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 TMI Convention Report

A Toastmaster's View: The 2008 International Convention in Calgary

By Deidra L. McGee, ACB
Area 14 Governor – District 36

Deidra at TMI Convension posing with third place winner from Region 7, Katherine Morrison.I attended the 77th Annual Toastmasters International Conventions held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada August 12-16, 2008. If you’ve never been to an international convention, I encourage you to attend one in the future. It was my first convention since I joined Toastmasters in the Spring of 2004 and I was determined that it would be great!

I was not disappointed. The 2008 Convention has been the ultimate highlight so far this year for me.  After I arrived, I attended the Board of Directors Briefing and Convention Opening Ceremonies with celebrated mountain climber Laurie Skreslet, the first Canadian to summit Mount Everest. He inspired us with “Overcoming Adversity Through Teamwork.” 

I learned that evening that over 1200 Toastmasters from the Americas to Australia, representing six continents of the world, were at the convention.  Sadly, the seventh, Antarctica was a no show. Ironically, the Olympics were taking place the same week as the TI Convention and how symbolic is that? The TI Convention and the International Speech Contest are like the Olympics of public speaking.  The Toastmasters International Speech Contest should be entered into the Olympics as a sport.  Heck, the National Spelling Bee is considered a competition and sport and it is shown on ESPN every year. And at the AC level, we do have to get a bronze, silver or gold award, don’t we? How do I start a petition?  

The International Speech Competition

The highlight of the convention was the International Speech Competition.  Each year, over 230,000 members in over 11,000 clubs in 92 countries around the world have the opportunity to participate in this contest where competitors deliver 7-minute speeches judged on core message, speech development, language, and delivery techniques.

I was here that I witnessed the first woman in over 20 years, LaShunda Rundles from Dallas, Texas, win first place! Her first place speech was titled "Speak".

Note: I am pictured above wearing the gold gown with Katherine Morrison from Region 7th, Third Place Winner in the International Speech Contest.

Region 3: LaShunda Rundles (Dallas, Texas)

Region-winning speech title: Dirty Little Secrets

Home club: Town North Trendsetters (4533), District 50

Outside Regions - A: Loghandran Krishnasmy (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

His Second Place Speech was titled "Finding the Rhythm"

Tough Love: Advice from K Loghandran on speech contest success

Home club: Speakers’ Dream (220), District 51

Region 7: Katherine Morrison (Massachusetts)

Her Third PLace speech was titled "Baby Don't Believe Them"

In the News Curry College Professor Recognized as the Best Public Speaker on the Eastern Seaboard (Curry College website, July 15, 2008)

Region-winning speech title: Stand Up Again

District-winning speech title: The Challenge

Home club: Boston West Toastmasters (4735), District 31

 

The 2008-2009 Election

The process for electing international officers and directors was like a presidential election – counting and recounting, and recess after recess.  However, it was very organized and the delegates were very patient through it all. The results are as follows:

"The Courage to Conquer"
International President Jana Barnhill, DTM, AS

Senior Vice President
Gary Schmidt, DTM		 Second Vice President
Pat Johnson, DTM		 Third Vice President
Michael Notaro, DTM*		 Region I
Tevis Thompson, DTM
Earleen Norris, DTM *
Region II
Richard Snyder, DTM
Mary G. Russell, DTM*		 Region III
Charlotte Howard, DTM
Tim Swearingen, DTM*		 Region IV
Judy Southwick, DTM
Lyle Appleyard, DTM*		 DNAR
Mohammed Murad, DTM
Poh Kim Siong, DTM*
Region V
Michael Smith,DTM
Michael Raffety, DTM*		 Region VI
John Rich,DTM
Kristal DiCarlo, DTM*		 Region VII
Kristin Nicholson, DTM
Annelie Weber, DTM*		 Region VIII
Lee Holliday, DTM
Sal Asad, DTM*

*Elected at the August 2008 Annual Business Meeting

Workshops

No convension report would be complete without listing all the incredible workshops that were available. Here they are:

  • "IMPROVing Your Confidence for an Out-of-Club Experience” presented by David Hobson

  • "Sparkle When You Speak !” presented by Sheryl Roush

  • "Listening, the Forgotten Skill” presented by Frank Felsburg

  • "Sales Secrets for Club or Corporate Success” presented by Dave “The Sheff” Sheffield

  • "Dealing with Difficult People” presented by Jeffrey Washington

  • "Being Engaged Doesn’t Always Lead to Marriage:  Strategies of Small Talk” presented by Dorothea Hendriks

  • "From Citizen to Leader:  How to Channel Talents that Will Help You Change the World” presented by Carl Duivenvoorden

  • "Recipes for Successful Clubs,” presented by Joan Binetti and Jean McAllister

  • "The Accredited Speaker Program”’ “Persuasion Dynamics:  The art and Science of Persuading Others to Your Way of Thinking” presented by Paul Endress

  • "Building Bridges with Diverse Cultural Communities” presented by David McLauren

  • "Creating Long-Term Success in the Corporate Environment” presented by Barbara Jabu, Darlene Porter, Kevin Safinuk, and Ken Tanner

  • "A leadership luncheon titled:  “The Power or One! You Can, Do and Will Make a Difference!”  presented by Accredited Speaker Bob Hooey

  • "The 10 Foundations of Motivation” presented by Shawn Doyle

  • "The Obvious is an Illusion:  The Art and Science of Good Humor” presented by Accredited Speaker John Kinde

  • "Public Speaking – An Emotional Approach presented by 2007 World Champion of Public Speaking Vikas Jhingran

  • "Finding Speech Topics and Preparing Painlessly presented by Dee Dees

  • "Your Personal Strategic Plan” presented by Gary Ryan Blair (The Goals Guy)

  • "Panel Discussion:  Achieving Success in the Distinguished District Program”

For information on the International Speech Competition see http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/2008/08/15/world-championship-public-speaking/

In the future, perhaps I will see you at one or all of the upcoming Conventions:
The 78th International Convention - Mashantucket, Connecticut – August 12-15, 2009
The 79th International Convention – Sydney, Australia- August 11-14, 2010
The 80th International Convention – Las Vegas, Nevada – August 17-20, 2011

This page updated 23-Aug-2008 06:45 PM

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