Toastmasters change meeting time
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RONAN — In an effort to make their meeting time more convenient for potential new members, the All-Ways Talking Toastmaster club of the Mission Valley has decided to change their meeting time to 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Meetings last one hour and include both prepared and impromptu speeches at each meeting. Meetings are at the Ronan Indian Senior Center across from the Dairy Queen in Ronan.
All-Ways Talking Toastmasters is actively seeking new members for the club. The present membership is made up of a core of experienced Toastmasters who have given themselves until July 1 to rejuvenate the club with new members. If the membership drive is successful, the seasoned members will be happy to stay on to mentor new members as they grow in their speaking and leadership skills. The club will close in July if the membership does not grow.
Area Governor Caroline Marshall of Thompson Falls was a guest at the March 27 meeting, and club president Mary Lou Hermes was speaker. In her talk, titled “To do or not to do,” she encouraged challenged club members to get off their chairs and do something about the things they care about.
“I have found that most often when I pray about something, I learn that I’ve been appointed the ambassador to see that that thing happens,” she said.
She quoted Rev. Martin Niemoller, a German minister in the 1940s during Hitler’s regime: “First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.”
Toastmasters is an organization noted for its ability to teach speaking and leadership skills. Members learn to make both prepared and impromptu speeches, and to evaluate in a way that both teaches and encourages. Other Toastmaster emphases are careful listening and leadership. Everyone takes turns at leading the meetings and fulfilling the various listening, speaking and evaluating roles at each meeting.
Membership is open to anyone 18 or older. Visitors are welcome at any meeting, and the club is happy to welcome children as visitors if their parents would like to join the club.
