You haven’t heard from me in a bit, but I’ve been as busy as ever. Sometimes speaking, one day of election work, and getting ready for a big presentation and still writing and editing.
Next weekend, I and many other Toastmasters from District 86 will gather at Blue Mountain resort for the Fall Toastmasters conference. We’ve had all sorts of discussions about it, regarding cost, workshops, accommodations, people receiving their Distinguished Toastmaster status, including two friends of mine, Dawna and Suzanne, who’ve worked so hard for a long time to achieve it. Congratulations to both of you. Well deserved.
We look forward to meeting fellow Toastmasters whom we only see at conference. We look forward to good food and some fun. And looking forward to the Friday evening workshop that I’ll be giving. It’s just about ready. For anyone who doesn’t know what Toastmasters is about, it’s a place to work on communication skills—not just speaking in public, but also on leadership.
If you’ve ever wondered about Toastmasters, pay us a visit on a Thursday afternoon—at the Energetics club in Waterloo— and see what it’s all about. While we’re learning, we’re supportive of each other and we have some hilarious and serious Table Topics. Leave it up to a certain member to come up with zany topics.
But back to the workshop. I tried it out on my club yesterday and got some great evaluations, both aspects that were well done and some that could use a bit of tweaking. It’s good to know that the content is solid. It’s like evaluating my own writing—I can’t always see it clearly. But I was assured that the content was good. So this week, I will be ramping up to the presentation. I won’t tell you more. There is apparently one more day until registration is closing.
Oh, and I’ll have a book table at the conference too, similar to what I had at the recent Canadian Networker Fall Business Expo in Kitchener. I’ll have the same books with me, including a new edition of Hot Apple Cider anthology in which I have a story.

Photo: Dawn Taylor-Gilders, KW Snapd
Me at the business expo, promoting myself and my business

Proud to have a story in this collection.
Will I see you at the conference?