Amigo Club Fun Day

A couple Saturdays ago Fred and Alix graciously invited everyone from the Amigo Club to attend the First Semi-Annual Amigo Toastmasters Club Fun Day, at their home in West El Paso. Alix was a fabulous hostess and the food was excellent. We had a rousing round of Table Topics and later a story was started that everyone had an opportunity to add to. We look forward to the next party and thank Fred and Alix for a great time.

03/31/08

Time is not our friend. You hear so much about time management, but I believe that we can only manage ourselves. Time (remember, not our friend) keeps right on marching on regardless of what we do. Manage all you want but the clock keeps ticking.

I had high aspirations when I started writing this blog. A weekly account of the goings on at the Amigo Club. As you can see however, time has gotten away from me. This is the first post since November, 2007. Time continued to march while I sat on my laurels. (I'm not sure I have laurels, but that's how the saying goes).

Anyway, last night we had the pleasure of hearing an icebreaker speech from Liliana. It was interesting informative and put together well. Thank you Liliana for sharing your story with us.

It is time, once again for dues to be paid. Thank you to those that have paid in a timely manner. Those that wish to renew that haven't paid can call me to make arrangements. 329-5868.

Next week Patsy and Darleen will be presenting their next manual speeches. It promises to be an exciting evening.

Don't forget that we have the conference coming up in May. If you can't attend the entire conference you can sign up for ala carte, for classes or the speech contests etc...

Until next time.....Rick

Monday 11/19/2007

Hello Everyone!

Our meeting last night was a success, despite the light turnout. I was told that traffic on the Interstate was pretty heavy and that may have been a factor.

Mr Rock Dasher acted as the Toastmaster and kept us moving along. John Dunham gave a presentation entitled "You Determine the Cost" on immigration that was insightful if controversial. Darleen was our Topic Master for the Evening. And we had a guest, Mr Jonathan Twigg. We hope he had a good time and that he will choose to join our group.

"Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident." Dale Carnegie.

David Letterman said, " The number one fear in America is public speaking. That means most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy."

In the first grade teachers begin teaching children to "read." They have the students stand up and read out loud. And little Bobby or Cindy gets up and stammers and stutters and the other kids laugh and Bobby or Cindy can't wait to sit down. Instead of teaching reading we are teaching a fear of public speaking. A fear so great that it grows and grows until, for some, it becomes the greatest fear of all.

Fortunately we have Toastmasters to help get us past that fear. A friendly nurturing environment where you can make your mistakes without fear. A place where your peers will assist you in your quest to better your speaking skills. The only way to get better is practice, practice, practice. Or as Darren Lacroix says, "Stagetime, stagetime, stagetime."

Contact Rock (our new VP of Education) to schedule your next speech. You joined the group and paid your money to get better and that can't happen without your participation.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you all next Monday.

Rick

10/29/07

Hello Everybody,

What an exciting meeting we had last night. The turnout was fantastic and we saw some faces from the past. Ira Batt did an excellent job calling folks and we truly appreciate his efforts.

John Simonds, our District Governor was in attendance and Willie Trejo, ATMB gave us a rousing speech on the "State of America." It was a pleasure to hear such an excellent speaker. Willie also filled the role of General Evaluator. Alma Cardiel (Grammarian) and Carlos Medina (Timer) were back after being out for awhile. Welcome back and we look forward to seeing you more often.

Rock Dasher was our Table Topics Master and, as usual performed admirably. His topics were well thought out and challenging and after all was said and done, Patsy Olivas counted up the votes and Mariel Bustamante was our Table Topics winner for the evening. She received a standing ovation and a trophy that she was able to hold for several minutes before it had to be put away. Great job Mariel.

We discussed the possibility of changing our meetings to another day of the week, but at this point I have not received much feedback so for now we will continue to meet on Mondays. We are still looking for a couple of volunteers to step up and help out with the roles of VP Education and Secretary/Treasurer. If you are interested, please give me a call.

I look forward to seeing everyone next week, and don't forget to bring a friend.

Rick

10/15/07

Greetings fellow Toastmasters.

Thanks to those of you that attended this weeks meeting.

I have been on the road a considerable amount the last couple weeks and attending some classes so I haven't had a lot of time to get this email out.

I have a couple of announcements and questions for you all.

First: There is a speech contest this week on Thursday at 6:30pm at 251 Shadow Mt. It will be a humorous speech contest and an evaluation contest. I told them it might be tough to get participants with this short a notice but if you are interested in participating or just watching please do.

Next: A proposal has been made to move our meetings to Tuesday evenings instead of Mondays. Please respond with your input by clicking here.

And finally: Our dues are late. I mentioned last time that I am unable to submit dues for anyone unless I have at least 6. I am a couple short and really need to get this done if the club is to remain viable. If you have no intention of renewing please let me know. If you are going to renew please do so.

Thanks for your support and remember the District Conference is coming up soon in Albuquerque. Click here for more info.

See you next week.

Rick

10/01/2007

A small turnout but a great meeting none the less.

Rock was our Toastmaster this evening and he did a fine job. We had an Amigo moment and discussed the goals of our new members and what they could expect to get out of their Toastmasters participation.

We added a bit of a twist to our Table Topics, but I think I'll save that one for when we have a larger turnout and use it again. Everyone made the time but unfortunately I neglected to use the word of the day. Shame on me.

The speech contest that was supposed to be held this past Saturday was cancelled due to lack of interest. Is this a trend throughout the El Paso Toastmasters and not just a problem with the Amigo Club? I hope not. The attendees tonight have made a commitment not to let this club fade away. Can we count on you to commit a little time and effort?

Would you be willing to participate in a speech contest at the club level? By participate I don't necessarily mean you have to speak, but would you come support those that did? Click on comment to put in your response.

Dues are late and I am unable to input dues for those that have paid because the computer requires a minimum of 6 renewals. Please let me know if you plan on renewing or not. You can call me at 329-5868 or send me an email at rick@ricksnow.com

I hope to see you next week. Tom will be presenting his second speech. Let's have a great turnout to support him.

El Presidente

8/25/07

Sorry for the lapse in posting. I did actually post last week but I forgot to send the email link out.

We had quite a turnout last night. I was unfortunately late getting in, but Patsy Olivas stepped up and handled things beautifully I am told. Dr Carlos was our Table Topics winner and posed for his photo with Mr Ira Batt, our General Evaluator.

John Simonds, our Division D Governor was in attendance as well and acted as our Table Topics Master for the evening. Thanks for your help John.

It is time again to pay your dues for the next 6 months. Dues are $36.00. That's $27 for Toastmasters and $9 for the Amigo club. You can pay in person or send a check (made out to Amigo Club) to the office.

601 Sunland Park Dr, Bldg 4
El Paso, TX 79912

Our Division Governor announced last night that there was going to be a speech contest this weekend at the EPCC center off of Viscount. It is at 1 pm and open to all interested.

Check the District 23 website for information http://district23.org/

I will send out the phone numbers for our callers by Friday.

Thanks...Rick