From Pemma Fox, Area 6 Director
This morning I am an extremely proud toastmaster! Because last evening, the word 'leadership' displayed itself fully at the high standard we witnessed at our Area 6 International Speech & Evaluation Contests.The audience turn out was high and the Contests were a great success. My appreciation to all who came as judges, functionaries and visiting toastmasters from outside Area 6.
Paul Carroll our Chief Judge, with Rose Zhang and Alexa Stanescu as Contest Chairs led us through the evening with professional dignity, grace, and good fun. (Did you know that when you arrive in Romania, you must immediately ask for a necklace of garlic, a dagger and a cross? To keep vampires away!)
Our contestants powered-up the evening with speeches and evaluations that inspired, motivated and challenged. With the bar set so high, each would have been a worthy winner to go through to represent Area 6 at Division level.
Going through and Congratulations to speech winners Lauren Nicourt (Sytel Reply Toastmasters) and Garrie Naden (London Olympians).
Evaluators going through to Division are Daniel Stoddart (London Olympians) and Alice Ankeny (London Athenians).
Third places were Mark Yansen (London Athenians) for International Speech and David West (London Corinthians) for
Evaluation.
And our Area 6 Director for 2017/18
Our evening concluded with Neil Coleman flawlessly conducting the Voting In of the next Area 6 Director. Our Area 6 Council chose Kassandra Gordon!
As soon to be outgoing Area 6 Director, my journey has been one of learning and growing in serving people, which is something I love. Peppered with learning to keep calm and asking and receiving support, when random occurrences rock the best made preparations. I was in major overwhelm at a last minute discovery that i'd printed incorrect certificates. In a Whatsapp exchange with my Division B Director, Florian Bay, his advice to me: "Calm down! Or you'll become like me!" I found my natural calm!
