Fox Valley Toastmasters had a very creative entry in the St. Charles
Scarecrow Festival, which takes place every October. Pat Reisdorf, president of the club, gives the following report:
Attached is a color picture of “Stop Freaking about Public Speaking”, a whimsical display created & sponsored by Fox Valley Toastmasters 3399 for the community in the 25th Annual St. Charles Scarecrow Festival, October 9-11, 2009. The Scarecrow Festival typically attracts 60,000+ visitors every year, so members thought it would be a great way to publicize Fox Valley Toastmasters 3399, as well as support and promote Toastmasters clubs in the surrounding area.
Agenda (guarded by a Crow)
7:30 Welcome
7:35 TMOE: Jack O’Lantern
7:40 Motivator: Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
7:45
Speech #1 Don’t Get Stuck with a Pumpkin by Cinderella
Speech #2 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Crow by Ida Raven
Speech #3 How to Get A Head in Business by the Headless Horseman
8:15 Break
8:20 Table Topic Theme: Which Came First: The Pumpkin or the Pumpkin Seed?
8:25 General Evaluator: The Great Pumpkin
8:45 Awards
8:55 Concluding Remarks
Listening, Confidence, Communication and Leadership
Treasurer JoAnn Cassell and her husband, Tom, came up with the design concept, and shared it with club members, who then contributed ideas for a general theme. The decision was made to use “Stop Freaking about Public Speaking”. JoAnn, Tom and family took the leadership on assembling the display and were assisted by long time members, Jim Enockson and Glen Heller, who contributed overall expertise and woodworking savvy to build the podium and the wooden/tin gavel from scratch.
Although the club did not win a cash prize, based on Festival votes from the crowd, it was a display that won the hearts of many passersby. Comments from the crowd included, “Gee, I was always going to try Toastmasters out sometime” and “I wonder if we should both visit a meeting” and “I think there’s a Toastmasters that meets near where we live - we’ll have to check it out!”
As a member commented on the rainy Thursday evening prior to the official start of the Festival, “I stood in front of the display for a long time so I got to hear a lot of comments from people stopping to take a look. The feedback was great and the exposure for Fox Valley Toastmasters and Toastmasters in general will be awesome. With the potential lift in membership from this project, we may have to move our meetings to the United Center!”
Congratulations to
Fox Valley Toastmasters for taking such a creative and enjoyable approach to publicity!
