A Final Farewell - Dan Magill

written by daniel magill

Club President Croydon Communicators

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​It was the final meeting of the Toastmaster year at Croydon Communicators on Thursday evening, and we all enjoyed a small but perfectly formed meeting.
 
Aseem got us going with a hilarious warm-up, based around his trip to Currys PC World, whilst Matt and Afia took on the roles of timekeeper and grammarian respectively.
 
We had the pleasure of seeing Susan give us her very first speech with the club; as icebreaker which did so much more than simply introduce her to the club.
 
And then Florence stepped onto screen to help us understand who we are and in doing so complete her Advanced Communicator Bronze award.
 
It was fabulous to see two speakers at two completely different points in their speaking journeys, delivering such engaging and valuable speeches.
 
The speeches were evaluated by Caroline and Aminat, who both did an outstanding job of pulling out things the speakers did well and one or two areas they could consider working on for next time.
 
After the break it was time for Luqman to lead us in a Table Topics session.
 
Luqman, one of our newest members and in the role for the first time, led a thoroughly enjoyable and highly professional session, with some thought provoking questions and on-the-spot evaluations.
 
There were no Best Speaker or Best Evaluator awards up for grabs, but we weren’t short of drama and intrigue.
 
First up we awarded Susan with her Icebreaker certificate.
 
Then Florence was called on screen to accept her Advanced Communicator Bronze award.
 
Afia deservedly took Best Table Topics.
 
Then it was time for the two most important awards of the club year.
 
Most Improved Toastmaster of the Year
 
After joining the club in 2019, Sandra took the brave step of entering our Humorous Speech contest last Autumn – in which she blew us away with an outstanding performance.
 
Week by week we saw Sandra become a more confident, engaging and skilful member of the club. And, just last month she stepped forward to take a role on the 2020/2021 committee as Sergeant at Arms.
 
I had the great pleasure of awarding our Croydon Communicators, Most Improved Toastmaster of the Year to Sandra Fallon.
 
Toastmaster of the Year
 
This time last year, Florence took on the role of Vice President of Public Relations on the club committee. In our very first club committee meeting, Florence was outstandingly well prepared with a list of things she wanted to achieve in the role and a presentation which she took us through on the night.
 
For every moment of the 12 months that has passed since then, Florence has worked with bags of energy and enthusiasm to help our club be amongst the best promoted clubs in the District.
 
In addition, Florence spent the last few months pushing herself to become an accredited Advanced Speaker before the end of the Toastmaster year.
 
Taking one of the most difficult routes, where she was required to prepare and deliver a series of keynote speeches in a short space of time, Florence has set a high bar for all of us at the club with her commitment and determination to the cause.
 
And, as if that wasn’t enough, Florence has also stepped forward to serve the club once again as VPPR for another year.
 
I’m sure every member of the club would join me in congratulating and thanking Florence for an outstanding year at Croydon Communicators.
 
Well done, Florence Nakkozi – you are our 2019-2020 Toastmaster of the Year.
 
A Final Thank You
 
So, that’s it from me.
 
I’ve had the best year leading our club committee and I will never forget the time that I was Club President at Croydon Communicators.
 
It has been an honour to serve the club and all our amazing members.
 
There have been so many highlights, but I have listed just a few of my favourites below:

• Movie Night in July
• PRT as Black Panther
• Caroline’s Mentoring Workshop
• Sandra’s Humorous Speech Contest Performance
• Afia’s Table Topic Triumph
• Estela’s Incredible Icebreaker
• Halloween With Impromptu Agenda and Troy’s General Evaluation
• Our Christmas Dinner
• The Bachelor and the Rottweiler
• Aseem’s Musical Swansong
• Seeing All Our New Members Develop So Quickly
• Our Seamless Move to Quality Online Meetings
• Florence Pushing Herself to Become an Advanced Speaker
• Aminat and Dr. Viv’s Croydon Communicator’s Video Podcast

 
Please feel free to submit your own highlights and memories in the feedback form at the bottom of the page.
 
Finally, I’d like to thank everybody who has worked so hard on the committee over the last 12 months and wish the best of luck to our fabulous new committee, who will be taking over the running of the club from July 01.
 
We are in good hands.