Power Comes with Responsibilities Yesterday I came to the Toastmaster meeting at 6:00 p.m. It was a Veteran’s Day. I had no work, so I could leave early from home. On regular Mondays, I can only get there around 6:30 p.m. because I leave work at 6:00 p.m. I stayed in my car for fifteen minutes to go over the agenda for the night. I only had one role: Evaluator. There was nothing I could do to prepare for it. As I walked into the meeting room at 6:15 p.m. there was a group of people already in the room. One person came out and told me that they were scheduled for the room. I was surprised that it happened because we are scheduled for the second and fourth of the Monday nights always. I spoke to the admin and they said yes, there was a misunderstanding. Somehow we were not scheduled for the night. They then asked the people to move to the next room. I’m glad I was there early to resolve the situation. Toastmaster meeting starts exactly at 7:00 p.m. and ends at 9:00 p.m. As a club officer, we are responsible to get there early to set up the room and make sure everything runs as smooth as possible. I had a pleasant meeting. Thanks, everyone for coming! There were a total of 15 members and two guests showing up. One of the guests signed up to become a member. At the beginning of the meeting our Vice President of Membership introduced me as a new president and asked me to say a few words to the club. I didn’t prepare for the speech, just said what was on my mind. As you participate in Toastmaster, you no need to prepare for any short speech because you are trained to speech at the spot every time you are there. That’s the benefit of coming to the club regularly. I thanked everyone for the opportunity to the lead the club and promise to do my best, starting by coming early to help set up the meeting room. The highlight of the night was Wendell Beard taking home two ribbons for the best evaluator and table topic speaker. We all hope and pray for you to live a very long and enjoyable life as the fortune cookie says. You are our hero, the living example. Esther Feng took home a ribbon for being the best speaker on a prepared speech: What Goes Around Comes Around. What a great topic! I believe that very much. Do good for others and expect nothing from them. When you truly in need of help, someone else will be there for you. Thanks, Anh Ta for sharing with us your prepared speech entitled Individualist versus Collectiveness- How Culture Influences on Our Behaviors. We all come from different countries, background, and culture. In order to understand each other, we have to have an open mind and tolerance for our differences. Thank you, the Toastmaster Jonathan Ong for doing such a great job! Thank you, Emily May, the Vice President of Education for the interesting Table Topic. The fortune cookie was delicious, Emily May. Mine said: Your thought is highly regarded. I believe and hope so. Thank you. Thanks, Victoria Liu for taking the timer position. It can be tricky the first time. Thanks, Gerald Atienza for your words of inspiration, treats, and the lovely music. I agree with you wholeheartedly that believe you can be successful is the first important step. Thank you, Lilian Li for sharing your Ice Breaker Speaker. Strangely we are very much alike, came to the U.S. around the same time and have two children exactly the same age, a boy and a girl. The only difference is that my daughter is the first child. I’m happy that Toastmaster has helped you improved on your public speaking skills as well as giving you a raise from work. Thanks, Eric Yang, the Vice President of Treasurer, for collecting $.25 from me last night. I still have had a hard time using the word of the day, scathing, because I have never heard of it before. I even looked it up in my native language to make sure I understood the meaning. I will work on it soon. Thanks, Marie Chen for taking the role of the general evaluator. It’s a lot to go over everything happened at the meeting. Overall it was a great meeting. Again, thanks everyone for coming and participating. I look forward to seeing you in two weeks 😊