Our May 26th meeting will go down in Postprandial history as one of our greatest.

Why, you may ask?

Was it that every facet of the meeting ran smoothly? That the Table Topics participants, Speakers, and Evaluators were unusually good that night? Perhaps it was the “back to the future” theme of “Graduation” that caused this meeting to stand out.

While all of the above points are true — it was indeed an unusually good meeting — the May 26th meeting will go down in Postprandial history because we officially inducted five — count ‘em — FIVE new members into the club. Not one, not two, not three or four, but FIVE.

Wow.

To add the icing here, all five of our new members are already Toastmasters and have belonged or still belong to another club. In some cases, the new member chose Postprandial after a rigorous vetting process during which he or she attended meetings at several clubs in the area, only to land at Postprandial.

We are honored, and humbled.

So three cheers and hats off to Melissa LaMark, Jean Publow, Matt Buffan, Paul German, and Mick Schoenberger!!!

Welcome aboard! We’re thrilled to have you in the club and know that you will each make great contributions to Postprandial.

Here are the results of the evening’s contests:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Matt McDermott
• Winner: Melissa LaMark

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Fred Beer
• Winner: Drew Martin

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Dara Grieger
• Winner: Kelly Roland

We had a bit of a smaller crowd for our March 3rd meeting, but the excitement level was high, do doubt owing at least in part to the evening’s theme: Now That’s Entertainment!

Allison Moreland did a superb, smooth job as our Toastmaster, ably assisted by Table Topics Master Mark Frisk, Chief Evaluator Fred Beer, and members who filled in supporting roles with aplomb.

The speeches were truly outstanding. No surprise there. Participants had obviously worked very hard on their presentations, and it showed.

Here are the results of the evening’s contests:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Drew Martin
• Winner: Kelly Roland

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Ed Oberhofer
• Winner: Kelly Roland

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Matt McDermott
• Winner: Tom Frisk

We had a blast at our 9/30/09 meeting, with its awesome theme of “Sunday Crosswords.”

Special shout-outs go to Allison Moreland, who did a superb job as Toastmaster in her very first turn in that role. Her custom-made giant Toastmasters crosswords puzzle was a hit, with members sticking around after the meeting to make sure that every last letter-space was filled in.

Congrats as well to Sudipta Das, who served as Chief Evaluator for the first time and executed the role perfectly.

Here are the results of the evening’s contests:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Kate Olsen
• Winner: Paul Lozito

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Al Turof
• Winner: Bill Self

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Paul Lozito
• Winner: Tom Frisk

Who doesn’t love a great campfire story? No one! Which is why the theme for our September 2nd meeting, “Around the Campfire,” was such a great choice. It inspired some truly creative stories and wordplay.

In addition to the welcome guests in attendance, there were several other attendees of note. We were delighted to see Doug Johnston, long-time Postprandialite-extraordinaire, make an appearance, and we hope to see more of him at future meetings. (Hint,  hint!)

And Mark Emblidge had three extra-special guests in tow: his parents and two-year-old Rebecca. Mark’s speech about his relationship with Rebecca was heartfelt and moving, and earned him the trophy for best speaker of the evening.

A special shout-out goes to Sudipta Das, whose humorous and touching remembrance of his early days at RIT earned him a place as runner-up for best speech. We are all impressed with the fantastic progress that Sudipta, who is currently serving as the club’s treasurer, is making. Here are the complete contest results:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Gil Stern
• Winner: Ed Oberhofer

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Paul Lozito
• Winner: Tom Weymann

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Sudipta Das
• Winner: Mark Emblidge

On Wednesday, August 19th, in place of our regular meeting, Postprandialites will gather for our annual picnic. If past experience is any guide, a ton of fun will be had by all, both regular members and guests.

Speaking of guests, the event is open to everyone, including friends and family members. So members, feel free to bring your friends, spouses and kids. Friends and guests: you are more than welcome! Details below…

Date: August 19, 2009
Time: 6:30 – 9:30 PM
Place: Harris-Whalen Park in Penfield, across from Wegmans on Route 441; map below (we’ll be in the open pavilion)
Cost: $5 per person

Please bring some snack-type munchies (chips, veggies, etc.) to pass around. We will provide the burgers, dogs, and drinks.

And since we’ll be in the open pavilion, you might want to bring some bug spray.

We’re looking forward to seeing you!

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The theme of Postprandial’s August 5th meeting, held once again at Sanibel Cottage, our temporary meeting place, was “Rebel Yell.” Spirits were high, stoked by Toastmaster Kate Flanagan, who led members and guests (including District 65 Central Division Governor Jared Kronenberg) alike in a flurry of whoops and hollers.

Here are the results of the evening’s contests. Special congrats to Erin McCormick, who took away the best speaker trophy with her icebreaker speech! Way to go, Erin! Great to have you aboard.

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Jared Kronenberg
• Winner: Mark Frisk

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Mark Emblidge
• Winner: Bill Self

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Fred Beer
• Winner: Erin McCormick

Our July 22nd meeting, held at Sanibel Cottage, featured Gil Stern as Toastmaster. Unable to serve as Toastmaster for over a year, owing to his role as President of the club in 2008-2009, Gil stepped behind the lectern with obvious relish and kept the meeting humming along nicely.

The theme of the evening was “Show Me the Way.” Here are the results of the contests:

Table Topics

• Runner-Up: Ed Oberhofer
• Winner: Mark Emblidge

Evaluator

• Runner-Up: Dave Pope
• Winner: Tom Weymann

Speaker

• Runner-Up: Al Turof
• Winner: Drew Martin

Just a quick note to say that our July 22nd meeting will be at Sanibel Cottage. A map is embedded in our July 7th post below.

It was a night of firsts: Our first meeting of the new Toastmasters year, our first reports from the new Executive Committee, our first new member of the year (Congratulations to Erin McCormick!), and our first taste of Sanibel Cottage as a temporary replacement venue.

A special shout-out to Matt McDermott, who delivered one of the best icebreaker speeches we’ve seen and took home the prize for best speaker. Way to go, Matt!

Here are all the contest results:

Table Topics

Runner-Up: Mark Emblidge

Winner: Melinda Yoder

Evaluator

Runner-Up: Gil Stern

Winner: Mark Emblidge

Speaker

Runner-Up: Tom Weymann

Winner: Matt McDermott

Just a quick note to say that the July 8th meeting will be taking place at Sanibel Cottage in Webster. This is a temporary switch from our regular meeting location at Mr. Mike’s (formerly known as Napa Gino’s).

Sanibel Cottage is located at 1517 Empire Boulevard in Webster. The phone number is 585.671.9340. Here’s a Google Map to help you find your way:

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