Division A Contest Results

Text by: Janice Brickwood of BI Toastmasters
Photos taken by Andre White of BI Toastmasters & WestConn TM

submitted: Apr 23, 2008

Division A held their Tall Tales and International Speech Contests last night to determine who will represent the Division at the District 53 Conference on May 17^th in Holyoke, MA.

The event was hosted by Contest Chair and Division Governor Dave "The Wheel" Wheeler and featured the top 5 speakers in both categories from throughout Division A.

The Tall Tales contest went first and entertained with stories about Woodstock, economics, gorillas, adventures and chickens. John Thayer from IBM Poughkeepsie Speechmakers took 3^rd place with his tale of exploits in the mud at Woodstock 1994. Second place went to Lisa Edwards of Putnam Speaks for her adventures in the world atlas. A fine, feathered, fearless foul from WestConn took first place. Carmine Coco DeYoung spun a bird tale that was 'no yoke' and will represent Division A in the Tall Tale contest at the District Conference next month.

Next was the International Speech Contest. We were treated to 5 speeches on a wide range of topics that were dramatic, moving and thought provoking. Dan Daly from Poughkeepsie Chamber of Commerce Toastmasters took third with his speech "Students of Toastmasters, Students of Humanities", which highlighted how Toastmasters influenced his behavior during 9/11 and after.

Walter Beveridge from Putnam Speaks took second place with his speech, "Life isn't Fair" about how he treated his brothers killer.

In first place, from Socially Speaking, was Nana Danso with his moving and emotional speech, "Come Home". Nana will represent Division A for the International Speech contest at the District 53 Conference next month.

Congratulations to Nana Danso and Carmine Coco DeYoung!!!

Anyone who can make it out to Holyoke, Mass in May should go and cheer on our Division A representatives, Nana and Carmine.

The contest was great fun, as usual, but the new addition of quiet activities during the minute of silence was very entertaining!

Janice

Pictures:
Top: crowd at Div. A contest
Middle: (l-r) John Thayer, Lisa Edwards, Carmine Coco DeYoung
Bottom: (l-r) Walter Beveridge, Nana Danso, Dan Daly (this picture is small since it came out blurry).

Div. A Traveling Gavel could be coming to YOUR CLUB !

The Div. A traveling gavel has been "redistributed" by CIGNA Lunchtime Toastmasters since they captured all 6 traveling gavels and won the "golden gavel" award.

That means that I have the gavel in my possession and rather than hand "Alex" over to one of the clubs where I am a member (which is a harder decision than it seems since I am a member of 3 clubs)...

I have decided, to make it fair to all clubs, to put the Div.A Traveling Gavel "up for grabs" at the Division Contest on April 22nd !

The Gavel will go to the club with the most members in attendence at the Division A Contest on Tuesday April 22nd at the Gardnertown United Methodist church in Newburgh, NY. Click here for a map. The contest starts at 7:30pm and contestants, judges and other roles should arrive at 7pm. I have copied some of the contestants whose email addresses I had but you will want to forward this email to the clubs in your area too !

I look forward to seeing you there!

Dave Wheeler

Div.A Governor, 2006-8

Candidate for Lt.Gov. - Marketing, 2008-9

P.S.

In case you are wondering ...

"What happens if there is a tie?"

In the case of a tie based on the "number of members in attendence", an extra point will be awarded for each of the club members who served as judges, timers or other roles. This "tie-breaking rule" will only be used in the event of a tie. Please send me an email if you have someone who would like to sign up for a role. We will try to be as fair as possible when handing out the roles... but, keep in mind, it will be first come, first served!

"What if there is STILL a tie after the roles have been taken into account?"

As the "double-tie breaker", clubs will be awarded an extra point for each contestant they have in the Division contest from their club.

"What if there is STILL a tie after the "regular- and double tie-breakers" have been enacted?

It will go to "triple overtime" and we will draw numbers for the winner, lowest number wins. (We probably won't get to this... but wouldn't it be exciting if we did?)

"Can clubs from outside Division A 'capture the gavel' by having their members at the Div. A contest and filling a role?"

Yes, if they sign up for a role (before all the roles are filled) and have more members than other clubs in Div. A they can get to take home the gavel to their club. This information will be posted on the Div.A blog, so it is possible that another club will hear about it and try to capture "Alex", but I would be surprised if they could pull it off.

CIGNA Toastmasters ... did you hear that ... a worthy challenge !?!?!!!

One last note... Be sure to mark your calendars for the "Battle of the Border - Return of District 46" on Thursday April 24th at the Ridgefield (CT) Library at 7pm. The top finishers from the Division contest will have the opportunity to compete against some of the best speakers from Div.G (Westchester County) over in District 46.

Congratulations to last year's Distinguished Governors

2007-08 Div. A-Team !

The email below from Immediate Past District Governor, John Lynch, shows what was accomplished by your predecessors (the 2006-07 A-Team) and I am confident that 2007-08 will be even more exciting and more successful !

For starters ....
We have a great team of Area Governors and new club officers.
We are hosting the Fall Conference which will Div.A a chance to really shine.
We have a Defending District champion in the International Speech Contest.
We have some GREAT clubs and a few who definitely could be GREAT.

Can you tell that I am looking forward to this year?
I hope you are as excited about it as I am.

Let's congratulate our predecessors (who continue to be a valuable resource) and look forward to what we are going to do this year !

Dare to Believe !

Dave Wheeler
Div.A Governor, 2006-8

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Lynch <johnl53@cox.net>
Date: Jul 23, 2007 11:16 PM
Subject: Congratulations to our Distinguished Governors

Congratulations one and all!

For the second year in a row the membership in District 53 has achieved Distinguished status. I would like to thank each and everyone of you that took on a leadership role this past year for having the vision to give back to our members. Even though your name may not appear on the list below your contributions are very much appreciated and without them none of this could be possible.


It was a truly an extraordinary year that I will remember for a lifetime. You all had role in a life changing experience for many of our members. Stand proud of your accomplishments, take a breath and set your next goal. I know that you will not only achieve that goal, but you will be very successful in the process.

Thank you again for such a wonderful and rewarding journey. I will never forget any of you as your efforts made it all possible.

Yours in Toastmasters,

John Lynch, DTM
Immediate Past District Governor
2007 - 08 "Dare to Believe"
mailto:JohnL53@cox.net
860-563-1714 (h)

Distinguished Areas for 2006-2007 Year Congratulations -- Distinguished Areas Area A2 - Szilvia Hadden, CTM Area A4 - Anne Swartout, ATMB, CL Area B1 - Katherine Stewart-Kelly, ATMG Area B2 - John Parla, ACB, CL Area B3 - Michael Aron, ACS, CL Area B4 - Judith Chambers, CTM, CL Area C2 - Jeffrey Borgio, CTM, CL Area C5 - Christine Lewis, ATM Area D3 - Russell Kenny, ATMB Area D4 - Kevin Finn, CTM, CL Area E2 - Freda Brown, CTM, CL Area F3 - Andrea Isaacs, ACG, CL Area F4 - Barbara Cardella, ATMS, CL Area F5 - James Zhang, CTM Congratulations -- Select Distinguished Areas Area A1 - Colleen Yarter, CTM Area C3 - Sharon Mercado, ACB, CL Congratulations -- President's Distinguished Areas Area D2 - Thomas Fitch, CTM, CL Area D5 - Raymond Durkin, CTM, CL Area F1 - Jim Parsons, ACS, CL

Distinguished Divisions for 2006-2007 Year Congratulations -- Distinguished Division Division C - April Hutchins, ATMB Congratulations -- Select Distinguished Division Division A - Dave Wheeler, ATMS, CL Congratulations -- President's Distinguished Division Division B - Marsha Kiley, ACB, CL Division D - Marvin Cross, ACB, CL Division F - Kendall Jeter, CTM, CL

Criteria for Distinguished, Select Distinguished, and President's Distinguished Area Distinguished Area (Meet all of the first 5 goals) Goal #1 - 75 percent of October semis submitted on time: Goal #2 - 75 percent of April semis submitted on time: Goal #3 - Average of 1.75 CTMs awarded per Club by June 30: Goal #4 - Average of 1 ATM for every two Clubs by June 30: Goal #5 - 60 percent of Area Clubs at 20-plus membership by June 30: Select Distinguished Area (Meet all of the first 8 goals ) Goal #6 - Submission of 80 percent of Area Report of Club Visit Forms, first round (by October): Goal #7 - Submission of 80 percent of Area Report of Club Visit Forms, second round (by April): Goal #8 - 60 percent of Area Clubs achieve Distinguished Club: President's Distinguished Area (Meet all 9 goals) Goal #9 - Net growth of one Club: Reference: www.toastmasters.org/fupload/media/1481all.pdf

Criteria for Distinguished, Select Distinguished, and President's Distinguished Division Distinguished Division Goal #1 - No Net Club Loss Goal #2 - 50 percent of the Areas in the Division achieve Distinguished, Select, or President's Distinguished Area. Select Distinguished Division Goal #1 - No Net Club Loss Goal #2 - 75 percent of the Areas in the Division achieve Distinguished, Select, or President's Distinguished Area. President's Distinguished Division Goal #1 - Net Gain of One Club Goal #2 - 75 percent of the Areas in the Division achieve Distinguished, Select, or President's Distinguished Area. Reference: www.toastmasters.org/fupload/media/1481all.pdf

The "Battle of the Border" .... April 19th!

The Battle of the Border is ON !

The newly initiated Div.A Advanced Toastmasters club has reserved the (very large) "Dayton Room" at Ridgefield (CT) Library for a BIG EVENT on April 19th.

Click here for a copy of the event FLYER !

The Dayton Room at the Ridgefield Library has a raised platform and audio equipment that will be good practice for the winners of the Division A contests (prior to the District Contest in May). We expect to pull in the winners from Division D ( Southern CT) and even Division G of District 46 in WestChester County, NY and parts of NJ.

The agenda will be similar to a Toastmasters contest... with a few variations since it is NOT an official contest. It is simply a [tongue-in-cheek] grudge match between neighboring divisions in different districts!

In fact, it might end up being more like "American Idol" than a "normal" Toastmasters contest!!

Our "first pass" agenda looks like this....

Warm-up Section:
Toastmaster: Dave Wheeler, Division A Governor
Introduction of Timer, Ah Counter / Grammarian and Judges

Speakers:
Croix Sather, Tall Tales winner, Div.A (D53)
Tall Tales winner Div.D (D53)
Nana Danso, Intl. Winner, Div. A (D53)
Rob Ferrucci, Intl. 1st Runner-up, Div. A (D53)
Intl. Winner, Div.G (D46)
Intl. 1st Runner-up, Div. G (D46)
Intl. Winner, Div.D (D53)
Intl. 1st Runner-up, Div. D (D53)

alternate speakers (to fill any empty slots above if needed)
Jinghua Xu, Tall Tales 1st Runner-up, Div. A (D53)
[name?], Tall Tales club winner, BI Toastmasters (D53)
[send an email to Dave Wheeler at theshot92@gmail.com if you would like to be considered as an alternate speaker).

Panel of Judges:
Anne Swartout, Area A4 Governor (D53)
Mary Neff, Div.G Governor (D46)
Evaluation Contest Winner & Runner-up(D46)
Div.A Advanced Club members
Ah Counter/Grammarian
Timer

Voting for Best Overall Speech (and runner-up) will be made by audience choice and announced after the speakers have each had a brief evaluation / comments from the Judges.

TROPHIES will be awarded !!!!!!

Bring a guest and enjoy a great evening of entertainment !

Division A Spring Contest Results !!!

Last evening the Spring Contest for Division A was held at the Wooster School in Danbury, CT. The contest was hosted by WestConn Toastmasters who were able to adjust to a change in plans when we arrived and found that Wooster School had scheduled a meeting in the Wooster School Library at the same time as our contest. Bruce Cornwell worked with one of the top people at the school to find another location on campus and we ended up in the dining hall next door to the library. Everyone chipped in and re-configured a portion of the dining hall into a "contest area" and we were able to have a GREAT contest!

The winners of the contests were...

Tall Tales Speech Contest:
1st Place: Croix Sather, Socially Speaking Toastmasters, club 4720, Area A4

1st Runner-up: Jinghua Xu, BI Toastmasters, club 7386, Area A2

2nd Runner-up: Thomas Franklin, IBM Poughkeepsie Speechmakers, club 315, Area A1

International Speech Contest:
1st Place: Kwabena (Nana) Danso, BI Toastmasters, club 7386, Area A2

1st Runner-up: Rob Ferrucci, WestConn Toastmasters, Area A4

2nd Runner-up: Deanna Dunn, IBM Poughkeepsie Speechmakers, club 315, Area A1

Picture Captions:
Top picture:

(L-R) District Governor, John Lynch, Deanna Dunn, Nana Danso, Rob Ferrucci

Middle Picture (Tall Tales Winners):

(L-R) Thomas Franklin, Jinghua Xu, Croix Sather

Bottom Picture (Intl. winners):

(L-R) Deanna Dunn, Nana Danso, Rob Ferrucci

March meeting of the Div.A Advanced TM Club

Here are all the details ... place, time and directions... for the upcoming meeting of the Div.A ADVANCED Toastmaster club ....

Place:
Ridgefield Public Library, in the "History Room"
472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
click here for a map showing the location.
Directions are also available on the library's web site:
http://www.biblio.org/rdgfldpages/direct.htm+

Date/Time:
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
7:15 to 8:45pm (please try to arrive at 7pm so we can start on time)

Please forward this email to any Advanced Toastmaster (ATM-B or AC-B or above) who might be interested ...

If you miss this meeting... Don't miss the BIG EVENT on April 19th! Local Division Contest winners (A&D) from District 53 will go "head to head" against the best of Div.G from District 46 (NY/NJ). We are calling it "The Battle of the Border" ! 7pm in the Dayton Room at the Ridgefield Library.

If you or anyone in the clubs in your area are not able to make this meeting, please send me an email expressing your interest. This information will also be posted on the Div.A blog, http://www.areaa4.blogspot.com/ so check there occasionally for updates.

Please pass this email along and let me know if there are any questions.

Thanks,

Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-7
theshot92@gmail.com

Advanced Toastmasters club - Conference call "meeting"

Greetings Advanced Toastmasters !

We had a conference call meeting tonight at 8pm (if you missed it, send Dave Wheeler an email at theshot92@gmail.com and he can send you more info.)

Even though there was a potential "technical difficulty", it never materialized and the call went off without a hitch!

Here is the agenda for we used for the conference call ....

• Meeting time(s) / location(s)
• Eligibility (Advanced TM, others?)
• Charter membership fee ($75/yr)
• April 19th kickoff event ("Battle of the Border")
• Goals for the club - what do we want to get out of it?

If you missed the conference call, we will also be having a club meeting at the Ridgefield Library in the History Room next Thursday at 7:15pm. Unless we decide otherwise on the conference call, the next meeting will have at least one target speech that we can all view and then we will discuss "Advanced Evaluations".

Dave Wheeler

Division A Governor, 2006-7

Winners of Local Putnam speaks Contest

Susan Schefflein sends along the results for Putnam Speaks Toastmasters recent club contests...

Subject: Winners of local Putnam Speaks Contest
We had our local ontest last night.
The winner of the International Speech Contest was David Alexander ATMS. Runner up was Walter Beveridge DTM.

The winner of the Tall Tales was Nicholas Valhos, a new member to Toastmasters.

fyi: The area contest will be March 21: http://www.district53toastmasters.org/diva/calendarA.html

Nominations for District Officers... by March 30th, 2007

If you or someone you know would be interested in running for a District Officer position for the coming Toastmaster year (2007-8), the form is available on the District 53 home page or by clicking here (Word Version).

The Chair of the Nominating Committee, Immediate Past District Governor (IPDG) Paul Young, DTM is asking that nominations for the 2007 - 2008 slate of District 53 Officers be submitted to the committee by March 30, 2007. Paul's email address is paulyoung53@cox.net.

The District 53 Council will elect the District officers (DG, LGET, LGM, Division Governors) at the Spring Conference in May 2007. The 2007-08 Area Governors, District Secretary, District Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, and additional committee chairs are appointed by the 2007-08 District Governor, and if you are interested in any of these positions you should speak up now !

If you would like to learn more about District offices... talk to your current Area Governor or Division Governor. I'm sure they would be happy to tell you what is involved and everything that they learned in their year of service. You can see the current officers in Division A on the District web site as well as their email addresses in case you would like to contact any of them. (Click here for the Div. A page on the District web site).

There are also a couple District Executive Team meetings between now and the Spring Conference and you are welcome to attend as the guest of one of the current officers to see what goes on and to meet some of the great people that help run District 53.

Serving as a District officer is an incredible learning experience as well as an opportunity to grow your leadership skills in a safe and supportive environment.

I highly encourage you to consider running for office !

Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-7
Area A4 Governor, 2005-6

Conference Call for Advanced Club.... Thursday, 3/15 at 8pm

Since it may be difficult for some people to make the recent meetings of the Advanced Toastmaster Club we have organized (at the Ridgefield, CT Library), we are going to have an informational conference call for anyone who might be interested in becoming a CHARTER MEMBER of the Div. A Advanced Toastmasters Club.

The conference call service is free but the call-in number is long distance (South Dakota). I'm hoping that many people have either a cell phone or home phone that has free long distance so hopefully this won't be a big problem. We can cover the basics quickly right up front for those that don't want to run up their long distance bill.

If you would like to join in the conference call, please send us an email and we will send you the access code and telephone number !

Dave Wheeler, theshot92@gmail.com

NOTE: Our next meeting will be at the Ridgefield Library in the History Room on Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 7:15 - 8:45pm. We hope you can join us! The theme of this meeting will be "Developing Advanced Evaluation Techniques" and we may even have some target speeches on video.

BIG EVENT in Division A ... April 19th !

The Toastmasters "Battle of the Border !" has been scheduled !

Thursday, April 19th, 2007, 7:15-8:45pm
in the Dayton Room at the Ridgefield Library, 472 Main St., Ridgefield, CT,

Two divisions on the border between District 53 and District 46 will go "head to head" in an [unofficial] International Speech Contest for bragging rights on the CT/NY border.

This event will also kick off our Div. A Advanced Club by featuring contest winners from Div.A (D53) and Div.G (D46) as well as other award winning speakers. Div.D (D53) winners have also been invited to compete if they are interested since they also border District 46 (in Southern Fairfield County).

The Dayton room at the Ridgefield Libary holds 60 people, has audio/visual equipment and a raised stage so it will be excellent preparation for our Division contestants before they compete in the District contest in May.

If you will attend, please send us an email (it is a big room, but we hope fill it up !):
Div.A Governor, Dave Wheeler at theshot92@gmail.com or
Area A4 Governor, Anne Swartout at rebrokerct@aol.com.

Barnum Square Toastmasters - Speech Contest Results !

Speech Contest Season is underway ... and we have some results & pictures!

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark.Frohlinger
Subject: Barnum Square Toastmasters - Speech Contest Update

Our last meeting featured our local Speech Contest in preparation for the coming Spring 2007 Speech Contests for all Toastmaster Clubs and Areas in District 53.

All the contestants who participated performed exceptionally and their speeches were thoroughly enjoyable as well as motivating. Those who will present at the next level will proudly represent Barnum Square.

The following is a listing of who presented, the titles of their speech as well as in which realm they spoke. Also included, thanks to Gail and Phil Palermo are pictures taken during the meeting.

In the future, please consider participating in such a wonderful experience and enter a future contest. Thank you and enjoy your day and weekend to come.

Barnum Square Speech Contest Summary-

Tall Tales

Richard Smith KILLER - First Place

Pat Wilson-Perkins TRAUMA ROOM 2

Tom Shaw DAMNED NATION DAILY

International

Liz Smith FA BAFF - First Place

Gail Palermo ORDINARINESS

Area A3 Contests... set for April 4th

From Dave Wheeler, Division A Governor:

Since I have not gotten any responses the email I sent out last week, I made an "executive decision" and scheduled the Area A3 contest in conjunction with the Area A1 / A5 Contest on April 4th. (I have already discussed the subject with Area A1 & A5).

We want to make sure we give all the clubs in Area A3 the opportunity to participate in the Spring contests ! They should also be aware that each area will have their own trophies so while the contests are being run together, the competitions will only be within each Area!

On 2/27/07, Roger Brown <rogerbrown@mac.com > wrote:

Good Morning Dave.

The Area Contests should start real soon now. And it

looks like Division A is nearly ready for the march to the

final 6 speakers in D53.

Area A1 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests

Wednesday, April 4, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

at Dyson Bldg, Ulrich Conf Rm Marist College,

3399 North Rd (Rte 9), Poughkeepsie, NY

Area A2 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests

Wednesday, March 21, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

at Wooster School Library, 91 Miry Brook Rd, Danbury, CT

Area A3 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests

Wednesday, April 4, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
at Dyson Bldg, Ulrich Conf Rm Marist College,
3399 North Rd (Rte 9), Poughkeepsie, NY

Area A4 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests

Wednesday, March 21, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

at Wooster School Library, 91 Miry Brook Rd, Danbury, CT

Area A5 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests

Wednesday, April 4, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

at Dyson Bldg, Ulrich Conf Rm Marist College,

3399 North Rd (Rte 9), Poughkeepsie, NY

Division A Tall Tales and International Speech Contests

Wednesday, April 11, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

at Wooster School Library, 91 Miry Brook Rd, Danbury, CT

Div A Tall Tales & Intl. Speech Contests

From: Roger Brown, District 53 Webmaster
Date: Feb 7, 2007 10:51 PM
Subject: Div A Tall Tales & International Speech Contests

Toastmasters Division A * District 53 Tall Tales and International Speech Contests
When: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Agenda: 7:00 PM Doors open. 7:15 PM Contestants & Judges briefing 7:30 PM International and Tall Tales Speech Contests Where: Wooster School Library , 91 Miry Brook Rd, Danbury, CT Map Registration Fee: FREE Directions: Refer to WestConn Toastmasters Web Site www.westconntoastmasters.org 1. Take I-84 to Exit 3 (Danbury Mall) 2. Take left at end of ramp (Backus Ave). 3. Go through 3 traffic lights (Exxon station on left) 4. Go straight through light to triangle stop sign (pass the Post Office on right, Federal Express on left) 5. Bear right at stop sign. 6. Turn right into Wooster School, approx 200 ft. 7. Go up hill and take a right. 8. We meet in the building on the left (Library). Parking is FREE.	Questions: Contact Dave Wheeler, ATMS/CL Division A Governor Phone: 203-740-9333x3076(w) 203-354-9386(h) Email: theshot92@gmail.com Rob Ferrucci CTM, Host Club President Phone: 203-730-8567 (w) Email: ferruccir@comcast.net The Division A Speech Contests are hosted by the West-Conn Toastmasters, Club 599. See, hear, and enjoy the winners from the Area level speeches. The very best speakers from Division A. Guests and prospective members are always welcomed.
Attend the District 53 Conference and Speech Contests on Saturday, May 19th http://www.district53toastmasters.org/conferences.html

Div. A Spring Contests Set

The following dates have been added to the Div.A calendar on the District53 website ...

Area A2 / A4 Contest, March 21
Hosted by WestConn Toastmasters, Danbury, CT (same location and details as in the Fall)

Area A1 / A5 Contest, April 4th

Hosted by Marist Toastmasters at Marist college, Poughkeepsie, NY (same location and details as in the Fall).

There is the possibility that the Area A3 Contest may be combined with Area A1/A5, but I still need to confirm that with the clubs in that area.

Division A Contest, April 11th

Hosted by WestConn Toastmasters, Danbury, CT (same location and details as in the Fall)

District 53 Contest (and Spring Conference / Leadership Summit),

May 19th, E.Hartford, CT

Mark your Calendar !

Division A Advanced Club ... next meeting

The Div. A Advanced Club held a brief organizational meeting last Thursday (Jan.25th) at the Ridgefield Library and we are continuing to move ahead with this new club.

The next meeting is Thursday, Feb. 22nd at the Ridgefield Library's "History" room at 7:15pm. We have to be out of the library before it closes at 9pm. Topics to be covered at this meeting include:

• Schedule for upcoming meetings (probably at least once per month either at Ridgefield Library or at other Toastmaster clubs as a special, "advanced speakers" meeting.)
  
• Roles / Officer positions
  
• Plans for "Big Event" on Thursday, April 19th, in the "Big Room" at the library which holds 60+ people with a stage and A/V facilities.

Please email Dave Wheeler (theshot92@gmail.com) or Anne Swartout (rebrokerct@aol.com) if you are interested in this advanced club and/or will be attending the meeting on Feb.22nd.

Organizational Meeting set for Div. A Advanced Club ....

From: Dave Wheeler, Division A Governor, 2006-7

Thanks to the efforts of Anne Swartout, Area A4 Governor, we have finally located a place and time to have an organizational meeting for the Div.A ADVANCED Toastmaster club ....

Place:
Ridgefield Public Library, in the "History Room"
472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
click here for a map showing the location

Directions are also available on the library's web site: http://www.biblio.org/rdgfld/pages/direct.htm

Date/Time:
Thursday, Jan. 25th, 2007 (sorry about the short notice)
7:15 to 8:45pm (please try to arrive at 7pm so we can start on time)

Proposed Membership Guidelines:
Open to any advanced Toastmaster or any Toastmaster who will be at least an AC-B by the time we charter this club (i.e. soon). The proposed membership guidelines (click here) will be discussed at this meeting, so please attend or send us your comments via email. Membership is open to Toastmasters in all Divisions in District 53 or even adjacent Districts (assuming they want to travel to Division A for meetings). Click here to see where Division A is located within District 53.

If you miss this meeting...
If you or anyone in the clubs in your area are not able to make this organizational meeting, please have them send me an email expressing their interest. We expect that we will have another meeting in February which will be geared toward planning the meetings for the upcoming 6-12 months. This information is posted on the Div.A blog, http://www.areaa4.blogspot.com/ so check here occasionally for updates.

Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-7
theshot92@gmail.com

Leadership Exchange Sat. 1/27 at Marist

The room has been set ....

The Leadership Exchange for Division A is scheduled for January 27, 2007 at Marist College, Dyson Building, room 149, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Thanks to Area A5 Governor, David Gavin, for setting up this location !


Here is a link that shows where Marist College is located. [Click here]
or you can paste this link into your browser:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=3399+North+Road,+Poughkeepsie,+NY+12601&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=41.726487,-73.932023&spn=0.01358,0.032959&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;om=1&iwloc=addr


We will start around 9:30am and we look forward to seeing you there !


Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-7

A New Club Web Page in Area A4

A new Toastmaster Club Web site has been Discovered!
Let's welcome Cartus Magnus Toastmasters Club of Danbury, CT and their new Club Web Site at http://cartusmagnus.freetoasthost.net//

Bravo! Great picture of the Club members.

submitted by Roger Brown, the District 53 webmaster, who has also added a link to their web site, see http://www.district53toastmasters.org/diva/index.html