The Glen Abbey Spirit

We pride ourselves in providing all Glen Abbey Toastmasters:

  • a great professional program and a supportive learning environment, and
  • a fun-loving, social environment – fostering camaraderie and good will among our members.

We follow the educational guidelines as set out by Toastmasters International, and we also participate in club and area contests, district conferences, and fun social events where members can get to know each other better. 

What you participate in is up to you.  Some events are for everyone, some are better for new Toastmasters, and some for more experienced Toastmasters.

In addition to our weekly meetings, here are some of the key events throughout the year both in our in-person meetings and online Zoom sessions:

 

Halloween Party – October

At GATM, we have our own special way of celebrating halloween by wearing spooky custumes on a fun session dedicated to Halloween!

Christmas Party – December

A very popular event for members just before the holidays.  We have a festive meeting with lots of toasts, good food, and good cheer. Many members take this opportunity to display their musical and other talents.

International Speech Club Contest – February

The International Speech Contest is an annual Toastmasters contest that runs through all levels of the organization.  Starting with club-level contests, contestants proceed through higher levels until reaching the finals at the Toastmasters annual conference.Competitors from Toastmasters clubs from all over the world enter this contest, and winners of this contest are awarded the title “World Champion of Public Speaking.

Evaluation Club Contest – February

The Evaluation Contest encourages the development of evaluation skills in Toastmasters.

Contestants watch and listen to a test speaker, and then are taken out of the room to develop their evaluations. One by one, the are brought back in to present their evaluations.  This is a great contest to further develop listening and evaluating skills.

Mary Heary Invitational Tall Tales – May

Toastmasters International calls it the Tall Tales Contest.  But here in Oakville, Ontario – we’ve renamed it the Mary Heary Invitational Tall Tales Speech Contest – in honour of a former Oakville Toastmaster named – Mary Heary.  She was part of the Oakville Toastmasters Club, and later the Glen Abbey Toastmasters club.  She was famous for her outrageous stories and tall tales that kept people in stitches.

This is a great contest to practice those Tall Tales:  fictional stories that are told in the form of personal narrative or anecdotes, challenging the listener’s credulity with comic outlandishness, but could be true or not!

Summer Pub Night – August

The pre-season pub night gets everybody together for an evening of catching up, telling tall tales, and getting ready for a great Toastmasters year.