Chartering Ceremony - Watch City Club # 1367868

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham_Watch_Company

District 31 - Division C3 Watch City Toastmasters Club # 1367868

Chartering Ceremony at Nova Biomedical in Waltham MA!

Photo taken by Club President Paul MacDonald's camera with timer

- Paul is standing far right white shirt & red tie.

Among the many duties I have as the 2009-2010 District 31 Governor is to conduct a Chartering Ceremony for our newly chartered clubs in the District. This particulary noon time ceremony was a special treat for me today because as the 2007-2008 Lt. Governor of Marketing (LGM) the Nova Biomedical club suddenly "folded" which for me as the sitting LGM meant that I needed to make sure I charted another club to make up for the Districts club loss.

So you can image how elated when I got the email that Nova was going to recharter again!
I was excited to make the trip down Route 128 South to Waltham, Massachusetts. I asked how they came up with the new name and I found out that the club took a vote and decided to go with "Watch City" because the building across the street use to be the famous Watch City Company. (see facts below)

I presented the Chartering Certificate in a frame and a mini Toastmasters Banner - one in the photo to the Club President, then we handed out all of the Charter Member certificates and I also presented a Club Coach ribbon to Richard Baker for all his help with the club. There was pizza, cookies and Sparkeling Cider - and the club President Paul did a fine job making a TOAST!
Waltham is commonly referred to as Watch City because of its association with the watch industry. Waltham Watch Company opened its factory in Waltham in 1854 and was the first company to make watches on an assembly line. It won the gold medal in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The company produced over 40 million watches, clocks and instruments before it closed in 1957 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham,_Massachusetts

The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch IOBNCo. and the American Watch Co., produced about 40 million high quality watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses and other precision instruments between 1850 and 1957. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham_Watch_Company

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Nova Biomedical

http://www.novabiomedical.com/directions.html

http://www.novamanufacturing.com/

100% Attendance

A school resolution S made entering the sixth grade was 100% attendance. I have been driving her to school each day since Grade K and I have to admit she did not have the best attendance record.

Perfect attendance or 100 % attendance means you can not be: absent, late, dismissed early or leave school for a an appointment even if you are brought back that same day - no matter how long or how short - the same day.

Of course dental and doctor appointments can get tricky - especially now with ORTHO beginning this January 2010 - because those appoinments are mornings only - but I even managed to change her that appointment to a holiday to accomodate this.

We have been doing well with 100 % attendace... so far and am thrilled that the 2009 school year is over. We have six more months but morning tatrums and the New England Wheather can create challenges. Fingers crossed that we make sixth grade 100% Attendance!

My Sixth Grader - S! First day of School Sept 2009

No more plaid jumper - here is the grey skirt, white shirt and blue vest.

Vice Principal Mrs. Spencer in the background

Photo taken by Denise Marquis Quintiliani

S & Sherri Raftery - First day of School photo - Sept 2009.

photo by Denise Marquis Quintiliani

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ATTENDANCE

http://www.answers.com/topic/attendance

Dictionary: at·ten·dance

The act of attending.
The persons or number of persons that are present.
The frequency with which a person is present.

Good Bye 2009!

2009 has been an amazing year for this 2009-2010 District 31 Governor! I have been leading a district with the help of very committed senior team leaders as well as awsome volunteers!
I have six more months to serve my term which will end on June 30, 2010 at midnite.

And single Mother of one amazing Tween daughter who is learning how to become independant of me...(sigh)...

S has an ortho appointment on January 18, 2010 and we are looking into High Schools already! Say WHUT!! On Friday I will be visiting the Boston Arts Academy for its admissions presentation. More on that soon.

So I am eargerly looking forward to all that 2010 has to offer with leadership and motherhood -

oh and the search of a new position!

District 31 & 83 Governors at Region Vii Midwinter Training!

Toastmasters: Confidence, Leadership, Service, IP,Gary Schmidt, DTM


Brian Lin, DTM, District 31 Governor - "Better You Better World" in the Woodbridge Hilton, NJ with C'Gary http://toastmasters83.org/

Sherri Raftery, DTM(2), District 31 Governor -"Take Center Stage"! with honorary Toastmaster C'Gary. http://www.district31.org/

District 31 Executive Committtee Meeting - Dec 16, 2009

"Now THAT'S how you run an exec meeting! Sherri - Simply brilliant. That was the BEST exec meeting I've been to, and I've been in 4 different administrations. Productive, punctual, and effective". "Well done".-- Ben Lappen, ACS, Lt. Governor of Marketing District 31 Toastmasters - LGM@District31.org

District 31 Executive Committee Meeting at Sun Life in Wellesley Hills, MA holding up TOASTMASTERS MAGAZINES!

Front Row L-R LGET Bil Lewis, DTM, DG, Sherri Raftery, DTM, Area G4 Governor, George Manoogian

Middle Row L-R Area B Governor Yvette Moquin, Division A Governor, Debra Panetta, DTM, Area A1 Governor, Matt Morency, LMG, Ben Lappen, Area B Governor Laura Fritz, Area F3 Governor Maryann Murphy, Area A4 Governor, Lena Maxwell, Division B Governor, Nancy Murphy,

Back Row - Area B Gover, Sara Marks, Area F Governor, Chris Singleton, Area C5 Governor, Roger Swensor

Division A Governor, Debra Panetta recieves her new DTM Badge and gives us her "Lesson of the Day": Use Toastmasters during your interview! Area A1 Governor Matt Morency wins the X-mas Penguin during the raffle with District 31 Governor, Sherri Raftery, DTM

District Governor, Sherri Raftery, DTM (2) presents the Club Coach Ribbon to Area G5 Governor & Prison Club Coordinator, George Manoogian (Mr. Nice Guy) during the District 31 December 16, 2009 Executive Committee meeting at Sun Life in Wellesley Hills, MA


Division A Governor, Debra Panetta, DTM with Area A-1 Governor Matt Morency who recieves the VIP Ribbon Award with District 31 Governor, Sherri Raftery, DTM

Division B Governor, Nancy Murphy with Division B1 Governor Laura Fritz who recieves the STAR Ribbon Award with District 31 Governor, Sherri Raftery, DTM

D31 Lt. Governor of Marketing, Ben Lappen is giving his Marketing Report during the December 2009 District 31 Executive Committee Meeting.

District 31 Governor, Sherri Raftery, DTM thanks Area Governor Chris Singleton for reading the District 31 Mission and standing in as the St. At Arms.

Division A Governor, Debra Panetta, DTM with Area A4 Governor,
Lena Mawell who recieved the Leadership Ribbon with
Madame District 31 Governor, Sherri Raftery, DTM

Prison Club Coordinator & Area G5 Governor George Manoogian (Mr. Nice Guy) shares that we still need Prison Club Due$ for the 2009-2010 year.

D31 & D53 Jib Jab!

During our Region Vii Midwinter Training we had to put on Trio Skits!

District 31's Trio - DG (Me) LGET - Bil and LGM Ben made a guest appearance in District 53's - It's a Wonderful Life on Jib Jab - you can also find ID's Kristen Nicholson, Heath Suddleson and Anniele Weber - along with Executive Director, Dan Rex.

For a GREAT laugh go to Jib Jab!!
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/Oti1H290H7OKDfkk

Society of Women Engineers

Since its chartering in 1950, SWE's Boston section has grown to one of the largest. We hold a variety of events throughout the year to support women in engineering and to encourage young women to consider an engineering career.

read more here http://www.sweboston.org/about.html

http://www.sweboston.org/ http://www.sweboston.org/2009meetings/Nov09.html

The SWE- Boston Professional Section & SWE – Boston University Collegiate Section present: Public SpeakingJoint Professional & Collegiate Networking Night Professionals and collegiates are welcome to join us for our annual student networking night!

Every November, members of local collegiate SWE sections gather with SWE-Boston professionals for dinner, networking, and a keynote speaker. Local students are especially encouraged to attend this event for an opportunity to meet with professional SWE members and other students! Our keynote speaker will feature the District Governor of Toastmasters, Sherri Raftery, who discuss some tricks of the trade with mastering public speaking to help you become a more effective presenter both in the work place and in the classroom.


Here is what was written after our presention - we eagerly await our testimonial letters!

November Professional Development Meeting - RECAP "Effective Public Speaking - Joint Professional and Collegiate Networking Night " On Thursday, November 12th, the Boston University section of the Society of Women Engineers hosted the annual collegiate - professional networking night with over forty engineers in attendance. The event was held on the 11th Floor of the Photonics Center overlooking the Boston skyline.

After networking and dinner with several autumn-themed dinner selections, the main topic for the evening was "Effective Public Speaking" presented by two distinguished Toastmasters: Sherri Raftery and Mary Cheyne. Currently, Sherri Raftery serves as the 2009- 2010 District 31 governor, which includes Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts (consists of 3500 members and 160 clubs/chapters). Recently, Mary Cheyne won second place in the 2009 Toastmaster's International World Championship of Public Speaking. She is also the founder of Magnetic Podium, an organization that uses the public speaking medium to help individuals uncover roadblocks that prevent them from reaching their highest potential.

The speakers began with a quick warm-up exercise with audience members introducing themselves (another opportunity for networking between collegiates and professionals) with several volunteers offering to introduce themselves to all attendees to overcome their fear of public speaking. Before beginning the discussion of "tips for success" in public speaking, Sherri first shared several best practices from her vast leadership experience. She explained the importance of accepting responsibility and being open to taking on new challenges in unfamiliar areas. After taking questions from the audience, she turned the floor over to Mary, who presented the topic of "Effective Public Speaking."

Mary explained the importance of practicing, always developing a plan B, and the difference between internalizing vs. memorizing speeches. Also she explained the best way to get rid of any nervous energy developed before a speech is to jump up in down or to do jumping jacks, in particular she suggested avoiding talking yourself out of nervousness (sometimes in makes it worse!).

Mrs. Cheyne explained the importance of repetition in your speeches and utilizing pausing to not only make your presentations crisper, but also to emphasize specific points. Also she discussed several tips for engaging your audience by making eye contact with each person in the audience for 2-3 sentences of your presentation. Finally, she ended her best practice discussion by commenting "It's not about you, it's about providing an experience for the audience." Both presenters then conducted a "table topics" activity where the speakers asked a volunteer from the audience to answer a question, which they had to speak to for less than 2 minutes without any preparation. After each impromptu speech, they received constructive feedback from both Mary and Sherri. The evening then concluded with some further networking and discussion amongst collegiates and professionals.


Society of Women Engineers -

Sherri Raftery, DTM District 31 Governor & Mary Cheyne, 2009 Second Place WCPS - this photo was taken by Euridice Oware at our District 31 Conference

http://www.sweboston.org/

http://www.sweboston.org/2009meetings/Nov09.html


For general information or questions about SWE, email:

swebos@sweboston.orghttp://www.sweboston.org/

Mailing: Society of Women Engineers-Boston P.O. Box 244 Woburn, MA 01801

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SWE REGION F (includes New England and eastern New York): http://www.swe.org/regionf/