6/29/20
Many people are getting restless right now in the United States with the sheltering in place due to COVID-19. Despite a rise in cases, people are wanting to get out and do. Businesses and swim parks are beginning to open back up. People are beginning to attend events. Some patrons are wearing masks, some are not. Some are social distancing, some are not. Some believe cases are on the rise, some believe they are overblown. Some believe it’s all a political hoax.
Much of what people believe depends on where they get their information and with whom they surround themselves. However, all people seem to be doing what they believe is right for them depending on the information they hear.
Top 5 Club is no different. They are trying to determine if as a club they should start meeting in person and if they do, what would it look like. Steve and I were silent observers as they volleyed back and forth the pros and cons of meeting in person next week. Is it safe to meet inside? If they do meet inside should they wear masks or social distance? Is it safer to meet outside? A hybrid club was even mentioned and quickly dismissed. Where could they meet if they meet in person? Some had some strong opinions that conflicted with each other. One member definitely was not ready to have an in-person meeting. Another one definitely wanted to meet in person but could not wear a mask. These conflicting opinions mirror the outside Toastmaster world confusion. There was no agreement after the end of the debate and as a group decided to meet online next week and see how it goes. That is what most of us are doing with our lives: wait and see.
Top 5 used a platform called Webex that was unfamiliar to me. Steve and I began playing around with it to try to figure it out. Some had a lot of difficulty with it. Especially the speaker for the day. For 20 minutes the host tried to help her get her sound to work. She finally called in on a cell phone but lost her picture. She eventually gave up and delivered the speech with no picture except here and there. I'm not sure why members had technical difficulty. The host never figured it out. I think I still vote for Zoom so far as the best platform I have seen for Toastmasters meetings.
One thing I really like about this club is it seems to give chocolate enticements. Of course, at this online meeting they were giving virtual chocolate. Virtual chocolate for saying the Word of the Day, "argot" (which I don’t think anyone said), and virtual chocolate for best table topic answer(which was ME!). This kind of chocolate is good for my waistline.
Although the members were friendly and seemed to have "bought in" to the Toastmaster program, background research showed they had no educational awards this year. I am not sure why. The speaker gave an Ice Breaker in Pathways so I guess she is starting out. What about the rest of them? They have 13 members and records show 12 new members joined this year. Is that the reason for no educational awards? All they all new? Why the turnover? Only one officer went to training and the officer list was not submitted on time. Another piece of business is that they are currently looking for a Vice President Education. No one wanted to volunteer. Maybe they aren't as "bought in" as it seems on first glance.
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