Salty Tongues Toastmasters Club #5396 Newsletter for September 2011.

1.
Presidentʼs Message
Is Communication Important in Our Lives?
Alejandro Tornato
I
may
be
regarded
as
a
communication
or
speaking
freak.
I
say
this
because
I
am
constantly
reminding
people
of
the
importance
and
power
of
words
to
accomplish
good
in
this
world,
or
just
the
opposite,
to
accomplish
evil.
However,
since
one
of
my
pastimes
is
to
read,
I
recently
came
across
a
wonderful
quote
that
I
want
to
share
with
everyone,
“Communication
Skills
Are
the
Lifeblood
of
a
Successful
Life
.
.
.
If
You
Plan
On
Spending
Any
Time
There
.
.
.
”
After
I
read
this
quote
for
the
very
first
time,
I
stopped
.
.
.
and
then
I
read
it
again
several
more
times.
Each
time
I
did
this
its
meaning
grew
more
and
more
inside
me
and
I
wanted
to
scream
to
the
top
of
my
voice,
“It
is
true!
It
is
absolutely
true!”
Did
you
ever
have
this
kind
of
powerful
experience?
It’s
really
fascinating,
and
now
let
us
go
back
to
the
main
subject
of
communication.
Let
me
ask
you
a
very
simple
question:
Is
communication
really
important
to
you?
Are
you
actively
engaged
in
developing
your
communication
skills?
If
you
are
honest
with
yourself,
would
you
say
that
you
are
a
better
communicator
today
than
you
were
one
year
ago?
How
about
five
years
ago?
Then,
if
you
are
not,
why
not?
Perhaps
it’s
because
the
art
of
communication
is
not
one
of
your
priorities,
and
again,
why
not?
Let
us
go
back
to
the
quote,
and,
as
we
do,
let
me
ask
you
if
you
are
living
a
successful
life
right
now,
or
if
you
would
like
to
begin
living
a
successful
life
from
now
on?
The
answer
to
this
question
is
crucial
because
from
the
quote
we
can
clearly
see
that
skills
in
communication
are
not
just
important,
but
are
the
“lifeblood”
of
a
successful
life.
Please,
pay
particular
attention
to
the
word
lifeblood,
which
is
an
indispensable
or
vital
element
essential
for
life
itself.
Therefore,
without
exaggerating,
achieving
mastery
in
your
communication
skills
will
determine
the
quality
of
life
you
will
enjoy.
I
don’t
know
about
you,
but
to
me
it
is
a
very
powerful
motivator
to
work
even
harder
to
become
a
more
effective
communicator.
My
fellow
club
members,
are
you
making
the
most
out
of
Toastmasters?
Do
you
remember
the
day
you
joined
the
organization
through
membership
in
a
local
club?
Were
you
happy,
excited,
and
ready
to
start
working
on
improving
your
inherent
abilities?
Are
you
still
as
happy
and
enthusiastic
to
be
a
club
member
today
as
you
were
then?
Well,
you
should
be
much
happier
now
because
my
hope
is
you
are
noticing
radical
changes
in
you
as
a
person.
What
changes
am
I
talking
about?
Most
likely
when
you
first
came
to
a
meeting,
you
preferred
to
be
hiding
in
a
corner
of
the
room,
out
of
sight.
Maybe
you
were
the
typical
introvert
kind
and
the
idea
of

2. Salty Tongues Newsletter September 2011 2
standing
in
front
of
a
group
to
say
something
was
nothing
short
of
a
near-­‐death
experience.
However,
now
after
working
through
the
Toastmasters
educational
program,
you
feel
much
more
confident
in
yourself
and
your
abilities.
When
you
are
called
to
give
an
impromptu
speech,
you
walk
to
the
lectern
much
more
assertive
and
sure
of
yourself.
These
are
some
of
the
radical
changes
I
am
talking
about,
which
are
indeed
the
lifeblood
of
a
successful
life.
It
is
my
desire,
fellow
Toastmasters
and
members
of
Salty
Tongues,
that
all
of
us
as
a
group
will
recommit
ourselves
to
become
super-­‐energized
communicators,
making
this
club
the
very
best
that
District
15
has
ever
had.
Our New Club Officers
In
June,
we
elected
our
new
club
officers
for
Salty
Tongues.
They
were
installed
in
a
special
ceremony
in
July
and
will
serve
our
club
until
June
30,
2012.
Who
are
these
dedicated
men
and
women?
What
roles
will
they
play
in
our
club
and
your
efforts
to
become
better
speakers
and
more
confident
leaders?
Read
on
and
you
will
find
out
who
our
new
officers
are
and
what
their
“official”
roles
are.
As
for
their
“true”
roles,
Alejandro
Tornato,
our
new
president,
said
in
a
recent
interview,
“Leadership
is
not
about
me,
it
is
the
joy
that
I
get
when
I
realize
that
my
actions
are
affecting
the
lives
of
others
in
a
positive
way.”
President
Alejandro Tornato, ACS
Our
president
is
responsible
for
providing
the
supportive
club
environment
members
need
to
fulfill
their
self-­‐development
goals,
making
sure
that
members
benefit
from
the
Toastmasters
educational
program,
and
helping
the
club
recruit
new
members
and
retain
current
ones.
VP of Education
Kim Cobler, CC
Our
Vice
President
of
Education
is
responsible
for
providing
and
maintaining
the
positive
environment
and
programs
through
which
members
can
learn
and
grow.
VP Membership
Jeri Evans
Our
Vice
President
of
Membership
is
responsible
for
building
membership
and
ensuring
a
strong
membership
base
by
satisfying
the
needs
of
all
members.
VP Public Relations
Doug Woodall, ACB
Our
Vice
President
of
Public
Relations
is
responsible
for
coordinating
an
active
public
relations
and
publicity
program.

3. Salty Tongues Newsletter September 2011 3
Secretary
Bruce Hager, ACG, CL
Our
Secretary
is
responsible
for
keeping
clear
and
accurate
records
of
club
business
and
for
seeing
that
the
club
remains
financially
stable.
Treasurer
Karen Kenner, ACS, ALB
Our
Treasurer
is
responsible
for
keeping
clear
and
accurate
financial
records
of
club
business
and
for
seeing
that
the
club
remains
financially
stable.
Sergeant at Arms
Ron Woodland
Our
Sergeant
at
Arms
is
responsible
for
maintaining
club
properties,
arranging
the
meeting
room,
and
welcoming
members
and
guests
at
each
meeting.
(For
more
information,
visit
http://bit.ly/nLBqjY.)
DCP
Alejandro Tornato
If
you
have
been
a
member
of
Toastmasters
for
a
period
of
time,
I
am
sure
you
should
have
heard
the
term
“DCP.”
This
term
refers
to
the
Distinguished
Club
Program.
Now,
for
newer
club
members,
you
may
ask
the
valid
question:
What
is
this
program
all
about?
The
answer
is
quite
simple.
This
program
has
been
instituted
by
Toastmasters
International
in
order
to
measure
the
status
of
clubs,
its
activities
and
involvement,
and
how
engaged
clubs
are
to
the
Toastmasters
educational
program.
Let
me
explain
all
of
this
in
a
bit
more
detail
so
you
the
reader
get
a
clearer
picture.
DCP
consists
of
a
maximum
of
10
points
that
a
club
may
reach
throughout
the
Toastmaster
year,
which,
by
the
way,
runs
from
July
1
to
June
30
every
year.
I
want
to
make
an
important
notation
at
this
point,
and
it
is
the
fact
that
DCP
has
a
membership
requirement
element
attached
to
it.
The
club
must
have
at
least
20
active
members,
or
a
net
growth
of
at
least
5
members,
and
then
achieve
the
following
goals:
1. Two
CC
manuals
2. Two
more
CC
manuals
3. One
AC
Bronze,
Silver,
or
Gold
4. One
more
AC
Bronze,
Silver,
or
Gold
5. One
CL,
AL
Bronze,
AL
Silver,
or
DTM
6. One
more
CL,
AL
Bronze,
AL
Silver,
or
DTM
7. Four
new
members
8. Four
more
new
members
9. Minimum
of
four
club
officers
trained
during
each
of
two
training
periods
10. One
membership
renewal
report
and
one
club
officer
list
submitted
on
time
I
would
like
to
clarify
some
terms
especially
for
newer
club
members.
CC
is
the

4. Salty Tongues Newsletter September 2011 4
Competent
Communicator
Manual,
which
is
the
first
manual
new
members
receive
upon
joining
a
Toastmaster
Club.
The
term
AC
refers
to
an
Advanced
Communicator
Manual,
of
which
there
are
several
to
choose
from
depending
on
the
kind
of
projects
a
member
wants
to
do.
Another
term
is
CL,
which
is
the
Competent
Leadership
Manual.
The
last,
but
certainly
not
the
least,
is
the
DTM
or
Distinguished
Toastmaster
Award.
This
is
the
highest
designation
achievable
in
the
Toastmaster
organization.
Now,
having
defined
the
terms,
and
coming
back
to
the
DCP,
if
a
club
achieves
5
of
the
10
possible
goals,
it
becomes
a
Distinguished
Club.
If
it
achieves
7
goals,
it
becomes
a
Select
Distinguished
Club.
If
it
achieves
9
goals,
it
becomes
a
President’s
Distinguished
Club.
In
conclusion,
the
DCP
is
a
program
that
measures
the
strength
and
quality
of
any
club
within
the
Toastmasters
organization
worldwide,
and
every
club
is
measured
under
exactly
the
same
standards.
Clubs
that
have
consistently
achieved
the
highest
designation,
have
proved
that
the
whole
membership
is
working
hard
on
its
personal
development
and
educational
goals,
and
it
is
a
club
highly
engaged
and
focused
on
continual
improvement.
Let
us
strive
at
the
Salty
Tongues
Club
to
continue
setting
higher
standards
of
excellence.
Balance Your Speeches
Doug Woodall
At
times
I’m
a
very
slow
learner.
One
of
the
lessons
I
should
have
learned
quicker
than
I
did
had
to
do
with
balancing
my
speeches.
What
am
I
talking
about?
I’m
talking
about
putting
the
correct
weight
on
the
introduction,
body,
and
conclusion
of
my
speeches.
I
think
it
took
me
about
five
years
to
learn
this
lesson.
Let’s
start
this
way:
Think
of
dumbbells
that
are
5,
10,
20,
and
30
pounds
each.
Now
let’s
say
the
introduction
and
conclusion
of
a
good
speech
should
be
about
five
pounds
each.
In
the
old
days,
I
believe
I
put
the
proper
weight
on
my
conclusions,
but
most
of
my
introductions
were
10
to
20
pounds.
They
were
too
long.
What
was
the
consequence?
My
audience
couldn’t
always
decipher
where
I
wanted
to
take
them.
Introductions
should
be
like
sales
pitches—clear,
concise,
and
memorable.
In
the
humorous
speech
I
gave
at
our
club
and
at
the
area
contest
last
weekend,
all
I
said
was,
When
we
have
children,
we
worry
that
we
will
harm
them,
make
wrong
decisions
for
them,
and
they
will
blame
us
for
all
their
problems.
Let’s
face
the
facts.
No
matter
what
we
do
we
will
harm
our

5. Salty Tongues Newsletter September 2011 5
children,
make
wrong
decisions
for
them,
and
they
will
blame
us
for
all
their
problems.
We
can
worry.
We
can
fret.
We
can
lose
sleep,
or
we
can
accept
our
true
role
in
their
lives
and
embrace
it.
My
message
to
you
is
embrace
it.
For
most
speeches
at
Toastmasters,
this
is
the
right
length
for
your
introductions.
My
speech
is
based
on
one
I
gave
several
years
ago
in
our
club.
I
still
remember
what
my
evaluator
said
about
the
body
of
my
speech.
In
a
nutshell,
he
said
I
didn’t
balance
it
properly.
(This
didn’t
surprise
you,
right?)
In
my
first
speech,
I
told
several
stories
about
each
of
my
children.
However,
I
told
more
stories
about
Max
than
I
did
about
my
daughters.
If
you
think
of
dumbbells
again,
I
put
45
pounds
on
Max
and
20
pounds
each
on
Megan
and
Mindy.
In
my
revamped
speech,
I
tell
one
story
about
each
child.
Because
the
stories
are
about
the
same
length,
the
weight
is
about
equal.
I’d
say
about
30
pounds
per
kid.
Not
all
speeches
will
be
like
my
humorous
speech.
That
is
to
say,
not
all
topics
will
be
weighed
the
same.
You
might
cover
three
topics
in
a
speech,
and
one
topic
needs
20
pounds,
the
next
30,
and
the
last
40.
This
will
probably
work.
If,
on
the
other
hand,
you
find
the
first
topic
is
5
pounds,
the
second
70,
and
the
third
15,
you
probably
don’t
have
the
right
balance.
One
solution
is
to
cut
out
the
first
and
third
topics.
A
story
is
a
perfect
example
of
a
speech
that
is
90
to
100
pounds.
Another
is
to
increase
the
weight
on
the
first
and
third
topics
and
split
the
second
into
smaller
weights.
When
it
comes
to
conclusions,
I
like
it
when
speakers
refer
back
to
something
they
said
in
the
introduction.
This
is
my
favorite
method.
However,
it
doesn’t
work
in
all
speeches.
Another
method
is
to
recap
the
main
points
you
made
in
your
speech.
One
more
is
to
show
how
you
proved
a
point.
Still
another
is
to
inspire
your
audience
with
an
new
idea,
ask
them
to
change
something
in
their
lives,
or
spur
them
into
action.
You
should
try
to
give
your
conclusions
the
same
weight
as
your
introductions;
however,
this
is
not
a
fast-­‐set
rule.
Sometimes
you
can
be
more
effective
by
giving
it
the
lightest
weight—maybe
as
light
as
two
pounds.
The
conclusion
of
my
humorous
speech
is
about
three
sentences
long.
Of
all
the
things
we
are
told
to
do
to
be
better
speakers,
I
cannot
think
of
one
that
is
easier
to
do
than
this
one:
Balance
Your
Speeches.
If
you
put
the
correct
weights
on
your
introduction,
body,
and
conclusion,
your
audience
will
understand
you
better
and
enjoy
your
speech
more.
They
will
go
away
thinking
you
are
a
great
speaker
and
they
heard
something
interesting,
inspiring,
or
profound.