Hoping to grow the club and qualify for Presidents Distinguished honors, the Greensburg Toastmasters chapter held its second open house of the Toastmaster year. 

Mike Dalton served as meeting Toastmaster. Before we heard our ice breaker speeches, President Jim Teague gave a presentation promoting the open house. He covered Pathways, which everyone is enrolled in by now. 

New member Marissa Wallace (my former coworker at WIS) gave her ice breaker on her best friend, Art 🖼 (the actual art itself not a real person). She embellished on her love of art and majoring in Communications at Pitt-Greensburg. She is a regular at the Arts and Heritage Festival held every year at Twin Lakes and was disappointed when they cancelled the event. 

Faerie Grace gave her “ice breaker” as well and discussed the Five Love Languages. She talked about the quiz that helps us find our love language. She used examples when talking about the Five Love Languages. The five ways to express and experience love called “love languages” are words of affirmation, quality time, giving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.

I led our table topics session and asked the audience questions pertaining to summer. My only regret was not getting the guests involved (I ran out of time since we wanted to keep the meeting running at a good pace). Jim Teague served as General evaluator. Our evaluators Sam Wieder and Denise Pullen gave excellent feedback. I caught some of Sam’s suggestions for how Marissa can improve her next speech and heard Denise tell me my love language in addition to her evaluation of Faerie’s speech. 

Jim called for guest comments and they all enjoyed the meeting. No one joined at this time but fingers crossed we will grow our membership by five before June 30. 

I’ll have a blog on the Five Love Languages coming soon. Have a great night everyone. 

❤️ you.

Are you looking to advance your speaking skills further? Do you want feedback from experienced Toastmasters? Are you interested in giving longer speeches that won’t fit the timeframe for a normal meeting? If so, come join us at the Achievers club.

Our chapter meets at 2:30PM on the third Sunday of every month. We meet virtually via Zoom; if no quarantine, we meet at the United Presbyterian Church on 137 N Walnut Street in Blairsville, PA.

Our meeting format is divided into three parts: Prepared speeches, formal evaluations, and the Round Robin Feedback Forum.

While some speeches may be 5-7 minutes in length, others are longer. That’s one of the great benefits of this advanced club. Just like a regular Toastmasters meeting, the speaker receives feedback in a supportive environment. The evaluator will provide comments using the TI evaluation form for that speech.

Here’s what’s nice about Achievers: the Round Robin feedback. Members will also give their remarks on what they liked and how to challenge you to improve on your next presentation. The late, great Distinguished Toastmaster Charlie Wilson credits the round robin feedback he received in Achievers for his success in the many speech contests he was a part of. The ideas he got he applied to help him give an award winning speech.

You are welcome to attend meetings as a guest. To join Achievers, you must have your Pathways Level 2 completed (or have your CC).

Come join us at our next meeting on July 19.

Hey everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this page. I also did say I was launching a new one that would pertain more to Toastmasters. For now let me share with you where I’ve been lately.

Work did start back up on Mother’s Day weekend. While it started slowly it has picked back up. We’re heading into a busy stretch up to the Fourth of July weekend. The reason I bring this up is because I’m scaling back content. Posts on the Stylish Traveling DTM will be cut back to once or twice a week. It’s for the best. I don’t always have time to have a blog ready to go everyday. I think you all will be better off knowing that less is more. It’ll give you something more to look forward to every week.

In other news, I made my last car payment this month. My plan is to pay off the remaining balance on my 2016 Subaru Forester next month. Then next month I will be debt free. What I plan to do without a car payment is up to me. From being in that Financial Peace University class, I can say that it is great to not have that burden of making monthly payments.

I continue to read multiple books a day. I’m finished up my FPU related books and I am reading a chapter a week out of my inspirational books. I think the idea that less is more works here too and it’s time to cut it down to one or two a week.

Less is more and once I burn that into my mind, the happier I’ll be.

Easter Supper, The Young and the Restless (her story), All in the Family (or, as she passionately referred to the show, Archie Bunker), the Jeffersons, and Family Feud. Those are a few of the things I remember my grandma by as I mourn her loss one year later.

Tonight, we had raviolis for supper with garlic toast and salad with Olive Garden dressing. That’s a meal she’d be proud of cooking. Katie and Annabelle live in her house now and they’re keeping it up well. We ate Thanksgiving dinner there last year and I think she’d have been happy knowing we celebrated the holiday as a family.

Her favorite tradition was going to the Olive Garden for Great Grandma’s birthday. The whole family got together to celebrate. We ate great Italian food, laughed til we cried, and enjoyed each other’s company. She missed the tradition when Great Grandma passed away in 2006.

How about the surprise 80th birthday party at Persichetti’s? She knew nothing about it. We walked into the room and were greeted by family all wishing her Happy Birthday. Grandma was definitely surprised that night.

She took me in when Katie gave birth to Annabelle (the original plan was them living there and I continued living at home). I’d live there for several years. Eventually home would be calling me back.

We thought she’d beat her cancer last spring. When she took that fall in her kitchen, and she would hospitalized, and eventually put in hospice, we knew it was the end. We wanted to believe she’d get through this, but we knew better. She took her last breath the weekend I was at Hersheypark. I got the news coming home that she died.

Family and friends came to offer their condolences. Even some of the Gaffrons paid their last respects. Aunt Sue always thought of Lucille as family. Mr. Clougherty even came to the viewing to be there for me. After the funeral and burial, we had a celebratory lunch at Denunzio’s restaurant in Jeannette.

It was a lonely summer without her and I’d feel that loneliness even into the fall. Between seeing my coworkers happy together and my grandma passing away, I’ve begun longing for someone myself. But that’s another story that I blogged about last fall (one of my favorites to read).

I’ll close the blog with some advice to you. Love your family and don’t take them for granted. You never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

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.

These last three weeks have been great. We’ve reopened the church to 25 or less (others have opened up their homes to have church). However, this weekend we got the good news from Pastor Donn and Pastor JD that we’ve been moved up to Yellow. This means that we are able to attend church in the sanctuary (or the Loft). While this is very good news, it will come with limitations. Social distancing guidelines will still need to be honored. Those serving on the front lines will need to wear masks and gloves. People will also need to get a ticket if they plan on attending Cornerstone next Saturday night or Sunday morning. This is the same procedure that the church has in place when they have Christmas @ Cornerstone.

After three weeks doing Cornerstone @ Home, I am grateful for Don and Mary Ann Walczak opening up the church for us. I had some great fellowship these last three weeks with the others who attended. The Walczaks always made us feel at home. We had free coffee and donuts as well as bottled water. The first time we couldn’t get the sound to work but we became old pros at it by tonight’s meeting. As I said a few weeks ago, I am thankful for our friendship (which goes back to my high school days). Don led the invocation at our swimming banquets every year.

We finished up the series on Confidence in Chaos. Pastor Donn highlighted a couple of tragic events tied to being courageous. Tonight we learned that our faith calls us to be courageous. We covered a lot of ground in the Gospels on this. Courage has its enemies, and one of those is Fear. Before closing tonight’s sermon, we were taught to stay courageous to LOVE ❤️. It’s something we covered last Spring and the scripture spoke volumes (1 Corinthians 16:13-14). Perhaps we could memorize this verse with all the looting and rioting going on in big cities across America right now. We also were told to stay courageous to OBEY and to STAND. I enjoyed this series and look forward to the new one that starts next Saturday, just as we return to a regular routine at Cornerstone.

Time to close off the blog with some encouraging words of wisdom. Today is a day that will never come again. Be a blessing. Be a friend. Encourage someone. Take time to care. Relax. Use your words to heal not hurt. Love ❤️ yourself.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Warm weather is here and that means wet weather can pop up and ruin your outdoor plans. The heat and humidity can sometimes trigger strong thunderstorms. The National Weather Service will post a watch or warning if conditions favor severe weather. But some of us may be confused as to what the difference is between what a watch is and what a warning is.

Let’s start from the bottom up. A severe thunderstorm watch means conditions are favorable for severe storms. Don’t take shelter just yet but be prepared.

A severe thunderstorm warning means that storms are occurring. Get to the lowest floor of an interior room and avoid windows. If you’re at the beach or in the swimming pool, get out immediately at the first sight of lightning. Avoid trees as they can act as a lightning rod and even catch fire.

A tornado watch means that tornadic thunderstorms are possible. Be ready in the event one should happen.

A tornado warning means a tornado is happening or is imminent. Seek shelter immediately. Go to the lowest floor of a building or your home. If you’re in your vehicle, get out and lie flat in a ditch. Don’t stand under an overpass during a tornado. It’s one of the most dangerous places you can take shelter as the flying debris can seriously injure or kill you.

This severe weather safety tip and others will be coming to you on the Greensburg Toastmaster Reporter. It’s not just Toastmasters, it’s everything else you need to know too.

I’ll be designing a logo soon. But for now here’s a picture from my Slippery Rock walk yesterday afternoon. Bye everyone ❤️ you.

No matter how long I’ve been out of college, Slippery Rock University will never get old for me. Today I worked at the Rite Aid in town so a trip to the Rock would happen afterwards.

I got done at a decent hour and headed over to campus. I parked in the lot near the old University Union. I walked through the quad and ran into a family who was visiting the school. Their daughter was starting school in the fall so they were taking a tour.

I walked up to the north end of campus over to Old Main. Work is still being done on the new performing arts center. I didn’t plan on staying long because I wanted to get home and prepare for tonight’s McKeesport Toastmasters virtual meeting. I got some pictures of my brief walk on campus though. I came back down past Spotts World Cultures building and the Physical Therapy Building.

I’ll be back sometime this summer and hopefully for homecoming. Look for my SRU Shoutouts on the Stylish Traveling DTM and the all new Greensburg Toastmaster Reporter this summer.

So what will be coming to my new blog? Look for weather updates as well as recaps of my Toastmasters meetings and other segments. McKeesport had a nice meeting tonight. Short but sweet and they’re pulling for me with the new blog. I talked up my blog and thanked everyone for having me the last four years serving as their club coach. They helped me achieve my goal of becoming Distinguished Toastmaster.

Look for my first piece in the new blog June 1.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Don’t worry. The Stylish Traveling DTM isn’t going away.

Five months into this blog, you must think I’m crazy to start a new one. But that’s my plan.

The Stylish Traveling DTM you know and love is staying, but it will focus more on the first two things mentioned. Look for more style and travel posts here with a little bit of retail thrown in for good measure.

My new blog, which launches June 1 will cover Toastmasters and other things. It will also be on a separate network.

The Greensburg Toastmaster Reporter is my new project. Fittingly, it will launch on the ninth anniversary that I joined Toastmasters (June 1, 2011). I wanted to give it a professional name. In June, I will be covering Toastmasters events like our usual meetings, plus our club open house and the upcoming club officer training. I will also post Toastmasters related content such as the requirements for the Distinguished Club Program as well as the many paths that Pathways has to offer.

I will plan on posting some content to both blogs as well when necessary.

Also look for weather updates on the new blog. It’s always been a sporadic thing on Facebook but I feel now I have a good platform for it. If you remember watching cartoons in the 1980s and early 1990s, you heard a safety message at the end. You’ll be seeing that in the new blog as well. Look for shoutouts too. Hopefully there will be back to school shoutouts coming later this summer. We’ll see what happens.

Six months ago, I wasn’t sure I was going to keep with this. But hundreds of blogs later, this has become a passion of mine.

Have a great night. Bye everyone. ❤️ you.

Today was a complete day from beginning to end. I started with my virtual Earlybirds meeting (my third with the club). Three great speakers and three great topics. I heard the Gift of the Magi, learned about different leadership styles, and figured out how to work an abacus. I took part in Table Topics and was asked if ever planted a garden. I talked about my Mom’s tulips 🌷and my late Grandma’s marigolds. From there it was on to planting corn 🌽 as a youth and picking tomatoes 🍅 to use for making pasta sauce 🍝.

I did a Target run and picked up a few things for tomorrow’s cookout. Target is my spirit animal. Later on it was off to church. For the second week I was attending at Cornerstone with the same people. We had a nice turnout with coffee and donuts to go around. Pastor JD Lowry gave a great message on staying confident in the chaos of all that’s going on. The Walczaks were gracious hosts and made everyone feel welcome. I’m grateful for my friendship with Don and Mary Ann, going back to my high school days.

After much contemplation, I have a new name for my blog. Now I will say that Sarah Souri gave me a creative name, The DTM Divo of District 13. Divo is the male form of Diva 💁‍♀️. As cool as that sounds, I wanted a more professional spin on this.

I’ve decided to call the new blog “The Greensburg Toastmaster Reporter 🎤”. It’ll center on Toastmasters functions in Greensburg and events across District 13. I’ll be covering the upcoming open house for our club on June 17 and the virtual District TLI on June 20. Plus any club visits I make on Zoom. Don’t worry, the Stylish Traveling DTM isn’t going anywhere. It’s going to focus more on style, travel, and fashion. Now I need someone to capture me doing that “lean back arms folded” pose that made me famous.

Time to close off the blog. Remember the real reason for Memorial Day. It’s about the men and women who died protecting our freedom. While you’re enjoying your family cookout, thank those who let you have that opportunity. Proudly display that flag this weekend and all its colors.

Remember to live your best life. Be your best you. ROCK out because you are worth it. Be a ray of sunshine everywhere you go. Don’t forget to laugh because laughter is the best medicine. Enjoy the weekend.

Bye everyone. ❤️ you.