A Huge Meeting on 3 October (meeting 1032)

I have been away for a few weeks, and wow, what a difference!  The meeting on 22 August was very quiet, and this one was nearly a full house!!  We had special guests John Burge (area 17 governor) and Dee, as well as members and regular guests Ann, Keiko, Karina, Dominic, Esther, Peter, Lili, Ianon, Jacky and Nicolette.

The meeting started with Jacky presenting word of the day, which was “Kangaroo”, a word which was to be used as often as possible in the following speeches.  After explaining the regular meaning of the word, he explained the original aboriginal meaning was “I don’t understand you”, which neatly illustrated that white Australians also faced a language barrier long ago.

The first speaker of the meeting was Ann, who presented her Project 3 – getting to the point, with a speech called "Everyone can be an Ecologist".  She explained that being an Ecologist meant being observant of the environment around you and how we can all do it in our everyday lives.  We can notice patterns, interrelationships and sequences, occasionally getting those “ah-ha moments”.  Doing this would improve our observational skills and free and open our minds.

The second speaker was Dominic, who was presenting his Speaking to Inform project from the Advanced Communication Manual.  His speech was a collection of reflective epiphanies inspired by “Top Five Regrets of the Dying” by palliative care nurse, Bronnie Ware.  These were:-

      1.      I wish I had lived true to myself – not given up on my dreams without good reason.

      2.   I wish I hadn't worked too much – missed kids growing up and developing relationship with partner.

      3.      Being true to feelings – being nice to others

      4.       Staying in touch with friends – you don’t remember things, you remember people

      5.       Happiness is a choice

Finally we had Table Topics where Peter described his first car which was a Ford V8, Nicolette told us she doesn't garden and prefers a natural setting, Linda expressed there are times for both quiet and crowded, noisy occasions in her life and Jacky explained the secret to the work/life balance was to work efficiently and then forget work outside work hours.  Also Ianon told us the greatest global challenge of our times is war and that when we are at war everything else cannot be managed, and John gave us a very dramatic explanation of why lowering speed limits does decrease fatalities.

The meeting ended with a formal presentation to Peter Herbert of his Toastmaster of the Year award. Congratulations Peter!!

A great time had by all.  The next meeting will be Friday 17^th October.  See you all there!