Cranberry Area Toastmasters - Club #9843

After our meeting on September 17th, club president Stephanie Scott posed with our newest member, Wandy Byerly. We're honored to welcome Wandy to Cranberry Area Toastmasters, a place where individuals congregate to improve upon their ability to present themselves in a wide variety of situations. All of us are looking forward to learning more about our newest member and watching her grow as an orator. Welcome!

Jim Hulings, Vice President of Education, gave his final speech in his path, Engaging Humor. During the speech, Jim shared with us his journey through Toastmasters over the last 9 years, and expounded upon the transformation that he experienced in that time, from a meek public speaker who had panic attacks whenever he had to present anything before others, to the accomplished orator that he is today. All of us at Cranberry Area Toastmasters are fortunate to have Jim in our club. He truly is an example of the club motto personified: Toastmasters, Where Leaders are Made.

During our meeting on August 6th, one of our newest members, Melanie Juarez, gave her Ice Breaker speech. Here she is with our president, Stephanie Scott, receiving her Best Speech ribbon. We're thankful to have Melanie as a member of our organization, and we look forward to watching her grow as a public speaker.

A couple of lady Toastmasters out on a Friday night!!!

Michael Nelson did a great job as a General Evaluator at our last meeting. The role of General Evaluator is a great opportunity to work on your summarization skills, offer critical feedback on the meeting in its entirety, and offer all of us in the club a means by which to reflect on our performance throughout the night. Thank you to Michael, a very eloquent and valuable member of our club, for performing this role.

On April 2nd, Cranberry Area Toastmasters celebrated its 30th anniversary. Here in the picture, Stephanie Scott, one of our senior officers, prepares the cake for the celebration. Our club has been providing an environment for members to grow for decades, pushing individuals to improve themselves through the art of public speaking. It has produced many successful practitioners of oratory, including district leaders and international speech contenders, and we look forward to fostering leaders of the future.

During our meeting on March 18th, our club president, Russel Drake, led our newest members in a recitation of a member's pledge. This custom, in conjunction with the responding pledge given by the veterans of the group, is designed to help all of us at Cranberry Area Toastmasters view our time in the club as a deliberate investment both in ourselves and each other. Congratulations to our newest members. All of us are looking forward to seeing what Toastmasters will do for you in the future.

Here we see Jim Hulings, our Vice President of Education, adding the final touches to the audio and visual setup for our hybrid meetings. Jim has served in this capacity for many months and has unfailingly provided us with the technical setup required to bring together those interested in public speaking, whether they be present, abroad, or at home. If one were to walk into the room we've scheduled for the evening an hour before we begin, he will find our Vice President of Education toiling away with the electronic setup. Thank you Jim for your tireless effort, and thank you to all our members who attended this evening. Until next time.

Felipe Valdez, one of our newest members, did us the honor of taking the role of General Evaluator at our meeting last night. The purpose of the General Evaluator is to offer overall feedback of the meeting, and Felipe did so with an eloquent observation of the simultaneous structure and warm spontaneity that we exhibited last night. Thank you Felipe for stepping up to the plate and offering us a constructive feedback.
Cranberry Toastmasters is a constantly growing club which seeks to foster an environment where people feel empowered to challenge themselves in their public speaking skills. Last night, the house was packed with 17 people who desire to improve themselves, a fact which lent a rich atmosphere to the meeting. All of us are looking forward to the nights we'll share together in the future; and we are all excited to watch as each of us continues to grow.
Thank you to our guests: Jackson, Precious, and Isabella, for attending last night. We hope to see you again soon.

Another successful meeting for the Cranberry Toastmasters Club! In the photo can be seen the venerable Stephanie Scott in the foreground, wearing festive gear to match the positive energy she brings to every meeting. In the background, Dr. Elizabeth Carter is performing her role as General Evaluator, offering concise and constructive feedback for the entire meeting. At our club, we offer a friendly but challenging environment in which all participants can laugh and grow simultaneously. Thank you, as always, to our members who make the meetings worthwhile, and thank you to our guests. Visit us at the Cranberry Municipal Meeting every first and third Tuesday of the month!

This picture was taken during our meeting on Tuesday, November 15th, and is a prime example of the dedication that Nick Henry exhibits when it comes to his outfits and his speeches. Nick performed a holiday-themed speech to match the suit, in which he gave us his secret recipe for cooking the perfect turkey, one not too dry nor too bland, but just the perfect ratio of flavor and moisture.
Cranberry Toastmasters provides a hospitable environment for members to evolve as speakers by participating in a formatted goal path that simultaneously allows for personal creativity, such as the kind displayed by Nick Henry during his speech on Tuesday. Feel free to come as a guest to any of our meetings.
Thank you once more to Nick and the other speakers, as well as, the several guests who visited us on Tuesday. Hope to see you all again soon!

This is how I would have answered the Candy Corn table topics question last night!!

If you don't know, this week is the annual convention. Our club member and District Director, Stephanie, carried the flag of USVI during the opening ceremonies of the 2022 convention.

Another great meeting on Tuesday, July 19th! Our astute and diligent president, Dan Barch, can be seen in the picture conversing with our online members as he finalized the technological details of the evening. Cranberry Toastmasters is replete with assiduous individuals who are always working towards providing a worthwhile experience both for themselves and their fellow members, whether that be through trudging one's way through the vicissitudes of a hybrid meeting, providing a tip for the online directory known as Pathways, or concocting and delivering riveting speeches. Tonight, Josiah LaDuke and Dan Barch each gave a speech covering the topics of Redemption and Destiny, respectively. While not every topic of discussion deals with such difficult matters, it is not uncommon to witness our members struggling to convey deep, philosophical subjects which have impacted their life on a very personal level. Such experiences are beneficial not only to the speakers, who have to strive through the difficult task of delivering their complicated thoughts in a concise and clear manner, but also to the listeners, who are able to witness in real time a snippet of another individual's life delivered through the powerful medium of public speech. Thank you once again to all of our wonderful members, and a warm thank you and greeting to our guest, Altoff (I apologize if I spelled the name incorrectly). As always, our door is always open to anyone who wishes to improve their public speaking abilities and desires to grow with us.

On Tuesday, June 7th, the Cranberry Area Toastmasters Club had the pleasure of hearing speeches from Nick Henry and Kathleen Kuznicki. Although it was not deliberately coordinated between them, both of their speeches elucidated a particular aspect of American culture which is becoming increasingly relevant in the modern age: crypto currency. Kathleen, utilizing her experience in the legal field, gave us an overview of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) from the interesting perspective of several court disputes which have arisen over copyright infringements within that field; while Nick, with a passion infused with his natural love of gambling (only the legal means of course), took us through a very detailed and organized exploration of the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. As always, the meeting provided an environment where people felt compelled and encouraged to perform in front of live audiences presentations regarding subjects that interested them the most, a dynamic beneficial both to the speaker and the listeners. Come visit us in the Cranberry Municipal Building during any of our meetings. Our hope is that all of us can learn and grow together.

On April 19th, 2022, the members of the Cranberry Area Toastmasters Club had its bi-weekly meeting. Several speeches were performed, including one by distinguished Toastmaster, Russel Drake, in which he delved into a topic which is relevant to all of us as individuals on a fundamental basis but is rarely discussed: ‘What Is Purpose?”.
If you’re reading this, and you’ve never had the privilege of hearing one of Russel’s speeches, than it will be hard to represent in these words an accurate depiction of the value that, I believe, we all at Cranberry Toastmasters garner from his discussions. His speeches are invariably geared towards subject matter of an intellectual variety and are performed with the technique of an experienced orator, a potent combination. For anyone interested in witnessing a personal exposition which combines intrigue and skill, please feel free to come to our meeting, and maybe, just maybe, your presence will coincide with one of Russel’s speeches.
Speaking of guests, we were very fortunate to receive three new visitors to our club during the meeting. The members of Cranberry Toastmaster were pleased to give a warm thanks and welcome to Nala Sivaram, Sivaram Rajagopalan, and Tyler Schillero. We hope you come again!

In our second meeting of the month, March 15th, our two newest members, Mason Flanigan (standing behind the podium) and Maya Bayer (seated to his left), both gave their first speeches for the Cranberry Toastmasters Club. Mason discussed the different styles of leadership; and Maya performed her ice breaker, in which she told us more about herself.
Props to Mason for his detailed analysis and to Maya for performing such an energetic account of her life. Also, bonus points to Maya for being the first person in a very long time to actually remove the podium completely and expose herself to her audience during her speech!
We at Cranberry Toastmasters encourage self-improvement through the art of public speaking. Our goal is to learn via our own performances as well as through the demonstrations and feedback of others.
Feel free to visit us every 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00p.m., in the Cranberry Municipal Building!

During our first meeting of the month, March 1st, 2022, long-time member Nick Henry gave a speech regarding the delay in the commencement of the 2022 MLB season. Nick is renown within the Cranberry Toastmasters Club for delineating the nuances of American sports through his consistent and exemplary speeches. If you're mind is plagued by the controversies of steroid use, or if you desire a fine-tuned discussion on the nature of sport gambling, Nick's talks are for you. Feel free to visit us as a guest at any of our meetings!
Other significant events at the meeting include the following:
Nick Henry's completion of Level 3 in Leadership Dynamics
Josiah LaDuke's completion of Level 1 in Presentation Mastery
Mason Flanigan's official induction into the Cranberry Toastmaster's club as a full-fledged member.
Congratulations Mason! We're all looking forward to what you have to share with us in the future.

Last night, during our first meeting of the month, one of our newest members, Emily Savage, gave her first speech, in which she shared with the club a gripping account of her own personal struggles in her younger years which became the motivating force that drew her into the medical profession.
Congratulations on a terrific speech, Emily!
As seen in the picture, Emily gave her speech over Zoom to a hybrid audience composed of other Zoom participants and in-person members.
This is a format that Cranberry Toastmasters has been utilizing for some months and is available for anyone who wants to join. Whether for medical, convenience, or other preferential reasons, you can choose whether to attend the meetings in person at the Cranberry Municipal Building or via Zoom from the comfort of your own home.
If your interested in joining, please reach out to me at [email protected]