In attendance: Beth Dewey, David Warren, David Fisher, Shawn Terjeson, Brian Kostecki, Mykal Amarré, Shari Kaufman, Wendy Cwinar, Janet Dowd, Norman Bell (rejoining, yay!), Jim Guenther, Pat Buchanan, Jeremy Blum, Aaron Gates, Mimi Stewart, Jean Manwaring, Josh Huisenga, Martha (guest), and Chuck Furumori.

Chuck opened the meeting at 7:45am.

Toastmaster for the day was Susan Davis, billing the meeting as our “post-election therapy session.”

Inspiration was provided by Josh.

Word of the day, “discombobulated,” was provided by Shari.

Humor was provided by Jeremy—a quote by Winston Churchill. “American’s will get it right, once they’ve tried everything else.”

Two speakers this morning, both helping us to process and understand the events of the week, and to face the future with optimism.

Jim Guenther shared his insights in, “The Test.” Evaluation was provided by David Fisher.

Shawn Terjeson shared his in, “I’m Smiling at You.” Recommended reading here: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/05/11/how-david-beats-goliath. Evaluation was provided by Chuck Furumori.

Janet Dowd provided the morning’s Table Topic, asking us to share “something you’ve learned this week.” The insights were many, and powerful.

Beth Dewey provided our general evaluation.

Grammar report was given to us by Aaron Gates.

Brian Kostecki reported on time.

Jean Manwaring tallied our votes: long-form speech award went to Shawn Terjeson, while the table-topic award went to Aaron Gates.

Meeting was adjourned by Chuck at 8:59. The club officers meeting followed directly.
Joshua Huisenga
West Seattle Earlybirds / Club Secretary