Brinker Meets on February 28 Plans for our next meeting are moving along smoothly. Ralph Sierra, Karen Huang, David Canes, and Mary Anne Westover are scheduled to speak, Rick Eshbach will lead Table Topics, and Viki Kinsman will be General Evaluator. Our obvious challenge is to assign a Toastmaster and evaluators for the speakers. We’re looking forward to seeing you all and encourage you to volunteer for one of the meeting roles if you’ll be available. Club Contest is March 14 Remember that we’ll hold our Spring Contests—International Speech and Evaluation—at our meeting on March 14. The Evaluation Contest is open to all members; only members who have already completed six speeches in the basic manual may compete in the International Speech contest. This is a chance for every member to learn by competing in or observing the contest, and we hope you’ll all participate in the contests in some way. If you’d like to know more about the contest, ask coordinator Mike Schultz or any club officers or check the information available on the Toastmasters International web site. Think about competing, and let Mike know at the February 28 meeting how you’ll be taking part. Part of the excitement of the club contest is the chance to speak to larger audiences and try your skill against othe speakers in highr level competitions. We know the Area 83 contest will be at Vienna Presbyterian Church on March 31; information about the Division D contest and the District Conference in May has not yet been posted on the district web site. Updates when available. Time to Pay Dues Ralph reminded us at the last meeting that it’s time to pay dues for April through October. Please get your check for $36 to him as soon as possible so that he can make our club payment on time. Club Earns Fifth DCP Credit President Margaret Farchtchi returned from her trip to Saudi Arabia and congratulated the club for earning enough credits reach Distinguished Club status. She challenged us not to rest there but to reach for Select Distinguished status or higher. With Mary Anne Westover on the brink of earning a Competent Communicator award, it seems to be within reach if we can meet mebership requirements. New Members Rick Eshbach, Tenzin Namgyal, Choupel Lhundup, and Susan Kipp have joined our club. Board of Directors Meeting The Toastmasters International Board of Directors conducted its spring meeting last week. They approved far-reaching changes to the governance of the organization. These are summarized on the TI web site. It’s not clear to me whether the board’s approval must be ratified by the membership, but for changes as braod as these, you owe it to yourself to stay informed. Facebook Did you know there is a large and active Toastmasters presence on Facebook and LinkedIn? District 27 has several groups on Facebook; there is a large Toastmasters community in Facebook. There’s a lot of silly chatter on social networks, especially on Facebbook; but these offer an unrivalled opportunity to tap the knowledge and experience of Toastmasters around the world. In a short time I’ve made connections with a past International President, International Speech Contest finalists, speakers at the TI convention, and writers from Toastmaster magazine. I don’t think I even would have tried to reach these people by other means. Final Thought There was once an old Jewish man. All he ever did in his spare time was go to the edge of the village and plant fig trees. People would ask him, “Why are you planting fig trees? You are going to die before you can eat any of the fruit they produce.” But he said, “I have spent so many happy hours sitting under fig trees and eating their fruit. Those tree were planted by others. Why shouldn’t I make sure that others will know the enjoyment that I have had?” Megan McKenna, Parables