Page 4 - 2015-08.pub

EDITORIAL Publisher

Accidental meeting – Phyllis Harmon, DTM
or was it?
Associate Publisher
by Phyllis A. Harmon, DTM
Brenda Parsons, ACB, ALS
Are chance meetings ever chance meetings? Or are they something
more? Could it be that there are no accidents, that what was meant to Senior Editor
be was meant to be? Sounds very esoteric, doesn’t it?
Yet. . .I was standing in one of 8 hotel registration lines at Caesar’s Phyllis Harmon, DTM
Palace last Tuesday waiting to check into my room. In the line next to
me, I noticed a woman, about my age, with two men, inching forward Associate Editors
with their luggage. “Isn’t she a Toastmaster? Don’t I know her from a
prior convention? Isn’t she a past International Director?” I made eye Leanna Lindquist, DTM
contact, waved, and waited for that look of recognition to wash across Erik Bergman, DTM
her face. To my chagrin, it didn’t happen. Karen O’Keefe, DTM
Alexis Mason, DTM
The next morning I was seated in Payard’s for breakfast. There she
was! The same lady I had seen in the registration line! She too was Layout/Design
eating alone. Being a Toastmaster, I called out to her, inquired where
her family was, and ended up asking if she would like to share a table. Phyllis Harmon, DTM
After introductions, I asked if she was attending the Toastmasters Curtis Low
Convention. (At that point, I was still sure she was a Toastmaster.) It
turned out that Sherry was associated with Wealth Smart, a two-year- 2015-16 Officers
old fund management organization in Kentucky. She was attending
her first conference as a new agent. District Director

The inevitable happened! She asked “What is Toastmasters?” Michelle Alba Lim, DTM

“Toastmasters saved my career. . .” I began, sharing my story and lauded QualityProgram Director
the transformations that members experience when they find their
voices. The conversation evolved to a sharing of work careers, family, Leanna Lindquist, DTM
and travel. In the 30 minutes we sat together, eating and sipping our
morning beverages, Sherry and I connected. We exchanged contact Club Growth Director
information, and headed off to our respective meetings.
Erik Bergman, DTM
Later that morning, I received a text from Sherry: Phyllis, this is Sherry
from breakfast. I told Greg and Jonathan about meeting you. When District Treasurer
I did they were SO excited. Both said we are planning on joining
Toastmasters. Wealth Smart encourages all of their people to join it. Jill Ward, ACB, ALB
Isn’t that cool? Thank you for telling me about it!
District Secretary
Are chance meetings ever chance meetings? Or are they something
more? Could it be that there are no accidents, that what was meant Tom Knapp, ACG, ALB
to be was meant to be? I was meant to connect with Sherry. From the
moment I spotted her in line, inching towards the registration desk to Voices! is published monthly
our connection at Payard’s, I believe I was there, at that time and place, by District 7 Toastmasters. First
to introduce her to Toastmasters. Sherry and her husband and son are issue published August 2014.
looking for a club in Louisville, Kentucky. They will find their voices and
use them to help their clients secure their futures.

Your story is powerful. Use it when you talk about Toastmasters. You
may just be in the right place at the right time, and your story may
fling open the doors of possibility for someone else to find their voice.

4 Volume 2 Issue 2 - AUG 2015