Last Chance Toastmasters Helena, Montana

7/2/20

 

Steve and I visiting these 50 states has been an eye-opening experience in the area of how accessible clubs are to the average person.  Steve has been trying for weeks to get someone from Montana to respond to his emails to visit two other clubs.  No response.  Their Zoom link is not on their website.  What do we do?  In desperation, Steve put out a message on the International Toastmasters Facebook page and received a response from Kent.  Last Chance Toastmasters would love to have us visit their club.  I wonder what a non-Toastmaster would do if he/she wanted to visit a club in Montana?  Would they even know about the Facebook page?  I just don’t think we as Toastmasters are making it easy for people to visit our clubs. 

 

I guess I need to thank Kent for us finding this fantastic jewel.  It was well worth the effort.  The members made us feel like guests of honor.  Each role holder mentioned us in some way.  For example, “Thank you Mr. Toastmaster and Cynthia and Steve from Kentucky”.  Over and over we felt acknowledged and wanted.

 

This club meeting knocked it out of the park!  The meeting was friendly and organized. Each part flowed seamlessly from one part to the other.  They embraced the Word of the Day with ease.  They decided to unmute during the speeches so the speakers could hear the applause. I understand.  This is one of the disadvantages of Zoom.  A disconnect sometimes happens between speaker and audience when you can’t hear the laughter, sounds, and applause from the audience members. 

 

At the beginning of the meeting they had an installation ceremony and I appreciate that they streamlined it.  A copy of the officer handbook was sent to each officer ahead of time and they dispensed with all the reading.  I really liked this officer installation. 

 

The speaker’s topic, “Beef, It’s what’s for Dinner”, seemed like it would be boring.  Through Toastmasters, Steve and I have judged many 4-H speech contests whose subject revolve around topics such as this.  These topics are not the most interesting in the world to me, however, I forgot It’s not the topic but the speaker who can make the subject come alive.  And Tolly did just that!  Her speaking style drew me in, she was humorous and told great stories. She even made beef so enticing I had to have steak that night for dinner.  Thanks Tolly!   Her evaluator was spot on in his comments.  He made a very insightful comment that is applicable to all using an online presence today. “Our biggest challenge is understanding this virtual environment more," he said.  From my club and all the clubs I have visited, we all can improve our understanding of our virtual environment and use it more effectively.

 

One special role that this club has that most clubs don’t is a table topics evaluator. Dave pointed out organization but mainly his comments affirmed all the table topics responses. He displayed very good listening skills.  Steve and I together answered a table topics question which was pretty fun.    

 

I enjoyed myself immensely being there.  This is a club I recommend to anyone wanting to visit or join a club.  You can’t go wrong and you will feel like a million bucks afterwards.  They sure know how to treat their guests!