Members present: Joyce Feustel, Allen Fujimoto, Andrew Heltzel, Nik Nikkel, Angelita Sims, Gordon Savage, and Troy Wilkens.

Guests: Jason Koch, Tim Lomas, and Rachel Saphir.

President Angelita Sims called the meeting to order and welcomed the guests and members. Angelita also served as the toastmaster. Allen Fujimoto provided crux as the word of the day. Joyce Feustel provided the inspiration by reading three quotes about spring.

The first speaker was Andrew Heltzel doing the "ice breaker project from Competent Communication Manual. In his talk he told us a bit about growing up in York, Pennsylvania, his love of skiing, and how excited he was when he first skied in Colorado, prompting him to move here after he finished school at Penn State University.

The second speaker was Gordon Savage presenting the "Goal Setting and Planning" modules from the Leadership Excellence series published by Toastmasters International. He reminded us that goals are "SMART" which is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time bound. The seven points of goal setting (from Zig Ziglar) are the objective statement, target date, benefits list, list of obstacles, support needed, skills and training needed and an action plan. Planning makes leaders more future-oriented, enables them to coordinate decisions, reinforces goals and ensures efficient use of resources. The planning process consists of establishing strategies, setting a timetable, assigning responsibilities, anticipating obstacles, measuring progress, and modifying the plan as necessary.

Angelita also served as the Topicsmaster. Speakers and their responses were:

• Nik Nikkel's favorite spring flower is the daffodil because it is impudent, a great color, and pops up in odd places.
  
• Allen Fujimoto's favorite spring color is white, as it represents new beginnings and is a bright color.
  
• Rachel Saphir likes spring because it leads to summer, and these are her two favorite seasons. She hates the snow and ice of winter and is always grateful to see the color of spring and summer.
  
• Joyce Feustel's favorite activity in the spring is to compete in Toastmasters speech contest and table topics contest, as she was not able to do that for quite a few years.
  
• Troy Wilkens when asked whether spring really starts on March 21st said that spring actually starts a number of times all winter long.
  
• Jason Koch said that if he were mandated to take a week off for spring break he would go someplace warm, such as San Diego. He would take some really close friends with him and they would enjoy the good weather and the social scenes wherever they went.
  

• Tim Lomas said that his best trip in the spring was when he and his family went to Disney World and stayed right on the grounds.
  

Nik Nikkel as Chief Evaluator introduced Joyce Feustel who evaluated Andrew's speech. She noted that his strengths are his warmth, friendliness, use of eye contact, and his superior use of language, such as the word picture he painted of the day his friend John moved into the neighborhood. We learned a lot about Andrew, but perhaps he might have shortened the description of York. Also, rather than assuming we were all from somewhere else, he might have asked who in the club is from Colorado. His ending was a bit abrupt, and he clasped his hands a few times, which is common in new speakers.

Troy Wilkens evaluated Gordon's presentation. He really liked the joke that Gordon used in his opening comments, as it was relevant to the topic. He thought Gordon's stance was more relaxed than he has seen before. He worked very well with his visuals and explained them in an intuitive manner. He might have added a few more examples. He did a good job in handling the question posed to him. Overall, this was a very good presentation that was shorter than expected.

Nik then evaluated the two evaluators, saying that both did good jobs in the praise they delivered and in their commentary on the speaker's content and structure. They both had good eye contact. Joyce's passion for speaking shows through in the way she evaluates people. He liked how Troy noted that Gordon's posture was more relaxed and that he noted that Gordon did well with the joke and with the use of his visuals.

Troy Wilkens as timer reported that the table topics speakers and evaluators were all within time. Andrew was within his time, but Gordon was below his projected minimum time. Allen Fujimoto as grammarian noted that several people used the word of the day.

Angelita asked the guests for their reaction to the meeting. Rachel found it to be fun and interesting. Tim thought it was an excellent meeting and liked how everyone wrote comments to the speakers, not just the assigned evaluator. He likes that there are several excellent speakers in the club. Jason was a bit taken aback with the formalities of the hand shaking and the clapping, and he liked the fact that being in a club gives a person a chance to speak on a regular basis.

Angelita reminded everyone to pay their dues on time. Since Ron has been sick, it is best to just mail your check to Ron. She circulated a card for Ron and also one for Nola, who may not be coming back for a while. Also, she reminded us of the area contest a week from today. She will be the speech contestant, and Gordon will be the table topics contestant. Although Joyce won both these events at the club contest, she will represent other clubs in these events. Meeting adjourned by Sgt. at Arms Allen Fujimoto at 8:30 p.m.