As the Bethlehem Toastmasters say goodbye to a founding member, the organization celebrates its 90th anniversary with an open house to welcome new ones.
The Bethlehem chapter of Toastmasters International, a nonprofit organization that helps develop public speaking and leadership skills, is celebrating the international organization’s 90th anniversary with an open meeting to all Capital District residents on Wednesday, May 13. The event comes after the recent death of Bethlehem Toastmaster’s founding member Ray Bell, following a longtime illness.
“Ray Bell said Toastmasters helped him (get) a promotion in a job,” said Vice President of Education John Sheppard. Bell had said most of his job requirements included oral interviews.
Sheppard said Bell wanted to help other people achieve the same opportunities by overcoming fear of public speaking. So he founded Bethlehem Toastmasters Club 542 in his hometown of Delmar nearly 20 years ago in 1996. However, Bell was a member of Toastmasters International since 1967.
“He personally was responsible for helping a lot of local people get more comfortable with speeches, and be more confident. He was the nicest guy,” said Vice President of Public Relations Ken Briggs.
“He just realized that at his job, he and his coworkers were not necessarily communicating as well as they could, so he formed this group,” Briggs said.
This past December, Bell was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in Toastmasters. Briggs said Bell was still an active member, even at 80 years old, and was proud of the accomplishments achieved by the Bethlehem Toastmasters club.
While Bell received Distinguished Toastmaster, the organization’s highest designation for a member, the Bethlehem chapter has also been designated as a Distinguished Club, the highest designation for a club, for over 10 years. The distinction means the group has achieved a high quality level of training and education for its members, and has seen membership grow. The club currently has about 15 members.
Briggs said it was senior members like Bell, who provide mentorship to new members, that helped set the Bethlehem chapter apart.
In a typical meeting, there are two or three speeches delivered, followed by evaluations and a “table topic” session, where members answer designated questions. While some members ask for critical evaluations of speeches, the evaluations are overall encouraging, said Sheppard.
Evaluating members give reports on grammatical errors, grammatical pluses, how long a speech was as compared to how long the member said it would be, and vocabulary, among other points.
“We do a get a lot of introverts,” said Sheppard. He said the meetings are a safe space for people to get over their fear of public speaking while not truly speaking in public. Although there is an occasional member who loves public speaking, most members “have a public speaking problem, just like I did. I still do,” Sheppard said.
The open house meeting on May 13 will provide a chance for the public to see what the club does and give people a chance to join. On top of celebrations, the club will have a regularly structured meeting for Capital District residents to observe. There will also be trivia, both dealing with Toastmasters and general knowledge, for people to win prizes.
According to Sheppard, some people don’t realize the club is not just about assistance with public speaking, but includes a leadership track for members. Certain roles are assigned to participants, like grammarian, Toastmaster, timer and evaluator, which help the meetings flow and give members a “sense of leadership and contribution.”
“You’re helping the group as a whole,” he said. “If we have a very, very low turnout meeting, it’s just not exciting. You don’t really learn that much.”
Meetings are held every second and fourth Wednesday of the month and run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The open house anniversary celebration will begin at 7 p.m. and will be held at the Bethlehem Toastmasters location at Adam’s Station Apartments, 1 Juniper Drive in Delmar.
“We’re hoping that we’ll attract a few new members, and we’ll continue to prosper as a distinguished group. We want to help people meet their goals to become better speakers and leaders,” said Briggs.
For more information on the Bethlehem Toastmasters club, go to 542.toastmastersclubs.org. Information on Toastmasters International can be found at www.toastmasters.org.
