Bbuzz (article and photos submitted by Beth Stinson)

The First Meeting of the Bbuzz
The Blackboard Toastmasters, called "The Bbuzz" met for the first time on January 25, 2006.The Bbuzz was chartered on January 24th, 2006 as a closed corporate club with 22 members. The Bbuzz meets on every other Wednesday at 1899 L Street NW in Washington D.C. Angela Johnson, President of the Bbuzz addresses the group. Angela has worked for almost five months to charter a new club at Blackboard Inc. Way to go Angela!

What do you mean I have to be the TMOD?!
Beth Stinson learns she has to be the Toastmaster of the Day (TMOD) 30 minutes before the first meeting of the Bbuzz. It’s good to have a sense of humor and be an experienced Toastmaster for last minute agenda changes.

Special Guests
The first meeting of the Bbuzz was attended by two special Guests, Mary Ann Guerra, Lt. Governor for Marketing, District 36 (right) and Alix Love, Area 21 Governor (left).

Mary Sue gives her Ice Breaker Speech
Mary Sue Dahill was brave enough to be the first official speaker for the Bbuzz, giving her Ice Breaker Speech entitled LD and OK. Mary Sue gave a very personal and inspiring speech about how she was identified as learning disabled in elementary school and how she learned to over come the label, and learn strategies to help her succeed, building on her intelligence and determination.

Joshua's Ice Breaker
Joshua Hill was brave enough to be our second official speaker giving his Ice Breaker speech entitled "I’ll Tell You Later". Josh has a natural sense of humor that he shared with us, relating how he has been early for many things in his life, including being born 5 weeks early! Josh's earliness hasn't carried over in some parts of his life and he gave us some valuable tips on time management that have helped him be on time.

Anthony and Soyini give their first evaluations
Giving speeches is only one part of a Toastmasters meeting. Having your speech evaluated is the companion part, providing positive feedback so you can improve your skills. Anthony Sanchez gave his first evaluation of Mary Sue's speech, providing her will information on what he thought she did well and areas where she can improve. Soyini Cisse gave her first evaluation of Josh's speech proving him with ideas and suggestions.