, it looks he touched a lot of lives. There’s a picture of some of District 13’s finest from a past District Conference. Dan Rex is also in the picture. He was the keynote speaker that weekend. My heart goes out to Charlie’s family, especially his wife Caroline.

My best memory of Charlie was always running to him at the District events. Seeing him, Mike, as well as Calvin and Ruth Ray (in Toastmasters since 1976) together was like looking at the Greatest of All Time or a Who’s Who of Distinguished Toastmasters. I wish I’d have gotten the opportunity to run the DTM gauntlet with them this Spring.

There are many words to describe Charlie Wilson. All of them great. He was a class act who could uplift you, teach you a thing, or just make you laugh. He always made a big impression wherever he was. He had a positive impact on you from the first time he met you. His advice has rubbed off on other Toastmasters, like Dave Jones. His first speech contest, Dave was nervous and flustered. But Charlie calmed him down and told him to relax and enjoy the experience. That is a great example and one Dave now shares with the new contestants. Talk about paying it forward.

In conclusion, District 13 lost a legend yesterday.

This blog is entirely Toastmaster themed. I attended two meetings today. One in Cranberry and later, I attended a meeting in Erie. Well, it was virtual but still it’s fun to pretend now isn’t it?

I arrived for the Cranberry High Noon meeting around 11:45 this morning. Mike McKivigan, the club president, asked me to step up today and be an evaluator which I happily agreed to. He served as Toastmaster for the meeting and introduced his role players. Linde Riley served as Grammarian. She wowed us with her speech on last week living in New Mexico. Cristina Sanchez served as Timer, and Gauri Mengane served as General Evaluator.

Dipali Gupta was our first Speaker. She gave a great motivational speech on how to stay positive during the pandemic and having to be on lockdown. I picked up some great points from her speech. Diana Lomelin taught me a new word today and that is wanderlust. It’s a passion for wanting to travel. She spoke on some of the places she’s traveled, including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Grand Canyon. I really enjoyed hearing about her trip to Europe. A lot of work went into her speech and she provided some great pictures along the way. I would definitely visit France 🇫🇷 and Italy 🇮🇹 but would also throw in Germany 🇩🇪 and Switzerland 🇨🇭 on my trip. As her evaluator, I suggested using the part on France as a marketing vehicle for the convention in Paris which will now be next year. Ale Perez rounded out the speaking portion by talking about Toastmasters mentoring. Let’s have a Speak off to see who can talk about mentoring better. Ale vs. Walter J from Earlybirds.

Our soon to be Program Quality Director, Bob Johnson, gave an outstanding Table Topics session. Only three speakers participated to keep the meeting running on time. Rahul, Don, and Amit all gave great answers to the questions. The theme was Tell A Story Day. Almost everyone wore a hat today too. Shoutout to Tina Kramer for coming up with this great idea. If we had a contest for best hat, I think Judy would have won first prize. Mike had the best background. Went great with his hat.

Mike wrapped up the meeting at 1pm and thanked me for attending.

Let’s take a trip up Interstate 79, stopping at Slippery Rock and grabbing a late lunch at North Country Brewing before walking around campus. I ate outside and watched the traffic go by. Around 3, it was back on the road to Erie for the Eriez Toastmaster meeting.

I arrived around 4:15 and killed some time downtown before heading to my destination around 6. Division B Director Terye Carney and longtime Toastmaster Tom Quiggle (we go back to 2012) greeted me. The Eriez chapter also celebrated National Tell A Story Day. As Table Topics Master, Terye had us give our favorite stories. I talked about how I came up with the name for my blog.

The stylish part came to me during a trip to Ashtabula for work. We were going to dinner after work and we all met up in our motel room. It was a casual trip and we were all just hungry. One of the girls who was with us came into the room and was rocking a pink dress. While no one cared how I looked, I felt upstaged. Seeing her look so stunning made me start paying attention to my appearance. I was also feeling lonely after my Grandma passed away that summer. Seeing two of my colleagues happy together made me realize that I longed for someone myself.

I started dressing nicer and thus the name would soon be born. I was really flattered when Sarah Souri referred to me by my blog name when I visited Cranberry High Noon. The blog has been going strong since November.

Our speakers all gave exceptional speeches tonight. I learned in Alexis’s speech that even the biggest successes have had to deal with ADHD. She was courageous in speaking about her struggle with it. Swati’s speech on pranking was great. I think she could gave us a great campfire speech if the vocal variety was improved a little bit. Are You Afraid of the Dark material.

Our evaluators did well and stayed within time. Despite the small turnout it was a very productive meeting. Lots of awards and leveling up coming to the club. Terye has been hard at work running Division B and serving as the Education lead for Eriez. Her and I were both disappointed we couldn’t run the gauntlet this Spring. Hopefully we get to do it soon. Time to close off the blog.

I’ll be attending Meadville’s virtual meeting soon and plan on checking out Midday, Next Step, Elk County, South Hills, Mercer County, and Cranberry Area in the near future. Lots of virtual meeting on the agenda. Now time for my words of wisdom.

Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.

Whether it takes you to Spain, Nashville 🎸, New Orleans 🎭 or up PA 271 to Westmont (PA), enjoy the ride and experience.

If get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance 💃.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 🤗 😘.

Today was a great day to get out. I took another nice road trip to a very special place. I also have some exciting, magical plans for next year 🧚‍♀️ 👸 But first…

I started off the day by attending the Earlybirds Toastmasters meeting. Well, breakfast 🥞 🍳 first and then the meeting. We had a great turnout with 16 people in attendance. Guests included myself, Linde Riley, and District Director Denise Etter. Tina Kramer served as Toastmaster. All three of these Toastmasters belong to the Cranberry High Noon chapter of which I’m a recurring guest.

We had three great speakers up to bat this morning. Linde was first and gave her New Mexico speech the second time around (it’s required in Pathways). I learned a little bit more the second time. Amanda Okon spoke about how the Coronavirus pandemic is affecting productivity and business. Restaurants are even shuttering permanently because of the pandemic. Walter J. Smith closed out the speaking portion by highlighting mentoring. He had a wealth of experience to share with 20 years in Toastmasters. He talked about how mentors can help benefit us. Walter J has amazing storytelling skills.

Bill Reynolds led the Table Topics and went with the theme of the meeting, which was Earth Day. The four participants all gave great answers on how they would help take care of our planet. Dianne Barnhouse served as General Evaluator. She called on the evaluators and asked for reports from the role-players. Rob Corbett evaluated Linde’s speech and gave some great tips for improvement. Tina reviewed Amanda’s speech and gave her insight on the speech that related to the times we are dealing with right now. Roger King gave feedback on Walter J’s mentoring speech. For a first time evaluator reviewing a veteran Toastmaster’s talk, Roger did excellent.

Everyone was within time according to the Timers’ report. I learned from our Grammarian October Lowe that kids means baby goats 🐐. Walter J and Jing completed new levels in Pathways and Earlybirds is well on their way to achieving Presidents’ Distinguished honors. Well done Jing and the club for your dedication and leadership.

I took a road trip today and my first stop was in Ligonier. I stopped at Sheetz first and got lunch. As soon as I pulled in, I took my food to the diamond and and enjoyed myself. Afterwards I walked around Main Street, passing by the Ligonier Tavern 🍺 and the Diamond Theatre 🎭. After my walk, I got a cone at the Creamery. As I walk through the Diamond, the fire whistles go off and fire trucks 🚒 and ambulances 🚑 start driving through town. I finish off my ice cream 🍦 and continue on my road trip.

Yesterday I gave a shoutout to the Hiram G. Andrews Center as it was supposed to be graduation 🎓 for the students. Due to the pandemic, the school is closed and students are home. I decided today to drive up to Westmont and look at my old home. I took a walk around the grounds and reminisced about the good old days. It felt like that day when I moved in way back in August 2000. I have plenty of great HGA stories to share in the blog with this being 20 years since I started college. Stay tuned.

We are planning to go to Disney next year when my aunt retires from teaching. I went in 2015 so this would be my second time there. It’ll be a nice sendoff to my aunt as she begins the next phase of her life. My cousin is planning this adventure and I’m happy to get on board. I’m already excited and it’s still 500 days away. I think you’ll be seeing a lot more Disney from me in the near future in these blogs. I’m watching Mary Poppins tonight, so I’m already starting on the Disney fix even though the trip is more than a year off.

Time to close off the blog with a shoutout to my favorite green and white school. Even though the school is closed, that doesn’t mean the flowers aren’t blooming. Just look at this beautiful shot of Old Main on Wednesday (Earth Day)

Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. A smile is your best accessory. Be sure to have it on hand with you.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 🤗 😘.

This blog is a recap of the past week. Despite being home every day, I managed to keep myself busy.

I continued to attend my virtual Financial Peace University meetings. This week we knocked out the rest of the baby steps (4 to 7). Number four is putting 15% of your money away for retirement. Number five is saving for your kids’ college. That’s two nest eggs 🥚 right there. Number six is paying off your home early (15 year mortgage instead of a 30 year mortgage). Number seven is unlimited giving. I learned that numbers 4-6 work together. But how great is it when you have no debt and you can just give? Live like no one else so later you can live and give like no one else.

I finished up some inspirational reading that I’d been stuck on for several months. I bought these books at Majesty and read a little. It but got sidetracked. Well I made a plan and got those books read. I finished Defined this morning It’s a book inspired by the movie Overcomer to encourage you to live the life God created you to live. I’m hard at work reading Everyday Millionaire by Chris Hogan and Rachel Cruze’s book on seven money habits you can adapt to live your best life. I’m also plowing through Shotgun Angels by Jay DeMarcus. You may remember him from such country bands as Rascal Flatts. Oh and I have been listening to more country in the past week.

Last week I bought some classic country CDs with my Amazon gift card. They’ll be here soon. But while I’m waiting for them, I downloaded some to iTunes. I have Tim McGraw’s Greatest Hits as well as some Martina McBride on there. I was singing along to Suds in the Bucket on Monday as I took a ride up 711 towards New Florence and Seward. How can 18 years just up and walk away? That classic country music reminds me of being young and going to school in Johnstown, listening to 96.5 The Mountain (before it became Froggy 🐸 95).

These upcoming lessons in Financial Peace University have encouraged me to go back to my roots. I studied Accounting and Finance in college so I do have knowledge of numbers. Insurance, Investments, Retirement Planning, and Real Estate and Mortgages will be some of the lessons we cover the next two weeks. I’m downloading some ebooks to help me understand the topics better. Some of these subjects I’ve learned in school. I do recommend the Dave Ramsey team though. These guys are outstanding.

I took it upon myself to attend another virtual Toastmasters meeting this week. I was at Cranberry High Noon on Monday (and I may return this coming week). I have plans to attend another Next Step meeting next Thursday and I’m going to consider going to Midday’s virtual meeting on Wednesday. Future virtual meetings include Elk County, South Hills, and Cranberry Area. Now back to last night’s meeting.

We had some amazing speakers last night. Pinakin Patel gave his ice breaker and I learned a lot about his passion for photography. Michael Leonard spoke from the Professional Speaker manual giving a sales presentation. He was selling Toastmasters. Michael served as our club coach at Greensburg from 2017 to 2019. He has served as an area and division director in District 13. Stevie Hosler and Alicia Kordistos served as speech evaluators and did an excellent job. Susan Guerreri served as General Evaluator and I appreciated her inviting me last night. She took a picture of the group and posted it on Facebook too.

Time to close off the blog and today’s shoutout is to the place where I had a lot of great life experiences. I’m talking about the Hiram G. Andrews Center. Today was supposed to be graduation 🎓 for the class of Spring 2020. Because of the pandemic, they weren’t able to walk and receive their diplomas. The school will always have a special place in my heart because it helped me become independent in my early adult years. I could have attended WCCC but my family insisted on sending me here so I could learn to be on my own. ❤️ you HGA and you’ll be open soon to help enrich our students and prepare them for the real world.

Weekend’s here. Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Never lose your sense of wonder. Get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger. May you never take one single breath for granted. God forbid love ever leave you empty handed.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 🤗 😘.

On Sunday at our Virtual Achievers Club Meeting, Toastmaster Christina Keener presented a speech that could prove to be very helpful. She gave us five tips for remaining positive and productive during the global pandemic. I really felt like she made some great talking points and today I’m here to share them with you in my blog.

The first point she shared was that we need to get outside at least once a day. Of course, we still need to practice social distancing. A great example here involves taking a walk. Yesterday I took advantage of the beautiful late April sunshine and drove up to Ligonier. I sat in the diamond and ate my food from Sheetz before taking a walk around town. I always enjoy in my own little Stars Hollow and eating like a Gilmore. After my little stroll and some time reading a book on my iPad, I took a ride up 711 through Oak Grove, towards New Florence, and into Seward before turning left onto 56 and heading back home.

The second point is we should call at least one friend or relative per day. I prefer texting on going on Facebook (I’m not really a phone person) but I am turning into an old pro with Zoom meetings. I post these blogs and share the link on Facebook so that everyone can see them. I text my old teacher and good friend Kevin Clougherty every day just to make sure he’s doing all right. My cousin Katie posts quizzes on Facebook a couple of times of week and I participate in them. One of these days I will place in the top five. We also read each other’s blogs through social media.

The third point she talked about was that we need to give ourselves something to look forward to. I have plenty of things that I can look forward to even in these difficult times. I have my virtual Toastmasters meetings that I attend (I’m going to Next Step on Thursday and Earlybirds on Saturday morning). I’m still doing my Financial Peace University class on Zoom the next couple of weeks. I always look forward to blogging for you guys as well.

I’m watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix and I’m already on season five. I wear my shirt and drink my coffee when I watch the show. I even have my GG calendar on my door. I have plenty of books I’m reading as well. I talked about them in prior blogs. I’m also listening to Country music more than I have in the past. Today I’m listening to some Faith Hill, including the duets with her husband Tim McGraw. I also have my inspirational Christian music and worship songs as well. The two genres go hand in hand.

The fourth point that Christina highlighted in her speech was that we need to acknowledge our feelings. Let’s face it. Most of us are frustrated, we’re expressing disappointment, sadness, as well as anger. It’s ok for those of us who need to get it out to feel this way. But don’t just focus on the negative aspect of things.

Express feelings of gratitude. Count your blessings and pray. Write down in a journal what you are thankful for. Show appreciation to those people, places, or things whom you took for granted but would give anything to have them back right now. Personally, I’m someone who likes to be virtuous. Not only am I wanting to express feelings of gratitude, but also humility. I like to show compassion towards people and live a life of integrity. Those are just a few of the virtues I like to display. I want to practice living a “good vibes only” lifestyle.

The fifth and final point that she talked about was something a lot of us aren’t doing right now. Especially if we’re living our lives at home. We need to shower first thing in the morning and put on clean clothes. I’m someone who lives by good personal hygiene and I will admit I did get lazy during my time off. I spent the day in sweatpants or pajamas because it was convenient and it was in my comfort zone.

When you practice this number one tip, you’ll feel better in spite of everything going on in the world. Have a nice outfit ready to go. I’ve done that the last couple of mornings. I’m not the Casual Stay at Home DTM after all. Yesterday at my Cranberry High Noon visit, I was rocking my usual jeans, leather jacket, and scarf 🧣 .

Time to close off the blog. I’ll do so with a Green and White shoutout. Despite Slippery Rock University being shutdown due to the COVID 19 pandemic, flowers are still blooming. This is on the south end of campus near Boozel dining hall.

Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Keep calm and carry on in these trying times. This too shall pass.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you 😘 🤗.