Dream Talkers Dunwoody, Georgia

6/14/20

 

Dream Talkers is the kind of club all clubs need to aspire to be.   This was my second visit to this engaging club and I was looking forward to visiting it again.  Dream Talkers did not disappoint.  They are so welcoming and engaging with each other and the visitors.  I felt right at home.  Since not everyone had arrived by the time the meeting started, they opened the meeting on time then promptly called for a 5-minute recess to wait for the others to come and also fill any needed roles. This was a trick I learned in the very first club I ever was a member of.  Technically we DID start on time.

 

Steve had contacted them earlier in the week about giving a speech since they had an opening,  but as we arrived at the meeting it seemed they had plenty of speakers.  However, they kept their word to Steve and let him speak which meant the club had four speakers that day.  Due to so many speakers, they decided to forego Table Topics.  Myself, I would have asked Steve not to speak and had  Table Topics.  I think Table Topics is where we can really bring the fun and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak.  But I guess they did not want to go back on their word to Steve or disappoint anyone that had worked hard preparing a speech and I have to admire that.

 

I ended up being grammarian which I rarely do, because I can’t really enjoy the speeches when I am parsing every word, trying to listen for bad grammar, good phrases and the Word of the Day.  But I am always willing to step in if someone needs a role filled.

 

The only unpleasant memory I have of this club last time was the zoom experience.  They had not purchased Zoom Pro and were using the free version so it only lasts for 40 minutes before it ends.  This is the only club we have ever visited that we had to relog in two times before the meeting was over.  This happened again this week.  However, someone finally decided to address the "elephant in the room" and they voted as a club to pay for the Zoom Pro account so they could have unlimited time.  I mentioned that our club shares time with another club and that would cut the cost in half.  They seemed to like my idea.  We all need to help each other. 

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see a long-time division officer from my district join in this meeting.  But after the meeting had to shut down the first time due to Zoom time constraints he never logged back on.  That was very sad.  Maybe that’s when they realized how important it is to keep the continuity of the meeting going instead of logging off and back on during the meeting. 

 

This was a great meeting and I was uplifted and energized after the meeting which to me is a sign of a good meeting.  I guess if I were to offer them at least something they could improve in, I would suggest leave the timing cards up the whole time and not just at the minute time.  Of course, maybe they usually do that and it was the timer's error.

 

All in all, loved the meeting and had a good time the second time  around as well as the first.  I would definitely recommend this club to anyone wanting to find a Toastmasters club.