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SHARE YOUR STORIES
Welcome to Travel Talkers Toastmasters!
Join Travel Talkers Toastmasters on Thursday, October 8, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Pacific (-7 UTC). The meeting theme is “Wine Country Trips.” Let’s travel to the world’s most beautiful wine regions. Share your adventures at our meeting.
Toastmasters offers members opportunities to improve their public speaking and leadership skills. And at Travel Talkers Toastmasters, we also learn about new destinations and share our travel adventures.
Our meetings are for all travel enthusiasts. Engage with fellow members to share your joy of travel. Build your public speaking skills and get valuable feedback in a supportive, Toastmasters-style environment. Let’s hit the road, share stories, and inspire each other to embark on new adventures. Mark your calendars for an unforgettable evening with the Travel Talkers community!
You are invited to join us and bring a friend. Thursday, October 8, 6:30-7:30 pm Pacific (-7 UTC).
Register for the meeting link: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Join the Travel Talkers Toastmasters for a fun evening sharing your travel plans and trips.
We meet on Thursdays from 6:30 to 7:30pm Pacific Time (-7 UTC). Use the link below to register for our Zoom meetings.
Guests are always welcome at our meetings! We look forward to meeting you and hearing your travel stories.
Travel Talkers Toastmasters, club number 04670726, District 101, Division A, Santa Clara, California. We are an online club with members from all over the world.
https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/04670726-travel-talkers-toastmasters
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Travel Talkers Toastmasters—Museums and Cultural Destinations
Meeting highlights
The July 30 Travel Talkers Toastmasters Club meeting theme was Museums and Cultural Destinations, and the meeting also featured the installation of new officers led by Area A4 Director Scott Bradley. The club welcomed several guests, including Elizabeth Garcia from Arizona, Shalini Suravarjjala from Santa Clara, and Mandi Judy from Jamaica. Meghan Burns, as the Destination Master, conducted a guessing game about a U.S. city with many art museums. Lisa Hamil delivered a prepared speech titled “Star Power” about cultural experiences including meeting Elizabeth Taylor at a hotel in Florence, Italy. The club also conducted travel-themed table topics where members discussed museum preferences and cultural attractions. The meeting also included evaluations of timing, grammar, and overall performance, with Elizabeth winning the travel topics contest for her response about wanting to speak with the Mona Lisa to discover why she’s smiling.
Club Officer Installation
Scott Bradley, the new Area A4 Director from Santa Cruz, California, conducted the officer installation ceremony for the Travel Talkers Toastmasters club. The new officers officially installed are: Helen Josephine, President; Jacqueline Maynard-Campbell, Vice President Education; Lisa Hamil, Vice President Membership; Helen Josephine, Vice President Public Relations; Avis Russell, Secretary and Treasurer; Jessica Rolle, Sergeant at Arms. Each officer agreed to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. The meeting included introductions from several guests, including Elizabeth Garcia from Arizona, who is spending a month in Irvine, California; Shalini Suravarjjala, a guest invited by Lisa Hamil; and Mandi Judy from Jamaica, who all found the club through different means, including the new directory of online Toastmasters clubs and ChatGPT. Helen Josephine took on the role of Toastmasters for the meeting since Jessica was unable to attend due to a power outage.
Destination Master
Meghan Burns introduced the Destination Master activity, providing clues about a U.S. city with a high concentration of art museums and inviting participants to guess the location via chat.
- This US city has one of the highest concentrations of art museums in the world, with nearly 100 museums
- Served as the capital of the United States until 1790
- Home to many famous artists, including Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and Georgia O’Keeffe
- The homes and art collections of famous historic residents of this city served as the foundation of many of the art museums you can visit today
If you guessed New York City as the location, you are correct.
Cultural Experiences and Travel Topics
Lisa Hamil delivered a prepared speech titled “Star Power” about her cultural experiences. She shared cultural events and celebrities, including attending and singing in a Pavarotti concert in Verona and meeting Elizabeth Taylor at a dinner in Florence during an HIV conference. She described how these cultural experiences provided relief from academic stress, particularly during a challenging statistics class.
Museum Travel Topics
Helen led the Travel Topics session where members shared their responses to museum-related questions. Scott proposed opening an outdoor museum featuring petroglyphs and Native American artifacts, while Elizabeth expressed interest in speaking with the Mona Lisa to discover her secrets. Avis preferred guided museum tours over exploring alone, and Mandi highlighted how museums provide deeper historical context about a country beyond just experiencing its food or beaches. Meghan shared a bizarre museum artifact involving a Civil War bullet with unusual claims about its romantic history, and Judith imagined a future AI museum where paintings could come alive and interact with visitors.
Next Meeting
The theme of our August 6 meeting is “Dinosaur Adventures.” Join the Travel Talkers Toastmasters Club for a fun evening sharing your adventures. Engage with fellow members as we share our stories about traveling. This is your opportunity to focus on your public speaking skills and get valuable feedback in a supportive Toastmasters-style environment. The meeting is on Thursday, August 6th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific time. We want to hear about your favorite Dinosaur adventure.
Guests are always welcome to attend our meetings. If you would like to join the club, contact Helen Josephine for an application form.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
We look forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.
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Travel Talkers Toastmasters — New Year Travel
Travel in the New Year was the theme of our January 5, 2023 meeting. Vernitta Brown was our Travel Topics Master and she asked us to comment on our best New Years travel experience, what interesting New Years travel we would recommend and any travel tips we had for travel on New Year’s Eve. Meghan Burns provided the most interesting Travel Topics response about experiencing the Drag Queen New Year’s Eve shoe-drop in Key West Florida.
Raji Banadapudi gave a speech about planning for a 12 hour road trip to Stanley, Idaho for a 10-day winter vacation with friends. The trip was a team effort with each member taking responsibility for a specific task such as planning the food, gathering the games for entertainment, scheduling the drivers. This presentation was part of Level 4 of the Leadership Development path, Leading Your Team speech.
Our Destination Master was Katsuko Higashino. Her destination is a Mediterranean country known for its food with French influences, it was visited by Ibn Battuta in the 1300’s, a scholar and explorer known as the Islamic Marco Polo. Part of the country is a vast desert and it has been the location of many movies, most famously “Casablanca”, staring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman (1942). If you guessed Morocco, you are correct!
Join us for our next meeting on January 12 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Culture Clash.” If you have ever experienced new cultural traditions during your travels, we would love to hear all about your adventures at the meeting.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
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Travel Talkers Toastmasters — Celebrations
Travel for celebrations and holidays was the theme of our December 15 meeting. Tym Myers was our Travel Topics Master and he asked us about travel for a last minute celebration, travel for a “destination” celebration, travel interrupted by a local celebration and travel plans for a “dream” celebration. Travel for destination weddings is becoming a popular option but it is also fun to gather a few friends for a last minute getaway to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or retirement.
Our Destination Master for the meeting was Avis Russell. Her destination is an island country in the West Indies on the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary of the Atlantic Ocean. Her other clues were the official language is English, but the French were the first to settle on the island and 95% of the population speak “Patwa”, French Creole. The colors of the flag are aquamarine, black and gold. The national bird is the parrot, the national plant is bamboo and the national tree is the Calabash. The country became an independent nation in 1979 and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. If you guessed Santa Lucia, you are correct!
The speaker at our meeting was Kit. She gave her Icebreaker speech about her first international trip after she graduated from High School. Her speech title, “If I buy you a Bug, would you consider staying home?” was the question her father asked her a week before she was scheduled to board her flight for her study abroad adventure in Europe. Without hesitation, she chose the option to go on with her plans to stay for a year in Europe living with a family. She was ready for her adventure. She had been planning for a study abroad trip since 6th grade. She had studied French for 5 years and German for 3 years to increase her chances of getting the European country she wanted. The friends she made on that trip have lasted a lifetime. Kit told us that her love of travel continues to be an important force in her life.
Join us for our first meeting of 2023 on January 5 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “New Year Travel.” If you have travel plans in the New Year, we would love to hear about them at the meeting.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
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Travel Talkers Toastmasters – Island Getaways
December weather is making us think about warm sand beaches and beautiful island paradise vacations. It’s time to start planning our Island Getaway! Our speaker at the December 8th meeting was Avis Russell. She prepared a panel discussion with a question and answer session to dig deeper into the meeting theme of “Island Getaways.” Her panel, “The Art of Being a Tourist,” included Kit Myers, Vernitta Brown and Helen Josephine. Each panelist presented on an island travel vacation. Kit talked about the local fresh fruit and sightseeing on the Hawaiian Islands. Vernitta “island hopped” in the Bahamas to swim with the pigs. Helen detailed the transportation options on Vancouver Island–ferries, water taxis and seaplanes.
The Destination Master for the meeting was Tym. He chose an international city for his mystery destination. His clues were: the city is in the southern hemisphere in the 5th largest country in the World, it is the 21st largest city in the World and hosted the World Cup, the Rolling Stones played a concert on the beach to just over a million people, it has a famous statue and it is the home of the Samba. If you guessed Rio de Janeiro, you are correct!
Join us for our next meeting on December 15 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Celebrations.” Toastmaster, Elma; Destination Master, Avis; Speaker, Kit; Travel Topics Master, Tym.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
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Travel Talkers Toastmasters –Business or Pleasure?
Some of us travel for business, some travel for pleasure and some are able to combine both to explore new destinations. Megan Burns, the Table Topics Master for the December 1st meeting, used the meeting theme, “Business or Pleasure,” to encourage us to explore the intersection of business and personal travel. She asked where we have travelled for business and what made that location unique or memorable. She also wanted to know about our experiences in an unfamiliar place and how the people we met in the hotel or in the area help us learn about the local customs or special events. She asked if we preferred to include our personal vacation time before or after the required business part of our trips. And finally she wanted to know what we do or bring from home to make our extended stays in a hotel for business more comfortable and feel more like home.
Our speaker at the meeting was Sherella Sturrup from the BFM Diplomats Toastmasters in Nassau. Her speech, “The Importance of a Vacation” was filled with facts and medical advice about the physical and mental health benefits of taking a vacation. She reminded us that we all need to slow down and take that much needed break on a regular basis to recharge ourselves. Thank you Sherella for sharing your speech with us!
The Destination Master for the meeting was Vernitta. She chose a state in the United States for her mystery destination. Her clues were: the state is bordered by 5 other states, the state is famous for its hot dogs, the state is known for fashion and art, and is home to the rich and famous. The state also has a famous statue. If you guessed the state of New York, you are correct!
Join us for our next meeting on December 8 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Island Getaways” Toastmaster, Helen; Destination Master, Tym; Speaker, Avis; Travel Topics Master, Vernitta.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
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Travel Talkers Toastmasters – Family Travel
Our meeting on November 17 was all about Family Travel. The Travel Topics session was led by Avis and she used the theme of our meeting in her questions. She asked us about family travel with children, special family vacation trips, our favorite destinations, family travel tips and family cruise ideas. We learned from Tym that if you and your family are traveling as airline employees, you are expected to wait politely for all the other passengers to board and you are expected to dress in business attire, even though your final destination is a ski trip to Steamboat Springs and all the other passengers are dressed for the slopes. As a child, Meghan’s favorite trip memory was the “kid’s” van on a road trip to Lake Mead for a Houseboat Vacation. She remembered the houseboat on the lake as hot and not too much fun, but the trip in the van with all the kids playing games and singing songs was the best part of the vacation.
Our Destination Master for the meeting was Kit. Her entertaining style and historic details had us all wondering what country she had picked as the mystery destination. The graphic she created included several important clues including a picture of the flag, details about what the country is known for (chocolate, diamonds and lace) and where it is located.
Did you guess it correctly? The country is Belgium. After hearing Kit’s presentation, I want to make a trip.
Vernitta presented a fun speech, “Hop, hop, hop to the Islands of the Bahamas” about Island hopping in the Bahamas. Our first hop was to Inagua Island, one of the best places in the Bahamas to see flamingos at the Inagua National Park. Inagua Island is home to over 80,000 Caribbean flamingos. Then we hopped over to Cat Island to catch crabs and have a feast. Finally, we hopped to Crooked Island to enjoy the beautiful beaches and underwater views of the fish. Island hopping sounded like a great way to enjoy the beauty and animal life of the Bahamas. Let’s go!
Join us for our next meeting on December 1st from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Business or Pleasure?” Toastmaster, Helen; Destination Master, Vernitta; Speaker, Sherella; Travel Topics Master, Meghan.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
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Telling a great travel story is my passion, sharing that passion with others is fun.
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