Exciting meeting this week.

We had a fun filled evening at Toastmasters this week. We began with a speech by one of our newer members Michael. Michael made sure to let us know the best ways to save money for our retirements. As usual Michael used very logical and well organized thoughts and suggestions that we can all benefit from.

Next up, our Past President Marvin shared his vision for our Igniters 10th anniversary party which is only a few weeks away. Marvin incorporated a well crafted call to action to solicit some volunteers for our celebration. For more information on our celebration please visit : https://calgarytoastmasters.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/igniters-toastmasters-10th-anniversary/

Mona our mentoring coach was up next with a speech to inspire us each one of us to "Be Yourself". Mona wove in some very funny and personal stories for us to learn from while being entertained. Chris C organized a very creative group evaluation for Mona which gave many of us a chance to try our hand at evaluations as well as provided Mona a wide range of feedback.

Our club president Nandini organized a MMM Membership contest as a project toward her Competent Leader Manual. Each member who promoted the club by blogging, tweeting, passing out membership cards or magazines was entered into a draw. Our mentoring coach Mona baked us a basket of goodies as a prize. Chris G is the lucky winner of the basket, although expect to see a few extra pounds on Chris in the next couple of weeks!

Make sure to join us in our meeting next week. We're sure that it will be an amazing evening.

Powerful Leadership Skills!

Another great meeting of Igniters on April 14 with three very different speeches and enthusiasm from everyone in attendance. The word of the day was skills and the challenge word was powerful.  

Nandini started the meeting helping us understand the "Competent Leadership" manual and teaching us about the leadership track. The manual has ten different projects including critical thinking, feedback, time management, motivating people, mentoring, and team building. 

Julie gave an excellent CC #1 presentation by sharing her life with us by comparing her past and present to a "fish in a pond".  

Mark and I presented our second speech with Mark entertaining us with his wit and humor by talking about the hurdles we encounter when driving and the fact that our journey through life is as important as the destination. I practiced a speech that I will be presenting at a fund raiser for Grace House of Recovery in Drumheller.  

The evaluators went into detail stressing our achievements and then helping us understand how we could improve.  

Our Quizmaster had us competing loudly to be the best at listening. The questions were answered so quickly we did not need to hear the whole question!

Do you want to be a more effective leader? Come and find out how you can improve your skills to be a better leader. Next meeting - learn how to give feedback to help others improve.

Bren 

Passionate Igniters!

We had a fun filled passionate meeting! Marvin, the Toastmaster shared his passion for the environment.  Sharing how we each do our part to "Save the Earth" was very informative. Hopefully we will apply at least two of our fellow Igniters tips into our own households.

Stephen's speech, CC #9 "Let the Music Move You" allowed us to "feel" exactly what the music meant to him. Stephen wore a shirt with guitars and played music to add impact to his speech! We all felt the power of music!

Nandini presented amazing tips for Table Topics. She shared tips from Toastmasters from other clubs. Smile, Make a Choice, Structure – The Power of Three, Share a Message – Two Key Ideas to Support, and Volunteer.  Our guest Iris, evaluated her presentation and for those that missed it ask others about the acronym SD3TV.

Marion, VP of Membership guided us through the Induction of two new Igniters, Julie and Anne. Great to have you both as Igniters!

What are you passionate about? Every week, opportunities are knocking! You can practice your communication skills to share your ideas more effectively and have a greater impact. 

Bren

Not Just Yet

Our president Nandini represented Igniters with passion at the Division Contest. Nandini delivered her speech "Not Just Yet" to a full house at the Division Contest. Six members of Igniters came to support her. The competition was fierce, and Nandini delivered her speech with gusto.

Congratulations Nandini for your hard work and your well written and rehearsed speech. You have shown all of us at Igniters the way to the top!