Page 7 - voices-09-2021

COVER STORY

Brinn Hemmingson, ACG
For the Love of Community

Phyllis Harmon, DTM

In this month’s article, Brinn Hemmingson, DTM, a
member of Portland Progressives and Tell Me a Story
Toastmasters, shares personal stories about life beyond
Toastmasters.

Who is Brinn Hemmingson?
I am the daughter of a farmer and am an activist.
Both my parents were activists. My mother was an

immigrant and active in protection of the foreign
born. Her father suffered under the McCarran
Act. Dad was a farmer and a carpenter. He built
his own house, all the barns,—ething on the farm,

and he raised sheep.
When I was about four, we moved to the farm in
northern Minnesota. That’s where I grew up. I was
active in 4-H. I discovered that I liked speaking in

high school. I started competing in Declamation
which was competitive speaking through English
class. We had poetry reading, interpretation of
stories, original stories, folk stories, and news.

In my Senior year, I won Alternate to State
in creative storytelling, which was my original
story. Had it been any other year, I would have
gone to Minneapolis to compete in the statewide

competition. That was the year the school decided
to spend more money on our hockey team. The

VOICES! | SEPTEMBER 2021 7