Page 42 - 2019 March Voices

LEANNA LISTENS

Michael Midghall
Pathways Champion

Leanna Lindquist, DTM

This month’s featured member is Michael Midghall. I met him

at a recent speech contest where he served as the model speaker.

What brought you to Toastmasters?

I learned about Toastmasters during college,
while on exchange at the University of Delaware.
As an Electrical Engineering student, my as the Buddha encouraged others to simply try
curriculum did not fully support my chosen meditation to see if it doesn’t improve the quality

career of Sales Engineer. So, along with business of their life, which I did, I decided to take the
classes during my final year I took Toastmasters same approach with Pathways—just give it an
public speaking. I’ll never forget the feeling. I honest try. Also of significance, while I had been
was able (I learned) to make a classroom full of impressed with the Toastmasters traditional

students laugh. That feeling was the impetus for Communications track, I never developed much
joining the West Beaverton Toastmasters Club in faith in the Leadership track, believing it was
2004, just after I left Intel Corporation to start outdated. (Recall, I had worked at a top tier multi-
my own market research business. national high-tech corporation for six years and

learned about management techniques by Peter
Tell us about your experience with Senge and Peter Drucker in my MBA curriculum
Pathways. before joining Toastmasters.) I also benefited
When I took the Assessment, Motivational from earlier Pathway pioneers (such as James

Strategies was not even on my radar. So, Wantz) who started developing “work arounds”
when that popped up as the number one for the bugs and significant challenges that were
recommendation, I was immediately impressed and (some) still are present in the software. From
with the potential of Pathways. I realized that experience, I know that new software products

given my new career goal—the non-profit for are never perfect ‘out of the box’ and that this is
motivating important lifestyle change—this was a big, big step forward into the technology world
the perfect Path for me! As someone who tries to for the Toastmasters organization. An incredibly
reduce my environmental footprint by biking, large library of public speaking wisdom is not

avoiding single-use plastics, voluntary simplicity just being transitioned to the digital medium,
and meditation—all very challenging efforts— it is first going through a major overhaul—
the many complaints I’d heard about Pathways getting updated, improved and expanded. So,
(software implementation) did not deter me. Just I think it’s important that we all acknowledge

42 ONE COMMUNITY