Page 44 - November 2020 Voices

GLEANINGS FROM THE GROVE

with a camera “televising” the event on screen. room. TLI was held online last Spring and

Today, using Zoom for a meeting is almost Winter TLI is scheduled for two half-days in
“ho-hum” as we go about the traditional December-January—again online. The variety
weekly meeting with roles performed by other of networking opportunities, the availability of
Toastmasters from around the area or even the top notch resource people for any Toastmaster

whole world. issue whether it be Pathways, Zoom use, Speech
Last night we had a speaker from Chicago, Contests and generic online training, and the
and evaluators from Malaysia and Thailand. We myriad of club meetings you can now attend all
chatted with a fellow Toastmaster from Mexico prove that Toastmasters is more “alive,” changing

as if she were sitting in the same room as we were to meet the current crisis and yet still a personal
(and the “we” came from all over the Portland growth experience for us all.
Metro Area). I am so pleased to be a Toastmaster today. I
You and I can visit any club around the have not mentioned the YouTube trainings and

world through the medium of the Zoom online other resources we can avail ourselves of.
meeting. I now belong to three Clubs. My travel For me, that is the “plus” of 2020. I am not
time would have been at least two to three hours sitting at home, watching re-runs of Star Trek,
round trip for two of them, and twenty minutes and eating bon-bons on the couch, scheduling

one-way for the third. Yet today I walk from one myself for guilt trips and/or pity parties,
room to another, sit comfortably in my chair bemoaning “woe is me” or other such negative,
and join in within minutes. non-productive expressions. Instead, I can join
Speech contests? Hey folks, they were in with more activities, training and continue

accomplished this Spring online. Granted, there to use the online tools offered by Toastmasters
were a few bugs to work out, but the District International. I am engaged. I am growing. I
contest was amazing and extremely successful. am meeting new people, visiting with other
Our annual business meeting? Nearly 300 Toastmasters across the globe. I am alive. To

people attended online, making it the most well- quote yet another Star Trek character, I have
attended business meeting in District history. selected “to boldly go where no one has gone
One of the pre-2020/Covid-19 era activities before.” This is my choice. How about you?
had been club officer training. Normally, there

are two Toastmasters Leader’s Institutes a year
with a limited number of make-up trainings.
This year, District 7 has offered a beyond
belief amount of online education seminars,

workshops, and leadership training activities—a
minimum of three a month.
Each has been well worth attending and
watching, all without having to leave your living

44 ONE COMMUNITY