On 18 February the Florida Toastmasters gathered for their 999th meeting, themed ‘Boxed In.’
The loud bang of the gavel pronounced the meeting in session, with president Robert de Kramer extending his warmest welcomes to those who attended.
Diana Rodrigues kicked off the meeting by asking the Toastmasters to think about the theme of the evening, and how they would handle being boxed in.
After a brief Business Session, Maggie Mtshali proposed the Toast to Toastmasters International, followed by Dick Hallett’s Toast of the Evening.
Tim Knights led the Educational Session where he described the difference between evaluators and judges.
Next it was time for the Prepared Speeches; first up – Robert. The club’s president shared the bubbly history of champagne, and the universal feeling of joy and celebration associated with the drink.
William Kelly then taught the Toastmasters how to tell a powerful story, mentioning that people want to experience your story, not just hear it.
One of the younger Toastmasters, Desire Chefor, spoke about the difficulties teenagers are faced with when growing up and staying on the right path. He continued by addressing the parents and how they should go about dealing with their teens when they start to stray.
Victor Chewe then took to the lectern to lead the Table Topics Session. The first three Impromptu speeches consisted of Ntombi Phaledi speaking about the importance of money, Jakkie Müller speaking about the different interpretations of love throughout history, and Maggi Mtshali covering time management.
The next two unprepared speeches saw Vivien Katzav express the qualities of a good leader and Mandy Gobisang speak about the importance of kindness in the workplace.
The Florida Toastmasters ended their evening with the awards. Desire took home the trophy for Best Prepared Speech, Tim won Best Evaluator, and Vivien took home the award for Best Impromptu Speech.
With that, the Toastmasters went home, anxious to come back for their 1 000th meeting.
