2015 UPDATE SPRING Newsletter - Odette School of Business

Odette Toastmasters
This has been another highly successful Semester for the Odette School of Business
Toastmasters Club. Odette Toastmasters is a strong community of over thirty members that has
recently won the Talk Up Toastmasters and Smedley membership-building awards. Many
members hold leadership positions at the Division and District levels. Members consistently
achieve both basic and advanced educational awards from Toastmasters International and at
District 28, recognizing their communication and leadership skills.
Odette Toastmasters has also been active in the community. Demonstrating incredible
leadership and teamwork skills, members of the club joined together with Women’s Enterprise
Skills Training of Windsor, Inc. (W.E.S.T) to sponsor a new Toastmasters Club in January
2015, after conducting many successful Speechcrafts for its clients. For this effort, Odette
Toastmasters was recognized by Toastmasters International with a Founders Ribbon that can be
found displayed on the Club banner.
WEST of Windsor Toastmasters Club #4144265 – Chartered January 2015
Front Row: Christine M (Club Sponsor), Lillies Y, Irene S, Gurpreet C.
Second Row: Deborah S, Judith O, Shirley T, Sara A, Vidhya S, Dolorfina T (Club Mentor),
Ron M (Club Mentor), Juan W, Koko, Erlyn L, Larysa M.
Odette Toastmasters members further served the community through presenting to
OPUS - the Organization of Part-time University Students. They shared information about
Toastmasters and ways to enhance public speaking and presentation skills, leadership
development, effective networking, as well as verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
Members of Odette Toastmasters also gave numerous presentations to Dr. Hutchinson’s
Marking classes, publicising the importance of adequate public speaking and the availability of
a club that specializes in just that on campus.
Recently, the Odette School of Business Toastmasters club hosted their annual
International Speech and Evaluation Contests. International Speech winners Punu Bains and
Andy Chan and Evaluation winners Jason Duyck, Kristyn Baim and Urvashi Katiyar went on to
compete in the Area 43 Contest.
Odette School of Business Toastmasters Club #922017
Kristyn B, Urvashi K, Bahaa M, Joe D, Brian W, Leandro Z, Punu B, Jason D,
Andy C, Kevin K, Ron M - Division I Governor
Evaluations have been a consistent strength of our members. At the Area 43 Evaluation
Contest, Jason Duyck and Kristyn Baim won with clear and encouraging feedback placing first
and second place respectively. They will continue to represent our Odette Toastmasters Club at
the Division I Contests competing against speech evaluators from Areas 41 and 42 which will be
held at Giovanni Caboto Club on Friday April 10, 2015, doors open at 6:00 pm.
Area 43 Evaluation Contest Winners
Ron M – Div. I Gov.,, Kathleen C – Area 41 Gov., Kit M - Area 43 Gov
Michael D – Tecumseh Toastmasters, Kristyn B – Odette Toastmasters, Jason D – Odette Toastmasters
In service to the Odette student community, Immediate Past President Christine
McKenzie (4th year, B.Comm. student) organized a public speaking competition for business
majors. The Voice of a Leader Public Speaking Competition allowed students who were not
Toastmasters members to showcase their leadership and public speaking skills and win monetary
funds and recognition for these important abilities. This formal competition raised the standards
of public speaking at the University of Windsor and motivated students to cultivate this skill. The
winners of the Voice of a Leader Public Speaking Competition were Shahroz Chaudhry (4th year
Marketing Major), Arthur Cohen (4th year B.Comm.), and Bridget Taylor (1st year, B.Comm.)
placing first, second and third respectively. They shared with us their personal stories about
leadership and the leaders that inspired them. Special mention to Simisola E-Oluwafemi (MoM
student) and Matthew Mancina (B.Comm) who participated in the competition. Special thanks to
Dr. Conway and the Odette School of Business, Optimist International and the Odette Commerce
Society for sponsoring our public speaking event. We had several societies and local business
donate door prizes for our event.
Optimist International
Roseville-Fontainebleu Optimist Club
was one of two major sponsors of Voice of a
Leader Public Speaking Competition.
Right: Christine McKenzie, Event Chair,
Marlene Phillips and Dwight Phillips, Past
District Governors of Southwestern Ontario
The winners of the Voice of a Leader Public Speaking Competition
2nd Place: Arthur Cohen (4th year B.Comm.),3rd Place: Bridget Taylor (1st year, B.Comm.)
1st Place: Shahroz Chaudhry (4th year Marketing Major)
In the spirit of continuously growing, the executives of Odette Toastmasters attended
Toastmasters Leadership Institutes in Dearborn MI and Chatham ON, where they
cultivated their public speaking skills further, and learned how to better manage weekly
Toastmasters Meetings. The executives had the opportunity to interact with other Toastmasters
in similar roles from other clubs in District 28, with whom they could share ways to maximise
their impact as club officers.
About Toastmasters
Toastmasters International is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public
speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of meeting locations. Headquartered
in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the organization’s membership exceeds 313,000 in more
than 14,650 clubs in 126 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people of
all backgrounds become more confident in front of an audience.
Odette Toastmasters, chartered in 2006, is a President’s Distinguished club, the highest
designation given to a Toastmasters club. The club meets every Wednesday year-round from
7:30 – 9:00 pm in room 210 of the Odette School of Business. Membership is open to all
students, alumni, faculty, staff, and retirees of the University of Windsor and the Schulich School
of Medicine and Dentistry – Windsor Program. Guests are always welcome! The club also offers
stand-alone workshops at little to no cost for other organizations. Visit
http://odette.toastmastersclubs.org, and find us on Facebook and Twitter @UWinToastmaster,
for more information.