Sixteen Things I Saw, Heard and Felt at First Bahamas Branch Toastmasters Club 1600

by Dr. Lorraine Haataia, DTM

On September 15, I found myself standing in front of a room full of men pounding their fists on tables in a synchronous rhythm, giving me a drumbeat standing ovation before I ever said a word. The audience was alert and electric. As I positioned myself at the lectern, the pounding continued. I was so energized that I began to dance from my shoulders up. It was the best welcome I’ve ever been given as a speaker!

Over the years I’ve been a member of several different Toastmasters clubs in Oregon and Florida, and I’ve visited countless other clubs across the United States. Every time I visit a club, I learn something new. After all these years, I’ve come to expect that I’ll take away one or two unique ideas that I might apply sometime, somewhere. So that’s what I assumed when I when my husband and I visited Club 1600 (www.Club1600.org) on New Providence Island in the Bahamas. Boy was I wrong! I got two ideas in the first two minutes! By the end of the meeting, I had dozens. Rather than write these ideas in a statement form, I felt it would work better to put them in the form of questions that you, my fellow Toastmasters, could share and act upon in your own clubs.

This was our first time in The Bahamas and on this trip my husband and I did a few other things for the first time. When I challenge myself to try new things, not only do I learn, but I sometimes discover amazing things that spark my creativity and interests. That's why I was inspired to speak on the topic of "The Last Time You Did Something for the First Time." Check out this “first time” presentation I gave on that day, and you'll get a sample of the energy that exudes from Club 1600.