Sylvan’s Slick Speakers club has always prided itself for being a great club and gets wonderful feedback from past and present members. This year, the club had enough individuals succeeding in their self-paced training, plus club officers were active enough in training that the club was awarded points for the Distinguished Club standard issued by Toastmasters International.
“Nearly every year we have been a point away from Distinguished so we knew we would be close but this comes as a pleasant surprise to us all” said Ian Oostindie, a member with the club since its onset.
The current president Dave Cartledge is a member of more than one club and has been instrumental in encouraging members from Red Deer to come and practice speeches with the Sylvan club. “Every club is different. The Sylvan club is nice and small and has a really strong culture for helping new members. People learn at their own pace. The small size allows members to get lots of practice too,” said Cartledge.
Debbie Oostindie initiated the work to start the Sylvan Lake club which began with 20 members, including a mentor from a Red Deer club.
At their own awards ceremony, Dave Cartledge recognized several members for their work. Current Secretary/Treasurer Dawn Burdick was awarded for her great development as rookie of the year. Vice president Judy Blais as Toastmaster of the Year and Correna Rae for the club’s newsletter work.
The new executive was elected for their terms commencing July 1 and past Area Governor, Gordon Patton was on hand to conduct the elections. Patton is an inspiration as he is legally blind and yet connects with his audience by using his toastmaster’s training in body language, voice and eye contact, combined with his own personality. He talked about the different supports that Toastmasters provides and the opportunities at the regional level.
Sylvan Slick Speakers meets every Monday starting September 10.
In August they meet August 20, 7:00-8:15pm at the Alliance Church library room. http://sylvansslickspeakers.toastmastersclubs.org
—Submitted