The Weekly Meeting · July 29, 2026 ·  6:00 P.M.  ·  A four-minute read

Three found twenty-dollar bills, thirty years apart, each with its own lesson: at ten, on Super Bowl Sunday, share good fortune with people you love; as a teenager, a lost bill belongs to someone, so return it; in his twenties, he gave twenty dollars to a man experiencing homelessness, then found another twenty moments later. Call it karma, call it coincidence — Mike Z calls it a reason to keep giving.

He gave this exact speech ten years ago. He's the longtime member whose support got GGTM its meeting room here at the Chamber of Commerce — and when the club needed a speaker, he didn't hesitate.

Sophie Conlon, filling in on the spot for the two-minute special, described living alone for the first time after a breakup — a rich discovery for a lifelong extrovert. Jack Hunter, back after six months away, traced leaving Tunisia for America, a startup sold too fast, and a rebuild in real estate: fear, he said, precedes every good decision. Juan Basulto, selling produce since age eight, closed with one rule: tie what you're selling to what the other person needs.

Toastmasters of the Evening Juan Basulto opened the questions, with Michelle Wen, Table Topics Master, taking over partway — birthday wishes, kept keepsakes, letters to a younger self.

Albert Yan won the round with Tigi, a stuffed tiger he's had since age two — carried across homes and countries, even left in his girlfriend's care during a stretch in Taiwan. Twenty-six years later, Tigi still sits by his bed. Irene Suwarno — this issue's officer spotlight — named emotional regulation her biggest growth since moving to America.

Also answering the call: Catherine (self-progress), Vedant (starting a fear head-on), Anya (a blunt teacher's lesson), Dennis (toys), Katie (her ring), Nithila (making people laugh), Jack Hunter (unity), and Aileen (a year of big change).

Vedant — who joined GGTM through Jack in the first place — welcomed him back by evaluating his speech. Nithila, a former officer two terms back, evaluated Mike Z. Katie, evaluating Juan, took Best Evaluator.

Worth naming: this was a night people showed up for — Jack back after six months, Nithila volunteering to evaluate, Sophie filling in on the spot, Mike Z stepping up with a decade-old speech. President Albert, meanwhile, covered SAA, General Evaluator, and his own role in the same meeting. A healthy club runs on many people wearing one hat each — not one person wearing three. If you've been holding off on a role, this is your sign.

Five years can change a career, a voice, a home, a whole understanding of yourself. Sometimes it can even turn an old speech into the night's winner.