The 218th Regular Meeting: September 19, 2026

As the seasons shift from summer to autumn, we always find something new in the coming days. In the same way, our meetings continue to advance, and we learn and develop new skills at every session.

This meeting had the regular lineup of programs. Therefore, we also had usual role takers. Here, I would like to focus on the role takers’ activities rather than speakers.

We have a variety of roles that contribute to the success of our meeting:

Toastmaster of the Day by Kama-yan: He kept the meeting energetic with warm and encouraging comments for all speakers and role takers.

Topicsmaster by Renelyn: She created an engaging theme, “Autumn,” with topics such as “A Horror Movie,” perfect for enjoying an autumn evening.

Timer by Ma-chan: She delivered precise and calm time announcements, giving a professional atmosphere to the role.

Vote Counter by Yasuko: She presented the voting result after two rounds of voting were declared invalid.

Grammarian and Word Master by Yuichi: He selected “Integral” as today’s word. Although it sounded solemn, many members successfully incorporated it into their speeches. He also provided wonderful words/expressions as well as examples of usage to be improved.

We continue to brush up our skills in each role and we always seek useful and effective approaches from various aspects.

It is unfortunate that I cannot cover the great efforts of the four Evaluators and three technical role takers—Zoom Master, PC-Stage, and PC-Projector—who also contributed significantly to the success of the meeting.

(by Hiko)

“Moments of Truth” Special Online Meeting: August 29, 2026

“Moments of Truth” – this was how the Senri TMC August 29th online meeting agenda was named. It pertains to the 6 categories that assess the impressions and experiences of guests and members alike as to the club’s functionality and quality. This assessment tool, “Moments of Truth” has (1) First Impressions (2) Membership Orientation (3) Fellowship, Variety, and Communication (4) Program Planning and Meeting Organization (5) Membership Strength and (6) Achievement Recognition.

Being led into 2 breakout rooms, members enthusiastically and actively participated in the discussion on two aspects - “Enjoyable, educational meetings” and “Positive and helpful evaluations.” Members decisively pointed out the club’s strengths, the needs for improvement, and the current practices that have been a part of the club’s image and legacy. Being completely aware of the “strengths” gives way to a positive outlook and energized motivation. Offering constructive feedback and addressing the “needs” will surely pave the way to personal growth and achieved goals.

The meeting didn’t end with only decisive outcomes and choices. “Decisive” was also the Word of the Day as introduced by Tamiko. Oh… what an apt word for this special meeting!!!

And lastly as a regular treat, members did hear from engaging speakers and supportive evaluators.

Speaker Marilyn’s speech content had a balanced comparative speech structure of toastmastering and her new passion for the woodwind instrument - recorder.

Speaker Hiko did give us a backgrounder of “Moments of Truth,” a guided evaluation on each category, and targeted recommendations.

The reliable Evaluators Kamayan and Yuriko cited motivational comments with specific points and concrete examples but not forgetting to give one or two recommendations for speech refinement.

The “Moments of Truth” meeting was foremost educational, enjoyable, and realistic as to how the club caters to guests and members’ expectations.

(by Rene)