Athlone Toastmasters have resumed the hosting of their fortnightly meetings with the number of members and guests now attending in-person and online steadily growing.
The theme of the most recent meeting was ‘community’ and there certainly was a strong, warm, friendly sense of same in the meeting room of the Creggan Court Hotel on Tuesday, September 26.
Speaking of community, members of Athlone Toastmasters have been making quite an impact within the locality in recent weeks. Club president, Sharon Dooley, and club secretary, Francis Keenan, promoted Athlone Toastmasters and the potential of improving communication and leadership skills to students attending Technological University of the Shannon Athlone campus. Students readily practiced their impromptu speaking skills, selecting topics from the ‘Chit-chat jar’. As a result of this promotion, Athlone Toastmasters welcomed many students to the recent club meeting and look forward to supporting them along their Toastmasters journey.
Staying with the topic of ‘topics’, Toastmasters members brought ‘topics on tour’, visiting some of Athlone’s most famous and beautiful landmarks whilst speaking impromptu about related topics as they toured.
Members were delighted to be joined by members of ‘Foyle Speakers’ Toastmasters club in Derry who were thrilled to experience a small flavour of what Athlone has to offer. The sights visited included Athlone Castle, the Luan Gallery, Ss Peter & Paul’s Church and Sean’s Bar.
The topics spoken about were varied. Members spoke about which room in the Castle they would most like to decorate, what they can learn from the history of Athlone Castle, ‘your home is your castle’ and if you were king or queen for a day, what would your priority be.
The Luan Gallery prompted topics such as ‘how important is it to support local artists’, the new cycling and pedestrian bridge over the River Shannon and ‘how rivers inspire art’ and Sean’s Bar, well, what can one say? Once members sat down to enjoy a tipple and each other’s company, it was hard to stand up to speak again but in true Toastmasters style, all members did so.
They proposed a name for an Athlone cocktail, talked about the Cathedral’s place in local history, the best thing about Sean’s Bar, why pubs are an important part of Irish culture and the club president performed a party piece which members won’t forget for a while.
The next meeting of Athlone Toastmasters will take place on Tuesday, October 10 at 8.15pm in the Creggan Court Hotel. This will be a slightly different meeting to our usual meeting structure as it is competition night. Why not join Athlone Toastmasters as a guest?
Don’t worry, you won’t be required to compete but as it is the club humorous speech and table topics contest, you will be entertained, intrigued and inspired by speakers who are pushing themselves outside their comfort zone to take part in competitions. It promises to be a fabulous occasion and a great laugh - much needed these days! All are welcome.
This invitation is open to all members of the local community. In Athlone Toastmasters, they are very aware that ‘community is the foundation of success’ and provide a safe supportive community where you can practice, progress and perfect your communication and leadership skills.
Athlone Toastmasters meet on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month in the Creggan Court Hotel, but you can also join members online, as meetings are hybrid.
Find out more about Athlone Toastmasters when you visit athlone.toastmastersclubs.org
