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Lunch brought more celebration of friendships. Every person I spoke to was having a marvelous experience.
For many this was their first District event, and from their
comments, was the first of what would be many in the future.

put into practice immediately. After lunch, our District Director led the business meeting
followed by another round of breakout sessions. These were
equally as interesting and varied as those earlier in the day.
Glen Anderson, CC, “Creating Differentiation Through Your
Message”; Chelsea Avery, CC “The Power of Partnerships”;
Eric Winger, ACS, ALB, “Beyond the Sandwich: The Five W’s of
Effective Evaluation”; and Jason Leon, CC, “The Best Investment”.
I personally attended Chelsea’s session where she took us
into the meat and potatoes of developing strong sustainable
partnerships. Eric Winger always produces powerful interaction
within his training sessions, he is a master. Glen and Jason were
equally strong presenters with valuable information we could

The last event of the day, the Humorous Speech Contest, found attendees returning to the Auditorium. We were

Glen Anderson, CC Chelsea Avery, CC Eric Winger, ACS, ALB Jason Leon, CC

minutes away. Judges and contestants were briefed, all is ready. The Toastmaster announced the speaking order.
The first speaker approached the stage. The Toastmaster announced the speaker’s name, the speech title twice,
then repeated the speaker’s name. A brief handshake and humor began to roll. Speaker after speaker performed.
They were hilarious and the audience responded to every speaker. It was evident that each speaker had prepared
for this event. They did a fabulous job. One speaker shared a story about embarking on a camping experience.
Another told the funniest story about developing a political reality show with presidential candidates. Another
shared the inside story of flight attendants telling their side of the flight experience.

In a room of silence the judges completed their ballots. The Chief Judge and ballot counters retired to complete
their work. Witty comments from the contestants again brought laughter from the audience. The Chief Judge
emerged from the side entrance with envelope in hand. District Leaders made their way to the stage. With
the same intensity as before, the Third
Place winner is announced, Todd Kimball;
Second Place, Paymon Salashoor; again the
room becomes silent as the announcement
comes. District 7 Toastmasters 2015-16 First
Place Humorous Speech Contest Winner:
Yoshiko Okamura! The auditorium erupts in
applause. Yokko was at the back of the room.
She put her hands over her mouth, her eyes
wide in astonishment! She stepped up to
the platform and was handed the First Place
Trophy! The audience’s applause bounced
off the walls. She too stood as a speechless toastmaster in front of an audience standing to honor her! As the
applause died down, she shared her thanks and appreciation.

At the end of the day, the attendees walked away filled with new ideas, knowing they had been part of the
best conference experience in recent memory. From opening comments to the final applause, the day was
filled with excitement, laughter, and connections. Purchase your tickets for the Spring Conference right now for
$55. Keynote speaker, Balraj Arunasalam (1st Vice President of Toastmasters International) and Craig Valentine,
1999 World Champion of Public Speaking will be showcasing the event on May 7, 2016 at the Lane Community
College Center for Learning and Education in Eugene. See you there!

Volume 2 Issue 5 - NOVEMBER 2015 7