The evening was designed in commemoration of Cindi Finlay, a well-loved longstanding member who continued to present regularly until almost the end – ever elegant and poised and always holding the audience spellbound, Volunteer speakers were asked to bear in mind either Cindi’s use of humor or her cultural references. While no one hoped to match up to the level of Cindi’s performances, three
speakers stepped forward – Suzanne, Tricia and Siobhan, who were honored to use Cindi as their inspiration. Martin, who had been a friend of Cindi’s for many years and knew her better than most of us, accepted the invitation to be Toastmaster of the Evening.
MARTIN, TOASTMASTER OF THE EVENING MEMORIES OF CINDI –
“When called to deliver a speech, Cindi Finlay rose from her chair, strode
confidently to the lectern, turned to her audience and paused just long enough
to command our attention. She took charge, spoke with authority, perfect
diction and rich vocabulary. Whatever the subject of her speech, she rendered
it comprehensible, convincing and, when appropriate, entertaining. At times,
she moved me to tears. She was the quintessential New Yorker: unabashedly
frank and delightfully loud-voiced. Even those of us sitting in the restaurant’s
acoustical black hole had no problem hearing her.”
INTRODUCING THE MEETING –
The meeting would be a “sounding board” for the extraordinary contribution
Cindi made before passing away in January,” Martin announced. He noted her
generosity of heart, generosity, and ability to communicate, suggesting she was
“a model we tried to emulate to captivate an audience.”
Noting that Cindi touched us all in many different ways, he recalled meeting her
at his first visit to TMP in 1999. “A club capable of producing a woman like that
was the club I wanted to join.”
Martin also recalled one of Cindi’s last speeches to the club, based on her life
principles. On that occasion she sang the line, “Walk on, walk on, with hope in
your heart, and you’ll never walk alone,” and he reminded us that this had been
one of the most difficult periods of her life. It was, he said, a moving speech
infused with courage and optimism
THE TOAST
Caroline called inspiration “the spark that illuminates our meetings” and “shines in each of us.” She reminded us that every day is a new opportunity to learn and to inspire, and that we should always ask ourselves: What is the spark that makes us come alive and be the best version of ourselves?
As Martin noted later, “Caroline’s elegant and touching Toast of the Evening
set the tone and opened our hearts.”
JOKES
Yannis hurt his finger. OOOOOOWWWWW!
What should he do about it?
Tryactin.
Tryactin?
Try actin’ like a man!
Tristan explained that after Creation, God had two body parts left over.
Adam took first choice and went off delighted, waving his part around to pee
shapes and letters…
“Oh well,”said God, turning to Eve, “you can take the brain.”
JOSEP: Noting how many speakers like to write their speeches out fully, but
knowing how reading prevents eye contact, Josep recommended trying
notecards. These can be used for word prompts, important ideas, or
quotations. Most importantly, a speaker can glance down quickly without
losing audience engagement.
WORD OF THE NIGHT – MOTIVATE
Yannis explained his word choice, MOTIVATE (verb), giving as dictionary definition –
‘to cause someone to behave in a certain way.’
“I hope you feel inspired!”he concluded.
We were!~- Nine people wove the word into their speeches.
WELCOME, GUESTS –
Sidgandhi, having felt the pre-meeting buzz, pronounced this an “incredible group with a lot of energy!”
Natalia and Georgii were back for a second visit. Having attended at Christmas, they were amused to find
another celebration. They’re looking for “people to call friends.” You’ve come to the right place!
Ellora moved here in ’22 to do a Ph.D. She knew about Toastmasters but this was her first time to try it.
Amjad , on the other hand, has been to Toastmasters, albeit a French group. Originally from Saudi Arabia, he has been in France for he last two years.
Lisa discovered Toastmasters when she was at Science Po and is here to meet people.
Antoine, with us for the first time, admitted he was “not comfortable in English”[yet!] but is
aiming for the future.
Thibaut has made several visits and hopes that next time he comes, he will not be a guest!
Maya Is happy that she gets to know new people each time she comes. She is now
“determined to become a club member.”
Joanne, who attended Toastmasters in her Shanghai workplace, is here “to meet and make
friends.”
Florence is hoping to join TMP at our next meeting, aiming to “get more comfortable
speaking and organizing her thoughts.”
Ciara Is in Paris for the year. She’s known of Toastmasters for a while, but this was her first
meeting.
Berihu, originally from Ethiopia where he was member of TM, gave a perfect conclusion to
this section of the meeting: “Wherever you go in the world, you should go to Toastmasters!”
TABLE TOPICS
Josep’s topics had been chosen to reflect Cindi’s taste, reflecting a wonderful blend of humor and culture.
What artifact would you choose – and in which museum would you place it?
Thibaut loves photos, as they are messages for others both now and in the future.
He would be happiest if they could be placed where everybody could see them, such
as in the street or the metro.
Money, Money, Money…
If Tricia had unlimited monehy, she can think of nothing better to
do with it than to follow the example of a woman she met on
holiday: she would buy up land and rewild it.
An Inspirational Quotation?
Georgii recalled Gargarin, the first man in space for the the Soviet Union. His rallying cry was a simple
“Let’s go!” This became the motto for first steps, new projects, and challenges when you start something
bigger than before. This can be the motivation for us, too, he concluded – “Let’s go!”
What are friends for?
Alison recounted a visit to the Louvre with her best friend who is in a wheelchair. They needed to get
round as quickly as possible. Alison was delighted when fifteen guards collaborated to find them the
easiest route to the Mona Lisa – and then they were able to go straight to the front of the crowd. “That’s
what friends are for,” she concluded – “pushing in!”
Where is your paradise home?
Maria, who lives in Paris, said we probably wouldn’t believe her if she called the city
her paradise home, given the March rain we’ve had. But in fact, her true home is the
Mediterannean, where she was born – nowhere else do you get the same mix of sun,
sea, and mountains or the quality of light…
How would you change the world?
Vincent, acknowledging that this would be “a big job”, said he would want to do something to
bring peace to the world where there are currently “so many people fighting.” If people would only
tak to each other, they could find solutions for the problems. Too often, he noted, we limit ourselves
by building small communities and social networking only withthose already like ourselves. Instead,
he says, we need to break barriers! Only then will we have a hope of changing the world.
GENERAL EVALUATION – VICKY
It had been “a very special evening,” Vicki concluded, as she thanked Josep and Anaelle for organizing the event and Martin for sending out the motivational message before themeeting.
Proud of the club’s diversity, with thirteen nationalities among our thirty-five members, Vicki noted that tonight’s guests were from all over the world, including Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.
Vicki applauded the Tip of the Evening, a very recent addition to our program.
Also of note were the night’s two jokes from Tristan and Yannis, the well-chosen word from Yannis, and Josep’s table topics which included references to museums, culture, and music – very Cindi!
WINNERS
Speech – Tricia
Table Topics – Alison
Evaluation – Alex
LAST WORDS
There really was a special buzz in the room for this meeting.
Josep had hung golden alphabet balloons above the club’s banners at the front of the room. The initials C and A were a constant reminder that something special was happening – the Cindi Award!
He was also responsible for purchasing the gifts that were given with the winners’ ribbons at the end of the night.
Martin thanked Josep “from the bottom of my heart” for organizing this tribute to Cindi.
UPCOMING MEETINGS –
- April 12, April 30
- May 7, May 21
- June 4, June 18
TOASTMASTERS CONFERENCE / CONTEST – May 24, 25, 26
In addition to workshops and speakers, the conference is the venue for the TMI speech and evaluation contest, now excitingly at the District level. Come and support Tricia, the so-far unbeaten champion of (English) evaluation!
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