President's Message September 2010

A Time of Change and Transition

Prologue.....

I arrived early to yesterday’s meeting, upon my arrival I noticed the tables were not in a good arrangement for our meeting. As I went about moving the tables and chairs and getting the podium out, I found myself wondering “hmm, where is our sergeant at arms? Isn’t this their job to get the room set up for the meeting?”

At 12, when the meeting was supposed to start I was completely alone in the room and I found myself wondering..”hmm, where is everyone? was there a last minute change I was unaware of? Is it the right day of the week? Did I forget something?

After the meeting concluded, I spoke with our guest Thangan about joining and to see if he got a membership application and I found myself wondering...”hmm what happened with our other guest Aneesh, did our VP of Membership follow up with him and Thangan?”

At the previous week’s meeting, one of our members came to me because he is sure he has done close to ten speeches and is just about ready for the final ones of his CC Award, but he lost his manual and wondered if there is a way to validate his previous speeches. I reassured our member that I am sure there is a way to do that. I also found myself wondering...”hmm, I believe the VP of Education is supposed to sign or validate the speeches people do, but ours has been away all summer and his substitute/partner in the position hasn’t been able to come because of work and family related issues..has anyone’s speeches been validated so they can get credit toward their CC?”

Today, as I wrote the meeting notes to send out, I found myself wondering...”hmm I don’t think we have a secretary and this is really supposed to be their job to take the notes and send them out.”

At the TLI Officer training I recently attended, I learned that the job of the president is to LEAD the club, not RUN the club. Since taking the office in July at the beginning of our Toastmaster year, I have felt many times like I am the the glue that is holding this club together right now. I have felt like I am the one trying to keep all the balls in the air. Yesterday’s meeting was a testament to that, I was the sergeant at arms, the president, the secretary, the VP of Membership in addition to my role of Toastmaster. I have had let go of practicing and preparing speeches b/c I am doing all the administrative work for the club trying to keep it afloat. Such is the challenge of a new president, the first 100 days in office are a true test of your dedication and your “mettle”. One of strengths of our 3Talkers club has been our willingness to jump in and do what needs to get done, like we did at yesterdays meeting managing to pull it all together within 5 minutes. But we cannot go on that way indefinitely.

Taking Action

In this upcoming week if we could each take a few minutes to go to the duty roster and look ahead to the month's meetings and sign up for speeches and roles for the month, it will save us time at the meetings spent on filling the roster. Since we are trying out a new shorter meeting time, this will help us to get started and finish on time.

I also learned at the TLI training that we or I am not alone, many clubs have these same challenges in the summer.

3Talkers is in a time of change and transition. Since the merger of HP with 3Comm many of our veteran and founding members are facing issues of layoff, being transferred, many are now working from home - all things that may and are affecting their ability to continue on with the club. As we approach this time of dues renewal, we stand to possible loose 2 or 3 of our veteran members not to mention others who are experiencing life changes. I hope this is not the case as I have valued their abilities, their constructive feedback and their guidance in club matters. To keep a club alive and exciting it needs a variety of members, older, newer and those in between. Our club has that as well as a great ethnic diversity and people from different work related backgrounds. However, we still need to grow by acquiring new members, so we need to focus our efforts on that goal.

Chris Garrahan’s impromptu speech about the glass half full is the attitude I am trying to embrace to stay positive and resilient during this time, keeping my focus on the positive, what I would like to see happen - to see the club continue to grow and prosper.

Nabil’s story about his family’s deep sea fishing trip reminded me of what it can feel like during times of intense change. The calm, serene ocean waters that we are comfortable with become 5 foot seas that throw us off balance and churn up our insides making our once smiling faces turn to ones of worry and strain, like an energetic sea sickness that threatens to make us heave our insides overboard. Change is in the air right now and I don’t just mean that figuratively. It is going on everywhere, it literally is in the air we breath as the weather starts to turn colder (it is now in the 50’s in the mornings), it is in the earth and the crazy weather patterns that have been happening as well as the many devastating earth quakes that have taken place. Our foundations are being shaken and it is all we can do to stay afloat and in balance. I made a big transition myself this past week as I finally traded in my big Acura MDX that was 7 yrs old for sporty new VW Jetta diesel turbo. Change is part of the natural cycle of things, but it can feel frightening and intimidating.

Share Your Stories of Toastmasters

I recently had an experience that was a great testament to what I have learned in Toastmasters. First, when I joined TM and gave my Icebreaker - as all who were there can attest..my hands were shaking, I was reading from notes, my face was beet red and my voice was quivering...in the many speeches I have given since then I have always been “doing them afraid”, pushing through the fear. Earlier this month I was in NY giving a class on something I do. I spoke in front of a crowd of 20 for two hours, I did not use notes (I knew my material) I was not nervous and turning red, I had a great interactive rapport with my audience. I enjoyed myself and the audience and they appreciated my energy and enthusiasm for my subject. They have asked me to come back again. Two years ago I don’t think I would have been able to do that.

Taking Action

I invite you to send in your stories about how TM has helped your speaking experiences as well as any speeches you are willing to publish (even if they are not recent) and we will post them to this blog. Share these stories with others and invite them to meetings.

So as we approach this change of seasons, as we say goodbye to the summer, vacations and warm weather it is time to put our nose to the grindstone and focus on what we want this club to be. The best way to approach change is “one step at a time”, and as Chris said in his speech to stay resilient and positive, BUT I CANNOT DO IT ALONE. I- WE- The CLUB NEEDS YOUR HELP, ATTENDANCE & COMMITMENT in as much as you can give it.

Please give strong consideration to renewing your membership,your commitment to attending meetings to improve your speaking, as well as whatever role you have taken on in the roster or as an officer. I am looking forward to an exiting year.