Hi Everyone,
It was a great meeting last night but unfortunately, Luis Hurtado and Len Kung couldn’t make it. They had to attend a Chinese New Year’s dinner and, according to Luis, it’s bad luck to miss this sort of thing. I’m not sure whether that’s because of Chinese tradition or because it was being held at his future in-law’s house. Either way, it was bad luck for the club because I forgot to record the proceedings and we missed the final photo. I say it’s too bad because it was a really good meeting!
Alex Schams kicked things off by welcoming our guest Meghan Pfeifer then summoning the Thought for the Day which was delivered by Armando Yee. It was the Big Mac of TFTD’s, a quote from McDonalds founder Ray Kroc. That was followed by our Comedy from the Grave segment. I delivered lines from the late and great Bob Hope and it was truly magical almost like the great comedian was doing standup from the great beyond.
Our two speakers were next. Andy Eftehkar delivered the first of what will be the two speeches required in the Pathways Evaluation and Feedback project. Andy told us about his experiences with a new production technique call Agile Project Management. It’s much more efficient, less stressful and, as a result, his left eye is no longer twitching. Andy has improved dramatically in his short time with the club and we look forward to the delivery of this same but improved speech next week as he incorporates the feedback, he received last night.
Karan Bavandi was up next with his recounting of the time in 2009 when he was jailed in Iran after participating in anti-government protests. It’s a harrowing tale, well told. According to Karan, the only way he survived the ordeal was by practicing meditation, staying in the moment and a adopting a positive attitude. Like I said, it’s an amazing tale.
The speeches were followed by insightful and constructive evaluations by Evan Pawelk and Azita Sachmechian then it was time for Table Topics.
Our TTM last night was Jaclyn Lineback who was able to join after her snowbound adventures last week. The theme was competition and Jaclyn had some great questions which led to some very interesting answers. And, as usual, we learned a few things.
Armando Yee regaled us with stories of his time as a young athlete. He not only played football and baseball but also learned to fence! Ah for those glorious days with the foil and mask!
Speaking of unusual sports, Jed Leidheiser’s favorite Olympic sport is curling. Ah for those glorious days with the stone and broom.
Lauren Clayton’s favorite board game is Cards Against Humanity. According to Wikipedia, Cards Against Humanity is a party game in which players complete fill-in-the-blank statements using words or phrases typically deemed as offensive, risqué or politically incorrect printed on playing cards. Sounds like fun. It’s probably smart to bring your foil and broom just in case there’s a brouhaha.
Alex Scham’s greatest prize was being able to ride 360 miles in the Great Cycle Challenge last year resulting in raising over $13,000 to help fight children’s cancer. Well done, Alex!!
Finally, Genevieve Kelly told us about her favorite competitive sport, watching Survivor. Ah for those glorious days of grass shacks and tiki torches!
All in all, it was a great meeting and if you weren’t there, you’ll just have to take my word for it because, like I said, I forgot to hit “record”.
- Toastmaster – Karan Bavandi
- Table Topics Master – Alex Schams
- Speaker #1 – Azita Sachmechian
- Speaker #2 – Andy Eftekhar
- Chief Evaluator – Armando Yee
- Evaluator #1 – Jed Leidheiser
- Evaluator #2 – Genevieve Kelly
- Timer – Jaclyn Lineback
- Grammarian – Evan Pawelk
- Ah Counter – Shar McBee
- Thought for the Day – Genevieve Kelly
- Joke Master – Maryam Ashouri