Superstitions and the "curse" of Friday the 13th

It would be "credulous" to think the superstition theme caused Pardee* to close its doors to our club.  Yes, Toastmaster Carole Kitchen and other members thought we'd be safe in the shelter of the hospital.  President Susann Swan had a premonition that finding an alternate location would be prudent, and she said so in the meeting.

Melinda Lowrance came to the rescue when a joke master could not be found.  She told a humorous story involving Oprah Winfrey, President Trump, former President Obama, and a school girl, three parachutes, and a back pack.

Ray Daley really broke the ice with his speech about his reason to join Toastmasters.   He explained that after 40 years in the newspaper business, he'd moved to Henderson County by way of Florida.  His wife found a job as a tour guide at Biltmore, and his daughter took on a newspaper internship,  so he went about finding interesting things of his own to do, like Toastmasters.  Judy Groff was Ray's evaluator.

Karen Alexander gave a mentoring moment on passing the torch of leadership.  She said the current officers all end their terms the end of June, so it was time to consider what leadership roles others would take.  She spoke of her role as Vice President Education and said Toastmasters was not just about speaking but about leading.  She encouraged members to consider what role they could play.

Table Topics Master Jeanne Resen said that a Friday the 13th had always been good for her, as that was her birth date.  She then prompted Melinda and Stan on dealing with disasters.  These veteran members mostly spoke of general ideas.  It was the newer members, Mary Beth Dallman and Grant Guffey, that took on their prompts with special flair because they each focused on a vivid story.  Mary Beth told of how her two-year-old son squashed a plate of mac and cheese into her laptop to get her attention.  Grant spoke of taking multiple mini cruises on a small boat as a 21-year-old, landing on the different Virgin Islands while being pummeled by rum punches. 

The Eyes and Ears team was composed of the following:  Sally Jones as Grammarian, Mary Beth Dallman as Ah-counter, Don Groff as Timer, and Susann Swan as Word master.  Stan Coss was GE and Table Topics evaluator.

Members attending were the following: Karen Alexander, Stan Coss, Mary Beth Dallman, Ray Daley, Don Groff, Judy Groff, Grant Guffey, Sally Jones, Carole Kitchen, Melinda Lowrance,  Danielle Messer,  Jeanne Resen, Blanca Sanchaz, and Susann Swan.

The *Pardee closure to our club, as you heard in the emails, unfolded in the early afternoon.  Mary Beth wrote that she received "a notice from UNC Health that our facility effective immediately will not open for meetings or visits from outside guests. If you are visiting a patient, only one visitor at a time, is still allowed. As far as our ToastMasters meeting, we will need to cancel until further notice."

Susann emailed that "the other officers and I will meet early next week in person or on line to discuss the options for our club and find an interim site hopefully before our March 20th meeting.   We will keep you informed of the new location or possible cancellation of next week's meeting as soon as possible."   

On Saturday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper made some executive orders that all K-12 schools close for at least two weeks and that all mass gatherings of more than 100 people be cancelled.