Patiently Waiting

Hello Everyone - I had the pleasure of chairing the August 19th meeting.  Because I was patiently awaiting the imminent birth of my step-daughter and son-in-law's first child, I chose "patience" and "waiting" as theme and word of the meeting.  It is true that we spend a lot of time patiently waiting for the best things in life, whether it be a new job, inspiration for a barn burner speech or a new baby.  Karina Garcia ably continued the theme in her toast. 

The speech portion of our meetings is never boring and tonight was no exception.  Allan Lee, working on his second speech, spoke about the "Housing Bubble".  Allan noted that we Canadians are optimists when it comes to investing in real estate.  In fact, 70% of us are home owners.  However, the combination of easy money and excessive optimism is a sure recipe for a housing bubble, such as happened in the U.S. 

We know that Ben Allison is a fan of the martial arts.  Tonight, he took us through the history and elements of Tae Kwon Do.  It is interesting to note that this discipline has fans in 80 countries around the globe. 

Finally, in "The Write Show", Carol Dowell played the host of a television talk show.  She interviewed Minnie Grewal, a journalist, who spoke about her youth in India, her eventual emigration to Canada and her entry into the world of authoring books. 

I thank those who jumped in and assumed roles at the last minute.  Great job everyone.  The evening ended with the presentation of ribbons to Minnie and Ben, who tied for best speaker and to Vince Capicotto for best evaluator.

See you all at our next meeting, September 2nd.  Please remember that "dues are due' and bring a cheque for your membership dues to treasurer Vince Capicotto.  We encourage you all to make plans to attend the fall conference in Niagara Falls from November 19th to November 21st.  Carol reminded everyone that the 'early bird' conference fee is valid only until August 31st.  Toastmasters conferences are a wonderful way to meet and mingle with fellow Toastmasters from all over District 86.  Add to that interesting workshops and the humourous speech and table topics contest and you have the recipe for a great weekend. 

Cheers - Lorraine Van Wagner, President and Webmaster