In the International Speech Contest, Stroman’s Do You Believe In Angels? was the very emotional and inspirational story of three times in her life where she encountered the presence of angels.  The audience was captivated with Sharon’s emotional story as well as her skillful use of voice inflection and stage presence.  Second place went to David Wilcox, Jr. of Longview Toastmasters.

Having won first place in both contests at Area, Sharon will now advance to the Toastmasters Eastern Division Spring Contest to be held on Saturday, May 1, 2010, at the Walnut Street Church of Christ in Texarkana, TX.  The winner of the Eastern Division Contests will then move on to compete at the District 50 Spring Conference and Speech Contests to be held Friday and Saturday, May 21 & 22, at the Crowne Plaza in Dallas, TX.

Two days packed with food, entertainment, education, competition and most of all networking.  Toastmasters International holds two conferences a year focusing on communication and leadership skills.  Attendees generally are Toastmasters members who meet on a weekly basis in their respective clubs within the District.  Competition takes place from the local club level through the District level.  The top speakers in Tall Tales and International Speech will compete at the Spring Conference in front of over 200 attendees.  The winner of the International Speech will continue to competing with hopes of becoming the new World Champion of Public Speaking at the International level.

Catch the Spirit!  For information about how to register for the conference, email Sheri at sjkramer1@yahoo.com.

Interested job seekers are urged to bring resumé copies and to dress to impress.

NorthEast Texas Toastmasters will send a delegation to help job-seekers understand how this non-profit public speaking club can help them stand out among applicants during job interviews, add professional certifications to their resumes and network with community leaders and area professionals.

Look for our yellow banner and stop by the booth to find out how Toastmasters can help you become the most qualified candidate.

Read more about the Job Fair and Expo at the Texarkana Gazette.

The TED Conference (Technology, Education and Design) provides such an environment once a year. They post the speeches periodically throughout the year to spread the ideas born at TED.

Any Toastmasters speaker would be hard pressed to find better inspiration for speeches than those at TED. Toastmasters can learn from the form and structure, delivery, creativity, and imagination.

Check out TED’s website.

Also, join us Tuesdays at 6pm in Mount Pleasant, Texas at David Beard’s Catfish King.

The meeting room is spacious, quaintly decorated and well lit. There is plenty of latitude to move tables and chairs into different speaking arrangements, giving speakers lots of space to move and express themselves. The room is also large enough to allow for future, expected growth. As a bonus, the food is pretty delicious and affordability priced.

NETTM wishes to invite the public to attend one of our meetings, even if its just for the free entertainment and great catfish dinner.

The non-profit public speaking club was formerly meeting at Western Sizzlin’, which closed its doors last month. We thank them for providing a place for us to gather as we got our club off the ground.

Sharon told an outrageous and funny Tall Tale about becoming the first woman  winner of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions.

Her tale was made more believable with her authentic fishing costume, pink fishing pole and tackle. Her tale was delightfully unbelievable when the gigantic bass she was catching started talking and pleading for their lives.

Hugh Dawson gave her a run for her money with a Tall Tale about going over one hundred miles an hour and a State Trooper Motorcycle Cop pulling he and his buddy over, but allowing them to proceed on with the words, “If you’re going that fast, you must know what you’re doing.”

Sharon Stroman also won the International Speech contest against competitors Sharon Sehon and Tracee Sioux.

Sharon Stroman, changed from her fishing gear into a tasteful black suit. She asked the audience if they believed in angels. She then told emotional and moving tales of three occasions when she felt she had witnessed or come into contact with angels.

Sharon Sehon told an inspiring tale about an unnamed historical person who was too poor, too black and too uneducated to ever make any of his dreams come true. Except that he spent his life educating himself, thinking outside the box, teaching others and inventing new and revolutionary ways to do things until more than he ever dreamed possible came true. She captivated the audience, keeping them guessing at the identity of her muse, only divulging that it was George Washington Carver at the very end of her speech.

Tracee Sioux related her life-changing experience at a Dallas retreat, Discovery-Training. She asked the audience to look at their own emotional baggage, open up the suitcase and throw out the old junk that is weighing them down.

Sharon Stroman will participate in the Area Contest at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Longview, Saturday, February 27,  and then the Division Contest in Dallas,  Saturday, May 1.

Stroman will now participate in both the Tall Tales and the International Speech contests at the Area 13 Contest to be held at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Longview, TX, on Saturday, February 27.  A win at Area will see her advance to Eastern Division Contest on Saturday, May 1, location yet to be determined.  The winner of the Eastern Division Contests will then proceed to compete on the district level at the District 50 Spring Conference and Speech Contest to be held in Dallas on Friday and Saturday, May 21 and 22.

The categories are Tall Tale and International Speech.

Winners in each category will move onto the Regional contest.

Capitol One building

220 Jefferson Street

Pittsburg, TX

It’s across from the Prayer Tower.

Can’t wait to see you there!

If anyone has a location available for a non-profit public speaking club, please contact sheri.bynum@pilgrimspride.com.

In lieu of their regular meeting, they gathered at member Sharon Sehon’s restaurant, Pizza Inn in Pittsburg (Texas, not Pennsylvania).

NETTM President Hugh Dawson served as Santa with a silver ribbon beard.

Of course, he flashed his festive stockings.

Sharon Stroman was Santa’s Helper-slash-Table Topics Master, coming up with a clever theme around the 12 Days of Christmas and requiring each gift exchanger to speak for a full minute before opening their White Elephant delight.

Things got a little juicy when Terri Bynum, Sergeant of Arms, remarked about milking eight maids.

Teresa Wooten, PR VP, got a little excited when she stole some Jack Daniel’s BBQ sauces. If you think she looks a little pleased with herself, she does.

But, not quite as pleased as Gabe Ozuna is when he promptly steals Teresa’s Christmas Cheer.

Third hand freezes, no steal backs. Sorry Teresa.

Consoling herself, she claims Hugh’s Dr. Seuss Christmas boxer shorts for her own Lord-A-Leaping, who wisely stayed home.

After the final White Elephant had found its proper home, or at least hitched a ride to the nearest thrift store, Sheri Bynum, VP of Education, awarded Lisa Toland her Competent Communicator Award.

Toastmasters has opted to forgo its meeting Tuesday, Dec. 22 for the holidays.

Don’t miss the fun at our New Year’s Meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 29 at Western Sizzlin in Mount Pleasant at 6 pm.