5-Star Toastmasters is starting its first meeting of the New Year on 3 January 2012. If you made a resolution to be a better communicator and leader in 2012, please attend a meeting as a guest and join us.

We meet every Tuesday after work in the Pentagon Conference Center building at 5:30 PM for 60 to 75 minutes. All are welcome!

See you on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 for the first 5-Star Toastmasters meeting of 2012, as we start the New Year !!!

Our 5 Toastmasters scheduled to lead our January 3rd Meeting are currently: Darrin Stewart as Toastmaster of the Day, speakers Neville Thompson, Tony Rivera and Kathy Bowman.

If you have a speech prepared toward your Competent Communicator Award or Advanced Communicator Award, please be ready to speak in case we have any cancellations.

Please have an enjoyable winter holiday season!

Charlie DeWitt, Club President, 5-Star Toastmasters

On Tuesday, 13 December 2011, instead of the usual Toastmasters meeting at the Pentagon, YOU are VERY CORDIALLY invited to the annual 5-Star Toastmasters club Winter Holiday Party and Cookie Swap, which this year is back at 3111 North Taylor Street, Arlington VA, 22207. The party time is 5:30 PM on Tuesday, December 13th.

Bakers: You may bake a dozen cookies, & individually wrap them in sandwich bags. Then swap & take your new dozen home — voila, you have an assorted dozen!

Charlie DeWitt has kindly offered to do the 1st metro run. If you’d like a ride, please e-mail him in advance at dewittcharlie@yahoo.com. We can do multiple runs!

Look forward to hearing from you, and to seeing you at the party!

Cheers to all!

Katharine Gagné

Directions: From the Pentagon area, get on GW Parkway north , and go to Spout Run, 1.5 miles north of the pentagon. Exit on Spout Run. Go ½ mile on Spout Run and turn right onto Lorcum Lane. Go ½ mile on Lorcum and turn right onto Nelly Custis Drive. Go .4 miles on Nelly Custis, then this road will change names to Military Rd, but keep on going another .7 miles. Turn left on 31st St. Take the 1st right onto 31st Street. Mine is the 3rd house on the right, the big brown one on the hill. Look for the brown tower!

Thankfully Yours – Charlie DeWitt, Club President, 5-Star Toastmasters

Featured were great contests, refreshments, a 50/50 drawing, and door prizes.

Winners were:

O Table Topics Contest – Andrea Clark from Helmsmen Toastmasters, Club # 2412

O Humorous Speaking Contest – Ralph Jones from PENTAF Toastmasters, Club # 2014 with the speech “YGBSM”

Other Competitors of the Area 11 Table Topics Contest were:

O Charlie DeWitt from 5-Star Toastmasters, Club # 9623

O Rob Schmoldt from PENTAF Toastmasters, Club # 2014

Other Competitors of the Area 11`Humorous Speaking Contest were:

O Charlie DeWitt with the speech “Advice for the Groom” from 5-Star Toastmasters, Club # 9623

O Jim Adams with the speech “Adventures in Parenting” from Helmsmen Toastmasters, Club # 2412

Contest officials included:

O Chief Judge – Division A Governor – Anton Vanterpool

O Other Judges -

oo Katharine Gagné from 5-Star Toastmasters, Club # 9623
oo Dvija Malovic from Helmsmen Toastmasters, Club # 2412
oo Mary Louise Bishop from PENTAF Toastmasters, Club # 2014
oo Carl Sabath from Helmsmen Toastmasters, Club # 2412

O Timers – Jackie Leonard from PENTAF Toastmasters, Club # 2014 and Lillian Wilkinson from Helmsmen Toastmasters, Club # 2412

O Registration and Raffle Sales – Mary Louise Bishop from PENTAF Toastmasters, Club # 2014

O Sergeant-at-Arms – Herman Raybon from Helmsmen Toastmasters, Club # 2412

For photos go to this link – http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263506153689249.66191.201268889912976&type=1

The Division A Table Topics and Humorous Speech Contests will take place on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 6:30 pm at the BNA Conference Center, 1801 S. Bell St in Crystal City, Arlington, VA 22202

– Humorous Speech Contest – Charlie DeWitt, ACB, ALB for the speech “Advice for the Groom.”

– Table Topics Contest – Charlie DeWitt, ACB, ALB for his answer to the question “What needs to be done to solve world hunger ?”

The winners from our club contest go on to compete against several local clubs at the Area 11 Contest at the Aurora Hills Community Center on Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

The other notable speech in the Humorous Speech Contest was -

– 2nd place – Kathy Bowman, with the speech “MD’s  Functional Family” which was her eighth (8th) speech towards her Competent Communicator (CC).

The other notable contestant in the Table Topics Contest was -

– 2nd place – Barbara Merritt, CC, CL.

The Club Contest Chair and organizer was Curt Hellenbrand, ACG, ALB.  Contest Chief Judge was Katharine Gagné, ACB, ALB.   Contest Timer was Jackie Brown, CC.   Other contest officials were judges Neville Thompson, DTM, and David Spalding, ATMB.

First time guest was Monique Johnson.

For photos go to this link – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Five-Star-Toastmasters-Club-9623/201268889912976#!/media/set/?set=a.258192214220643.64642.201268889912976&type=1

During September 2001, Toastmasters International expressed their condolences, waived semi-annual renewal membership fees from 1 October 2001thru 30 March 2002, and replaced lost Toastmasters materials at no charge, for the Pentagon based clubs 5-Star Toastmasters (Club #9623), Helmsmen Toastmasters (Club #2412), and PENTAF (Pentagon Armed Forces) Toastmasters (Club #2014), per their September 26, 2001 letter.

In spite of tragedy and loss, 5-Star Toastmasters rebounded right away, recruited new members, and completed the 2001 to 2002 Toastmasters year on 30 June 2001 as a Distinguished Club.

Reference:  History of 5-Star Toastmasters

at http://9623.toastmastersclubs.org/02-History_of_5-Star_Toastmasters.html

The 5-Star Club Humorous Speech/Table Topics Club contest is coming up on September 13, 2011. The winners from our club contest will go on to compete against several local clubs at the Area 11 Contest at the Aurora Hills Community Center, 735 18th Street South, Arlington, VA 22202 on Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

Our club contest will “provide an opportunity for speakers to improve their speaking abilities and to recognize the best as encouragement to all” as well as “provide an opportunity to learn by observing the more proficient speakers who have benefited from their Toastmasters training.” It is also a great opportunity for us to showcase our talent and success as a club.

All Toastmasters in good standing are encouraged to participate, and speakers can get credit for their speech manuals.

To conduct a successful Club Contest, we will need:

–At least two “Humorous Speech speakers
–At least two “Table Topics” speakers
–A Contest Chair
–Contest Judges
–Ballot Counters
–Timer

We have Humorous Speech Ballots, Tally Sheets, and Speaker “Certification of Eligibility and Originality” sheets.

We are fortunate to have a good roster of humorous speakers so we look forward to a successful club contest.

As always, speeches will be five (5) to seven (7) minutes and should be original material.

Table Topics will be one (1) to two (2) minutes and contestants will be isolated from the room until they are ready to speak.

Let us get ready for an enjoyable club contest!

I would like to take this moment to thank you all for your support and encouragement during my recent pursuit to achieve International Toastmaster of the Year, 2011. My journey was great and the experience was exceptional! The golden lesson for me – Yes, anything is believable but it is only made possible when you have the right people standing in your corner. With that, I achieved 3rd place in semifinal group #9.

Special thanks for all the many round robin evaluations (TBA [Club #1129368], VAST [Club # 5378], GUTS [Club # 5986], 5-Star [Club # 9623], Helmsmen [Club # 2412]) and especially my home club – PENTAF [Club # 2014]. While you may not realize it, your comments/recommendations were fully taken to heart and many were used to take my speech to the next level. I would also like to thank you for your patience and accommodation of last minute schedule modifications to your club meeting agendas.

I’m truly blessed and grateful for all of you and your members. I would love to come out and personally talk to my experience and build motivation to compete among both districts.

Again, I just wanted to take some time to sincerely thank you all and extend my appreciation. I hope that you all will be available to guide and support me through another journey, upcoming in 2012.

On a final note, I request that you please extend my note of thanks and appreciation to your club/club members.

 v/r,

Jackie Leonard

We will meet at our regular time next week.

Not sure yet if we’ll use tonight’s agenda/speaker roster next week — please watch for an email from Kathy Bowman to find that out.

Thanks,
Katharine Gagné, Club Vice-President Education

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/earthquake-rattles-washington-area/2011/08/23/gIQATMOGZJ_story.html?hpid=z1

Earthquake rattles Washington area

By William Branigin and Joel Achenbach, Updated: Tuesday, August 23, 3:14 PM

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Washington area Tuesday, shaking buildings and prompting office workers to pour into the streets of the capital.

The earthquake’s epicenter was nine miles south of Mineral, Va., and 87 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS initially recorded the quake at 5.8 magnitude but later upgraded it to a 5.9.

A senior Obama administration official said the White House “shook pretty hard” and that employees evacuated onto the driveway between the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Construction workers also got off scaffolding wrapped around the EEOB.

The official knew of no damage to the White House but said paint or plaster chips had fallen onto carpeting inside the executive mansion.

Near the U.S. Capitol, House and Senate office buildings were evacuated, as tremors shook the buildings for several seconds.

Union Station was also evacuated. During the quake, some patrons bolted for the doors.

The quake shook the foundations of the Pentagon, the biggest office building in the world, prompting a partial evacuation.

Thousands of anxious military and civilian Defense Department employees streamed out of the building into surrounding parking lots. For some, it was a fearful reminder of the day nearly a decade ago, Sept. 11, 2001, when hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.

Employees were allowed to reenter the building at 2:05 p.m. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was not present; he was in Monterey, California, his hometown, where he was scheduled to visit the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense Language Institute.

The Department of Homeland Security building was also evacuated, an official said.

A congressional staffer reported that a portion of a building collapsed on the 300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast.

“A huge dust cloud came from the BBT building,” he said, and “the people who came out of it said the back collapsed.” The staffer said he was a pizza place and that “the entire ground literally moved up and down — you could see it.”

Capitol Hill police shut down even walking traffic at 2nd Street SE, keeping all foot traffic on the east side of 2nd heading north and not allowing anyone on Independence Avenue.

At the National Cathedral, the tip of a spire crashed down onto the steps on Pilgrim Road. “It was scary seeing it fall,” said a red-faced 10-year old boy attending a nearby soccer camp.

A U.S. Park Police helicopter did a “preliminary survey” of Washington’s monuments by air and did not find any “obvious damage,” spokesman Sgt. David Schlosser reported.

Tremors were also felt in Richmond, 34 miles southeast of the epicenter, and in Annapolis, Md.

According to federal officials two nuclear reactors taken offline near the quake epicenter, but there were no initial reports of damage.

The two Dominion Power nuclear plants at North Anna, Va., shut down automatically when the quake hit. They also lost power from the grid and switched to four diesel generators to power their electrical and cooling systems, according to a spokesman at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC said that all other nuclear plants in the region continued to operate normally, although the quake was felt at nuclear power plants from North Carolina to New Jersey.

Reports of damage were streaming in from near the quake’s epicenter. In Louisa County, Va., the sheriff’s department said authorities have been told that a nearby dam and the nuclear plant were “fine,” and reports of injuries were limited. But the department cautioned that reports were chaotic.

“We’re doing as good as could be expected, but we’re trying to get a grasp on what happened,” said a deputy. “I don’t know of anyone injured. There are no reports of buildings down that I know of.”

Bill Hall, spokesman for Dominion Power, which operates the nuclear North Anna Power Station about 10 miles from Mineral, Va., said headquarters officials felt the tremor in Richmond.

“I’m in headquarters in Richmond, which is right next to a train track,” Hall said. “I thought, ‘That train is going by awfully fast,’ and I looked and there was no train.”

“I couldn’t imagine what was falling,” said Karen Clark of Annapolis, who was standing in her dining room when the earthquake struck. “There was lots of noise in the house. It’s funny, we were preparing for a hurricane, and we have an earthquake instead.”

As of 2:05 p.m., Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said Metro trains were limited to running only 15 miles per hour after the earthquake shook the area. He said there were no immediate reports of injuries and that Metro is doing “system-wide track inspections.”

In New York City, buildings shook briefly, the Associated Press reported. Government buildings in the city, including City Hall, were evacuated. The 26-story federal courthouse in lower Manhattan began swaying, and hundreds of people were seen leaving the building. Court officers were not letting people back in.

Minutes after the quake, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, Marcia McNutt — who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office — cautioned that the shaking might not be over.

“What the concern is, of course, is that this is a foreshock,” she said. “If it’s a foreshock, then the worst is yet to come.”

She said the energy from earthquakes on the East Coast does not attenuate as quickly as it does on the West Coast, and thus even a relatively modest tremor can shake a very broad area.

“When something like this happens, everyone has to remember, more than half of the states in the U.S. are considered earthquake country,” McNutt said. “When something like this happens, remember what to do in the case of a seismic event. Duck, get under something sturdy like a desk or a doorway, get away from falling glass. Make sure that you are not in the way of falling objects like pictures, bookshelves, books, anything that’s not firmly connected to the wall.”

Mike Blanpied, associate coordinator for the USGS earthquakes hazards program, said aftershocks could continue, although the 5.9 quake was likely to be the strongest of the temblors.

“Aftershocks could go on for days, weeks, or even months,” he said. “They’re most likely to be felt over the next three or four days.”
Early reports on the USGS Web site indicated that the quake was felt from New York City to Charlotte, N.C., and as far west as Cleveland.

“The rocks are old and cold, and they carry the seismic energy very far,” Blanpied said. “Even a magnitude 6 or less earthquake can be felt over a considerably large area, unlike California, where the shaking is more concentrated.”

At Dulles and Reagan airports, some people “self-evacuated,” but flights are operating there, said Courtney Mickalonis, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Tara Hamilton,another spokeswoman for the Airports Authority, said Terminal A was closed at Reagan National Airport while authorities investigated a reported odor of gas. She said there was an unconfirmed report that the airport’s control tower might be shutting down.

Hamilton said operations were continuing normally at Dulles International Airport.

At Baltimore Washington Marshall International Airport, “airport operations are continuing,” said Jonathan Dean, a BWI spokesman. “Flights are arriving and departing. I suspect there are some delays, but I can’t confirm that right now.”

In Mineral, Va., the quake’s epicenter, Michelle Groom, a member of the volunteer rescue squad, said she did not see any physical damage to buildings or trees as she drove through the town. She said the rescue squad had not received any reports of injuries, although phones were down and she could not be sure there were none.

Mineral is a small town in Louisa County, with a population of about 400 and just 250 houses. Groom said it’s very rural, so the impact on traffic and highways should be minimal.

Dawn Michisk, a clerk at the Mineral Express Lane convenience store in Mineral, said the initial quake shook panels loose from the ceiling and shook food from the shelves.

“It was a lot of shaking,” Michisk said. “It was pretty scary.” She said a plastic Marlboro sign above her fell down and hit her on the head but that she was not injured.

She said she felt at least three aftershocks.

“There goes more,” she said over the phone at 2:45 p.m. “It’s rumbling again.”

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