D53 Toastmasters: Spring Contests 2009

Here is some important information regarding Spring Speech Contests for 2009. (A copy of this message is being sent to your VP Education.)

1.) There will be * Table Topics and the International Speech Contests.
(*No Tall Tales this Spring.)

2.) Contest Deadlines:
All Club Contests need to be completed by: 2/27/09
All Area Contest need to be completed by: 3/17/09
All Division Contests need to be completed by: 4/3/09

3.) More information is on our D53 website using the link below - including a Conference Call Offer with our Chief Judge and the LGET on 2/5 if you have any questions regarding speech contests:
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/contests.htm

Let's have a great Spring Contest season! Please email me with any questions at lget53@district53toastmasters.org

Thank you very much and I hope to see all of you at our Spring Conference on 4/25/09 in Norwich CT.

Marsha Kiley
Lt Gov of Education & Training

Area A2 Contest results ....

On April 2nd, Area A2 had their Tall Tales and International Speech contests. The contest was hosted by Putnam Speaks at Guideposts in Carmel, NY with Steve Rock of BI Toastmasters filling the role of ContestMaster.

The winners of the contests were:

International speech winners:
1st Place:
Walter Beveridge, Putnam Speaks

1st Runner-Up:
Naveen Thalanki, BI Toastmasters

2nd Runner-Up:
Croix Sather, DiversityUSA

Tall Tales winners:
1st Place: Lisa Edwards, Putnam Speaks
1st Runner-Up: Gary McCourry, Putnam Speaks
2nd Runner-Up: Janice Brickwood, BI Toastmasters


Pictures:
* top picture... all attendees !
(notice all the smiles!)

* next picture... (l-r) Croix Sather, Naveen, Walter Beveridge, Steve Rock, Dave Wheeler, Lisa Edwards, Gary McCourry, Janice Brickwood

bottom picture: ContestMaster Steve Rock interviews Tall Tales contestant Gary McCourry.

* Higher resolution versions of these pictures are available by clicking the links below.
http://www.notewordy.com/Toastmasters/Spring08_A2_everyone.jpg
http://www.notewordy.com/Toastmasters/Spring08_A2_winners.jpg

Area A4 contest Tuesday night - 4-1-08

Area A-4 had their contest on Tuesday night (April 1st) at the Stony Hill Fire Dept. in Bethel, CT. The meeting was hosted by Barnum Square Toastmasters and there were six competitors in each category and the results are as follows:

A-4 International Contest Winners:

1st Place:
Nana Danso - Socially Speaking - # 4720

2nd Place:
Pearl Golay - Cartus - # 875053

3rd Place:
Hilda DeLucia - Barnum Square - # 1701

A-4 Tall Tales Contest Winners:

1st Place:

Carmine Coco DeYoung - WestConn - # 0599

2nd Place:

Annie Sorrells - Cartus - # 875053

3rd Place:
Heather O'Neil - Barnum Square - # 1701

Pictures (from top):
Audience, participant Anne Swartout, fast-moving Carmine Coco De Young and Tall Tale speaker Heather O'Neill.

Area A3 Contest results !

"Area A3 contests went wonderfully! We had very good participation (5 Tall Tales Contest contestants and 2 International Contest speakers)." - Ozgur Turkmen, Area A3 Governor

Here's the results:

Tall tales Speech Contest
1st Place : Mike LaFountain (Catskill TM - 9542)
2nd Place : Clifford Bell (Henry Hudson TM - 4507)
3rd Place : John Capen (Orange County TM - 9315)

International Speech Contest
1st Place : Mike LaFountain (Catskill TM - 9542)
2nd Place : Sharron Phillips (Orange County TM - 9315)

Featured in the picture from the Area A3 contest are:
(l-r) Clifford Bell, John Capen, Mike LaFountain, Sharron Phillips, Ozgur Turkmen (A3 Governor), Daniel Sarno (Tall Tales participant from Henry Hudson TM - 4507)

Region VII--The Winner!

Official Results from the World Championship of Public Speaking....

2007-2008 International Speech Contest Winners

World Champion:
Vikas Jhingran, Cambridge, Massachusetts
(He is the speaker that District 53's Nana Danso was runner-up to at the Region 7 Contest).

Second Place:
Rory Vaden, Nashville, Tennessee

Third Place:
Mark Hunter, Albany Creek, Queensland, Australia

Comment from: Steve Rock
Date: Aug 21, 2007 9:08 AM
Subject: Region VII--The Winner!
And District 53's Nana Danso can now honestly state that he placed second to the World Champion! I'd say that Region 7 has a good shot at repeating next year!

Marilyn Jess, DTM, wrote:
First Darren LaCroix, now Vikas.....Simply Amazing!

Nana wins 1st Runner up at Regional !!!!

Sent in on 6/25/07 by Steve Rock of BI Toastmasters....

Here is a photo of the top two finishers in the Region 7 International Speech Contest (Nana Danso, First Runner-up and Vikas Jhingran , Champion) along with one of the 3 members of BI Toastmasters who were in attendance (Steve Rock, CTM and V-P Education, Nana Danso, CC and V-P Education-elect, Andre White, V-P Membership-elect) .

Here are some comments I shared with our club members :

The 2007 Toastmasters Region 7 International Speech Contest took place on June 23, 2007, beginning at 8:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Arch Street in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Val Albert, DTM and International Director 2006-2008 was the Contest Master. The Chief Judge was Carol Graves, DTM.

In attendance from BI Toastmasters were (of course) Nana Danso, CC, who represented District 53 in the contest, Andre White and me (accompanied by my infinitely patient and ever-supporting wife Margaret).

The order of the contest speakers was as follows:
1 Shawn Doyle
2 David Romanchick
3 Vikas Jhingran
4 Nana Danso
5 Samuel Conner
6 Michael Futty
7 Charlie Vaughan
8 Clarence E. Featherson

Vikas Jhingran brought his audience out of Philadelphia and transported us to a picture-postcard scene in his native India – the Taj Mahal. His self-deprecating humor earned him plenty of laughs as he convinced us to savor the moments of our lives as we live them. His story included a personal experience and loss that moved everyone and his closing statements were profound. Vikas, I believed at that time, was Nana's only serious competition. That opinion did not change much by the end of the contest, despite some excellent speeches delivered by the other competitors.

Nana was next, and he performed like never before. He opened up by "driving" us along at 90 mph, while being pursued by a police car, which had the audience cracking up almost immediately and wondering how the scenario would play out. From there he proceeded into the meat of his speech, in which he discussed the very serious topic of why dishonesty seems to be so commonplace these days.

His dramatic depiction of a reporter who begs for her life when threatened by Angolan rebels was juxtaposed with some very funny comments about modern day politicians and white lies so common to the rest of us. As he neared his conclusion he satisfied our curiosity about the outcome of his encounter with the police and then challenged us to join him in our own revolution wherein we would steer future generations to a more honest lifestyle and the rewards it will provide. The applause he received was hard-earned and well deserved.

Nana had obviously put many hours of preparation and practice into his speech, incorporating feedback he received not only from his fellow BI Toastmaster club members but also from other clubs and a previous world champion of public speaking. I am certain that you would have been as proud of him as Andre and I (and the District 53 dignitaries) were of him.

Finally, the contest results were announced. The second runner-up was the speaker I'd scored in fifth position, David Romanchick. What did this mean in terms of my assessment of the top two speakers in the contest, Nana and Vikas?

As it turned out, nothing – they were indeed the top two finishers in the judges' collective opinions. Nana was announced as the First Runner-up, and Vikas as the Region 7 International Speech Champion. Should Vikas for any reason not be able to compete at the World Championship of Public Speaking on August 18, Nana Danso will represent Region 7 in that contest.
Nana Danso, after only one year as a BI Toastmaster, took first place in the International Speech Contest at the Club, Area, Division and District levels and represented District 53 at the Region 7 competition, at which he defeated 6 of the 7 representatives from other Districts in our Region.

He took home not only the beautiful second place trophy for his performance in that contest but also the respect and admiration of all who were fortunate enough to be in attendance to hear him speak. We were indeed very fortunate to have Nana represent BI Toastmasters, Area A2, Division A, and all of District 53 in these formidable competitions, and congratulate him on his many awards and accolades.

As we do so, let's remember that he also deserves our respect, our admiration and our continued support of his efforts as he continues to pursue his public speaking and leadership objectives as member of BI Toastmasters and Toastmasters International.

submitted by Steve Rock

Region 7 Conference... Sign up NOW!

Please join us in Philadelphia June 22-23 when Nana Danso of Div.A's own BI Toastmasters will competing at the Region VII Toastmasters Conference in the International Speech Contest.

Get all of the info from the Region VII website: http://www.r7tm.org/recon2007/recon2007.html

Click here for the online version of the registration form!

Click here for a look at the Full Agenda including workshops and contests.

We look forward to seeing you in Philly to support our contestant, Nana Danso!

Spring Conference a HUGE Success !

Division A was well represented at the District 53 Spring conference / Leadership Summit. Croix Sather, of WestConn Toastmasters, took home the trophy for 2nd Runner-up in the Tall Tales contest and Nana Danso, of BI Toastmasters, took home FIRST PLACE in the International Speech contest!

We are very proud of both of them and we will wish Nana the best of luck at the Regional contest ! (More information on this will be posted in case you want to attend a regional conference and see Nana compete.)

We should also point out that this was Nana's first conference (as shown by the "First Timer Ribbon" that was next to his trophy ... or at least I assume that it was his). It just goes to show that while experience might help, it is not always the complete recipe for success !

This was Croix's second year on the District stage and I'm sure we will all agree that it will certainly not be his last!

Pictures below include Croix along with the other Tall Tales winners, Phil Shay and Joe Zafian as well as Croix's Tall Tale "interview" session prior to the announcement of the winners.

Division F contest results !!

The Division F Tall Tales and International Speech Contests were held on April 24th at GE Global Research Center, Steinmetz Hall, in Niskayuna, NY. The facilities were excellent... the speeches were given in a lecture hall with sloped seating and great acoustics. In addition, there was pizza and soda provided ... very good pizza, I should point out!

Regarding pictures of the winners (or my lack thereof) .... I did bring my digital camera, but due to the security at the GE Research Center ... and the big signs saying that pictures and cameras are not allowed... I decide that I did not want to risk bringing it into the contest.

The winners of the contests were as follows...
Tall Tales Speech Contest Results
1st place – Don Countermine, Clifton Park Speakers Club #7877
2nd place - Christina van Hoesen, Bethlehem Club #542

International Speech Contest Results
1st place - Neal Benoit, Patroon Club #3863
2nd place - Yun Li, Mohawk Club #1931

Division E Contest Winners !

Division E held their Spring Contests last night at Elms College in Chicopee, MA and had an excellent evening of speeches!

The winners included...

Tall Tales Winners
(l-r in picture)
Michelle DeDominicus,
1st Runner-up,

Kay Kanavino,
2nd Runner-up,

Phil Hayes, 1st Place
International Winners:
(l-r in picture)
Steve Sottman,
1st Runner-up

Michelle DeDominicus,
1st Place,

Laura Grunfeld,
2nd Runner-up







The last picture here includes all the contestants / winners...from left to right,
Steve Sottman, Michelle DeDominicus, Kay Kanavino, Laura Grunfeld and Phil Hayes.

If we mispelled anyone's name or if you can add the contestant's speech title or home club name & number, please send an email to Dave Wheeler at theshot92@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

Who won the "Battle of the Border"????

Since you all know that the [infamous?] "Battle of the Border 2007" between District 53's Div.A & D and District 46's Div.G was held last night at Ridgefield Library (hosted by the new Div.A Advanced TM club), I'm sure you are wondering....

WHO WON THE BATTLE?????

Well.... before I get to that, let me show you some pictures....

The picture above includes (l-r) Anne Swartout (Area A4 Governor/D53), Croix Sather (Tall Tales winner Div.A/D53), Edwin Borelly (Intl. winner, Div.G/46), Rob Ferrucci (Intl.Runner-up Div.A/53), Koshy Chacko (Intl.2nd Runner-up, Div.G/46), Jinghua Xu (Tall Tales Runner-up Div.A/53), Richard Peck (Tall Tales Winner Div.D/D53), Mary Neff (Div.G Governor/D46) and Nana Danso (Intl.Winner Div.A/D53)

As you can see from the pictures... everyone was having alot of fun.

Of course it wasn't all about FUN... we provided feedback to each contestant ... in an "American Idol" format with Richard Hastings, Mary Neff and Anne Swartout providing their comments along with inputs from the audience.

The contestants came prepared for a "bare-knuckle speech contest" and the audience was not disappointed! (The ContestMaster, Dave Wheeler, wore boxing gloves ... at least for a little while... but eventually, "the gloves came off".)

The prizes were awarded to the following contestants (pictured here, l-r):

Edwin Borrelly D46, 3rd place

Nana Danso D53, 1st place

Rob Ferrucci D53, 2nd place.

Of course the real winners were ALL the contestants who participated and were able to take their speeches and skills to a new level. All the speeches were incredible... and some may argue that the audience was the real winners.

How are we going to tell who really won?

I guess we will have to do it again next year !

Division D crowns their champions....

Last evening at the Plumb Memorial Library in Shelton, CT, Division D had their Spring contest, led by ContestMaster Maureen Moreau and Chief Judge Tom Fitch with the following results....

Tall Tales Contest:

1st Place:
Richard Peck, "The Snow Angel"

1st Runner-up:
Yashika Forrester, "The Magic Pot"

Tall Tales contestants pictured:
(l-r) Seizo Mazer, Richard Peck, Yashika Forrester, Richard Frantz, Jr.

International Speech Contest:

1st Place:
Brian Cavanaugh, "The Call's for You."

1st Runner-up:
Ben Lacar, "Fear as a Source of Power"

contestants pictured are:
(l-r) Angela Govila, Brian Cavanaugh, Ben Lacar and Jeff Rosow

It was a fun evening of entertainment and education....If you missed it, you will definitely want to get to the Spring Conference on May 19th!

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 !

Div.B Contest Winners !

Div. B had their Tall Tales and International contest on April 12th with some excellent speeches! (Division A contestants better keep practicing!)

People in the picture include:

Front row (l-r): John Lynch, District Gov.; Rama Ramesh,Tall Tales 2nd Runner-up; Will Ryan, Lt.Gov.Education & Training

Second row (l-r): Marsha Kiley, Div.B Gov.; Michael O'Brien, 1st runner up for Int'l; Mike Aron, ContestMaster & Area B3 Gov.; Joe Zaphian, Tall Tales winner; Rich Couture, Tall Tales 1st Runner-up; Steve Gondak, Intl. Contest winner.

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

Area A1, A3 and A5 Contest Results

We had a fun-filled evening last night hosted by Marist College Toastmasters in Poughkeepsie, NY. Here are the results...

Area A1 Results:

Tall Tales

1st place: Adam Izzo

(pictured to the right with Area A1 Governor/ContestMaster, Colleen Yarter and Area A5 Governor, David Gavin)

1st Runner-up: Thomas Franklin
3rd Place: Ziyad Choudhury

International Speech Contest:

1st place: John Affronti

1st Runner-up: Deana Dunn

(John & Deana picture to right)

3rd Place:Richard Basener

Area A3 Results:

Tall Tales

1st place: Susan Lacey

(pictured to the right)

1st Runner-up: Joan Kern

International Speech Contest:

1st place: Chris Albanese, Orange County Toastmasters

Trophy for 1st Runner-up was not awarded (no other contestants)

Area A5 did not have any contestants in the International or Tall Tales contests. Two trophies and one winner's medal for Area A5 went home lonely!

We look forward to having the winners (or their runner-ups, if they can't make it) at the Division A Contest on Wed. April 11th at the Wooster School (hosted by WestConn Toastmasters). Times and directions are available on the District 53 website (click here).

Register now for 2007 Spring Summit

You are cordially invited to the District 53 Spring 2007
Leadership Summit: Leveraging Your Speaking Advantage
May 19, 2007
Sheraton Hartford Hotel
East Hartford, Connecticut

Join us for a jam-packed day of inspiration, networking, and knowledge infusion that will invigorate your passion, your direction and give you renewed vision you can begin using the following Monday morning.

We've designed the conference to provide real value in your personal lives by showing you how to leverage the advantage you have gained as a Toastmaster and applying it to your home, job and community.

Read the list of educational sessions to see what an uplifting and entertaining day it will be.
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/spr07EduSessions.pdf
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/spr07EduSpkrs.pdf

Then use the registration form to reserve your space in this limited event. Register before April 1st and get your 10% discount. Submit your registration today - this event is expected to sell out.

http://www.district53toastmasters.org/spr07registration.pdf

Due to the Sheraton's size, session rooms have limited seating and the hotel has a maximum attendance limit. Seating in each educational session is limited. Please rank your first and second choice. If we receive your registration after your first choice class is full, we will enroll you in your second choice.

Sincerely,

Rick Kominowski
Joyce Petteway Co Chairs - "District 53, Spring 2007, Leadership Summit"

More Club Contest Winners ... BI Toastmasters

On 3/16/07, Steve Rock wrote:

As the Vice President – Education for BI Toastmasters (#7386) it is my pleasure to inform you of the result of our Tall Tales Speech Contest, conducted 3/15, and International Speech Contest, conducted 3/8.

Tall Tale winners....

^{1st Place – Jaime Navarro}

2nd Place – Jinghua Xu

3rd Place – Nana Danso

International Speech Contest winners ...

^{1st Place – Nana Danso}

2nd Place – Andre White

3rd Place – Zhanna Yuabova

We look forward to seeing the winners at the Area A2 / A4 Contest on Wed. March 21st at the Wooster School Library. Contestants should arrive at 7pm for briefings so the contest can start at 7:30pm.

Note: if the first place winner cannot compete, the next place winner can take his / her place. Please encourage all contestants to come prepared to speak ... you never know when someone's schedule will change and you will have an unexpected opportunity to compete !

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

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