The Weekly Meeting · August 5, 2026 · 6:00 P.M. · A four-minute read
IN BRIEF
✦ Sheila Vida redelivered her Ice Breaker, "The World's Best Fried Chicken" — years apart, one loyal answer.
✦ Jack Hunter's "Positive Leadership" traced a firefight in Mosul to a closing, personal story.
Dear {{First name | Fellow Toastmaster}}!
Sheila Vida stood up to redeliver a speech she'd already given: her own Ice Breaker, the same premise, years apart. A new Jollibee had just opened on Market Street, sixteen minutes' walk from the meeting, and it gave her a reason to revisit an old story. But the real subject was never the fried chicken — it was what years in this room had done to the person telling it.
Toastmaster of the Evening Sunita opened the night by debunking the quote everyone credits to Mark Twain — “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” — a line widely attributed to him despite no evidence that he actually said it. Real or not, the sentiment tracked: San Francisco’s fog-cooled evenings against the rest of the world’s summer heat waves, and Sunita's verdict was that she wouldn't trade it. For anyone missing a more traditional summer, she pointed to sunnier corners of the Bay Area and beyond — proof that San Francisco doesn't have to be the whole story. A room full of guests found themselves quickly won over, Catherine and Anya among them.
✦ ✦ ✦
THE FEATURE
—
An Ice Breaker marks a beginning. Sheila's proved it by returning to one.
“The World's Best Fried Chicken”
Sheila Vida BEST SPEECH
Same speech, years apart. Photograph: GGTM
If you know one Filipino, Sheila told the room, you already know the answer. Growing up, Jollibee was special-occasion food, rare enough to brag about. Three years in Japan tested her loyalty — karaage came close, never quite there. A less-diverse American city pushed further: the nearest branch was in New York, so her friend group ran supply missions whenever anyone traveled east, freezing the leftovers to stretch them. She once nearly missed a Seattle flight for a detour to a SeaTac-area Jollibee — her last meal of the trip, non-negotiable.
The 2019 story is the one that landed the room: a four-hour drive to JFK, a promise of the best fried chicken of his life, then one bite and the verdict that ended the friendship. The line got a laugh. What followed it didn't — the point, Sheila said, was never really about rankings. Food tastes better when there's a memory attached to it.
She closed on the update that made it timely: a new Market Street location had just opened, sixteen minutes' walk from the meeting itself. Not an advertisement, she insisted — just an invitation.
ALSO FROM THE PODIUM
—
"Positive Leadership" — Jack Hunter
Jack Hunter's speech ran from a firefight in Mosul — where a panicking team leader nearly cost his unit its composure until a sergeant calmly stepped in — to a closing, deeply personal family experience. His thesis: leadership is contagious, moving top-down whether you intend it or not.
✦ ✦ ✦
TABLE TOPICS: SUMMER IN THE CITY
—
Summer in the City, one answer at a time. Photograph: GGTM
Table Topics Master Noe sent the room chasing the theme: Derek's Beer Fest crawl — a hundred-vendor night that ended, as these nights do, in lost phones and North Beach pizza; Anya's hidden hike at Corona Heights, a summit that feels closer to Mars than the Financial District; and Luzee's proposed puffer-jacket ban, just to see who survives an SF evening in short sleeves.
The Evaluations
—
Vedant, evaluating Sheila, praised how she physically staged the speech — moving across the room to mark each year — and recalled a line he had once heard from Blair: great speeches make you forget you're thinking. Sheila's, he said, did exactly that. His evaluation ran just over time, taking him out of contention for Best Evaluator — even a great line can't outrun the clock. Albert, evaluating Jack, challenged him to risk more of his own less-polished, earlier-career experience — "get uncomfortable" was the note that stuck — and took the ribbon instead.
AND THE VOTES ARE IN
—
THE BEST PREPARED SPEECH
Sheila Vida
BEST TABLE TOPICS
Luzee Bautista
BEST EVALUATOR
Albert Yan
Two homemade treats, two weeks running: Michelle's tiramisu, then Helen Fream's lemon tart — pure coincidence, since Helen had no idea about the first one. Have a bake you're proud of? We certainly won't object to being your tasting panel.
✦ ✦ ✦
Meet Your Officers · Role 5 of 7
Secretary — Michelle Wen
Tonight, Michelle covered several supporting roles at once — the same drive that's shaped her time as Secretary: organizing this club's documentation became the job she wanted. This Dispatch is part of that experiment.
Speaks about: Working at name brands and Lessons I have learned
Enjoys: Coffee and Culture
Next issue: Role 6 of 7, Treasure, Alexander Wu
Welcome to GGTM, Miwa, Anna, John, and Yong! 🎉
THE CALENDAR
—
Friday, August 14 | 7:30 PM
GGTM Karaoke Night, Festa, Japantown - cash only for songs.
SAVE THE DATE - September 16
GGTM Open House, 6–8 PM. Welcoming back alum Michael Dart.
Still Recruiting
Area Director - the District search continues.
|
Follow GGTM on Instagram Speaking tips, meeting recaps, and club updates — @goldengatetoastmasters Visit our website → |
