Old Bridge Day Provides Fertile Ground for Membership Drive

On September 9th, dozens of vendors and volunteer groups set up shop at Old Bridge Plaza, luring hundreds of town residents to learn about their offerings. It was the perfect place for the membership team from Old Bridge Toastmasters to get the word out about our fantastic club and the outstanding educational opportunities we offer our members.

The combination of our smiles, candy, and colorful display attracted folks to our pavilion. Prospective members were invited to our September 27th Open House, where they met our members, enjoyed some dessert, and participate in our meeting. Even before that event, a new member was so impressed by what she heard at Old Bridge Day she joined our club right away.

Special thanks go out to VPPR Sunanda Thali, CC VPM Jeff Newman, Sergeant-at-Arms Anna La Macchio, Treasurer Victor Martins, John Miraglia,and Frank Gatto for making this such a successful event for our club.

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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Meet the District Officers: Tom Somers

Name: Thomas Somers

Position: Webmaster

Club(s): Old Bridge Toastmasters, Jim Friend Toastmasters, and ACES

Other positions: Past District Governor

How long have you been in Toastmasters? 13 Years

What are your plans for the district? Maintain the district’s website to help promote district events and continue to develop the website so that it can be transferred to a future webmaster.

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Club Spotlight: Old Bridge Toastmasters

 It’s easy to think of Toastmasters as one giant homogeneous organization. As any Toastmaster will tell you, that is far from the truth. Each club has a unique personality. Club Spotlight seeks to help current and future members find the right club(s) for their Toastmasters goals.

Club: Old Bridge Toastmasters 1401391

Charter Date: June 30, 2010 by Thomas Somers, DTM

Recent Awards: President’s Distinguished for 6 consecutive years.

Club members in their own words:

I joined Old Bridge Toastmasters to help me reduce my Social Anxiety and to be a better public speaker and leader. I always refer to the ability to be an effective public speaker as the “Great Equalizer.” It’s a skill that if your going to be in the working world, essential! — Francis B. Gatto, CC

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