Portlaoise Toastmasters were full of chat at their monthly meeting
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Portlaoise toastmasters met for the second last meeting of the season on Monday 9 June in Kavanaghs’, Main Street, Portlaoise. Members and guests were welcomed by president Steve O’Rourke and then David Purcell took over as toastmaster for the evening. In the first half of the meeting, we had three speeches, starting with our VP education Donal Cahill, who is working from the Presentation Mastery Pathway level two – introduction to mentoring. His speech entitled ‘Beat the crumb, you can overcome’ was an honest, yet humorous,s story told in his usual entertaining way. The second speaker was Ann Duncan, who is also working from the Presentation Mastery Pathway – level three – vocal variety and body language. ‘Spring among the bluebells’ was a beautiful speech, where Ann shared her love of art with the audience, complemented by a slideshow of her favourite artist Stanley Royle. Ann’s enthusiasm for two paintings was contagious and we were delighted she brought us on her journey of acquiring particular pieces. Ther third speaker was Robin Evans, who is working from the Dynamic Leadership Pathway level one, with his speech entitled ‘Being early.’ Robin engaged us all from the beginning with his captivating story, which also evoked emotion in us all. Well done and thank you Robin for sharing your story with us. Evaluators provided valuable feedback to all speakers, which can be taken on board in their next speech.
After a break for refreshments, a lively and fun table topics session was led by Roy Gee, who did a fantastic job on his food centred topics, where all members participated and spoke off the cuff for a minute or two. Roy was complimented on his innovative ideas and the great interest this invoked in his topics. The meeting concluded with a report by the general evaluator John Joe Costigan, who offered valuable feedback and complimented all the team. The prestigious Geraldine O’Loughlin award was presented to Robin Evans for his ongoing contribution to the club, but in particular for his courageous speech.
The final meeting until September is on Monday 23 June at 8pm in Kavanagh’s, where we will have the usual speeches in the first half, followed by the AGM before partying the night away. We will return again on Monday 8 September for a new season and, as always, guests are welcome, with the first two meetings free. If you have any questions about Toastmasters, email toastmastersportlaoise@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook.
