• 🏃If you are interested in joining a running club, look no further! Our very own VP of Membership, Adam Cesana, is welcoming us to his running club for any that are looking to join. They meet at Washington Square Park every Saturday at 9:30 am. Please see below for their Instagram page if you are interested:

  https://www.instagram.com/northbeachrunclub_sf?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

• 🗣️GGTM will be holding our International Speech Contest on Feb 5th, in lieu of a regular meeting. Please join us to help our contestants advance to the Area contests! Please see the link below for the rulebook https://ccdn.toastmasters.org/medias/files/department-documents/speech-contests-documents/1171speechcontestrulebook2024-2025/1171-speech-contest-rulebook.pdf

  • If you would like to compete in the International Speech Contest:

    • You must have completed L2 in Pathways OR be a Distinguished Toastmaster

    • Please send an email to [email protected] and CC [email protected] and [email protected] letting us know that you intend to compete

    Roles we need to fill:

    • 1x Toastmaster

    • 5x judges

    • 1x Tiebreaker judge

    • 2x Timer

    • 2x Ballot counter

    • Please sign up on the Feb 5th agenda and send an email to [email protected] and CC [email protected] and [email protected] letting us know that you would like to fill a role

    • Stay tuned for additional info on the Humorous Speech Contest (no entry requirements)!

 📚️🏫 Toastmastering Together

Let’s get better by learning from each other and sharing resources. Bookmark these for your reference as you go through your GGTM journey!

• Golden Gate Toastmaster Resources (bit.ly/GGTM-resources)

• Toastmaster Meeting Roles One-Pager (bit.ly/GGTM-roles)

• Onboarding Checklist (bit.ly/GGTM-onboarding)

January 15th Club Meeting Highlights!

Last Wednesday we had a very apt theme for the new year: New Year Resolutions. The Toastmaster for the evening, Alex Lexon, started by sharing her 2025 resolution to cultivate more patience.

The meeting had an impressive turnout of 16 guests in attendance!

Thank you to our functionaries who took on roles to run the meeting smoothly: Sebastian Koui, Aswani, Mia, Alex W, Gene, Divya, Jay and Helen

During our meeting we:

• ✈️Nicholas kicked off the meeting with a two-minute special, where he shared some big news. He also reflected on his vacation, revealing how he used the time to think about his New Year’s resolution and decided to let go of some baggage before stepping into the new year.

• 🐔Hanna A. delivered a powerful and memorable icebreaker speech that captivated everyone’s attention. She began by squeaking a rubber chicken at the front of the room, later during her speech, she used it to demonstrate her point that “Chicken won’t fall, if you don’t let go”. Through her heartfelt storytelling, Hanna shared her journey of overcoming a life filled with guilt and shame, ultimately finding a path to choosing joy. She has made a choice to move forward. (🏆Best Prepared Speech🏆)

• 💼Mike Z got the whole room engaged with an interactive and fun demonstration-style speech on how to answer the common networking question, 'What do you do?' in a way that keeps the conversation flowing and interesting. Everyone left with a valuable takeaway from his speech that we can confidently use at our next networking event.

• 🎩This was a perfect segue into Adam C.’s speech on Networking for Introverts, where he shared some fantastic personal examples from his networking experiences. So, next time you see someone wearing a nice hat, don’t hesitate to ask them where they got it from!

• 💵Finally, Mark gave an insightful speech about the organization he works for, Wu Yee Children’s Services. He explained that "Wu Yee" translates to "protector of children" and shared that it is San Francisco's largest provider of Early Head Start programs for children. Mark shocked the room with a startling fact: while the federal definition of low income for a family of four in the United States is $31,000, in California, it’s $150,000.

• ☔Helen won (🏆Best Table Topic🏆) by sharing her humorous goal of including "kissing in the rain" on her 39-before-39 list of things to accomplish. However, given the ongoing drought in California, she joked that she has now revised the goal—simply kissing someone would suffice to meet it in 2025.

• Harris L. won (🏆Best Evaluator🏆) for his insightful feedback on Hanna’s moving speech. He provided solid suggestions, including ways to add more dramatic emphasis during the intense moments, enhancing the overall impact of her delivery.

  • Thank you to our other evaluators this evening, Tavisan, Shubham, and Katka!

😎💡Member Spotlight

Send your member profile to [email protected] so we can feature you next. Share your adventures that we can highlight as well!

Let’s get to know our new member Sikieng!