Sad News, Roosevelt Island Resident Woody Deas Passed Away Earlier This Summer - A RI Toastmaster Who Touched The Lives Of Many With Warmth, Friendship And A Good Story, Condolences To His Family, Friends & Colleagues

Sad news. Roosevelt Island resident Woody Deas passed away this past summer. His friend and Roosevelt Island Toastmasters colleague Elena Como shares her remembrance:

Woody Deas passed away suddenly earlier this summer, at age 74.

On the evening of July 23rd, about 40 people gathered at the Community Center at 546 Main Street, formerly known as the Senior Center, to reminisce and tell stories about Woody. It was a diverse group, made up mostly of Woody’s friends and neighbors from the Roosevelt Island Senior Association and the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club. It was remarkable to hear the many different stories about how Woody touched the lives of so many people in the community.

I was a member of the Toastmasters club for about 9 years and I remember Woody fondly. He was always warm and friendly, ready to tell a joke, happy to listen to a speech and give helpful feedback. Woody served the club very loyally as its Sargent-at-Arms; unlocking the meeting room and putting up the Toastmasters banner and podium, setting up the chairs and tables, putting out the after-meeting snacks and sodas, and then putting everything away after the meeting ended. Over the years, I heard him give speeches about his love of computers, his interest in history, and his life experiences. He had worked with computers as a younger man, and he was always willing to help his friends and neighbors set up and trouble-shoot their computers and printers. He was a soft-spoken presence and a good listener.

I will miss him.

Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Woody Deas.

You're Invited To Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club Open House June 12 - Learn How To Take Your Public Speaking Skills To Next Level And Meet New Friends

Are you interested in increasing your public speaking skills, projecting greater self-confidence and meeting some new friends? If your answer is yes, then you might be interested in joining the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club. According to Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

... Toastmasters is a learn-by-doing program that offers continuous feedback in a friendly, supportive environment. We can help you develop public speaking and leadership skills that can help you succeed in your business and personal life!

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters is a diverse, positive, encouraging group. We're home to members of diverse backgrounds, ages, and worldviews. At a meeting of Roosevelt Island Toastmasters, you will learn something new, meet friendly New Yorkers, and enjoy some tasty treats....

The Roosevelt Island Toastmasters are hosting an Open House on Monday June 12 at Gallery RIVAA (527 Main Street) starting at 7 PM. You're invited.

The June 12 Toastmasters Guest Speaker is Roosevelt Island resident Susan Cameron. Ms Cameron is author of the book Perfecting Your English Pronunciation and:

... an actor, educator, author, accent coach and the head of voice and speech at Columbia University. On June 12th she will lead a training on accent modification. This will be useful for both native and non-native English speakers.

More information about the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters available at their web site and Meet Up page.

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Invite You To A Free Educational Workshop Monday October 1 - Building Your Thinking Power Mental Flexibility

Image From Roosevelt Island Toastmasters

Received the following message from the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

As part of a community service and to introduce our club to more people on Roosevelt Island, we want to invite people to a free educational workshop on Monday, October 1. The workshop is free and open to all (18 years old and older). The location is on Roosevelt Island – Seniors Center at 546 Main Street. Timing is 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm.

The workshop is called

Building Your Thinking Power — Mental Flexibility

It was designed by Toastmasters International, the world-famous nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people become better public speakers and leaders.

More information below:

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters are pleased to present

Building Your Thinking Power — Mental Flexibility Workshop
Monday, October 1, 2012, 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Roosevelt Island Seniors Center, 1st floor
546 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044
Directions: http://g.co/maps/33tzs

Cost: FREE

Mental flexibility is a way of approaching situations to achieve the best outcomes.

By increasing your mental flexibility, you become:
•a better listener
•a better observer
•a more skilled thinker
•a more effective problem-solver

The workshop is free. We are a nonprofit group and our only interest is in helping ourselves and others to become better communicators and leaders.

About Roosevelt Island Toastmasters: We are part of Toastmasters International (www.toastmasters.org), the world-famous nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people become better public speakers and leaders. We meet on 2nd and 4th Monday each month on Roosevelt Island.

The Mental Flexibility Workshop will be led by Anna Doumnova. Anna has been a member of Roosevelt Island Toastmasters since 2005. She has made more than 50 public speeches won a speech contest. Her Toastmasters experience has been enjoyable and educational and allowed her to meet many wonderful people. Anna recommends to everyone to give Toastmasters a try!

Please email toastmasteranna@yahoo.com for more information and to RSVP.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday, October 1.

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Meeting Tonight 7:30 PM - Come Improve Your Public Speaking Skills and Meet New Friends

Image Of 2010 Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Dinner

The Roosevelt Island Toastmasters meet every second and fourth Monday of the month and are meeting tonight. Information on the time and place for tonight's meeting is here.

Received the following message from the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

All are welcome.

Toastmasters is a place where you develop and grow - both personally and professionally. You join a community of learners, and in Toastmasters meetings we learn by doing. Whether you're an executive or a stay-at-home parent, a college student or a retiree, you will improve yourself; building skills to express yourself in a variety of situations. You'll open up a world of new possibilities: giving better work presentations; leading meetings - and participating in them - more confidently; speaking more smoothly off the cuff; even handling one-on-one interactions with family, friends and colleagues more positively. The Roosevelt Island Club consists of 20 active members, being small gives you the flexibility to work on your communication skills with a friendly lot. http://4121.toa​stmastersclubs.​org/

More information on Roosevelt Island Toastmasters available at previous posts.

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Annual Dinner Monday June 25, Guests Welcome To The Dinner Tomorrow and Regular Twice Monthly Meetings - Come Improve Your Public Speaking Skills and Meet New Friends

Image Of 2010 Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Dinner

Are you interested in improving your public speaking skills, projecting greater self-confidence and meeting some new friends? If your answer is yes, then you might be interested in joining the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters. The Toastmasters meet every second and fourth Monday evening of the month. Tomorrow, June 25, is the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Annual Dinner. Guests are welcome to the dinner as well as regular meetings.

According to the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Our membership is 270,000 strong. These members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 13,000 clubs that make up our global network of meeting locations.

Membership in Toastmasters is one of the greatest investments you can make in yourself. At $36 every six months, it is also one of the most cost-effective skill-building tools available anywhere.

How Does It Work?

A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere.

There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate one another’s presentations. This feedback process is a key part of the program’s success.

Meeting participants also give impromptu talks on assigned topics, conduct meetings and develop skills related to timekeeping, grammar and parliamentary procedure.

Members learn communication skills by working in the Competent Communication manual, a series of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking.

The Roosevelt Island Toastmasters meets twice a month on Mondays at 7.30pm at Rivercross Community Room at 531 Main Street. Doris Chernik is President of the Club. She can he reached at dchernik@nyct.net or (212) 751-9577.

Next meeting is our annual dinner on June 25th at 6.30pm at Land of Plenty, 204E, 58th Street, New York, NY 10022. It's a 35$ Prix Fix Menu. Islanders are welcome to meet members at this event or our regular events.

Give it a try!!!

Here's more on Toastmasters.

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Meeting Tonight At 8 PM - Improve Your Public Speaking Skills and Meet New Friends This Summer

Image from Roosevelt Island Toastmasters (Click To Enlarge)

Received the following message from the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

Dear Colleagues and Friends, welcome to our SUMMER KICK OFF MEETING!

July 12 Monday, Cocktails Start 7:30 pm, regular session starts at 8:00pm

Location: Rivercross Community Room (beside Good Shepherd Church)

PROGRAMME

· Welcome Remarks: Jill Burk

Special Guest: Sirisha Tatineni

Area Governor District 52

· Toastmaster: Carol Tanjutco

· Word of the Day: Joanne Eichel

· Table Topics Master: Deborah Drucker

TABLE TOPICS™

This meeting, each member is requested to bring a unique object of interest, for other members to talk about. All members will be called to pick an item from the table. Guests are welcome to participate, and may choose to talk about any item brought by the members.

More information about the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters available from previous posts.

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Meeting Tonight At 8 PM - Improve Your Public Speaking Skills and Meet New Friends This Summer

You Tube Video Welcome To Toastmasters

Are you interested in increasing your public speaking skills, projecting greater self-confidence and meeting some new friends? If your answer is yes, then you might be interested in joining the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters. The Toastmasters meet every second and fourth Monday of the month at 8 PM including tonight. Guests are always welcome. The meeting location and directions are here.

For more information, take a look at the following message and two pictures received from the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

R.I. Toastmasters Club enters a new era
The Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club is now on its 30^th year. Members of the group were out talking to the community during the Roosevelt Island Day celebrations where they invited the general public to attend the meetings held every second and fourth Monday of the month at 8:00pm. During the meeting, members participate in Table Topics, answering an engaging question to practice extemporaneous speaking. Guests may join in, at their option. Part of the meeting is devoted to members’ presentation of prepared speeches for constructive feedback from their peers. Meetings for the summer are scheduled on July 12^th and 26^th, August 9^th and 23^rd. This Monday evening, June 28, 2010, the meeting will be held at the Rivercross Community Room located beside the iconic 1885 Good Shepherd Church plaza.

Outgoing officers were feted to an appreciation dinner, and the new officers were inducted who will serve for the next year starting July 1^st: Jill Burk, ATMB, for President, Doris Chernik, ACS, CL for VP Education, Barbara Pifel, VP Membership, Carolina Tanjutco, VP Public Relations, Joanne Eichel, CC, CL for Secretary, Deborah J. Drucker, CTM, CL for Treasurer, and Woodrow Deas, CC, CL for Sergeant-at-arms. Island residents and guests are welcome to give public speaking a try. For further information and location of the meetings, please email: RItoastmaster@verizon.net or call Carol Tanjutco at 212-669-1679.

Roosevelt island Toastmasters’ induction of new officers (L-R): Carol Tanjutco (VP for Public Relations), guest Toastmaster, Sue Brown, Woody Deas (Sergeant-at-arms), Barbara Pifel (VP for Membership), Malcolm Cohen, Jill Burk (President), Marlene Flom, Jaime Barniker, Mika Zgonjanin, Joanne Eichel (Secretary), Deborah Drucker (Treasurer) and Elena Como. Doris Chernik (VP for Education) is not in photo.

A toast for the new officers of Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club. Toastmaster Marlene Flom welcomed members and guests to a night of fine dining at Liliandloo on June 21, and capped the meeting with traditional impromptu speaking about “table topics”. Membership is open to the anyone who seeks to learn public speaking, or to enhance presentation skills in the workplace .

Give it a try!

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Meeting Tonight 8 PM - Improve Public Speaking Skills & Meet New Friends

You Tube Video of Richmond Toastmasters Hot Peas & Butter Speech

Are you interested in improving your public speaking and leadership skills or just meeting some new Roosevelt Island friends? If so, the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters may be the place for you. They are meeting tonight at the Rivercross Upper Community Room (531 Main Street) at 8 PM and every 2nd and 4th Monday through June. Received this message from the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

We have another great Toastmasters meeting planned for Monday (March 8th), and also the 4th Monday in March, the 22nd. There will be engaging speeches and fun table topics (improvised speech).

We have recently added 4 new members to our club! The speeches are great, and 2 of our members will compete in a contest on Tuesday (March 9th).

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Meeting Tonight - Learn Public Speaking Skills and Meet Some New Friends

Are you interested in improving your public speaking and leadership skills or just meeting some new Roosevelt Island friends? If so, the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters may be the place for you. They are meeting tonight at the Rivercross Upper Community Room (531 Main Street) at 8 PM and every 2nd and 4th Monday through June. According to this Roosevelt Island Toastmaster's Tweet:

Who wants to come out to Toastmasters on January 11th? Free food, good speeches, great friends!

Here is the web page for the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Club and a previous post about the organization.

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Meeting Tonight At 8 PM - Come Meet New Friends and Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Are you interested in improving your public speaking and leadership skills or just meeting some new Roosevelt Island friends? If so, the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters may be able to help. They are meeting tonight at the Rivercross Upper Community Room (531 Main Street) at 8 PM and every 2nd and 4th Monday from September through June.

More on Roosevelt Island Toastmasters from earlier post.

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters - Get Past The Fear of Public Speaking and Meet Some New Friends

Roosevelt Island Toastmasters Partying at Ions Corner Cafe from Elena Como

Are you interested in improving your public speaking and leadership skills or just meet some new Roosevelt Island friends? If so, take a look at the following message I received from Elena Como of the Roosevelt Island Toastmasters:

On January 26th, Roosevelt Island Toastmasters gathered at Ion's Corner Cafe at Vernon Blvd and 36th Avenue. We meet twice a month for our regular meetings, and twice a year we gather for a dinner party. This was our winter party. It was a very pleasant evening, with lots of catching up, since many of the guests were old friends and some were former-members of our club. Arlene served as the Toastmaster for the evening, graciously hosting and guiding us through a fun exercise. Since we had decided on a "Global" theme, each of our tables took a continent (Europe, Africa, Asia, The Americas) and prepared a short presentation in which every person participated. The presentations were delightful, funny, and lively! There was singing, trivia, and story-telling. The dinner and dessert were lovely too, and I especially enjoyed the polenta with sour cream and the fried-donut with yogurt for dessert.

Our next meeting is Monday, February 9th, at 8pm in the Rivercross Community Room. There will be 3 prepared speeches--based on the assignments in the Toastmasters International Competent Communicator Manual. Each speaker will present a speach that utilizes a skill in public-speaking, such as "Organize Your Speech" or "Get Comfortable with Visual Aides." The speech topics get very interesting, because we have a very diverse club. I've heard speeches about Azerbaijan and Fiji, as well as first aide for babies and many other topics. I always learn something new because our members give unique presentations based on their own interests. I have my own business, Atlantico Books, which imports books from Brazil and Portugal for consumers in the USA. Toastmasters has helped me to improve my communication skills and gain confidence when I speak with vendors and clients. If you are curious about Toastmasters what Toastmasters can do for you, please come and visit! I hope to see you soon.

Here's how Toastmasters may be able to help you get past the fear of public speaking and improve your business and/or job skills.

You Tube video of Toastmasters Testimonial

Public Speaking with Roosevelt Island Toastmasters

Did you know that there was a club on Roosevelt Island designed to improve your public speaking and presentation skills? There is and it is called the Roosevelt Island Toastmaster's Club, a chapter within Toastmaster's International.
Toastmaster's mission is to help:

men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening and thinking – vital skills that promote self-actualization, enhance leadership, foster human understanding and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

For example:

Have you ever been asked for your opinion about something, only to have your mind go blank? Have you given your opinion, but it was so disorganized that the point you were trying to make was lost?

The ability to “think and speak on your feet” is an important skill that often determines your success in job interviews, for example. All kinds of careers and occupations require this skill. Neil Chethik, a successful author, dreaded book-promotion tours because he didn’t know how he would answer questions on talk shows without his mind going blank. He credits Toastmasters’ Table Topics with giving him the edge he needed, “I would [practice by] flipping through the telephone book and talking about whatever was at the top of the page for a minute at a time,” Chethik says, “I found practicing Table Topics invaluable because it taught me to focus on one subject and perhaps even more importantly, to trust myself.”

That’s why the “Table Topics” portion of the Toastmasters club meeting was developed. Table Topics provides you with the opportunity to practice impromptu speaking.. By answering brief Table Topics questions, you learn how to present your thoughts clearly and convincingly, with no more than a few seconds of preparation. You also learn to listen constructively, and to think flexibly.

Roosevelt Island Toastmaster's next meeting is Monday, October 22 at 8 PM.
Image is from Voice and Speech Coach.