Plimmerton Rotary hosted Spinnaker Toastmasters
There was a big turnout this week as we hosted Spinnaker Toastmasters, who demonstrated the elements of one of their regular meetings.
Toastmasters is a global organisation, founded in 1924 in the USA. It’s big, too, with 358,000 members in 143 countries.
Gary Nicholson chaired the session, and explained the purpose of Toastmasters. Members are interested in professional development and personal growth, and especially in improving their communication skills. They are tutored in both creating and delivering a talk, and learn by doing, in front of fellow members. There is a competitive edge, too, and we were treated to two entertaining award winning seven to nine-minute talks by Albertus and Joanna.
Gary explained that their twice-monthly meetings are rather structured and designed around speaking practice and evaluation. 'Table Topics' –impromptu short talks on a given subject - are part of this. We tried this with ten speakers on the subject of ‘holiday preferences’. Some of our own members took part and did well.
Gary pointed out that Toastmasters has a serious purpose but can be a lot of fun, too. This was certainly underlined by the enthusiasm of the club members who came along with Gary.
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.8% Summer
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35.8% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
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