Travel Talkers Toastmasters

Share your stories, travel tips, great adventures. We love to travel and share our trips with others.

  • 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.

Why Toastmasters?

https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/04670726-travel-talkers-toastmasters

Meetings 2026

Travel Talkers Meetings

Club Officers

  • 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.

  • Travel Talkers Toastmasters–Open House

    Welcome Toastmasters and Guests! We invite you to join us for our club Open House and virtual meet and greet on Thursday, October 24th, 6:30-7:30 pm Pacific (-7UTC). The meeting theme for our Open House is Adventures in South America. If you have ever traveled to South America to enjoy the bustling cities, the rain forests or the exotic animals, we want to hear your stories. If you have ever dreamed of visiting South America, you will be even more excited to take your trip after attending our Open House.

    Our Open House meeting will include a speech by Tym Myers, a retired American Airlines pilot with years of experience traveling to the major cities of South America. Tym will share his tips about adventures in South America. Every meeting of Travel Talkers also includes the Mystery Destination quiz. After hearing the clues about a destination somewhere in the world, everyone has an opportunity to guess the location name. You will also get a chance to share your travel experiences during our Travel Topics session. Everyone will be encouraged to share a 1-2 minute response to a travel-themed question during the Travel Topics session.

    If you love to travel and share stories about your adventures, Travel Talkers Toastmasters is the club for you. All are welcome to join the Open House meeting on Thursday, October 24th from 6:30-7:30 pm Pacific (-7 UTC).

    Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink

  • Travel Talkers Toastmasters–Travel Buddies

    Our September 5th meeting featured the theme of “Travel Buddies.” We enjoyed a speech by Lisa Hamil about the need for laughter to help us create personal energy. Lisa’s humorous speech included many funny stories, including a description of when she became her own luggage by wearing several outfits, blouses, and jackets because she couldn’t fit all her purchases into her suitcase. She even carried an extra pair of high heel shoes in her jacket pocket.

    Our Destination Master, Helen Josephine, presented these clues about a country:

    • This country is a great place to see the Northern Lights.
    • In this country you can use loonies and toonies to pay for merchandise, but pennies are no longer used.
    • This country ranked 12th in the number of Olympic Medals at the Paris Olympic Games.
    • This country is known as the Hollywood of the North because so many television series and movies are made here.

    If you guessed Canada, you are correct!

    Our Travel Topics leader was Vernitta Brown. She asked each of us to respond to the statement, “I love to travel,” with a 1-2 minute comment on why we love to travel. Some of us remember traveling with family at a young age. Each of us commented that our curiosity about other people, cultures and countries was the driving force behind our love of travel.

    The theme of our September 12th meeting is “Rock Hounds.” Have you ever searched for diamonds at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas? If you use a pick and a shovel on your vacation, you are a rock hound! Join the Travel Talkers group for a fun evening sharing your adventures. This event is for all travel enthusiasts. Engage with fellow members as we share our stories about traveling. Focus on your public speaking skills and get valuable feedback in a supportive Toastmasters-style environment. The meeting is on Thursday, September 12th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific time. We want to hear about your travel and adventure plans.

    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

    RSVP on MeetUp to let us know you are coming to the meeting.

    We look forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.

    Helen Josephine,

    Travel Talkers Toastmasters

  • Travel Talkers Toastmasters–Parades

    The theme for the August 29th meeting of Travel Talkers Toastmasters was Parades. Our speaker, Jacqueline Maynard-Campbell, presented her Motivational Strategies, Level 1, Researching and Presenting Speech about a drill team in her hometown of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. Jacqueline started her speech with a brief history of parades from her research on the topic. She shared that parades have been part of human history since 2000 BCE as either religious ceremonies or military events. The Assiegie Corporal Drill Team was a Coraopolis, Pennsylvania tradition that inspired a community and gave many young men the opportunity to travel and to perform and win awards as a result of their hard work and discipline as part of the “the drill team.” The team was founded in the 1970’s by Mr. Wayne Shackelford, Sr. to provide young men the opportunity to develop self-disciple and self-esteem. Jacqueline was one of the team volunteers and often traveled with the team as a chaperon.

    Travel Topics for the meeting were also on the theme of Parades. Lisa Hamil asked the group to talk about their first parade experience, their favorite parade or a historic parade. We heard stories about the Fiesta in San Antonio, Texas, Carnival in Trinidad, Junkanoo in the Bahamas, the Kansas City Royals Parade, and the March on Washington in 1963.

    Fiesta San Antonio
    Trinidad, Carnival
    The Bahamas, Junkanoo
    KC Royals, World Series Champions
    March on Washington, 1963

    Our Destination Master, Avis Russell, provided these clues:

    • This is a city that celebrates Carnival.
    • The city transforms itself into a magical masquerade.
    • Festival attendees wear elaborate 18th century costumes and masks.

    If you guessed Venice, Italy, you are correct!

    The theme of our September 5th meeting is “Travel Buddies.” Join the Travel Talkers group for a fun evening sharing your adventures. This event is for all travel enthusiasts. Engage with fellow members as we share our stories about traveling. Focus on your public speaking skills and get valuable feedback in a supportive Toastmasters-style environment. The meeting is on Thursday, September 5th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific time. We want to hear about your travel and adventure plans.

    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

    RSVP on MeetUp to let us know you are coming to the meeting.

    We look forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.

    Helen Josephine,

    Travel Talkers Toastmasters

  • Travel Talkers Toastmasters–Olympic Cities

    The theme of our July 25th meeting on the eve of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was Olympic Cities. We talked about the great cities of the world that have hosted the Olympic Games.

    Our Destination Master for the meeting, Meghan Burns, gave us these clues for a city somewhere in the world.

    • Only city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in the modern era.
    • This city worked continuously to clean up the air quality leading up to the first hosting of the Olympic Games in 2008
    • The Airport code for this city is PEK, which refers to the older name for the city (in English).

    If you guessed Beijing, China, you are correct!

    Club member, Judith Ferber, presented a speech at the meeting for the Motivational Strategies Path, Level 3, Effective Body Language project. Judith’s speech helped us understand how body language and listening skills help us communicate. She also encouraged us to include empathy, listening, and open-mindedness in verbal communication.

    Avis Russell was the Travel Topics Master for the meeting. Her questions were about visiting Olympic host cities, sharing our favorite Olympic events, imagining the emotions we would have if we won a gold medal, and booking a trip to experience the Olympics and the 2024 host city.

    The theme of our August 1st meeting is “Garden Tourism.” Join the Travel Talkers group for a fun evening sharing stories of travel to the beautiful gardens of the world. This event is for all travel enthusiasts. Engage with fellow members as we share our stories about traveling. Focus on your public speaking skills and get valuable feedback in a supportive Toastmasters-style environment. The meeting is on Thursday, August 1st from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific time. We want to hear about your travel and adventure plans.

    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

    RSVP on MeetUp to let us know you are coming to the meeting.

    We look forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.

    Helen Josephine,

    Travel Talkers Toastmasters

  • Travel Talkers Toastmasters–Reunions

    The theme of our July 18th meeting was Reunions. We talked about family reunions, workplace reunions, high school reunions, and college reunions. Several members enjoyed restarting the tradition of reunions after not meeting during the Covid pandemic. Our members like to travel and a reunion in a new location is a great reason to book a flight.

    Our Destination Master, Tym Myers, provided these clues for a city in Europe:

    • First recording of the name of this city comes from the Germanic Franks in the 3rd-4th century.
    • The name probably comes from the Dutch word “Hand-thrower.”
    • The 1920 Summer Olympics were held here.
    • During Word War II, the allies fought the Battle of the Bulge to prevent this city from falling back into German hands.
    • The port was expanded and modernized during a 10 year plan after WW II. It is now the second largest European port.
    • In the 1990s the city began rebranding itself as a world class fashion center and now competes with Milan, Paris and London.

    If you guessed, Antwerp, Belgium, you are correct!

    Our Travel Topics Master for the meeting, Kit Myers, asked us questions about reunions. She wanted to know about the largest reunion we had attended, what music we associate with family reunions, what secrets were kept or revealed at our High School reunion and how many class reunions had we attended.

    Both of the speakers at our meeting used the theme of reunions in their presentations. Jacqueline Maynard-Campbell gave a speech about the Maynard’s 2024 Reunion which was held over the July 4th holiday week in Chicago, Illinois. Jacqueline shared information about her family and their desire to restart the tradition of their annual reunion. She shared the best thing about the family reunion– it was a peaceful, loving and enjoyable time for everyone. Lisa Hamil gave a speech about reuniting with reunions and the process of change. She commented that attending reunions allows us to see how others have changed and grown. Reuniting with ourselves allows us to make changes in our own lives. She encouraged us to consider the inner reunion of growth and change.

    The theme of our July 25th meeting is “Olympic Cities.” Join the Travel Talkers group for a fun evening sharing stories of travel to the cities that have hosted the Olympic Games. This event is for all travel enthusiasts. Engage with fellow members as we share our stories about traveling. Focus on your public speaking skills and get valuable feedback in a supportive Toastmasters-style environment. The meeting is on Thursday, July 25th from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific time. We want to hear about your travel and adventure plans.

    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

    RSVP on MeetUp to let us know you are coming to the meeting.

    We look forward to hearing your travel stories! Join us to be inspired to take your next trip.

    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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