• Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.  ~Dwight D. Eisenhower
• You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.  ~Erma Bombeck
• It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. ~Dick Cheney
• Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation. ~Ronald Reagan
• America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. ~Abraham Lincoln
• If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. ~Washington
• This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in. ~Theodore Roosevelt
• Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it. ~Mark Twain
• We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. ~Martin Luther King Jr.
• We dare not forget that we are the heirs of that first revolution.~John F. Kennedy

We had one great meeting this evening.  From the time Sgt at Arms Kelly Vandever gaveled the meeting to order with a great overview of Speakers Roundtable, until Iris Grimm gaveled the meeting closed, it was non-stop great speeches, great evaluations, great food, and great camaraderie.  You may conclude that my position as Toastmaster for the evening has clouded my judgment, but just ask any of the 14 folks who attended. Most were still there visiting and finishing off Vicki’s great spinach dip when I had to pack up and leave.

I must preface my SRT recap remarks by letting you know what a joy it was to be Toastmaster for the evening.  Everyone assigned a task confirmed early.  The speakers had their speech information and introductions to me well in advance of my printing deadline.  This gave me time to tweak in some agenda clip art and locate some verbal patriotic sayings to sprinkle in during the evening.

Our first speaker, Kelly Vandever, had us heart-attacking with her as she grabbed us visually and mentally for a bike ride up Unicoi Gap.  Her manual speech, “It’s as Easy as Riding a Bicycle – 379 Miles,” left us with no doubt that Kelly had created and delivered a most refreshingly wonderful personal story speech. She took us with her from her moment of inspiration while reading a book titled “Younger by Next Year” to finishing BRAG (Bicycle Ride Across Georgia) and then left each of us by the roadside, inspired and motivated.   Great!

Next, guest Speaker Dwayne (Gregory) Smith got us to dancing and rocking with his original rap song and speech, “Momma Could Do Anything!”  Dwayne introduced us to his mother, her sacrifices, her motivational speaking style, her understanding of life exemplified by how she lived and then the ultimate realization that though Momma could do anything, she couldn’t live forever.  Dwayne used humor, music, repetition, dance, and props to give us lasting and loving insight into his mother.   Great!

Following a delicious five minutes at the SRT Buffet, (did I mention Vicki brought her wonderful Spinach Dip?), we carried our loaded plates back to the tables to listen to our final speaker of the evening, Iris Grimm.

Iris Grimm aptly titled her speech, “Life on a String.” She presented us with the current economic statistics on bankruptcy, unemployment, mortgage foreclosures, and medical costs and then related a story on the terrible and devastating results of this type of stress. Iris didn’t leave us hanging, but gave us ways to make our “strings” stronger by controlling stress and taking care of ourselves first; via rest, good nutrition, feeding the mind and feeding the Soul. Great!

Steve Cohn called on his team for their reports.  Our timer, Vicki Willard, got A’s for her spinach dip, but not on her time keeping-card flashing skills.  This is more evidence of how great the speeches were when an experienced timer neglects to flash the cards on time.  Our grammarian, Paul Johnson, was crushed because no one used his word of the evening, riposte, correctly.  Therefore, he attempted to be ruthless in his report, sparing only a couple of guests who had not ventured to speak.   Sweet Donna Satchell recorded each speech and professionally captured each evaluation.  Steve’s wrap up was short, but pointed.   Too many members did not participate in the evaluations.  That meant we heard from the same folks regarding each of the evening’s speeches.   I know I need to work my oral critiquing skills.

Acting President, Iris Grimm, invited our guests, Patricia Stalworth, Mavis Harris, and Dwayne Smith to comment on the evening.  You guessed it; they thought the meeting was great and that they’d had a great time.  Our July 20 meeting will be shortened to two speakers so we can install our new club officers.

Toast Master:   Donna Satchell
Speakers: Vicki Willard
Merrilee Morris
General Evaluator:  Jon Schwartz
Timer: Bill Kovach
Grammarian: Claudia Brogan
Camera Person:   Iris Grim