Page 16 - 2017 December Voices

JOURNEYS
Christine Seed – a Charter Member
by Brinn Hemmingson, ACG, CL
Almost four decades ago, a male coworker
invited Christine to join our company club so
he wouldn’t be the only young person there. She
refused, stating this particular club was full of old
men. This was her first awareness of Toastmasters.
The incident that got her to join happened
years later in 2002. A coworker Denise Sharp
noticed that Christine said very little in staff
meetings. She was also surprised to discover that
while Christine’s story repertoire was limited, the
stories she knew were vibrant, interesting and
occasionally historical. Denise knew Christine
needed to find her voice and she knew where to
look for it, at Civil Tongues Toastmasters in the
Oregon State Building.
Christine has belonged to two clubs, Civil
Tongues (2002-2010) and Portland Progressives
(2006-current). She is a charter member of
Portland Progressives. In Civil Tongues, she was
President and Treasurer. In Portland Progressives
Christine has been VP Membership, Treasurer,
Sergeant at Arms twice and Secretary substitute
upon demand one year. Currently she’s the VP
Education.
“We can learn so much from each other if we
but pay attention to what is being said and live
in the moment.” Christine covers the front
desk in the library on occasion. She works as a
library technician in the Bonneville Power library
16
in NE Portland. She also volunteers at Midland
library, her local public library. “The difference
in clientele between these two is amazing. You
never know what question will be posed to you
by another. With the public library, requests
are far more varied. I have tons of empathy
for those who work in retail. You need to give
an answer to solve their problem.”
Christine has entered the table topics,
humorous speech and the evaluation contests.
She prefers the table topics contest as she
feels that this challenges her mind to deliver
a concise coherent answer quickly. She placed
third in her first table topics contest. That was
enough to encourage her to sign up for the next
contest the following year!
Christine says, “My political senses have
been heightened and curiosity aroused. I
have learned so much from the speeches of
others. You can’t use
the same dynamics
when speaking to
everyone to convey
your point. The
money you spend on
Toastmasters dues is
money well spent. I
am a work in progress
as far as speaking
goes.”
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 6 DECEMBER, 2017