Protea Feedback Page

Back to the Top - 7th July

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Fellow Toastmasters,

Well done to everyone who made it to the “MULTI-LINGUALISM” evening, you made the evening great. Iam sorry to say, to those who could not make it, you missed a lot – we had representatives of South Africa (Afrikaans + Xhosa), Switzerland, Lesotho, Italy and Holland.

Thanks to Butch and Linda for their assistance in organising the event – Oh! the delicious eats from across the globe, pizza, cheese, chocolates, “umncutshu”, you can name them.

Table topics were fantastic, we had a brilliant ‘ nursery rhymes’ session with everyone participating. Thanks to Win, who was the Table Topics Master and congratulations to Derek for being chosen as the best Table Topics Speaker.

Colin Davies, the incoming President, gave a marvellous and inspirational speech. He took us through a journey of where Protea is coming from, where we are currently positioned and what we need to do to get back to the top. Colin explained that although we are grateful for achieving the 2008/9 Prestigious President’s Distinguished Club Status, this also marks the point where another year starts. With no goals again we have to work our way to achieve the 9 or 10 goals in 2009/10 , hence we are going back to the top. Present members completed pledge forms as a sign of their commitment to embark on a journey to take the Club back to a President’s Distinguished Club in 2009/10. I will send out the form in a separate mail for the benefit of those who could not make it to the meeting.

The 2009/10 Club Officers were officially inducted at the meeting. The Induction occasion was led by Derek Myburgh.

Thanks to Nita, Jarl, Lucritia, Ramona and Chris for sending apologies for the previous meeting, we missed you and hope to see you on the 21st of July at our new Stirling venue.

The 21st July meeting is quite critical, because we are expecting a large complement of visitors from UTI, coming to see what Toastmasters is all about, in anticipation of Chartering a club at UTI in coming months. Derek and Robin (hoping to join the Protea Family anytime soon) are helping in forming the Club, thereby gaining credit for their Leadership programmes. I invite you (if not currently lined up to speak) to be a prepared speaker for the day, to ensure that we have a full programme running. Please let me know ASAP if you are interested.

Abisha (VPE)

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:10:00 +0000

The Mystery of Love - 23rd June 2009

Fellow Toastmasters,
Last meeting of the year, but first meeting in a new venue – What a wonderful meeting we had on Tuesday night, with Protea scoring two more goals in the same meeting - and thereby achieving the prestigious “President’s Distinguished Club” Status in 2008/9.

Shirley got the Table Topics off to a fun start as we introduced various artists and writers to the club.
Sigal inspired us to work better in teams, and Win gave us ideas on how to Relax.
Derek – thanks for trying to demystify the “mystery of Love” at the meeting and in so doing adding another goal to the Club – Dries you missed this one !!!

Abisha wrapped up the speaking by encouraging us to be motivators, and in doing so achieved his ALB. This goal also makes him eligible for the Tripple Crown Award! Well done!

The same meeting also marked the closure of the membership building contest. Special thanks to Derek, Chris, Win, Ramona and myself for bringing visitors during the campaign. The next membership building campaign will kick off on 1 August 2009.

Congratulations Chris, for attaining the Competence Communication award and for being chosen the best Table topics Speaker at the meeting.

The Official induction of the incoming Club Officers will be done at the next meeting and your attendance will mean a lot for them.

Compiled by Ashisha and Colin

A Sense of Excellence

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:27:00 +0000

Hi Toastmasters.

Please remember that we have a new venue - Stirling Conference and Events - 13 Beresford Road - off Old Transkei Road.

There will be a car guard to watch your vehicles, and there is street lighting.

The bar and refreshments will now be run by Stirling Conference & Events, and will now also include coffee.

This next meeting is very special as both Abisha and Derek will be completing their next educational goals. Not only is this a win for them as toastmasters, it is also a win for us as a club, as we then achieve President's Distinguished Club status - the highest achievement in Toast Masters!

You are invited and encouraged to come and be part of this exciting event.

See you at 18:00 on Tuesday.

Remember too, the meeting on the 7th July which is the induction of new officers and our multi-lingualism evening where we celebrate the diversity of our club.

We have an exciting evening lined up and will be introducing the new District Theme and our own Club theme for the next Toastmasters year.

Have a laughter & fun filled day!

Colin Davies

Starting from the Knees Up ! - 18th November 08

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:00:00 +0000

So many things went through my mind when I listened to Luthando saying "my knees are in fellowship" when he delivered his Ice Breaker on 18 Nov.

He meant that his knees were trembling (of nervousness) due to it being his 1st prepared speech!! I thought back to when Toastmasters started, in October 1924. When Ralph C. Smedley created an organisation which today serves over 230,000 members in 92 countries through 11,500 clubs. I think about how many knees (mine definitely included) have been in "fellowship" during those long minutes of an Ice Breaker and how many lives it has changed in the following years.

I recently saw a great TV advertisement for a Fund Management company where a boy meets a girl, and sees how beautiful the mother looks. The message is "look for potential and then have the patience to wait for the perfect end result".

It made me think how much can be gained if any visitor could just gather enough courage to come to a meeting and then trust Toastmasters to deliver a perfect end result. All it requires is some potential and the patience to accompany it.

So often we see new members not being patient enough to apply the basics and work their way through the speech manuals. Famous saying- "you really CAN get everything you want if you are willing to wait for it". Just like the boy in the advertisement! Public speaking is a skill, to be acquired by listening, learning and applying a measure of patience. The end result is always well worth the wait.

To all Protea TC new members, we want to ask you to follow the steps, don't hurry it too much while you enjoy the process of learning , having fun and you will be richly rewarded over time.

Luthando, I trust you (and your knees) will always cherish that 1st speech date because very soon your knees will be ably supporting the body of a confident public speaker, positively influencing many others to follow in your speaking path.

Tuesday 21st

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:52:00 +0000

Our Tuesday meeting was a real hit. Lusanda did an outstanding job for his first assignment as Toastmaster of the evening - that in spite of a number of late cancellations due to illness and work deadlines. We are looking forward to many more meetings MCeed by Lusanda!

We had the privilege and pleasure of welcoming 6 guests on Tuesday, and we hope to see you again soon.

Our quaint word of the day must have been inspired by Dries' line of businesses. How often do you use the word quaint in your daily conversation? But 2 people managed to get it into their speeches, so well done.

Dries' Table Topics focussed on the furore around recent events in SA rugby. By the way, who is Luke Watson?

Gary inspired us with his first speech by likening life to a river. His passion for exploring rivers around the world was kindled early in life, and his approach to life has certainly helped him live his passion.
Linda then enlightened us on "opportunity cost". Everything is a trade-off. Even coming to Toastmasters has its opportunity cost - you could stay home and watch TV!
Finally, Abisha gave a well researched speech about plants that eat animals. His interest in nature was clearly evident. We were all relieved when he reassured us that the largest animal that plants eat are only the size of rats. So we have little to fear when walking in the bush - well at least not from the plants!

The evening was wrapped up with the evaluations - as always, superbly done by Abisha, Nita & Josef.

From a business point of view, Chris has stepped down from Sergeant at Arms - thanks Chris for your commitment in the past, and we look forward to having you back soon. Abisha has taken over the position, and he is doing a fine job with setting up and making sure we start and end on time.
See you all on the 4th.

Wish upon a Ribbon :

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:50:00 +0000

Or maybe it's a case of pure Ribbon Ecstacy! Picture this- when we received our President's Distinguished Club ribbon, the envelope and letter arrived, but NO ribbon ! We are talking about a mere weeks before our Special DCP Celebratory Spring Dinner on 16 Sept. So both Colin (previous President) and myself sent urgent emails to World HQ and the District Gov, respectively. The internal gears of this great International organisation started grinding. So, just guess what happened next? During the afternoon before the dinner, 2 envelopes arrived at Colin and my own mailboxes, containing a ribbon each !!! So, in Protea TC first year of taking part in DCP programme, we achieved no fewer than 2 (yes, TWO) Pres Dist Club ribbons!!

Oh yeah, baby, life is as sweet as a Langkloof watermelon!! Needless to say, only one ribbon was subsequently stitched to our club banner (temptation did not get the better of me, in case you are wondering).

Delivery of that ribbon was effected a touch to close to the finals. But then (to quote an Unknown Author) -"it it was'nt for the last minute, nothing would get done".

So where does that leave us , now that the party is behind us and the 2007/8 ribbon is attached to the Protea TC banner? It leaves us in very much the same position as it did Tia Hellebaut and Andrey Silnov. Yes, fellow Protea Toastmasters, they won gold in womens/mens high jump at the Beijing Olympics. What do they do when they have achieved a personal goal? They RAISE THE BAR !! And that, dear fellow Protea Toastmasters, is what we need to do with immediate effect. We need to forget about the previous ribbon, RAISE THE BAR and strive to improve and get even better. Whether you are a member of the Protea leadership team or a club member of ancient or recent standing, you need to ask yourself WHY you have joined Toastmasters? Re-visit your own personal reasons/goals and take a minute to "tick your own personal check-list".

Very very few people are happy if they discover they still do/experience/am the same as they were 1, 5, 10 years ago. It is in our human nature to want to keep growing, improving and experiencing new things otherwise boredom robs us of the joys of life.

And so we reach the exact same moment and choice as Tia and Andrey did. What to do, what to do……….? Personal development and aspirations require that you raise your own bar.

Read the latest edition of the BKCOB Hi-Lite magazine where Mike Hendrikse wrote an article about his first visit to a Toastmasters Club. I have no doubt that Mike's very positive
article will convince a few visitors to visit Protea TC for a look-see-decide about whether to join or not. Should they join, then it effectivly means that they are challenging themselves to
try what is considered to be a very scary decison-to try their hand at public speaking! The other side of the coin means that current Protea TC members need to upskilll themselves into being mentors, setting an example to newcomers by regularly doing speech projects i.e. RAISING THEIR OWN BAR !

After all, as human beings we were all blessed with endless possibilities and potential, why waste any of it by NOT raising our own personal bar by a centimetre or more? I know Tia and Andrey would have!

Let's create memorable conversations.
Derek Myburgh
President : Protea TC

Wise words from Michael

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:46:00 +0000

I travelled in some rush hour traffic this morning, listening to Michael Buble's song "you are not alone..... I'm always there with you...." and that was when I suddenly realised how much I miss all of you. I missed the last meeting and suddenly the month is too long before we get to the next meeting date ! So many times in life, all we need is someone to say to us : I'm always there with you. And that is the magic of Toastmasters and my wish is for it to be no different at Protea TC over all the years to come. A massive family connection although we are not related, friends forever and mostly assistance when you most need it. As Toastmasters who have been around for a while we sometimes forget what it is like for a newly joined member to prepare for that first time when they have to walk up to the lectern and start with ..Toastmaster of the Evening, fellow Toastmasters, visitors, my name is ... and the title of my first prepared speech is.... What a daunting and almost impossible task if it was not for the fact that YOU ARE NOT ALONE, We'll always be there with you. As the first time speaker you forget that your mentor is in the audience and possibly just as nervous as you, but certainly just as proud as you are after you've returned control to the TME and you return to your seat.

Most places in life people get to the top by pushing others down, but Toastmasters want others in their club to succeed just as much as they want to succeed themselves which is why we are always ready to help anyone else in the club improve themselves. Life is all about a Helping Hand. And that my friends is the reason why You are Never alone in this organisation or in our club. Why do we want to become better/excellent public speakers? A little bit like climbing Everest, for some of us? Because it's there, because we want to show that we can, whatever your reason, it is a lot easier knowing that You are Not Alone in all of this.

It was so very special to have (Protea TC member) Pauline Li attend the last 2 meetings when she visited SA recently. Pauline phoned me yesterday while she waited at Jbrg airport for her flight to Canada and her last words were that she will follow our comments and progress on Protea TC website. No matter where you are , you are never alone. Thanks to Colin for the many hours that went into creating this website, it is already adding value to our lives.

Come to think of it, those words would have made an excelllent President's vision/motto for the club for this coming year!

Look after one another.
See you soon.
Regards
derek

Ps. Spare a thought for Dries, his laptop was stolen off his desk last week. I know exactly what you're going through, my friend!

Let's Party!

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:29:00 +0000

24July08-The following Clubs achieved Presidents Distinguished status- :
Pretoria East (A1), Strelitzia (A1), Scientia (A2), President (A2), Forum (A3), Vital communicators (A3), Executive (A4), Bedford View (B1), Standard Bank Operations (C1), the Sages (C4), Good Hope (D1), Cape Town (D2), the Grove (D2), Ernst and Young, CT (D3), Protea (E3), Umhlanga (F1), 4th Dimension (H1), CIS-Johannesburg (H2), Sandton (H4), Morningside (H4).

'Nuff said, let's party !
Derek

We've made it !!

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:45:00 +0000

It is 6 July 08 and I've just peeked at the DCP reports on the Web. It showed a score of 9. Nine of what!! Well, the way I see it, 9 wives could be a few too many, R9 in your pocket (on your way to the watering hole for a few beers) is definitely not enough, but in this case, the figure of 9 is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!! It all started with the first meeting on 24-4-07 and even before that. Lois Strachan & Frances Boshoff, how can we ever hope to start Thanking all of you for the many hours of advice to get all of it up and running?!! Yvonne Anderson who donated the "old PE" lights, Etienne who asked a contact in Bloem to craft our own gavel and so I could carry on. To all my "speaking comrades from the past" who also shared in the vision of having our own club, one where we could learn, grow and still have fun because nothing beats enjoyable personal growth. Now we have achieved 9 out of 10 and can call ourselves a President's Distinguished Club. What a lovely feeling!!! My Thanks to all those Protea TC members who kept to their speaking goals (Shaun for forfeiting some night duty income to come and do that # 10 speech/Etienne for visiting Gabarone Club to finish what you promised to finish in order for us to made it to roughly the top 10% of all Clubs). Yep, nothing beats setting of a goal and then "clocking" it.

And now we start all over again, but with one major difference : This time round we know we can do it, we've been to the top of the mountain and we liked the view so let us simply, from hereon, STAY on TOP of the mountain. Look at your personal communication and leadership goals , share it with your VPE and /or your mentor and "clock" each and every one of your goals.

Some wonderfull opportunities are starting to come our way. Marcine from Border Bulldogs is looking for speakers who want to assist in encouraging the Bulldogs into a Winning Team by delivering inspiration and/or educational talks to the players on a regular basis. Talk to me if you are interested in joining us on this journey.

We'll definitely join the Speech Contest circuit leading up to Oct 08 final in Durban.

Presenting of Speechcraft courses is also under consideration.

Looking forward to a stunning year! Most of all, let us always strive to create memorable conversations!

Toastmasters Greetings.
Derek Myburgh
President : Protea TC

Tripple Crown!

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:13:00 +0000

Congratulations to Derek Myburgh who has achieved the high distinction of being a Tripple Crown in 2007/2008.
To do this Derek had to achieve 3 awards in the year. He did this by completing his Advanced Communicator Bronze, Competent Leader and Advanced Leader Bronze - all in the 2007 / 2008 Toastmasters Year.
Derek we are proud of you.

17th June Feedback

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:23:00 +0000

What more can I say !! It was a truly delectable evening !!

Linda and Beauty were voted in as our newest members, Lusanda had his first go as a speech evaluator, and we spoke about most colours of the rainbow (without actually mentioning it)

It was All in a day's fishing !!

Abisha-that comment about the total duration of the entire meeting (as part of your timer's report), was an absolute gem !!

Pauline (our Canadian member)-when will you be visiting us? Hopefully it will be in time for one of our July meetings!

I would like to suggest that we continue with the practise of all Speech Evaluators spending a few minutes together (during the break) sharing notes as far as their respective evaluations are concerned (I will leave the final decision up to them) . We are going through a stage of bringing New Speech Evaluators into the fold, I am sure such a short get together will be of great use to any first time evaluators.

We hope to see you all at our next meeting on the 1^st July.

Derek

3rd June Feedback

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:26:00 +0000

We had 22 people at the meeting, including a number of guests - 2 of whom have joined up and paid in their fees! Welcome to Beauty and to Linda - we hope that you have a very rewarding stay with us in Protea.
A few more people have indicated their interest in joining, so we are looking forward to an even more active club in the new Toastmaster's year.
Chris ran a good meeting, and although the rain caught us off guard, it forced us to adapt and use our vocal chords to be heard.
Abisha had prepared some good Table Topics, and the prepared speeches were all of high quality. A particular "Well Done" to Shaun who has completed his Competent Communicator award. His speech inspired us all to keep on growing in the art of public speaking - we are all works in progress.
Derek has achieved his Advanced Leader Bronze award - well done.

We have a new set of officers for the new year, and these will appear on the website after the 1st July. Thank you to everyone who is willing to contribute to the smooth running of the club.

Colin

ME a Blogger? ++ Speaking Contest in PE

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:00:00 +0000

And here I am, a Blogger (at least I think that is what this is called). What's next, maybe an appearance on Face Book?? Somehow, I don't think so.

Anyway, I started typing because I wanted to tell you about my visit to Treasure.con in PE on Sat 17/5/08. I visited the Annual Council Meeting (all club Pres & VPE's) but went a bit earlier in order to watch the International Speaking Contest. That is to determine the best English prepared speaker in the (Southern African) district. How stunning was that !! 7 Speakers, each speaking on a 6m x 4 m stage, raised 0,5m from floor. None of them spoke from behind the lectern (you should know by now that is the way I like it). The winner spoke about Soul Music, 2nd place about My First Time and 3rd place told us about the Miracle of Belief. All speeches were 5-7min, with immediate disqualification if they reached 7m 30sec. Most of speakers finished after 7m but before 7m30. How's that for timing !!! I will add more detail about the individual speeches/speakers at our next meeting on 3 June. Just listening to those speakers, really motivated me in my own speech programme. The next round is in KZN on 25 Oct. We MUST have some Protea finalists on that stage. Did I remember to mention that the winner will soon represent our District in the International Contest in USA?

I also met a truly remarkable women, her name is Lois, but I would prefer to tell you more when we meet on 3 June. Cheers. Derek M

Joint Meeting with All East London Clubs

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:41:00 +0000

Wow, What a fantastic meeting!
The joint meeting between the clubs in East London was fantastic. With 2 clubs being "student" clubs, plus a wonderful bunch of visitors, the energy was electric and the buzz vibrant.
The standard of speaking was exceptionally high - from Table Topics to the entry level prepared speeches through to the more experienced speakers.
Well done to everyone who made it such a resounding success.
Let's do it again?
Colin Davies

Welcome

noreply@blogger.com (Protea Toastmasters Club) — Sat, 17 May 2008 12:59:00 +0000

Welcome to the feedback pages of Protea Toastmasters Club.
This page will contact posts of various meetings, and members will be able to post their comments once the VPE has uploaded their meeting report.