by Tim Tyckoson, ACB
As part of the tradition at the Toastmasters International District 84 Fall Conference, the Saturday lunch included a Roast of the Immediate Past District Governor, in this case, Dennis Wooldridge.
Prior to the conference, an e-mail asking who would like to take a stab at the IPDG was sent to the district and there was no shortage of people who wanted to participate. There was no shortage of Roasters for the occasion. The current District Governor, Dee Melvin, was the first to poke barbs at Dennis. She marveled at Mr. Wooldridge’s fashion statements over the years: his Safari attire from Out of Africa, his Sanitary Fairy (a SuperHero(?) of his own invention), and the Star Trek Commander uniforms. She also warned us all that Dennis “cries like a baby at the drop of a hat.”
Mary Carol Holbert, LGET, courageously recalled an adventure she took to Toastmasters Leaders Institute with our esteemed leader. TLI was in Gainesville and Dennis had used Mapquest or some other reliable source to procure the shortest (distance) route from Point A (the Deltona/Sanford/Lake Mary area) to Point B (Gainesville). Get out your banjos, cuz we’s headed back in time. With scenes from her childhood in West Virginia flashing before her eyes, passing farms and folk like no other as they maneuvered from four-lane to two-lane paved to two-lane dirt to one lane dirt to one-lane mud and the sign readin’ “Bridge Out ahead”, the vehicle rolled and rocked and bumped and buffeted its way to TLI.
And we all thought I-4 was a bad choice.
Jim Miller, a PDG (past district governor) reminisced about Dennis and his affection for the popular tile game, Dominos. The previous year, as Dennis was preparing the presentation of District trophies to the distinguished areas and divisions, he had arranged them in single file on a table space just near enough each other that if one fell, they would all fall… and they did.
“Dennis Wooldridge is one of the 1%,” said Scott Hoehn in his roast. His intention that Dennis has only said about 1% of all he can say. He also warned us of giving him the opportunity and time to give the other 99%. In reference to his role in the Wizard of OZ, our IPDG was given the letters AHS to wear for this evening. This is a play on the TM role of Ah Counter. Scott keenly commented that he had never known anyone in all of Toastmasters who had achieved the accreditation of AH-Silver. He also plainly and sincerely commented about the strong friendship he and Dennis have.
Ron Parpart was thrilled when Dennis volunteered to be the very first Suntalker Editor. His excitement turned to overwhelmed exasperation when Dennis’s first editions utilized every color and font available.
David Hollingshead bemoaned Dennis use of big words. “He does not suffer from glossophobia.” Mr. Hollingshead even accused or immediate past district governor of being a “speech addict” and asserted that in Dennis’s case, DTM means “Don’t Time Me.”
Karl Richter, in his 35th Roast at one of these events, mused at Dennis’s next step in life… from District Governor to Wal-Mart Greeter. Since Dennis is retired from the working world, for energy Karl recommended a cocktail of Red Bull and Metamucil. As far as humor goes, the IPDG was compared to Al Gore and Richard Nixon… speaking to clear a room indeed.
Kathleen Kershaw suspects our friend and leader of actually being a Jedi; using his Jedi mind tricks through the years and going steps further, using Jedi Internet Mind tricks. Her evidence was an e-mail dated November 2, 2008 in which the language is enough Yoda and enough English to foretell of the future of Division D and Area 41 governor.
With so many people wanting a turn and time being limited, a number of others took the mic for a 30 second Roast. Though some of them were not the traditional making-fun-of style we expected, all were heartfelt for our friend. Among his recent accomplishments, Dennis has lost a lot of weight, and Glen Tapley thinks it may be the weight loss DVDs Dennis made which will help anyone lose weight by running as far away as fast as possible when one is played.
Dennis has the solution to “solve problems like a man. Cry.”
A word of advice given to Toastmasters is never to speak for free. Howard Brenner reminded us of this during his turn, and then gave the bill to Dennis.
Our immediate past District Governor, Dennis Wooldridge is a man respected and appreciated by the Toastmasters he serves. And that is really the key to his leading our District; that he serves. He has made our district, District 84, his own and his greatest desire was to see that it succeeds by seeing that all the Divisions and areas and clubs and each of the individual Toastmasters succeed.
Thank you, DTM Wooldridge, for courageously serving and good luck in your bid to be an International Director.
DTM Wooldridge is well known in the District. He has a personable manner and warmth unlike any other. And he is a character. As the lunch began, an audio-visual clip featuring our IPDG in a performance of the play “The Wizard of Oz” was played. His role as the Cowardly Lion featured Dennis singing and dancing as well as acting in the popular children’s musical.
