Positively Speaking Toastmasters will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a celebration in Maple Ridge council chambers on April 13.
The club chartered in 1991, and has since grown to be a dynamic, inspiring and safe place for Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows residents to practice their communication while learning to be effective leaders.
During the past 25 years, the club has met continuously in Maple Ridge council chambers, where it will host the gala at 7:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to stop by and learn more about Toastmasters.
It began as a series of small speaking clubs in Bloomington, Illinois at the turn of the century by YMCA director of education Ralph Smedley, who was passionate about teaching young men to speak and lead and devoted most of his life to this cause.
The first unofficial club meeting was held March 24, 1905, though the first official club – in Santa Ana, California – did not charter until October 1924. Two years ago, Toastmasters International celebrated its 90th anniversary.
Today, Toastmasters International has 332,000 members in 15,400 clubs in 135 countries. It is open to people of all ages.
“I’m always amazed seeing the growth in member skills and confidence as they participate in our meetings,” said Bob Neal, a 25-year member of Positively Speaking.
Carole Murphy, a Toastmaster of 20 years, says that the most important skill she learned was how to listen.
“We think we are active listening, but we aren’t. Toastmasters really taught me how to truly listen and have two-way conversations with the people I interact with. When someone would ask me how I was, I would ramble on about myself and then walk away. After some great feedback, I realized that I failed to stop and ask how the other person was. This realization has proved to be most effective in my personal and professional life.”
Positively Speaking Toastmasters holds meetings every Wednesday, 7:30-9:30 p.m. RVSP for the anniversary celebration on the club’s Facebook page, Positively Speaking Toastmasters Maple Ridge (https://www.facebook.com/pstmmapleridge/).