Toastmasters

Ravens Roost No. 18 of Glen Burnie will hold its annual bull and oyster roast Feb. 23 at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie. The event, scheduled for 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., will feature music by Rich and the Roadrunners. Tickets are $28 in advance. Part of the proceeds will go to the club's charitable endeavors, including contributions to area youth and high school sports and cheerleading programs, to the St. Vincent's Center for troubled youngsters. Tickets: Earl Barnes, 410-761- 0055.

These groups meet regularly. The Bet Aviv Camera Club - Fourth Monday, 7:30 p.m. Learn about the many facets of photography. Meetings appeal to photographers of all skill and experience levels. Oakland Mills Meeting House, in Columbia. 410-992-7498 or 410-730-0440. Central Maryland Photographers Guild - Fourth Wednesday, 7 p.m. A premier photographic organization. Chapelgate Presbyterian Church, 2600 Marriottsville Road, Marriottsville, rooms 212 and 213. http://www.cmpg.org.

Leslie White of Ferndale, a member of the Dorsey Kritikos Club of Toastmasters International, recently took first place in a humorous-speech contest held in Glen Burnie.Contestants from Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties took part in the event Oct. 30.Ms. White went on to participate last Saturday in a district competition held in Columbia against contestants from the area. She took third place with a speech titled "The Back Road."An instructional designer for Maryland Medical Laboratory in Baltimore, Ms. White has lived in Ferndale for five years.

John Edward Edmondson, a retired sales executive and merchandiser, died April 18 of pancreatic cancer at his Catonsville home. He was 79. The son of a steelworker and a homemaker, Mr. Edmondson was born and raised in Cincinnati. After graduating from Withrow High School, he enlisted in the Army and served with an infantry unit in Korea during the war. After he was discharged from the service, he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1957 from Ohio State University.

Barber wins highest Toastmasters honor Toastmasters International President Dilip Abayasekara recently awarded Col. Jesse Barber, project manager for Alternative Technologies with the U.S. Army's Chemical Materials Agency at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, with the highest Toastmasters honor at the District 18 Conference held in Emmitsburg. The award is given to Toastmasters who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and communication skills to help others in their self-development. Barber received Advanced Toastmaster Silver and Advanced Toastmaster Gold designations this year and has won club, area division and district trophies in speech competitions during the past two years.

WHEN DAN McClanahan became print production manager at the Pennysaver, he was comfortable that he had the graphic-arts skills needed for the position. Also, his work as a plate maker had made him familiar with the machines and mechanical processes involved in producing the weekly magazine. Still, one part of his job made the Crofton resident nervous. As a manager, he would be responsible for making oral presentations at company meetings about such topics as production and safety. Unfortunately, like many people, Dan was not a confident public speaker.

FACES TURNED red, palms turned sweaty, minds went blank. These are some of the ways Toastmasters members recalled reacting when speaking in front of audiences. That was before joining the Patuxent Toastmasters club, which meets twice a month in Wilde Lake village. Since joining, members say, they are comfortable giving talks. If they do feel a touch of the jitters, they always know they can mask their fears. "Almost everyone is afraid of public speaking," Harper's Choice resident Emma Frost said at a meeting at the Bryant Woods neighborhood center.

Patuxent Toastmasters will hold a "Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Oliver's Carriage House, the home of Kittamaqundi Community Church, 5410 Leaf Treader Way, in Town Center. The parameters for the contest have been developed by Toastmasters International, a world-wide organization that helps its members develop leadership skills and improve speaking and presentation skills. Both speakers and evaluators will be judged; winners will be eligible to compete at the area-level contest Oct. 15. Those interested in learning more about Toastmasters can enjoy the humorous program and meet the club's members.

John Edward Edmondson, a retired sales executive and merchandiser, died April 18 of pancreatic cancer at his Catonsville home. He was 79. The son of a steelworker and a homemaker, Mr. Edmondson was born and raised in Cincinnati. After graduating from Withrow High School, he enlisted in the Army and served with an infantry unit in Korea during the war. After he was discharged from the service, he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1957 from Ohio State University.

THE COLUMBIA Lions Club is not even officially a club yet, but its 21 members already are serving the community.In March, they conducted vision and hearing screenings for about 200 people at a health fair at the Columbia Inn.They also staffed comfort stations for the March of Dimes walk at Centennial Park last month.Last week, they elected the club's first slate of officers, who will be installed May 28, Charter Night. The president is Beatty Shipley, who is a critical-care nurse at Howard County General Hospital.

Patuxent Toastmasters will hold a "Humorous Speech and Evaluation Contest" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Oliver's Carriage House, the home of Kittamaqundi Community Church, 5410 Leaf Treader Way, in Town Center. The parameters for the contest have been developed by Toastmasters International, a world-wide organization that helps its members develop leadership skills and improve speaking and presentation skills. Both speakers and evaluators will be judged; winners will be eligible to compete at the area-level contest Oct. 15. Those interested in learning more about Toastmasters can enjoy the humorous program and meet the club's members.

Barber wins highest Toastmasters honor Toastmasters International President Dilip Abayasekara recently awarded Col. Jesse Barber, project manager for Alternative Technologies with the U.S. Army's Chemical Materials Agency at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, with the highest Toastmasters honor at the District 18 Conference held in Emmitsburg. The award is given to Toastmasters who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and communication skills to help others in their self-development. Barber received Advanced Toastmaster Silver and Advanced Toastmaster Gold designations this year and has won club, area division and district trophies in speech competitions during the past two years.

Today` Pajama Game' -- John Carroll School in Bel Air will present its final Tomorrow Toastmasters -- The Gunpowder Toastmasters Club, which meets on the first and third Mondays of each month, will meet at 11:40 a.m. in the Gunpowder Club at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Edgewood. The club is open to anyone who wants to improve communication, leadership and listening skills and overcome fear of public speaking. Len Kolodny, 410-734-6573. Tuesday Music -- Cecil Community College's Elkton Station Gallery will present "Music at Noon" across the lobby from the gallery.

FACES TURNED red, palms turned sweaty, minds went blank. These are some of the ways Toastmasters members recalled reacting when speaking in front of audiences. That was before joining the Patuxent Toastmasters club, which meets twice a month in Wilde Lake village. Since joining, members say, they are comfortable giving talks. If they do feel a touch of the jitters, they always know they can mask their fears. "Almost everyone is afraid of public speaking," Harper's Choice resident Emma Frost said at a meeting at the Bryant Woods neighborhood center.

WHEN DAN McClanahan became print production manager at the Pennysaver, he was comfortable that he had the graphic-arts skills needed for the position. Also, his work as a plate maker had made him familiar with the machines and mechanical processes involved in producing the weekly magazine. Still, one part of his job made the Crofton resident nervous. As a manager, he would be responsible for making oral presentations at company meetings about such topics as production and safety. Unfortunately, like many people, Dan was not a confident public speaker.

Ravens Roost No. 18 of Glen Burnie will hold its annual bull and oyster roast Feb. 23 at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie. The event, scheduled for 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., will feature music by Rich and the Roadrunners. Tickets are $28 in advance. Part of the proceeds will go to the club's charitable endeavors, including contributions to area youth and high school sports and cheerleading programs, to the St. Vincent's Center for troubled youngsters. Tickets: Earl Barnes, 410-761- 0055.

So you're not always the life of the party. Nor did you captain your high school debate team. And figuring differential equations turns you on more than a crackling recording of Roosevelt's fireside chats.None of this will block a sparkling career. But let's face it, if you could give scintillating presentations, you'd be one happy camper. We all need potent persuasive skills to rope in outside money and supporters from time to time. Like it or not, then, a knack for communicating in "public" is vitally important.

Today` Pajama Game' -- John Carroll School in Bel Air will present its final Tomorrow Toastmasters -- The Gunpowder Toastmasters Club, which meets on the first and third Mondays of each month, will meet at 11:40 a.m. in the Gunpowder Club at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Edgewood. The club is open to anyone who wants to improve communication, leadership and listening skills and overcome fear of public speaking. Len Kolodny, 410-734-6573. Tuesday Music -- Cecil Community College's Elkton Station Gallery will present "Music at Noon" across the lobby from the gallery.

TOASTMASTERS International is forming a club in Eldersburg. To be chartered, Eldersburg Toastmasters Club needs 20 members, according to Barbara Hudgons, vice president of Westminster Toastmasters Club, who, with her husband, Steve, is helping form the new club. Eldersburg has not met its membership goal and is looking for prospective members. Hudgons explained the benefits of joining a Toastmasters club. "I have seen some amazing transformations take place with people that were once very shy and unable to communicate very well," she said.

KIRITIKOS Toastmasters Club recently elected its board of officers: Bill Biss, president; Betsy Yeaton, vice president for education; Barry Setser, vice president for membership; Jane Biss, vice president for public relations; Eugene Hill, secretary; and Bill Squires, sergeant-at-arms.In addition to his duties with the local group, Bill Biss also serves as area governor for five other Toastmasters groups in Howard ** and Anne Arundel counties.All the clubs follow the Toastmasters program, designed to help people improve their communication and leadership skills.