The Toastmasters International Area C9 Evaluation and Humorous Speech Contest took place at the Guide Dogs for the Blind facility in San Rafael. Speakers from all over the county participated.
The mission of a club is to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.
The contest was called to order by the Sergeant at Arms, Paolo Pompanin, and the Toastmaster for the evening was Nancy Dickenson. Dickenson opened with a quote from Jean Houston, “At the height of laughter the world explodes into a kaleidoscope of new experiences, new possibilities and new opportunities…”
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The chief judge, Sherri Nevins, explained the contest rules and the speeches and evaluations began.
Louise Wiart was the target speaker. Her speech, “The Solo Traveler” was funny, poignant and well done. The four evaluation contestants used her speech to show their abilities to organize, evaluate and present comments in front of the audience and contest judges.
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Reggie Murray, from the Marin Toastmasters 890, in Greenbrae, was one of the evaluation contestants. He has been with Toastmasters for 7 years and told me, “I am always looking to challenge myself, first and foremost, and evaluating forces me to be more of a listener…and that is something that I’ve struggled with…listening well…as well as picking up on technical things people say and do…it helps me to zero in on the person as a whole and pick out things they’ve done well and things they need to improve on…I love it…I love competition…in a friendly way…”
After contestant interviews and a short break, the Humorous Speech Contest began. The four contestants from different groups around the county took turns presenting their well planned, well practiced and extremely funny speeches. There was a lot of laughter, cheering and clapping from family, friends and guests.
Matt Brown, also from the Greenbrae Marin Toastmasters 890, was one of the humorous speech contestants. His speech, “Business Class,” was an extremely humorous take on his experience when trying to upgrade his airline flying status to business class.
During his group interview he shared, “Public speaking is a basic form of entertainment and communication…if you think about what makes us human…it’s our ability to communicate with each other…and to be better at that, in any relationship, is a good thing.”
After judging and interviews with the speech contestants, the results were announced….
Reggie Murray took first place in the Evaluation Contest and Matt Brown took first place in the Humorous Speech Contest.
Congratulations to these local Toastmasters for a job well done. They now move on to the Division C Evaluation and Humorous Speech Contest at the Petaluma Community Center on October 17, from 7-9 pm.
You are welcome to come as a guest and cheer these two local winners to the next level.
For more information about contests, Toastmasters International and to find a group near you, visit their website: Toastmasters International
