A full house was the order of the day as we celebrated becoming a chartered Toastmaster club at our first meeting of the New Year.
It was fitting that Sheryl Andrew, our newest member, opened the meeting as Sergeant at Arms, with Keith Oliver one of the original founders taking the role of Toastmaster.
Keith welcomed members and guests to this auspicious event, and was pleased to see so many attending which augured well for an excellent meting, and a promise of good times ahead.
Keith then asked David Crewe to explain the role of Timekeeper. There was no Grammarian but Keith suggested the word of the evening to be “success”.
Paul Winfield opened the warm up asking all in the room to suggest their dream holiday destination and who they would take. America seemed to top the list, but hot, sunny climes were also in vogue. As to who they would take, family and friends were the obvious choice but some fancied their chances with well-known actresses.
Chris Ellis opened the prepared speeches with his No 3 speech - “New Year, Enhanced You”, giving us tips on how to achieve our Ne Year resolutions. Adrian Reed followed with his No 6 speech - “Please Remain Seated” and his experiences on a flight when communication between the pilot and passengers was lacking.
In the absence of a third speaker we enjoyed a longer network break before re-starting with Table Topics, ably led by Brent Crouch. The theme was chartering and members and guests grappled with topics on a theme of Chartering, awards and recognition.
Michael John Smithson and Keith Oliver gave the evaluations for Chris and Adrian, identifying the areas they did well and giving points for improvement,before Gill Evans(formerly a member at Guildford Speakers) gave an evaluation of the Table Topics Speakers.
The evening was drawing to a close and Michael John gave out the awards with ribbons for Chris and Adrian.
Best Speaker – Chris Ellis, Best Evaluator – Gill Evans, Best Table Topics - Ian Millen
Keith Oliver concluded with the club business, referring of course to us being chartered and mentioning the congratulations from our sister clubs in Area 32. He also advised that the next meeting would be our last at Sellers Coffee House, as new managers were taking over and wanted to run an Icelandic Tea Bar in the evenings. The committee had sourced a room at the Ibis Hotel in Portsmouth which we would use in February.
He ended the meeting by thanking all who attended and wishing them a safe journey home.