Florida Toastmasters tackle SA Education
Successful meeting for members
The evening was filled with a lot of fun, laughter and debate when the Florida Toastmasters held their monthly meeting themed Education in South Africa.
The thud of the gavel could be heard throughout the room, and everyone present knew that this was the signal for the evening’s activities to start. President Tim Knights extended a warm welcome to all the members and guests and Toastmaster Michael Glencross had the pleasure of leading 17 club members and 11 guests through an exciting evening.
The evening kicked off with an educational presentation from Tim, explaining what Toastmasters is all about. During this presentation, he highlighted the top three benefits gained at the Toastmasters, namely confidence, friendship and encouragement.
After his presentation, it was time for the Ice Breaker speeches and Jakkie Muller and Gert Judeel kept the audience captivated and entertained. Jakkie told everyone about his hiking expedition along the Garden Route and everything he experienced. He concluded by saying, “I believe the risks I take are justified by the sheer love of the life I lead.”
Vivien Katzav spoke about magnesium and all its health benefits; Karen Gray shared some memories of her thrilling experiences on her first steam train trip, and Tino Chadyiwa explained the importance of the sun as a renewable energy source.
After a well-deserved break, Dawn Hemming was welcomed as the Table Topic Master for the evening and she put a lot of effort into crafting table topics relating to the theme of the night.
The first speaker, Wessie van der Westhuizen, spoke about youth violence and the prevention thereof. One of the first-time visitors, Christijan Schoeman kept the audience on the edge of their seats with his speech about about the educator morale in South Africa. Caroline Clifford warned everyone that, although it is easy to do so, weak educational performance cannot be blamed on poverty. Peter Collins said that it is not an overstatement to say that South Africa’s education is in a crisis. “We have a shared responsibility to address the social and economic challenges before us,” he said.
Alrien van der Walt, also a first-time visitor, agreed with Pink Floyd by saying, “We don’t need no education,” but, unfortunately it was clear that he does need education, seeing that he used a double negative.
The evening’s activities came to an end with some trophies being handed out, but before that was done, Robert de Kramer, the evaluation chairman, explained why giving and receiving feedback plays such a crucial role at Toastmasters.
Karen Gray was awarded the trophy for Best Prepared Speech, Tim Knights received the trophy for the Best Speech Evaluator and Alrien van der Walt was awarded the trophy for the Best Impromptu Speech.
Join the Florida Toastmasters for a life-changing experience every first and third Tuesday of the month at the Huguenot Restaurant, near Entrance 1 of the Flora Centre, located on the corner of Conrad Street and Ontdekkers Road, Florida Park.
For information about the club’s meetings, contact Tim Knights (President) by e-mailing timknights@telkomsa.net or call him on 082 894 7542. Alternately, you can contact Dawn Hemming by emailing gailh@telkomsa.net, or calling 082 330 9215, or visit the website https://florida.tmclub.co.za.
Het jy dalk meer inligting rakende dié storie? Stuur gerus vir ons ‘n e-pos na roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (sluit asseblief kontakbesonderhede in) of skakel ons by 011 955 1130.
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