Greetings Toastmasters & Guests!

As the end of September draws near, we are officially approaching the official start term of Walter Gage Toastmasters! This is the time of year when we finish most promotional events (e.g. Imagine Day, Clubs Days, etc.) and embark on our adventures with public speaking. There have been many questions posed by new members and guests regarding what the club's year will look like, and hopefully this post will help to answer many of them. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. New Member & Renewing Member Orientation 
2. Club Dues & Renewals (DEADLINE!)
3. Humorous Speech & Table Topics Contest
4. October Social: "SCARED SPEECHLESS!"

1. New Member & Renewing Member Orientation
Date & Time: Wednesday, September 26th (6:00pm-6:40pm)
Location: Irving K. Barber, Room 317 
Facilitator: Cass Chan (VP Education), Jenson Leung (Club VP)
This will be a quick orientation for new and renewing members. We will be covering the Education Track in Toastmasters. We will also discuss the use of the Competent Communicator & Competent Leadership Manuals. (Please bring your copy if you have already received a set, otherwise bring some paper to take notes.) A question-answer period will follow. This session will only take 30-40 minutes, and leave enough time to head to our regular WGTM meeting.

Please RSVP: [email protected]

2. Club Dues & Renewals
DEADLINE: Wednesday, September 26th
Members from the summer planning on renewing, please bring your dues in at our next meeting (Wednesday, September 26th). If you are a renewing member and unable to make next week's meeting, please contact Ismail ([email protected]) to meet up with himbefore Saturday, September 29th to pay your dues. 

New members who have not finished paying your fees, also bring your dues to our next meeting so you may get your manuals as soon as possible. Thank you!

Guests who have not yet made a decision about membership, no worries! You can choose to join our club at any time in the future. :)

3. Humorous Speech & Table Topics Contest
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 3rd (7:00am-8:30pm)
Location: TBA
Do you have a great sense of humour, but don't know how to show it on stage? Want to see how others get the audience laughing when presenting their speech? Walter Gage Toastmasters is proud to host the 2012 Area 23 Humorous Speech & Table Topics Contest! Come for a fun-filled night of light-hearted (and gut-splitting) speeches, as well as some great impromptu speaking! 

Guests are welcome, but members will have seating priority. Members come for free (sign-in sheet at door), and guests only have a cover charge of $1 (to cover the cost of drinks and light refreshments).

Interested in participating? If you're a member in good-standing (i.e. paid dues before the end of September), you are eligible to enter! Email:[email protected] by Monday, September 24th (8:00pm). 

4. October Social: "SCARED SPEECHLESS!"
Date & Time: TBA - most likely week of October 21-27
Location: TBA
What's a club without socials? (More accurately, what's university life without socials?) This will be a fun, relaxed evening for members both new and old to mix and mingle. There will be refreshments (i.e. appetizers, snacks and drinks) provided; pot-luck dishes are always welcome! We'll have tons of fun games and icebreakers ready, as well as a Candy Pot Prize Draw! 

Members come for free, and guests are welcome to come for a cover charge of just $3! 

Stay tuned on on the event time and location! (Check our emails, website and Facebook for updates!)

A huuuuuge congratulations to Mr. Jay Kiew for doing WGTM proud by taking home first place at the Division B Speech Contest! He will also have the honour of representing District 21 at the District Speech Contest held at the Spring 2012 Conference in Harrison Hot Springs May 11-13. We are all incredibly proud and privileged to have Jay represent, and overwhelmed by his continued growth speech after speech. We're rooting for you Jay! :D

Thank you executives, members and guests who came out last night for the Area 23 Speech Contest! The night was a roller-coaster ride -- full of amazing speeches and great people! A big thank you to our chair and all the judges and volunteers who helped put this together! All the contestants did a wonderful job in delivering their speeches and evaluations -- but an extra big CONGRATULATIONS to Jay Kiew for coming in first for the International Speech Contest and Lu Li for her win in the Evaluations Contest! Good luck to both of you in the Division Speech Contest on April 26!!! :D Make sure to check out the photos from our event! 

Congratulations to Mr. Jon Walker as well for being named Area Governor tonight! It's been an evening full of wins! :)