Page 24 - voices-2024-06

Plugged In

Do Something Else

By Jennifer Schmidt

plore new interests in order to grow. All three
Last year, I announced during a New Horizons of us embraced that philosophy and it opened
Toastmasters club meeting that I would not up a new world of possibilities.
be competing in the 2024 Toastmasters Inter-
national Speech Contest. This was a hard de- As a mentor, over several months I watched
cision. During the previous four years, I had both Joe and Barbie compete at the club, area,
become known as someone who was a regu- and division levels. Every time I heard their
lar competitor and I always looked forward to speeches, I could tell they were consistently
each contest season. refining, practicing, and
discovering the joy of de-
My efforts often re- livering a message that
sulted in either win- mattered to them. The
ning or placing. The sparkle in their eyes, the
top prize I received smile on their faces, and
was first place in the embracing each moment
Division E Humorous was magical.
Speech Contest in
2023. The best part Barbie’s speech focused
of all the competi- on choosing joy even
tions was the support when circumstances are
from the Toastmas- hard. She effectively used
ters community who contrasts and compari-
cheered me on, even sons along with her sooth-
if the outcome wasn’t ing tone of voice that con-
ideal. veyed reassurance.

This year I offered to Joe had a transformational
be a mentor to any message which used pow-
club member who erful gestures to literally
wanted to compete. transform himself from a
Both Joe Harper and seed to a tree! This was not
Barbie Klein stepped up and took on the chal- an easy task, but effective, and a great use of
lenge. It was fun to share my experience in a unexpected humor.
new way and do something else.
I appreciated their commitment. Because it’s
“Do Something Else”, also became the title of easy to say, “I’ll compete.” But it’s harder to fully
Joe’s speech. He talked about the idea of a per- commit. Because what it takes to do your best
son going beyond their natural abilities to ex- in any contest is time, energy, and the willing-

24 Voices!