We had an exciting time at our first meeting in 2010. The theme was “New Beginnings,” which led Toastmaster Mark Emblidge to undertake a brief discourse on the “Department of Redundancy Department.”

The meeting was held in the upstairs room at Sanibel Cottage, which is a little tight for our group, but, as one would expect, the close confines didn’t prevent members and guests from enjoying a fast-paced meeting with great speeches and evaluations.

A special shout-out must go to our newest member, Dara Greiger, who walked away with the top prize for her Icebreaker speech. Way to go, Dara! Love it!

Here are all the results of the evening’s contests:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Al Turof
• Winner: Bill Self

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Mark Frisk
• Winner: Al Turof

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Kelly Roland
• Winner: Dara Greiger

A message from Dave Pope, Postprandial Toastmasters President, 2009-2010:

The District 65 Toastmaster of the Year is awarded to an extraordinary member whose enthusiasm is so contagious it rubs off on everyone in the district; the industrious volunteer who is eager to perform any and all meeting assignments; the exceptional individual making uncommon efforts to recognize, encourage and nurture fellow Toastmasters.

The recipient of this year’s Toastmaster of the Year award was announced at the just-concluded Toastmasters District 65 Fall Conference, and I am very happy and proud to say that it is our own Kate Olsen.

Kate has worked very hard to support not only our club but also helped start the Geneva club and is coaching a few others as well. She is always one of the first members to step up to help the district and its clubs. She demonstrates the meaning of Toastmasters leadership and speaking in everything she does.

Postprandial Toastmasters (and welcome guests), please help me congratulate this year’s District 65 Toastmaster of the Year: Kate Olsen.

Well done, Kate. You have worked very hard and you deserve this!

We had a blast at our 9/30/09 meeting, with its awesome theme of “Sunday Crosswords.”

Special shout-outs go to Allison Moreland, who did a superb job as Toastmaster in her very first turn in that role. Her custom-made giant Toastmasters crosswords puzzle was a hit, with members sticking around after the meeting to make sure that every last letter-space was filled in.

Congrats as well to Sudipta Das, who served as Chief Evaluator for the first time and executed the role perfectly.

Here are the results of the evening’s contests:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Kate Olsen
• Winner: Paul Lozito

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Al Turof
• Winner: Bill Self

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Paul Lozito
• Winner: Tom Frisk

A report from Ed Oberhofer, Postprandial’s VP of Education:

It is my pleasure to announce and congratulate the winners of our club contests held on September 16th..

The Evaluation Contest was won by Mark Emblidge.  Ed Oberhofer was the runner-up.

The Humorous Speech Contest was won by Dave Pope.  Kate Flanagan was the runner-up.

All the contestants gave very high caliber presentations, and I am sure Mark and Dave will represent us well at the Area level and beyond.

Their next opportunity will be at the Area 6 contest on Saturday, October 3rd at 6:30 PM at Cerame’s Italian Villa in Winton Place Plaza. Please consider attending and lending Mark and Dave your support. Here’s a flyer with complete details.

Who doesn’t love a great campfire story? No one! Which is why the theme for our September 2nd meeting, “Around the Campfire,” was such a great choice. It inspired some truly creative stories and wordplay.

In addition to the welcome guests in attendance, there were several other attendees of note. We were delighted to see Doug Johnston, long-time Postprandialite-extraordinaire, make an appearance, and we hope to see more of him at future meetings. (Hint,  hint!)

And Mark Emblidge had three extra-special guests in tow: his parents and two-year-old Rebecca. Mark’s speech about his relationship with Rebecca was heartfelt and moving, and earned him the trophy for best speaker of the evening.

A special shout-out goes to Sudipta Das, whose humorous and touching remembrance of his early days at RIT earned him a place as runner-up for best speech. We are all impressed with the fantastic progress that Sudipta, who is currently serving as the club’s treasurer, is making. Here are the complete contest results:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Gil Stern
• Winner: Ed Oberhofer

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Paul Lozito
• Winner: Tom Weymann

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Sudipta Das
• Winner: Mark Emblidge

On Wednesday, August 19th, in place of our regular meeting, Postprandialites will gather for our annual picnic. If past experience is any guide, a ton of fun will be had by all, both regular members and guests.

Speaking of guests, the event is open to everyone, including friends and family members. So members, feel free to bring your friends, spouses and kids. Friends and guests: you are more than welcome! Details below…

Date: August 19, 2009
Time: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
Place: Harris-Whalen Park in Penfield, across from Wegmans on Route 441; map below (we’ll be in the open pavilion)
Cost: $5 per person

Please bring some snack-type munchies (chips, veggies, etc.) to pass around. We will provide the burgers, dogs, and drinks.

And since we’ll be in the open pavilion, you might want to bring some bug spray.

We’re looking forward to seeing you!

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The theme of Postprandial’s August 5th meeting, held once again at Sanibel Cottage, our temporary meeting place, was “Rebel Yell.” Spirits were high, stoked by Toastmaster Kate Flanagan, who led members and guests (including District 65 Central Division Governor Jared Kronenberg) alike in a flurry of whoops and hollers.

Here are the results of the evening’s contests. Special congrats to Erin McCormick, who took away the best speaker trophy with her icebreaker speech! Way to go, Erin! Great to have you aboard.

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Jared Kronenberg
• Winner: Mark Frisk

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Mark Emblidge
• Winner: Bill Self

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Fred Beer
• Winner: Erin McCormick

Our July 22nd meeting, held at Sanibel Cottage, featured Gil Stern as Toastmaster. Unable to serve as Toastmaster for over a year, owing to his role as President of the club in 2008-2009, Gil stepped behind the lectern with obvious relish and kept the meeting humming along nicely.

The theme of the evening was “Show Me the Way.” Here are the results of the contests:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Ed Oberhofer
• Winner: Mark Emblidge

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Dave Pope
• Winner: Tom Weymann

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Al Turof
• Winner: Drew Martin

Just a quick note to say that our July 22nd meeting will be at Sanibel Cottage. A map is embedded in our July 7th post below.

It was a night of firsts: Our first meeting of the new Toastmasters year, our first reports from the new Executive Committee, our first new member of the year (Congratulations to Erin McCormick!), and our first taste of Sanibel Cottage as a temporary replacement venue.

A special shout-out to Matt McDermott, who delivered one of the best icebreaker speeches we’ve seen and took home the prize for best speaker. Way to go, Matt!

Here are all the contest results:

Table Topics

Runner-Up: Mark Emblidge

Winner: Melinda Yoder

Evaluator

Runner-Up: Gil Stern

Winner: Mark Emblidge

Speaker

Runner-Up: Tom Weymann

Winner: Matt McDermott