OCL application submitted?

Just a reminder....


Today (June 30th, 2008) is the LAST DAY to postmark (or fax) your application for an Old CL award (OCL). The information below should help ....

What if you are filling out the form and don't remember the date when you went to officer training?
From our incoming District Governor, Karin von Kaenel, ...

When the club officer attends training, the AG will send an email to the LGET, letting the LGET know the club officer was trained (our incoming LGET is Marsha Kiley).
The LGET will then go into the TI website and report that "officer xyz" was trained.
All TI knows is that the officer was trained
- in summer of 2006 (i.e. between June 1 and August 31)
- or in winter of 2006/2007 (i.e. between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28).
TI doesn't know the exact date. Therefore it should be good enough if the OCL application has "summer 2006" or "winter 2006/2007" in that date field.

From a TM site in the UK...
TI's FAX: 1 949-858-1207
ADDRESS: Toastmasters International
Member Services Department - Education Awards
P.O. Box 9052
Mission Viejo, CA 92690-9052 USA
EMAIL: educationawards@toastmasters.org

'OLD CL' REQUIREMENTS
* Achieved Competent Communicator award (or "old" Competent Toastmaster award)
* Served at least six months as a club officer (President, Vice President Education, Vice President Membership, Vice President Public Relations, Secretary, Treasurer or Sergeant at Arms) and participated in the preparation of a Club Success Plan while serving in this office
* While serving in the above office, participated in a District-sponsored Club Officer Training programme
* Conducted any two programmes from: The Successful Club Series and/or The Leadership Excellence Series
NOTE: Success Communication, Success Leadership, Youth Leadership and The Better Speaker Series programs do not qualify. Programs may not be those completed for previous awards.

The old Competent Leader award is not the same as Advanced Leader Bronze because for the latter you also need to have completed the new Competent Leadership manual. However once you have the old CL you can proceed straight on to do Advanced Leader Silver.

If you have any problems or questions submitting today, please send an email to Dave Wheeler at theshot93 [at] gmail.com. If you would like to add general clarification, please use the comment feature of this blog!

Nana Danso places 2nd at Regional contest

All 8 contestants for the International Speech Contest at the Regional Conference on Saturday June 28th, 2008.













Nana is awarded the second place trophy by (l-r) Kristin Nicholson, Chris Ford and Val Albert.









Incoming Area A4 Governor, Andre White, with Nana Danso after the contest (below).

Nana with the other two winners from the International Speech Contest...
(l-r)David Flowers, second runner-up, Katherine Morrison, 1st, and Nana.

Dilbert as a Toastmasters recruiting tool?

It seems that Dilbert is a prime candidate for Toastmasters!

If you would like to send this comic strip to someone you can either send them a link to this blog post or have them check out the June 7th strip at Dilbert.com!

Your friend Dave Wheeler wanted us to send you this from Dilbert.com.

What can you find on Dilbert.com? Color Dilbert strips every day Dilbert Archives Rank the strips and save your faves Animated Dilbert Share Dilbert with all your friends & fellow cubemates Widgets to post to facebook, MySpace, iGoogle, blogs and more See if you are as funny as Scott Adams with new Mashups! IT'S ALL FREE! What are you waiting for? DID WE MENTION IT'S FREE?

Tell me more about the new Dilbert.com This email is generated from Dilbert.com and sent to you by Dave Wheeler This does not subscribe you to any emails from Dilbert.com. Dilbert ©2008 United Feature Syndicate, Inc. 200 Madison Avenue 4th floor, NYC, NY 10016

P.S. Do we have any Toastmasters clubs that meet at 6 o'clock? That would be too much of a coincidence !

Looking for Division webmasters and a new head webmaster

From:
Karin von Kaenel, LGET 07-08
& incoming District Governor, '08-09

Subject:
Looking for Division webmasters and a new head webmaster

Our current webmaster has expressed his interest to pass on the torch and so we're looking for

- a head webmaster

- 6 Division webmasters

The job of the webmaster has been too time consuming for most people. This is an opportunity to split up the responsibilities in a way that benefits all.

If each Division takes care of their own Division pages, we get the following advantages:

- more people get to be webmasters

- the Divisions get faster turn around time on updates and they have more freedom in designing their web pages

- the head webmaster's job is made easier

- the turn around time for changes to the overall website are faster

Are you interested in either one of these jobs?

If yes, please let me know.

If not, please find somebody else in your Division who'd be interested and let me know.

Thanks a bunch for your help!

Have a great week!

Karin von Kaenel

Realignment & Next Year's Division A officers

If case anyone is wondering what Division A will look like next year ('08-'09)...

The picture to the right shows the realignment that was approved during the Business Meeting at the recent Spring Conference.

In addition, Alison Easton was elected to the position of Division A Governor ... Congratulations Alison !

Next year's Area Governors in Division A will include...

A1 - Dan Coots, The Bureaucrats Club

A2 - Janice Brickwood, BI Toastmasters

A3 - Mike LaFountain, Catskill Toastmasters

A4 - Andre White, WestConn TM and BI Toastmasters.

In addition, Dave Wheeler was elected to move from current Div.A Governor to the District Lt.Governor-Marketing ... so he will still be around in case anyone has any questions !

Please look for this group of leaders at upcoming events in Division A (e.g. TLI at Marist College on July 19th).

We look forward to another great A-TEAM !

Topic: DCP Crunch

From guest blogger,
Mike Finn, Div.E Governor, 2007-08..

Discussion:
The month of June brings with it a flood of educational needs to be met in order to achieve DCP points. Historically, club officers have underestimated the time required to satisfy the educational “needs” for their members who can achieve awards, and at the same time, satisfy points for the clubs’ DCP status.

Here are a few techniques/ shortcuts/procedures that you can use to get those extra DCP points, while at the same time providing an opportunity for your members to excel...

Speechathons:
Very popular at the end of the fiscal year! Pick a night, or day; sign-up your members who want/need to give speeches (or Club Success modules – for “Old” CL credit); be prepared to have a worthwhile 1-3 hour meeting where upwards of 10-30 members get credit for speeches. This can be done as a joint effort between clubs – the more, the merrier! All you need is a speaker, an evaluator, and a timer. The speakers can rotate through the other two positions after they’ve spoken (allowing them max time for preparation and soul-searching). Evaluations are done in writing (not orally), and can be informal after the meeting or on break. Great venue for those long AC speeches, too!

“Old” CL:
This award is grandfathered until June 30th only. The award must be submitted hardcopy (snail-mail, or fax) to TI. Every member who has been (or will be by June 30th) a club officer with 6 months under his/her belt, should get this. Requirements: 6 months as club officer (documented, at any time with TI); have received CC, or CTM; gave 2 Club Success modules (name of module and date given). If you have an officer who has not received his/her CL, and has/will have CC, finish the requirements for this award. Every “qualified” person should get this award before it goes away! Here are the forms (page 1... page 2).

DCP Points:
Many clubs struggle to get DCP points (any that they can get). If you have “absolutely” ruled out the possibility of achieving the next DCP category (ie: Distinguished requires 5 points; Select Distinguished requires 7 points; President’s Distinguished requires 9 points), “bag” an educational award until after July 1st – only if the member doesn’t mind. It is a very positive incentive for the incoming club officers knowing that there are several CC’s/CL’s/AC’s waiting to be registered with TI.

Membership:
No matter how many DCP points you’ve accumulated, none count unless your membership numbers allow you to qualify. You must have 20 or more members, OR, be 5 members over base (see your club DCP report for base number). Base membership is that number that you had on the books at the last renewal period prior to the current fiscal year (for our purposes right now, that’s April 1st, 2007).

A few approaches to getting new members ASAP are:

1. Open houses: Always applicable! Prospective members are everywhere! Keep it simple, advertise, canvass, talk-it-up!
   
2. Prospect letters: Send several letters per week to major employers in your area, offering a program that would be beneficial to their employees. No pressure – just a “steak vs, sizzle” approach! Costs less than $1 per week! One “influencer” could reap many members.
   
3. Flyers, business cards, PR pieces in newspapers – keep them current, ongoing, and allow the entire membership to be involved in marketing.
   
4. Applications ready - When you get the new prospect for a visit, do the application immediately – for this month. Explain how critical it is for him/her to be a member before the new term starts (jumpstart the “year”, interface from the beginning with new officers, get the “lay of the land” from old officers, etc.).
   
5. Final month membership-blitz: Have a contest! Award some “goodies” for most members brought in, and applied.

When all is said and done, chances are that you got some benefit from your “DCP Crunch”. Let every member share in the club’s good fortune. Publicize your efforts, get everyone on the bandwagon, and reap the rewards.

Also, DO NOT FORGET TO SEND IN THE “NEW” OFFICER LIST TO TI – before June 30th!

Good Luck!!!!

Mike Finn
Div.E Governor, 2007-8
6/3/08

An Invitation to Toastmasters Leadership Institute

From: Marsha Kiley
Subject: An Invitation to Toastmasters Leadership Institute

Greetings !

You're invited to the Toastmasters Leadership Institute, District 53's premier training events for all Toastmasters, but especially incoming Club Officers!

If you are a 2007-08 officers, please pass this invitation along to the member who will be taking over your officer position for 2008-09.

Come, get the training to help you perform your duties at your peak, to help your club's members reach their potential, and to help club t0 be distinguished this coming year.

Please ensure that all the members are getting this invitation so they can all participate!

We have a rich variety of classes:
* Training for new officers;
* Seminars for improving your evaluation skills;
* and a host of other interesting topics.

To see the complete course catalog, please visit http://www.district53toastmasters.org/TLI08/TLItraining08.html

Using feedback from prior years, the District Education Planning Committee has made significant changes:

There will be 3 TLI events (you can attend training at the location of your choice):
- June 21 - Manchester Church of Christ, Manchester, CT
- July 19 - Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY
- July 26 - Wildwood, Latham, NY

All TLI events will have the following time table:
- 8:00 Registration starts
- 8:30 Free continental breakfast available
- 9:00 - 12:40 Classes
- 12:50 - 1:00 Wrap-up
Officers are encouraged to go to lunch at a nearby restaurant with their team mates to continue planning the year ahead.

We encourage everyone to attend, and all of these events are free.

To sign up, please use the registration form at http://www.district53toastmasters.org/TLI08/TLI08_reg.pdf

If you will be serving as a club officer starting July 1, 2008, please remember that your club is counting on you to be trained:

You will be better equipped to administer the club program, and you help your club meet one of the requirements of the Distinguished Club Program.
All Summer training must be completed between June 1 and August 31, 2008.

If you're interested in volunteering, e.g. at the registration desk, as a room monitor, etc. please let me know.

I'm looking forward to seeing you at one or more of these TLI events!

Sincerely,
Marsha Kiley
Be the Change You Want to See
Lt. Gov. Marketing, District 53
http://www.district53toastmasters.org/
Lt. Gov. Education & Training elect, 2008-09

Region VII Conference June 27-28, 2008

From: Michael K. Heney, DTM
Subject: Invitation to the Region VII Conference June 27-28, 2008

Catch the Wave - Distinguish Yourself!!

If you were planning on registering, but haven't yet, this would be
the time to do it! Also, our block of hotel rooms is only being held
through June 5, so if you haven't booked your room yet (see below),
please do so soon.

Conference information is being made available on the Region VII
website at http://r7tm.org - and we're updating the site regularly.
You can register for the conference on-line and pay via PayPal or
credit card at
http://r7tm.org/Registration
or download a mail-in form from
http://r7tm.org/Conference/regform.pdf

The Conference Hotel is the
Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center
1750 Rockville Pike
Rockville, Maryland 20852
Voice: 301-468-1100
Fax: 301-468-0163
Web: http://www.rockvillehotel.com/

You can reserve your room on-line by visiting
https://secure.hilton.com/en/hi/res/choose_dates.jhtml?hotel=IADMRHF&adId=Thayer,IADMRHF

We're looking forward to seeing you at the Region VII conference; please
share this information with your membership and fellow Distrcit Officers.
Feel free to contact me at mike [at] heney.net if you have any questions.

Catch the Wave!!

Michael K. Heney, DTM
Region VII Conference Chair

Division A Advanced Toastmasters mtg. Thurs.5/29 at Ridgefield (CT) Library

For anyone who had the Advanced Club meeting on their calendar for tonight (May 22nd), it has moved to next Thursday, May 29th.

Regular Time: 7:15pm-8:45pm.

Agenda items: reply to Dave Wheeler with additions, suggestions and changes.

* Dave Wheeler... draft of 1st speech as LGM (for TLI).
- Please come and join in on the discussion from both a "delivery"
as well as a "content" point of view.

* Tips (bring at least one each)

* Business...
- Possible joint meetings with other Advanced Clubs in our District (53) as well as District 46
(Yonkers is closest).
- Officer elections (so we can get them into TI).

* Role Play setups

* Signups for future meeting roles

Next meetings:
We have also confirmed the History Room for the next two months June 26th and July 24th if you want to mark your calendars.

Ridgefield library is located at 472 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877 click here for a map showing the location. In the case of inclement weather, you can call the library at (203) 438-2282 to see if they will be open. Directions are available on the library's web site: http://www.biblio.org/rdgfldpages/direct.htmÂ

Speed Kills...

... your chances of being understood and appreciated.

If-you-talk-like-this-and-every-word-is-delivered-in-machine-gun-fashion-without-regard-for-your-audience-then-chance-are-that-they-will-either-tune-you-out-or-worse... [DEEP BREATH]

A recent article by Scott Ginsberg brought this to my attention and while talking fast is generally accepted in the Northeast part of the United States, your speedy pace can come across as pushy or arrogant or uncaring in other parts of the country or the world. Many places operate on a slower pace... and that needs to be taken into account as you prepare your speech.

Scott points out...

See, when you talk too fast, here’s what happens:
OTHER PEOPLE…
o Won’t be ABLE to chime in.
o Will have to work too hard to chime in.
o Won’t have time to process what you’re saying.
o Might not feel they have the space to think differently.
o May become intimidated or overwhelmed by your urgent and anxious speech.

AND YOU…
o May become stressed.
o Won’t breathe enough.
o Will discover that your words don’t carry as much
influence.
o Won’t have the space in your own mind to process your
thoughts.
o Will notice that your urgent and anxious speech may threaten or confuse people.

On the other hand, there are times where your speaking speed conveys excitement, energy and enthusiasm (The Wheel's 3 E's) which can be a very good thing.

The key is to do it on purpose... when you want to ... and use other tools to slow down your pace when the situation requires it.

Scott Ginsberg's recommendations include...

1. Awareness.
2. Breathe.
3. Reminders.
4. Ask for feedback.
5. Pause.
6. Monitor.

Of all his recommendations, my favorite is "The Pause". It does so many things...

• It replaces an "Ah" or "Um" (which makes you seem more confident and knowledgeable).
• It creates drama.
• It pulls your audience into your speech and gives them time to soak up your points.

The Total Communicator had a good article about the beauty of the Pause (click here). The article says...

The indomitable Robert Byrd, one of the true orators in the U.S. Senate, once rose in that august hall to praise the simple pause...
"There can be an art in the use of a pause. I find nothing wrong with a pause. It does not have to be filled with a you know. This phrase, like so many others,” Byrd added, “betrays a mind whose thoughts are often so disorganized as to be unutterable—a mind in neutral gear coupled to a tongue stuck in overdrive."

Don't let Speed Kill your presentation!

Slow down ... for applause !

Nana wins District International Speech Contest !

Croix Sather & Dave Wheeler with Nana Danso (and Nana's trophy for 1st place in the District International Speech Contest!)






Nana with Andre White (next year's Area A4 Governor)!



Best of Luck to Nana at the next level of competition at the Regional Conference being held in Maryland (near Washington, D.C.) on June 27-28th.

Spring Conference Pictures....

Division A's own, Carmine Coco De Young became known as "The Chicken Lady" thanks to her excellent Tall Tale speech at the Spring '08 conference.

Carmine is shown being interviewed on stage prior to the announcement of the Tall Tales contest winners.

Carmine is shown accepting her trophy for 2nd runner-up in the Tall Tales contest from (l-r) Marsha Kiley (LGM), Karin von Kaenel (LGET) and Will Ryan, district Governor.

Doug Comstock, winner of the Tall Tales contest, accepts his award from the Sr. Team.

Doug's speech featured a story about a homemade helicopter ... and lots of humor !

District 53 elects next year's team...

At the District 53 business meeting yesterday, the following were elected...

Div. A Governor, 2008-9, Alison Easton

Lt.Gov.-Marketing, 2008-9, Dave Wheeler

Lt.Gov.- Educ.& Training, 08-09,
Marsha Kiley

District Governor, '08-09,
Karin von Kaenel

There may also be an additional Division Governor with a connection to Div.A... but more on that once it is confirmed!

In contest news....
Div. A's Carmine Coco De Young took home 2nd runner-up in the Tall Tales contest behind Bill Miranda (Div.D) and winner Doug Comstock (Div.B).

In the International Speech Contest, Nana Danso won 1st place against some strong competition. Nana will now move on to the Regional Contest in Maryland (near Washington, DC) on June 27-28. Click here for registration materials! (Be sure to request the less-expensive $105/night room rate... NOT the TM rate of $135 if you call for a hotel reservation.)

Special note... 3 people from this year's Div.A "Battle of the Border" event took home trophies. Carmine (Tall Tales), Bill Miranda (Tall Tales) and Marv Cross (2nd Runner-up Intl.). In addition, Nana would have been at the Battle of the Border... but he had schedule his speech at another club's meeting which conflicted with the rescheduled BotB. So we almost had 4 winners... I will have to see how Cassandra (from Div.G, D46) did in her contest!

Special thanks to the Spring '08 Conference team for an excellent, well-run event.

The "I [heart] Toastmasters" bumper stickers were a nice touch too ... if you look closely in the picture above you can see it in the back window of my car!
(More Pictures coming soon!)

Speaking Tips from Mr. T !

The [Division] A-Team is proud to present some words of speaking wisdom from none other than Mr. T !

Division A .... Year in Review

The Spring '08 Conference is just around the corner (literally... it's tomorrow!)... and our District Governor, Will Ryan, has asked each of the Division Governors to summarize / evaluate the past year within their Division.

We will only be given a very short amount of time (3 minutes or less) at the Business Meeting for this so I want to make sure I capture all the highlights that were important to everyone in Division A !

Here is what I have so far...

Division A Year-In-Review

Started the year with up a full slate of Area Governors (thanks to Will Ryan) along Dave Wheeler for a second term as Division A Governor.

• Mike Ruppert, Area A1 Governor
• Dan Legg, Area A2 Governor
• Ozgur Turkmen, Area A3 Governor
• Pat Wilson-Perkins, Area A4 Governor
• Janice Parker, Area A5 Governor

Hosted one of the four Toastmaster Leadership Institute (TLI) educational sessions at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.

We will be hosting a TLI session again this year at Marist on July 19th, 2008... be sure to put it on your calendar!

Dave Wheeler created a graphical Toastmasters calendar to make it easier to see "The Big Picture" for 2007-2008 !




Division A hosted the Fall '07 Conference
(and Set a New Standard) at the Holiday Inn, Fishkill, NY !

• We promoted the conference with Origami Flyers (in the shape of a fish) as well as(humorous?) JibJab online videos.

• Croix Sather, "Mr.Energy", served as Full-Day Emcee !

• Colleen Yarter, Area A1 Gov., was named Outstanding Area Gov. '06-07
  
  



• Dave Wheeler, Div. A Gov., named
  Outstanding Div.Gov. , '06-07

Division A conducted 2 Winter Officer Training ("Leadership Exchange") sessions with new "Case Study" format.



Division A's own Nara Venditti was profiled in Toastmasters magazine!




Division A Governor, Dave Wheeler, was featured in an article in the New Fairfield Citizen as well as the Danbury News-Times after receiving his DTM and other awards.

Walter Beveridge, Andre White and Dave Wheeler each receive the District Governor's Award which Will Ryan awarded monthly through out the year.





Dave Wheeler worked with Marsha Kiley and new PRO Angela Lussier to put together a District-wide Marketing Campaign focused on Human Resource Professionals and centered around "HR Day", April 9th. Marketing materials included a "HR-specific" web page, a "pass-along" email to all District 53 members and press releases announcing HR Day.




Div.A Advanced Toastmasters Club hosted the
2nd Annual Battle of the Border between Div.A & D (District 53) and Div.G (District 46).

We took 1st and 3rd place to win for the second year in a row ... in case you were wondering. (Although the important thing is that everyone who participated got some valuable experience and feedback to help them at their District competition.)

A new club will be added to Division A at SUNY-NewPaltz,
... the "Toast of Paltz" club has submitted their paperwork and should have their charter before the end of this TM year!

We have signed up a full slate of Area Governors for the coming year along with a nominee for Division A Governor, (thanks to Karin von Kaenel).


Projected results for the year...
Area A1 - President's Distinguished
Area A2 - Distinguished
Area A3 - Distinguished
Area A4 - Select Distinguished
Area A5 - almost there...
Division A - President's Distinguished

What did we miss?

Please leave a comment below with your suggestions or feedback on the year in Division A ! Or just let us know what you thought about the past year!

Dave Wheeler
Division A Governor, 2006-8
Candidate for District 53 LGM, 2008-9

P.S. We also kept this blog going all year ... hope you enjoyed it!

Quotes or Quotable speeches?

Doug Comstock gave us the following thoughts via the District 53 Yahoo Group ....

A few weeks ago I read the post on the importance of including appropriate quotes as we craft our speech. While I do believe that it can assist one in speech development I do not believe it is always the best way to write a speech.

Here is what I mean....

When I think of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech or Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you"....I wonder if they were more concerned in using the words of
other or creating content that would stand on its own..

I have been a student of speaking for quite sometime and have come to understand that the best speakers are the ones that sit and ask themselves "Is this content quotable". I believe that we as speakers have an opportunity as well as a responsibility to deliver content that is quotable.

As you begin to create your speeches ask yourself "am I creating content worth quoting?". If you aren't then I recommend that you carefully consider excavating your inner voice to truly share all that you are capable of.

In conclusion....

Strive to be the one that others always quote..... rather than being the one that is always quoting others...

See you at the conference....

Doug
Douglas "Clydesdale" Comstock

As campaign speeches are being written (for district officer positions perhaps?) it is important to dig deep... and find what you are most passionate about ... so that you can then communicate ... NO...TRANSFER that enthusiasm to the hearts and souls of your audience.

It may not be comfortable, but you will have much more impact if you can open up, dig deep inside and share what is important to you !

And it is much more likely that you will have a quotable quote of your own!

Did I mention the quote that Doug ended his email with?

"Nothing Great Was Ever Achieved Without Enthusiasm"

Great idea ... and a great quote!

(I think I will use it... unless I come up with something better on my own!)

If Tech Companies made Toast ...

In the theme of [bread-based] Toast Mastering ....

Karin von Kaenel passed along the following link to a web page titled,
"If Tech Companies made Toasters..."

[click here]

I especially liked the idea of a "Toastman" by Sony !

(But wouldn't that have been replaced by the "Toast-Pod" by Apple?)

Enjoy the article and leave you ideas in the comments below!

full article link:
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/plains/6271/compu011.html

The history of Toast....

Roger Brown sent us a link to
the History of Toast....

http://www.toaster.org/tmaster_history.html

Information gathered from Toastmaster, Inc., The Housewares Story by Earl
Lifshey, and other sources.

As a Toast Master, we are sure you will find this fascinating !

(Or at least you can use the information for your next Tall Tales speech!)

Enjoy!

(be careful... it is hot!)

Battle of the Border 2 ... Fun for all !

Last night at the Ridgefield (CT) Library's Dayton Room, we saw 5 contestants from Div. A and Div. D in District 53 compete against District 46's representative (from their Div. G)... and everyone in attendence was a "winner" !

The second Battle of the Border featured both Tall Tales and International speech competitors going "head-to-head" or "toe-to-toe" (depending on how they were standing at the time) to capture the coveted (?) Battle-of-the-Border Trophy !

Contestants included (in picture to the right)...

(l-r) Marv Cross, Lisa Edwards, Walter Beveridge, Cassandra DeLaMothe, Carmine Coco De Young, and Bill Miranda.

This year's event was a chance for Division winners (and some runner-ups) to practice their contest speeches in a "simulated district contest environment".

The room featured a lighted and raised stage along with a wireless microphone similar to what the contestants might see at the District contest. (D53's conference is Sat. May 17th at the Delaney House in Holyoke, MA... sign up now!).

The experience was made even more challenging by introductions that were close to "contest format"... but different enough to perhaps throw the contestants off a little (?). (Actually, they handled it pretty well.)

We also had just one wireless microphone which made for some quick changes between speakers... but it also gave the contestants a feel for speaking in a larger room wearing a microphone.

One final challenge included a squeeky stage. It did not seem to distract the contestants ... but it did bother the emcee a little bit. (Good thing he is not competing in the District contests this year.)

The audience was not left out either since everyone was give a pad of post-its to take notes and after all the speeches, everyone in attendence voted for the "Best Speech" of the night !

When the votes were tallied, the winners were (pictured here, l-r)... 3rd place Walter Beveridge, 2nd place Cassandra DeLaMothe and 1st place Carmine Coco De Young (holding the Battle-of-the-Border trophy/glove).

While the votes were being counted... the audience also participated in the "evaluation" or "feedback/interview" portion of the event ... along with our panel of "American Idol-esque Judges", Anne Swartout and Croix Sather of the host club, DiversityUSA Advanced Toastmasters Club. All contestants got ideas that they can use to improve their speech at the next level or in future speeches.

It was a FUN night for all that attended ... we wish you could have been there !

Maybe next year !