“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Oliver acting as presiding officer welcomed our guests Gabi, joining in the first time, as well as returning guests Lei, Alexya and Mike Greer. Before the meeting started some club business needed to be done. The new officers’ team was voted in by the members:
– Sybille as President
– Ksenija as Secretary
– Oliver as VP Education
– Jeff as VP Public Relations
– JP will remain our treasurer
A dedicated VP Membership and a Sergeant at Arms still need to be found…..any volunteers? Working with the club officer team is a great and fun experience, and is perfect for developing leadership skills.
Sybille, the toastmaster of the evening, introduced the theme with a personal story and lead into the evening with a quote by Walt Whitman, Americ犀利士
an journalist and writer: “Keep your face always towards the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” For the new comers she briefly explained the structure of the evening.
The word of the day breeze,proposed by Ksenija, was well used in the course of the evening in all its various meanings.
Jeff gave us a joke about a priest and a rabbi taking a swim and Lei made us think about the productivity of preparations.
Oliver’s table topic questions were in line with the theme:
1. Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. What is your idea of activities in Summer?
Kala likes to sleep in the afternoon but does lots of activities later like hiking.
2. When the sun is shining, I can do anything. Tell us about it.
Alexja loves winter, summer is not the right season for her. She likes to spend her time in the lab.
3. I wonder what life would be when there was always June. Mike is enthusiastic about his time in Texas, the sunshine state. He got addicted to heat and sun.
4. Everything magic happens between the months of June and August. Gabi refers to the holiday season as the best time of the year.
5. What makes you feel really cosy in summer? Lei refers to the barbecue Mannheim Toastmasters had at Sybille’s place and gave details of activities done there.
Sybille ended the first session of the evening with a quote by John Lubbock, British scientist, “Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.”
Florian delivered the prepared speech of the evening. He learned to appreciate clean air, fresh water and safety when he lived in Santiago de Chile for a long time. He shared with us how he realized that often simple things are so fundamental to the improvement of the quality of life.
His excellent speech was evaluated by JP. There was hardly anything to improve. A few comments to improve vocal variety should help for next time.
The General Evaluator Jeff asked for the reports of timer, Ah-counter and grammarian. Craig gave a very detailed and again entertaining report of the use of the English language, a really outstanding contribution with lots of benefits for everyone. Jeff encouraged members to take up roles of the evening like toastmaster.
The evening went smoothly and had a good flow. The award for the best table topic speech went to Mike.
Final quote by Nandina Morris, and Australian teacher: “Don’t let the shadows of yesterday spoil the sunshine of tomorrow. Live for today.”
(Thanks to Sybille, our Club Secretary and soon to be President, for this great recap.)
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Best wishes for now and hope to see many of you at our next meeting on June 28th.
Jeff, Mannheim Int. Toastmasters.
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Here is a photo of the meeting:
