Leveling Up!!

Congratulations to Carmen and Gina for completing levels in their paths. Carmen completed Level 1 - Presentation Mastery, while Gina completed Level 2 - Visionary Communications.  Keep moving forward!

gniteeM sdrawkcaB A ?tahW

No fooling here!  This morning, Early Bird Ocala held their traditional 'gniteeM sdrawkcaB' aka our Backwards Meeting.  This is a time when we all Come together and run the meeting in reverse order.  Has your club ever tried this?  If you haven't, you are missing out. A mind is a powerful tool, but boy can you mess with it when you change the order of things!  The ability to adapt and overcome is challenging, but the laughter that ensues is worth the work.

Our Toastmaster of the Day also brought us a challenge on the use of 'backwards' and 'backward'.  It appears that if you are British you will tend to use the 's' to words like backwards, forwards, upwards and downwards.  Their American counterpart drops the 's' and tend to use the words backward, forward, upward and downward.  Backward can either be used an as adverb or adjective.  As an adjective it is used to indicate something or someone as underdeveloped, less progressed or regressive.  Used as an adverb the word means the opposite way, or  direction behind someone.  The bottom line is both versions are correct and have the same meaning but the usage depends on where you live.

Now you know, and knowledge is power!

Source:  https://capitalizemytitle.com/backward-or-backwards-whats-the-difference/

Cruis'n Carmen

If you are having a bad day, all you need to do is spend five minutes with Carmen. Carmen is a Cuban American and was born in California. She moved to Florida when she was just two months old.

When Carmen was little she remembers watching the Love Boat and Fantasy Island wishing that was her.  Her mother introduced her to cruising at the age of fifteen.  What a great way to take a vacation - inexpensive, fun, and oh the places she has seen.

Not only does Carmen like to cruise but she loves life.  She is passionate about helping others, making a difference, and leading by example. One of the greatest pieces of advice her mom ever gave her was "get a large bottle of Vaseline and rub it on and just let all the bad stuff slide!"  Carmen has had her share of trials, but you wouldn't know it because she wants to make every moment count.

A few fun facts about Carmen:  1) She loves the singer Pink, 2) she would love to be an actress or performer on the Carol Burnett [Show] or Saturday Night Live and 3) she would love to become a keynote speaker and travel!  Yay! Travel and get paid for it! 

Carmen has a bucket list of destinations she would like to do, but adventures that require air, speed, or roller coasters are not for her - "nope, no thanks", she said.

When asked how she found Toastmasters she quipped, " I researched public speaking or becoming a keynote speaker and Toastmasters came up." Then, she found Early Bird Ocala on Facebook.  She further stated, "I wanted to regain my voice and polish my communication skills.  I was happy when I saw pictures of [the] club members and all the smiles.  She wanted to be part of that. What surprised her the most was that [the] club members were very friendly and super encouraging." 

Carmen all we can say is, WE ARE SO GLAD YOU FOUND US!  You are a bright spot in our morning and show us through your example how to live in every moment.  Thank you for your transparency and willingness to open up your heart and share your stories.  We truly are the ones blessed. 

Visitors are like a Pot of Gold!

Not sure if this is the luck of the Irish or not, but we are delighted to have Edwin and Mark visit the nest this morning.  Caw, Caw! 

Power of Culture

Early Bird Ocala very rarely has a dull meeting and today was no exception!   Latasha H. was our Toastmaster of the Day and her theme was the Power of Culture.  Her content and delivery were inspiring and noteworthy! To boot, we had a first-time visitor who joined on the spot!   Why?  Because she saw an opportunity to grow in an environment that is not threatening!  Why not come out and meet us and see what this club is all about.  We meet every Saturday at 8am (gavel down at 8:15am) and we have fun! Caw-Caw!

Kudos to our Area 71 Contest Winners

Contests can be nerve-wracking and exciting all at the same time. Two of our seasoned members represented Early Bird Ocala Toastmasters at the Area Level in February - Colette Smith and Steve Vaughn.  Congratulations on your wins; we are so proud of your efforts. Colette will move forward to the Division level representing our club in the Tall Tales Contest, which should take place online on March 25 from 4:30pm-6:00pm.  Again kudos to you both and thank you for representing our club so well!

Pathway Achievements: Leaps and Bounds

"Every great accomplishment starts with the decision to try. - Gail Devers 

Look at these SMILES!!

Pictured above is Latasha H. and below is Charles B. 

Both are receiving Pathway certificates of completion 

from our VP Education, Steve Vaughn, DTM. 

Congratulations!