New Season for Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters!

As of July 1, 2011, Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters kicked off their new season with new officers and are ready to take ont he world. The first competition coming up will be held in New Braunfels on September 13th at 7pm. Representing our wonderful Toastmasters club will be Ron Steel in Humorous Speech and Amy O’Neil in Table Topics. We wish both of them the best of luck!

Membership VP Inducts Amy O’Neill into Toastmasters

Today’s meeting of the Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters held many accomplishments for club members and guests alike.  The Toastmasters began their first week of Speechcraft — an amazing six week journey of helping others refine their communication skills (welcome, Judy!)  – and the club inducted its newest member Amy O’Neill.  Amy has already participated in several impromptu Table Topics speeches with Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters, and the club is  looking forward to her first speech as well as her continued participation.

Improve Your Skill, Help a Good Cause, Have Fun!

You have a speaking engagement this spring?  A big family event this summer? You have to provide a toast, tell an anecdote or give a speech?  Perhaps you feel like you don’t know what to say, you’re not sure how to say it, and you don’t want to stand in front of a group and have everyone looking at you while you speak.

Public speaking does not have to be terrifying!  Through SpeechCraft, in just six short weeks, you can learn some of the tools and techniques used by veteran speakers to present with ease, speak well and use humor!  You will become more comfortable presenting in front of others.

The Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters will present a six week mini-course on Speechcraft to help others learn basic public speaking skills.

The course takes place on Saturdays from March 19 though April 19, 2011; 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (You don’t have to attend all all six Saturdays — but you’ll

Words from the President, Helen Stutchbury

want to once you come to one Saturday!).  The cost is $25 for the entire course, and all proceeds go to local organizations in the Wimberley Community (including Animal Referral Friends (ARF), Arts from the Heart, Crisis Bread Basket, and various youth summer programs).  Seats are limited, but you still have time to participate!

You don’t have to go to one more public speaking event without knowing what to say or how to say it.  Come learn with us, help out good causes in the community, and have a great time!

For more information, leave a post at this site, and a Toastmaster will respond to your query!

New Member Induction

Welcome, Susie! 

Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters held another great meeting today: one hour of speaking, listening, laughter and evaluation.  In addition, the club inducted its newest member, Susie Valadez.  She hopes to give her first speech in March.

Be part of the action — visit a club meeting, return for the fellowship and opportunities to improve speaking skills.

Toastmaster Leadership Training

What better way to spend a Saturday than learning new skills  at a Toastmasters Learning Institute?  That’s what three of the club officers did Saturday, January 22, at Valero in San Antonio.  Ron Steel (Membership), Molly Steel (Secretary/Treasurer) and Debi Christensen (Public Relations) met with fellow Toastmasters to refine their leadership skills, listen to motivating speakers and enjoy meeting friends and fellow Toastmasters.  Topics included evaluation techniques, website basics, storytelling and club chartering as well as office-specific events.   Look for renewed energy from these three officers as they bring back new ideas to the club!

Saturdays with Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters

Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters is a great group of nimble and competent members who can make each other laugh, tell a good story, and encourage each other to grow in leadership and communication skills. This club makes meeting twice a month on Saturday mornings in any weather — even rainy and chilly — worth the effort!

The one-hour meetings go by quickly! They are packed with information, opportunities to hear and deliver speeches, invitations to participate in impromptu speaking and improve leadership skills. Because this is all practiced among supportive friends who want you to do well, you will find yourself improving each skill . . . and looking forward to the next meeting!

Where else can you go to hear cowboy tales, health advice on nutrition and exercise, gardening tips, hobby ideas, funny stories, and even more topics — in one place? Where else can you take speaking risks that help you think on your feet and say your message the way you want it heard so that you become a better communicator and better employee? Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters!

Come laugh, practice, and be entertained . . . you’ll love Saturday mornings!

A New Resolution: Join Toastmasters This Year!

With a new year ushered in this, many people turn to resolutions in hope of creating a year just as great – or better – than the year before. “Resolutions” was the them of 2011′s first Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters meeting this year — a great opportunity to think about the goals ahead of us!

The beginning of a year is a great time to begin anew with hopes, goals and the firm resolve to improve. We reflect on the year that has been and look forward to the year that is new. Many people resolve to improve their health, their occupational skills, and most importantly, to spend more time with family and friends.

Consider including Toastmasters in this year’s resolution. Toastmasters provides a structured forum for learning not only to speak competently and confidently, but also to evaluate speaking and provide positive feedback that helps fellow Toastmasters improve and grow.

Improving and growing in communication skills takes place in a structured and safe environment among friends. Toastmasters helps to develop the self-confidence and leadership skills useful in all parts of your life.

Many people join Toastmasters to improve their pubic speaking and leadership skills in the workplace or community. Those who have to give presentations formally or who seek to voice their opinion in front of others – at the local meetings – have an opportunity to practice and refine their skills.

Do you like to tell stories of your family? Pass on information knowledge? Share tales of relatives as a legacy of their lives. Consider the impact of putting together your family stories and passing them on to new generations in the time honored tradition of storytelling, honed through Toastmasters.

Do you like to learn new things? Toastmasters meetings are informative and interesting because the speeches encompass a variety of topics that can include current and historical events, personal anecdotes and humorous stories.

In any case, consider attending a Toastmaster meeting. In fact, make it one of your new resolutions this year!

Speaking of Love!

Our first Valentine’s Day special meeting was a small but vibrant event, with two near perfect speeches about love from Jennifer Jaime and Judy Beach, poetry from Sandy Countryman and Ron Steel, and a variety of lovely Table Topics from our Table Topics Master Helen Stutchbury. Judy has now completed her 10th speech (in record time) and becomes our club’s 3rd member to achieve Competent Communicator status. Fabulous job Judy, Jennifer, and the whole gang….

Speaking of Love Meeting Team

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2010, a bright new decade. We move into this new year with a more positive energy for the future; our nation is regaining its footing and we are responding with more confidence in our prosperous future. Now is a great time to consider working on your leadership and public speaking skills – those things employers value and recognize. Toastmasters clubs everywhere provide a fun, fascinating, and safe place to learn and practice vital skills for your future. Here in Wimberley, our dynamic little group meets every 1st and 3rd Saturday at the Wimberley Visitor’s Center from 10:30 – 11:30 AM. Come have a look – your future self will thank you.

Our First Annual Speech Contest!

Congratulations to Sun Gatto and Molly Steel, the winners of our first annual speech contest of the Wimberley Hill Country Toastmasters Club! Sun cracked us up in the humorous speech portion of our contest with a “midnight musing” about how to create a humorous speech. In the Table Topics portion of our contest, Molly, along with Larry Dunlap and Helen Stutchbury, answered the question, “Why?” Without an um, ah, well, so, or you know, Molly stepped up and showed us how impromptu speaking should be done. Congratulations to all our participants; we look forward to seeing you at the district level in September!