Each meeting requires the efforts of more than a dozen people, each performing a role to help make the meeting a fun and educational event. This page provides a brief introduction to each of these roles.

Club President
The President kicks off the meeting with a few brief comments, and handles club business at the end of the meeting. This is a role that one can not sign up for, but has to be elected to at our annual elections in May for a term beginning July 1st.

Toastmaster
The most complex and difficult role, the Toastmaster is the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, ensuring that each role is effectively executed and managing the meeting to a timely conclusion ( meeting agenda ). The Toastmaster's supporting staff for the evening are the Table Topics Master, General Evaluator, Grammarian, Um/Ah Counter, and Timer.

Table Topics Master
Prepares a series of topics for extemporaneous speeches by members, generally around a theme. Participants speak on a previously unknown topic for 1-to-2-minutes. Guests are encouraged to participate in table topics, but are more than welcome to get up and just introduce themselves to the club. Or if a guest truly prefers, they do not have to participate at all.

Prepared Speaker
One of the most important roles of the meeting, the prepared speakers (generally three to six per night) serve as the core of the meeting. Speeches are usually 5 to 7 minutes, but more advanced speeches can go as long as 10 to 15 minutes.

Speech Evaluator
Helps us improve our public speaking by providing verbal feedback for each of the prepared speakers. Observes a prepared speech, analyzes content and delivery for areas of strength and opportunities for improvement, and presents a 2-to-3-minute evaluation.

Grammarian
Helps us expand vocabulary and awareness of language usage. Presents a "word of the day" which we try to use in any speaking role. Observes language usage throughout the night and reports on errors members make in grammar, pronunciation or word usage.

Um/Ah Counter
Helps us eliminate those distracting, unprofessional "ahhs," "errs," and "umms." Counts verbal crutches of any type throughout the night and reports totals for each member at the end of the meeting.

Timer
Helps us learn to create and deliver speeches that meet a time specification. Records the time duration of all table topics, prepared speeches and evaluations, and reports if the presentation was within the allotted time.

General Evaluator
Helps us learn to conduct more professional meetings, and improve our evaluations. Leads the evaluation portion of the meeting and evaluates the quality of the overall meeting, the evaluations and other major roles.

Quote Master
Starts out the meeting with an inspirational/educational quote. The quote master explains the meaning and tells why it was selected. And if the quote presented is appropriate, it will be featured on the homepage of our website for at least one week.

Joke Master
Puts the audience in a pleasant frame of mind with an appropriate humorous joke or story.

Video Master
The person behind the camera! This person helps us improve our speech delivery by providing an accurate portrayal of ourselves during presentations. The club's videotape program allows any member's prepared speech to be videotaped, if they so desire.

Vote Counter
The person who counts the members' votes for best Speaker, best Table Topic speaker and best Evaluator.

Refreshments
This is perhaps the most important role to be filled at any meeting! It is also a role that everyone appreciates. A member brings refreshments to a meeting for our networking break. The club will reimburse the member the cost of the supplies, up to $10.00 with a receipt.

The Crew
A group of honorable individuals who show up for meeting a few minutes early to help setup. They are always looking for extra volunteers! Read the room setup checklist for full details.