Challenges
Toastmaster Karen Alexander dealt with the theme of challenges, encouraging members to empathize with the challenges that others were up against. Don Emon as joke master took on the challenge of positioning, placing his hand three times on the "scruples" sign to accentuate its meaning, the word of the day from Judy Groff. Other members of the Eyes and Ears team included G rammarian, Jeanne Resen; Ah Counter, Don Groff (shadowed by Randy Dunn); Timer, Melinda Lowrance (shadowed by Vicki Balson). Toastmaster Karen Alexander related challenges to anniversaries of a number of incidents this week, such as the shootings at the high school in Columbine, CO, at the Boston Marathon, as well as the Oklahoma City bombing. She introduced Michael Thompson, who spoke about persistence. He noted how a famous Winston Churchill quote served him throughout his life and how he was inspired to become a lawyer. He ended by referencing an inspiring quote from an Emily Dickinson