By Christina Scheltema
Komen Toastmasters, a club that teaches public speaking and leadership skills, continues to meet after 29 years. The meeting time has changed from the first and third Saturday morning of each month to the second and fourth Tuesday evening. Specifically, Komen Toastmasters now meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., via Zoom. After meeting on Saturdays for many years, the club members voted to change the meeting time to accommodate schedules.
When COVID-19 quarantines closed public meeting places, Komen Toastmasters transitioned to online meetings, via Zoom. Komen Toastmasters, known for its resilience, only missed one meeting due to the COVID-19 closures. To learn more about this club and to arrange a club visit, please email LeRoy Potts, the vice president of membership at KomenToastmasters8714@gmail.com.
Visitors are always welcome to come learn about this Toastmasters club, which has been dedicated to helping its members become better speakers and leaders since it was chartered in December 1996. Komen was founded to help people affiliated with the Susan B. Komen Foundation learn public speaking skills to advocate on behalf of those with breast cancer. It is now a community club open to all.
Members practice public speaking by presenting prepared speeches in a supportive environment that provides constructive feedback. Members also practice extemporaneous speaking through an exercise called Table Topics. Speakers learn confidence by doing and by receiving constructive feedback on what they did well and where they can improve. Meetings are structured so that members know what to expect, which helps quell anxiety.
Komen Toastmasters is affiliated with Toastmasters International, a nonprofit international organization dedicated to teaching people public speaking skills. With clubs in 150 countries, Toastmasters International is 101 years old.