The Kinston Toastmasters Club held its second meeting for November at the Kinston Public Library on Nov. 19. Robyn Jones, club vice president-public relations, led in the Pledge of Allegiance. Ricky Lanier, club vice president-education, gave the invocation and was topic master. Ron Michalowicz, club president, was toastmaster of the evening.
Eugene Kupstas, club secretary and treasurer, was grammarian, and challenged the members of the audience to use the word “increase” or a related word, such as “increment, decrease, crescent, crescendo, crew, recruit, accrue, or concrete.” The basic idea behind “increase” is “growth.”
Michalowicz gave the first prepared speech of the evening, “Thanksgiving Tradition or Tragedy.” He fulfilled the eighth or “Get Comfortable with Visual Aids” assignment in the Competent Communication manual. He informed the club that Thanksgiving was not a national holiday until 1942. We have an Indian, Squanto, to thank for the holiday, because he saved the lives of the Pilgrims by teaching them how to plant corn and other native crops. Michalowicz was on hand for the 1970 re-creation of the first Thanksgiving, which included a protest by Indians that included burying Plymouth Rock.
Michalowicz then went on to talk about some incidents he remembered involving buying and cooking turkeys. His family went to the Detroit stockyards to pick out a live bird. Tragic incidents while cooking turkey involved roasting the plastic bag of giblets along with the turkey. A friend of his saw smoke come from the oven because the turkey was not put in a roasting pot while it was being cooked. Baking bread and making giblet gravy rounded out the cooking traditions and tragedies. Lanier evaluated this speech.
Kupstas had a speech of his own, “A Thousand Glorious Tomorrows,” fulfilling the sixth or “Vocal Variety” assignment in the Competent Communication manual. The title is taken from an ad by the Rock Island Railroad after World War II, many years before deregulation caused the company to be dismantled around 1980. He gave a history of railroads in North America, from the first road in 1830 through the Civil War, the rapid increase in track and ton-mileage in the 1890’s, the peak in 1916, and the decrease in track mileage that followed. However, the ton-mileage continued to increase over the years, until it reached 1.6 trillion ton-miles as of now. Kupstas included several railroad sounds, including, “All aboard!” and some common whistle sequences. Jones evaluated this speech.
Victoria Thigpen gave the third speech of the evening, “Victoria the Explorer.” This was her “Ice Breaker” or first speech in the Competent Communication manual. She enjoys seeing new places and meeting new people. She is an LPN working in geriatrics, so she knows when her patients are sick in addition to their usual feeble condition. She seeks to increase her knowledge, truth, and education, and has explored many areas of her life. Thigpen has three children, all of them grown and approximately 30 years of age, and one of whom fought for our country in Afghanistan and Iraq. Victoria focuses on the realm of possibilities, and wants to be healthier, wealthier, and wiser. Jones evaluated this speech.
The first impromptu topic Lanier presented as a challenge concerned the tornadoes in Illinois and the typhoon in the Philippines, and whether we should be more responsive to everyday tragedies. Michalowicz mentioned the Peace Corps and VISTA, and answered that he wants to get help to the people affected by tragedies in peaceful ways.
Jones was asked about doing more to level the playing field, and what she thinks of billionaires. She does not begrudge billionaires, because they are products of our capitalist society and do not lean much on social programs. We should do more to get people back to work.
Thigpen was asked about the holidays, and answered that she does not get very enthusiastic about them. She tells her children that they have to have their own reasons for celebrating them. She listens to tapes of music and programs.
Kupstas was asked about the Panthers beating the Patriots in pro football, and whether collegiate football players should be paid. He thinks not, because, unlike professional athletes who make their living from the sport, college players are students first, and should not be paid. They already receive athletic scholarships, and are placed on a special track that lets them sneak their way through their coursework.
The club will hold its next regular meeting on Dec. 3. Thigpen and Jones will give prepared speeches, Kupstas will be grammarian, and Michalowicz will be topic master. Members are invited to participate in the regular meetings, and participants are heartily invited to become new members. A friendly, encouraging environment is to be found there. More information may be found on the Internet at toastmasters-nc.org.