District 64, Speech Contest result for Venio Dictum

CHRIS L.

So close ...
Our club representative Chris Lovering did us proud when he gave his humorous speech at the District 64 Spring Conference..his only problem in not winning was having me as his coach, meaning he ran slightly overtime which automatically disqualified his presentation...so the lesson you should learn from Chris is 'timing is everything' So start practicing for next spring contest take care everyone!
By Don Eppler

Our Location is a Good One

 

Our Meetings have been located at the Masonic Temple literally at Confusion Corner, with easy access to literally the whole city for many years.  Many members have stated our club has the best location, particularly as time goes by.  This is because it is so central, and as your life changes we tend to remain easy to get to in your daily travels.

I will reach out to add the historic locations to this piece, but the club originally used various hotel restaurants; but has been at this location for many ... many years.  I will try to get at least an approximate year. 

Parking is simply outstanding as well. The photo above shows just a corner of the rear lot (30 minutes before the meeting), immediately outside the rear doors.  It appears that some members are fearful of door dings; but also notice the city bus terminal.   It is RIGHT THERE; and for students or downtown workers, on their way home it simply is hard to fine a more easy Toastmaster Club to integrate into your regular life routine.  Simply put, this life changing commitment is going to be so central to you personal and professional success; having one less complexity to "add in or try to make fit" is one of the reason we have long time members.

Joining a Toastmaster Club will at first seem to present a buffet of club options.  Up front is that Venio Dictum is one of the city's most respected club for giving members very high evaluative skills.  We are also one of the few clubs that set a part of the meeting aside to work on how to engage and run business meetings using Robert's Rules.  The reason for this is that most decisions and actions rise out of knowing how to effectively perform in meetings; plus one of the main complaints is the lack of skill of people running meetings.  The parking and location is so important and often overlooked.  Being more central arguable than our downtown, the Osbourne location makes is so easy over many year to effortlessly just keep the habit of coming out.

We invite you to contact our Vice President of Membership (vpm@toastmasters.mb.ca) to investigate our club benefits and program.  The location does not come free, and the larger our membership the more easily we can continue renting this location. So an investment in your future with Venio Dictum Toastmasters is a good one; and a great place to launch or continue on with growing your skills.

District 64 (Division F) Humorist and International Speech Contest

APRIL 8, 2019 - Venio Dictum Toastmasters Club - AREA Level

This year's event was hosted by the Testament Toastmaster's group; at the Grant Memorial Baptist Church on Wilkes Avenue.  Venio Dictum was VERY well represented with a contestant in each of the contests -- Humorist and the International.  This contest took in the region of Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Northwestern Minnesota.

Toastmasters who attended from Venio Dictum, included Glenn as a judge, Mark as a ballot counter, and speakers Eric and Chris.

The evening started off with Chris delivering his speech for the Humorist Contest.  In this contest there were four (4) clubs represented; and his topic involving golf was well received and commented on in conversations.  Chris won the area event.

The second and final contest was the International Speech event.  Eric delivered his speech on the importance of creating strong bonds in life with your family and friends, as the stories build around those relationship will pay dividends later in life. Eric ended up as the runner up.

Mark and Glenn both were extremely impressed and in agreement on how much both speeches had really "jelled" to perfection since we first heard them during our Club Level Contests.  We reflected that our discussions after those contests were a good best practice as both were very well presented at the Area Level.  It showed both members had really put in some worthwhile homework to good effect.

The Venio Dictum Toastmasters Club was well represented and our contestants were terrific ambassadors for the club.  We can all look forward to supporting Chris as he advances to the next level.

2018 Awards Dinner for Venio Dictum

To cap off the 2017-2018 Venio Dictum Toastmasters season; the Annual Awards Night takes place at the last meeting of the year.

We we treated to three (3) award winning speeches, delivered by Chris Lovering, Mark Nagel Nagelberg, and Don Eppler.

The membership had been asked to vote for who to give the awards too; and the winners were as follows:

• Most Improved Speaker - Mark Nagelberg 
• Best Evaluator - Toban Vexzon 
• Mentor of the Year  - Ray Hignell 
• Executive of the Year  - Ray Hignell 
• Toastmaster of the Year - Glenn Laycock 

... and the winners of this year's Speech Contests:

• Peter Thomas Storytelling Contest - Don Eppler
• Senior Speech Contest - Ben Chutta 
• Junior Speech Contest  - Mark Nagelberg 
• Humorous Contest - Chris Lovering 
• Evaluator Contest - No winner, we did not do that contest 

Good times were had by all with an excellent meal to go with it.

Our new Executive for next year is:

• President - Ray Hignell
• VP Education - Mark Nagelberg 
• VP Membership - Eric Elford 
• VP PR - Theo Jeffrey 
• Treasurer - Dan O'Connor 
• Secretary - Janet Adam 
• SAA - Vacant to be filled

We look forward to seeing everyone in September!

Eric Elford, President 2017-18

Venio Dictum Toastmaster Club.

Peter Thomas Award - The Storyteller

Our Club's Storytelling Award, is named in honour of a gentleman named, Peter Thomas.

Peter Thomas was a member of the Venio Dictum Toastmaster Club for for almost 40 years!  

Our longtime member, Don Eppler recalls that Peter originally came to Canada from New Zealand.  And when he joined our club had owned his own business of a known brand of steel shelving.  He finally sold his business and retired.  But practically every year that I can remember he and his wife Ruth went on some unique trip around the world; and from the beginning of his 'Story Telling' speeches when he returned. 

Each speech had some spell bound venture to it. One that stands out for me was the time he and his wife went back to new Zealand on a freighter ship and being part of a very small passenger group, who had their own quarters but had to eat with the crew.  It took them two weeks on the open sea to get there. He gave a blow by blow description of that venture, from a very rough storm that turned and tossed this huge vessel like some small toy.  So their trips up the Amazon in jungle terrain, Mexico's unknown areas, plus Peru, and other far away remote areas became such intriguing we could hardly wait for his return and hear them.

As a tribute to his 'story telling' talent we introduced the Peter Thomas trophy to encourage other club members to try and develop their imagination and speaking talents to be included their communication skills. A few years ago District 64 introduced their 'Tall Tale' contest that has now confused our own club contest as being the same thing, which in my opinion is not.

Fred Cooper, a long time former member tells us that Peter was indeed a stalwart member of Venio Dictum and an engaging person too. He spent sixteen winters in Mexico at a place called la Penita on the Pacific coast north of Puerta Vallarta and several of his yarns were based on his experiences getting there in his car and camper.

Finally, from member Ray Hignell who perhaps gives us the best impression of what it was like to see Peter in action - he was a great story teller, partly because his stories were interesting and well researched.  He told them in a very engaging way, in a voice that seemed louder than a strained whisper, as if he was speaking to each individual in the audience, and letting them in on an important secret. It was very effective.

In conclusion, Peter Thomas was a key personality and talent that shaped the character of the Venio Dictum Toastmaster Club; which has echos even today.  With the help of member Ray Larkins, this very impressive award was created to give out ever year to the winner of our Storytelling Speech Contest.  Member Dwight Wilkens won the award this past Awards Night, delivering a presentation that was engaging to all.

If you would like to add to this article; please email vppm@toastmasters.mb.ca

Glenn Laycock, VPM 2016-17
Venio Dictum Toastmasters Club.

Awards Night 2017

Venio Dictum Toastmasters Club

AWARDS NIGHT 2017

Darren Lewis, our outgoing President, introduced our Toastmaster, Don Eppler who would lead the festivities of the evening.

After the housekeeping, invocation and toast; Don entertained an extended humorist session; and I am glad to report that all the jokes were first rate .. very funny, and I had not heard most before.

Our President for our upcoming season of 2017-18 lead a well done Table Topics session with five (5) questions.  This was followed up with speeches in the Junior, Senior, and Peter Thomas Storytelling category -- with Ben C., Toban V., and Dwight W.  All three speeches were interesting and engaging.

The Awards for the evening were as follows:

• Most Improved Speaker is Sofia Senin.
• Evaluator of the Year is Eric Elford
• Club Mentor of the Year is Glenn Laycock
• Executive of the Year is Ray Hignell, and
• Outstanding Toastmaster of the Year is Darren Lewis.

Toastmaster of the Evening, Don Eppler; handed out to each attendee, a dollar bill from 1967; which was Canada's 100th Birthday.  In recognition of Canada's 150th this year.

Good times, and a very good meal were had by all; with a renewed vigor for a strong 2017 - 2018 season starting on September 13, 2017.

Glenn Laycock.

Our New Executive for the 2017-2018 Season

Election Night was held on May 17, 2017 at our usual location at the Masonic Temple.  The role call showed 19 members and 2 guests and the evening was just outstanding.

The results of the election for next year's executive is as follows:

ELECTION FOR 2017-18 VENIO DICTUM EXECUTIVE

• President – Eric Elford
• V.P. Education – Nuo Yang
• V.P. Public Relations – Ben Chutta
• V.P. Membership – Karen De Blonde
• Treasurer – Danny O’Conner
• Secretary – Mark Nagelberg
• Sargent-at-Arms – Gary Fryza
• Past President – Darren Lewis

The new Executive will take office on July 1, 2017.

We know that they will carry out their duties in a manner to use this coming year as an opportunity to advance in their Leadership Manual, by testing their learning with real time experience.

GL .. VPM

Venio Dictum Toastmaster's Executive for 2016-17 Season

At our Wednesday May 4th meeting, our club elected in our Executive for next season, so a quick note of congratulations and thanks is in order. 

President, Darren Lewis
VP Education, Ray Hignell
VP Membership, Glenn Laycock
VP Public Relations, Romualdo Lacanlale
Treasurer, Alberto Camona
Secretary, Lynette Williams
Sargent of Arms, Gary Stempnick
Past President, Richard Marusyk

The new executive takes effect on July 1, 2016.

Venio Dictum Executive for 2014-15 Season

At our Wednesday May 6th meeting, our club elected in our Executive for next season, so a quick note of congratulations and thanks is in order.

President, Richard Marusyk

VP Education, Toban Vexzon

VP Membership, Garry Burgess

VP Public Relations, TBA

Treasurer, Glenn Laycock

Secretary, Lynette Williams

Sargent of Arms, Ricardo Krigun

Past President, Jon Rekrut

The new executive takes effect on July 1, 2015.

The Passing of a Member, Walter Nedokus.

Walter joined our club earlier this year, and had such a profound impact - we were looking forward to having him at the meets this coming season.,

WALTER (WALT) WILLIAM NEDOKUS Walt passed away suddenly on Monday, June 16, 2014 in his home in Winnipeg at the age of 61 years. Left to cherish Walt's memory are his life partner of six years, Jody Erlandson; beloved children David (Sydney) and Samantha; sister Anna (Ron) Wiebe and their family. He was predeceased by his father John in 1985 and mother Anna in 2005. Walt was a man of profound intellect who read voraciously and loved to discuss philosophy, spirituality, economics, politics, literature and technology. He told wonderful tales of his childhood in New York, the Philosophy "Play Room" (Lounge) at University of Winnipeg, the trials and triumphs of working in the hotel industry, and later in customer care. Walt was proud of his many achievements as a Toastmaster in the 1980's. He was a self-taught technology wizard and was about to launch a new career as an independent computer consultant. He was happiest when tinkering with his electronic toys or relaxing with Slavoj Zizek's latest book, a scotch, and a good cigar; and he was always delighted to help friends with their computer woes. A fiercely independent thinker, he embraced Buddhist philosophy at age 16 and endeavored to walk the Path of Enlightenment with compassion and good humour. A Celebration of Walt's Life will be led by Sensei Michael Hayashi in the Manitoba Buddhist Temple, located at 39 Tecumseh Street at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 3, 2014.

Publish Date: Jun 28, 2014

As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on June 28, 2014

Venio Dictum Executive for 2014-15 Season

This past Wednesday, May 7th, our club elected in our Executive for next season, so a quick note of congratulations and thanks is in order.

President, Jon Rekrut.

VP Education, Darren Lewis

VP Membership, Glenn Laycock

VP Public Relations, Dwight Wilkins

Treasurer, Nuo Yang

Secretary, Gladys Yeung

Sargent of Arms, Gary Stempnick

Past President, Janet Adam

The new executive represents a mentoring base, with strong representation of people either new to either the club or working on the executive; under the strong leadership of Jon Rekrut.

The new executive takes effect on July 1, 2014.

Don Eppler crowned the 'Funniest Man' in District 64!

Venio Dictum is proud to recognize Don Eppler as the winner of the Humourous Speech contest at the District 64 Fall Conference on November 16th. 

Don managed to take down the Area Contest and then he was off to the Division contest where he also emerged victorious, paving the way to compete at the Fall Conference.  After a tough competition against many strong speakers at the conference, Don was able to work his magic and take home the trophy as the ‘Funniest Man’ in District 64!  Venio Dictum is proud to recognize Don’s achievement.

 Congratulations Don!

So ends our 2012 - 2013 Season.

Fellow Toastmasters,

Having just completed this season's financial reports, I wanted to recap a few of the accomplishments that our executive and membership can look back on as terrific successes.

First, I just received notice that we have achieved Distinguished Club Status from Toastmasters International.  This was our key educational goal as our club had fallen off that select list of clubs.  This achievement is a reflection of our membership and executive team working together to have our hard work and goal achievements recognized.

Second, our club is widely recognized as Winnipeg's most "healthy and successful" club.  Nothing could be more reflective of the truth.  I am extremely happy to report, that our club has moved from an unsustainable financial position to one of growth and durability.  This is reflected in 40.7%  increase in our club funds this year.  Was it easy?  No -- it required dedicated investigations, data collection, analyzing and knowing how to apply it to the execution of an effective plan -- but the support of the executive and membership made it all come together.

Third, our Treasurer recommended I actively secure an Area Contest, as a way to bolster and showcase our club to the District and area clubs -- but also as a way to practice and prove we can do it profitably.  I attended meetings and was able to secure an Area Contest through persistence.  Our membership could not have hosted the event to a higher standard.  I received endless praise for the event.  Literally all the executive team, including our Past President, our contest representatives, and a good portion of our membership were responsible for making this event turn out well.

Fourth, I was grateful to be able to have the club funds available -- via the 50/50 and Grunt monies -- to cover the room charge for our Award's Night.  This is something that has not been done for a couple years, due to financial considerations.  Again, it was very nice to have our club in a position to be financially able to support this years event in this manner.

I appreciated the great attendance and lively participation at our meetings -- where we learn and practice our skills -- and get energized by proving our true potential.

I could not image being allowed to lead a more talented, kind and supportive group of people.

My sincerest thanks to everyone.

Best Regards,

Glenn Laycock

President, 2012-13

Venio Dictum Toastmasters

Executive Line Up for 2013-14

At our regular Wednesday meeting on May 8th, we elected the Executive for the 2013-2014 Toastmaster Season. 

• President:  Janet Adam
• VP Education:   Andrew Smith
• VP Membership:  Jon Rekrut
• VP Public Relations:  Eric Elford
• Treasurer:  Don Eppler
• Secretary: Nuo Yang
• Sergeant of Arms:  Alexis Cherewayko
• Past President: Glenn Laycock

The new executive will take over officially on July 1, 2013.

Area Speech and Table Topic Contest

Good morning fellow Toastmasters,

The Area Contest we hosted this last Wednesday went extremely well.  Thanks to our speakers -- Andrew and Ray -- and those who came out to support them -- as well as all the other contestants and supporters.

A strong turnout got the meeting to a good start, and the audience was treated to strong speeches and table topics.  Our club's contestants, Ray Hignell and Andrew Smith were very competitive and the audience would not have been surprised if either had won for the night.

Stephanie won the Table Topics

RESULTS

Table Topics

1) Stephanie V.

2) Andrew S.

International Speech Contest

1) Lynn S.

2) Jennifer R

The crowd lingered in cheerful conversations and actions for a long time after the meeting which is an excellent sign to that the event was well received.

2013 a New Year with New Events Scheduled

As 2013 gets rolling, I am looking at a couple events we have coming up.

First, our Club Level International and Table Topic contest is scheduled for April 3rd this year.  The event is scheduled to be chaired by Jean, with Monica our Area Governor coming out that evening to be our Chief Judge.  Being a club level event, we are planning to let our members practice their skills by taking on some roles, such as judging.  Certainly there are practical reason to do this "in house" but certainly it is good practice and experience for our membership, and if you can't practice these roles at our own club, your learning curve would be a lot longer.

Our second event, and one we are very happy to HOST is the Area International and Table Topic contest is scheduled for April10th @ 6:15 p.m. at our normal location at the Masonic Temple.  In the case of an Area Contest, we are just hosting the location and the Area will handle the actually contest.  In this case, the formality of the event goes up a notch and the roles have to meet the guidelines solidly -- so Judges and so on will be from other clubs.

Contestants, Guests, and Toastmaster Members are all invited to these events.  The Area event will have a door fee -- probably $10.  We would love to see you out.

Glenn Laycock
President (2012-13)
Venio Dictum Toastmasters Club

Peter Thomas Storytelling Event

On November 27th, Venio Dictum Toastmaster held their 2012-13 club level storytelling event.

At the conclusion of the event, Janet Adam, Don Eppler, and Gary Stempnick shared the background of why this event was name in honor of Peter Thomas.  By the sounds of it, Peter was quite the "character" with an adventurous personality and had members amazed as he recounted his adventures when delivering speeches.

Our contestants for this event were:  Toban, Janet, and Don.  Our chairman of the event was the clubs VP of Pubic Relations, Andrew Smith who ran the event very well.  All the speeches ended up being exactly as "billed" as storytelling they were.  All unique, entertaining, insightful, and at times humorous.

The winner in the end was our Past President, Don Eppler.   Special thanks to the speakers, judges, ballot counters, timers, and avid listeners.

District 64 Fall Conference Luncheon

On Saturday, November 17th, Venio Dictum Toastmasters hosted the luncheon at this year's Fall Conference.  It was held at the Holiday Inn on Portage Avenue, close to the Moray Bridge.

 Janet Adam and Don Eppler championed this project to good success.

Keynote speaker for the lunch was Barbara Bowles.

In the above photo:  President Glenn Laycock, Barbara Bowles, Past President Don Eppler.

The luncheon went well with a strong keynote by Barbara, and the Holiday Inn lived up to its reputation as a good venue.

Area Evaluation and Humour Contest

Last week our club had its Evaluation and Humourist Speech Contests.

• Eric Elford was the winner of the Evaluation contest
• Nicolette L. was the winner of our Humourist contest

Eric and Nicolette advanced to the Area 21 level event, which was held on October 25 at the St. Boniface University.

We had several people on hand to cheer on Nicolette and Eric, including: 

VP of Membership, Ray Larkins 
President, Glenn Laycock
Members Ian S. and Josephine O. 

Although Eric and Nicolette did not advance to the next level, the evening was an enjoyable one that was chalked full of excitement as the competition was of good caliber.  

Opening Game Remarks for 2012-13 Season.

Welcome to the opening pitch of the 2012 – 2013 Season.

With the new Executive of the Venio Dictum Toastmasters Club taking office as of July 1st, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get everyone up to speed on what I am seeing.  But let me introduce your executive team “line up”.

In as our Sergeant of Arms is Tom. Tom is a relatively new member of our club, but is "taking the bull by the horns" and will be making sure our room is all set up, introducing me every meeting and maintaining our club resources.

Our Secretary Alexis took on the occasional role of “Acting Secretary” last year, so she will just walk into her new shoes pretty easily I expect.   Alexis is skilled at being the person in charge of correspondence and doing our Minutes.

Treasurer – Nicolette – will be a new face to many of our members, but she is actually returning from a year of schooling abroad to resume the position she held in the 2010-11 Season. 

The website and public visibility (marketing) falls into the domain of our VP of Public Relations – Andrew Smith.  Andrew will be working very closely with our VP of Membership, Ray Larkins as both these roles support and empower each other

Janet is our VP of Education.  Janet brings with her a wealth of experience with our club and has proven how growing your skills in Toastmasters can improve your life.  Janet and me are confident with the membership we have, that Venio Dictum will return to being a Distinguished Club in the coming year.

As you can see, our line up is strong and  I was filled with pride and anticipation of getting onto the playing surface, to stretch our legs.

I look forward to seeing everyone in September,

Glenn Laycock, President
Venio Dictum Toastmasters Club