Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall in Surrey was the venue yesterday for the very best humorous and impromptu speakers from Toastmasters clubs across South East England (Division H), among them our very own David Collins and Pete Steele. The audience was entertained, educated and enthralled by the electric energy, and enthusiasm of terrifically talented Toastmasters from Tunbridge Wells to Taunton’s College and all points in between!

Amazingly, David and Pete were both drawn first of seven contestants in their respective contests! Our ‘dynamic duo’ both set a very high benchmark for other contestants to follow. David as the bumbling ‘dick-head’ provided the audience with many laughs with his dyslexic tongue-in-cheek take on management-speak. Pete’s off-the-cuff speech affirming Einstein’s view that logic will take us from A to B but imagination can take us anywhere, took us on a highly charged creative 2 minute journey from the stuttering aircraft of the early days of aviation to super-charged rockets that can take our imaginations into the outer reaches of the universe!

Although David and Pete weren’t placed in the top three winners by the judges, in my view they were worthy ‘winners’ in more ways than one, gaining valuable experience alongside national standard speakers, putting Hamwic on the map alongside other longer established clubs, and giving all the Hamwic supporters who attended the opportunity to network with members of other clubs, gaining valuable insight into other clubs’ experience.

Contestants in the 2010 Toastmasters Area 42 Competitions, with Area 42 Governor Keith Oliver

On  27th March 2010 Hamwic Speakers was proud to host the Area 42 Speaking and Evaluation Contests, which saw visitors from as far afield as Dorset and Brighton gathering at Totton to hear winners of branch competitions competing for the Area prizes and the chance to go on to District competitions and ultimately potentially national or even international contests. Hamwics very own Rich Watts, a previous Area competition winner, took part in the speaking competition, while Julie Street represented the Club in the evaluation competition. Sadly neither won their class, but this is a reflection of some very high class performances by the winners rather than the abilities of our own team.

A number of non-participating members were present as spectators and supporters, and it was a treat to see some really excellent speeches and to appreciate the styles of speakers from other clubs who we had not previously seen in action. As this was the first time we had hosted the competition there was more than the usual amount of nailbiting in the run up to it, but it all seemed to go well on the day even if some of the officer roles had to be assigned to willing victims, sorry – volunteers, on the day.

The competitions were preceded by three workshop sessions on Sparkling Impromptu Speaking, Dynamic Workplace Presentations, and Evaluate to Motivate. All three topics were highly rated by participants and all the feedback was very positive, encouraging us to run a similar format for events in the future.

The Mayor of Southampton Elizabeth Mizon cuts the cake with Ken and Margaret Amy

Hamwic Speakers celebrated the Club’s first birthday on 9th March. The Southampton based Club, which has recently also become a chartered member of  Toastmasters International, was first founded by Ken and Margaret Amy and a small number of other members from the Solent Speakers Toastmasters Club which is based in Fareham. At the birthday celebration, members also celebrated the signing up of the 30th member. A visitor from another nearby club commented that this was an exceptionally fast rate of growth for a new club.

Glen Jayson, Newsletter Editor, reports:

A lively meeting with a theme of “Firsts” was attended by the Mayor of Southampton, Elizabeth Mizon. She gave an interesting 7 minute speech entitled “Being Mayor in the 21st Century” (apparently she is the 787th Mayor of Southampton). Jeremy Over evaluated her speech as being well constructed and informative. His only improvement suggestion was ‘moving away from the lectern’! Jeremy was voted Best Evaluator. Best Speaker of the evening was Pete Steele with “Paradise is already here! – The British Isles”, a knock-out speech full of poetic imagery to promote the message of what a beautiful country we live in.

One of our VIP guests, Councillor Ben Walker won the accolade of best topics speaker.

Margaret and Ken served yummy chocolate birthday cake in the break, and despite a jam-packed programme the meeting finished almost on time, with guests invited to post their comments on the website.

By Keith Oliver

On Saturday 6 March 20 members and guests gathered at the Novotel Hotel in Southampton to formally recognise Hamwic’s achievement on becoming chartered as a fully fledged club in the Toastmaster family.

The pristine banner was prominently displayed and the evening was got under way by Division H Governor, Chris Howell, who handed the club
certificate to President Ken Amy, and was assisted by Area 42 Governor, Keith Oliver, in presenting Ken with his President’s badge and ribbon of
office. Appropriate toasts to the future of the club and to past, present and future members were roundly supported.

Following the main course, Gavin Meikle provided some light relief by giving Ken a ‘roast’, a speech which honours an individual in a goodnatured way by the use of jokes and anecdotes. Poor Ken’s foibles, mannerisms and character were laid bare for all to see, but he took it in
good spirit.

After the dessert we were entertained by Jayan Pillai, who performed his magic tricks to the amazement and amusement of all, even Gloria and Rich who were his assistants for several of the tricks. The evening concluded with general conversation amongst those present for some time after the formal ceremonies had concluded.

With Hamwic now formally chartered we all wish the club continuing success and growth over the coming years. A big thanks to all who organised the Charter Dinner, and for inviting me. It was a great occasion and I wish you all the best for the future - Keith Oliver, Area 42 Governor