Page 14 - Voices sep2014.pub
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Donna Newton—Division A Member of the Month
Donna is currently the Surveillance Manager at Seven Feathers Casino Resort. She is a member of
Feather Tongues Toastmasters in Canyonville, Oregon. Donna became a member of Feather Tongues
Toastmasters in 2005 and is still a member today. Donna has
delivered over 50 informative, funny, encouraging, thought
provoking, and educational speeches during her years as a
Toastmaster. Donna has always been one of the key members of the
club. When you weren’t sure who you could count on, you could
always count on Donna. She has been the club president several
times in the last ten years. She volunteered and was one of the
judges at a division humorous speech contest in 2010. She was
instrumental in trying a later time frame for the club to see if the club
could reach out to employees who were unable to come to the morning meetings. She also always
attended the meetings faithfully.
“The first time I saw Donna speak, I walked away a nervous wreck. I didn’t know if she would able to
become an effective speaker. After coming to Toastmasters faithfully, she was asked to speak about
not smoking in front of a very large group in the convention center. Members of upper management
later commented, ‘we would like all of our employees to learn to speak like Donna does.’ What an
incredible transformation!” Dave Johansen, Employee Development Manager, Seven Feathers Casino
Resort and VP Education, Seven Feathers
2014 has been a challenging year for Donna with changes and
additions to her job duties. She has been unable to attend the club
meetings as often as she would like. On 8/28 Donna was able to
facilitate Table Topics at the Feather Tongues Toastmasters
meeting. She selected and brought a dice activity which was creative
and fun. It required participants to stretch and grow in their
impromptu communication skills. What I think is outstanding
about Donna is that she encourages others in a very positive manner
to develop their communication skills. She offers suggestions on how
to improve tactfully and humbly in a manner that allows the
suggestions to be well-received.
“During my time at Toastmasters Donna pushed and
encouraged me to do things that I shied away from
doing. She often helped me with my speeches, giving
positive comments and reminding me to make eye contact. Donna’s encouragement
helped me become a better manager and a better person. I struggled with dyslexia
as a child. I was teased about this and, as a result, was later very afraid
to speak in front of others. I am now able to stand in front of my
employees weekly and give buzz briefs which provide a positive
message with information about current weekly events. My positive
experience with Toastmasters and Donna Newton gave me the skills
and opportunity to be able to confidently do this. I am privileged
to work with Donna on a regular basis and her positive spirit
(Continued on Page 15)
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Donna is currently the Surveillance Manager at Seven Feathers Casino Resort. She is a member of
Feather Tongues Toastmasters in Canyonville, Oregon. Donna became a member of Feather Tongues
Toastmasters in 2005 and is still a member today. Donna has
delivered over 50 informative, funny, encouraging, thought
provoking, and educational speeches during her years as a
Toastmaster. Donna has always been one of the key members of the
club. When you weren’t sure who you could count on, you could
always count on Donna. She has been the club president several
times in the last ten years. She volunteered and was one of the
judges at a division humorous speech contest in 2010. She was
instrumental in trying a later time frame for the club to see if the club
could reach out to employees who were unable to come to the morning meetings. She also always
attended the meetings faithfully.
“The first time I saw Donna speak, I walked away a nervous wreck. I didn’t know if she would able to
become an effective speaker. After coming to Toastmasters faithfully, she was asked to speak about
not smoking in front of a very large group in the convention center. Members of upper management
later commented, ‘we would like all of our employees to learn to speak like Donna does.’ What an
incredible transformation!” Dave Johansen, Employee Development Manager, Seven Feathers Casino
Resort and VP Education, Seven Feathers
2014 has been a challenging year for Donna with changes and
additions to her job duties. She has been unable to attend the club
meetings as often as she would like. On 8/28 Donna was able to
facilitate Table Topics at the Feather Tongues Toastmasters
meeting. She selected and brought a dice activity which was creative
and fun. It required participants to stretch and grow in their
impromptu communication skills. What I think is outstanding
about Donna is that she encourages others in a very positive manner
to develop their communication skills. She offers suggestions on how
to improve tactfully and humbly in a manner that allows the
suggestions to be well-received.
“During my time at Toastmasters Donna pushed and
encouraged me to do things that I shied away from
doing. She often helped me with my speeches, giving
positive comments and reminding me to make eye contact. Donna’s encouragement
helped me become a better manager and a better person. I struggled with dyslexia
as a child. I was teased about this and, as a result, was later very afraid
to speak in front of others. I am now able to stand in front of my
employees weekly and give buzz briefs which provide a positive
message with information about current weekly events. My positive
experience with Toastmasters and Donna Newton gave me the skills
and opportunity to be able to confidently do this. I am privileged
to work with Donna on a regular basis and her positive spirit
(Continued on Page 15)
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