It has been an exciting year for Kelowna Toastmasters Club #2796!  We definitely had
some fun and exciting times along with improving our communication and leadership
skills.
Early in the year I challenged everyone to write down their 10 achievable goals for the
year ahead and post it where it could be seen on a daily basis.  We started our year with a
theme  “Achieving Greatness Together 10/10” with Passion, Service and Leadership.
I created this anagram to add on to the theme for our club.  This was to be
Goal orientated
Resourceful
Enthusiastic
Action orientated and
True to yourself
Set your goals to be great and the members as a whole will “Achieve Greatness
Together”
Well we did it!  Kelowna Toastmasters Club will be receiving the President’s
Distinguished Club – the highest level of recognition available from Toastmasters
International.  The club met the membership prerequisite and achieved at least nine of
the 10 goals.  This award has taken the entire term to complete and has been the most
rewarding as this goal was last received in the 2004/2005 year.  Congratulations
everyone!
The Kelowna Club was also awarded the Talk up Toastmaster – for adding five new,
dual or reinstated members during February and March.  These months are the hardest to
bring new members into the club as people are so busy at this time of year.  Many thanks
to the new website, and the members who really talked about the benefits of Toastmasters
to their friends and co-workers.
It takes a team of dedicated members to achieve these awards.  The executive members
were outstanding as they helped to motivate the club members to Achieve Greatness
Together with Passion, Service and Leadership which was the Motto for District 21.
Wow!
The Kelowna Club will break for the summer months but we will be back again Monday
September 12, 2011 for another fantastic year.  The incoming executive has taken their
training sessions for their roles and is extremely passionate about continuing the service
and leadership to help all our members to continue their personal growth.

Sharleen McBlain

On May 6-8  Osoyoos was the site where Toastmasters from all over BC attended the District 21 Spring conference. The  theme was, “Sages in the Desert”

This was a unique desert setting, in the heart of a vineyard.

We met executive members from other clubs. We learned, we laughed, and yes we partied!

Our Masters of Ceremonies Marian Gushue-Geiger and Rae Stonehouse

The parade of banners, each one representing Toastmasters Clubs from all over British Columbia.

Those who attended had a rich experience. We learned more about the practical organization of Toastmasters. We listened to outstanding speechs.

The following are the winners of the District 21 International speech contest and Evaluation contest.  It was a privilage to hear all of the contestants, and observe the level of skill displayed. It was truly inspiring!

Winners of the D21 Evaluation Contest:
1st place – David Cordon, Club no. 2460, Division B
2nd place – Debbie Forbes, Club no. 3922, Division H
3rd place – Jay Olson, Club no. 7743, Division K

Winners of the D21 International Speech Contest:
1st place – Mustapha Lansana, Club no.1086799, Division J
2nd place – Alan Warburton, Club no. 9362, Division F
3rd place – Larry Healy, Club no. 1882, Division A

Mustapha Lansana from Division J will represent our District at the semifinal speech contest for the 2011 International Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

We wish him every success!

Margaret Timuss

Congratulations to Margaret Timuss who placed first in our International Speech contest on March 21st, 2011.  She will go on to represent Kelowna Toastmasters at the Area competition on April 6 th.

Moya Webb

Congratulations to Moya Webb who placed first in our Evaluator contest on March 21st.  Congratulations are also in order for Sharleen Mcblain and Theresa Shaver who placed 2nd and third respectively.

Kelowna BC Canada, March 21th, 2011 — Kelowna Toastmasters Club joins more than 12,500 Toastmasters clubs from around the world participating in the 2011 Toastmasters International Speech Contest this month. It is the world’s largest speech contest, with more than 30,000 presenters in 113 countries vying to become the next World Champion of Public Speaking. The contest is free and open to the public.

“Speech contests are a unique and exciting part of the Toastmasters program,” says Pat Johnson, Toastmasters 2010-2011 International President. “These competitions challenge members to push beyond their clubs and fine-tune their skills. In a club, members are evaluated; in a contest, members are judged.”

The International Speech Contest begins at the local club level and proceeds through the area, division, district and final levels. Eighty-two district semifinalists compete during the four-day 2011 Toastmasters International Convention held Aug. 17-20, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Nine contenders make it to the final round on Aug. 20, where the winner is crowned the Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking.

To enter the contest, a person must be an active member of Toastmasters International and have completed at least six speeches from Toastmasters’ Competent Communication manual, the first manual in the Toastmasters communication program. All participant speeches must be original, presented in English and last five to seven minutes. Judging criteria include originality, speech content, organization, voice quality, gestures and timing.

See interviews with Toastmasters 2010 World Champion of Public Speaking, David Henderson, along with highlights of the past winning speeches on Toastmasters’ YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/Toastmasters.

Additional details about the Toastmasters International Speech Contest and 2011 Convention will be announced in early April. District winners will be announced in early August and posted on the Toastmasters Web site. For more information about Toastmasters International contests, please visit toastmasters.org/contest

About Toastmasters

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization currently has more than 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries. Since its founding in October 1924, the organization has helped more than 4 million men and women give presentations with poise and confidence. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit toastmasters.org.

###

After winning both Table Topics and the Humorous Speech Contest in our Club competition on Oct 4, Moya went on to compete at our area competition on Oct 19, and won the Table Topics Contest.

She then competed in the Division C Contest in Vernon, and placed second in the Table Topics competition there.

Congratulations Moya, we are very proud of you!

The last meeting of Kelowna Toastmasters Club in 2010 is Monday Dec 6th!

We decided to Party on Dec 13th, and come back in January of  the New Year.

Seasons Greetings to all!

We are Achieving Greatness Together with Passion, Services and Leadership.

After taking the summer off, we are returning to our regular schedule this fall, meeting every Monday at the Rotary Centre.

Our first meeting will be September 13^th, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Meetings are at the Rotary Centre, 421 Cawston Ave. Kelowna

We meet in the Pacific Safety Products room on the second floor.

If you are keen to learn how to improve your communication and leadership skills, we are a very welcoming and safe place to grow and learn.

Effective Monday, December 7th, 2009, Kelowna Toastmasters Club #2796 is moving to , 421 Cawston Avenue (downtown across from Prospera Place) and will take place on the second floor in the Pacific Safety Products room.  The meetings will continue to start at 7:00 p.m. sharp and end at 9:00 p.m.

The mission of a Toastmasters club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.

Every Toastmasters member joined with a goal in mind… to conquer that fear of public speaking, to improve leadership skills, to communicate more effectively… the list goes on.  The most important thing to remember is you are not alone in your desire to improve and a Toastmaster club is one of the best places to find support and encouragement to reach that goal.  The best part is that you go at your own pace.  There is no pressure to participate until you are ready to make that move.  And remember… we all had a starting point!

If you would like to find out more about how Toastmasters works, please drop by our club as a guest.  No strings attached and no participation required! Just come and listen.  We meet every Monday evening at the Rotary Centre for the Arts, 421 Cawston Avenue (downtown across from Prospera Place).  The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. sharp and ends at 9:00 p.m.

Or you can contact our VP of Membership with any questions you may have at kelownatoastmasters@gmail.com.

For commonly asked questions such as “What does it cost to join?”, please visit the About Kelowna Toastmasters section of this website.