A Buddhist proverb says: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” This proverb accurately
states my relationship with Toastmasters. I have always dreaded public speaking – so much so that I took
it pass fail in college and put my head down whenever I was called on in a classroom environment.
In other words, I was, and still am, scared to death to talk in front of an audience. In the past,
my supervisors recognized my fear of speaking in front of a group and therefore never asked me to give
any presentations. However, my current supervisor has the philosophy that, “You aren’t thoroughly
knowledgeable about your research unless you present your research to an audience.”
So there I was, confronted with the fear of my life – speaking to an audience. And then, Diane Bland
walked into my life and started talking about Toastmasters. Shortly after, the teacher appeared.
And here I am – ready to tackle my greatest fear head on.
February 2006
~~ Member Spotlight ~~
Bessie Parker
A new Toastmasters club had been started and across my desk came a memo reading “COURAGE, CONFIDENCE &
SELF-ESTEEM. Come to Toastmasters and we will help you”. I wanted to achieve more out of life.
I was a mom, grandma, and great grandma, but I just wanted more! I always had a hard time communicating
and speaking in front of others. I came to the conclusion that I needed help, so I went to a Toastmasters
meeting and joined that same month.
I always felt that I was never good enough. I could work and work, but it seemed that I never got anywhere.
I have always done as I was told, nothing more, and I wanted to achieve this, for me. Then I thought to
myself, “Can I achieve the impossible?”
What Toastmasters has done for me almost eight years later...
I have gained the courage, confidence, and self-esteem that I needed to earn the Competent Toastmaster (CTM),
ATM-Bronze, ATM-Silver, and ATM-Gold awards. I even became a Competent Leader by serving on the executive
committee and helping with the club success plan. There is only one more goal to achieve before I earn my
Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award, the highest award any Toastmaster can earn.
Can I achieve this award??? Step by step … One day at a time … I can and I will!!
After all I am retired and I want to finish what I started. I do enjoy Toastmasters; it is the highlight
of my week. I still get encouragement from our members and it is the place where I can be myself and enjoy
the fun of being with others. My motto for Toastmasters is Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM)!
Thanks team - Talk of Des Moines Toastmasters!
January 2006
~~ Member Spotlight ~~
Carole Stevens
I joined Talk of Des Moines Toastmasters in October 2004 after attending a four-week Speechcraft program.
I am sometimes called upon to give presentations during the course of my work at the Iowa Finance Authority.
Generally I feel reasonably confident doing so if given plenty of time for preparation, however,
I knew my public speaking ability and overall communication skills could definitely be improved.
I was especially nervous about any impromptu speaking situations – often finding myself drawing a “blank”
or stumbling over my words.
Toastmasters has provided invaluable training and opportunity for practice in this area with innovative
tactics such as “Table Topics” in which various members (who otherwise don’t have an active speaking role
during the current meeting) are asked to provide “off the cuff” one-to-two minute responses to questions
which are often quite humorous, and which add to the fun and enjoyment of the over-all meeting.
I have also appreciated the opportunity for the continued development of leadership skills.
As an accountant, I was asked to serve as Treasurer on our club’s executive committee and have found
that to be a rewarding experience. Our committee is a diverse group with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm
and has been an inspiration to me for continued personal growth. The opportunity to lead and conduct
various segments of the meeting by assuming the different Toastmaster roles has also proven to be a
valuable skill that I find myself using in my everyday work situations. I was also very pleasantly
surprised to have my participation in Toastmasters commented on in a very positive light in my recent
performance evaluation.
Talk of Des Moines Toastmasters is a fun and supportive group, and my association with them has definitely
increased my ability to be an effective and articulate public speaker. They truly reflect the Toastmasters’
mission to develop communication and leadership skills and to foster self-confidence and personal growth.
I am looking forward to continuing with Toastmasters and earning my Competent Leader Award in the near future.
December 2005
~~ Welcome Our Newest Members ~~
Susan Hobart
Susan is married to Mike and has a chocolate lab named Hershey. She currently works as a media buyer
at Flynn Wright Advertising. Susan joined Toastmasters because "I do fine in a seated, informal setting
for meetings, however, when it actually becomes a formal presentation, standing at the front of the room,
I get very nervous. I need to work on that!"
Susan is originally from Marion, IA (a suburb of Cedar Radids) and graduated with a BS in Journalism &
Mass Communication from Iowa State University. She enjoys camping, cooking for friends on the weekend,
taking Hershey to the park, and spending time with her husband Mike.
Special note: Susan has an identical twin that is due to have her first child in the next few weeks!
- Welcome, Susan
November 2005
~~ Welcome
Our Newest Members ~~
Tom Lu
Tom has been married for two years and has a 7-month old daughter. He is from
China and is currently working at an insurance company, AmerUs Group,
in Des Moines as an actuary. He has been living in the
states for 7 years and in Des Moines for only 1 year. Tom
first came to America as a student and studied mathematics
in college. He received a master's degree in Actuarial
Science from Georgia State University. Tom has lived in
several places in the past including Oregon, Georgia,
Pennsylvania and Iowa. He enjoys many hobbies and
interests, such as music, movies, reading history and politics,
photography, traveling.
Tom States, "My boss, Ivan, first took me to
Toastmasters and he encouraged me to attend. I am very enthusiastic
about the Toastmasters program. I think I truely need this program
because as English is the second language of mine, development of
communication skills is very important for me not only in the work
place but also in this society. Toastmaster gives me great
opportunity to learn and practice. I have met many people in
Toastmaster whom I can learn from." - Welcome, Tom!
George Clark
George is married to Mary and has two
children, Andrew and Kelsey. He works as an Advertising
Manager for Workbench Magazine, published by August Home Publishing
here in Des Moines. He is a former broadcaster and past Vice
President of the Des Moines Buccaneers. George also plays
hockey on a men's league, entertains as a backyard chef
and is a 50 year native of the Des Moines
area. He graduated with a degree in journalism in
1977. George is very proud of his daughter Kelsey, a
junior at Drake and currently on the President's List. - Welcome,
George!
~~ Member
Spotlight~~
Bob Vipond, President - Talk of Des Moines
Toastmasters
I originally joined Talk of Des Moines Toastmasters
to improve my self-confidence. I wanted to be able to
communicate well in any setting and to present myself in an
attractive way. Since I joined in March 2004, I have gained
so much more. The people I have met and made my friends are
truly inspirational to me.
Shortly after joining Toastmasters, I was given
the opportunity to serve my club as an officer and I was elected
Treasurer. Five months later, we recognized a need for a
change on the executive committee and I was elected to club
president. The experiences that I have obtained through
serving my club as an officer have been
invaluable to me. I have significantly improved my
communication skills and have also learned how to lead and
inspire others.
I look forward to
putting as much as I can into Toastmasters so that I can get out of
it as much as possible. I realize now that this is a journey
that I have embarked upon and that the journey is more important than
the destination.
Jeanne recently graduated from our Speechcraft program through the Des
Moines Schools Community Education program and made
the decision to join our group! Jeanne is a
home schooling mother of three (Evan, Cora, Brenna). Jeanne
says, "Homeschooling is truly my main passion. It combines my
two biggest loves in the world: Kids and
Learning.
I have numerous articles about unschooling, a type
of homeschooling, posted around the web." We're pleased to
have Jeanne on our roster, and hope to learn more about Jeanne
through her subsequent speeches - Welcome, Jeanne!
~~ Member Spotlight~~
Anne Sexton, Vice-President of
Education
I was invited to join a Toastmasters club about 2 years before I actually joined one. At the
time I was invited, I was simply not in a position to make a
commitment outside of work. I have to admit though, it looked like
a lot of fun. When it was time, I looked online for a club that had
an internet presence, something I considered to be an important
indicator of club viability.
It took me six months after joining to drum up enough courage to move past my icebreaker
speech. I couldn’t imagine speaking from notes only. I couldn’t
imagine giving a speech from memory. I couldn’t imagine giving a
speech of any substance off the cuff. I couldn’t imagine being the
toastmaster. I couldn’t imagine being the General Evaluator. I
couldn’t imagine evaluating anyone else’s speech. Once I got over
all the things I couldn’t imagine, things became possible. Once I
got started, I took off!
For me, perfection is the biggest obstacle to improvement. The notion of doing it
perfectly often keeps me from trying at all. It certainly keeps me
from stretching toward improvement. Making a mistake in the middle
of trying something new is an invitation to despair and worry and
not try again.
In my three years with Toastmasters, my personal speaking goals have changed. I have done
all of the things I could not imagine, not perfectly, but improving,
and achieved the CTM designation. I completely shocked myself when I
presented an hour-long workshop about public speaking WITHOUT NOTES.
I still can’t believe I did this, but I did. I am now committed to
pursuing all of the advanced designations, just to see where it
takes me.
The mission
of Toastmasters is “to provide a mutually supportive and positive
learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to
develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster
self-confidence and personal growth.” If you will believe that
mission and set aside your personal obstacles, and move forward in
whatever capacity you are able, there is no end to what you can
accomplish.
The
names "Toastmasters International", "Toastmasters",
and the Toastmasters International emblem are trademarks
protected in the United States, Canada, and other countries where
Toastmasters Clubs exist. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Member
Spotlight
A new Toastmasters club had been started and across my desk came a memo reading “COURAGE, CONFIDENCE &
SELF-ESTEEM. Come to Toastmasters and we will help you”. I wanted to achieve more out of life.
I was a mom, grandma, and great grandma, but I just wanted more! I always had a hard time communicating
and speaking in front of others. I came to the conclusion that I needed help, so I went to a Toastmasters
meeting and joined that same month.
I joined Talk of Des Moines Toastmasters in October 2004 after attending a four-week Speechcraft program.
I am sometimes called upon to give presentations during the course of my work at the Iowa Finance Authority.
Generally I feel reasonably confident doing so if given plenty of time for preparation, however,
I knew my public speaking ability and overall communication skills could definitely be improved.
I was especially nervous about any impromptu speaking situations – often finding myself drawing a “blank”
or stumbling over my words. 
Susan is married to Mike and has a chocolate lab named Hershey. She currently works as a media buyer
at Flynn Wright Advertising. Susan joined Toastmasters because "I do fine in a seated, informal setting
for meetings, however, when it actually becomes a formal presentation, standing at the front of the room,
I get very nervous. I need to work on that!"
Tom has been married for two years and has a 7-month old daughter. He is from
China and is currently working at an insurance company, AmerUs Group,
in Des Moines as an actuary. He has been living in the
states for 7 years and in Des Moines for only 1 year. Tom
first came to America as a student and studied mathematics
in college. He received a master's degree in Actuarial
Science from Georgia State University. Tom has lived in
several places in the past including Oregon, Georgia,
Pennsylvania and Iowa. He enjoys many hobbies and
interests, such as music, movies, reading history and politics,
photography, traveling. 
George is married to Mary and has two
children, Andrew and Kelsey. He works as an Advertising
Manager for Workbench Magazine, published by August Home Publishing
here in Des Moines. He is a former broadcaster and past Vice
President of the Des Moines Buccaneers. George also plays
hockey on a men's league, entertains as a backyard chef
and is a 50 year native of the Des Moines
area. He graduated with a degree in journalism in
1977. George is very proud of his daughter Kelsey, a
junior at Drake and currently on the President's List. - Welcome,
George!
I originally joined Talk of Des Moines Toastmasters
to improve my self-confidence. I wanted to be able to
communicate well in any setting and to present myself in an
attractive way. Since I joined in March 2004, I
Jeanne recently graduated from our Speechcraft program through the Des
Moines Schools Community Education program and made
the decision to join our group! Jeanne is a
home schooling mother of three (Evan, Cora, Brenna). Jeanne
says, "Homeschooling is truly my main passion. It combines my
two biggest loves in the world: Kids and
Learning. 
I was invited to join a Toastmasters club about 2 years before I actually joined one. At the
time I was invited, I was simply not in a position to make a
commitment outside of work. I have to admit though, it looked like
a lot of fun. When it was time, I looked online for a club that had
an internet presence, something I considered to be an important
indicator of club viability.