Personal Stories – Page 2 – Toastmasters District 83

Su Brooks Discuss What Makes Talk of Monmouth Unique

Su and Rebecca at the District 83 Spring 2017 Conference.

Bill Atkins asked Su Brooks a few questions about why she loves Talk of Monmouth.

Why did you join Talk of Monmouth?

Rebecca Marzec-Young and I were encouraged by Anne Gilson to serve as Sponsors. We had been talking about how great it would be to have an advanced club in Monmouth County.

What is your most memorable thing about being a member of Talk of Monmouth?
Hosting a Speakout during our mobile meeting on the Magic Bus returning from the International Convention in Washington, DC in 2016.

What does our club offer that’s different than most clubs?

Members have access to passionate, experienced leaders since our club has a large proportion of current and past District Leaders; strong commitment to DCP goals, fun special events in addition to the meetings in the courtroom.

What was your biggest surprise at Talk of Monmouth?

I facilitated Club Officer Training a few times and was extremely surprised that so many qualified people immediately volunteered to serve as trainers for the breakout sessions for each officer role or to help with whatever was needed. I thought it would be more difficult to get people to participate. Then, at one session, we had Toastmasters from Districts 83, 38 and 46 attend.

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Getting to Know DTM Ann Swartz

Distinguished Toastmaster Anne Swartz has been a member for 20 years. Currently, she is a member of Toastmasters of Westfield. We asked her a few questions about her Toastmasters experience.

What do you do outside of Toastmasters?

I am a health and wellness coach at RWJBarnabas Health, working at several hospital and office locations in the Southern region of New Jersey. I help their employees improve their health and well-being.

I am also a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor. I attended Washington University in St. Louis and earned a business degree in marketing and public relations. I’ve also taken exercise science and physiology courses at Kean University. You may be interested to know that in my early career I worked for NBA Properties, Inc.

Did you have any public speaking experience prior to Toastmasters?

I had limited public speaking experience and when I worked at the NBA in the 90s, I would freeze and get nervous. My voice would shake – especially when I interacted with upper management. Interestingly, I always felt comfortable teaching fitness classes, but in a room filled with business executives, I was a deer in headlights.

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Toastmasters Make Friends of All Ages

Goals bond people.

Writing in the fourth century B.C. Greek philosopher Aristotle took up the subject of friendship in what is arguably his most famous work, the

Nicomachean Ehtics. Aristotle, a thinker sometimes cited as the master of them that know, liked to identify categories for things in life. He was an empirical, analytical genius, and polymath who contributed to the development of the process we know as the scientific method and is credited with establishing our classification system for the members of the Animal Kingdom; e.g., species, genus, phylum, etc. The philosopher brought this same powerful thoughtfulness to his examination of human relationships. To paraphrase one of Aristotle’s notes (or perhaps one of his student’s), the philosopher described the highest level of friendship as the relationship between individuals who share an appreciations for beautiful, worthy things.

Why I am a Toastmaster

Five years ago this week, after a lot of research and with a heap of trepidation, I visited Old Bridge Toastmasters for the first time. I felt a little awkward going to something where I didn’t know anyone, but the people were friendly enough.

They had this interesting program where you could earn awards for completing different sets of tasks. It appealed to me as a nerd, but there was no way I would ever be able to summon the courage to do all of this. 40 speeches? I couldn’t possibly have that much to say. Be a club officer? Maybe one day, I could build up the courage to run for Sergeant at Arms. Serve as a district officer? Terrifying! Mentor someone? I have nothing to offer anyone, I thought.

And yet, when we had an open house two months later, I offered to be the guinea pig and give my first speech. When it came time to elect officers, I took a deep breath and ran for Vice President of Education. As my confidence grew, I took on more. Metaphorically speaking, a crawl became a walk became a run.

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From Author to Toastmaster

I first joined Hunterdon Speak Easy toastmaster club in March of 2016. I had just published my first book and was feeling very shy about speaking to the general public about it, so a few people encouraged me to seek out a Toastmasters club. I went to two other clubs in the district 21 area before deciding on Hunterdon Speak Easy, and I have to confess that it was the warmth and support that quickly encouraged me to become a member. Within a year, I had not only defeated my fear of public speaking but also earned a CC while working to complete a CL simultaneously. I also found myself participating in contests and taking on roles I normally would have been too shy to accept.

My continued attendance and participation has enhanced both my speaking and leadership skills. Joining Toastmasters was a terrific decision for my professional and personal development. If you’re reading this and not quite sure about becoming a toastmaster, I will simply encourage you to trust the process. It works!!

Toastmasters Gave Me Back My Voice

Marjorie holding her 1st Place trophy from the Division E humorous speech contest.

For most of us, speaking in front of two or more people can be uncomfortable, even frightful. For me, it was exceptionally so. When I was 30 years old, I left my native country, Haiti, and needed to learn to speak English. My accent made it hard for me to communicate and this new challenging world of the United States took my voice away and made me silent.

Despite my silence, I was always seeking for any opportunity to grow. I realized that I could not become a better version of myself if I did not overcome that fear of speaking. I knew I had to learn how to properly talk with others.

At my first Toastmasters meeting, I joined Impact 21. The club welcomed me and encouraged me to participate in Table Topic. Impact 21 was the place to be. They coached me and helped me leave my corner. After a few months, the club encouraged me to participate in the humorous speech competition, which was way out of my comfort zone. The challenge was thrilling. I even made it to the District contest!

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Toastmasters Fun in the Carpool Lane

Carpooling is smart when people are going to the same place at the same time from the same location, or in some cases coming from different locations. For attending Toastmasters activities, carpooling is not only convenient, but it can also be fun, economical and lead to great ideas.

Years ago, a few of my club members and I decided to attend Club Officer Training together. We live near the southern end of District 83. I volunteered to drive since one member didn’t like to drive at night and another did not like to drive to unfamiliar locations alone. She said, “It is all the way up in Old Bridge.” Personally, I thought that was a bit funny since I do not think of Old Bridge as a distant location from my house, but we carpooled and used the time to brainstorm ideas for our club and enjoyed the time together.

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Dr. Ansley W. LaMar: Toastmaster Superstar

Raised in The Soundview Class-Point projects, in was is now considered the south Bronx, Dr. Ansley W. LaMar has been associated with New Jersey City University for over 40 years. He is a professor of psychology. Dr. LaMar has also served as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Director of the Educational Opportunity Fund Program, and the Chairman of the Psychology Department. “Dedicated to the belief that all people are gifted and talented,” Dr. LaMar founded LaMar Educational Enterprises, LLC. and SuperKidz Kamp, Inc. a 7-day, fun-filled, residential camping experience that uses challenging activities, cooperative games, and opportunities for reflection to develop the leadership capabilities of 11 to17 year olds. He is a proud Toastmaster and shares how much he has positively impacted his fellow Toastmasters.

What inspired you to join Toastmasters? How did Toastmasters benefit you?

I originally joined Toastmasters because I wanted to become a motivational speaker. I had a vision of giving inspiring speeches, which changed the lives of college students throughout the metropolitan area.

I benefited from Toastmasters in a number of ways. First, going through each of the advanced manuals increased my flexibility and breadth as a speaker. Second, every time I gave a speech in my club, I learned something that I could use to increase the quality of my presentation. And finally, and most importantly, I developed friendships that I value.

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Club Spotlight: Toastmasters of Westfield

Club: Toastmasters of Westfield

Charter Date: March 1, 1961

Club Members In Their Own Words:

“I joined the Toastmasters of Westfield to help me advance my career. At that time, my direct supervisor at NBA Properties informed me that in order to get promoted to the Director level I needed to feel more comfortable speaking at staff meetings and doing presentations to large audiences. I developed the skills I needed and earned the Director position. Toastmasters has helped me in many aspects of my life professionally and personally. 20 years later I’m still an active participant and mentor.”- Anne Goldman Swartz, DTM

“Toastmasters ‘Keeps Me Coming Back’ – Our Westfield Group had been consistently supportive, warm and dear to me for over 23 years. I joined to become more confident, go after a higher level position in the Auto Industry and later to become a Motivational Speaker for a Major Weight Loss Company. Communication is the key – never stop!”- Noel Crawford, DTM

“I joined Toastmasters so I can learn to craft my message and deliver it in a meaningful way. The aspects of leadership development were not even something on my radar until I realized they were available to me. Using the communications track as well as the leadership track, I am more confident in personal and business situations. The fact that I have met so many great people who are now my friends is just the icing on the cake.” –Lou Bonanno

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