Events
July-Dec. 2001

We're Excited About New Home!

CH@Home Moves to PeninsulaWorks

Evening of Inspiration

Congratulations Louise, Ravi, Maggie!

Dec. 4, 2001 Eleven members and twelve guests gathered to celebrate CH@Home's first "Evening of Inspiration". Blaise Pabon, President, opened the meeting by welcoming Toastmaster dignitaries--Charles Butterfield, District 4 Lt.Governor Education & Training; Hemant More, Area C-1 Governor; Harry Holland, Area C-3 Governor. Other guests included family and friends, former and future members, visiting Toastmasters from 5 other local clubs, and even one from Mexico!

Randie Ellington, Toastmaster, started on a positive note by having everyone introduce themselves by giving an affirmation. "Affirmation" was also the 'Word of the Day', presented by Sarah Moffatt. As each person listed 3 positive qualities they possess or would like to gain, a common theme soon emerged--with "Patience" heading the list. "Obscenely Wealthy" came in a distant second.

Randie then introduced the speakers, using information he had gathered through a detailed, insightful questionaire--everything from the title and date of their ice breaker speech to "little known facts" about them. He also interviewed them after their speeches, asking for their advice to other members. Louise recommended "A Speech a Month", Maggie advised members to get involved and participate fully, and Ravi repeated his primary message--use "Baby Steps" to give that next speech.

In "Possible Dreams", Louise Wolfe described five basic steps to realizing your dreams--"choose the dream, picture the dream, plan the dream, work the dream, and live the dream". Using her daughter's pom-poms, she also led the audience in a cheer, urging them to just "D-O-I-T--Do It!"

Maggie Yen used two experiences from her own life as examples of overcoming adversity and becoming "More Than You Are". Maggie, a native of Taiwan, diligently studied the English language until she became a fluent speaker, as those in the audience will attest. She also expanded her job skill set to include salesmanship, even though she previously had no interest or experience in that particular area.

The final speaker, Ravi Char, demonstrated his "Baby Steps" or incremental progress approach to getting things done. He explained that he uses a "principal of thirds" technique. He divides jobs into the beginning, middle, and end. By focusing on the beginning, his motivation then kicks in and allows him to finish the job.

After a short intermission, during which members and guests actually had time to "chat", Beth McElhinney, our first President, led Table Topics. She used a number of examples of famous people who failed or received bad reviews earlier in their careers as inspiration to keep trying. She then asked participants to comment on the example and explain how their personal experience related to it. David Moffatt ( who also videotaped the event) won for best Table Topics.

Harry Holland, Charles Butterfield, and Randy Samberg evaluated the three speakers. Randy was voted Best Evaluator. Charles Butterfield, District 4 Lt.Governor Training & Education then awarded Louise, Maggie, and Ravi their CTM badges. Blaise also presented Louise and Maggie with flowers in acknowledgement of their work on the club website (Louise) and newletters (Maggie).

Blaise & Al in Fall Area Contests

Al Dobbs Places 2nd in Humorous

End of Summer Pool Party

Ola's Farewell Roast

Evaluation Contest

Humorous Contest

Blaise's speech was titled "Dogs Will Be Dogs". His speech was very creative and his idea of massive parallel processing of dogs' brains was unique. Louise's speech was titled "Walkin' the Beans". She shared with us some of her wonderful memories of growing up on a farm. She ended the speech with an excellent punch line.