Masters of the Toast

News from Thorobred Toastmasters:

The Thorobred Toastmasters Club of Saratoga Springs installed new officers for 2005-2006 and honored members who earned Toastmaster International certification at a recent awards ceremony held at Café Lena on Phila Street. On June 27th Barbara Cardella, ATMS, of Greenwich took over the reigns as president from Eric Sanborn of Gansevoort. Her term as president starts July 1st, 2005 and goes through June 30th, 2006. The rest of the officers are as follows: Vice President Education, Donna Morris, ATMS of Ballston Spa; Vice President Membership, Deborah Peck-Kelleher, ATMB of Quaker Springs, Vice President Public Relations, Teresa Hunt Gifford of Schaghticoke; Secretary, Darlene Murray of Saratoga Springs; Treasurer, John E. Sheehy, CL of Whitehall; and Sergeant at Arms, Michael R. Cardella, CTM of Greenwich.

The Advanced Toastmaster Bronze award was presented to Deb Peck Kelleher. The club was awarded the Distinguished Club Award by Toastmasters International, which means the group has achieved numerous goals over the 2004-2005 club year.

The above initials refer to the levels of achievement for the officers in each of two tracks, communication and leadership. For example, CTMB is Competent Toastmaster Bronze and CTMS is Competent Toastmaster Silver. CL means Competent Leader and ATMB is Advanced Toastmaster Bronze.

Thorobred Toastmasters of Saratoga Springs is a public speaking group which meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7 P.M. at Longfellows Restaurant on 9P, Saratoga Lake. The meetings are open to anyone interested in practicing public speaking in a supportive environment. In August and December the meetings take place at the Saratoga Springs Public Library. Once a year, the club meets at Café Lena. For further information, please call 584-4129. All are welcome.

I love it when officers are "installed." It makes them sound like air conditioners.

As some of you out there may know, I joined Toastmasters in November 2001. For 2003-2004, I was president of my home club and 2004-2005 was Area Governor, overseeing six clubs in Saratoga and Washington counties. Joining Toastmasters is one of the best decisions I ever made (and there haven't been very many good ones...). If you've ever had any fear of public speaking and/or have wanted to give it a try, I heartily recommend finding a club near you. Toastmasters International has literally hundreds of clubs worldwide and their Web site makes it easy to find a club near you. It changed my life (and my career, sort of). It's also a lot of fun.