The Award for Most Awards goes to....

Meeting, Wednesday 27th June 2012:   The CTI Horror Picture Show...


In attendance: Mahdia, Darlene, Lora, Helen, J.F., David, Geetha, Rosario, Janet, Kim, Simon, Val, Chris

Guests: Kaitlin, Raniel

It was great when it all began...I was a regular CTI fan....

CTI Techtalkers is a special club. And because it is special we have had 7,398 (right Darlene) celebrations and award ceremonies. I think it's because..we like to Party...we like..we like to Party...

So to mark our Toastmasters year end, which is officially 30th June, we had a Pot Luck...yeah...the food kind...not the underground HipHop group.....

This is the kind of gathering where all the team players bring food, and Simon shows up late with none and eats it all anyway.

The meeting itself was more informal, consisting mainly of a masterful Table Topics Session, led by incoming El Presidente Chris Hecker, and then a gigantanormous awards session...

Chris Hecker flanked by his DTM bodyguards

Our topic presenters were:
Kim "Come 'Fly' with me" Beckett; Rosario "Birds in my Belfry" Talevera; Simon "All Jackson's make good babysitters, especially Michael and I" Jackson; Val "Audrey Hepburn Holiday" Erickson; Darlene "I Vant your blood" Davies.

After a fierce contest between our resident weirdos, the winner, and world champion bird lover, was Rosario!

We then moved on to our latest Awards ceremony, hosted ably by David, Mahdia, Val and J.F. and Neil Patrick Harris. Ahem...

The awards were as follows:
Outstanding Toastmasters: Darlene, David, Val, Rosario, Geetha
Most Improved: Mahdia....
Happiest: Lora
Professional Service Award: Helen
Spirit of Success: J.F.
Rising Star: Janet (or Judy, or Jody...heck call her whatever you like...The future is ours so lets plan it.....Dammit!.)
Most Dedicated: Kim
Writer of the Year: Simon
Humorous: Chris
Presidents Choice: David

And then....

Badge Presentations for our Federales....sorry DTM's!

BADGES...we ain't got no...

to follow it all, our DTM's were presented with their badges: Congrats again Rosario, Geetha and...not to be fed till after Midnight...Val....

And Finally: based on rigorous contributions, and official scorecards, we awarded our Rookie of the Year, and our Toastmaster of the Year....

Rookie of the Year 2012: Mahdia Ibrahim

Toastmaster of the Year 2012: Rosario Talavera

Triple Crown winners Geetha and Val: Kneel before us Mortals!*

*Triple Crown awarded for completing 3 separate Toastmasters awards, and not according to rumor, for being a monumental princess.

David: The Presidents right hand!

Helen: Maintaining Order among the Chaos!

Rookie of the year 2012 - Maaaaaaaaahdia....

Club Toastmaster of the year 2012 - Rosario "two times" Talavera

Thank you to all at the club for a great 2012 Toastmasters year.... the road was long but we ran it....Janet....

I'll have more writing for you in the next year....

So please...don't tell me to 'Can it'...Janet....

10 - Years, Speeches, Club - Anniversary

Ten. Ten, Ten Ten, Ten Ten Tennnnnn.


Yes. We turned 10 and had a big feast to celebrate.


In attendance: Many of our core club members (see earlier meeting for a typical list), plus family members, friends and notable Toastmaster Dignitaries: District 42 Governor Chuck LeBlanc (I never did get chance to ask if he was related to Matt); Division J Governor Doris "I get it done" Henn, Lt. Governor Marketing Keith Lee.

District 42 Governor Chuck Le Blanc declares CTI Techtalkers the greatest club in the history of Toastmasters*

 (*not actually what he said but we're sure that's what he meant)

The highlights of the feast were many and included:

DTM's
Plaques awarded to our newest DTM's (Distinguished Toastmasters), Geetha Nicodemus and Roasario Talavera, along with a special mention for Val Erickson who also becomes a DTM at Midnight on July 1st (as soon as her term as Area Governor is up).
This takes our number of DTM's at CTI Techtalkers to 4. By way of understanding how amazing this is, Chuck pointed out that less than 1% of Toastmasters achieve the DTM designation. By my calculations with new member Janet taking us to 22 members, we have 18% of our club with the DTM designation.


I'm willing to bet no other club boasts so many. Congratulations CTI Techtalkers and the ladies in question.

Speech Contest Winner District 42

Darlene "I sweep the board" Davies, was presented with the District 42 trophy for winning the speech contest, taking her to the World Semi-Finals in Orlando. This trophy was so gigantic I suspect we'll need to hire her some porters to carry it around.

(Now that we have 4 DTM's we can finally move the Ark of the Covenant back to it's sacred resting place...)

Darlene receives the world's largest trophy for her district 42 victory 

Paving my own road - Mahdia's 10th Speech

Her 10th Competent Communication Speech, which coincidentally earned CTI Techtalkers the 10th and final point in achieving Presidents Distinguished Club status.
Mahdia raised extreme emotions and applause from the group as she described growing up in Sudan, and having the bravery and confidence not only to leave and pursue her dreams, but to learn to communicate confidently and clearly through Toastmasters.

Pave your own road, then follow it...it can be Yellow, or even "So Yellow"

Our Toastmasters special guests gave speeches, along with our club sponsor Dave McKillop, and former charter member Terry Ross.

We learned about the beauty and power that being a member of this club can bring, and hope for another 10 successful years!

CTI gets Presidents Distinguished award (again)

Congratualtions CTI Techtalkers! We are officially a Presidents Distinguished club for 2011-12!

For those who aren't aware, we have targets (shown below) to achieve a number of members who receive Competent Communicator (CC), Advanced Communicator (AC), Competent Leader (CL), Advanced Leader (AL) or Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), along with new members, and training of officers.

Success in at least 9 of 10 makes us "Presidents Distinguished"!

Congrats Team!!!

GOAL ACTUAL ACHIEVED [1] CCs 2 2 * [2] Additional CCs 2 1 [3] ACs 1 1 * [4] Additional ACs 1 1 * [5] CL, AL, or DTM 1 1 * [6] Additional CLs, ALs, or DTMs 1 3 * [7] New Members 4 4 * [8] Additional New Members 4 7 * [9] Officers Trained (both required)      June-August 4 7      and December-February 4 7 * [10] Submitted on time (both required)      October or April Renewal 1 2      and Officer List 1 1 * Total Goals Achieved To-Date: 9

CTI Techtalkers get 3rd Distinguished Toastmaster

Congratulations are in order to our beloved Geetha Nicodemus who, after 10 years in Toastmasters at a range of clubs spanning continents, is now a Distinguished Toastmaster.

Distinguished Toastmaster or DTM, is the highest award within Toastmasters, and represents a huge accomplishment not just in public speaking, but in a leadership capacity within club and division.

Geetha joins Darlene and Rosario as DTM's in our club, and rumour has it Val is close to achieving the status also.

Proof positive that CTI Techtalkers has a great depth of talent to call on. And so... time for the men to step up to the plate too methinks...

Congratualtions Geetha! and lady DTM's! (Perhaps we need Pink DTM jackets ala Grease...)

Did Your Funny Bone Get Tickled?

Everyone seemed to have a good time at the club humorous speech contest on Wednesday, September 21- even the four contestants! Evidence? All the smiles and laughter.

Mary Jane entertained us with her "Adventures of the big, new, shiny BBQ". We chuckled when Chris Hecker told us his funny story about the coin toss exam cheater. Jean Francois had fun telling us about the misadventures of a priest and his concubine in "Father Frelon". Finally Darlene did some humorous comparisons of destination honeymoons now and 50 years ago in her speech "Our Destination Honeymoon".

The winners of the CTI club humorous speech contest are:

1st Place: Darlene
2nd Place: Mary Jane



In the photo: Darlene, Val our Area Governor and Mary Jane
(Photo courtesy of Helen)


News Bulletin:
Mary Jane competed at MVP Advanced Club the following evening and won her 2nd club Table Topics contest there. Since she can only represent one Area, she has decided to compete for MVP at the Area G23 contest. That means that Rosario who placed 2nd in our club contest will now go on to compete in Table Topics at our Area J41 contest.

Rosario and Darlene will be looking for your smiling faces to encourage and inspire us. Area J 41 contest will be held on Thursday Oct 6 at 6:30 pm in the University of Calgary Student Council Chambers, MacEwan Hall.

Congratulations to all who participated in the contest - the contestants, the volunteers and our guest judges!

Results of the Club Table Topics Contest

It was a VERY close race in our Table Topics Contest! The contestants’ impromptu skills were put to the test. Congratulations to our four contestants Jean Francois Amiot, Jon Lambe, Mary Jane McGrath and Rosario Talavera who gave such heartfelt answers to the question “What cause or charity is the most important to me?”

The winners of the CTI Techtalkers Table Topics Contest are:
1st Place – Mary Jane McGrath
2nd Place – Rosario Talavera

Mary Jane will represent our club at the Area J41 contest on Thur Oct 6 to be held at the University of Calgary with Speakmasters as the hosts. Everyone is invited to come to the Area contest to cheer on Mary Jane.

Thank you to Toastmaster Kristi from Literally Speaking who came to help us with judging the contest and to all the CTI members who took on roles to make the contest a success.

Submitted by Helen

Our first Competent Communicator of the year

When you first join toastmasters the idea of doing one speech can be a daunting one, let alone 10. However, after completing each speech the next one seems more attainable. Mitch has inspired us to be better people and to not be "angry Calgarians" in his 10th speech of his Competent Communicator manual. It was a rousing speech that changed some of my thoughts and behaviors when it comes to being angry or upset. Very good job Mitch and I can't wait to see your next speech!

Our Club has Two Division Of the Year Award Winners!

Division Governor, Keith, has recently announced the Division J winners of the "Of the Year Awards". Rosario was awarded Division J Area Governor of the Year 2010-2011 and Linda was awarded Division J Rookie of the Year 2010-2011. Well done, Rosario and Linda!

To put the awards in perspective:
-Three of the five Area Governors in Division J achieved Select Distinguished Area status in the past year and Rosario's Area J41 was one of them.
-There were 27 clubs in Division J who had the opportunity to submit nominations for Rookie of the Year and Toastmaster of the Year.

One of our sister clubs in Area J41, Igniters, received the Division J Of the Year award for best newsletter.
Doris Henn, from Golden Gavel in Area J46, received the Division J Toastmaster of the Year award.

Congratulations to all the deserving recipients!

Val and Linda Win "Of the Year" Awards

The meeting room was vibrating with energy for CTI's annual delicious potluck and "Parade of Champions". Excellent comraderie, great food, awards and inspiring speeches - it was all there!  The creative collaboration of Val and Chris D H gave rise to lots of  fun awards and laughter. 

One of the big achievements this year was becoming a President's Distinguished Club - which Val, our Club President, said means that members are achieving their personal goals and getting value out of the club meetings. Val thanked members of her executive for their hard work and support by presenting each with a gift (roses or snickers bar - a story for another day).

Val (right) CTI Toastmaster of the Year
Presenters: Rosario and Jean Francois

 Congratulations to Val who was awarded CTI Techtalkers Toastmaster Of the Year and to Linda, our VP Education, who was awarded CTI Techtalkers Rookie Of the Year for their outstanding contributions and achievements in 2010-2011. Rosario presented the awards and spoke with enthusiasm about the achievements of both Toastmasters.

"Of the Year" awards are awarded at club, area, division and district levels each year so nominations of Val and Linda have been forwarded to the next level, Area J41.

Linda (centre) CTI Rookie of the Year
Presenters: Rosario and Jean Francois


Mitch presented a powerful, inspiring speech titled "Get in the Game". He challenged us all to forget about waiting until everything is perfect, to get in the game of life now before it is too late. His speech was evaluated with insight, suggestions for improvement and encouragement by David.

Best Table Topics was awarded to Mary Jane who spoke to the question "Would you do renovations yourself or hire someone to do it?" Since Mary Jane has a contractor husband and been through more than 17 renovations, she spoke with authority and humour on the topic.

Thank you to Toastmaster Val ---and to everyone who helped and participated -- for another very enjoyable CTI event. Congratulations once again to all the winners!

Kevin Earns His ACB

Kevin presented his 10th speech towards his Advanced Communicator Bronze (ACB) at Wednesday's meeting! To achieve his ACB, Kevin presented a total of 10 speeches working on projects from 2 Advanced Manuals. His last speech was from "Interpersonal Communication", which he used to develop very useful, relevant communication skills for the workplace, volunteer activities and home.

Congratulations, Kevin!

Area J41 Contest Results

CTI rocks! Rosario, Area J41 Governor, organized a very well-run contest and Linda did an outstanding job as Evaluation Contest Toastmaster for her very first time. Other CTI members volunteering were Mary Jane (timer), Helen and Darlene (ballot counters), Chris D.H.(judge). Frank, Geetha, Lynne, Jean-Francois and his wife were all enthusiastic audience members. When you consider the miserable weather, CTI did very well indeed.

The most exciting part was of course, the contests. Val represented our club well in both the evaluation contest and the international speech contest. The results were:

Area International Speech Contest

1st - Val  from CTI Techtalkers

2nd - Harry from Speaker's Edge (and Literally Speaking)

Area Evaluation Contest:

1st - Trudy from Speakmasters

2nd- Anuj from Speaker's Edge

In the photo: Area Governor Rosario, Val, Contest Toastmaster Bill

Val will now go on to compete in the Division J International Speech Contest on Friday, April 15. Let's go and cheer her on!

Congratulations, Val!

Rosario Completes her HPL Project!

Congratulations to Rosario who successfully completed her High Performance Leadership (HPL) project when she presented the project results to the club on Wednesday. Rosario's HPL, the Boot Camp on February 26, was a very successful project that received enthusiastic praise from all the participants. HPL is one more major step completed on her journey to Advanced Leader Silver. Way to go, Rosario!

What a Contest!

Today, three inspiring speakers spoke to the hearts of CTI Techtalkers and guests as they competed in the club's International Speech contest. Mary Jane told us to "keep busy, laugh and embrace life" in her speech about overcoming challenges "I'm so Lucky!". Val encouraged us to remove the mental clutter and make room for joy in her speech "Delete". Marc gave us examples of how travelling with a lot of baggage can weigh us down and we can travel life more freely if we "Travel Light".

While everyone present agreed all the contestants were winners, the final results are:

1st Place - Val
2nd Place- Mary Jane
3rd Place - Marc.

Congratulations to all the contestants and thank you for sharing your gifts with us! Thank you to Kyle, our Toastmaster and Contest Chairman; to Chief Judge Spence from Valley Echo; and to all the judges and volunteers.

Evaluation Contest Results

What a great evaluation contest we had! Eight contestants gave insightful feedback to our test speaker, Kristi from Literally Speaking. Kristi presented a very interesting speech, The Latte Factor, on the value of learning not to excessively spend. Congratulations to all of the contestants.

The winners of the CTI Techtalkers Club Evaluation Contest are:
1st Place- Val
2nd Place- Marc
3rd Place- Mary Jane

Val will now go on to the Area J41 contest on Saturday, April 2. Let's all go to cheer Val on as she represents our club in the Area Contest!

Another Competent Leader Awarded

Congratulations to Mary Jane who achieved her Competent Leader award!

Take a look at the Competent Leader manual to see all the choices you have for accomplishing this award. Mary Jane has been enthusiastically taking on roles at meetings as well as being a great supporter of activities in the club and in the wider Toastmaster community. Mary Jane is our current VP Membership.

CTI now has achieved 8 goals and is one goal away from President's Distinguished Club. Wow!

CTI is among the top 23!

CTI is one of 23 clubs in District 42 that will be awarded the D42 Go-Getter ribbon for achieving Distinguished Club status. There are 256 clubs in District 42!

Four clubs in Division J achieved Distinguished Club status to date: CTI Techtalkers, Silver Springs, Mountain Mumblers and Literally Speaking.

Each member of the club has earned this award through achievements, enthusiasm and support for each other. Keep on rocking!

Competent Leader Awarded

Congratulations to Chris D. H. who achieved his Competent Leader award! Chris has been a strong member of the CTI club, having been an executive member in the past, and always ready to take on a meeting role or help at club events.

CTI now has achieved 6 goals and is one goal away from Select Distinguished Club.

Val is Golden!

Great news! On Nov 17, Val presented her 10th speech towards her Advanced Communicator Gold award.
To receive this award, Val presented 10 speeches for the Competent Communicator, 10 advanced speeches for Advanced Communicator Bronze, 10 more speeches plus 2 educational sessions for the Advanced Communicator Silver, mentored a new member for three months, presented a Success/Leadership module "Working in a Team Environment", and presented 10 more advanced speeches. That is a major achievement involving 43 presentations over 6 years.
To send Val your best wishes, please email her directly or add a comment to this posting.
Congratulations, Val!

Congratulations to Val and Carole

Our club champions, Val and Carole, both did outstanding presentations at the Area J41 contest on Thursday, October 21, 2010.

The results are:
Table Topics:          1st Place - Dolores from Speakers' Edge
                               2nd Place - Carole from CTI
 Humorous Speech: 1st Place - Garrett from Igniters
                               2nd Place - Val from CTI

The first place winners will be going on to the Division J contest on Friday, October 29. If for any reason the 1st Place winners are unable to compete, the 2nd place will go on.
CTI was also well represented at the contest by Rosario who is the current Area J41 Governor, Linda, Helen, Chris, Mary Jane and Darlene. Rosario did double duty by not only organizing her own area contest but also including that of another Area Governor. Well done Val, Carole and Rosario!

Our Champions!

Shown in this photo are our Champions, Carole (left) in Table Topics and Val (centre) in Humorous Speech with Contest Toastmaster Linda (right). Carole and Val will represent our club at the Area J41 contest on Thursday, Oct 21.



The Humorous Speech Contest
Our funny bones definitely got tickled at CTI's humorous speech contest on Wednesday September 29. Contestants Laurie, Mary Jane and Val had the audience laughing aloud with their stories about coping with a teenage vegetarian, renovating a haunted house and surviving an older sibling. Congratulations to all three contestants!

The results:
First place:       Val with "Sugar n Spice"
Second place:   Mary Jane with "What's a Little Dust"
Honourable Mention: Laurie with "Living with a Teenage Vegetarian or the Invasion of the Bean Sprouts"

Thank you to Toastmasters Karen from Golden Gavel, Spence and Laureen from Valley Echo and Marvin from Igniters who came to help us with judging the contest and to all the CTI members who took on roles to make the contest happen.