A Wedding in June

Toastmasters Magazine June issue came late this month. I didn't get it till I went to Peace, a Japanese speaking Toastmasters club, Saturday afternoon, the triple seventh. My toastmaster membership is at Peace and the monthly is delivered to the club meeting venue, in stead of individual member's home. That's why I need to go to the club to get the magazine.

As soon as I got the magazine in hand, I spent two hours reading it from cover to cover at Cafe Ikari nearby. Not remembering which article I am assigned to lead in our Toastmaster Magazine reading gathering in July, I flipped though pages randomly, and read all articles in the following sequence.

1. "Toastmasters Serve the Poor on Mercy" by Mike Osborne, on page 6. I read it firstly because I hope I could learn a few tricks to bring laughter to the hearts of residents at a nursing home I pay a visit monthly. I believe heart is where health is.
2. "Out of the Past, Into the Future" on page 14. Among the six flags behind the boardroom, I could only identified four of them, US, Canada, the Philippines, and the Toastmasters.
3. "Distinguished!" on page 2, the viewpoint of International President Johnny Uy, DTM, inspired me as always.
4. "Letters" on page 4, I enjoyed reading other Toastmasters' opinions and comments.
5. "Chartering the Corporate Club: A Survey" by Shelia Spencer, DTM. Shelia is an outstanding writer who contributes regularly to the Toastmaster Magazine. I enjoyed reading her comprehensive survey about the newly chartered corporate clubs in 2006.
6. Financial Activities: Jan.-Dec. 2006, on page 26, I want to know where my membership fee is spent.
7. "Communicating with Authenticity", Q&A with Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D, Toastmasters' 2007 Golden Gavel Recipient, page 22, I want to know her more.
8. "Get the Quote Right!" By Fred R. Shapiro, page 20, Yale Book of Quotations must have something to offer. (Later, I found out this is it, the article of my responsibility!)
9. "The Toast: That Other Proposal" by Sandar Miller, on page 12. The article is short and to the point. I learn that the shorter the toast is, the sweeter.
10. "Want to become a wedding speechwriter?" by Laura Yeager, on page 8. I like the sample speech very much. It will be a good template for our future challenges.
11. "Landing My Dream Job" by Timothy J. Matson, on page 5. Grand Toastmasters Club's new President Steve Wang just retired from Air Forces in April this year. We are happy to be lead by a military person from our armed forces.

Now you know what my preferences are by the sequence I read at random. In fact, every article in June issue is of excellent quality. I am glad that golden ladies took initiatives to read the magazine monthly. And we agree upon our dress code of our reading gathering in "White" to read the month for wedding. Sherry