Senate Toastmasters Club

05/22/2026

Our 21-attendee Memorial Day meeting featured a speech about handling a bad fit job in the workplace from Jennifer - with an assist from a Kenny Rogers song. She discussed the different outcomes of negotiations, including when to run.

Chester pointed out how peeved he was when people incorrectly used the words preemptive and perused.

Carol as Toastleader perused the agenda prior to the meeting and preemptively asked Chester to be the back up speaker so he was ready to jump in when a vacancy occurred. So no need to be persnickety!

Rebecca's Table Topics were questions about finding, maintaining and growing inner peace.

Randy's exemplary grammarian report noted a number of interesting phrases.

Susan and Cassie provided thoughtful evaluations including pacing, visuals and organization.

Next meeting is June 12.

We are considering moving our meeting to 1-2 pm going forward.

Watch for a poll from the club.

05/07/2026

Mark your calendar for Friday, May 8 from 12-1 ET for our Toastmasters meeting!

Chester will lead the meeting with speeches from Nate, Alex and Carol.

Cassie will lead Table Topics.

Laura will serve as General Evaluator with speech evaluations from Jennifer and Elisa.

Guests are welcome in person or online - email for room number or WebEx link.

04/24/2026

Today's meeting at noon in the Senate and online includes a speech from Rebecca and a guest speech from a contestant in the District 36 International Speech Contest.

Susan leads the meeting.

Nate provides Table Topics.

Carol serves as General Evaluator with assistance from Cassie and Chester!

We're expecting some guests - you are welcome to attend!

We are a Toastmasters club located in Washington, DC, focusing on helping members improve their public speaking and leadership skills. We welcome Hill staff and others. We meet on the second and fourth Fridays from noon to 1 pm.

04/01/2026

When you become a Toastmaster, you are guaranteed two things: an audience and applause.

An audience is a gift of attention.

Applause is an act of generosity.

What do YOU want to say?

What do you want to change?

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2026/march/the-privilege-of-being-heard?fbclid=IwY2xjawQ5UyRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFycVhnR0RTUk1QRjVsNjBhc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvRjRnTaS4_C9coclNbdNmlvPOV4syrcZ0vrOT1mEFcxKFsaobZm7jOulc0N_aem_pVulhGkQIfQ3Q0CX9kQ4Cw

The International President talks about the meaning of giving speeches.

04/01/2026

Our next meeting is ZOOM only on Friday, April 10 from 12-1.

All are welcome!

We'll have speeches from Jennifer and Nate!

Our members are signing up to complete their Pathways Projects!

Congratulations to Betsy, Carol and Jennifer for completing levels 1 and 2 of their leadership and speaking paths.

We plan to earn Distinguished Club status by June 30, 2026.

YOU can help by visiting, joining and giving speeches!

* Member count consists of renewing, dual, new, charter, and reinstated members. Transfer members do not count toward this total.

03/27/2026

Everyone in attendance spoke about how moving today's meeting was.

Randy noted that No Kings rallies were happening all round the USA tomorrow and used Table Topics to ask people to talk about times where they felt vulnerable, connected and impactful.

Randy also let us know that the George Mason convocation speech he delivered after practicing it with us was very well received.

We encouraged him to have a strong start -- asking people's opinions on pineapple on pizza - to frame his speech on dialogues across differences.

Alex, our first speaker, shared her enthusiasm about volunteering for campaigns. She compared a local campaign with a statewide campaign and how much she enjoyed talking to her fellow citizens at their doors.

The club continues to support Carol as she mourns the death of her father, Jerry Wayman. Carol shared the eulogy she gave for her father to complete the Level 2 speech on mentorship in the Effective Coaching Path. Jerry was a "girl dad" before girl dads were a thing. Carol also shared how Toastmasters helped her take charge and organize the memorial service and write and deliver a meaningful eulogy.

Nita and Laura provided evaluations of the speeches with Nita noting from personal experience how difficult it is to lose a parent.

Bonnie led a warm and efficient meeting, Jennifer led the General Evaluation, Susan provided the word of the day - PROTEST - and served as grammarian and Rebecca was timer.

We were glad to have Evan, Nate and Natalee with us too.

Because of travel, our April 10 meeting will be on ZOOM only.

02/15/2026

Wondering who your Congressional Valentine might be?

This Quorum quiz might amuse you!

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02/13/2026

Bonnie led our Baker's Dozen with a well organized and supportive meeting today!

New member, Evan Gong, shared the story of his family name and the family move from China to the USA. He also talked about his personal history living in the USA and Germany and struggling to learn Mandarin. A solid icebreaker speech!

One of Carol's goals for the Semiquincentennial is participating in community organizations. She shared the big learning curve she faces as she tackles a new role on the board of her synagogue.

Alex led Table Topics with questions about travel with thoughtful answers from Rebecca, Cassie, Kennedy and Randy.

Laura led a thorough and appreciative evaluation team with Randy, no DILETTANTE, at grammarian/WOD, Betsy as timer and Nita and Susan providing speech evaluations.

Our next meeting is February 27! Rebecca and Jennifer will be our speakers!

Join us at noon in person or on line!

01/23/2026

We welcomed two new members, April and Alexandria, who shared their icebreakers!

April discussed her plans to be part of "the 1%" - meaning the 1% who keep their New Year's Resolutions. Her plans including running a 5k with her office team and reading ten pages a day.

Alexandria told us a bit about her life by connecting with three women who have inspired her: Condoleeza Rice, Hillary Clinton and Toni Morrison.

Venus led the meeting as our Toastleader; she persevered despite technical challenges. A good opportunity to practice keeping your cool when your tech fails.

During table topics, Susan asked provocative questions that elicited some childhood memories about snow and sand. It seems our folks prefer the sun and the beaches of Florida to the blizzards of the North.

The word of the day from Bonnie was "dight" which fit with our meeting being well organized and going according to plan.

Chester and Betsy provided deft and evocative evaluations of the speakers.

Carol serving as General Evaluator shared her thoughts on what makes a meeting work well.

We welcomed four guests and one joined on the spot!

See you on Friday February 13!

01/09/2026

Our first meeting of 2026 included an introductory (Icebreaker) speech from Rebecca, a religious, ukele-playing, boxing reader. So much to learn about her!

Carol urged us to commit to highlighting something we want to preserve or improve as part of our nation's Semiquincentennial celebration this year. She shared images of the suffrage, civil rights and abolition quarters which were approved and then, from her perspective, sadly and wrongly cancelled.

Chester asked Table Topics about working for upstart companies that grew big!

Jennifer led the meeting with help from Betsy, Laura, Venus and Bonnie.

Hope to see you on the 23rd!

More opportunities to hear from some of our five new members!