Fort Belvoir, Va. (June 19, 2014) - The Belvoir Toastmasters Club 5786 invited the public and special guests to an Open House, June 12, to show the post what it had to offer.
The club meets every second Tuesday and Thursday of the month at Barden Education Center. The room varies, but directions are posted inside the building the day of the meeting.
Belvoir Toastmasters has been on post since 1985, and is looking to expand, according to Angela Davis, governor of Area 12, who is in charge of four clubs on Fort Belvoir.
Because Soldiers and servicemembers often come and go from Fort Belvoir, Davis said they don't have a constant group of members.
"We don't have the same number of community (members). We're always introducing ourselves to the community," she said.
Visited by members of U. S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir's command team, including Col. Gregory D. Gadson, commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Guillory, the Toastmasters demonstrated what a typical meeting is like during their Open House.
After Presiding Officer Jim Turner opened the meeting, Nanette Jordan, a Competent Toastmaster, started the event off by offering the thought of the day. In a short speech, she encouraged the members to "Be a diamond -- improve yourself daily."
Distinguished Toastmaster Jerry Haddock then explained what Toastmasters is all about. Meetings are conducted in three different parts. First, several scheduled speakers are present, and each is evaluated by their peers. Then, a topic is offered and members are asked at random to make a short, impromptu speech. The meeting ends with an evaluation of the speakers, and the winners are awarded.
"Evaluation is really the key of Toastmasters," Haddock said. "Just like any education program, if you don't know how you're doing, you can't improve on what you're doing."
At the Open House, there were only two speakers, who evaluated each other.
"We all learn together, and that's the beauty of Toastmasters," Haddock said.
The goal of Toastmasters is to turn a shy, reluctant speaker into an experienced, clear and concise one. Haddock said one of the things they look for is speech that lacks pauses or extra words like, "um" or "ah."
"In Toastmasters, we strive to speak well, so we try to eliminate those verbal flubs," he said. "We try to eliminate all those things and just stick to the words."
Jordan, who delivered one of the speeches, talked about what Toastmasters does, and how the guests could benefit from joining. She explained the Toastmasters manual, which guides a new speaker from a novice to a "Competent Communicator." From there, Toastmasters can keep improving their skills, or take on a leadership track.
New members can expect to offer up an "ice breaker" speech early on, where they introduce themselves and their background in their inaugural speech.
Haddock said the evaluations highlight the positive aspects and encourage the speaker through constructive feedback.
The Open House finished up with Gadson speaking about the importance of communication.
"Communication has become a very powerful tool in my arsenal to lead," he said.
Gadson explained that after he was wounded in Iraq in 2007, he found that sharing his story and communicating helped him heal.
"I was not afraid to share it," he said. "As I began to share it, I began to talk myself into what I needed to do."
Gadson encouraged the members to build on their skills outside of the supportive environment of the Toastmasters Club, and said learning to speak one-on-one, and in difficult situations is just as important.
"This is my first meeting, and I'm really impressed at your energy, your desire to become more efficient communicators," he said.
Anyone interested in joining or checking out a meeting can contact Belvoir club vice president, Jim Turner, at (703) 704-3119 or Belvoir club president, Ken Henz, Distinguished Toastmaster, at (703) 767-0659.
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