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